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This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. A reader writes: As a millennial (I’m 40) who spent years being mocked and maligned for enjoying avocado toast, I’m averse to generational generalizations. That said, I’m a manager in a large finance company struggling with how to motivate and manage our youngest employees. Our company is typical for finance; buttoned up, long-ish hours, high expectations. We have thousands of employees who range in age from early 20s to 70s. The early career employees we’ve hired since the pandemic are … different. Our company was quick to recognize that, because these employees started their careers when everything was remote (and in some cases had a remote college education), they would be behind the curve in terms of professionalism and business norms, and we tried to adapt by providing more training and more support. But we’re now five years out, and a significant segment of this cohort continues to struggle. In the last year, I found myself managing seven employees between the ages of 20 and 27. They are chronically disgruntled. I work hard to be fair, compassionate, and supportive while also maintaining the high standard of performance common to our company. But members of this group always seem to be grumbling about how they are treated unfairly. I have been accused of “humiliating” someone by asking a routine follow-up question to a report they gave to a meeting. They have a group chat where they complain about myself and my higher-ups being cruel and inhumane because we ask them to arrive at the office by 8 am (standard expectation in our field), correct their mistakes, and ask them to take on new challenges. I’m mean because I ask them to redo work that was below par. They talk constantly of quitting. One of them applied for a mental health leave because the job was too stressful (I hasten to add that this person had the fewest responsibilities and the easiest job on the team, never worked late, and is one of the higher paid people at her level). Sometimes they complain to management, but more often they complain to each other, and the venting turns into an echo chamber of toxicity that drags morale. We are paid VERY well for our industry, but they frequently complain they aren’t being paid enough. Because I have no power to give them money, I often ask what else I can do to make their jobs more fulfilling and help them to do their jobs well. They don’t know. I feel that we’ve coddled this group of employees too much. They are less productive than their older peers and yet ask for much more. The person responsible for recruiting them has aggressively encouraged managers to treat this cohort with kid gloves because the pandemic stunted their development. But what I’m seeing is that some of these people will simply not last in this organization unless they adapt to our culture, and may not have thriving careers in this industry at all. What can we do differently with employees we hire from here on out, and is there a way to change the course for the ones who are already here but unhappy and struggling? ( I should add that they are, for the most part, smart and well qualified to do their jobs. They have lots of potential, but are just deeply unhappy and seemingly unwillingly to adapt to the conventions working world.) The best thing you can do is to be very, very up-front about the norms of the working world, the norms of your field, and what will and won’t change if they choose to stay in their jobs. That means conversations like: * “I’m sorry to hear you felt humiliated when I asked you about X in the Y meeting. My intent is never to make you feel that way. I want to be up-front with you that it’s a core expectation in this role that when you present at meetings, you will be asked follow-up questions and need to be prepared to answer them. We can definitely work on those skills together and can talk about things like how to handle it if you’re asked a question that you’re not sure of the answer to. I’d be happy to do that kind of coaching with you! But it will always be an expectation of this job, and of most jobs in our fields (as well as many outside of it), so it’s something you need to decide if you’re up for.” * “Our team is paid very well for our industry, well above the field’s average, and I want to be up-front with you that our salary ranges aren’t going to go any higher. If there are other ideas you have for rewarding good work, I’m very open to hearing them. But I also want you to have the info you need to make good decisions for yourself and, realistically, if you’re seeking a raise to $X, that’s not something that will happen in this job. I of course understand if that means you decide it’s not the right position for you.” * “An 8 am start time is standard in our industry because of ___ (reasons). I want to be up-front with you that it’s not going to change; it’s an expectation you’ll continue to be held to while you’re here. If that means it’s not the right job for you, I of course understand.” * “You’ve sounded upset when I’ve sent you edits recently. It’s very normal in our jobs, and in most jobs, to receive feedback on your work, and you should always expect that will happen when you turn in work. That feedback is part of how you’ll get better and better at what you do, and how you’ll gain the skills to move into higher-level work. I want to be transparent that handling feedback professionally is essential to succeeding in your job here.” You could add, “That will almost certainly be the case anywhere you go.” * “You’ve brought up X repeatedly, and I’ve told you what you realistically can and can’t expect. Continuing to raise it is becoming disruptive to our work, so at this point I need you to decide whether you can stay reasonably happily under these circumstances or can’t. If you can’t, I of course understand and we can plan for a transition out. But we can’t keep having this debate over and over.” In other words … stop coddling. Don’t be unkind, but be direct. Direct is kinder in the long-run anyway. You could also look at whether there are ways to pair some of them one-on-one with more experienced colleagues so that they’re not just being exposed to their peer group echo chamber. Can you find opportunities for them to work more closely with senior coworkers so they’re exposed to different perspectives, priorities, and norms? (I’d look particularly at pairing them with people just a little ahead of them in their careers, who they’ll likely be more able to relate to than someone much further along.) The group chat is almost certainly making this all far worse than it would be otherwise, but you can’t prohibit that without looking (and being) wildly heavy-handed, so instead be very deliberate about finding ways to broaden the perspectives they’re exposed to. There’s also a conversation that needs to be had with the person who’s recruiting them and encouraging managers to treat them so delicately. Ideally, you and other managers should be pointing out to that person that the best way to support this cohort is to (kindly) help them adjust to the work world, not to let them go on believing it’s something it’s not. (I’d also look at how much power, if any, that person has to dictate how you manage your team. If they don’t have any, it’s still worth pointing this stuff out, but then you should feel free to simply proceed the way you want — but it will also help to get other managers on board with that plan.) There also might be some meaningful work you can do on this when employees in this age group are first hired. I’d be interested to see if it would help to spell out to new hires very explicitly, “We’ve found recent grads have struggled with X and Y, and we want to be candid about the norms in this field and the working world generally, so that you’re not coming in expecting things to work one way and then being blindsided by it being different.” But really, the kindest action here is to lay out how things work, without judgment on them for wanting something different. The basic stance is, “Let me tell you what you can and can’t expect from this job so you can make good decisions for yourself about whether it’s right for you.” View the full article

Cloud-based designer platform Figma on Tuesday confidentially filed for an initial public offering in the United States, more than a year after a $20 billion deal to be acquired by Adobe was shelved due to regulatory roadblocks. Figma had been widely considered as a candidate to go public after antitrust regulators in Europe and Britain blocked Adobe’s deal in December 2023 in what would have been one of the biggest acquisitions of a software startup. Last year, Figma was valued at $12.5 billion after it closed a deal to allow its employees and early investors to sell their stake to new and existing investors. The U.S. IPO market, which made a strong comeback last year from a slew of high-profile listings, has been rattled by market volatility stemming from tariff-related uncertainty, with companies adopting a wait-and-see approach before proceeding with their stock market debuts. “Sentiment for the IPO market is relatively low and has been dampened by heightened market volatility stemming from a lack of policy clarity. Over the past few months, we saw a string of tech startups filing to go public, but many subsequently put their IPO plan on hold,” said Kaidi Gao, senior VC analyst at PitchBook. Figma, a design platform with both free and paid offerings, is used to create, share and test designs for websites, mobile apps and other digital products, boasts customers such as Adobe, Uber, Spotify, and Alphabet’s search-engine giant Google. The company, co-founded by tech executive Dylan Field in 2012, is cash flow positive and has expanded its offerings to include a broader platform for team collaborations with artificial intelligence features. —Jaiveer Shekhawat, Reuters View the full article

