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Riddle me this: What exactly is Trello? Despite counting myself as a heavy-duty power user of the product for well over a decade now, it’s a question I’ve long struggled to answer. Technically, Trello has always seemed to fall into that group of apps folks like to frame as “project management tools”—products like Asana, ClickUp, and Notion that do a pinch of everything and are as much note makers, info savers, and life managers as they are project organizers. But Trello in particular has always been a bit of a chameleon. Personally, I’ve used it for everything from storing story ideas to mapping out my weekly newsletters and even organizing my home workouts. Part of what makes the app so powerful is its versatility. With a flexible series of boards, columns, and cards acting as its core interface, you can shape it into serving practically any purpose imaginable for yourself or your company. It seems, though, that that very same versatility may have morphed into a challenge for the product. This week, Atlassian—the business-tech behemoth that bought Trello for $425 million in 2017 and brought it into its sprawling software empire—is announcing Trello’s biggest pivot to date. It’s essentially a total reinvention, despite the fact that on the surface, not all that much actually seems to be changing. So, here it is: As of this spring, Trello will no longer be a “project management tool”—or whatever else you want to call it. It’ll be a personal tasks app, presented as being the best all-around hub for juggling all of your important to-do items, no matter where they may originate. Notably, too, it’ll now be aimed at individual users, not teams, which marks a pretty big shift from its original focus. But in an appropriately Trello-y twist, the service’s trademark versatility isn’t going anywhere—for the most part. And in spite of the official new framing and all the added elements that come with it, it’s still up to you to decide how you want to use Trello and what you want it to be. Outside of a small subset of early beta testers, most Trello users will see its new touches sometime in April. That’s when Trello’s next era will truly begin. The Trello tale—from inception to reinventionI’ve been spending much of this month living with the still-under-wraps new version of Trello, and I’ll share some detailed thoughts and impressions about what it’s all about in a moment. First, though, before we can wrap our heads around Trello’s present and its future, we need to take a swift trip back to its past. Trello first entered the world as a concept nearly 14 years ago, in September of 2011—the brainchild of Michael Pryor and Joel Spolsky. (Pryor stuck around to lead its development post-Atlassian-acquisition until mid-2022.) From the get-go, the pair described the app as “a totally horizontal product”—meaning, in the words of co-founder Spolsky at the time, “it can be used by people from all walks of life”: Some people saw Trello and said, “Oh, it’s Kanban boards. For developing software the agile way.” Yeah, it’s that, but it’s also for planning a wedding, for making a list of potential vacation spots to share with your family, for keeping track of applicants to open job positions, and for a billion other things. In fact, Trello is for anything where you want to maintain a list of lists with a group of people. That versatility and the tough-to-pin-down quality that comes with it was a key part of Trello’s foundation, in other words. It may have initially been inspired by the engineer-adored idea of Post-It Notes arranged into columns on a whiteboard, but it was always meant to be everything to everyone, without any guardrails or specific definitions for exactly how it should be used. Trello’s board-centric interface has long been the service’s calling card. [Image: Trello]Over time, that underlying elasticity never wavered. But Trello began to be positioned as more of a team-oriented tool—that whole “project management” thing. In the context of its ultimate home within Atlassian, a company known for collaboration software, that focus made sense—even if Trello did always overlap somewhat awkwardly with the organization’s homegrown Jira offering. By 2021, Atlassian had introduced a whole series of new views that promised to transform the Trello experience and make it even more well-suited for multiuer productivity. You could switch away from the standard Trello boards and view your data instead in a spreadsheet-like “Team Table View,” for instance, or flip over to a “Timeline View” that put all your info into a year-long spectrum. You could even opt for a location-centric “Map View” built specifically with sales and service teams in mind. And that’s exactly where Gaurav Kataria, Atlassian’s head of product for Trello since 2020 and a former Google Cloud executive, sees the service as starting to lose its way. “Typically, everything tries to become the one tool to manage everything, like one tool to rule them all—and typically, they tend come to become more complex,” Kataria says. “It has happened to every tool in the industry, Trello included.” Kataria and his team decided it was time to step back and really think about what made Trello special, why people appreciated it, and where it should fit into our personal productivity puzzles. Meet the Trello task transformationOfficially, today’s Trello announcement is about a fresh set of features coming into the service—features that aim to make it easier to capture and organize all types of task-oriented info. But beyond the surface, the announcement is really more about redefining what Trello is for and how Atlassian, at least, wants it to be seen—even if you still have the power to shape it into something broader. “We are taking a step back and staying that rather than trying to be that one tool, which is the project management tool for the whole team that can handle all levels of complexity and dependency and reporting, how about we focus on making the individual user more productive,” Kataria says. “Rather than being everything for everyone, let’s be really useful to the one user that’s using the product.” The team behind Trello determined that the best way to do that was to shed Trello’s murky “project management” moniker and frame the app as an all-purpose to-do hub that pulls in info from all sorts of other services and makes it exceptionally easy to organize. (The service will still offer its same generous free plan, which includes unlimited cards and up to 10 boards for individual users—along with its existing premium and enterprise-level plans for companies that want to provide the service to larger groups of workers.) The centerpiece of that strategy is a new Inbox feature that exists as a sidebar to the left of every Trello board you’re viewing. The idea is that it’s a landing pad of sorts for any type of task you’re thinking about—a place for all that stuff to show up in Trello without any real effort and then be ready for you to drag wherever you see fit. The new Trello Inbox is a landing pad for all your incoming tasks. [Image: Trello]“Today, if suddenly, a new idea pops into your head, you might have to first decide which board it goes into, which list it goes into, and does it go into the middle of the list or the top of the list—so there’s a little cognitive burden that you have to go through before you add something to Trello,” Kataria says. “We want to remove that cognitive burden.” To that end, Inbox offers four integrations to start: Email—where you can forward any message to a special address to have it instantly added into your Inbox Slack—where you can use the inbox emoji reaction (📥) or the native Slack save-for-later feature to save any message into your Trello Inbox Jira—where you can click a new native menu command to pull any issues from a project into your Inbox And Siri—where you can simply ask your iOS device to add something into Trello to get it into that same Inbox view The Trello Inbox integrates with email, Slack, Jira, and Siri to start. [Image: Trello]Android support is on hold for the moment because of Google’s awkward Assistant-Gemini transition and the current lack of support for third-party integrations with Gemini—but Kataria tells me the team is watching the situation closely and plans to add in support as soon as it becomes possible. And in the meantime, a button on the Trello Android widget can serve as an only slightly more complex way to achieve the same end result. Atlassian plans to add support for some Microsoft-specific integrations next, but beyond that, it’s relying on the fact that almost every external service generates notifications of some sort—typically via either Slack or email—and so it can tap into those notifications easily via its existing integrations without requiring any additional connections or data access. “We don’t need to build a native integration with every tool under the sun,” Kataria explains. As part of its tasks-centric transition, the service is also adding in the ability to check off a card and mark it as done from any board view—something Kataria says has been the company’s longest standing feature request. By default, when you mark a card as done, it stays in place and just gains a checkmark indication on its cover. But thanks to Trello’s powerful automation system—the feature formerly known as Butler, for any of my fellow Trello long-timers—you can take total control of that process and set the system up to work any way you like. You might create an automation rule that instantly archives any card when it’s marked as done, for instance, or that moves it to a special list where finished cards are stored. The power is entirely in your hands, which feels like a thoughtful blending of the traditional Trello philosophy and its newly reshaped purpose. “The user is still very much in control,” Kataria says. All of that aside, what makes the setup especially interesting is the way Trello is integrating AI into all of this in a similarly thoughtful and actually useful way. Trello’s finer task touchesRather than cramming in the standard and often silly “write/rewrite text for me” or “make a list for me”-style generative-AI options, Trello is opting to lean on AI solely to transform whatever you add into your Inbox into a simple, task-like summary—with a succinct title for the associated card, a single-paragraph overview of the info in its description field, and then the full text and a link back to the original item for further reference. Trello’s AI is all about making info easier to manage—not writing or organizing it for you. [Image: Trello]It works brilliantly well, in my experience, and makes me wish every app offered something similar. And, suffice it to say, I don’t at all find myself missing the option to have the service write stuff or attempt to organize stuff for me—and then, in all likelihood, having to waste my time redoing and fixing what it did. That seems to be exactly the experience the Trello team is aiming to create. “The reason people use Trello is because it reflects their mind,” Kataria says. “We want to remain really true to that spirit—that Trello is about how people see the world, not about how they follow a certain workflow or process.” (If you want, you can still add cards directly to a specific board like before, by the way—and as of this week, doing so will incorporate the same AI formatting magic present in the new Inbox approach.) Ultimately, Inbox is just another list in Trello. But it lives in that special sidebar that makes it easy to access as a single starting point for any incoming items—until and unless you decide to sort and file them into a board. Inbox and its AI elements also go hand in hand with another new task-oriented Trello addition known as Planner. Trello’s Planner is an integrated calendar that connects to Google Calendar (with support for Microsoft Outlook on the way soon) and lets you drag and drop tasks from your Inbox—or any Trello board—directly into that day-to-day view. That way, you can see all your tasks alongside your agenda and plan out your hours accordingly, with the full perspective of everything on your plate. You can drag cards from your Inbox or any board directly into the new Trello Planner. [Image: Trello]It’s a step forward from the tacked-on calendar elements Trello previously provided, and it ties back into the newfound goal of making Trello all about the individual rather than the team. “All the previous calendar views are the legacy of trying to solve project management use cases,” Kataria says. “With the Planner, we’re really thinking about planning your day, planning your week, where you’re only looking at your calendar.” The approach actually reminds me a lot of Akiflow, a calendar and tasks app I wrote about last fall and have been personally using ever since—only, for better or for worse, Akiflow is solely a calendar and tasks app. Trello, in contrast, has the advantage (or maybe distraction) of all the board elements and the broader organizational opportunities they offer. Speaking of which, for now, at least, all of Trello’s “legacy” elements and potential use cases will continue to be supported. Kataria hinted that certain elements—like those team-centric “Timeline” and “Table” views—may be phased out eventually, over time (and will certainly be de-emphasized in the meantime). But the general goal seems to be to keep allowing everyone to use Trello in whatever way they see fit, even if personal task management is now the main purpose being presented. Some actions around more complex team-oriented project management uses will now lead to gentle nudges to move over to Jira for such purposes—a move that’s frankly surprising Atlassian has managed to resist up until now. But everything from automations to the rich ecosystem of third-party Power-Up add-ons will remain, just with the added emphasis on Trello being the place for personal productivity. “It’s [still] a project, but a project that’s born out of your own mind,” Kataria says. “Trello is so well-loved as a tool that people bend it in different ways to make it whatever they want it to become.” Card-mirroring is one of the smaller but still significant touches coming into the new Trello. [Image: Trello]Only time will tell, of course, if the world embraces the service’s new task-centric framing or if people keep treating it as the versatile productivity power-tool it’s known to be. Either way, its creators seem content with knowing they’re shifting the focus to individuals over teams and presenting their best vision for how Trello can help. “We are really thinking about how the world is going to change over the next decade and how we can make every individual more productive,” Kataria says. Be the first to learn about all sorts of interesting new productivity treasures with my free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence—a single eye-opening new discovery in your inbox every Wednesday! View the full article

