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Selling items online and in person can be a great source of income and a way to get more life out of used items. There are many types of items to flip, so there is plenty to choose from. To help you start flipping, we’ll look at some of the best things to flip for this article. What is Flipping? Flipping is a straightforward concept wherein you purchase items and resell them straight away rather than holding on to them. Some items may need to be repaired or have some maintenance involved before they can be flipped. But the general idea when it comes to flipping items is to purchase things at a low price and sell them for a profit. Identifying the Best Items to Flip for Profit: Our Methodology When it comes to flipping items for profit, selecting the right products is key. In guiding our readers towards selecting items that can yield a good return on investment when flipped, we use the following criteria. Each one is rated on a scale from 1 to 10, where 10 indicates the highest level of importance and 1 is the lowest. Purchase Price vs. Potential Resale Value Importance Scale: 9/10 Rationale: Items with a low purchase price relative to their potential resale value are ideal for flipping. Market Demand Importance Scale: 9/10 Rationale: High-demand items are more likely to sell quickly and for a higher price. Ease of Restoration or Improvement Importance Scale: 8/10 Rationale: Items that require minimal effort and cost to restore or improve are preferable, as they reduce time and investment for the flipper. Storage and Transportation Costs Importance Scale: 7/10 Rationale: Items that are easy and inexpensive to store and transport reduce overhead costs. Sales Venue Suitability Importance Scale: 8/10 Rationale: Items that are easy to sell through common venues like online marketplaces, thrift stores, or flea markets are ideal. Seasonality and Trends Importance Scale: 6/10 Rationale: Understanding seasonality and current trends can assist in choosing items that are more likely to sell well during specific times of the year. Niche Popularity Importance Scale: 7/10 Rationale: Items within popular niches or with a dedicated following can often command higher prices. Authenticity and Legal Considerations Importance Scale: 9/10 Rationale: Ensuring the authenticity of items, especially branded goods, and adhering to legal resale requirements is critical. Time to Sell Importance Scale: 7/10 Rationale: Items that typically sell faster are preferable for quick turnover and cash flow. Knowledge and Expertise Required Importance Scale: 7/10 Rationale: Flipping items that demand less specialized knowledge or expertise can make the process more accessible to a broader audience. By applying these criteria, we aim to guide our readers toward selecting items to flip that not only offer a high potential for profit but also align with their resources, skills, and market trends. The Best Items to Flip Many items can be flipped, so if you want to flip for profit, you’re in luck. Selecting the right things to flip can often be challenging, but it will largely depend on your local market, broader trends you can capitalize on, and how much of a profit you can gain from flipping the item. Let’s look at some of the best things to flip for profit. Power Tools They are in high demand due to their utility in DIY projects and home repairs. Their durability means they retain value well. Outdoor Furniture Seasonal demand peaks in warmer months, offering profitable resale opportunities, especially for high-quality, durable pieces. Wood and Vintage Furniture These items have timeless appeal and can often be restored to increase their value. Vintage pieces, in particular, can fetch high prices due to their uniqueness and historical value. Vintage and Designer Clothing These items are sought after for their unique styles and quality construction. Vintage and designer pieces can become more valuable over time, appealing to collectors and fashion enthusiasts. Wedding Dresses High initial value and limited use make this ideal for resale. Many seek budget-friendly options for weddings, creating a steady market. Exercise Equipment Growing health consciousness drives demand for home gym equipment. Quality items retain value and are sought after in the secondhand market. Old Books and Textbooks Rare books or textbooks in current curricula have a dedicated market. Collectors and students alike seek out these items, often at premium prices. They are easy to sell online, at markets, or even to used bookstores. Old Board Games Nostalgia and the resurgence of board gaming culture make these items popular. Rare or vintage games can be particularly valuable. Electronics and Games High demand and rapid innovation in technology create opportunities for profitable resale, especially for items in good condition or with a cult following. Baby Items Babies quickly outgrow their items, creating a constant supply and demand. High-quality, gently used items are particularly sought after by budget-conscious parents. Hockey Equipment Sporting goods, especially for popular sports like hockey, have a strong resale market due to high new retail prices and seasonal demand. Toys and Vintage Toys Nostalgic appeal and collectibility can significantly increase the profitability of these items, particularly if they are rare or in excellent condition. Shoes and Sneakers High demand, especially for designer or limited-edition sneakers, combined with a culture of collecting, can lead to significant profits. Trading Cards Niche markets and collectors value rare or limited-edition cards, making them potentially lucrative resale items. There are many stores that will buy these from you, or you can easily sell them online. Vintage Cars Classic cars often appreciate value, especially if they are rare or have been well-maintained or restored. Houses Real estate can be a highly profitable investment, especially if purchased at a low price and sold after renovation or market appreciation. Household Appliances Good-condition appliances are always in demand, as they are essential in every home and can be expensive to purchase new. Lego Sets Discontinued or rare sets can be highly collectible and increase in value, appealing to both children and adult collectors. They’re easy to sell online and at markets that are popular with collectors. Scrap Metal While not glamorous, scrap metal can be profitable due to consistent demand in the manufacturing and recycling industries. Websites and Domain Names Digital real estate can be highly valuable, especially if the site or domain has high traffic, a niche market, or a memorable name. Bicycles Cycling’s popularity and the high cost of new bikes create a strong market for secondhand bicycles, especially high-quality or unique models. Musical Instruments and Equipment High-quality instruments retain value and are in demand by both beginners and experienced musicians. Cameras Photography enthusiasts and professionals are always on the lookout for good quality equipment, making cameras a profitable flip. Picture Frames Unique or high-quality frames are always in demand for home decor and art display, offering opportunities for profitable resale. These are easy to transport, ship, and sell in various venues. Photography Gear As with cameras, photography gear such as lenses, tripods, and lighting equipment holds value well and is sought after in the secondhand market. This is a popular niche where collectors and professional photographers will often pay a premium for quality items. Luxury Handbags Their high initial value and brand recognition make them appealing for resale, especially when they’re well-maintained or rare, appealing to both fashion enthusiasts and collectors. Stocks and Options The financial market offers a high potential for profit through strategic buying and selling, appealing to those with good market knowledge and risk management skills. Houses Real estate investment can yield significant returns through strategic renovations and market timing, appealing to entrepreneurs with knowledge of property management and real estate markets. Raw Land This represents a blank canvas with various profitable possibilities, from development to resale after appreciation, appealing to long-term investors. VCRs and VHS Tapes Nostalgia and the scarcity of working units contribute to the collectibility of these items, attracting both enthusiasts and individuals seeking unique or vintage media. Clearance Items Purchasing items at clearance prices and selling them at market value can yield significant profit margins, particularly for products that are in high demand or seasonal. Artwork Unique pieces can be appreciated in value, especially from sought-after artists or limited editions, appealing to collectors and art enthusiasts. Home Decor Trendy or unique home decor items can be resold at a premium, appealing to individuals interested in interior design and decoration. Records and Record Players Vinyl records have experienced a revival in popularity, making them highly sought after and profitable, particularly rare or vintage editions, which are among the best items to flip. Collectibles Items like figurines, comics, or themed merchandise can appreciate in value and have a dedicated collector market, offering profitable flipping opportunities. Board Games Classic and niche board games are in demand, with rare or out-of-print editions fetching high prices among enthusiasts. Antiques Their historical value and uniqueness make antiques highly sought after, with potential for high profit, especially with rare or well-preserved items. Rare or Retro T-Shirts Nostalgia and uniqueness drive demand, with certain prints or vintage band tees being highly collectible and profitable. These are easy to store and ship, and they can be sold online or in-person with ease. Concert T-Shirts Limited edition or vintage concert tees can be highly sought after by fans and collectors, often fetching high resale prices. Concert Tickets Buying and reselling tickets for popular events can be profitable, especially for sold-out shows or in-demand performances. Sports Memorabilia Items like signed jerseys, cards, or game-used equipment have a dedicated collector base and can appreciate in value, particularly rare or historical pieces. Upcycled Items There is an expanding market for innovative, eco-friendly products such as upcycled glass, jewelry, and furniture, which attract environmentally conscious consumers. #Item to FlipReason for Being Ideal to Flip 1Power ToolsHigh demand for DIY projects and home repairs; durable and retain value well. 2Outdoor FurnitureSeasonal demand peaks in warmer months; profitable for high-quality, durable pieces. 3Wood and Vintage FurnitureTimeless appeal; can be restored to increase value; vintage pieces fetch high prices. 4Vintage and Designer ClothingSought after for unique styles and quality; can become more valuable over time. 5Wedding DressesHigh initial value and limited use; steady market for budget-friendly options. 6Exercise EquipmentGrowing health consciousness; quality items retain value in the secondhand market. 7Old Books and TextbooksDedicated market for rare books or current textbooks; collectors and students seek these. 8Old Board GamesNostalgia and resurgence of board gaming culture; rare/vintage games valuable. 9Electronics and GamesHigh demand and rapid innovation; profitable for items in good condition or with cult following. 10Baby ItemsConstant supply and demand due to quick outgrowing; high-quality items sought after. 11Hockey EquipmentStrong resale market due to high new retail prices and seasonal demand. 12Toys and Vintage ToysNostalgic value and collectibility; rare or well-conditioned items highly profitable. 13Shoes and SneakersHigh demand for designer or limited-edition; culture of collecting. 14Trading CardsNiche markets value rare or limited-edition cards; lucrative resale potential. 15Vintage CarsAppreciate in value, especially if rare or well-maintained/restored. 16HousesHighly profitable investment; potential returns through renovation or market appreciation. 17Household AppliancesAlways in demand; essential in every home and expensive when new. 18Lego SetsDiscontinued or rare sets highly collectible; appealing to children and adult collectors. 19Scrap MetalProfitable due to consistent demand in manufacturing and recycling industries. 20Websites and Domain NamesValuable digital real estate; high traffic, niche market, or memorable name. 21BicyclesStrong market due to cycling popularity and high cost of new bikes. 22Musical Instruments and EquipmentRetain value and in demand by both beginners and experienced musicians. 23CamerasPhotography enthusiasts and professionals seek good quality equipment. 24Picture FramesIn demand for home decor and art display; unique or high-quality frames. 25Photography GearHolds value well and sought after in the secondhand market. 26Luxury HandbagsHigh initial value and brand recognition; appeal to fashion enthusiasts and collectors. 27Stocks and OptionsHigh potential for profit through strategic buying and selling. 28Houses (Real Estate)Yield significant returns through strategic renovations and market timing. 29Raw LandBlank canvas with various profitable possibilities; appealing to long-term investors. 30VCRs and VHS TapesNostalgia and rarity of functioning units make these items collectible. 31Clearance ItemsHigh margins by reselling clearance items at market value. 32ArtworkUnique pieces can appreciate in value; appealing to collectors and art enthusiasts. 33Home DecorTrendy or unique items can be resold at a premium. 34Records and Record PlayersVinyl resurgence in popularity; rare or vintage editions highly collectible. 35CollectiblesCan appreciate in value; dedicated collector market. 36Board GamesIn demand, rare or out-of-print editions fetch high prices. 37AntiquesHistorical value and uniqueness make them highly sought after. 38Rare or Retro T-ShirtsNostalgia and uniqueness drive demand; highly collectible and profitable. 39Concert T-ShirtsLimited edition or vintage highly sought after by fans and collectors. 40Concert TicketsProfitable for popular events, especially sold-out shows or in-demand performances. 41Sports MemorabiliaSigned jerseys, cards, game-used equipment appreciate in value. 42Upcycled ItemsGrowing market for eco-friendly, creatively upcycled products. Where to Flip: Flip Items Online and Sell Items locally There are many ways to build a profitable reselling business; you can sell online and in person. Some of the best places to find items for flipping include the following: Finding Items to Flip You can find items to flip in the following places: Garage Sales If you can find a local garage sale or are willing to drive out further to find good sales, you can find great items to flip for profit. Yard Sales Like garage sales, going to a yard sale is another option to find cheap items you can purchase for just a few dollars to flip for extra cash. Thrift Stores Thrift stores and consignment stores are filled with hidden gems and cheap items that can make all the difference for flipping. Check your nearest thrift store for apparel, good-quality shoes, costume jewelry, and more. Estate Sales Many hidden gems have been discovered in estate sales, including vintage items and unique items such as upcycled art and upcycled jewelry. Facebook Marketplace You can find items and resell items on the Facebook Marketplace. It’s easy to make money selling items in high demand without incurring massive shipping costs since you can meet locally to deliver the items. Auctions Auctions are another way to find items to flip, but you must be careful about how much you spend. When bidding for items, think about the regular retail price and whether you could compete with that based on the amount it is being bid for. Flea Markets You can easily become a flea market flipper and make all your money by searching for items at flea markets in your spare time House Clearance sales Many people undertake spring cleaning or house cleaning efforts, and you can go to these sales to find cheap items that you can sell high on online platforms and locally. Your own home If you’d like to start your flipping business and make serious cash but are not sure where to start – start with your own home! You can find items you no longer use, such as baby gear or baby stuff that children have outgrown video games, and other items, and sell them for a decent profit. Selling Items to Flip Once you find items you’d like to flip, plenty of flipping websites are available for you to sell on. Many platforms such as Poshmark, Mercari, and Vinted generate free shipping label options so you can ship items domestically to customers, making it easy to turn flipping from a fun hobby to something more. These platforms have a large user base looking for a good deal and looking to save money by purchasing secondhand items. Facebook Marketplace ThredUp Amazon eBay OfferUp Etsy Craigslist Mercari Poshmark Varagesale Vinted Your own online store Flipping to Make Extra Money There are many ways to flip items to make money. You can find things in secondhand stores, thrift shops, and online platforms such as Etsy, Mercari, and more. Additionally, you can make extra money by finding items to flip in local places such as garage and yard sales, estate sales, and other events where people sell secondhand items at a low cost. Final Thoughts: What is The Most Profitable Item to Flip? The world of flipping items for profit offers a wealth of opportunities for those looking to generate income and extend the life of used goods. Whether you’re a seasoned flipper or just getting started, there are numerous items and niches to explore, and your success ultimately depends on your local market, your knowledge, and your ability to identify profitable opportunities. Flipping, at its core, is a simple and effective concept: acquire items at a low cost and resell them for a profit. While some items may require repairs or maintenance before they are ready for resale, the key is to maximize your profit margin through smart buying and selling strategies. The list of 42 best items to flip presented in this article offers a diverse range of options, catering to various interests and expertise. From power tools to vintage clothing and wedding dresses to electronics, there’s something for everyone. The key to success lies in finding the items that align with your knowledge, passion, and market demand. When it comes to sourcing items for flipping, there are numerous avenues to explore. Garage sales, yard sales, thrift stores, estate sales, online marketplaces, auctions, flea markets, and even your own home can serve as treasure troves of items waiting to be flipped. The choice of where to find your inventory depends on your location, preferences, and the type of items you intend to flip. Once you’ve acquired your items, you can sell them through various channels, both online and locally. Platforms like Poshmark, Mercari, Etsy, and eBay offer access to a broad online audience, while local options like Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and community-based apps can connect you with nearby buyers. The key is to leverage these platforms to reach potential customers effectively. While the profitability of flipping varies depending on factors like the item’s condition, rarity, and demand, some specialized items tend to yield higher profits. Tech gadgets, exercise equipment, vintage clothing, and designer fashion items are among the most lucrative options. These items often command higher prices, and with some minor repairs or refurbishments, you can significantly increase their resale value. In the realm of flipping, innovation, and creativity can be your allies. Consider upcycling items, such as furniture, glass, jewelry, and even artwork, to breathe new life into old pieces and make them more appealing to buyers. These unique creations can not only fetch higher prices but also showcase your craftsmanship and attract a dedicated customer base. In conclusion, flipping items for profit is a dynamic and rewarding venture that offers a sustainable source of income. Whether you’re a part-time flipper looking to earn extra cash or a full-time entrepreneur seeking a thriving business, the world of flipping has something to offer. Keep your finger on the pulse of market trends, continually expand your knowledge, and, most importantly, embrace your passion for turning forgotten items into valuable assets. With the right strategy and a keen eye for opportunity, you can flip your way to success and financial prosperity. FAQs What is the Easiest Thing to Flip? Power tools are an easy item to item to flip as they are always in demand, and not many people tend to have these tools in their homes. Rather than purchasing new power tools, they can buy them secondhand, which is why flipping them is easier. What Flipping Items Make the Most Money? Another option if you’re looking to start an upcycling business is to flip vintage clothing and high-end designer fashion items. The secondhand apparel market is steadily growing, and clothing items are easy to find and resell. Wedding dresses are another option if you’re looking to make a full-time income by flipping clothing. Many brides are looking for beautiful wedding dresses at deep discounts, so you can make a nice profit by flipping and selling wedding dresses. What Can I Resell Quickly? To make money online by reselling an item quickly, you can sell used books and textbooks to students and others via reselling platforms. You can find books online, in library sales, and in secondhand stores that you can resell quickly. What is the Best to Resell? The best item to resell is old furniture. For spring and summer, consider flipping items such as wicker chairs, patio tables, and other types of furniture perfect for backyards and gardens. Many people are looking for good-quality wood furniture and beautiful vintage furniture to add to their homes, so upcycled furniture is an option for flipping items. Image: Envato Elements This article, "Hidden Gems: Top Items to Flip for a Profit" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