Google’s 2024 Ads Safety Report, released today, shows a massive uptick in how AI – particularly large language models (LLMs) – is helping the company block policy-violating ads before serving a single ad, thanks to earlier fraud detection at the account setup stage. By the numbers. Google Ads last year: Removed 5.1 billion bad ads Restricted 9.1 billion ads Suspended 39.2 million advertiser accounts. Enforced against 1.3 billion publisher pages. Blocked or removed 415 million scam-related ads. Introduced 30+ policy updates across Ads and Publisher guidelines. Search Engine Land’s Barry Schwartz has been following these stats for several years now and his analysis showed that account suspensions have gone up by over 200% YoY. Why it matters. Online ads are big business — but they’re also a big target. As scammers get more sophisticated (and generative AI makes deception easier), platforms like Google are under pressure to defend users without slowing down legit advertisers. With a 200% YoY surge in account suspensions, it’s more important than ever for advertisers to understand and follow Google’s policies. There may be an argument for using LLMs because they are smarter and faster. However, recent reports have cited lack of policy clarity when some suspensions have happened. This means there is an extra challenge of ensuring your ads are live once your campaigns are set up, and that Google still has a way to go in gaining advertisers’ confidence with their AI-powered approval process. AI as ad bodyguard. Google’s AI upgrades in 2024 were both deep and wide: Google rolled out 50+ enhancements to its LLMs, allowing faster, more precise detection of red flags (e.g., fake payment info, shady impersonations) at scale. These tools now require less data to detect threats, making them faster at spotting evolving scam tactics. The company says AI models helped catch 97% of policy violations in publisher content, speeding up monetization for compliant sites while keeping ads off dangerous pages. The impersonation crackdown. A major scam trend last year: ads using AI-generated images or voices to impersonate celebrities and public figures. In response, Google formed a 100+ person team to fight back, updating its Misrepresentation policy and rolling out new enforcement tools. The result: 700,000+ advertiser accounts were permanently suspended, and these scam reports dropped 90%. A pivotal election year. With elections held in over 50 countries, Google expanded its political ad policies – including being the first platform to require labels on AI-generated content in election ads. In 2024, it removed 10.7 million election ads from unverified sources and verified 8,900+ new political advertisers. The big picture. AI is reshaping both sides of the advertising coin – powering scams and stopping them. For Google, the path forward is doubling down on its tech advantage while collaborating with industry peers. Dig deeper. Google suspended 12.7 million ad accounts, blocked 5.5 billion ads in 2023 Google 2022 Ads Safety Report reveals more than 6.7 million ad accounts suspended Google blocked 3.4 billion ads, suspended 5.6 million accounts in 2021 View the full article

Navigating bedtime with a teenager is, in many homes, a nightly battle with a constant refrain: Get off your phone! Go to bed! Research shows that today’s teenagers are more sleep-deprived than ever before. Adolescents need between eight and 10 hours of sleep, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But nearly 80% of American teenagers aren’t getting that, and experts say it’s affecting important areas like mental health and school attendance. Bedtime routines aren’t just for toddlers. Teenagers need them, too, says Denise Pope, an expert on child development and a senior lecturer at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education. Experts in adolescent sleep say a few small changes to how parents and teens approach sleep can make a dramatic difference. Try a tech-free bedtime routine for teens The first step to setting up a better bedtime routine is dealing with technology. — Separate children from their devices at night. Phones, tablets, streaming services, and video games aren’t the only things keeping kids up at night, but experts agree they are a major factor in delaying sleep. “Get the temptation out of the bedroom,” Pope says. If the phone is within arm’s reach, it’s hard to ignore when notifications buzz. Many teens say they fall asleep while scrolling, or reach for their phone if they have trouble sleeping, and end up scrolling for hours. — Be prepared for excuses. “My phone is my alarm clock” is something a lot of parents hear. The solution: Buy an alarm clock. — Put screens away an hour before bedtime. Exposure to light prevents the release of melatonin, the hormone released by the brain that makes us feel drowsy. Then, replace screens with a new wind-down routine. — Try to get to bed around the same time each night and start winding down at least 30 minutes before. During that time, silence notifications, take a warm shower, read a book. To get an idea of what your teen’s bedtime should be, try an online ” bedtime calculator,” such as the one from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. — Avoid caffeine and energy drinks in the afternoon and evening. — The best sleep environment is a cool, dark, quiet room. In noisy households, earplugs and a sleep mask can help. If a bedroom is too warm, it can affect getting to sleep and staying asleep, says adolescent sleep expert Kyla Wahlstrom. Know the signs of sleep deprivation in teens Some of the telltale evidence of sleep deprivation: being irritable, grumpy, short-tempered, emotionally fragile, unmotivated, impulsive and more likely to see the world and oneself through a negative lens. A sleep-deprived teen also may fall asleep during the daytime, in the car or in class. “We often blame adolescents for being lazy or unruly or having bad behavior, much of which could be attributed to the fact that they are chronically sleep-deprived,” says Wendy Troxel, a clinical psychologist who has conducted numerous studies on adolescent sleep. How do you tell the difference between a sleepy teen and a cranky-but-well-rested one? — One key sign is what sleep expert Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse calls “zombie mornings.” “If your teen hits snooze five times, takes forever to get out of bed, asks you for a big cup of coffee first thing in the morning, most likely they are running on empty,” says Fong-Isariyawongse, a neurologist at the University of Pittsburgh. — Extreme mood swings are another sign. Sleep is critical for emotional processing, which is why sleep-deprived teens are more likely to be irritable, anxious or depressed. — A sleep-deprived teen may fall behind in school, because sleep is essential for learning and memory consolidation. — Teens who sleep less are more likely to make bad choices when it comes to drug or alcohol use, drowsy or reckless driving and risky sexual behavior. — Does your teen sleep until lunchtime on weekends? “Most likely they are not getting enough sleep during the week,” says Fong-Isariyawongse. It’s fine to sleep in a bit, but try to limit it to a couple hours. Otherwise, it throws off the body clock and makes it harder to wake up when the new school week begins. Why should teenagers care? Show them the science Explain to your teens why sleep matters, and that it’s not just nagging parents who say so. The data on mental health and sleep is vast. — Many studies show that depression, anxiety and the risk of suicidal thinking go up as sleep goes down. — Beyond mood, sleep deprivation affects physical and athletic ability. That’s why several NFL and NBA teams have hired sleep coaches. Teens who are sleep-deprived sustain more physical injuries, because they take more risks, their judgment is impaired, and reflexes and reaction times are not as fast. Teens who get more sleep perform better in sports, and when they do get injuries, they have a quicker recovery time. — More teenage car accidents come from drowsy driving than driving under the influence of alcohol, studies show. Teens who say they get less than eight hours of sleep a night are more likely to text while driving, not wear a seat belt, drink and drive—or get in a car with a driver who has been drinking. As any parent knows, telling their teenager to go to sleep does not always work. You need to get their buy-in. “Kids need to be educated about sleep, and their brain health and emotional health, and how it all ties together,” says Wahlstrom. “Tell your kids, ‘You’ll do better in school, better in sports, you’ll look better after a good night’s sleep.’ Because until they want to help themselves, they won’t do it.” The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. —Jocelyn Gecker, AP Education Writer View the full article