The intense red color of classic lipstick traditionally comes from an unlikely source: crushed bugs that live on cactus plants in South America. It takes tens of thousands of the ground-up insects to make just a pound of the vivid red dye. The red coloring, called carmine, also shows up in food—from red velvet cupcakes to sausages, gummy candies, and some versions of strawberry yogurt. In the cosmetics industry, major brands started moving away from carmine in the 2010s because of ethical concerns. A growing number of consumers wanted vegan makeup. (Crushing bugs also creates an allergen because of other bug parts that end up in the dye.) But because synthetic dyes don’t perform as well, carmine is still found in some high-end products, from shades of MAC lipstick and NARS blush to Chanel nail polish. Now, a biotech startup called Debut has developed a new alternative: an exact replica of carmine that’s made from fermentation rather than bugs. [Photo: Debut] The molecule was incredibly difficult to replicate. “It’s a really unique color . . . it’s a very complicated [chemical] structure,” says Joshua Britton, Debut’s CEO and founder. Academic scientists took 15 years to understand it, he says, “and it took us three to four years to work out how to make it.” The company discovered two new classes of enzymes that were the missing pieces of the manufacturing process, and found a way to keep the cost of the whole system relatively affordable. The resulting product is the same as the original color, minus the allergen and gross-out factor. There’s strong demand for a product like this in the beauty industry. Carmine is a “perfect ingredient,” Britton says. It’s stable when it interacts with other ingredients, long-lasting, and vibrant in a way that other dyes aren’t. When Spanish explorers arrived in South America in the 1500s, carmine quickly became a major trade item. In Europe, red dye was difficult and expensive to make, and red clothing was mostly reserved for royalty (or, say, the Pope). In Peru, carmine had been used to dye fabric for at least two centuries, and the explorers realized that it far outperformed European dyes. Carmine started to show up in everything from oil paintings to British military uniforms. By the late 19th century, as the cosmetics industry was scaling up, carmine was a natural choice of ingredient for red, pink, and peach products. Right now, making the biotech version costs more than standard carmine, unsurprisingly. “The traditional bug version is at the moment cheaper, and that’s because there are 70,000 bugs hand picked off the leaf of a cactus dissolved in acid, and that’s the process,” says Britton. But the new tech is still at a pilot stage, and the company is now working with a larger company to scale up production and bring the cost down. Fermenting the product is also far more efficient than extracting it from bugs. “We typically don’t invest in molecules where we don’t think we can get down to cost parity,” he says. The cosmetics industry is a good initial fit, he says, since only small amounts of color are needed. (A pound of Debut’s carmine could color 6,500 tubes of lipstick.) The company is already working with a handful of beauty brands in its labs to develop new formulations for products. The food and pharmaceutical industries, which are also looking for alternatives to carmine, will come next, after the company works with the Food and Drug Administration for approvals and to figure out how the product will be labeled. Another factor is helping drive demand: the FDA recently banned Red No. 3, a common food dye, because of potential health risks. Food brands will have to phase out that dye over the next two years—and biotech carmine could be a viable choice. View the full article

There are numerous reports that the Google Search Console API is delayed and not showing data sooner than this past Thursday, February 20th. If you use this API for your own tools, or bring in this data through Looker Studio reports, Big Query or other tools, your reports may be delayed. More details. The delays started around last Wednesday and some are now saying some data for Thursday is slowly coming in. However, generally, data is as recent as today through the Search Console API. The web interface is not impacted, so you can get data from going to Google Search Console directly. Some are saying data for Thursday is now coming in, but others are not sure yet. Google has not comments on this issue yet. Why we care. If you are noticing weird data in your tools or reports and that data generally comes from Google Search Console’s API, this is why. I suspect the data flow will return to normal in the coming days, but if you do report and you see weirdness in those reports, this is your explanation. For more, if you need that data, access it directly through the web interface. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Last week during an interview on Air Force One, a reporter asked Donald Trump whether Elon Musk was planning to cut the Pentagon's budget when he's finished with the National Park Service and other departments. Trump responded that Musk will instead be looking at Fort Knox. I'm assuming there was a uncomfortably long pause before the reporter asked why. "To make sure the gold is there,” Trump responded. Whether the gold is actually at Fort Knox is a question Musk had posed a few days previously in this post on X: This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This has led many to believe that something happened to the gold at Fort Knox. No one knows exactly what happened, but something. Those people are (probably) wrong. Of course the gold is still at Fort KnoxThe most likely (and boring) Fort Knox scenario: all 147.3 million ounces of U.S. gold are sitting there, waiting for you to dive in like Scrooge McDuck. All the bars, half of the U.S. total gold reserves, are safe in a heavily guarded, secretive vault on a Kentucky military installation, just as they've been since the 1940s. According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, there is an audit of Fort Knox every year and that “all the gold is present and accounted for.” "The only gold removed has been very small quantities used to test the purity of gold during regularly scheduled audits. Except for these samples, no gold has been transferred to or from the Depository for many years," confirms the U.S. Mint. But isn't that exactly what the U.S. Mint would say? Maybe someone has been stealing all the gold, or the government has been secretly selling the people's bullion for years! Yeah, probably not. Conspiracy theories about Fort KnoxMusk and Trump are not saying anything new—murmurs of "the gold is not really there" have been common among conspiracy theorists since the 1940s, soon after construction was completed on The United States Bullion Depository and the gold was shipped from the coasts to the heartland to protect it from theoretical invaders. Here are only some of the conspiracy theories about Fort Knox: 1952: The Daughters of the American Revolution allege that the gold has been stolen from Fort Knox. President Truman invites them to inspect the vault but they decline. 1973: Dr. Peter Beter (his actual name) published The Conspiracy Against the Dollar: The Spirit of the New Imperialism, a book that contends "powerful Americans have secretly permitted $20 billion worth of gold to be removed from Ft. Knox. According to Beter, they took it out through a secret tunnel in the vault. 2009: Online cranks assert that Fort Knox's gold bars were replaced with tungsten-filled forgeries so the real gold could be sold by the Clinton administration. 2010: Ron Paul questions whether there is gold at Fort Knox. Unknown: There are aliens there. These conspiracy theories spring from a weird mix of monetary policy disagreements that date back to the 1800s, hucksters trying to get people to invest in gold schemes, and the questions some people have about anything secret that "the government doesn't want you to know." Like everything else, the internet gives people time and space to spread and modernize ideas, but the Trump/Musk quotes are just warmed-over bullshit. And this isn't even the golden age of Fort Knox conspiracy theories. That was during the 1970s, when fear about our nation's gold was so pervasive, the Treasury Department had a brief moment of transparency. That time the press was allowed into Fort KnoxIt's not on many people's shelves in 2025, but Dr. Peter Beter's (again, really his name) The Conspiracy Against the Dollar was influential enough in the early 1970s that tabloids picked up on his claims, and soon members of Congress were getting calls from constituents, calling for proof that the Fort Knox gold reserves were still there. So in 1974, the Treasure Department sighed and said, "fine," then invited members of Congress and the press to visit Fort Knox to see for themselves. This was the first time anyone other than treasury employees had been allowed inside the vault since a limited audit was conducted in 1953. A handful of congresspeople and about 120 members of the media were escorted behind 20-ton steel doors and shown the gold bars. They picked them up. Weighed them. They even got to see the secret tunnel, an escape hatch that ends in the building, a failsafe for anyone accidentally locked in the vault. The press took pictures and shot film of all of it: Even the most skeptical congresspeople who toured the vault basically concluded "looks like the gold's there," and so, it seems, did most Americans. But for diehard conspiracy theorists (and dummies) no amount of evidence is enough. Some derided the visit as a "show audit" that proved nothing, and others concocted "the bars are filled with tungsten" theories because even if people saw it and took pictures, it's still not true. Trump's Treasury Secretary's 2017 visit to Fort KnoxTreasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently has said he would arrange an inspection for any senator who is interested in seeing the vaults. Steven Mnuchin, Trump's first treasury secretary, had a similar policy. In 2017, Mnuchin, Mitch McConnell, and other officials visited Fort Knox to review the bullion. Their visit included a viewing of the total eclipse as an added bonus. What good timing. Here's Mitch McConnell with gold bars. Adorable! Credit: US Treasury Department Apparently you can sign your name when you visit Fort Knox, as Mnuchin does here. Credit: US Treasury Department The exact purpose of Mnuchin and company's Fort Knox outing isn't clear, but I'm sure they were conducting important governmental business, not just sightseeing, and if they had noticed any missing bars, they would have alerted the proper authorities. Documents, crowns, and lots of narcotics: strange things stored at Fort KnoxWhile the gold seems to be there, alien bodies are (probably) not stored at Fort Knox, but that doesn't mean we don't put weird things down there sometimes. Back in the 1940s, with World War II ravaging Europe, the U.S. government moved the signed original Constitution of the United States, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, and drafts of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address into the vault for safe-keeping. The vault was used to store the Crown of St. Stephen, until we sent it back to Hungary in 1978. Until recently, Fort Knox was home to the U.S.'s strategic reserves of pain-killers: At one time, 68,269 pounds of opium and morphine were stored in the vault—that's a lot of narcotics! It isn't stored there any longer, and where it went is not public. Why don't you look into that, Elon Musk? Still in the vault are ten 1933 Double Eagle gold coins, a 1974-D aluminum cent, and twelve gold (22-karat) Sacagawea dollar coins that flew on the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1999. Does the gold in Fort Knox even matter?It's cool that we have a great huge Smaug-sized treasure trove in the U.S., but does it do us any good? The gold bars stored in Fort Knox have been gathering dust since the early 1940s, and we don't do anything with them and they don't affect anything tangible. Our money hasn't been directly tied to gold since the 1930s (or 1970s; it's complicated) so in a sense it doesn't matter whether all the bars are filled with tungsten. The piles of gold serve mainly as a symbolic representation of our nation's wealth and stability—gold is very shiny, after all. Consider this: Fort Knox's gold is worth $435 billion, total. The U.S. nation debt is $36.22 trillion. So even if we were to sell it all tomorrow, it would be a drop in the bucket. Like the cash hidden under the nation's blanket, Fort Knox gold is our "if things get really bad, we still have this." It's the money in the banana stand. If Elon Musk opens the vault doors and does find nothing there, I hope he's smart enough to keep it to himself. View the full article

Nearly 40% of the federal contracts that the Trump administration claims to have canceled as part of its signature cost-cutting program aren’t expected to save the government any money, the administration’s own data shows. The Department of Government Efficiency run by Elon Musk last week published an initial list of 1,125 contracts that it terminated in recent weeks across the federal government. Data published on DOGE’s “Wall of Receipts” shows that more than one-third of the contract cancellations, 417 in all, are expected to yield no savings. That’s usually because the total value of the contracts has already been fully obligated, which means the government has a legal requirement to spend the funds for the goods or services it purchased and in many cases has already done so. “It’s like confiscating used ammunition after it’s been shot when there’s nothing left in it. It doesn’t accomplish any policy objective,” said Charles Tiefer, a retired University of Baltimore law professor and expert on government contracting law. “Their terminating so many contracts pointlessly obviously doesn’t accomplish anything for saving money.” Dozens of them were for already-paid subscriptions to The Associated Press, Politico and other media services that the administration said it would discontinue. Others were for research studies that have been awarded, training that has taken place, software that has been purchased and interns that have come and gone. An administration official said it made sense to cancel contracts that are seen as potential dead weight, even if the moves do not yield any savings. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. In all, DOGE data says the 417 contracts in question had a total value of $478 million. Dozens of other canceled contracts are expected to yield little if any savings. “It’s too late for the government to change its mind on many of these contracts and walk away from its payment obligation,” said Tiefer, who served on the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Tiefer said DOGE appeared to be taking a “slash and burn” approach to cutting contracts, which he said could damage the performance of government agencies. He said savings could be made instead by working with agency contracting officers and inspectors general to find efficiencies, an approach the administration has not taken. DOGE says the overall contract cancellations are expected to save more than $7 billion so far, an amount that has been questioned as inflated by independent experts. The canceled contracts were to purchase a wide range of goods and services. The Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded a contract in September to purchase and install office furniture at various branches. While the contract does not expire until later this year, federal records show the agency had already agreed to spend the maximum $567,809 with a furniture company. The U.S. Agency for International Development negotiated a $145,549 contract last year to clean the carpet at its headquarters in Washington. But the full amount had already been obligated to a firm that is owned by a Native American tribe based in Michigan. Another already-spent $249,600 contract went to a Washington, D.C., firm to help prepare the Department of Transportation for the recent transition from the Biden to the Trump administration. Some of the canceled contracts were intended to modernize and improve the way government works, which would seem to be at odds with DOGE’s cost-cutting mission. One of the largest, for instance, went to a consulting firm to help carry out a reorganization at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, which led the agency’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The maximum $13.6 million had already been obligated to Deloitte Consulting LLP for help with the restructuring, which included closing several research offices. Foley reported from Iowa City, Iowa. —Ryan J. Foley, Associated Press View the full article