A pair of studies find that 73% of marketing teams use generative AI, and consumers largely accept AI in advertising. The post 73% Of Marketers Use Generative AI, Consumer Acceptance Up appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Processing fees. Service fees. Hidden fees. It feels like most companies and services these days have found countless ways to sneakily squeeze money out of me. Even when it’s only a few dollars here and there, it’s the principle of the thing: Why am I being charged in the first place? What can I do to circumvent these fees and save my hard-earned money? Here are some of the most common fees that have been infuriating me lately, and what you can do to avoid paying them. Concert “service” feesIf you’ve tried to buy a concert ticket in recent history, you’ve been slapped with a shocking string of processing, commission, or transaction fees. From secondary sellers like StubHub and Vivid Seats, to primary sellers like Ticketmaster, AXS, and SeatGeek, these fees are built into the modern business model of ticketing live events. Of course, that doesn’t mean we have to sit back and take it. Ticketmaster in particular has been hit with multiple class-action lawsuits for the company’s lack of transparency. How to avoid them: First, check out discount and no-fee ticket sites like TickPick or Goldstar.com. Unfortunately, there’s only one guaranteed way to avoid concert service fees: Contact the box office to look into about buying your tickets in person. Sure, it’s old school (and might prove tricky for in-demand shows), but it’s a surefire way to avoid the “convenience” fee that comes with online transactions. Airbnb feesNext to the cost of concert tickets, Airbnb has gained notoriety for its bullshit fees. I've found the growing consensus is that Airbnb simply isn’t worth its exorbitant service fees. I'll never forget a few years back, there was a viral tweet with a screenshot of a $99/night listing that ended up totaling $413.95 for two nights after fees and taxes were added at checkout. How to avoid them: After you find a listing on Airbnb, try searching for the property description on other sites for offerings that don’t come with Airbnb’s fees. You can also reach out to the host directly and see if they would be interested in conducting business outside of Airbnb in order to avoid fees. For instance, you could arrange to book the property for just one night through Airbnb, and pay for additional nights in person. There’s certainly some risk involved here, but considering how much of a cut Airbnb takes from hosts, you might be able to strike a win-win deal. Seat selection and airline feesOf all the bullshit airline fees these days, “seat selection” might be the shadiest. Paying an additional $20 for my seat? Isn’t that what the ticket is paying for in the first place? During the booking process, it’s not always clear that the seat selection fee is completely avoidable. How to avoid them: When the option pops up to select a seat on your flight, simply skip past this screen. The skip button may be hidden, but it’s there. The airline will automatically assign you a seat for no extra charge. If where you sit is still a concern for you, you can request specific seats if you politely ask the gate agent when you arrive at the airport. For more information, here’s our guide to avoiding seat selection fees. ATM feesWhen you need cash fast, ATM fees are tough to avoid. It’s utter crap to be charged three dollars to access my own money, but, alas, the big banks don’t seem to be listening to my ramblings. How to avoid them: Ideally you can find an ATM owned by the bank you use so it doesn’t cost you to withdraw your money. Otherwise, consider moving your money to a bank that refunds these fees. Another tactic is to take steps to have fee-free cash on hand by using the cash back option when you grocery shop. Personally, I always take out a ten or a twenty on top of my groceries, and I rarely have to resort to finding an ATM when I need cash. Car dealership feesIf there’s someone you can trust to be honest and no-bullshit, it’s a car salesman, right? From advertising fees, delivery fees, undercoating fees—it’s easy to get lost in all the additional charges that get tacked on at a car dealership. How to avoid them: When you buy a new car, you’ll be able to see a factory invoice. Any charges listed there are, unfortunately, legitimate. However, if the dealership charges you a fee that doesn’t appear on the factory invoice, you can avoid paying it. Getting rid of these fees is often as simple as asking the dealer to strike them. Somehow, questioning their legitimacy seems to make them all but disappear. Gym initiation feesWhen you join a new gym, your first bill might come with an “initiation fee.” This sucks, and you should try to get out of it. How to avoid them: Similar to our tip with the car dealership, you should simply ask the gym to waive the fee. Bonus points if you express doubts about your membership, or even make it a condition of signing up for a yearly membership. The gym wants to keep you as a customer, so they’ll be more likely to waive one fee in order to hold on to you. Credit reportsMake a habit of checking your free credit score from sites like Credit Karma or Experian. What you shouldn’t make a habit of is paying a fee for a credit report literally ever, since this likely means you’re falling for a scam. How to avoid them: Head to AnnualCreditReport.com and check your credit health for free. Some banks and credit card companies also offer free credit reports as part of having an account with them. Overdraft fees“Overdraft protection” sounds like a positive thing to stop you from taking out more money than you have in your account. However, when the bank offers overdraft protection, they charge quite the fee for it. You accidentally overdrawing your account by a few cents could turn into an outrageous $50 charge. How to avoid them: An alternative to your bank’s overdraft protection is to link your savings account to your checking account. This way, any overdrafts get pulled from your own funds. If this isn’t possible at your bank, at least set up low-balance alerts so you avoid overdrafts altogether. Bank statement feesA paper bank statement can come with a wild $2 or $3 monthly fee. Those dollars add up, and for no reason other than, what, receiving mail? How to avoid them: Go paperless. It’s as simple as checking a box in your account settings. Good for the environment, and good for your wallet. Online shipping feesAs much as I'd like to support in-person brick and mortar stores, sometimes Amazon one-day shipping is the only option I have. And with shipping costs these days, I know I'm guilty of buying more products just to qualify for free shipping—the classic "spend to save" trap. How to avoid them: Always consolidate orders to avoid multiple shipping charges. Compare shipping rates across multiple retailers before purchasing, and sign up for free shipping programs like Amazon Prime or Walmart+. Plus, you can go for good old-fashioned store pickup options when available. View the full article