If you like the Kanban method but have grown tired of using bloated, online-only tools, Kanri is a free open-source alternative you can install on Linux, macOS, and Windows that works entirely offline. It even supports importing from Trello. We've recommended the Kanban method, and related tools, for tracking your work and visualizing projects. And there's nothing about Kanban that needs to be digital—it works well with sticky notes on a wall or even a notepad. Most people, however, depend on apps like Trello for the job—but Trello has a few limitations. There's no offline mode on the computer, for one thing, and the app has a habit of asking you to upgrade. If you'd prefer something simpler that works offline, Kanri might be what you're looking for. To get started, simply download the application and open it. There's no need to create an account—you can just start using the application. You can make new boards and start adding cards. Click a card to view more details. Credit: Justin Pot You can add a description, due date, tasks, and tags—that's it. There's no attachments or collaboration features, which is going to be a downside for some. There's also no cloud storage or syncing—everything lives on your local device. It is possible to export your board when it comes time to replace your computer; still, the lack of syncing means this application won't work for everyone. On the other hand, if all you want is a quick Kanban application you can use on your computer, Kanri is just about perfect. It's fast and works without an internet connection, and there are no limits to the number of boards or cards you can add. There are a few nice touches, too. You can set custom backgrounds for all of your boards, making it easy to tell them apart at a glance while also making things a bit more fun. And there's support in the settings for customizing the color scheme. And another big feature is the ability to grab existing boards from Trello. You can import all of your Trello boards at once or any individual board—whatever you prefer. All columns and cards are grabbed, including the description, due dates, and any sub-tasks. What doesn't come along are attachments and activities, mostly because Kanri doesn't support those features. Even so, I bet Kanri supports most of what people use more feature-rich (and expensive) Kanban applications for. Give it a shot if you're looking for something simpler. View the full article

Without the right strategy, even the best intentions can go to waste. Quick Tax Tip With Art Werner CPE Today Go PRO for members-only access to more Art Werner. View the full article

Without the right strategy, even the best intentions can go to waste. Quick Tax Tip With Art Werner CPE Today Go PRO for members-only access to more Art Werner. View the full article

If you’ve been poking around Audience Manager in Google Ads lately, you may have noticed a new Your data segment that looks like this: “Google-engaged audiences – for Account #######” What is that? And what should you do with it? Welcome to the wonderful new world of Google-engaged audiences, a new type of remarketing that you should absolutely be paying attention to. This article will cover: What is a Google-engaged audience? What’s so great about your Google-engaged audience? What are the limitations of Google-engaged audiences? Google-engaged audiences are perfect for small business owners What is a Google-engaged audience? A Google-engaged audience is a segment of users who have interacted with your website across Google’s owned platforms – organic and paid. Every Google Ads account automatically gets one Google-engaged audience, and you can find it in Audience Manager under Your data segments. For example: If someone searches for your company name on Google and clicks on your organic search result, they’re automatically added to your engaged audience in Google Ads. If someone clicks on your website link from your Google Business Profile? Automatically added. If someone clicks on any of your Google Ads on Google platforms (Search, Shopping, Discovery, Gmail, Maps, etc.), they’re automatically added to this audience as well. What’s so great about your Google-engaged audience? There are a few reasons why these engaged audiences are particularly useful: Effortless setup: Forget about complicated tagging or linking accounts. The Google-engaged audience is automatically created and populated. It’s the easiest way to start reaching people who have already visited your website from Google properties. Remarketing on easy mode. Simplicity: With Google-engaged audiences, you don’t need to get bogged down in details like audience durations or segmentation rules. There’s just one audience to work with. You can choose to target this audience, exclude it from your campaigns, or even use it as a seed for creating lookalike audiences. It keeps things nice and clean. High-quality data: Because this audience is built from individuals who interacted with your brand on a Google-owned platform before visiting your site, Google has a strong understanding of who these users are (because they are often signed into their Google accounts). This means the data is generally more reliable and complete vs. relying on website tags, which can be affected by privacy regulations, cookies, and consent management. What are the limitations of Google-engaged audiences? The simplicity of engaged audiences also means there are some limitations. Because every Google Ads account only gets one audience, you don’t have the option to create more granular segments based on specific actions users took. Additionally, this audience only includes people who arrived at your website from Google properties. It won’t capture direct traffic, visitors from social media, referral traffic, etc. Google-engaged audiences are perfect for small business owners Despite these limitations, if you’re a small business owner (or you work with small business owners) I strongly recommend experimenting with Google-engaged audiences in your Google Ads campaigns. It’s a low-effort way to start remarketing to people who have already shown interest in your brand through Google, and the data quality is a significant advantage. Remember to also check your Audience insights for this segment. You might learn something new! This article is part of our ongoing weekly Search Engine Land series, Everything you need to know about Google Ads in less than 3 minutes. Every Wednesday, Jyll highlights a different Google Ads feature, and what you need to know to get the best results from it – all in a quick 3-minute read. View the full article