Investors in cryptocurrencies are seeing red today. In the past 24 hours, the prices of most major cryptocurrencies and meme coins have plummeted. This includes crypto heavyweights like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP as well as popular meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and TRUMP. Here’s what to know about the biggest losers and possible reasons behind the crash. Bitcoin drops below $90K for the first time since November Unsurprisingly, the crypto that is getting the most headlines today is Bitcoin, which as of the time of this writing currently sits at around $89,000 per coin. That’s a 7% drop in the last 24 hours alone. It also represents of few other ignominious milestones for the cryptocurrency king as of late. First, today’s decline marks the first time that Bitcoin has fallen below $90,000 since November 2024, after Donald Trump’s election victory sparked a crypto rally. Second, Bitcoin is now also down 20% since another important Trump marker: his inauguration day on January 20. On Trump’s inauguration day, Bitcoin had hit an all-time high of over $106,000. The post-election victory and post-inauguration gains were largely fueled by the belief that a Trump presidency would be good for the crypto markets in general. But it’s not just Bitcoin that is plummeting today. Other cryptocurrencies are as well. Those include (as of the time of this writing): Ethereum, which is down almost 10% in the past 24 hours (and down over 27% in the past month). XRP, which is down over 12% in the past 24 hours (and down over 31% in the past month) Solana, which is down almost 12% in the past 24 hours (and down over 46% in the past month) Dogecoin, which is down almost 11% in the past 24 hours (and down over 42% in the past month) Official Trump, which is down almost 14% in the past 24 hours (and down over 56% in the past month) But what exactly is causing today’s crypto crash? While the digital assets do tend to be highly volatile anyway, the general consensus among crypto industry watchers is that two main events could be contributing to the plunge. Trump’s tariffs lead to macroeconomic uncertainty While Trump’s election victory was hailed as the best possible outcome for the crypto industry, it now appears that Trump could be doing more harm than good for digital currency markets. That’s because since Trump was sworn in, he quickly set to initiating tariffs—or at least threatening to—against America’s major trading partners, including China, Mexico, Canada, and nearly every other country in the world. Many fear these that tariff threats may lead to an all-out trade war between America and other major economies. Indeed, as BeinCrypto points out, after Trump seemed to confirm yesterday that the tariffs on Mexico and Canada would be moving ahead, Bitcoin sank and crypto markets saw almost $1 billion in liquidations. When there is macroeconomic uncertainty—like the kind generated by potential trade wars—investors usually seek to lock in gains where they can by selling assets that have had good returns as of late. Larger anxieties about where the economy may be headed may be driving many crypto investors to take their profits now to buffer any losses in the future. The Bybit hack reminds crypto investors they are vulnerable It’s not just Trump’s actions that are rattling crypto investors. Last week, the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit was hacked, leading to $1.5 billion dollars of cryptocurrencies being stolen. It is reportedly the largest crypto heist on record and is believed to have been carried out by actors in North Korea, reports CNN. Major crypto heists in the past have rattled investor confidence, and this one is no different. Heists such as this remind investors that cryptocurrencies are more readily at risk of theft than other assets, such as stocks or properties. To put the Bybit hack into greater perspective, Reuters reports that in all of 2024, there was $2.2 billion worth of crypto stolen. The ByBit hack signals that 2025 may be an even bigger year for crypto heists. View the full article

Are you considering owning a Chick-fil-A franchise? If that’s the case, you probably have questions about the ownership process and what it entails. In this blog post, we’ll answer some of the most commonly asked questions about Chick-fil-A franchising. We’ll also provide a few tips to help you determine if owning a Chick-fil-A is the right choice for you. So, whether you’re just starting to explore franchise opportunities or you’re ready to take the next step, keep reading for helpful information about Chick-fil-A ownership. What is a Chick-fil-A Franchise? A Chick-fil-A franchise is a restaurant chain specializing in chicken sandwiches and other related menu items. Their logo is a Chick-fil-A cow standing in front of the restaurant with the words “Eat Mor Chikin” written on it. Their headquarters is located in College Park, Georgia. The first Chick-fil-A restaurant opened in 1967 in Atlanta, Georgia, and it now has over 2,800 restaurants, mostly in the US. Chick-fil-A stands out among fast-food franchises due to its unique operating model and financial structure, which includes minimal initial investment for franchisees and high revenue per store. READ MORE:Buy Your First Franchise: Secrets Revealed Chick-fil-A Franchise History The company was founded in 1946 by S. Truett Cathy. The franchise model is based on a simple formula: produce a quality product at a reasonable price and provide excellent customer service. This has helped Chick-fil-A to become one of the most successful restaurant chains in the country. In addition to its menu items, the company is also known for its Christian values and conservative stance on social issues. This has occasionally led to controversy, but it has also endeared the company to a loyal customer base. READ MORE: Chick-Fil-A Success Shows Brand’s Ability to Triumph Over PR Problems Is a Chick-fil-A Franchise Right for You? Now that you have gained some insight into Chick-fil-A and the services they provide, it’s time to determine whether owning a Chick-fil-A franchise is the right choice for you. Here are several factors to take into account: Pros: Chick-fil-A pays for nearly all startup costs, including real estate, construction, and equipment, making the initial investment significantly lower compared to other fast-food franchises. Strong brand recognition and customer loyalty. Comprehensive training and support for franchisees. High average sales per unit. Pros: Chick-fil-A is a well-established brand with a loyal customer base. They have a proven business model that is successful in both good and bad economic times. Their restaurants are generally located in high-traffic areas. Chick-fil-A offers comprehensive training and support for franchisees. They offer a unique product that is not easily replicated by their competitors. Cons: You don’t actually own or receive any equity when you own a restaurant. Chick-Fil-A owns it and you’re considered an “Operator.” This means you can’t sell your Chick-fil-A location or pass it on to anyone. Chick-Fil-A requires that franchise owners actively manage their fast food restaurants full-time, overseeing daily operations. This approach differs from many other franchises, where ownership can be more of a passive investment. A franchise owner cannot open multiple locations, which can limit your profits. How Much Do Chick-fil-A Franchises Cost? To get started with your own Chick-fil-A franchise, you’ll need to pay an initial investment of only $10,000. While the restaurant can cost anywhere between $342,990 and $1,982,225 to start, a franchisee is only responsible for the initial franchise fee. Chick-fil-A covers the rest. READ MORE: Buy Your First Franchise: Secrets Revealed How to Become a Chick-fil-A Franchisee If you’re interested in becoming a franchisee, here are the steps: Attend an informational session You’ll first need to attend an informational session to learn more about the franchising process. During this session, you’ll have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have about owning a Chick-fil-A franchise. Submit an application After participating in an informational session, you will have the opportunity to submit an online application. Once your application is evaluated, you will be contacted to arrange an interview. To get ready for your interview, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the company’s history and values. Interview with Chick-fil-A During your interview, you will meet with a franchising representative from the Chick-fil-A corporation. They will inquire about your background, experience, and your motivations for wanting to own a Chick-fil-A franchise. Additionally, they will evaluate whether you are a suitable match for the company. This is also an excellent opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have regarding the franchising process. Be approved by the Franchise Board If you’re approved by the Franchise Board, you’ll be able to sign a franchise agreement and begin the process of opening your own restaurant. If you’ve gotten this far, congratulations! Not many people are given the opportunity to become a franchisee of a Chick-fil-A fast food restaurant. Complete training After signing your franchise agreement, you will be required to undergo a multi-week training program at Chick-fil-A’s Restaurant Support Center located in Atlanta, Georgia. This program is designed to provide you with all the essential knowledge needed to effectively operate a Chick-fil-A restaurant. READ MORE: 10 Chicken Wing Franchises for Food Entrepreneurs Open your restaurant Once you’ve completed training, you’ll be ready to open your own restaurant. You’ll be supported throughout the process by Chick-fil-A’s experienced team of franchise consultants. They’ll help you with everything from site selection to grand opening. How Profitable Is a Chick-fil-A Franchise? Chick-fil-A is one of the most profitable fast-food chains in the United States, bringing in over $11 billion in annual sales. That’s second only to McDonald’s, which generates over $40 billion in annual sales. On average, franchise owners earn $220,000 each year. Additionally, Chick-fil-A restaurants typically achieve $5.3 million in annual sales. Important Information for Prospective Chick-fil-A Franchisees If you’re considering opening a Chick-fil-A franchise, there are several additional details you should be aware of, including: The chain is closed on Sundays, as well as on Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is due to the company’s religious roots. The founder, S. Truett Cathy, was a devout Southern Baptist. The Chick-fil-A franchise operates in 47 states throughout the United States, as well as in Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, Canada, South Africa, and the UK. In addition to the initial franchise fee of $10,000, Chick-fil-A operators pay a 15% royalty fee plus an additional 50% of pretax profit. What’s more, is that they require that their franchisees not have any other active business ventures. So if you’re a serial entrepreneur, being a Chick-Fil-A operator isn’t for you. There are over 20,000 applications yearly, but only 75 to 80 get accepted to open new franchises each year (about 0.4% on the high end). So it’s clear that competition for these spots is fierce. The selection process can take anywhere from 12 to 24 months. So if you’re thinking about opening a Chick-fil-A franchise, be prepared for a long and difficult process. READ MORE: What is a Franchise? 20 Fast Food Franchise Opportunities Image: Depositphotos This article, "How to Open a Chick-fil-A Franchise" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Are you considering owning a Chick-fil-A franchise? If that’s the case, you probably have questions about the ownership process and what it entails. In this blog post, we’ll answer some of the most commonly asked questions about Chick-fil-A franchising. We’ll also provide a few tips to help you determine if owning a Chick-fil-A is the right choice for you. So, whether you’re just starting to explore franchise opportunities or you’re ready to take the next step, keep reading for helpful information about Chick-fil-A ownership. What is a Chick-fil-A Franchise? A Chick-fil-A franchise is a restaurant chain specializing in chicken sandwiches and other related menu items. Their logo is a Chick-fil-A cow standing in front of the restaurant with the words “Eat Mor Chikin” written on it. Their headquarters is located in College Park, Georgia. The first Chick-fil-A restaurant opened in 1967 in Atlanta, Georgia, and it now has over 2,800 restaurants, mostly in the US. Chick-fil-A stands out among fast-food franchises due to its unique operating model and financial structure, which includes minimal initial investment for franchisees and high revenue per store. READ MORE:Buy Your First Franchise: Secrets Revealed Chick-fil-A Franchise History The company was founded in 1946 by S. Truett Cathy. The franchise model is based on a simple formula: produce a quality product at a reasonable price and provide excellent customer service. This has helped Chick-fil-A to become one of the most successful restaurant chains in the country. In addition to its menu items, the company is also known for its Christian values and conservative stance on social issues. This has occasionally led to controversy, but it has also endeared the company to a loyal customer base. READ MORE: Chick-Fil-A Success Shows Brand’s Ability to Triumph Over PR Problems Is a Chick-fil-A Franchise Right for You? Now that you have gained some insight into Chick-fil-A and the services they provide, it’s time to determine whether owning a Chick-fil-A franchise is the right choice for you. Here are several factors to take into account: Pros: Chick-fil-A pays for nearly all startup costs, including real estate, construction, and equipment, making the initial investment significantly lower compared to other fast-food franchises. Strong brand recognition and customer loyalty. Comprehensive training and support for franchisees. High average sales per unit. Pros: Chick-fil-A is a well-established brand with a loyal customer base. They have a proven business model that is successful in both good and bad economic times. Their restaurants are generally located in high-traffic areas. Chick-fil-A offers comprehensive training and support for franchisees. They offer a unique product that is not easily replicated by their competitors. Cons: You don’t actually own or receive any equity when you own a restaurant. Chick-Fil-A owns it and you’re considered an “Operator.” This means you can’t sell your Chick-fil-A location or pass it on to anyone. Chick-Fil-A requires that franchise owners actively manage their fast food restaurants full-time, overseeing daily operations. This approach differs from many other franchises, where ownership can be more of a passive investment. A franchise owner cannot open multiple locations, which can limit your profits. How Much Do Chick-fil-A Franchises Cost? To get started with your own Chick-fil-A franchise, you’ll need to pay an initial investment of only $10,000. While the restaurant can cost anywhere between $342,990 and $1,982,225 to start, a franchisee is only responsible for the initial franchise fee. Chick-fil-A covers the rest. READ MORE: Buy Your First Franchise: Secrets Revealed How to Become a Chick-fil-A Franchisee If you’re interested in becoming a franchisee, here are the steps: Attend an informational session You’ll first need to attend an informational session to learn more about the franchising process. During this session, you’ll have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have about owning a Chick-fil-A franchise. Submit an application After participating in an informational session, you will have the opportunity to submit an online application. Once your application is evaluated, you will be contacted to arrange an interview. To get ready for your interview, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the company’s history and values. Interview with Chick-fil-A During your interview, you will meet with a franchising representative from the Chick-fil-A corporation. They will inquire about your background, experience, and your motivations for wanting to own a Chick-fil-A franchise. Additionally, they will evaluate whether you are a suitable match for the company. This is also an excellent opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have regarding the franchising process. Be approved by the Franchise Board If you’re approved by the Franchise Board, you’ll be able to sign a franchise agreement and begin the process of opening your own restaurant. If you’ve gotten this far, congratulations! Not many people are given the opportunity to become a franchisee of a Chick-fil-A fast food restaurant. Complete training After signing your franchise agreement, you will be required to undergo a multi-week training program at Chick-fil-A’s Restaurant Support Center located in Atlanta, Georgia. This program is designed to provide you with all the essential knowledge needed to effectively operate a Chick-fil-A restaurant. READ MORE: 10 Chicken Wing Franchises for Food Entrepreneurs Open your restaurant Once you’ve completed training, you’ll be ready to open your own restaurant. You’ll be supported throughout the process by Chick-fil-A’s experienced team of franchise consultants. They’ll help you with everything from site selection to grand opening. How Profitable Is a Chick-fil-A Franchise? Chick-fil-A is one of the most profitable fast-food chains in the United States, bringing in over $11 billion in annual sales. That’s second only to McDonald’s, which generates over $40 billion in annual sales. On average, franchise owners earn $220,000 each year. Additionally, Chick-fil-A restaurants typically achieve $5.3 million in annual sales. Important Information for Prospective Chick-fil-A Franchisees If you’re considering opening a Chick-fil-A franchise, there are several additional details you should be aware of, including: The chain is closed on Sundays, as well as on Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is due to the company’s religious roots. The founder, S. Truett Cathy, was a devout Southern Baptist. The Chick-fil-A franchise operates in 47 states throughout the United States, as well as in Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, Canada, South Africa, and the UK. In addition to the initial franchise fee of $10,000, Chick-fil-A operators pay a 15% royalty fee plus an additional 50% of pretax profit. What’s more, is that they require that their franchisees not have any other active business ventures. So if you’re a serial entrepreneur, being a Chick-Fil-A operator isn’t for you. There are over 20,000 applications yearly, but only 75 to 80 get accepted to open new franchises each year (about 0.4% on the high end). So it’s clear that competition for these spots is fierce. The selection process can take anywhere from 12 to 24 months. So if you’re thinking about opening a Chick-fil-A franchise, be prepared for a long and difficult process. READ MORE: What is a Franchise? 20 Fast Food Franchise Opportunities Image: Depositphotos This article, "How to Open a Chick-fil-A Franchise" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Starmer announcement of ‘biggest sustained rise’ since cold war comes ahead of Trump meeting on Thursday View the full article