Pop quiz: Which two Super Bowl ads were created by Artists Equity Advertising, the commercial creative arm of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s studio Artists Equity? Hint: It was the two starring… Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. The big game ads for both Stella Artois and Dunkin were excellent vehicles for both actors. But they’re also the rare occurrence of major advertising investment—which goes well beyond the $8 million just for Super Bowl airtime—going to a boutique creative shop run by Hollywood A-listers. However, this is not a story about Super Bowl ads. It’s about Artists Equity’s approach to capitalizing on the increasingly aligned interests of Hollywood and brand marketers—and how the company just may have the strategy and talent to capitalize on it. Since Affleck and Damon founded Artists Equity in 2022, the studio has been steadily churning out film and TV work. Releases include Air, the unauthorized story of how Nike landed Michael Jordan; the Cillian Murphy drama Small Things Like These; Doug Liman’s The Instigators with Apple Films; William Goldenberg’s Unstoppable on Prime Video; and Jennifer Lopez’ Kiss of the Spider Woman. It’s also behind the upcoming Affleck-starring action sequel The Accountant 2. But since Affleck’s first spin as a Dunkin spokesperson in 2023—anchored by a Super Bowl spot in which when he takes over a Boston-area drive-thru—Artists Equity has been building its advertising team with a few different goals in mind. The first is to provide an added revenue stream and creative outlet for the company. Second, give both brands and talent the best experience and results with advertising that also entertains. It’s far from the only creative shop with those ambitions. But Affleck is confident that Artists Equity Advertising can carve out its own corner of the commercial world, and has a plan on how to do it. A significant part of that plan is bringing to the ad world the company’s filmmaking prowess and the creator-focused approach it takes with its studio projects. Affleck tells Fast Company that his early commercial experiences as a brand spokesperson felt overly transactional. Like a hired gun, brought in to smile and wave, with no creative input or involvement. As a result, the work was unsatisfying to him, and ultimately not as good for the brands as it could have been. “My argument to brands is that there’s a reason why you want to associate this person with the product you’re selling, and the reason is the cultural footprint this person has created,” Affleck says. “And to me, the obvious take is asking them to come in and be part of the creative process, which means sharing the strategy goals, creative goals, and brand goals.” [Image: courtesy Artists Equity Advertising] Glazed ambition The notion of brands involving celebrities or artists in the creative process sounds rather obvious. And it is becoming more common – see Bud Light’s work with comedian Shane Gillis. But it’s still more the exception than the rule. Artists Equity’s advertising business was largely born out of Affleck’s experience with Dunkin. Back in 2022, as a lifelong fan of the brand, Affleck was talking to the company about starring in a Super Bowl ad. At the time, Dunkin had a traditional ad agency working on the spot. But Affleck had an idea. What if he just showed up at a random Massachusetts Dunkin and worked the drive-thru? IT would not only make for a fun spot, but also generate a ton of earned media. The brand was hesitant, but Affleck persisted. “The agency was much smaller at the time, and in order to prove it to them, I said we’d shoot the commercial that they originally wanted, but then asked them to let us try to improve that, and also do the commercial that I think would work,” he says. The result was a Top 5 Super Bowl ad in 2023 on USA Today’s Ad Meter, as well as an 837% increase in social conversations after the Super Bowl, more than any other brand, according to media intelligence firm Meltwater. Dunkin’ CMO Jill McVicar Nelson says the Artists Equity model allows the company to tap into top talent across creative, production, design, and more, allowing them to deliver beautiful, high-impact work at incredible speed. “Because they oversee both creative and production, they move swiftly to finalize assets while maximizing content creation,” she says. “This means we get a wealth of high-quality assets across all channels, with an exceptional eye for production and design in everything they do.” The Super Bowl work continued this year and last, with the DunKings. The line of merch the brand created in 2024—in particular the track suits—sold out in less than 30 minutes. It’s also led to creating a steady stream of work for the brand, including the recent Sabrina Carpenter spot for her Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso. And a merch collab this month with Juicy Couture that sold out in five minutes. “Artists Equity Advertising has their finger on the pulse of culture, and while many may make that claim, they actually walk the walk,” says Nelson. “They don’t just anticipate what consumers will care about; their team is really connected to pop culture through their work across the studio. They bring this unique ability to extend a brand’s presence beyond traditional paid media, and together, we’ve created multi-faceted campaigns that go beyond ads—whether it’s a seven-minute short film, buzzy merchandise, custom songs, compelling social content, and more.” [Image: courtesy Artists Equity Advertising] A-listers behind the scenes Affleck and Damon are obviously the most visible talent in the company’s biggest ads, but Artists Equity Advertising now accounts for nearly a third of the company’s 75-person headcount—a testament to the smart creative hires the company has made in the past two years. Executive creative director Brandon Piece, was the company’s first advertising hire in 2023. Pierce’s creative pedigree spans legendary shops Wieden+Kennedy, 72andSunny, and Droga5, and before joining Artists Equity Advertising, helped build Hulu’s in-house marketing creative studio. That experience led him to creating Your Attention Please with Craig Robinson, and Amy Schumer’s writers room on season five of Inside Amy Schumer. “Ben is a multi hyphenate creative, obviously on the film side,” says Pierce. “And I like to call myself a multi-hyphenate creative that has found a way to successfully transition from traditional advertising to longer-form storytelling, stuff that feels like entertainment, even if it’s for a brand.” Eight months ago, the company brought in Josh Jeffries as president of advertising. Jeffries’ resume is similarly full of agency experience, including time at Deutsch LA, Anomaly, and 72andSunny. Jeffries—who’s charged with scaling the magic Artists Equity Advertising has been able to conjure over the past few Super Bowls—says the company is being very deliberate in not chasing growth for its own sake, and instead focusing on slowly branching out. “We’re highly selective of who we want to partner with,” Jeffries says, adding the company likely won’t take on more than two more clients beyond Stella and Dunkin in 2025. The agency is working to strike the balance between the work Affleck and Damon do and don’t appear in. After seeing the Dunkin work last year, AB InBev got in touch about its Stella Artois brand, with a goal to help shift its image in the U.S. as an upscale beer to more of a quality everyday indulgence. Enter Dave Beckham. David Beckham was already a brand spokesperson, and Damon had worked with AB InBev in the past, so it was a natural fit for a separated-at-birth concept. The Super Bowl spot is the start of a year-long campaign created by the agency, and most of the work was shot at the same time. “We want to be cognizant of not having the expectation that Ben and Matt are featured in everything that we do,” says Jeffries. “It’s a healthy way to start, obviously, because it works quite well. There has to be an authentic connection to the brand and the talent themselves.” In addition to the Carpenter spot, this past year included Dunkin ads with Kristen Wiig and Will Arnett. The latter was part of the…ahem… Dunkin Cinematic Universe, with Arnett hiring “Dunkinterns” and gettign creeped out by an Affleck robot. Super Bowl post-game In an industry dominated by public holding company behemoths, it’s the rare advertising shop that isn’t pushing to grow as fast and as much as possible. But the strategy for Artists Equity Advertising is about quality over quantity. Not least, Pierce says, because it has a reputation to protect. Pierce says it’s about keeping the spirit of being a creatively-driven company. “Whether it’s a film, a documentary, a commercial, or a billboard, we try to keep that thread through everything that we do here,” he says “Because ultimately everything we put out in the world has Artists Equity attached to it, so it better be at the level of everything else that we’ve established.” It’s easy to see what having a film studio as a sibling within the business can do for the advertising side in terms of creative pedigree and access to top tier talent pool. But Affleck says the ad side brings plenty to the film business. Data research, analytics, social media measurement, have all become a part of the overall business. “The difficulty around obtaining capital in order to produce something is the principal hurdle,” says Affleck. “We’ve gotten much deeper into this side of the business because I see all of it as a means by which artists can demonstrate either the value that they’re bringing, or, more effectively exploit the value that they have.” Advertising and marketing is an industry obsessed with efficiency and efficacy. Those who trade in brand entertainment aim to bridge the gap between art and commerce in a way that delights audiences and helps lift the brand. Much easier said than done. Within this dynamic, Artists Equity Advertising is a bit rare find. Big stars taking big swings for big brands, but also being in the room from the start to collaborate on strategy and creative. Over the last two years, the shop’s growing team has just begun to show how that strategy can pay off for brands and creative partners who embrace the approach. Affleck is excited about the results so far, and the potential in further bridging Hollywood and brandland. “This is a world where the lines are just increasingly blurred,” says Affleck. “I’m interested in how that evolution is taking place, and being part of it.” View the full article

Weeks ago, my partner suggested I develop a recipe for doughnuts made in the air fryer. I tried to explain to him how deep fried doughnuts are always better than baked ones, adding, “unless you wanna throw some Entenmann’s in there.” I laughed, and then shook my head, because I had sealed my own fate. Once it occurred to me, I absolutely needed to test the idea. I bought a variety pack of Entenmann’s doughnuts (including chocolate glazed, powdery crumb nubbins, and classic glazed). I fearfully placed one of each into the basket of my air fryer and pressed Start. I experienced a range of emotions during the next seven minutes, pinging from worry, to hope, to, finally, disbelief: Yes, I’m happy to report that air-fried cheap doughnuts are absolutely sensational. Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann The process changes the doughnuts appearance, especially the glazed ones. The sugar coating partially melts, exposing the crumb texture of the doughnut beneath. Everything else is uphill from there: Each air fried doughnut was a textural delight—their dry, homogeneous, bread-y consistency transformed into a crunchy exterior with a chewy, caramelized crust. The interior crumb changed too: Instead of a dense, cake-y texture, the crumb opens up a bit (presumably from expanding in the heat) and has an airy feel. The flavor is also improved. All of the existing elements you enjoy in packaged doughnuts are concentrated and enhanced. Normally these doughnuts are one-note sweets, but after air frying, you’ll notice how buttery they are, taste notes of vanilla, and even detect hints of salt. Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann It makes logical sense—the heat melts and caramelizes some of the sugars, moisture evaporates, and the doughnut’s surface browns a bit due to the Maillard reaction, creating new, complex flavors. But some flavors, I can’t explain. Why does an air-fried chocolate glazed doughnut taste completely like Fruity Pebbles? You must air fry a chocolate glazed, if only to experience this unexpected transformation. How to air fry cheap doughnutsI wouldn’t air fry specialty bakery doughnuts that cost $5 a pop, because that’s silly. Focus on improving the factory-made doughnuts. To air fry your own cheap doughnuts at home, simply pop the treats into an air fryer set to 350°F on the “air fry” setting for five to seven minutes. Make sure you air fry them on the included metal grate, as some of the sugars from the glaze will drip off and you don't want them to get too moist. When they’re done heating, use metal tongs or a fish spatula to remove them from the grate and place them to cool on a wire rack for about five minutes. Feel free to give them a light sprinkle of flaky salt. They’ll feel really soft and breakable at first, but after cooling, the sugars will recrystallize and the doughnuts will be crispy...and incredible. View the full article

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. A reader writes: I own a business and recently I’ve had an issue with one of my employees. She will go all day without eating (because of what looks like poor planning) and then get very irritable with everyone and complains about being hungry. I’ll offer to order her something or offer her the granola bars we have in the break room, but she brushes me off. I think she thinks I’m being an annoying mom type but really I just don’t want to deal with her hangry attitude because it affects the entire office when she gets like that. Any tips? I answer this question — and three others — over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding my answers to them). You can read it here. Other questions I’m answering there today include: Asking back an employee but not his spouse Internships and equity Writing notes on your hand at work View the full article