If you grow vegetables in the summer, you probably grow tomatoes, and they’re often the first vegetable a budding gardener tries to grow. It's not a bad call—there’s nothing like eating a vine-ripened tomato you grew yourself. But not all tomatoes are created equally, and it can be confusing to decide which tomatoes to grow. There are countless varieties, and instead of choosing based on the color or a cute name, learning the characteristics of different tomato types can help ensure a more successful tomato growing (and tomato eating) season. Whether you are growing tomatoes from seeds or buying seedlings at the nursery, here's what to consider to help you choose the right tomato for you. Determinate versus indeterminate tomatoes An indeterminate slicer growing Credit: Amanda Blum Before you get into flavor, color, or anything else, you should know about the two types of tomatoes. All tomatoes are either determinate or indeterminate, and at the most basic level, the difference is about harvesting: Determinate tomatoes produce all their fruit in a few weeks' time, while indeterminate tomatoes produce over the course of a season. This seems like a simple choice, because who wouldn’t want a season full of tomatoes? And if you’re harvesting, say, slicing tomatoes for sandwiches, a season full of tomatoes would make sense. But if you’re harvesting paste tomatoes to make sauce, you more likely to want them all at once, so you can make a few big batches of sauce. These two kinds of tomatoes grow differently, too: Determinate tomatoes tend to be bushier, and grow to a set point and then stop. Indeterminate tomatoes grow taller like a vine, and never stop growing and setting flowers. You can prune indeterminate tomatoes to shape the plant, but should never prune determinate tomatoes, or you’ll limit the fruit you’re capable of growing. Every plant tag or catalog listing will tell you if a tomato is determinate or indeterminate, but ife in doubt, do some research. You can search for the name of a tomato online to find out, or ask someone at the nursery. Tomato type determines shape, size, and juiciness Slicers and paste tomatoes of ever shape Credit: Amanda Blum It takes nothing more than a trip to the grocery store to see the varieties of tomatoes on offer. There are cherry tomatoes (which aren’t just little baby tomatoes), paste or plum tomatoes, and globe tomatoes. Occasionally you’ll even see slicers. Each of these tomato types serves a specific purpose. Slicers are best for sandwiches Slicing tomatoes in different colors Credit: Amanda Blum When you picture the ideal tomato, you’re likely imagining a slicing tomato. Palm sized or bigger, slicers can top a pound in weight, and come in a few different shapes. There are heirloom type tomatoes like Purple Cherokee or Berkeley Tie Dye, which have big, defined lobes and shoulders. There are globe tomatoes, which are what you usually buy in the supermarket—tennis ball sized, and very round and smooth. There are heart shaped tomatoes, like Cuoer di Bue and Oxheart, that have a distinct point at one end and tall shoulders, which makes them resemble hearts. The thing that truly defines a slicer, though, is that they have a good amount of juiciness—more so than other tomatoes—but also enough meat for slices of tomato to hold together. This makes them ideal for sandwiches or a beautiful caprese salad. Paste or plum tomatoes make great sauce Paste tomatoes going into the oven to roast Credit: Amanda Blum While you could make tomato sauce from any tomato, the best tomato sauce tomato is a paste or plum. These elongated tomatoes tend to have more meat and less juiciness, making them ideal for cooking and canning. The shape makes them easy to peel and ideal for roasting. Classic paste tomatoes include Roma (a determinate) and San Marzano (an indeterminate), both of which have spectacular flavor. You can also consider varieties like Amish Paste, an indeterminate popular for its size and production, if not so much its taste. Growing multiple varieties (say, one great-tasting tomato and one well-producing tomato) and using both will yield more sauce, while maintaining the flavor. Cherry tomatoes are for snacking and salads Cherry tomatoes of all shapes and colors Credit: Amanda Blum Usually the size of a gum-ball, cherry tomatoes are popular at salad bars and make perfect snacks. it’s important to note cherry tomatoes are not baby tomatoes, but full grown and matured tomatoes that are meant to be that size. There are a few subtypes of cherries. While most are spherical, there are also pear shaped cherry tomatoes, the most famous of which is the Yellow Bell. There are also grape tomatoes, which are actually a small paste tomato, like Juliet, which is wildly prolific and a great compromise; they make fantastic sauce and are great for snacking. Tomato color really does influence taste A caprese of slicer tomatoes Credit: Amanda Blum One of the most delightful aspects of growing tomatoes is the range of colors you can achieve. Each year I grow a literal rainbow of cherry tomatoes, but the colors aren’t simply for looks. Tomato colors are created by pigment, and those pigmentation elements influence the amount of sugar and acid present in the fruit. Red and pink tomatoes, which have higher chlorophyll and lycopene levels, have higher acid levels than yellow and orange tomatoes, making them more tart. Blue, brown, and purple tomatoes have higher anthocyanin levels, which result in a more savory taste. Green Grape cherry tomatoes are a bit peppery, due to a lack of lycopene. Cherry tomatoes are a fantastic way to experiment with colors and tastes. Once you find out what what you like, you can try out slicers in those colors. But even among paste tomatoes, which are traditionally red, there have been some been amazing developments in recent years, resulting in yellow paste tomatoes like Sunrise Sauce, which I grow myself—this variety can produce a less acidic sauce or soup if the too much acid in tomatoes tends to overwhelm you. Know the tomato rules, but don't be afraid to break themWhile all tomatoes are somewhat interchangeable—you can make a sauce out of cherry tomatoes or use a paste tomato on a sandwich—you’ll notice a big difference when you use the right tomato for the right job. There is absolutely nothing like slicing a fresh-off-the-vine Yellow Brandywine tomato and slicing it up for a BLT. My canned whole tomatoes, grown as San Marzanos in my yard, taste better than any can of tomatoes from the market, and while you can snack on any tomato, the sweetness of a cherry tomato makes them the top tier choice. Understanding the type, color, and growing habit of different tomatoes can help you choose the right tomatoes for your home garden and make shopping for seeds or starts a more informed process. Here's to a tomato-filled summer! View the full article

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. Google Search ranking volatility is heating up now...View the full article

Tax professionals still edge out DIYers. By Beth Bellor Go PRO for members-only access to more Beth Bellor. View the full article

Tax professionals still edge out DIYers. By Beth Bellor Go PRO for members-only access to more Beth Bellor. View the full article

The U.K. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a woman is someone born biologically female, excluding transgender people from the legal definition in a long-running dispute between a feminist group and the Scottish government. Several women’s groups that supported the appeal celebrated outside court and hailed it as a major victory in their effort to protect spaces designated for women. “Everyone knows what sex is and you can’t change it,” said Susan Smith, codirector of For Women Scotland, which brought the case. “It’s common sense, basic common sense and the fact that we have been down a rabbit hole where people have tried to deny science and to deny reality and hopefully this will now see us back to, back to reality.” The ruling brings some clarity in the U.K. to a controversial issue that has roiled politics as women, parents, LGBTQ+ groups, lawmakers, and athletes have debated gender identity rights. Five judges ruled unanimously that the U.K. Equality Act means trans women can be excluded from some single-sex spaces and groups, such as changing rooms, homeless shelters, swimming areas, and medical or counseling services provided only to women. The ruling means that a transgender person with a certificate that recognizes them as female should not be considered a woman for equality purposes. But Justice Patrick Hodge said its ruling “does not remove protection from trans people,” who are “protected from discrimination on the ground of gender reassignment.” Trans rights advocates condemn the judgment The case stems from a 2018 law passed by the Scottish Parliament stating there should be a 50% female representation on the boards of Scottish public bodies. Transgender women with gender recognition certificates were to be included in meeting the quota. “Interpreting ‘sex’ as certificated sex would cut across the definitions of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ . . . and, thus, the protected characteristic of sex in an incoherent way,” Hodge said. “It would create heterogeneous groupings.” Hannah Ford, an employment lawyer, said that while the judgment will provide clarity, it would be a setback for transgender rights and there would be “an uphill battle” to ensure workplaces are welcoming places for trans people. “This will be really wounding for the trans community,” Ford told Sky News. Groups that had challenged the Scottish government popped the cork on a bottle of champagne outside the court and sang, “women’s rights are human rights.” “The court has given us the right answer: the protected characteristic of sex—male and female—refers to reality, not to paperwork,” said Maya Forstater of the group Sex Matters. In 2022, an employment tribunal ruled that she had been the victim of discrimination when she lost out on a job after posting gender-critical views online. The British government welcomed the ruling, saying it would provide clarity and confidence for women. “Single-sex spaces are protected in law and will always be protected by this government,” it said. Harry Potter author backed legal challenge For Women Scotland had argued that the Scottish officials’ redefinition of woman went beyond Parliament’s powers. But Scottish officials then issued new guidance stating that the definition of woman included someone with a gender recognition certificate. FWS successfully sought to overturn that. “Not tying the definition of sex to its ordinary meaning means that public boards could conceivably comprise of 50% men, and 50% men with certificates, yet still lawfully meet the targets for female representation,” the group’s director Trina Budge said previously. The challenge was rejected by a court in 2022, but the group was granted permission last year to take its case to the Supreme Court. Aidan O’Neill, a lawyer for FWS, told the Supreme Court judges—three men and two women—that under the Equality Act “sex” should refer to biological sex and as understood “in ordinary, everyday language.” “Our position is your sex, whether you are a man or a woman or a girl or a boy is determined from conception in utero, even before one’s birth, by one’s body,” he said. “It is an expression of one’s bodily reality. It is an immutable biological state.” The women’s right group counted among its supporters author J.K. Rowling, who reportedly donated tens of thousands of pounds to back its work. The Harry Potter writer has been vocal in arguing that the rights for trans women should not come at the expense of those who are born biologically female. Opponents, including Amnesty International, said excluding transgender people from sex discrimination protections conflicted with human rights laws. Amnesty submitted a brief in court saying it was concerned about the deterioration of the rights for trans people in the U.K. and abroad. “A blanket policy of barring trans women from single-sex services is not a proportionate means to achieve a legitimate aim,” the human rights group said. —Brian Melley, Jill Lawless and Sylvia Hui, Associated Press View the full article