If you feel like you’re being pulled in different directions with your SEO program, you aren’t alone. How do you know where to focus first for the most impact? And when that’s done, what do you do next? It can be challenging to decide which SEO tasks to prioritize because they all impact the end user in some way – but some more than others. This is where discernment comes into play. This article will help you build a path to get your SEO program organized from point A to point B and figure out how to prioritize tasks to get ROI quicker. Frameworks for identifying high-impact SEO opportunities When every SEO task feels urgent, knowing where to focus first can make or break your strategy. These three frameworks can help you prioritize what moves the needle. 1. Technical SEO audit A technical SEO audit is your roadmap for identifying and fixing the issues that directly impact search visibility and user experience. The right audit reveals the most urgent technical barriers to ranking – and helps you prioritize based on impact. But not all audits are created equal. Here’s a breakdown of the different types: Basic SEO audit This is where automated software scans your site and flags common SEO issues. While the insights can be helpful, they come in a generic, one-size-fits-all report. This type of audit is ideal if you’re working with a tight budget or just want to get a basic overview before bringing in an expert. It’s never a bad idea, but it won’t provide an in-depth analysis. Mid-level SEO audit Here, you can expect a professional SEO specialist or vendor to go beyond automated reports and offer additional insights that software alone might miss. While these can pinpoint issues that require attention, they may not provide detailed solutions. This approach is useful when you need to identify potential problem areas but aren’t ready for a full-scale SEO strategy. Comprehensive SEO audit This is a full technical audit conducted by experienced technical SEOs. This deep dive involves top-tier tools, data analysis, and an in-depth website and SEO review by skilled analysts specializing in technical SEO and business strategy. Tools assist the process, but the real value comes from expert analysis, which makes it a time-intensive but highly valuable investment. Knowing these key differences in audits can help you make an informed decision before you invest. Dig deeper: Technical SEO: Don’t rush the process 2. The Eisenhower Matrix The Eisenhower Matrix is a powerful tool for prioritizing tasks by urgency and importance. Applying it to your SEO strategy helps you determine which tasks need immediate attention and which can wait. To get started, divide tasks into four quadrants: Quadrant 1: Urgent and important These are the critical issues that directly impact rankings and user experience. For example, this could be a slow site or fixing a misconfigured robots.txt file that is blocking search engines from crawling and indexing key pages. Whatever tasks you put in this category will be non-negotiable. Addressing these items can sometimes have an immediate impact on your ability to compete. Quadrant 2: Important but not urgent These will be the longer-term strategies that build sustainable growth. For instance, maybe developing a long-term content strategy focused on topic authority and evergreen content falls here. These efforts don’t require immediate attention but are essential for long-term SEO success. Quadrant 3: Urgent but not important This bucket is for handling tasks that are time-sensitive but don’t significantly influence rankings or user experience. This could be something like responding to a minor Google Search Console alert about a non-critical issue. While these tasks may not have a high impact, taking care of them prevents minor issues from accumulating into big projects. Quadrant 4: Neither urgent nor important Anything that falls into this category is something you avoid. One example might be spending hours tweaking meta descriptions that already meet best practices without significant SEO gains. These activities consume time and resources without delivering meaningful results. Using the Eisenhower Matrix helps your SEO by enhancing: Clarity: Identify and fix what demands attention now versus what can wait. Efficiency: Prioritize the highest ROI tasks without getting bogged down. Focus: Stay aligned with business goals, eliminating distractions. 3. The Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule) The Pareto Principle suggests that 80% of outcomes come from 20% of efforts. In SEO, focusing on the most impactful tasks helps you drive faster, more meaningful results without spreading yourself too thin. Keyword targeting It’s common for a small subset of your keywords to drive most organic traffic. Instead of spreading your efforts thin across all keywords, focus on optimizing the ones that deliver the most value. Use SEO tools to identify the top-performing 20% of keywords that bring in most of your traffic and conversions. Prioritize pages that rank between Positions 5 and 20 for those high-value keywords. These are low-hanging fruit that can move up with improvements. Expand content for high-value keywords by answering related questions and creating supporting content. Content focus Most of your website’s traffic and engagement likely comes from a handful of high-performing pages. Instead of endlessly creating new content, invest in improving the 20% of pages that already generate the most traffic and leads. Identify your top 20% of pages by traffic and conversions using analytics tools. Revamp those pages by updating outdated content to enhance optimization and engagement. Create supporting content to build topical authority around your best pages. Technical fixes Technical SEO can feel overwhelming because there’s always more to fix. But, a small subset of technical issues typically has the most impact on site performance. Focus on fixing the top 20% of technical issues that cause 80% of your performance problems. Prioritize high-impact fixes like: Resolving crawl errors so search engines can access your site. Improving page load speed for user experience and rankings. Fixing broken links to avoid losing link equity and frustrating users. Optimizing usability to retain visitors and improve your ability to compete in the search results. Dig deeper: Prioritizing SEO strategies: Where to focus your efforts Having a framework for approaching your SEO program helps you stay organized. Within that framework, you must consider how you will execute both short-term wins and longer-term strategies. Balancing long-term strategies with quick wins To succeed in SEO, you must balance short-term wins with long-term growth. Quick wins can show immediate improvements, but foundational efforts are what build lasting authority. To achieve the best results, it’s important to defer resources to both. Quick wins Quick wins are tactical SEO tasks that can be implemented quickly to produce noticeable results. These tasks usually involve optimizing existing content or resolving certain technical issues. They may not require large investments of time or resources but can lead to meaningful improvements in rankings, traffic, or user experience. What constitutes a quick win? Tasks that are simple to implement. Things that address known website performance issues. Fixes that improve both search engine visibility and user experience. Examples of SEO quick wins include: Fixing technical errors, like resolving 404 pages, broken links, and crawl issues. Improving site speed. Optimizing existing content by adding internal links, updating outdated information, or including relevant keywords. Quick wins are valuable because they deliver early signs of progress. This helps build momentum and gain stakeholder buy-in. However, relying solely on quick wins isn’t enough to achieve a sustainable SEO program. That’s where long-term strategies come in. Long-term strategies Long-term strategies require more time and effort but are key to creating a strong foundation. These strategies help your website become more authoritative, trustworthy, and relevant in the eyes of both search engines and your audience. Examples of long-term strategies include: Content creation that targets important keywords and answers user questions in-depth. Try SEO siloing to build authority around a topic. Earning backlinks through your high-quality content and partnerships. Refreshing top-performing content to make sure it remains evergreen and relevant. I recommend spending 50% of your content resources on maintaining older but high-performing content. Continuing education so you can stay ahead of the curve. Consider annual SEO training with additional learning opportunities throughout the year. Search evolves fast, and you want to be able to forecast what’s coming up so you can start working on it early. Foundational efforts don’t deliver instant results, but as your site’s authority grows, you’ll see compounding benefits with higher rankings, more traffic, and increased user trust. Fast gains, lasting growth: Crafting a balanced SEO plan A good SEO roadmap should include both short-term quick wins and long-term projects. But where to start? Here’s one scenario: You could focus 70% of your time on quick wins early on to show immediate results and 30% on long-term efforts. Over time, you might adjust the balance to a 50/50 split as your site becomes more stable and foundational work becomes a bigger priority. Dig deeper: 3 quick SEO wins to kick-start growth next year Focus on what matters most for lasting results Prioritizing your SEO strategies is the key to driving meaningful results. SEO isn’t about doing everything at once. It’s about doing the right things at the right time. When you focus on high-impact tasks and continuously refine your approach, you’ll build a more competitive search engine presence that pays off for years to come. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The JBL Flip 6 is currently $89.95 on Woot (and will remain so for the next four days or until stocks last)—$40 off its usual $129.95 price tag, and if you're a Prime member, you also get free standard shipping (otherwise, it's $6). It’s available in black, white, teal, gray, and green, giving you a decent range of options to match your vibe. The design is classic JBL—cylindrical, durable, and built to be tossed into a bag without worry. Its passive radiators on both ends let you feel the bass in your hands (earning itself a place in PCMag's "Best Outdoor Speakers for 2025" roundup). Just don’t expect a true subwoofer experience; it’s still a compact speaker, after all. JBL Flip 6 Portable Bluetooth Speaker $89.95 $129.95 Save $40.00 Get Deal Get Deal $89.95 $129.95 Save $40.00 Inside, the Flip 6 packs a 20-watt woofer and a 10-watt tweeter, covering a frequency range of 63Hz to 20kHz. It connects via Bluetooth 5.1 and supports AAC and SBC Bluetooth codecs, but not AptX, so audiophiles looking for higher-quality streaming may want to look elsewhere. The top panel houses volume and playback controls, though the multi-function button weirdly only lets you skip forward—not back. JBL’s PartyBoost feature is also here, letting you link multiple compatible JBL speakers for a bigger sound. Battery life is estimated at around 12 hours, but that depends on how loud you like your music. Crank it up, and you’ll burn through that charge much faster. There’s no speakerphone function or aux input, which might be a dealbreaker if you like having wired options. Durability is where the Flip 6 shines—with an IP67 rating, it’s fully dust-proof and waterproof, meaning it can survive a pool dunk and even float (though don’t expect Bluetooth to work well underwater). It also comes with a 90-day Woot Limited Warranty for added peace of mind. JBL’s companion app gives you access to customizable three-band EQ and PartyBoost controls, though the app itself is pretty barebones. Sound-wise, the Flip 6 delivers impressive low-end depth, and at moderate volumes, the bass is strong without distortion. Push it too high, though, and its digital signal processing (DSP) kicks in, thinning out the lows, according to this PCMag review. If you considering alternatives, the Sony SRS-XB23 might be worth checking out at around $95. Note: This item can't be delivered to Alaska, Hawaii, and PO Box addresses. View the full article