What is WordPress? WordPress powers businesses all over the world. It is one of the most popular website building platforms, and it allows you to create a website or blog from scratch or improve an existing website. There are many notable brands, celebrities and companies that use it too. This article discusses what WordPress is and how it can benefit your business. By the end of this post, you should definitely know the answer to the question, “What is WordPress?” What is a WordPress Website? If you ever did an internet search for “What is WordPress?” you’d likely find out more than 1 in 4 websites use the website platform to power their own website (by the way, the term ‘WordPress’ is searched for nearly 3 million times a month!). That’s all well and good, but it doesn’t really answer the question, “What is WordPress?” right? Simply put, WordPress is a content management system (CMS) developed by WordPress experts Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little. The duo designed it as a tool to make it easy for people without any coding experience to create a website or blog from scratch. It is a free, open-source software system licensed under GPLv2 (or later), meaning any user can use, modify, or contribute to its codebase. In addition, WordPress’s open-source software system has end-to-end encryption that can be used on your own web server or by a hosting company. Its functionality and ease of use have resulted in a large community of WordPress users and WordPress developers who have created and utilized themes, plugins, and other tools to quickly and easily build anything from huge online stores to a simple blog. 10 Useful WordPress Statistics If you need further help convincing yourselves or others that WordPress is the best CMS system for your business, be sure to check out the following WordPress statistics: It is currently the most popular content management system on the web. People visit WordPress more than the social media giant Twitter, which has a whopping 156 million unique visitors a month. With a WordPress theme-builder like seedprod, even users who aren’t very technically skilled can easily create a custom WordPress theme from scratch. Over 400 million people visit a WordPress website each month. 661 WordPress sites and nearly 300 new WooCommerce stores appear on average each day. There are over 59,000 free plugins available in the WordPress plugin directory. Over 187 countries have at least one active WordPress installation. The WordPress.org website receives over two billion page views per month. The WordPress app has been downloaded over two million times. Out of 1.3 billion websites on the web, more than 455 million sites use WordPress to power their own website. What is WordPress used for? The question closely following “What is WordPress?” is probably “Why do I need to use a WordPress website for my business, anyway, and is WordPress good for small business websites?” Firstly, when you install WordPress and set everything up, you’ll find that it can be used for developing anything from a small business site to an eCommerce storefront and blog. In fact, some of the most popular websites in the world are powered by WordPress, including Samsung, Forbes, The Guardian, and the New York Times. Additionally, small business sites like ours also use WordPress. Secondly, WordPress offers a wide range of versatile features, and new unique functionalities are being introduced regularly. However, versatility is not the sole reason for WordPress’s popularity; it also includes several features that make it an excellent platform for businesses. Here are just a few examples of what you can do with the king of content management systems: Create website content such as custom pages and posts. Easily integrate it with social media platforms. Help your site rank higher in search engine results through SEO capabilities. Track your website’s traffic and performance with analytics tools. Design a website or blog from scratch. Improve an existing website by adding WordPress functionality. Develop membership sites, chatrooms, directories, wikis, galleries, and online courses. Support all media types, such as audio, video, images, and information-related data. How does WordPress Work? Now that you know a little more about what WordPress is let’s take a look at how it works. The working process of WordPress software is a comprehensive procedure that works by combining some core files, a database, files that you add or install, and a dashboard to let you manage the whole thing. There are also many components, such as themes, plugins, and widgets, that work together to give your website the look and functionality you desire. WordPress core Installing core files is the first procedure in WordPress you will do. When you install WordPress (the WordPress core), you get access to two websites: the WordPress dashboard and your website. The WordPress dashboard is where you manage your website—add posts and pages, change settings, install plugins and themes, etc. The database This place is where all your data and website files are stored. If you are using manual WordPress, you need to install the database. If you are using an auto-installer, it will automatically do the installation process. Extra files Extra files are in the forms of plugins, themes and uploads for WordPress, and they help to make your website or blog look unique by allowing you to customize aspects. WordPress dashboard or admin screen To create a website or blog with WordPress, you first need to install it on a web server. You can do this yourself by downloading the software and installing it on your own web server, or you can have a hosting company do it for you. Once WordPress is installed, you can log in to the WordPress dashboard and start creating content. You can add posts and pages, change settings, install plugins and themes, etc. Publishing When you’re ready to launch your website or blog, you simply need to publish it by clicking on the “Publish” button in the WordPress dashboard. After that, your website will be live and accessible to the world. You can also use the WordPress dashboard to track your website’s traffic and performance and see how your visitors are accessing your content. Customization, themes, and plugins Themes control the appearance of your site; plugins add features, and widgets put all the pieces together. When you install WordPress, it comes with a core set of themes and plugins that provide the basic structure for your website. You can then install additional themes and plugins from the WordPress.org plugin directory or other sources to add features like a blog, contact form, social media integration, and more. You can also customize your site’s appearance by editing the CSS code for your theme or using child themes to make changes without affecting the original code. And if you need help with any of this, there are plenty of WordPress tutorials and support forums to help you out. Summary ComponentDescription WordPress CoreInitial files you install. Grants access to the WordPress dashboard (for site management) and your actual website. DatabaseStorage for all website data and files. Manual WordPress requires manual installation, while auto-installs handle this automatically. Extra Files (Plugins, Themes)Customization tools to give a unique look to the site. They can be plugins, themes, or uploads. WordPress DashboardOnce WordPress is installed on a server, you can manage content through the dashboard by adding posts/pages, changing settings, and more. PublishingLaunch your website/blog by clicking the "Publish" button in the dashboard. This action makes your site live to the world. Customization, Themes, PluginsThemes dictate the site's look; plugins add features; widgets integrate various elements. WordPress comes with a basic structure, but additional features can be added from various sources. WordPress.org Vs. WordPress.com There are two versions of WordPress: WordPress.org and WordPress.com. WordPress.org is the self-hosted version of WordPress that you install on your own web server, while WordPress.com is a hosted version where all the hosting and maintenance is taken care of for you. Why You Should Consider WordPress for Your Business WordPress.com allows you to set up your blog for free, but it has several disadvantages. For instance, you can only create a site under a subdomain, and you can’t remove the ads. Here are a few other ways the two stack up against one another. Ease of Use WordPress.org is a little more difficult to use than WordPress.com, as you need to install it on your own web server and manage all the aspects of your website yourself. With WordPress.com, everything is taken care of for you, and getting started is fairly straightforward. WordPress themes WordPress themes make your website look brilliant, and WordPress.org has full WordPress theme support where you can use custom commercial themes and all the other free themes. The .org version of WordPress also lets you use premium WordPress themes to customize, modify or do pretty much anything you like with your website. WordPress.com doesn’t let you customize themes and only has limited theme support where you are limited to the WordPress themes that exist in their repository. WordPress plugins You will likely need WordPress plugins, and the WordPress.org plugin repository is enormous and has a plugin for just about anything you can imagine. In addition, you can find all types of WordPress plugins—from social media to security plugins. Unfortunately, the WordPress.com plugin library offers only around 100 free WordPress plugins, which may not sufficiently meet your requirements. Domain name Your domain name, or your website’s URL, is what takes your visitors to your website. With WordPress.org, you have full control over your domain name and can use any domain you want. WordPress.com limits you to the .wordpress.com subdomain unless you upgrade to a paid plan that gives you a custom domain name. Web hosting account The cost of hosting for your WordPress website is included in the price when you install WordPress.org on your web server. However, WordPress.org does charge a monthly fee for web hosting, which starts at an estimated $46-$100/yr. WordPress.com is free for up to 3GB of storage space, but you have to deal with their ads splashed across your pages. That might not be a big deal for a personal blog, but it might be a deal-breaker for a small business trying to establish its brand. eCommerce With WordPress.org, you can install any eCommerce plugin you want and create an eCommerce site, giving you a full-blown online store. On the other hand, with WordPress.com, you are limited to the basic Shopify eCommerce platform that has some restrictions on what you can sell. Monetization You can monetize your website with WordPress.org by adding ads, selling products, or accepting donations. Meanwhile, you cannot monetize your site on WordPress.com without upgrading to a paid plan that gives you more features. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) This feature is essential since it helps your business site reach the top Google rank in search results. WordPress.org comes with all the SEO features you need to optimize your website for search engines. With free WordPress.com, you don’t have much control over your website SEO since you can’t install the required plugins. Business plan users can install 3rd-party SEO plugins for about $300/yr. Help and support from the WordPress community WordPress.org has a support community with millions of users who are happy to help you out with any issue you might have. You can also get WordPress assistance through the help and support feature. The WordPress Help Team has helped many entrepreneurs build their business websites and do other tasks. That being said, the .com version of WordPress has much less support and is not as active in the support forums. Free software WordPress.com is free and has many features available if you are looking for an easy way to get started. If you want to use WordPress for your small business, the .org version is probably the best option and will cost anywhere from $46 to $100/year. Of course, it isn’t free, but you get more features and control of your WordPress websites. Google Analytics integration Google Analytics is a valuable tool for boosting your website traffic and converting visitors into leads. With WordPress.org, you have access to robust Google Analytics tracking integrated into the platform, allowing you to monitor your website’s performance and understand the origins of your visitors. However, this feature is not available on WordPress.com. Website security There are different types of website security in WordPress, such as backdoors, pharma hacks, malicious redirects, denial of service, and many more. WordPress.org gives you the ability to install a good security plugin and harden the security of your WordPress site with only a few clicks. WordPress.com doesn’t give you this feature. WordPress site customization WordPress.org WordPress.org is the preferred option for users looking to create a more personalized digital presence. This platform offers significant flexibility, enabling extensive changes to both website design and functionality. One of the highlights of WordPress.org is its flexibility to allow direct CSS edits, which means webmasters can tweak the visual appearance down to the smallest detail. Additionally, for those wanting a more sustainable and advanced customization without affecting the primary theme, creating child themes is a beneficial option. A child theme inherits the features and appearance of its parent theme but allows for modifications without affecting the original theme, making it an invaluable tool for developers and designers. WordPress.com: In contrast, WordPress.com is more restrictive when it comes to customization. Users are limited to basic theme alterations, which means direct modifications to CSS or the creation of child themes are off the table. While it’s simpler and more user-friendly, especially for beginners, those with a distinct vision for their website might find it limiting. This platform is perfect for those who appreciate ready-made templates and wish to avoid the complexities of detailed design changes. Mobile-Friendly features Both WordPress.org and WordPress.com are mobile-friendly, meaning they can be used on a PC, tablet or mobile phone. However, WordPress.org has more features that make it easier for your website to look good on mobile devices and screen sizes. Speed WordPress.org is faster than WordPress.com because you are in control of all the aspects of your website and can optimize it for speed. So…which version of WordPress should you choose? If you want more control over your WordPress website and don’t mind managing the technical aspects yourself, then WordPress.org is the better option. If you’re looking for an easy way to get started with a blog or don’t need all the features that WordPress.org offers, then WordPress.com is a good choice. Also importantly, if you’re looking for a business-grade WordPress site, it’s probably going to be best to go with WordPress.org rather than WordPress.com. Business Growth with WordPress: Capabilities and Strategies WordPress is not just a platform for creating websites; it’s a comprehensive ecosystem that can significantly enhance business growth and online presence. Here are some new sections that can add value to the article “What is WordPress?” and how it can benefit businesses further: WordPress for E-commerce Expansion WordPress, coupled with WooCommerce, offers a robust solution for businesses looking to enter or expand in the e-commerce space. WooCommerce is a powerful WordPress plugin that transforms a website into a fully functional online store. With features like product listings, a shopping cart, checkout processes, and secure payment gateways, WordPress combined with WooCommerce offers users a smooth shopping experience. Leveraging WordPress for SEO One of the key strengths of WordPress is its SEO-friendly nature. With plugins like Yoast SEO, businesses can easily optimize their content for search engines right from the WordPress dashboard. This includes editing meta tags, generating sitemaps, and ensuring content readability — all essential factors for improving search engine rankings and attracting more organic traffic. WordPress and Mobile Optimization With the increasing prevalence of mobile internet usage, having a mobile-optimized website is crucial. WordPress themes are responsive by default, meaning they automatically adjust to the screen size of various devices, ensuring your site looks great and functions well on desktops, tablets, and smartphones. This responsiveness not only enhances user experience but also contributes positively to SEO. WordPress Customization and Flexibility WordPress offers unparalleled customization through thousands of themes and plugins, allowing businesses to tailor their sites to their exact needs and branding. From custom contact forms and appointment booking systems to integrated social media feeds and customer testimonials, the possibilities with WordPress are virtually limitless. This flexibility enables businesses to evolve their websites as they grow, without the need for a complete overhaul. WordPress Community and Support The vast WordPress community is one of its greatest assets. From forums and blogs to WordCamps and meetups, the community offers extensive support, resources, and networking opportunities. Whether you’re looking for advice on theme customization, plugin recommendations, or troubleshooting technical issues, there’s always someone willing to help. WordPress for Content Marketing Content reigns supreme in the realm of digital marketing, and WordPress stands out as the premier platform for managing that content. With its user-friendly editor, Gutenberg, creating and formatting content becomes effortless, empowering businesses to execute a strong content marketing strategy. With features like scheduling posts, categorizing content, and tagging for SEO, WordPress makes it simple to manage a dynamic content calendar. WordPress Security Measures While WordPress is a secure platform, the vast array of themes and plugins can introduce vulnerabilities if not properly managed. However, WordPress continuously updates its software to patch security flaws, and there are numerous security plugins available to safeguard your site further. Regular updates, secure hosting, and best practices in password management can ensure your WordPress site remains safe from threats. Integrating WordPress with Marketing Tools WordPress seamlessly integrates with a plethora of marketing tools and platforms, from email marketing services like Mailchimp to CRM systems like Salesforce. This integration capability enables businesses to streamline their marketing efforts, automate workflows, and measure the effectiveness of their campaigns directly from their WordPress dashboard. How to Start Using WordPress Installing WordPress for your blog or any business is an easy task. Compared to other website builders, the installation of WordPress is user-friendly and can be done faster. The following illustrates the steps for installing WordPress: Step 1: Download and open the WordPress software Step 2: Establish a WordPress database on your web application and a MySQL user with full access and modification capabilities. Step 3: Locate and change wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php, then modify the document to include your database information. Step 4: Upload the WordPress files to your web server’s preferred location Step 5: Access the URL in a web browser to run the WordPress installation script. This should have been the location in which the WordPress files were published. If you are using WordPress.com, you can install almost any WordPress plugin and launch a custom domain for your business site. Step 6: At this step, you can use WordPress. Here, you begin hosting your site, and if you are the WordPress editor, you can start publishing things like WordPress posts and WordPress pages. Step 7: WordPress currently comes with three themes. The current default theme is Twenty Twenty-One, and that’s the first theme you see after logging into your website platform. You can change this to any other theme by going to Appearance > Themes or downloading a new one from the WordPress.org Theme Directory WordPress Tips The following tips and ideas can help you create a WordPress website: Always make sure to decrease your image size to speed up your website. Don’t forget to insert title tags and ALT texts. There will be some posts that you don’t want ads to appear between them. Therefore, you’ll need to hide ads for individual posts. Always edit your permalinks. Add a footer widget to your blog site or business site. Don’t forget to use an SEO plugin. WordPress offers a powerful, flexible, and scalable solution for businesses looking to establish or enhance their online presence. Its ease of use, coupled with extensive customization options and a supportive community, makes it an ideal choice for businesses of all sizes. By leveraging WordPress’s capabilities, businesses can create engaging, SEO-friendly, and secure websites that drive growth and success in the digital age. Is WordPress Good for Beginners? Yes, it’s surprisingly easy to use for such a powerful website builder. And although there is a little bit of work to installing and publishing your WordPress website, it is about as simple as using Microsoft Word once you get everything going. In brief, whether you are a beginner or an expert, it’s user-friendly right from the start to use WordPress. What are the Disadvantages of WordPress? One of the major disadvantages of WordPress is that more plugins are required for additional features. Also, WordPress websites can go down for no apparent reason and in a way that is difficult to troubleshoot. If you don’t manage your website correctly, it can also tend to be slow and full of spam. Ultimately, the codebase lacks the intuitiveness that some developers expect, making it more challenging to work with WordPress compared to other frameworks. If these challenges are significant for you, consider exploring the best WordPress alternatives to help you launch your site. What Type of Website is WordPress Good For? The following are the types of websites where WordPress is good to use: A blog E-commerce websites Business website Portfolio website Online Community Multilingual websites Frequently asked questions: Is WordPress a web server? Yes, and it’s a web server that handles the majority of high-traffic sites and runs the show. That’s why it’s the webserver of choice for many high-end hosting providers and leading WordPress companies. Can I install WordPress on my personal computer? Yes, you can install WordPress on a PC. What language is WordPress written in? WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS) software written in the PHP language associated with a MySQL or MariaDB database. Are multilingual sites allowed in WordPress? Yes, multilingual sites are allowed in WordPress. For example, the popular blogging tool is multilingual, meaning it can be used in different languages. It is also available in 196 languages. Image: Depositphotos This article, "What is WordPress?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