President The President’s trade wars have officially landed on TikTok. U.S. TikTok users’ For You Pages are being flooded with videos from Chinese manufacturers urging Americans to bypass sweeping new tariffs by purchasing goods directly from China. “So China is doing us a solid over here in the US and allowing us to buy directly and avoid all of the ridiculous tariffs,” says one TikTok user in a video posted on Monday. Behind her is a laundry list of Chinese wholesale websites, featuring everything from beauty products to electronics. “I don’t know about you but that wasn’t on my 2025 bingo card.” In another video, which has racked up over 11.5 million views, a creator claims to sell the same leggings that retail for $100 at Lululemon for just $5 or $6. “The materials and the craftsmanship are basically the same because they all come from the same production line,” she explains. “How do we buy direct. I hate it here,” one TikTok user commented beneath the video. “Now this is how you do a trade war,” another added. But if it sounds too good to be true, that’s probably because it is. Lululemon has responded to the trend, stating it “does not work with the manufacturers identified in the online videos and we urge consumers to be aware of potentially counterfeit products and misinformation,” according to The Times. Claiming to manufacture for big-name brands while actually selling knock-offs is a common scam. Experts told The Independent that some of these TikTokers are likely paid by counterfeit operations seeking to exploit the chaos around tariffs and lure U.S. consumers with cheap “dupes.” Still, many TikTok users have welcomed the videos for revealing luxury fashion’s often opaque supply chains. “China TikTok is so messy rn,” one X user posted alongside a thread of these videos. “And YES I will be shopping at the Chinese markets for a 25 dollar Birkin Bag,” they added. The videos gained traction as President Donald The President announced a 145% levy on all goods imported from China. While the administration has since stated that smartphones and some electronics would be exempt, the fashion industry remains heavily affected. The U.S. manufactures only about 2% of its own clothing, while China produces roughly two-thirds of the world’s supply—and sent $49 billion in textiles to the U.S. last year alone. The trend has also spilled into real-world behavior. Chinese wholesale marketplace app DHgate soared to the No. 3 spot in the U.S. App Store as of Monday morning, TechCrunch reported. That’s a sharp climb from No. 352 on Friday, April 11, according to data from app intelligence provider Appfigures. While buying direct from China isn’t exactly a foolproof workaround—since imports are still subject to tariffs—one commenter summed up the mood: “The President said, We hold the cards. So China said, We make the cards.” View the full article

China’s economy expanded at a 5.4% annual pace in January-March, the government said Wednesday, supported by strong exports ahead of U.S. President Donald The President’s rapid increases in tariffs on Chinese products. With the trade war clouding the outlook, analysts are forecasting that the world’s second largest economy will slow significantly in coming months, however, as tariffs as high as 145% on U.S. imports from China take effect. Beijing has hit back at the U.S. with 125% tariffs on American exports, while also stressing its determination to keep its own markets open to trade and investment. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is visiting several other Asian countries this week as he makes a case for free trade, presenting China as a source of “stability and certainty” in uncertain times. Xi was visiting Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia, while the U.S. announced that a senior State Department official, Sean O’Neill, would be traveling this week to Vietnam’s capital Hanoi and to Ho Chi Minh City, to Cambodia’s Siem Reap, and to Tokyo. China also has been highlighting its focus on trade with countries other than the United States at various trade fairs that are showcasing its vast market and competitiveness as a manufacturing giant. At China’s Canton trade fair, in the southern city of Guangzhou, exporters were emphatic about the need to look beyond selling to Americans. “We need to diversify our market. When the West is dark, the East is bright. The global market is huge,” said Wallace Huang, the export business director of Guangdong Weking Group, which makes rice cookers. “In recent years, our exports to the U.S. have slowly been declining.” The trade factor Exports helped China’s economy expand at a 5% annual rate in 2024 and this year’s official target is about 5%. In the near term, the tariffs will put pressure on China’s economy, but they won’t derail long-run growth, Sheng Laiyun, a spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics, told reporters. He noted that China’s exports to the United States have fallen to less than 15% of total exports from more than 19% five years ago. “China’s economic foundation is stable, resilient and has great potential. We have the confidence, ability and confidence to cope with external challenges and achieve our established development goals,” Sheng said. In quarterly terms the economy grew 1.2% in January-March, slowing from 1.6% in the last quarter of 2024. Chinese exports surged more than 12% from a year earlier in March and nearly 6% in U.S. dollar terms in the first quarter, as companies rushed to beat The President’s tariffs. That has supported robust manufacturing activity in the past several months. China’s industrial production rose 6.5% from a year earlier in the last quarter, led by a nearly 11% increase in output of equipment manufacturing. The strongest growth was in advanced technologies, such as production of battery electric and hybrid vehicles, which jumped 45.4% year-on-year. Output of 3D printers soared almost 45% and of industrial robots surged 26%. Weaker property investment and consumer prices Despite relatively fast growth by global standards, the Chinese economy has struggled to regain momentum since the COVID-19 pandemic as downturn in the property market has pushed unemployment higher, leaving families wary about spending. Consumer prices fell 0.1% in the first quarter, suggesting that demand is not keeping up with supply for many industries. Investment in real estate also remained weak, falling nearly 10% from a year earlier despite government efforts to spur more lending for housing purchases. The tariffs crisis looms as another massive blow at a time when Beijing is striving to get businesses to invest and hire more workers and to persuade Chinese consumers to spend more. The outlook Both private and public sector economists have remained cautious about what to expect, given how The President has kept switching his stance on the details of his trade war. “Given the events over the past two weeks, it is extremely difficult to predict how the U.S. and China tariffs on each other might evolve,” Tao Wang and other UBS economists said in a report. The International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank have stuck with more optimistic forecasts of about 4.6% growth this year. After taking office, The President first ordered a 10% increase in tariffs on imports from China. He later raised that to 20%. Now, China is facing 145% tariffs on most of its exports to the United States. UBS estimates that the tariffs, if they remain roughly as they are, could cause China’s exports to the United States to fall by two-thirds in coming months and that its global exports could fall by 10% in dollar value. It cut its forecast for economic growth this year to 3.4% from an earlier 4%. It expects growth to slow to 3% in 2026. China has stepped up efforts to spur more consumer spending and private sector investment over the past seven months, doubling down on subsidies for auto and appliance trade-ins and channeling more funding for housing and other cash strapped industries. AP researchers Yu Bing and Shihuan Chen contributed. —Elaine Kurtenbach, AP Business Writer View the full article