After 16 years of experiments to bring Photoshop apps to the phone, Adobe is launching its most convincing attempt yet. Called Photoshop Mobile and available in the App Store today, it’s Adobe’s first earnest attempt to build a Photoshop on mobile with the same unique powers that have made it so popular on desktop. This new Photoshop has been built from the ground up specifically for the phone, where it can sync seamlessly with Photoshop versions on the web and desktop. (An Android version is due this summer.) Pros will appreciate a few big technical headlines: You can have an unlimited number of layers, and there is no restriction on file sizes. (Vector drawing tools aren’t in this initial release, but I’m told Shapes are coming soon.) Casual editors will want to know that the app is free to use, though many features will be tucked inside an $8/month subscription that comes paired with access to Photoshop on the web. “Not all of Photoshop is in here, but we’re very confident in the foundations that we have that people are going to be able to use,” says Matthew Richmond, VP of design for Creative Cloud Pro products and 3D at Adobe. “A big part of this is the focus on the next-gen users, the individuals where, in a lot of cases [the phone is] their only computer.” Truth be told, phones have been fast enough for Photoshop for years. The big breakthrough that made Photoshop on iPhone is beyond technical specs. It’s the app’s entire UX that—at least as I squinted through a webcam demo—looks powerful, quick, and easy to learn. It’s the first time I’ve seen a permutation of Photoshop on a small screen that just seemed right, even if it looked new. A brief history of Photoshop on mobileAdobe’s first attempt at Photoshop on smartphones started in 2009, with a “Photoshop.com” mobile app. It was essentially an extension of the Camera app, and it allowed use of only the most basic controls, like cropping, rotation, and color. It was followed by Photoshop Mix (2014), Photoshop Fix (2015), and, finally, Photoshop Express, which lives on today. With all respect to Express, it’s not really Photoshop. You only need to load it for a few minutes to realize its extreme limitations: namely, building and managing layers and applying masks, when the app is really more focused on creating social-ready image and text layouts. Photoshop Mobile is different. It’s the company’s first smartphone app to take the core UX metaphor inside Photoshop—of creating layers, masking out bits of images, and applying different appearances at each level—and bringing it to a small touchscreen. This approach to image editing is foundational, not just to Adobe’s own software but also to the very way artists and designers have constructed images for centuries. It’s the fundamental framework of putting one color or cutout atop another that makes Photoshop’s approach to digital craft work at all. [Image: Adobe]Photoshop’s new “Select and do” UXThe brilliance of the app is that instead of drop-down menus and palettes of tools on the screen, it starts with your finger—an approach to UI that Adobe calls “select and do.” The idea is that you can tap on whatever part of the image you want, and you’ll be ushered through a workflow suggesting options for your next steps. In Photoshop desktop, and even in the tablet version, selection tools are hidden behind drop-down menus. You might even need to watch a tutorial to discover that they exist. On Photoshop mobile, you’re urged to start selecting right away. A “select area” button sits at the bottom of the screen. Tap on that, and you’re offered all sorts of ways to select (like draw a circle, or use the classic Magic Wand). You can even zoom in to the pixel level to make adjustments on what you select. But its newest option is called “tap select.” And it means that you can simply tap on a photo’s subjects (people, buses, plants) to highlight them, so editing on a phone stays easy. Richmond says it was this and related breakthroughs in touch accuracy—born from the most recent AI technologies—that convinced Adobe that real Photoshop Mobile was feasible. Once something is highlighted, a new menu appears to help with wayfinding in the app. Adobe uses a combination of proven workflows and contextual UI to guide you to your next step. In this case, options appear to modify just this highlighted portion of the image (perhaps you want to use generative fill on that area, or change the color). Select whatever option you like, and that work becomes a new layer. [Image: Adobe]And gosh, those layers look lovely. They appear on the right side of your screen as thumbnails, always in reach. And you tap in to adjust their properties or reorder them on the stack, just like you can on a desktop. Still, the experience is specifically not the desktop. Yes, Adobe’s tens of thousands of fonts and Stock gradients and images are available for building new layers and masks. But no, you don’t have every possible button you can imagine there all the time. And countless sub-features—especially appearance options—have been left out of the mobile app. Adobe has limited functionality in part just to ship v1.0 of the product, and in part because it believes that this more focused approach to workflows can bring in a new generation of users to Photoshop, coaxing them ahead with a project to discover the power of selection tools and layering from the jump. “It’s figuring out how to play this kind of musical instrument,” says Richmond, explaining that the notes in Photoshop are “layers, selections, masks, and appearance.” He adds: “We’ve been . . . trying to figure out if there are easier, faster ways to get started and really understand these concepts, because once you unlock them, it’s open-ended exploration.” The business impact of Photoshop MobileMake no mistake: Adobe needs Photoshop on the iPhone to woo the majority of creators today—from a generation of young designers hooked on the quick construction tools of Canva to content creators who use a sea of different apps and, often, social media’s own design tools to create their statement. Quite simply, it does not matter if Photoshop and the accompanying Creative Cloud is the most powerful editing software in the world on a desktop for a world hooked on good-enough production on a phone. However, the company is banking on the mobile market expanding its potential audience, because even as we’re nearly two decades into modern smartphones, there still isn’t a perfect analog for Photoshop on phones—the kind of ubiquitous software that allows deep-editing capability in a world reliant on filters and pre-chewed layouts. “Creators, whether or not they become professionals, really have that desire to express themselves in a unique way,” says Ashley Still, GM of Adobe Creative Cloud. “They want to make sure that the content they’re creating is not just another template, that it represents their unique voice.” Still is confident in the higher end of the mobile market after studying the public’s response to Adobe photo editing program Lightroom on mobile. Originally launched in 2015, the app has been a success story for the company. Lightroom’s users on mobile now outnumber its users on desktop, and Still believes the same will prove true for Photoshop in the next few years. Then, with Lightroom, Photoshop, and Express, she imagines a new creative workflow coming to the phone, where you can touch up an image in Lightroom, edit it with layers in Photoshop, then add text and other production elements in Express. Firefly image generation can sneak into this loop, too, turning one’s phone into a fairly capable Adobe editing suite. In some ways, that sounds like Adobe’s strategy from a decade ago, when it was launching micro apps that handed off specialized functions to slice and dice media. The difference now, however, is that Adobe’s mobile apps are growing more capable and equivalent in scope to their desktop counterparts. “It’s hard to make a single app best at everything,” Still concedes, noting, “a lot of the magic is also going to happen with workflows across the applications.” Adobe imagines that pro users, in particular, will choose to start a project on their phone but fine-tune it on a desktop. The company does not want to be prescriptive, Still insists, saying that Adobe apps won’t offer complete feature parity across surfaces, but they should be optimized for where you meet them. [Image: Adobe]“One of the things that I think we also didn’t get quite right with [Photoshop on] the iPad is the expectation that we set within the community of the roles that these different devices play,” she says. The challenge for Adobe now is, first, getting a working Photoshop app on Android, where the majority of smartphone users in the world reside. And then, second and more ongoing, figuring out how well all of its Photoshop “select and do” workflows really operate in the wild, while folding in the most demanded, most feasible add-ons into the product in a monthly release cadence. “There’s a line in the sand where, like, we can’t keep it inside the building anymore,” says Richmond. “We need to put it out there so we can see what happens at scale.” View the full article

I’m going on a book tour! My next book, How to Travel the World on $75 a Day, is coming out on March 25th and I’m going on a book tour to talk about it and the current state of travel! This is my first book tour in six years and I’m very excited to get out there and talk about how travel has changed as well as hang out with readers of this site! The last edition of my book came out in 2017 and, since then, a lot has changed. COVID forever changed the travel industry. A lot of companies/hotels/hostels closed during the pandemic while old methods of saving money became obsolete and new methods came into being. And, since 2017, prices have gone up. A lot. Not only because of natural inflation but because of the post-COVID inflation boom. (As you’ve probably noticed, it’s not as cheap to travel as it was back in 2017!) Since travel has changed so much, I wanted the new book to reflect the current conditions we travelers face when it comes to planning a trip, saving money, and navigating regions around the world. The book is focused on long-term travelers, but it’s also just for anyone who just wants to save money when they travel. The tips and tricks can be applied to any trip of any length. So, come meet me on book tour and learn how to travel smarter for less this year! Here are my tour dates and how to sign up: March 26th: New York City – The Strand, 7pm. Sign up here! March 28th: Chicago – Barbara’s, 6pm. Sign up here! April 1st: Austin – Location and time TBD. April 3: San Diego – Warwick’s, 7:30pm. Sign up here! April 8: San Francisco – Book Passage, 5:30pm. Sign up here! April 10th: Los Angeles – Location and time TBD. April 16: Portland – Powell’s, 7pm. Sign up here! Note: I’m working on adding a few more locations to the tour! I’ll add new destinations as they come. You’ll be able to get the book at any tour stop but, if I’m not coming to your city and you still want the book, you can order the books from these fine establishments: Amazon Bookshop.org Barnes & Noble *** If you live in any of the cities above, I hope you’ll make out out to an event! And, if you’re not in any of those cities, please consider pre-ordering a copy. Pre-orders determine the print run of the book and how many copies local bookstores buy. The stronger the pre-sale orders, the more likely they are to stock the book so please order the book in advance! I’m really excited about this new edition of the book and I can’t wait to talk about it with you! Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner. It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned. Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are: SafetyWing (best for budget travelers) World Nomads (best for mid-range travelers) InsureMyTrip (for those 70 and over) Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage) Want to Travel for Free? Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals. Need a Rental Car? Discover Cars is a budget-friendly international car rental website. No matter where you’re headed, they’ll be able to find the best — and cheapest — rental for your trip! Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip? Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more. Ready to Book Your Trip? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip. The post Come See Me on Book Tour! appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site. View the full article