What is WordPress? WordPress powers businesses all over the world. It is one of the most popular website building platforms, and it allows you to create a website or blog from scratch or improve an existing website. There are many notable brands, celebrities and companies that use it too. This article discusses what WordPress is and how it can benefit your business. By the end of this post, you should definitely know the answer to the question, “What is WordPress?” What is a WordPress Website? If you ever did an internet search for “What is WordPress?” you’d likely find out more than 1 in 4 websites use the website platform to power their own website (by the way, the term ‘WordPress’ is searched for nearly 3 million times a month!). That’s all well and good, but it doesn’t really answer the question, “What is WordPress?” right? Simply put, WordPress is a content management system (CMS) developed by WordPress experts Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little. The duo designed it as a tool to make it easy for people without any coding experience to create a website or blog from scratch. It is a free, open-source software system licensed under GPLv2 (or later), meaning any user can use, modify, or contribute to its codebase. In addition, WordPress’s open-source software system has end-to-end encryption that can be used on your own web server or by a hosting company. Its functionality and ease of use have resulted in a large community of WordPress users and WordPress developers who have created and utilized themes, plugins, and other tools to quickly and easily build anything from huge online stores to a simple blog. 10 Useful WordPress Statistics If you need further help convincing yourselves or others that WordPress is the best CMS system for your business, be sure to check out the following WordPress statistics: It is currently the most popular content management system on the web. People visit WordPress more than the social media giant Twitter, which has a whopping 156 million unique visitors a month. With a WordPress theme-builder like seedprod, even users who aren’t very technically skilled can easily create a custom WordPress theme from scratch. Over 400 million people visit a WordPress website each month. 661 WordPress sites and nearly 300 new WooCommerce stores appear on average each day. There are over 59,000 free plugins available in the WordPress plugin directory. Over 187 countries have at least one active WordPress installation. The WordPress.org website receives over two billion page views per month. The WordPress app has been downloaded over two million times. Out of 1.3 billion websites on the web, more than 455 million sites use WordPress to power their own website. What is WordPress used for? The question closely following “What is WordPress?” is probably “Why do I need to use a WordPress website for my business, anyway, and is WordPress good for small business websites?” Firstly, when you install WordPress and set everything up, you’ll find that it can be used for developing anything from a small business site to an eCommerce storefront and blog. In fact, some of the most popular websites in the world are powered by WordPress, including Samsung, Forbes, The Guardian, and the New York Times. Additionally, small business sites like ours also use WordPress. Secondly, WordPress offers a wide range of versatile features, and new unique functionalities are being introduced regularly. However, versatility is not the sole reason for WordPress’s popularity; it also includes several features that make it an excellent platform for businesses. Here are just a few examples of what you can do with the king of content management systems: Create website content such as custom pages and posts. Easily integrate it with social media platforms. Help your site rank higher in search engine results through SEO capabilities. Track your website’s traffic and performance with analytics tools. Design a website or blog from scratch. Improve an existing website by adding WordPress functionality. Develop membership sites, chatrooms, directories, wikis, galleries, and online courses. Support all media types, such as audio, video, images, and information-related data. How does WordPress Work? Now that you know a little more about what WordPress is let’s take a look at how it works. The working process of WordPress software is a comprehensive procedure that works by combining some core files, a database, files that you add or install, and a dashboard to let you manage the whole thing. There are also many components, such as themes, plugins, and widgets, that work together to give your website the look and functionality you desire. WordPress core Installing core files is the first procedure in WordPress you will do. When you install WordPress (the WordPress core), you get access to two websites: the WordPress dashboard and your website. The WordPress dashboard is where you manage your website—add posts and pages, change settings, install plugins and themes, etc. The database This place is where all your data and website files are stored. If you are using manual WordPress, you need to install the database. If you are using an auto-installer, it will automatically do the installation process. Extra files Extra files are in the forms of plugins, themes and uploads for WordPress, and they help to make your website or blog look unique by allowing you to customize aspects. WordPress dashboard or admin screen To create a website or blog with WordPress, you first need to install it on a web server. You can do this yourself by downloading the software and installing it on your own web server, or you can have a hosting company do it for you. Once WordPress is installed, you can log in to the WordPress dashboard and start creating content. You can add posts and pages, change settings, install plugins and themes, etc. Publishing When you’re ready to launch your website or blog, you simply need to publish it by clicking on the “Publish” button in the WordPress dashboard. After that, your website will be live and accessible to the world. You can also use the WordPress dashboard to track your website’s traffic and performance and see how your visitors are accessing your content. Customization, themes, and plugins Themes control the appearance of your site; plugins add features, and widgets put all the pieces together. When you install WordPress, it comes with a core set of themes and plugins that provide the basic structure for your website. You can then install additional themes and plugins from the WordPress.org plugin directory or other sources to add features like a blog, contact form, social media integration, and more. You can also customize your site’s appearance by editing the CSS code for your theme or using child themes to make changes without affecting the original code. And if you need help with any of this, there are plenty of WordPress tutorials and support forums to help you out. Summary ComponentDescription WordPress CoreInitial files you install. Grants access to the WordPress dashboard (for site management) and your actual website. DatabaseStorage for all website data and files. Manual WordPress requires manual installation, while auto-installs handle this automatically. Extra Files (Plugins, Themes)Customization tools to give a unique look to the site. They can be plugins, themes, or uploads. WordPress DashboardOnce WordPress is installed on a server, you can manage content through the dashboard by adding posts/pages, changing settings, and more. PublishingLaunch your website/blog by clicking the "Publish" button in the dashboard. This action makes your site live to the world. Customization, Themes, PluginsThemes dictate the site's look; plugins add features; widgets integrate various elements. WordPress comes with a basic structure, but additional features can be added from various sources. WordPress.org Vs. WordPress.com There are two versions of WordPress: WordPress.org and WordPress.com. WordPress.org is the self-hosted version of WordPress that you install on your own web server, while WordPress.com is a hosted version where all the hosting and maintenance is taken care of for you. Why You Should Consider WordPress for Your Business WordPress.com allows you to set up your blog for free, but it has several disadvantages. For instance, you can only create a site under a subdomain, and you can’t remove the ads. Here are a few other ways the two stack up against one another. Ease of Use WordPress.org is a little more difficult to use than WordPress.com, as you need to install it on your own web server and manage all the aspects of your website yourself. With WordPress.com, everything is taken care of for you, and getting started is fairly straightforward. WordPress themes WordPress themes make your website look brilliant, and WordPress.org has full WordPress theme support where you can use custom commercial themes and all the other free themes. The .org version of WordPress also lets you use premium WordPress themes to customize, modify or do pretty much anything you like with your website. WordPress.com doesn’t let you customize themes and only has limited theme support where you are limited to the WordPress themes that exist in their repository. WordPress plugins You will likely need WordPress plugins, and the WordPress.org plugin repository is enormous and has a plugin for just about anything you can imagine. In addition, you can find all types of WordPress plugins—from social media to security plugins. Unfortunately, the WordPress.com plugin library offers only around 100 free WordPress plugins, which may not sufficiently meet your requirements. Domain name Your domain name, or your website’s URL, is what takes your visitors to your website. With WordPress.org, you have full control over your domain name and can use any domain you want. WordPress.com limits you to the .wordpress.com subdomain unless you upgrade to a paid plan that gives you a custom domain name. Web hosting account The cost of hosting for your WordPress website is included in the price when you install WordPress.org on your web server. However, WordPress.org does charge a monthly fee for web hosting, which starts at an estimated $46-$100/yr. WordPress.com is free for up to 3GB of storage space, but you have to deal with their ads splashed across your pages. That might not be a big deal for a personal blog, but it might be a deal-breaker for a small business trying to establish its brand. eCommerce With WordPress.org, you can install any eCommerce plugin you want and create an eCommerce site, giving you a full-blown online store. On the other hand, with WordPress.com, you are limited to the basic Shopify eCommerce platform that has some restrictions on what you can sell. Monetization You can monetize your website with WordPress.org by adding ads, selling products, or accepting donations. Meanwhile, you cannot monetize your site on WordPress.com without upgrading to a paid plan that gives you more features. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) This feature is essential since it helps your business site reach the top Google rank in search results. WordPress.org comes with all the SEO features you need to optimize your website for search engines. With free WordPress.com, you don’t have much control over your website SEO since you can’t install the required plugins. Business plan users can install 3rd-party SEO plugins for about $300/yr. Help and support from the WordPress community WordPress.org has a support community with millions of users who are happy to help you out with any issue you might have. You can also get WordPress assistance through the help and support feature. The WordPress Help Team has helped many entrepreneurs build their business websites and do other tasks. That being said, the .com version of WordPress has much less support and is not as active in the support forums. Free software WordPress.com is free and has many features available if you are looking for an easy way to get started. If you want to use WordPress for your small business, the .org version is probably the best option and will cost anywhere from $46 to $100/year. Of course, it isn’t free, but you get more features and control of your WordPress websites. Google Analytics integration Google Analytics is a valuable tool for boosting your website traffic and converting visitors into leads. With WordPress.org, you have access to robust Google Analytics tracking integrated into the platform, allowing you to monitor your website’s performance and understand the origins of your visitors. However, this feature is not available on WordPress.com. Website security There are different types of website security in WordPress, such as backdoors, pharma hacks, malicious redirects, denial of service, and many more. WordPress.org gives you the ability to install a good security plugin and harden the security of your WordPress site with only a few clicks. WordPress.com doesn’t give you this feature. WordPress site customization WordPress.org WordPress.org is the preferred option for users looking to create a more personalized digital presence. This platform offers significant flexibility, enabling extensive changes to both website design and functionality. One of the highlights of WordPress.org is its flexibility to allow direct CSS edits, which means webmasters can tweak the visual appearance down to the smallest detail. Additionally, for those wanting a more sustainable and advanced customization without affecting the primary theme, creating child themes is a beneficial option. A child theme inherits the features and appearance of its parent theme but allows for modifications without affecting the original theme, making it an invaluable tool for developers and designers. WordPress.com: In contrast, WordPress.com is more restrictive when it comes to customization. Users are limited to basic theme alterations, which means direct modifications to CSS or the creation of child themes are off the table. While it’s simpler and more user-friendly, especially for beginners, those with a distinct vision for their website might find it limiting. This platform is perfect for those who appreciate ready-made templates and wish to avoid the complexities of detailed design changes. Mobile-Friendly features Both WordPress.org and WordPress.com are mobile-friendly, meaning they can be used on a PC, tablet or mobile phone. However, WordPress.org has more features that make it easier for your website to look good on mobile devices and screen sizes. Speed WordPress.org is faster than WordPress.com because you are in control of all the aspects of your website and can optimize it for speed. So…which version of WordPress should you choose? If you want more control over your WordPress website and don’t mind managing the technical aspects yourself, then WordPress.org is the better option. If you’re looking for an easy way to get started with a blog or don’t need all the features that WordPress.org offers, then WordPress.com is a good choice. Also importantly, if you’re looking for a business-grade WordPress site, it’s probably going to be best to go with WordPress.org rather than WordPress.com. Business Growth with WordPress: Capabilities and Strategies WordPress is not just a platform for creating websites; it’s a comprehensive ecosystem that can significantly enhance business growth and online presence. Here are some new sections that can add value to the article “What is WordPress?” and how it can benefit businesses further: WordPress for E-commerce Expansion WordPress, coupled with WooCommerce, offers a robust solution for businesses looking to enter or expand in the e-commerce space. WooCommerce is a powerful WordPress plugin that transforms a website into a fully functional online store. With features like product listings, a shopping cart, checkout processes, and secure payment gateways, WordPress combined with WooCommerce offers users a smooth shopping experience. Leveraging WordPress for SEO One of the key strengths of WordPress is its SEO-friendly nature. With plugins like Yoast SEO, businesses can easily optimize their content for search engines right from the WordPress dashboard. This includes editing meta tags, generating sitemaps, and ensuring content readability — all essential factors for improving search engine rankings and attracting more organic traffic. WordPress and Mobile Optimization With the increasing prevalence of mobile internet usage, having a mobile-optimized website is crucial. WordPress themes are responsive by default, meaning they automatically adjust to the screen size of various devices, ensuring your site looks great and functions well on desktops, tablets, and smartphones. This responsiveness not only enhances user experience but also contributes positively to SEO. WordPress Customization and Flexibility WordPress offers unparalleled customization through thousands of themes and plugins, allowing businesses to tailor their sites to their exact needs and branding. From custom contact forms and appointment booking systems to integrated social media feeds and customer testimonials, the possibilities with WordPress are virtually limitless. This flexibility enables businesses to evolve their websites as they grow, without the need for a complete overhaul. WordPress Community and Support The vast WordPress community is one of its greatest assets. From forums and blogs to WordCamps and meetups, the community offers extensive support, resources, and networking opportunities. Whether you’re looking for advice on theme customization, plugin recommendations, or troubleshooting technical issues, there’s always someone willing to help. WordPress for Content Marketing Content reigns supreme in the realm of digital marketing, and WordPress stands out as the premier platform for managing that content. With its user-friendly editor, Gutenberg, creating and formatting content becomes effortless, empowering businesses to execute a strong content marketing strategy. With features like scheduling posts, categorizing content, and tagging for SEO, WordPress makes it simple to manage a dynamic content calendar. WordPress Security Measures While WordPress is a secure platform, the vast array of themes and plugins can introduce vulnerabilities if not properly managed. However, WordPress continuously updates its software to patch security flaws, and there are numerous security plugins available to safeguard your site further. Regular updates, secure hosting, and best practices in password management can ensure your WordPress site remains safe from threats. Integrating WordPress with Marketing Tools WordPress seamlessly integrates with a plethora of marketing tools and platforms, from email marketing services like Mailchimp to CRM systems like Salesforce. This integration capability enables businesses to streamline their marketing efforts, automate workflows, and measure the effectiveness of their campaigns directly from their WordPress dashboard. How to Start Using WordPress Installing WordPress for your blog or any business is an easy task. Compared to other website builders, the installation of WordPress is user-friendly and can be done faster. The following illustrates the steps for installing WordPress: Step 1: Download and open the WordPress software Step 2: Establish a WordPress database on your web application and a MySQL user with full access and modification capabilities. Step 3: Locate and change wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php, then modify the document to include your database information. Step 4: Upload the WordPress files to your web server’s preferred location Step 5: Access the URL in a web browser to run the WordPress installation script. This should have been the location in which the WordPress files were published. If you are using WordPress.com, you can install almost any WordPress plugin and launch a custom domain for your business site. Step 6: At this step, you can use WordPress. Here, you begin hosting your site, and if you are the WordPress editor, you can start publishing things like WordPress posts and WordPress pages. Step 7: WordPress currently comes with three themes. The current default theme is Twenty Twenty-One, and that’s the first theme you see after logging into your website platform. You can change this to any other theme by going to Appearance > Themes or downloading a new one from the WordPress.org Theme Directory WordPress Tips The following tips and ideas can help you create a WordPress website: Always make sure to decrease your image size to speed up your website. Don’t forget to insert title tags and ALT texts. There will be some posts that you don’t want ads to appear between them. Therefore, you’ll need to hide ads for individual posts. Always edit your permalinks. Add a footer widget to your blog site or business site. Don’t forget to use an SEO plugin. WordPress offers a powerful, flexible, and scalable solution for businesses looking to establish or enhance their online presence. Its ease of use, coupled with extensive customization options and a supportive community, makes it an ideal choice for businesses of all sizes. By leveraging WordPress’s capabilities, businesses can create engaging, SEO-friendly, and secure websites that drive growth and success in the digital age. Is WordPress Good for Beginners? Yes, it’s surprisingly easy to use for such a powerful website builder. And although there is a little bit of work to installing and publishing your WordPress website, it is about as simple as using Microsoft Word once you get everything going. In brief, whether you are a beginner or an expert, it’s user-friendly right from the start to use WordPress. What are the Disadvantages of WordPress? One of the major disadvantages of WordPress is that more plugins are required for additional features. Also, WordPress websites can go down for no apparent reason and in a way that is difficult to troubleshoot. If you don’t manage your website correctly, it can also tend to be slow and full of spam. Ultimately, the codebase lacks the intuitiveness that some developers expect, making it more challenging to work with WordPress compared to other frameworks. If these challenges are significant for you, consider exploring the best WordPress alternatives to help you launch your site. What Type of Website is WordPress Good For? The following are the types of websites where WordPress is good to use: A blog E-commerce websites Business website Portfolio website Online Community Multilingual websites Frequently asked questions: Is WordPress a web server? Yes, and it’s a web server that handles the majority of high-traffic sites and runs the show. That’s why it’s the webserver of choice for many high-end hosting providers and leading WordPress companies. Can I install WordPress on my personal computer? Yes, you can install WordPress on a PC. What language is WordPress written in? WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS) software written in the PHP language associated with a MySQL or MariaDB database. Are multilingual sites allowed in WordPress? Yes, multilingual sites are allowed in WordPress. For example, the popular blogging tool is multilingual, meaning it can be used in different languages. It is also available in 196 languages. Image: Depositphotos This article, "What is WordPress?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Washington has decided to abandon both Ukraine and its postwar role in the worldView the full article