Key Takeaways Product stories are essential narratives that capture the essence of a brand, turning ordinary items into memorable experiences for customers.Compelling storytelling engages customers, differentiates products, and builds a strong brand identity, essential for successful marketing strategies.Notable examples like MailChimp, Patagonia, and Warby Parker showcase how unique product narratives resonate deeply with target audiences and elevate brand perception.Key elements of an effective product story include identifying customer challenges, explaining the journey of product development, and demonstrating how the product provides solutions.Understanding your audience, utilizing digital channels, incorporating visuals, encouraging customer interaction, and maintaining consistency are crucial tips for effective storytelling in marketing. Every product has a story waiting to be told. These narratives not only capture the essence of a brand but also resonate with customers on a personal level. When you understand the power of storytelling in marketing, you unlock the potential to connect with your audience in a way that mere facts and figures can’t achieve. In this article, you’ll discover compelling product story examples that illustrate how brands effectively engage their customers. From the inspiration behind a product to the challenges faced during its creation, these stories can transform your marketing strategy and elevate your brand’s identity. Get ready to explore how storytelling can turn ordinary products into extraordinary experiences. Understanding Product Stories Product stories capture the essence of your brand and the journey behind your offerings. These narratives help connect with your target audience, turning ordinary items into memorable experiences that resonate with customers. What Is a Product Story? A product story is a narrative that explains the origin, development, and unique aspects of a product. It includes elements like the inspiration behind the creation, the challenges faced during development, and how it meets customer needs. Entrepreneurs should focus on authenticity, as genuine stories foster trust and loyalty among customers. Importance of Product Stories in Marketing Product stories play a crucial role in marketing strategies for small businesses. They: Engage Customers: Compelling narratives capture attention and keep customers interested in your brand. Differentiate Products: Unique stories set your offerings apart from competitors, highlighting your innovation and creativity. Build Brand Identity: Consistent storytelling reinforces your brand values and mission, creating a strong brand presence. Enhance Customer Experience: Engaging narratives create emotional connections, encouraging customers to share these stories, boosting word-of-mouth referrals. Crafting a powerful product story can significantly enhance your small business’s marketing effectiveness, fostering connections that drive customer acquisition and retention. Inspiring Product Story Examples Product stories can effectively engage your audience and enhance your brand’s identity. Here are some notable examples that showcase how storytelling elevates marketing strategies for small businesses. Example 1: The Narrative Behind a Successful Brand MailChimp illustrates the power of a creative brand narrative. This marketing automation platform emphasizes its versatility through playful campaigns. By integrating humor and creativity, MailChimp resonates with a diverse target audience. Their marketing strategies highlight the innovative tools available for email marketing, helping entrepreneurs communicate effectively with their customers. Example 2: Unique Product Development Stories Patagonia presents a compelling product development story centered around environmentalism. Their Worn Wear program exemplifies their commitment to sustainability, promoting the repair and reuse of gear. This initiative not only reduces waste but also aligns with their brand values, appealing to environmentally conscious consumers. Patagonia’s approach serves as an inspiration for small business owners looking to develop unique offerings that resonate deeply with their values and ethos. Example 3: Customer-Centric Product Stories Warby Parker focuses on customer-centric storytelling by offering an innovative online shopping experience. Their home try-on program allows customers to select five pairs of glasses to test before purchasing. This strategy enhances customer service, promotes engagement, and builds trust. Warby Parker’s narrative revolves around making stylish eyewear affordable, creating a loyal customer base and effectively differentiating them from competitors. Their story highlights the importance of understanding audience needs when crafting your product narratives. Crafting Your Own Product Story Creating your own product story strengthens your brand and enhances customer connections. A well-crafted narrative can transform your small business into a trusted source for your target audience. Key Elements of a Compelling Product Story A compelling product story features several key elements: The Hero: Your product, which communicates how it improves customers’ lives. Highlight features and benefits that emphasize how your offering meets their needs. The Problem: Identify the challenge your customers face. Clearly define this problem to resonate with your audience’s pain points. The Journey: Explain how your product came to life. Share the inspiration behind your business idea, the innovation process, and any obstacles you encountered. Authenticity fosters trust. The Success: Demonstrate how your product solves the problem. Include testimonials or data that showcase customer satisfaction, enhancing credibility. Tips for Effective Storytelling in Marketing Know Your Audience: Conduct market research to understand your target audience’s preferences, needs, and behaviors. Tailor your narrative to resonate with them. Utilize Digital Marketing: Incorporate storytelling across your website, social media, and email marketing campaigns. Consistent branding reinforces your message and engages customers. Leverage Visuals: Use imagery and videos to complement your story. Visual content captivates audiences and reinforces your brand identity. Encourage Interaction: Invite customers to share their own stories related to your product. User-generated content builds community and enhances engagement. Stay Consistent: Ensure your story aligns with your brand values and overall business goals. Consistency across all channels solidifies your message and fosters customer loyalty. Conclusion Embracing the power of product stories can truly transform your marketing approach. By weaving narratives that highlight your brand’s essence and values you can create lasting connections with your audience. The examples shared illustrate that authenticity and relatability are key in engaging customers and fostering loyalty. As you craft your own product story remember to focus on the journey and the unique aspects that set your offerings apart. This not only differentiates your brand but also enhances the overall customer experience. With the right storytelling strategies in place you can elevate your marketing efforts and turn ordinary products into extraordinary experiences that resonate deeply with your audience. Frequently Asked Questions What is the importance of storytelling in marketing? Storytelling in marketing is crucial because it creates emotional connections with customers. Compelling narratives help brands articulate their identity, engage audiences, and differentiate their products. Through storytelling, brands can share their inspiration, challenges, and authenticity, making products memorable and encouraging customer loyalty. How does a product story enhance a brand’s identity? A product story enhances a brand’s identity by capturing the essence of the product’s origin and development. It focuses on authenticity, which builds trust with customers. A well-crafted narrative can highlight a brand’s values and mission, making it more relatable and engaging to the audience. Can small businesses benefit from storytelling in marketing? Yes, small businesses can significantly benefit from storytelling in marketing. By crafting compelling product stories, they can engage customers, differentiate their offerings, and build a strong brand identity. Effective storytelling can foster connections that lead to improved customer acquisition and retention. What are key elements of a compelling product story? Key elements of a compelling product story include the hero (the product), the problem (customer challenges), the journey (the product’s development), and the success (how it solves the problem). These elements create a narrative that resonates with the audience and enhances the product’s appeal. How can I craft my own product story? To craft your own product story, start by identifying the key elements: who your product is for, what problem it solves, and how it’s been developed. Focus on authenticity, know your audience, and align your narrative with your brand values. Use visuals and encourage customer interaction to enhance engagement. What are some tips for effective storytelling in marketing? For effective storytelling in marketing, know your audience’s needs and preferences. Utilize digital marketing strategies, leverage visuals for impact, and encourage customer interaction. Additionally, maintain consistency with your brand values to foster trust and strengthen customer connections. Image Via Envato This article, "Inspiring Product Story Examples That Transform Brands and Engage Customers" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Key Takeaways Product stories are essential narratives that capture the essence of a brand, turning ordinary items into memorable experiences for customers.Compelling storytelling engages customers, differentiates products, and builds a strong brand identity, essential for successful marketing strategies.Notable examples like MailChimp, Patagonia, and Warby Parker showcase how unique product narratives resonate deeply with target audiences and elevate brand perception.Key elements of an effective product story include identifying customer challenges, explaining the journey of product development, and demonstrating how the product provides solutions.Understanding your audience, utilizing digital channels, incorporating visuals, encouraging customer interaction, and maintaining consistency are crucial tips for effective storytelling in marketing. Every product has a story waiting to be told. These narratives not only capture the essence of a brand but also resonate with customers on a personal level. When you understand the power of storytelling in marketing, you unlock the potential to connect with your audience in a way that mere facts and figures can’t achieve. In this article, you’ll discover compelling product story examples that illustrate how brands effectively engage their customers. From the inspiration behind a product to the challenges faced during its creation, these stories can transform your marketing strategy and elevate your brand’s identity. Get ready to explore how storytelling can turn ordinary products into extraordinary experiences. Understanding Product Stories Product stories capture the essence of your brand and the journey behind your offerings. These narratives help connect with your target audience, turning ordinary items into memorable experiences that resonate with customers. What Is a Product Story? A product story is a narrative that explains the origin, development, and unique aspects of a product. It includes elements like the inspiration behind the creation, the challenges faced during development, and how it meets customer needs. Entrepreneurs should focus on authenticity, as genuine stories foster trust and loyalty among customers. Importance of Product Stories in Marketing Product stories play a crucial role in marketing strategies for small businesses. They: Engage Customers: Compelling narratives capture attention and keep customers interested in your brand. Differentiate Products: Unique stories set your offerings apart from competitors, highlighting your innovation and creativity. Build Brand Identity: Consistent storytelling reinforces your brand values and mission, creating a strong brand presence. Enhance Customer Experience: Engaging narratives create emotional connections, encouraging customers to share these stories, boosting word-of-mouth referrals. Crafting a powerful product story can significantly enhance your small business’s marketing effectiveness, fostering connections that drive customer acquisition and retention. Inspiring Product Story Examples Product stories can effectively engage your audience and enhance your brand’s identity. Here are some notable examples that showcase how storytelling elevates marketing strategies for small businesses. Example 1: The Narrative Behind a Successful Brand MailChimp illustrates the power of a creative brand narrative. This marketing automation platform emphasizes its versatility through playful campaigns. By integrating humor and creativity, MailChimp resonates with a diverse target audience. Their marketing strategies highlight the innovative tools available for email marketing, helping entrepreneurs communicate effectively with their customers. Example 2: Unique Product Development Stories Patagonia presents a compelling product development story centered around environmentalism. Their Worn Wear program exemplifies their commitment to sustainability, promoting the repair and reuse of gear. This initiative not only reduces waste but also aligns with their brand values, appealing to environmentally conscious consumers. Patagonia’s approach serves as an inspiration for small business owners looking to develop unique offerings that resonate deeply with their values and ethos. Example 3: Customer-Centric Product Stories Warby Parker focuses on customer-centric storytelling by offering an innovative online shopping experience. Their home try-on program allows customers to select five pairs of glasses to test before purchasing. This strategy enhances customer service, promotes engagement, and builds trust. Warby Parker’s narrative revolves around making stylish eyewear affordable, creating a loyal customer base and effectively differentiating them from competitors. Their story highlights the importance of understanding audience needs when crafting your product narratives. Crafting Your Own Product Story Creating your own product story strengthens your brand and enhances customer connections. A well-crafted narrative can transform your small business into a trusted source for your target audience. Key Elements of a Compelling Product Story A compelling product story features several key elements: The Hero: Your product, which communicates how it improves customers’ lives. Highlight features and benefits that emphasize how your offering meets their needs. The Problem: Identify the challenge your customers face. Clearly define this problem to resonate with your audience’s pain points. The Journey: Explain how your product came to life. Share the inspiration behind your business idea, the innovation process, and any obstacles you encountered. Authenticity fosters trust. The Success: Demonstrate how your product solves the problem. Include testimonials or data that showcase customer satisfaction, enhancing credibility. Tips for Effective Storytelling in Marketing Know Your Audience: Conduct market research to understand your target audience’s preferences, needs, and behaviors. Tailor your narrative to resonate with them. Utilize Digital Marketing: Incorporate storytelling across your website, social media, and email marketing campaigns. Consistent branding reinforces your message and engages customers. Leverage Visuals: Use imagery and videos to complement your story. Visual content captivates audiences and reinforces your brand identity. Encourage Interaction: Invite customers to share their own stories related to your product. User-generated content builds community and enhances engagement. Stay Consistent: Ensure your story aligns with your brand values and overall business goals. Consistency across all channels solidifies your message and fosters customer loyalty. Conclusion Embracing the power of product stories can truly transform your marketing approach. By weaving narratives that highlight your brand’s essence and values you can create lasting connections with your audience. The examples shared illustrate that authenticity and relatability are key in engaging customers and fostering loyalty. As you craft your own product story remember to focus on the journey and the unique aspects that set your offerings apart. This not only differentiates your brand but also enhances the overall customer experience. With the right storytelling strategies in place you can elevate your marketing efforts and turn ordinary products into extraordinary experiences that resonate deeply with your audience. Frequently Asked Questions What is the importance of storytelling in marketing? Storytelling in marketing is crucial because it creates emotional connections with customers. Compelling narratives help brands articulate their identity, engage audiences, and differentiate their products. Through storytelling, brands can share their inspiration, challenges, and authenticity, making products memorable and encouraging customer loyalty. How does a product story enhance a brand’s identity? A product story enhances a brand’s identity by capturing the essence of the product’s origin and development. It focuses on authenticity, which builds trust with customers. A well-crafted narrative can highlight a brand’s values and mission, making it more relatable and engaging to the audience. Can small businesses benefit from storytelling in marketing? Yes, small businesses can significantly benefit from storytelling in marketing. By crafting compelling product stories, they can engage customers, differentiate their offerings, and build a strong brand identity. Effective storytelling can foster connections that lead to improved customer acquisition and retention. What are key elements of a compelling product story? Key elements of a compelling product story include the hero (the product), the problem (customer challenges), the journey (the product’s development), and the success (how it solves the problem). These elements create a narrative that resonates with the audience and enhances the product’s appeal. How can I craft my own product story? To craft your own product story, start by identifying the key elements: who your product is for, what problem it solves, and how it’s been developed. Focus on authenticity, know your audience, and align your narrative with your brand values. Use visuals and encourage customer interaction to enhance engagement. What are some tips for effective storytelling in marketing? For effective storytelling in marketing, know your audience’s needs and preferences. Utilize digital marketing strategies, leverage visuals for impact, and encourage customer interaction. Additionally, maintain consistency with your brand values to foster trust and strengthen customer connections. Image Via Envato This article, "Inspiring Product Story Examples That Transform Brands and Engage Customers" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