The surge in anti-DEI sentiment, fueled by political actions, social pressures, and legal uncertainties creates a complex environment for organizations striving to foster diverse and inclusive workplaces. To navigate this turbulent environment and advance diversity, equity and inclusion, companies should focus on three key actions: 1. Tying DEI to outcomes, 2. Creating systems that focus on debiasing, 3. Building cultures of accountability. Understanding the backlash and how to defend against it The current DEI backlash creates a complex environment for companies that want to foster diverse and inclusive workplaces. To respond effectively, organizations must first understand the three sources of the backlash: The political backlash: The current political climate is undeniably hostile toward DEI. From executive orders dismantling federal DEI programs to legislative efforts like the “Dismantle DEI Act,” the message is clear: DEI initiatives are under attack. Since last year’s SCOTUS affirmative action decision and the closing of the House Office of Diversity and Inclusion, threats to the public sector have had a chilling effect on the private sector. The social battlefield: The social backlash against DEI is just as significant as the political one. Organizations face pressure from all sides, with some stakeholders demanding more aggressive DEI initiatives while others decry them as “woke” or divisive. Fear of alienating customers or facing boycotts can lead organizations to water down or avoid speaking publicly about their DEI efforts. And while cessation sensationalism may provide effective air cover for quietly continuing DEI work, what happens when there’s a disconnect between what a company says – or doesn’t say – and what it does? Our brains crave predictability. When we see contradictory actions and statements, it creates cognitive dissonance, which erodes trust and engagement. In fact, alignment between what an organization says and what it does is the foundation of organizational accountability. Therefore, organizations need to think about the impact of this strategy on their employees. The legal minefield: Although the law moves much more slowly than political and social forces, it is crucial for organizations to have a clear understanding of the legal framework governing DEI. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. However, as interpretation and application of laws are subject to change, organizations must stay informed about the latest legal developments to ensure compliance. This includes seeking legal counsel when necessary, conducting regular audits of DEI policies and practices, and staying abreast of any changes in legislation or judicial interpretation. Organizations must be prepared to defend their DEI initiatives against government scrutiny. They can mitigate legal risk in their DEI initiatives by avoiding the “three Ps”: 1. conferring preferences, 2. on protected groups, 3. with respect to palpable benefits. How companies can continue DEI work Despite these forces, organizations cannot afford to abandon their DEI efforts. DEI is not just a moral imperative; DEI is a business necessity. Research shows that when leveraged in the best way, diverse teams are more innovative and make better decisions, leading to improved performance and financial outcomes. According to a 2023 survey, inclusive companies are 1.7 times more likely to be innovative, and they achieve 2.3 times more cash flow per employee., To navigate the current landscape and continue to reap the benefits of DEI, organizations must adopt a strategic and proactive approach, focusing on three key actions: Make the case for impact. Organizations must be able to articulate the “why” behind their DEI commitments in a way that resonates with diverse – and sometimes resistant – stakeholders. By articulating the “why,” organizations make DEI compelling, tapping into our intrinsic motivational brain networks. Research shows that adding a “what’s in it for me” allows others to align their own individual goals with those of the initiatives, making it more likely they’ll act upon them. This calls for moving beyond the moral case for DEI to prove its tangible value. We have developed a science-based framework that outlines the tangible benefits of DEI and provides practical guidance on how to achieve them. It emphasizes the importance of prioritizing diversity and habituating inclusion to drive business success and create a more just, sustainable work environment for everyone. It provides a roadmap for organizations to measure the impact of their DEI initiatives and demonstrate their return on investment. In today’s climate, where DEI is facing increased scrutiny, it is more critical than ever for organizations to articulate the business case for DEI and demonstrate its value. Embrace the power of de-biasing: Debiasing is a powerful tool for building fair and inclusive systems and processes. By removing unconscious bias from decision-making, organizations can create an equitable environment where merit matters. Thus, even those who oppose DEI from a “meritocracy” standpoint cannot reasonably argue against debiasing, Yoshino says. At the individual level, this means understanding and mitigating unconscious bias. Interpersonally, it calls for changing behaviors, adopting habits of inclusion, and enabling psychological safety in teams. At the institutional level, implementing strategies such as blind recruitment, structured interviews, and standardized performance evaluations can sustain individual and interpersonal progress. Ongoing education and training maintain and increase awareness of unconscious bias and equip individuals with the skills to mitigate its impact. Organizations can move beyond simply acknowledging the existence of unconscious bias to actively addressing it and creating a more inclusive workplace where everyone can deliver value. Build a culture of accountability: Accountability is the backbone of any successful DEI strategy. It’s not enough to simply have policies in place; organizations must ensure that these policies are translated into action, both for their employees and their customers. Not only does organizational accountability boost employee engagement and performance, it is also a predictor of long-term organizational performance. Inclusive leadership calls for accountability, both in modeling and ensuring inclusive behaviors. Neuroleadership Institute research has revealed two distinct forms of accountability that can apply to how we continue DEI work. Many organizations default to a punitive form of accountability — like withholding bonuses — that focuses on blame and punishment, hindering progress and creating a toxic environment. Fostering a proactive culture of accountability, on the other hand, frames accountability as a challenge and opportunity for growth. For DEI work, this means creating and communicating the “why” behind initiatives, establishing success metrics, and sharing outcomes with employees and customers. Proactive accountability, supported by neuroscience, drives individuals and organizations to achieve goals and own outcomes. This fosters trust among stakeholders, ultimately leading to improved results. Inclusive leadership development can create ownership and empowerment by redefining DEI accountability as a necessity for positive business outcomes. Looking Ahead The road ahead for DEI is bumpy, winding, and fraught with challenges. It is also paved with opportunities. By embracing a strategic and proactive approach, organizations can withstand the present to win the future in an increasingly diverse world. This is a defining moment for DEI. Organizations that rise to the occasion will not only reap the rewards of a diverse and inclusive workforce but also contribute to a more just and equitable society. By weaving DEI into their business goals, eliminating bias from their systems, and fostering cultures of accountability, organizations can navigate the turbulent waters ahead and emerge stronger and more inclusive than ever before. Janet M. Stovall, CDE, is the Global Head of D&I at the NeuroLeadership Institute. View the full article

Treasury yields have declined amid signs US economic growth is slowingView the full article

Microsoft seems to be testing a more fully AI-powered search engine, which may be named Copilot Search. Copilot is the name of Microsoft's AI features, formerly known as Bing Chat. View the full article

Few self-help ideas are as prevalent and widely celebrated as the advice to “just be yourself.” Whether in job interviews, workplace interactions, or career choices, we are frequently encouraged to act “authentically”—without compromise or concern for external pressures. While this sounds comforting and empowering, authenticity as an interpersonal strategy is fundamentally flawed and at odds with hundreds of scientific studies on emotional intelligence, social skills, and career success. As I illustrate in my forthcoming book, Don’t Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated and What To Do Instead, authenticity is not a helpful life hack, but rather a misguided notion that can easily backfire and lead to undesirable and counterproductive behaviors. Although there is no universal definition of authenticity, at its core, mainstream conceptualizations boil down to four general rules or principles: Always be honest—with others and yourself. Stop worrying about what others think of you. Follow your “heart” and values no matter what. Bring your whole self to work. Despite their appeal and likely good intentions, there are multiple problems with each of these rules, namely: 1. The pitfalls of honesty The advice to always be honest assumes that truthfulness is inherently beneficial, but this is not true. For starters, we lie to ourselves all the time, which makes it rather hard to be honest with others. For all the potential advantages of self-awareness, self-deception is the norm, and humans are prewired to interpret reality in self-serving ways. There is a practical reason for this: People with an inflated sense of their abilities tend to impress others more easily. Put plainly, bullshit is self-fulfilling: The more you BS yourself, the easier it is for you to BS others. In contrast, those who accurately assess their limitations often struggle to project confidence, for self-doubt and self-criticism are also contagious. Being honest with yourself is also rather painful: There is a reason the technical term for people who are capable of interpreting reality in accurate terms is “depressive realists.” Furthermore, deception—especially in the form of white lies—serves a practical purpose in professional settings. Job interviews, performance evaluations, and workplace interactions tend to reward those who present a polished, strategic version of themselves rather than an unfiltered one. Even when people tell you they value authenticity, they prefer you to be rewarding to deal with, which means telling them what they want to hear rather than what you think they need to hear, even if the former requires acting and faking while the latter requires truth-telling. 2. The importance of others’ opinions The idea that we should ignore what others think of us may sound romantic, and almost smell of freedom, but it is both unrealistic and counterproductive. Humans are social creatures whose success depends on reputation, trust, and relationships. Research in social psychology highlights that other people’s perception of us is critical to career advancement—hiring, promotions, and professional opportunities hinge not on how good we think you are, but on how good others think we are. Even when it comes to authenticity, a trait that is often valued by others, what matters is not how authentic we feel, but whether others find us authentic (trustworthy, reliable, predictable, and so on). This requires not just paying a great deal of attention to how people think of us, but also making the effort to impress them, which is the exact opposite to just being ourselves. Completely disregarding external opinions can make individuals seem abrasive, insensitive, entitled, and even narcissistic. Instead of ignoring or rejecting feedback, a more effective approach to interpersonal relations is to manage one’s image thoughtfully and carefully. Caring about what others think of you isn’t a threat to your self-love, and if you decide to ignore what people think of you in order to boost your self-love, that’s precisely how delusional narcissism manifests. Our reputation is not just constructed by others, but even owned by them. The only way to improve it is to understand how others see us, which requires paying a great deal of attention to other people’s views and opinions of us—this is not a sign of insecurity, but the essential hallmark of empathy and social skills. 3. The risks of blindly following your heart Popular culture romanticizes the idea of following one’s heart, but emotions and instincts are rarely reliable guides. In fact, they are the source of impulsive, regrettable, and biased decisions, not to mention the major cause of prejudice, polarization, and tribalization. Making choices purely based on feelings can lead to short-sighted or detrimental outcomes, and it is already our default tendency: As behavioral economists have shown, we tend to “think fast,” which is a euphemism for not thinking at all. Moreover, rigidly adhering to personal values without considering external factors—such as workplace culture and social norms—can create unnecessary friction. Effective professionals recognize that ethical decision-making involves nuance and compromise. Why be true to your values when you can be open to other people’s values, so you understand their perspective, feelings, and points of view? How are we meant to work together in a culture that recognizes and tolerates the rich diversity that underpins human nature, if we all stay rigidly put and fixed on our own values? Furthermore, what if your values are toxic. For example, you may value your own selfish interests over the wellbeing of others; you may value greed, power, status, and even stepping on other people’s toes, as well as taking advantage of those who are weak, naïve, or vulnerable. If that is the case, do we really want you to be true to your values? If some values are better than others, where do we draw the line—how do we know which values can be expressed, and which should be repressed? In short, it is only through having the self-critical humility and open-mindedness to question our values and their consequences, and make an effort to tolerate other people’s values, that we can truly aspire to collaborate and cooperate in a modern and civilized work culture. 4. The Myth of ‘bringing your whole self to work’ Encouraging employees to bring their “whole selves” to work suggests that complete transparency and personal expression are always beneficial. While workplace engagement improves when individuals feel comfortable being themselves, there is a fine line between authenticity and oversharing. There’s a difference between liking your job and erasing the boundaries between your professional and personal self. Professionalism requires emotional intelligence and situational awareness. Sharing too much personal information or treating colleagues as close friends can lead to misunderstandings, discomfort, or even reputational harm. If you assume your colleagues are interested in who you truly are, let alone desperate to meet your unfiltered and uninhibited self, think again. Your “whole self,” which includes your eccentric, inappropriate, and opinionated self, must surely be edited in a work environment. Different workplace cultures have different expectations—some encourage personal expression, while others prioritize formality. Being adaptable and reading social cues is far more effective than insisting on uninhibited authenticity. In the best-case scenario, your whole or true self may be someone who perhaps three or four people have learned to love. Needless to say, many people see work as just that, work, rather than a central part of their identity. This is what work has always been for the majority of people, something they do to get paid, make ends meet, and make a living. There are plenty of other sources of meaning outside one’s job or career, so the assumption that people want to blend or integrate their personal and professional selves is simply naïve. In short, authenticity is often presented as a golden rule for success, but real-world interactions require a more balanced approach. If anything, you are almost always better off not being yourself. Our freedom to “be ourselves” ends where our responsibilities to others begin, and a world in which everybody is just focused on being themselves and expecting others to adapt to their uncensored or unedited self would be an antisocial and chaotic world. Navigating professional environments effectively means knowing when to be genuine and when to engage in skillful and ethical deception to manage impressions and develop a reputation for being kind, caring, and not too authentic. View the full article

Some sites, hosted on some CDNs (content delivery networks), are experiencing a big spike in server response times for crawling, while seeing a drop in total crawl requests. So technically, the crawling has dropped but Google is taking much longer to crawl a lot less.View the full article

18 year old, publicly traded education technology company, Chegg, has sued Google over its AI Overviews and how it has hurt their traffic and revenue. Chegg has "filed a complaint against Google, which has unjustly retained traffic that has historically come to Chegg, impacting our acquisitions, revenue and employees," said Nathan Schultz, CEO of Chegg.View the full article

Struggling with Google not indexing your pages? Learn how to address crawling issues and build stand-alone pages for better visibility. The post Ask An SEO: Why Is Google Not Indexing My Pages? appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

If Trump wanted to take control, its constitutional protections are far from secure View the full article

Google is testing opening the normally closed/collapsed AI Answer box. Meaning, normally you need to manually tap to expand the answer, here Google is testing opening these boxes by default, without you needing to click expand.View the full article