Sales of fully electric car sales In Europe were up 37.3% in January, industry data showed on Tuesday, although the sharp rise was not enough to compensate for a drop in petrol and diesel vehicles, leaving overall sales down by 2.1%. Figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) showed that all-electric brand Tesla saw a 45.2% drop in the European Union, Britain and the European Free Trade Area, while sales at its Chinese competitor SAIC Motor, which owns the MG brand, were up 36.8%. Why it’s important The EU executive will present auto sector plans on March 5, following talks with automakers, unions, and interest groups. EU carmakers, which are struggling to compete with Chinese rivals and bracing for U.S. tariffs, are urging the Commission to grant relief from potential fines resulting from CO2 car emission targets that came into effect in January. Some automakers have increased the prices of petrol engine models to encourage EV adoption, but the industry fears that customers will simply buy fewer cars. Electric transport groups, instead, claim that any push to weaken the targets will disrupt investments in EV infrastructure and hamper the bloc’s competitiveness. By the numbers January sales in the EU, Britain and EFTA fell slightly below 1 million cars sold, the lowest volume since August. Registrations at Volkswagen and Renault grew by 5.3% and 5.4% respectively, while they fell by 16% at Stellantis. In the EU, January sales fell by 2.6%, even as the registrations of battery electric (BEV) and hybrid electric (HEV) cars grew by 34% and 18.4% respectively. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) sales were instead down by 8.5%. Electrified vehicles—either BEV, HEV or PHEV—sold in the bloc accounted for 57.2% of passenger car registrations in January, up from 47.4% in the previous year. Among the largest EU markets, Spain sales increased by 5.3%, while in France, Italy, and Germany they dropped by 6.2%, 5.8%, and 2.8%. In Britain they were down 2.5%. Context While battling to bring down high costs in home markets and fighting competition from China, European carmakers are also preparing to face potential import tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump has raised tariffs on aluminium and steel and threatened a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada, as well as on all autos and semiconductors. —Alessandro Parodi, Reuters View the full article

Implemented in January, the Biden administration rule addressed flood risk in designated zones, setting building levels that were higher than FEMA standards. View the full article

Toyota announced plans to restructure its board on Tuesday in what it described as an attempt to bring in more diverse views and give a larger roles to auditors. Among six appointments is Christopher Reynolds, now an executive in the automaker’s North American operations. As a lawyer, and son of a Ford worker, he brings experience in human resources and risk management, according to Toyota. The number of women on the 10-person board will grow from one to two with the appointments of Kumi Fujisawa, an independent outsider and entrepreneur, and Hiromi Osada, previously a Toyota auditor. George Olcott, previously an auditor, will also join the board. The number of outside members will rise from four to five. Takanori Azuma, a Toyota Human Resources official, said the new board includes auditors for the first time. The company’s internal controls have come under scrutiny since it admitted to cheating on certification tests for seven vehicle models last year. Azuma said the additions are designed to bring diverse views to its leadership as “weapons for survival” in a changing environment. “It would be a mistake to assume that what we think up internally will be what our customers and people around the world can empathize with,” he said. The maker of the Camry sedan and Lexus luxury models has been trying to transform itself into what it calls “a mobility company” as the auto industry undergoes drastic changes including the arrival of powerful relative newcomers like Tesla and BYD. Chairman Akio Toyoda, from the company’s founding family, and Chief Executive Koji Sato’s positions will remain unchanged. The company will seek approval for the new board at a general shareholders’ meeting later this year. Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@yurikageyama —Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer View the full article

On Monday morning, anonymous hackers played a video on screens throughout the Department of Housing and Urban Development HQ in Washington D.C. The AI-generated video jankily portrayed President Trump kissing Elon Musk’s feet, with an overlaid caption reading: “Long live the real king.” It reportedly played on a loop for five minutes before the baffled building staff eventually scrambled to each floor and turned off the TVs manually. As amusing as it may have been for some to see a high-tech protest depicting a low-status Trump, amusement is all this protest has to offer. Those looking for, or trying to manifest, cracks in the president’s relationship with the world’s richest man still have their work cut out for them. Despite Trump’s historically mercurial affinities, and a distaste for being overshadowed, his alliance with Musk appears a lot sturdier than many predicted. The AI-generated video that played at HUD is hardly the first public attempt to drive a wedge between the president and the tech oligarch. Media figures such as Rachel Maddow, politicians including Senator Bernie Sanders, and random social media users have all been part of a sprawling concerted effort to turn Trump against “President Musk.” Rolling Stone even reported in December on conversations taking place within the Democratic National Committee about party leaders describing Trump as subservient to Musk, in order to activate Trump’s ego. It’s easy to see why they might have thought this strategy would succeed. During Trump’s first term, he quickly soured on the people in his orbit. In 2017 alone, 34% of his top aides either resigned, were fired, or transitioned to different positions; a record amount of turnover for a president in his first year. By the end of that term, among the most influential positions within his administration, the rate of turnover reportedly reached 92%. Beyond past precedent, there were other reasons to believe the relationship would quickly combust. Both men clearly enjoy being the main character of the internet; perhaps the world stage wouldn’t be big enough to contain both egos. On top of that, their apparently tight bond got off to a rocky start. After his political pivot to the right, Musk initially threw his weight behind Governor Ron DeSantis in 2022, since Trump would be “too old” by the end of a second term. Trump, for his part, called Musk a “bullshit artist” around the same time. Any differences between the two, however, now seem confined to the past. During a joint appearance on Fox News’ Hannity last week, Sean Hannity asked Musk and Trump about the push to break up their partnership. In response, Trump confirmed he’s aware of those efforts, saying: “Elon called me. He said, ‘You know they’re trying to drive us apart.’ I said, ‘Absolutely.’ You know, they said, ‘We have breaking news: Donald Trump has ceded control of the presidency to Elon Musk. President Musk will be attending a Cabinet meeting tonight at 8 o’clock.’ And I say—it’s just so obvious. They’re so bad at it.” Perhaps it was a calculated move to present a unified front in the face of so much wishful thinking for a falling out. But there are plenty of reasons beyond the Hannity interview to suggest that a divorce won’t be coming any time soon. Trump and Musk’s shared vision Trump and Musk appear to be on the same page about how the U.S. should be governed, for one thing. As Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency decimates headcount in federal offices around the country, he is on the brink of achieving what Trump set out to do in his first term. Soon after taking office in 2017, Trump signed an executive order placing a hiring freeze across the executive branch. It lasted 79 days, during which then-head of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney developed a long-term plan for workforce reduction. Trump would go on to spend the rest of his term fuming about the “rogue bureaucrats” of the so-called Deep State who thwarted some of his plans. Now, Musk is as animated about taking a chainsaw to the federal bureaucracy as he was about doing so upon taking over Twitter. The pair similarly see eye-to-eye on the classic conservative hobbyhorse of deregulation. While Musk has long lamented all the irksome government rules standing in the way of his business plans, Trump bragged in his 2021 farewell address that he had “slashed more job-killing regulations than any administration ha[s] ever done before.” On top of everything else, Musk and Trump seem equally credulous when it comes to fringe conspiracy theories. Even Musk’s own AI chatbot Grok admits the X head honcho spreads the most misinformation on that platform—although it recently blocked some criticism of Musk and Trump—and farfetched concepts like Fort Knox’s supposed missing gold now tend to quickly spread from a Musk tweet to a Trump press conference. Considering both have also professed intense animosity toward legacy media and wokeness, one imagines the two would find plenty to talk about over deskside Diet Cokes in the Oval Office. The money factor Although Tesla stock has dropped 37% from its high in December amid backlash, Musk and his various companies stand to profit immensely from his new government adjacency. DOGE has already made cuts at agencies that oversee some of Musk’s products, for instance, among other potential conflicts of interest. But Trump may stand to benefit even more. Beyond the $277 million Musk contributed to his campaign efforts, what Trump has gained from this symbiotic relationship is a new cudgel against non-compliant members of his party. Back in December, Musk warned Republicans in the House and Senate that he would fund primary challengers against anyone who stood in the way of Trump’s agenda. That threat lingered in the air throughout the confirmation hearings for Trump’s cabinet, during which any objections to even the most controversial picks—like Robert Kennedy Jr., Pete Hegseth, and Tulsi Gabbard—eventually vanished. Musk’s role in keeping party members in line is not something Trump would lightly sacrifice. Another headline sponge During his first term, Trump’s wild-card unpredictability, social media proclivity, and authoritarian-like bearing brought him constant negative press coverage. With a jubilant Elon Musk testing the limits of his newfound power, though, Trump now has a spare lightning rod for bad headlines. Trump’s critics and adversaries among the Democrats, opinion columnists, and random social media users now have a second Trumpian figure—with his own unique modus operandi—to focus their attention on, siphoning ire that might otherwise go solely to Trump. Still, that ire is very much real. Polls in recent weeks have shown Musk’s popularity plummeting, and Trump’s slipping as well. Angry town halls seem to be making some Republicans nervous about how to defend Musk and DOGE’s actions to their constituents, while conflicting advice about handling Musk’s recent ultimatum for federal workers–that they submit five bullets about what they accomplished the previous week or forfeit their jobs–suggests fracturing support for DOGE within the administration. But the situation would likely have to deteriorate dramatically further before bringing about a divorce—if for no other reason than spite. While the same vanity that allowed Kamala Harris to easily bait Trump into ranting about crowd sizes during their debate last fall does not seem as susceptible to the ‘President Musk’ taunts, it just might help prolong the president in denying his detractors an outcome they so clearly desire. View the full article