On April 15th, 2025, ​WordPress 6.8 was released. This release, named Cecil, is aimed at bringing more control when it comes to the design of your website. It also comes with features that improve performance and enhance security for users and developers. Let’s dive into a few of the highlights in this latest release. The Style Book for Classic themes The Style Book, previously exclusive to block-based themes, is now accessible for Classic themes that have editor-styles or a theme.json file. It also comes with a new look and a few new settings to play around with. You can find this feature, or see if you have access to this feature, by going to Appearance > Design > Styles in your vertical navigation bar on the left side. This tool gives you an overview of your site’s design elements, including colors, typography, and block styles. Just scroll down to have a look at all the design elements and whether you’re happy with everything design-wise. Increasing performance with speculative loading WordPress 6.8 introduces speculative loading, a feature that leverages the Speculation Rules API to prefetch or prerender pages based on user interactions. When someone clicks on a link, this page can now be preloaded. This anticipatory loading results in faster page transitions and a smoother browsing experience. Of course, WordPress will not load everything as this would compromise performance if it becomes too much. This feature aims to keep a balance between speed and efficiency in choosing which pages to load. Developers can customize this behavior by using a plugin or writing code if they want it to act differently. It’s also good to know that this feature only works in newer browsers. This feature is part of a longer list of enhancements focused on performance and speed, for both editing and browsing. Without going into too much detail, this update comes with improvements to the block editor, query caching and shorter interactions thanks to the Interactivity API. Improved design and editing tools WordPress 6.8 brings a few new enhancements to the design and editing experience. We’ll go into a few of them, such as the improved global styles panel, the option to turn image blocks into featured images and new density settings in table layouts.​ Global styles panel The Global Styles Panel in the full site editor has had an update, making it easier than ever to give your website a cohesive and polished look. Now, users can tweak typography, colors, and layout settings for their entire site — all from one convenient place. Whether you’re adjusting heading sizes, setting your brand colors, or fine-tuning spacing, this central hub helps you manage your site’s design without having to dive into custom CSS or theme files. Set image blocks as featured images One of the most welcome little updates in WordPress 6.8 is the ability to turn any image block directly into a featured image with a single click. No more uploading the same image twice — once in the content and once for the featured image. If you’ve already added a perfect image to your post, you can now designate it as the featured image straight from the block editor, which simplifies your workflow and saves time. Density options for your tables WordPress 6.8 introduces new density settings for table-based layouts, particularly useful when you’re managing data-heavy content like tables in the admin or Data Views. With these new controls, you can choose how compact or spacious you want your table rows and cells to appear, depending on your personal preference or the type of content you’re handling. Whether you prefer a minimal, airy look or a dense, info-packed table, WordPress now gives you the flexibility to adjust it to suit your needs. Under-the-hood improvements Beyond the user-facing features, WordPress 6.8 includes a lot of enhancements under the hood. Let’s check out a few highlights.​ Higher security with bcrypt Although less visible, this feature is one to get excited about as well. As it brings a significant boost to security. The system is moving away from the MD5-based system for password hashing and transitioning to bcrypt. This change improves overall password security and requires no action from you or your users. It’s automatically implemented and will make it a lot harder to crack passwords. Efficient block type registration The new release introduces a new function that makes registering multiple block types much easier for developers. Instead of writing separate code for each block, plugin and theme creators can now register a whole collection of blocks in one go. This not only reduces repetitive code but also helps keep projects organized and easier to maintain, making life simpler for developers and creating fewer opportunities for bugs. Internationalization improvements With WordPress powering sites across the globe, internationalization is always a priority. This release ensures that error messages generated by PHPMailer (WordPress’s email handling system) are properly localized, so users see helpful and understandable messages in their language. Additionally, any plugin update notifications sent via email will now respect the site administrator’s selected language, making routine updates more user-friendly for non-English speakers. Accessibility enhancements WordPress 6.8 continues the platform’s commitment to making websites more inclusive by improving accessibility across the board. One of the key changes in this release is the removal of redundant title attributes, which were often unnecessary and could cause confusion for users relying on screen readers. This small but meaningful update helps streamline the browsing experience for people using assistive technology, ensuring that WordPress websites are more welcoming and accessible to all visitors. Other than that, there are over 100+ accessibility fixes and enhancements in this release. Update your site to WordPress 6.8 Those are a few of the features that you’ll find in this latest release. There’s a lot of focus on enhancing the overall user experience and refining existing functionalities. Whether you’re a developer or website manager, this update is meant to make your life a bit easier and your website more secure and performant. Read the official WordPress release post for more information on this newest version of WordPress. Or, if you’re curious to see these features in action, update to the newest version and try them out yourself! Read more: Learn how to use WordPress without touching any code » The post WordPress 6.8: The highlights you should know about appeared first on Yoast. View the full article