What is a virtual assistant? Who is hiring them? Why does a business owner need one? Becoming a Virtual Assistant is a great fit for an entrepreneur with excellent organizational skills and tech-savvy. In this article, we’ll detail the key skills necessary for a virtual assistant job, the types of businesses that need virtual assistants, and the pathways you can take to become a virtual assistant. What is a Virtual Assistant? A virtual assistant is a professional who assists businesses with a wide range of tasks while communicating and handling their work remotely. They can serve a huge range of businesses and organizations, including the following: Entrepreneurs and Solopreneurs: Those who operate their own businesses frequently employ virtual assistants to manage administrative tasks, customer service, and various other responsibilities. This delegation enables them to concentrate on their primary business activities. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs): SMEs may lack the resources to hire full-time administrative staff, making virtual assistants a cost-effective solution for managing day-to-day operations, customer support, and other tasks. Startups: As startups grow, they frequently need flexible and scalable support services. Virtual assistants can help with a range of tasks, including data entry, social media management, and administrative support, enabling startups to operate efficiently while staying within tight budgets. Online Businesses: E-commerce businesses, digital marketing agencies, bloggers, and other online ventures often rely on virtual assistants to manage tasks such as content creation, social media management, email marketing, and customer support. Consulting Firms: Consulting firms often employ virtual assistants to assist consultants with various administrative duties, client communications, research, and project management. This support enables consultants to concentrate on providing high-value services to their clients. Real Estate: Real estate agents and property management companies often enlist virtual assistants to handle administrative tasks such as scheduling appointments, managing listings, coordinating showings, and providing customer support. Legal and Accounting Professionals: Law firms, accounting firms, and individual practitioners may utilize virtual assistants to assist with administrative tasks, client communications, document preparation, and research, enabling professionals to focus on delivering legal and financial services. Healthcare Practices: Virtual assistants can support healthcare professionals such as doctors, therapists, and medical consultants by managing appointments, handling patient inquiries, maintaining medical records, and performing other administrative tasks. Coaches and Consultants: Coaches, consultants, and trainers often hire virtual assistants to manage their schedules, handle client communications, assist with marketing efforts, and provide general administrative support. Nonprofit Organizations: Nonprofits often operate with limited resources and staff. Virtual assistants can support nonprofit organizations by assisting with fundraising efforts, donor communications, event planning, and administrative tasks. These are just a few examples, but the demand for virtual assistants spans across virtually every industry and business sector where there is a need for administrative support and specialized services. Virtual Assistant Skills Virtual assistants can handle a wide range of tasks. So, various skills are beneficial for those entering this industry. Here are some of the most important: Scheduling Appointments This skill involves efficiently managing calendars, coordinating meetings, and scheduling appointments according to client preferences and availability. Data Entry Data entry involves accurately inputting and updating information into databases, spreadsheets, or other systems, ensuring the integrity and organization of data. Administrative Tasks Administrative tasks encompass a wide range of duties, such as managing emails, organizing files, drafting correspondence, and providing general support to clients to streamline their operations. Social Media Management Social media management entails the creation and curation of content, interaction with followers, scheduling of posts, and analysis of metrics to ensure a robust online presence for clients on different social media platforms. Calendar Management Calendar management entails maintaining and updating schedules, setting reminders, coordinating appointments, and ensuring that clients’ calendars are organized and optimized for efficiency. File Management File management involves the systematic organization and maintenance of digital files, folders, and documents, making sure that information is easily retrievable and securely stored. Marketing Tasks Marketing tasks involve assisting with various marketing activities such as market research, content creation, email campaigns, social media marketing, and tracking marketing analytics to support client’s promotional efforts. Customer Service Customer service skills are essential for effectively communicating with clients and addressing their inquiries, concerns, or requests in a professional and timely manner to ensure client satisfaction and retention. Skill/ResponsibilityDescriptionKey Components Scheduling AppointmentsEfficiently managing calendars, coordinating meetings, and scheduling appointments according to client preferences and availability.- Calendar coordination - Meeting setup - Time management Data EntryAccurately inputting and updating information into databases, spreadsheets, or other systems, ensuring the integrity and organization of data.- Typing accuracy - Database management - Information organization Administrative TasksEncompassing a wide range of duties such as managing emails, organizing files, drafting correspondence, and providing general support to clients.- Email management - File organization - Correspondence drafting Social Media ManagementCreating and curating content, engaging with followers, scheduling posts, and analyzing metrics to maintain a strong online presence for clients.- Content creation - Audience engagement - Metrics analysis Calendar ManagementMaintaining and updating schedules, setting reminders, coordinating appointments, and ensuring that clients' calendars are organized and optimized.- Schedule optimization - Reminder setup - Appointment coordination File ManagementOrganizing and maintaining digital files, folders, and documents in a systematic and accessible manner, ensuring easy retrieval and secure storage.- Document organization - Secure storage - Easy retrieval Marketing TasksAssisting with various marketing activities such as market research, content creation, email campaigns, social media marketing, and tracking analytics.- Market research - Content creation - Campaign management Customer ServiceEffectively communicating with clients and addressing their inquiries, concerns, or requests in a professional and timely manner.- Communication skills - Issue resolution - Client satisfaction Key Responsibilities of a Virtual Assistant The role of a Virtual Assistant (VA) can vary widely depending on the needs of the clients they serve and the industries they work in. Generally, a Virtual Assistant provides administrative, technical, or creative assistance to clients remotely, often from a home office. Here’s an overview of the spectrum of Virtual Assistant jobs available: Administrative Support: Managing emails, calendars, and appointments. Handling correspondence and communication with clients or stakeholders. Data entry and organization. Creating and maintaining spreadsheets, documents, and presentations. Making travel arrangements and managing itineraries. Providing customer support and managing inquiries. Personal Assistance: Providing support with personal tasks, including scheduling appointments, making reservations, and managing household expenses. Handling personal correspondence and managing social media accounts. Researching products, services, or travel options. Managing personal projects such as event planning or home organization. Technical Support: Providing technical assistance with software applications, websites, or online tools. Managing databases or CRM systems. Performing basic website maintenance tasks like updating content or plugins. Assisting with troubleshooting technical issues. Creative Support: Designing graphics or visual content for websites, social media, or marketing materials. Writing and editing content for blogs, newsletters, or marketing campaigns. Assisting with social media management, including content creation and scheduling. Video editing or audio transcription. Specialized Services: Offering niche services such as bookkeeping, transcription, translation, or legal assistance. Providing virtual event coordination or project management services. Offering coaching or consulting services in specific areas of expertise. The spectrum of Virtual Assistant jobs is broad, and virtual assistant companies often tailor their services to match their skills and interests with the needs of their clients. Some may specialize in one area, while others may offer a combination of services to serve a diverse client base. How to Become a Virtual Assistant If you’re interested in learning how to start a virtual assistant business, either on your own or with a team, read on for a detailed list of steps. Steps to Become a Virtual Assistant: Assess Your Skills and Interests: Assess your skills, strengths, and interests to pinpoint the services you can provide as a virtual assistant. Recognize the areas where you excel, including administrative tasks, social media management, or technical support. Acquire Necessary Skills and Training: Take courses or obtain certifications in relevant areas to enhance your skills and knowledge. Consider taking a virtual assistant course in administrative support, digital marketing, customer service, or specialized software tools commonly used by virtual assistants. Build a Professional Online Presence: Create a professional website and social media profiles to showcase your skills, services, and experience. Develop a strong online presence to attract potential clients and establish credibility in the virtual assistant industry. Define Your Services and Pricing Structure: Determine the services you will offer as a virtual assistant, such as administrative support, social media management, or specialized tasks. Define your pricing structure based on the complexity of services, your level of expertise, and market rates. Market Your Services: Utilize online marketing strategies such as social media marketing, content marketing, and email campaigns to promote your virtual assistant services. Network with potential clients, join online communities, and leverage freelancing platforms to find clients. Establish Client Relationships: Build relationships with clients by providing high-quality services, communicating effectively, and meeting their needs. Maintain professionalism, reliability, and responsiveness to ensure client satisfaction and retention. Set Up Efficient Work Systems: Establish efficient work systems and tools to manage tasks, projects, and client communications effectively. Use project management software, time-tracking tools, and communication platforms to streamline workflows and stay organized. Continuously Improve and Adapt: Stay updated on industry trends, tools, and best practices to continuously improve your skills and stay competitive as a virtual assistant. Adapt to the evolving needs of clients and the virtual assistant market to grow your business. Starting a Virtual Assistant Business with Employees: Hire Experienced Virtual Assistants: Hire virtual assistants who possess varied skills and expertise to provide clients with a broad array of services. Seek candidates with relevant experience, excellent communication abilities, and the capacity to work independently. Define Roles and Responsibilities: Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each virtual assistant based on their skills and strengths. Assign tasks and projects according to their expertise to maximize efficiency and productivity. Establish Communication and Collaboration Tools: Set up communication and collaboration tools such as messaging apps, project management software, and video conferencing platforms to facilitate seamless communication and teamwork among virtual assistants. Implement Quality Control Measures: Implement quality control measures to ensure consistency and accuracy in the services provided by virtual assistants. Develop standard operating procedures, provide training and feedback, and monitor performance to maintain high-quality standards. Provide Ongoing Support and Development: Support the professional development of virtual assistants by offering training, resources, and opportunities for skill enhancement. Provide ongoing feedback, coaching, and support to help virtual assistants excel in their roles. Scale Your Business: As your virtual assistant business grows, consider expanding your team and diversifying your services to meet the evolving needs of clients. Continuously assess market demand, identify growth opportunities, and scale your business strategically. Maintain a Positive Company Culture: Foster a positive company culture and a sense of community among virtual assistants, even though they may work remotely. Encourage collaboration, recognition, and open communication to create a supportive and productive work environment. Benefits of Hiring a Virtual Assistant Cost-effectiveness, scalability, flexibility, access to diverse skills and expertise, increased productivity, time savings, and the ability to focus on core business activities. Tools and Technology for Virtual Assistants Virtual assistants utilize a variety of productivity apps, including Trello and Asana, as well as communication tools like Slack and Zoom. They also employ project management software such as Basecamp, time tracking tools, cloud storage services, and virtual meeting platforms. Main Challenges Faced by Virtual Assistants Balancing the demands of multiple clients, maintaining a healthy work-life balance, overcoming communication barriers, managing different time zones, addressing client turnover, and keeping up with technology and industry trends are all essential challenges. Future of Jobs in the Virtual Assistant Field Continued growth and demand for virtual assistants due to remote work trends, advancements in technology, and the increasing need for flexible support services across industries. Value of Hiring a Virtual Assistant Outsourcing non-core tasks to virtual assistants allows businesses to focus on strategic initiatives, increase efficiency, leverage specialized skills, and more effectively adapt to changing business needs. https://youtube.com/watch?v=4FxxkMC360A%3Fsi%3DeFj14rKNUss61jER FAQs: What is a Virtual Assistant What is a Pinterest Virtual Assistant? A Pinterest virtual assistant is a virtual assistant specializing in managing Pinterest accounts for businesses or individuals. They help clients create and curate content, optimize pins for engagement, and grow their presence on the platform to drive traffic and sales. What Qualifications Necessary to Become a Virtual Assistant? Qualifications for a VA vary depending on the services offered, but common qualifications include strong communication skills, proficiency in relevant software/tools, organizational abilities, attention to detail, time management skills, and the ability to work independently. What is a Typical Virtual Assistant Salary? The salary range for virtual assistants can vary widely based on factors such as experience, skills, geographic location, and the services provided. So, how much do virtual assistants make per hour? On average, virtual assistants may earn anywhere from $15 to $50 per hour, with some highly experienced or specialized VAs commanding higher rates. How has Virtual Assistant Hiring Changed With Technology? Technology has transformed the VA position by enabling virtual assistants to work remotely and collaborate with clients worldwide. Advancements in communication tools, project management software, and automation have increased efficiency and expanded the scope of virtual assistant services offered by virtual assistants. Additionally, the rise of AI and machine learning may lead to the automation of certain tasks, prompting virtual assistants to adapt by focusing on higher-value services that require human creativity and judgment. Image: Envato Elements This article, "What is a Virtual Assistant?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