And two steps to protect taxpayers. By CPA Trendlines Research Go PRO for members-only access to more CPA Trendlines Research. View the full article

And two steps to protect taxpayers. By CPA Trendlines Research Go PRO for members-only access to more CPA Trendlines Research. View the full article

Clicks, the iPhone keyboard accessory that went viral during CES 2024, is now coming to multiple Android phones—Google Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S25, and the Moto Razr+ (2024). Clicks adds a physical QWERTY keyboard to your smartphone, and also functions as a case for your device. Up until now, Clicks was available exclusively for all iPhone 15 and 16 devices, as well as the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max. When the first iPhone launched, it sounded a death knell for smartphones with physical keyboards, as the world moved to bar-shaped phones with big screens. Touchscreen typing is good enough for most people, but Clicks is betting on the fact that content creators, vloggers, and people who value productivity may find it easier to type on a physical keyboard. I know for a fact that I make far fewer typos on my MacBook than I do on my iPhone, but the downside with Clicks is that it adds a lot of heft to your phone. It changes the weight distribution of your phone, and some people may find it harder to use their phones since it will feel more top-heavy. Clicks says Android users can customize typing settings on their device using a companion app, such as changing the function of shortcut buttons. Each Clicks case has a few shortcut buttons that vary by device, but a search button appears on all variants of the keyboard. The company says the keys have metal dome switches that provide tactile feedback and that the keys are backlit, so you don't need to switch back to the on-screen keyboard whenever you lose light. Since the keyboard is below the screen, you can use your phone's entire display all the time. That's a perk, especially for apps that benefit from added screen real estate, but it does make your phone bulky enough that it may not easily fit in your pocket or purse. That said, you don't need to remove the case to charge your phone, since Clicks supports USB-C passthrough charging. For Pixel 9 and 9 Pro, Clicks supports wireless charging, too. Credit: Clicks On Pixel 9 and 9 Pro, Click is available in two colors: Surge (yellow) and Onyx (black). The company says it expects to start shipping these cases by late April. For the Motorola Razr+ (2024), the color options are Electric (blue) and Onyx, and the case is expected to ship late May. Finally, for the Galaxy S25, the color variants are Pinot (a reddish brown) and Onyx, and shipping is expected in June. Pre-orders for all Android variants of the keyboard accessory open today on the company's website at an introductory price of $99. That price is valid until March 21. If you order after that, the final price is $139. View the full article

Many things remain uncertain about AI’s future impact on our lives. One that isn’t in doubt is that more and more of the world’s software will be written, at least in part, by software. Already, 25% of Google’s code is generated by AI, CEO Sundar Pichai said last October. By 2028, projects research firm Gartner, 75% of enterprise developers will use AI tools in their work. This trend is reflected in programmers’ embrace of products such as GitHub Copilot and Cursor, which let them call on generative AI to fill in some of the specific code as they tackle a project—essentially a fancy form of autocomplete for software engineering. The next step beyond that is AI coding assistance that’s more agentic—capable of handling at least certain tasks from start to finish without constant supervision. That’s what a San Francisco startup called Factory offers with its platform, which officially debuts today. “Our mission, at a high level, is to bring autonomy to software engineering,” says Factory CEO Matan Grinberg, who founded the company with CTO Eno Reyes. Its platform includes agents—Factory calls them Droids—that “automate tasks in the software development lifecycle, and in particular tasks that developers don’t want to do—testing, debugging, refactoring, migrations, all that ugly stuff,” explains Grinberg. Factory aims to go beyond the code-autocomplete features offered by tools such as GitHub Copilot. Rather than replacing something like the GitHub Copilot, Factory aims to provide a new layer for software projects that’s compatible with the processes and products a team already has in place. “For those who use Copilot, it’s like, ‘Okay, cool—I brought this down from [Factory],’” says Grinberg. “‘Now there’s some other things I want to do.’” ‘I had a bit of an existential crisis’ Grinberg and Reyes were respectively 24 and 23 when they started Factory in 2023—by all accounts, a whirlwind of an experience. It started when Grinberg, who’d studied string theory at Princeton and was working on a PhD in physics at Berkeley, suddenly began questioning his trajectory in life. “I realized that I had spent basically the last decade obsessed with physics,” he says, “and I was only doing it because it was hard, not because I actually loved it. Which is obviously a horrible reason to pursue a career path. So, I had a bit of an existential crisis.” Grinberg found a new obsession in AI, a technology whose destiny had been permanently altered by the arrival of ChatGPT. He was particularly fascinated by program synthesis (later better known as code generation): the science of teaching software to write software. He became a regular at AI hackathons, including the one where he met Reyes, who’d written his thesis on deep learning and worked on language models at Microsoft and Hugging Face. (The two had been at Princeton at the same time and—despite having overlapping circles of friends— had somehow managed not to know each other.) At Hugging Face, “I was working with Databricks, Bloomberg, Grammarly—everyone wanted code gen,” says Reyes. He’d already collaborated on an AI code generator for finance applications. “There’s way more opportunity here,” he remembers thinking. Factory’s platform lets users select code and other data to incorporate into collections called Workflows. This is where a classic Silicon Valley element of serendipity kicked in. At almost the same moment Grinberg and Reyes connected, Grinberg had sent an unsolicited email to Shaun Maguire, a partner at venture capital titan Sequoia, seeking career advice. “It’s very rare that cold emails actually turn into something,” says Maguire. But like Grinberg, Maguire had a background in high-energy physics theory. And when he learned that Grinberg had coauthored a paper with legendary physicist Juan Maldacena, the credential blew his socks off. In person, Maguire was even more impressed by Grinberg: “I was shocked that not only does this guy like have the IQ to write a string theory paper with Juan Maldacena as an undergrad, but he also has charisma and sales ability and empathy.” He immediately encouraged Grinberg to pivot from PhD student to startup founder—a goal Grinberg now acknowledges he’d already had in mind, though he’d kept it to himself. A week later, Grinberg returned with the idea that became Factory. By then, the GitHub Copilot had shown that AI could produce lines of code usable in a production environment. But as the name Copilot indicates, it was doing so under the watchful eye of a human programmer. Grinberg was thinking ahead to AI that could perform some straightforward tasks more independently—in other words, agentic AI, though nobody was bandying around the term at the time. “His point was, ‘Copilot is great, but soon we’re going to have junior developers in a box,’” remembers Maguire. “And that’s what he wanted to work towards.” Sequoia helped get Grinberg and Reyes on their way by leading Factory’s $5 million seed round of funding. It followed up by leading a $15 million Series A round in 2024. ‘Delegating away some tasks’ Grinberg emphasizes that Factory doesn’t envision AI taking over coding in a sweeping fashion anytime soon. Instead, the exact nature of the human-computer collaboration will vary from area to area. “Software developers of the future will be delegating away some tasks,” he says. “They will be pairing with AI on others. And they will be more directly hands-on working on some things with suggestions from AI as they do it.” In a demo, he showed me how the company’s platform uses AI to let engineering teams create shareable, easily digestible collections of all the code and other data associated with a particular project. Known as Workflows, they don’t just help humans keep tabs on what’s where. They’re also a starting point for the Droid agents, which can take on useful grunt work relating to the code encompassed by a Workflow. For example, many programmers use a system called Mermaid to create diagrams about works in progress—say, a chart documenting all the dependencies that various blocks of code might have on each other. Instead of personally writing the lines of JavaScript necessary to create a Mermaid diagram, a user might have a Droid do the job and then save the results as a code snippet for later use. Similarly, if a project has code that lacks comments—embedded explanations documenting what the software is doing and how it does it—a Droid can add them. Among the software development tasks Factory’s AI can assist with is one of the most basic of them all: debugging. Those are examples of tasks that many teams might happily offload to AI. But the whole point is that users can ask Droids to undertake assignments on the fly—“something as spontaneous as ’Hey, can you generate me a customer usage dashboard?’” says Grinberg. Such a dashboard could draw on any relevant data the user added to the Workflow in question. And like everything Droids create, it would be reusable. Of course, there’s nothing new about using dashboards to help wrangle complex projects. In the past, however, they’ve been one-size-fits-all tools hard-coded by a platform provider. By using generative AI, Factory wants to pioneer a more fluid approach in which its customers can call on Droids to construct the functionality they want when they want it. Instead of being “set in stone,” says Reyes, a team’s working environment can consist in part of “LLM-generated, malleable pieces of content.” That malleability includes the ability to choose the large language models that power Factory’s AI: “We support everything, basically,” says Grinberg. Even freshly-minted, cutting-edge models are on the list, including xAI’s Grok 3 (announced last week) and Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 3.7 (announced on Monday). By riding atop all the major LLMs, Factory expects to get more powerful as they do, opening up scenarios where Droids grow competent at work that’s presently beyond their skill set. “Building for what’s going to be possible in a year or two is how we got here first,” says Reyes. “And we’re already building for what will be possible a year or two in the future.” Which is not to say that Factory fully understands how its customers will use its platform. As with all things generative AI, nobody knows for sure what it can and can’t do well until someone gives it a try. “We just want a ton of people to see this new paradigm of interacting with software,” says Grinberg. “It’s just going to be so much fun to have all these people who have really strong opinions get their hands dirty.” View the full article

True tales about the busy season. By Frank Stitely The Relentless CPA Go PRO for members-only access to more Frank Stitely. View the full article

True tales about the busy season. By Frank Stitely The Relentless CPA Go PRO for members-only access to more Frank Stitely. View the full article

Decision to plunder the development budget brings end to era of Britain as an ‘aid superpower’ View the full article

Whether it’s declaring that blindness prevents government employees from doing their jobs or suggesting that hiring workers with intellectual disabilities contributed to Federal Aviation Administration safety lapses, the Trump administration has repeatedly questioned whether people with disabilities belong in the workplace. This stance reflects widespread stigma and misconceptions about what people with disabilities can and do accomplish. Negative stereotypes and exclusionary practices persist despite the fact that people with disabilities are the largest minority group in the United States, representing nearly 30% of the population. Whether or not you identify as disabled, most people live or work in close proximity to others with a disability. For years I have researched how people with disabilities have been kept out of efforts to guarantee equal access for everybody, particularly in higher education. This exclusion is often due to unfounded beliefs about capacity, intellect and merit, and the false premise that disability inclusion requires lowering standards. However, studies demonstrate that including people with disabilities is good for everyone, not just disabled people. Schools and workplaces are more collaborative and responsive when people with disabilities are included at all levels of the organization. In other words, disability inclusion isn’t about charity; it’s about making organizations work better. Rolling back protections President Donald Trump issued executive orders the day he took office for a second time that aimed at ending government and private-sector efforts to make U.S. workplaces and schools more diverse, equitable and inclusive. In addition to affecting LGBTQ+ communities and people of color, these measures could erode years of progress toward protecting the rights of people with disabilities to earn a living. Between 40 million and 80 million Americans identify as disabled. Even the higher end of this range underestimates the actual number of people with disabilities, because some individuals choose not to identify that way or even realize they qualify as such. That includes people with impairments from chemical and pesticide exposure, as well as many older people and those who are living with HIV and AIDS, to name some examples. Only 15% of people with disabilities are born with their impairment, so most individuals become disabled over their lifetime. Tracing historical precedents Blaming failures on people with disabilities and people of color echoes the harms embedded in eugenics, an attempt to scientifically prove genetic inferiority of disabled, LGBTQ+ Indigenous and Black people. Eugenics led to the institutionalization and forced sterilization of, and the coercive experimentation on, people with disabilities, immigrants and people of color across the U.S. Even the Supreme Court endorsed the concept in the early 20th century. These studies began to fade after World War II, but their legacy persists. Even today, forced sterilization continues to be lawful in U.S jurisdictions in 31 states and in Washington. Due to widespread activism and the advent of new legal protections, many states finally dismantled their eugenic policies in the late 1970s. But eugenics-era experiments provided foundations for contemporary medical research, standardized testing and segregated school placements. People with disabilities have far-reaching legal guarantees of civil rights and access today due to the Americans with Disabilities Act. The statute, which was enacted in 1990 and strengthened in 2008, provided protections in the workplace, educational settings, transportation and places of recreation and commerce, among others. It also guarded against negative perceptions of disability. For example, if an employer perceived someone as disabled and denied them consideration in the hiring process because of that, the candidate would be protected from discrimination under the ADA – whether or not they had a disability. While these advances are significant, many people with disabilities still do not have access to their basic civil rights. This is particularly true of Black people with disabilities, as they are disproportionately pushed out of school, disciplined more harshly, targeted for incarceration and marginalized in disability representation and research. Gaining workplace accommodations Critics of inclusion efforts sometimes wrongly argue that employing people with disabilities is too costly due to the accommodations they may require. But the Job Accommodation Network in the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy found in 2023 that nearly 60% of these accommodations cost nothing. What’s more, many tax incentives are available to cover these costs. Disability civil rights law does not mandate hiring people who are not qualified or lowering standards to include the disabled. The law requires that candidates meet the “essential functions” of the job in order to be hired. According to a 2024 Labor Department report, the employment rate for working-age people with disabilities was 38% compared with 75% for nondisabled people. Though there are countless reasons for this disparity, many people with disabilities can and want to work, but employers don’t give them the opportunity. Providing benefits for everyone Many accommodations designed for people with disabilities also benefit others. Captioning on videos and movies was originally meant to benefit the deaf community, but it also helps multilingual speakers and people who simply are trying to follow the dialogue. Similarly, visual or written instructions assist people with depression, Down syndrome or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, but they can also make tasks more accessible for everyone, along with breaking assignments into smaller components. Sensory break rooms benefit people with autism and post-traumatic stress disorder, while also providing a reprieve in a noisy work environment and minimizing distractions. Remote work options can make it easier for people with chronic illnesses to be employed, and they similarly benefit others who may have caregiving responsibilities – helping attract and retain talented employees. Text-to-speech software provides people with cerebral palsy and nonspeaking individuals with options for communication, similar to options that many people already use on their phones. A large body of research demonstrates the broad benefits of making jobs and schools more accessible to people with disabilities, which is ultimately an advantage for everyone. Studies on diversity in educational and workplace settings also demonstrate positive outcomes. In a study of 10 public universities, researchers found that students who reported positive, informal interactions with diverse peers had higher scores on measures of more complex thinking, a concern for the public good and an interest in poverty issues, and were more likely to vote and develop strong leadership skills. In a national survey of human resources managers conducted in 2019, 92% of the respondents who were aware that one or more of their employees had a disability said those individuals performed the same or better than their peers who did not. Research published by the Harvard Business Review found many advantages to hiring people with disabilities. For one thing, people with disabilities can have unique insights that contribute to the workplace culture. The presence of employees with disabilities can make the environment of entire companies and organizations more collaborative. Earning a reputation for inclusiveness and social responsibility can improve customer relations and can give businesses an edge when they seek funding and recruit talented new employees. Ultimately, I believe it’s important to create conditions where anyone can thrive, including people with disabilities. Doing so benefits everyone. Lauren Shallish is associate professor of disability studies in education at Rutgers University – Newark This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. View the full article