What is a virtual assistant? Who is hiring them? Why does a business owner need one? Becoming a Virtual Assistant is a great fit for an entrepreneur with excellent organizational skills and tech-savvy. In this article, we’ll detail the key skills necessary for a virtual assistant job, the types of businesses that need virtual assistants, and the pathways you can take to become a virtual assistant. What is a Virtual Assistant? A virtual assistant is a professional who assists businesses with a wide range of tasks while communicating and handling their work remotely. They can serve a huge range of businesses and organizations, including the following: Entrepreneurs and Solopreneurs: Those who operate their own businesses frequently employ virtual assistants to manage administrative tasks, customer service, and various other responsibilities. This delegation enables them to concentrate on their primary business activities. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs): SMEs may lack the resources to hire full-time administrative staff, making virtual assistants a cost-effective solution for managing day-to-day operations, customer support, and other tasks. Startups: As startups grow, they frequently need flexible and scalable support services. Virtual assistants can help with a range of tasks, including data entry, social media management, and administrative support, enabling startups to operate efficiently while staying within tight budgets. Online Businesses: E-commerce businesses, digital marketing agencies, bloggers, and other online ventures often rely on virtual assistants to manage tasks such as content creation, social media management, email marketing, and customer support. Consulting Firms: Consulting firms often employ virtual assistants to assist consultants with various administrative duties, client communications, research, and project management. This support enables consultants to concentrate on providing high-value services to their clients. Real Estate: Real estate agents and property management companies often enlist virtual assistants to handle administrative tasks such as scheduling appointments, managing listings, coordinating showings, and providing customer support. Legal and Accounting Professionals: Law firms, accounting firms, and individual practitioners may utilize virtual assistants to assist with administrative tasks, client communications, document preparation, and research, enabling professionals to focus on delivering legal and financial services. Healthcare Practices: Virtual assistants can support healthcare professionals such as doctors, therapists, and medical consultants by managing appointments, handling patient inquiries, maintaining medical records, and performing other administrative tasks. Coaches and Consultants: Coaches, consultants, and trainers often hire virtual assistants to manage their schedules, handle client communications, assist with marketing efforts, and provide general administrative support. Nonprofit Organizations: Nonprofits often operate with limited resources and staff. Virtual assistants can support nonprofit organizations by assisting with fundraising efforts, donor communications, event planning, and administrative tasks. These are just a few examples, but the demand for virtual assistants spans across virtually every industry and business sector where there is a need for administrative support and specialized services. Virtual Assistant Skills Virtual assistants can handle a wide range of tasks. So, various skills are beneficial for those entering this industry. Here are some of the most important: Scheduling Appointments This skill involves efficiently managing calendars, coordinating meetings, and scheduling appointments according to client preferences and availability. Data Entry Data entry involves accurately inputting and updating information into databases, spreadsheets, or other systems, ensuring the integrity and organization of data. Administrative Tasks Administrative tasks encompass a wide range of duties, such as managing emails, organizing files, drafting correspondence, and providing general support to clients to streamline their operations. Social Media Management Social media management entails the creation and curation of content, interaction with followers, scheduling of posts, and analysis of metrics to ensure a robust online presence for clients on different social media platforms. Calendar Management Calendar management entails maintaining and updating schedules, setting reminders, coordinating appointments, and ensuring that clients’ calendars are organized and optimized for efficiency. File Management File management involves the systematic organization and maintenance of digital files, folders, and documents, making sure that information is easily retrievable and securely stored. Marketing Tasks Marketing tasks involve assisting with various marketing activities such as market research, content creation, email campaigns, social media marketing, and tracking marketing analytics to support client’s promotional efforts. Customer Service Customer service skills are essential for effectively communicating with clients and addressing their inquiries, concerns, or requests in a professional and timely manner to ensure client satisfaction and retention. Skill/ResponsibilityDescriptionKey Components Scheduling AppointmentsEfficiently managing calendars, coordinating meetings, and scheduling appointments according to client preferences and availability.- Calendar coordination - Meeting setup - Time management Data EntryAccurately inputting and updating information into databases, spreadsheets, or other systems, ensuring the integrity and organization of data.- Typing accuracy - Database management - Information organization Administrative TasksEncompassing a wide range of duties such as managing emails, organizing files, drafting correspondence, and providing general support to clients.- Email management - File organization - Correspondence drafting Social Media ManagementCreating and curating content, engaging with followers, scheduling posts, and analyzing metrics to maintain a strong online presence for clients.- Content creation - Audience engagement - Metrics analysis Calendar ManagementMaintaining and updating schedules, setting reminders, coordinating appointments, and ensuring that clients' calendars are organized and optimized.- Schedule optimization - Reminder setup - Appointment coordination File ManagementOrganizing and maintaining digital files, folders, and documents in a systematic and accessible manner, ensuring easy retrieval and secure storage.- Document organization - Secure storage - Easy retrieval Marketing TasksAssisting with various marketing activities such as market research, content creation, email campaigns, social media marketing, and tracking analytics.- Market research - Content creation - Campaign management Customer ServiceEffectively communicating with clients and addressing their inquiries, concerns, or requests in a professional and timely manner.- Communication skills - Issue resolution - Client satisfaction Key Responsibilities of a Virtual Assistant The role of a Virtual Assistant (VA) can vary widely depending on the needs of the clients they serve and the industries they work in. Generally, a Virtual Assistant provides administrative, technical, or creative assistance to clients remotely, often from a home office. Here’s an overview of the spectrum of Virtual Assistant jobs available: Administrative Support: Managing emails, calendars, and appointments. Handling correspondence and communication with clients or stakeholders. Data entry and organization. Creating and maintaining spreadsheets, documents, and presentations. Making travel arrangements and managing itineraries. Providing customer support and managing inquiries. Personal Assistance: Providing support with personal tasks, including scheduling appointments, making reservations, and managing household expenses. Handling personal correspondence and managing social media accounts. Researching products, services, or travel options. Managing personal projects such as event planning or home organization. Technical Support: Providing technical assistance with software applications, websites, or online tools. Managing databases or CRM systems. Performing basic website maintenance tasks like updating content or plugins. Assisting with troubleshooting technical issues. Creative Support: Designing graphics or visual content for websites, social media, or marketing materials. Writing and editing content for blogs, newsletters, or marketing campaigns. Assisting with social media management, including content creation and scheduling. Video editing or audio transcription. Specialized Services: Offering niche services such as bookkeeping, transcription, translation, or legal assistance. Providing virtual event coordination or project management services. Offering coaching or consulting services in specific areas of expertise. The spectrum of Virtual Assistant jobs is broad, and virtual assistant companies often tailor their services to match their skills and interests with the needs of their clients. Some may specialize in one area, while others may offer a combination of services to serve a diverse client base. How to Become a Virtual Assistant If you’re interested in learning how to start a virtual assistant business, either on your own or with a team, read on for a detailed list of steps. Steps to Become a Virtual Assistant: Assess Your Skills and Interests: Assess your skills, strengths, and interests to pinpoint the services you can provide as a virtual assistant. Recognize the areas where you excel, including administrative tasks, social media management, or technical support. Acquire Necessary Skills and Training: Take courses or obtain certifications in relevant areas to enhance your skills and knowledge. Consider taking a virtual assistant course in administrative support, digital marketing, customer service, or specialized software tools commonly used by virtual assistants. Build a Professional Online Presence: Create a professional website and social media profiles to showcase your skills, services, and experience. Develop a strong online presence to attract potential clients and establish credibility in the virtual assistant industry. Define Your Services and Pricing Structure: Determine the services you will offer as a virtual assistant, such as administrative support, social media management, or specialized tasks. Define your pricing structure based on the complexity of services, your level of expertise, and market rates. Market Your Services: Utilize online marketing strategies such as social media marketing, content marketing, and email campaigns to promote your virtual assistant services. Network with potential clients, join online communities, and leverage freelancing platforms to find clients. Establish Client Relationships: Build relationships with clients by providing high-quality services, communicating effectively, and meeting their needs. Maintain professionalism, reliability, and responsiveness to ensure client satisfaction and retention. Set Up Efficient Work Systems: Establish efficient work systems and tools to manage tasks, projects, and client communications effectively. Use project management software, time-tracking tools, and communication platforms to streamline workflows and stay organized. Continuously Improve and Adapt: Stay updated on industry trends, tools, and best practices to continuously improve your skills and stay competitive as a virtual assistant. Adapt to the evolving needs of clients and the virtual assistant market to grow your business. Starting a Virtual Assistant Business with Employees: Hire Experienced Virtual Assistants: Hire virtual assistants who possess varied skills and expertise to provide clients with a broad array of services. Seek candidates with relevant experience, excellent communication abilities, and the capacity to work independently. Define Roles and Responsibilities: Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each virtual assistant based on their skills and strengths. Assign tasks and projects according to their expertise to maximize efficiency and productivity. Establish Communication and Collaboration Tools: Set up communication and collaboration tools such as messaging apps, project management software, and video conferencing platforms to facilitate seamless communication and teamwork among virtual assistants. Implement Quality Control Measures: Implement quality control measures to ensure consistency and accuracy in the services provided by virtual assistants. Develop standard operating procedures, provide training and feedback, and monitor performance to maintain high-quality standards. Provide Ongoing Support and Development: Support the professional development of virtual assistants by offering training, resources, and opportunities for skill enhancement. Provide ongoing feedback, coaching, and support to help virtual assistants excel in their roles. Scale Your Business: As your virtual assistant business grows, consider expanding your team and diversifying your services to meet the evolving needs of clients. Continuously assess market demand, identify growth opportunities, and scale your business strategically. Maintain a Positive Company Culture: Foster a positive company culture and a sense of community among virtual assistants, even though they may work remotely. Encourage collaboration, recognition, and open communication to create a supportive and productive work environment. Benefits of Hiring a Virtual Assistant Cost-effectiveness, scalability, flexibility, access to diverse skills and expertise, increased productivity, time savings, and the ability to focus on core business activities. Tools and Technology for Virtual Assistants Virtual assistants utilize a variety of productivity apps, including Trello and Asana, as well as communication tools like Slack and Zoom. They also employ project management software such as Basecamp, time tracking tools, cloud storage services, and virtual meeting platforms. Main Challenges Faced by Virtual Assistants Balancing the demands of multiple clients, maintaining a healthy work-life balance, overcoming communication barriers, managing different time zones, addressing client turnover, and keeping up with technology and industry trends are all essential challenges. Future of Jobs in the Virtual Assistant Field Continued growth and demand for virtual assistants due to remote work trends, advancements in technology, and the increasing need for flexible support services across industries. Value of Hiring a Virtual Assistant Outsourcing non-core tasks to virtual assistants allows businesses to focus on strategic initiatives, increase efficiency, leverage specialized skills, and more effectively adapt to changing business needs. https://youtube.com/watch?v=4FxxkMC360A%3Fsi%3DeFj14rKNUss61jER FAQs: What is a Virtual Assistant What is a Pinterest Virtual Assistant? A Pinterest virtual assistant is a virtual assistant specializing in managing Pinterest accounts for businesses or individuals. They help clients create and curate content, optimize pins for engagement, and grow their presence on the platform to drive traffic and sales. What Qualifications Necessary to Become a Virtual Assistant? Qualifications for a VA vary depending on the services offered, but common qualifications include strong communication skills, proficiency in relevant software/tools, organizational abilities, attention to detail, time management skills, and the ability to work independently. What is a Typical Virtual Assistant Salary? The salary range for virtual assistants can vary widely based on factors such as experience, skills, geographic location, and the services provided. So, how much do virtual assistants make per hour? On average, virtual assistants may earn anywhere from $15 to $50 per hour, with some highly experienced or specialized VAs commanding higher rates. How has Virtual Assistant Hiring Changed With Technology? Technology has transformed the VA position by enabling virtual assistants to work remotely and collaborate with clients worldwide. Advancements in communication tools, project management software, and automation have increased efficiency and expanded the scope of virtual assistant services offered by virtual assistants. Additionally, the rise of AI and machine learning may lead to the automation of certain tasks, prompting virtual assistants to adapt by focusing on higher-value services that require human creativity and judgment. Image: Envato Elements This article, "What is a Virtual Assistant?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

With ruthless purges of the US government, the president is tipping the scales towards autocracy View the full article