Mr. Cooper expects close to 350 former Flagstar employees to be integrated as team members. View the full article

Lifting is about as simple as an exercise gets: You pick the thing up, and you put the thing down. But that doesn’t mean you’re going to walk into the gym and just pick the thing up. A proper warmup can help you to be ready for your lifting, so let’s talk about how to build your best lifting warmup routine. Why a warmup is important (and when it may not be)First, let’s talk about why we warm up. People often talk about warmups as if they will magically prevent injury, or that skipping one will result in some other disaster. That’s not necessarily true. They also won’t really do much for your chances of suffering from soreness (or not) after the workout, either. If you feel comfortable walking straight from the front door to the squat rack, you don’t need to add a warmup. You will probably benefit from a warmup if any of these are true of your lifting workouts: You feel achy or creaky at the beginning of workouts. The first few sets always feel heavier than they should. You have trouble getting into positions that you need for the workout (like the bottom of a squat). You do exercises that get you breathing hard, like circuit training or anything where you're rushing to complete reps to a timer. A warmup can address one or all of those concerns, preparing you for the job of lifting. Your muscles will work better when they’re warm (like, literally at a higher temperature). You’ll also want to be ready to move in all of the ways that the lift requires. If your ankles are stiff, for example, getting them moving will help them to be able to flex more during your squat. If you're worried about your warmup taking forever, good news—you only need to include the parts of the warmup that you, personally need to benefit from. Two people might warm up in completely different ways for the same workout. So let's talk about the different components of a warmup, and how to know which ones you need. Cardio warms you up and gets you ready for workBefore lifting, a lot of folks like to hop on the treadmill or rower for five to 10 minutes, or perhaps do some jumping jacks. A cardio warmup like one of these offers a few benefits: It physically warms up your muscles, It gets at least some of your muscles and joints moving. It gets your energy systems (enzymes, etc) into the groove of supplying extra power to your muscles. Remember how, when you run, the first mile (or the first 10 minutes or so) feels sluggish? That’s because your body is ramping up those energy systems so you can use them more efficiently during the rest of your workout. If your lifting workout keeps your heart rate high—like a Crossfit-style WOD—this cardio warmup is essential for making the rest of the workout not suck. If you’re just going to be lifting at your own pace, cardio isn’t essential, but the warmth and movement may still help you feel better and serve as a mental and physical introduction to the work you’re about to do. Mobility work gets you ready to reach specific positionsWe’re not (just) talking about stretching here. If you want to work on your flexibility by doing long, deep static stretches, that’s best saved for after the workout. As you’re getting ready to lift, you may want to instead do some mobility work. Mobility, in this context, means being able to move in the ways that your workout requires. If you’re going to do some squats, and your calves and ankles tend to be stiff, and this stiffness prevents you from getting as deep into the squat as you’d like, then you should spend some time before doing your squats working on your ankle mobility. (We have some specific suggestions for that here.) Apply this same principle to whatever exercise you’re planning. If you have a hard time arching your back in the bench press, do some upper back mobility work first (I like to lie on my back on top of a foam roller). If you’re going to do snatches or overhead squats, you may want to do some shoulder stretches. Stretching before a workout can give you a temporary boost to your flexibility that lasts through the workout. This stage is where foam rolling and dynamic stretching can come in. Foam rolling can help loosen up a muscle, like a little massage. And dynamic stretches are warmup movements that take your joints through whatever range of motion you will be asking them to do later. Google “mobility work for ___” and you’ll get plenty of ideas. Ultimately, what you use in this section of the warmup should be whatever will best help you to be successful later in the workout. Experiment with adding moves in or taking them out. "Activation" exercises prepare your musclesSometimes it’s nice to do an exercise that uses whatever muscles you’ll be using in the main workout, but with lighter weights or even via a totally different movement. For example, banded glute bridges could help you get ready for a workout where the focus is squats or hip thrusts. To be totally clear, you don’t need to “activate” muscles to be able to use them later, even though purveyors of booty bands will try to convince you this is an essential step. These exercises just give your muscles a preview of what they’ll be doing in the main event, and can help you get through your warmup sets of the main lift (see below) a bit more quickly. For more on what activation exercises are really doing, see my explainer. Technique drills help you perfect your skillsIf you’re doing a lift that requires precise technique, you may want to practice drills that help with that specific lift. For example, before I do snatches, I like to do drills with just the bar: maybe some hang snatches, or overhead squats, or tall snatches. Again, select exercises for this stage based on what technique work you need to practice. Goblet squats may be a good primer for barbell squats, for example. Your warmup sets with the empty bar or lighter weightsThis step is essential if you're doing a heavy lift. Let’s say you’re going to do squats at 200 pounds today. Just because you’ve warmed up with cardio or mobility doesn’t mean you're ready to load 200 pounds on the bar and go for it. Instead, you'll do some squats with the empty bar, and then maybe with 95 pounds, 135 pounds, 155 pounds, and 185 pounds. While the other warmup components we discussed are negotiable, most lifting coaches would agree that these warmup sets with the bar are mandatory. They can often even replace most of the above steps, because if you do enough warmup sets, you’ll be getting your body warm, moving through the necessary motions, activating your muscles, and practicing the technique of the lift you’re about to do. Start by doing a set of the same number of reps you will do for your working sets, or more. So if you’re going to do five reps at 200 pounds, start with a set of 5–10 reps with only a bar. Then add some weight, and then add some more, and then some more, until you get to the target weight for your first working set of the day. The exact jumps in weight aren’t important so long as you have several stops on your way to the working set for the day. How to customize your warmupI like to think about warming up for lifting as combining my warmup sets (as described in the section above) plus whatever I need that my warmup sets don’t adequately cover. So if you feel like you need more mobility work than warmup sets alone will give you, you might walk in the gym, do five minutes on the treadmill to warm up your legs, and then do some foam rolling and ankle stretches before you start squatting. You haven’t done any technique or activation work, but that’s fine if you don’t feel you need it. Or if your mobility is fine but you’re planning on doing a circuit-style workout and you hate that you’re always getting out of breath between lifts, you might benefit from a more thorough cardio warmup to make sure you’re ready for the fast pace of the workout. It’s fine for your warmup to be different for each workout, or for it to change over time. Older athletes often find they need more warmup time than they did when they were younger, and we all might need more of a warmup in cold weather than when it’s hot out. Figure out what makes sense for you, and build your warmup accordingly. View the full article

A new album called “Is This What We Want?” features a stellar list of more than 1,000 musicians—and the sound of silence. With contributions from artists including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Cat Stevens, and Damon Albarn, the album was released Tuesday to protest proposed British changes to artificial intelligence laws that artists fear will erode their creative control. The U.K. government is consulting on whether to let tech firms use copyrighted material to help train AI models unless the creators explicitly opt out. Critics of the idea fear that will make it harder for artists to retain control of their work and will undermine Britain’s creative industries. Elton John and Paul McCartney are among those who have spoken out against the plan. The protest album features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, to show what they fear will be the fate of creative venues if the plan goes through. The titles of the 12 tracks spell out: “The British government must not legalize music theft to benefit AI companies.” Profits will be donated to the musicians’ charity Help Musicians. “The government’s proposal would hand the life’s work of the country’s musicians to AI companies, for free, letting those companies exploit musicians’ work to outcompete them,” said composer and AI developer Ed Newton-Rex, who organized the album. “It is a plan that would not only be disastrous for musicians, but that is totally unnecessary,” Newton-Rex said. “The U.K. can be leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus.” Britain’s center-left Labour Party government says it wants to make the U.K. a world leader in AI. In December, it announced a consultation into how copyright law can “enable creators and right holders to exercise control over, and seek remuneration for, the use of their works for AI training” while also ensuring “AI developers have easy access to a broad range of high-quality creative content.” The consultation closes on Tuesday. Publishers, artists’ organizations and media companies, including the Associated Press, have banded together as the Creative Rights in AI Coalition to oppose weakening copyright protections. Several U.K. newspapers ran wraparounds over their front pages on Tuesday, criticizing the government consultation and saying: “Let’s protect the creative industries—it’s only fair.” —Jill Lawless, Associated Press View the full article

Today, February 25, is a make-or-break day for Super Micro Computer (aka Supermicro) and its stock, which trades on the Nasdaq under the SMCI ticker. That’s because by the end of today, the beleaguered server company needs to file its delinquent Form 10-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). If it fails to do so, the company’s shares may be delisted from the Nasdaq. Here’s what you need to know about its stock price ahead of the deadline and the possible outcomes should Super Micro Computer fail to meet its requirements. SMCI stock price sinks ahead of filing deadline As of the time of this writing, in early trading SMCI’s stock price is down over 8% to to above $47 per share. Today’s stock price fall follows an 8% fall yesterday. Much of the market is down this week, including big tech stocks, although not as dramatically. One reason for SMCI’s fall is most likely jitters as to whether the company will indeed file its delinquent Form 10-K for the fiscal year 2024, as well as additional forms for the first two fiscal 2025 quarters with the SEC. The forms are both a legal requirement and a condition of being listed on the Nasdaq. Supermicro missed the earlier filing deadlines amidst a swath of negative news last year, which has rattled investors since August. Most prominently, the company has faced allegations of accounting irregularities. These allegations, along with a failure to file specific financial forms, have led to the stock price fluctuating wildly since the fall. Concerns surrounding these issues have led to a 22% decline in SMCI’s stock price over the past six months. In November, the stock bottomed out at below $18 per share—a far cry from its high of over $122 per share earlier in the year. However, despite the company’s most recent declines this week, SMCI stock has still recovered a fair amount since its November lows. Year to date, the stock is up over 55%. Where that stock price goes from here—at least in the near term—may largely depend on whether Supermicro meets its filing deadlines today. Will Super Micro Computer meet its 10-K filing deadline? Surprisingly, despite today being the deadline for the 10-K filing, Supermicro has not given any update on it since last week. On February 19, the company addressed the filing in a Q2 2025 preliminary report. At the time Super Micro Computer said that it “continues to work diligently toward the filing of its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2024.” It went on to state that “Based on information currently available, the Company believes it will make such filings by February 25, 2025.” Fast Company has reached out to Supermicro for an update on the filings. We will update this post if we hear back. What happens if Super Micro Computer misses its deadline? If Supermicro misses its deadline, SMCI stock may very well be delisted from the Nasdaq after the market closes today. However, as noted by MarketWatch, a Wedbush analyst says that Super Micro has the option of asking for another extension to file the required forms. That extension could be for as many as 180 days. This means today will likely end in one of the three following ways for Super Micro Computer: Supermicro may file its delinquent SEC forms by the deadline. Supermicro may not meet the deadline but receive an extension. Supermicro may not meet its deadline and not receive an extension. If Super Micro Computer achieves option No. 1—meeting the deadline today—it’s possible that investors will react kindly. The next best-case scenario is option No. 2, where the company does not meet the deadline but receives an extension. Option No. 3 is the worst outcome. As of the time of this writing, which of the three above options comes to pass remains to be seen. This story is developing… View the full article