Starting April 22, mortgage brokers will be able to access Rocket Pro's loan pricing, interest rates and product eligibility, the company announced. View the full article

Even the most loyal Apple users will admit that the company is lagging behind when it comes to AI, with Siri's big Apple Intelligence upgrade now officially delayed (having been heavily promoted throughout last year). In a new blog post, Apple outlines some of the ways it's hoping to get back on track. One of the potential reasons for Apple's generative AI struggles may be that it prioritizes user privacy a lot more than the likes of OpenAI and Google. Apple doesn't gather any user data to train its large language models or LLMs (though it has trained its models on free text on the web), and relies heavily on synthetic data to produce AI text from prompts and from existing writing. The problem with synthetic data is, well, its artificiality. It lacks the nuance and variation of human writing as it changes over time, and without any text written by actual people for comparison, it's difficult to assess the quality of what the AI is outputting. As mentioned in the blog post, Apple is now planning improvements to text generation. In basic terms, the idea is that AI-generated, synthetic text will be compared to a selection of actual writing from users, stored on Apple devices—but with several layers of protection in place to prevent individual users from being identified, or any personal correspondence being sent to Apple. The approach essentially grades synthetic text by comparing it against real writing samples, but only the aggregated grades get back to Apple. What's actually happening doesn't involve actual words or sentences at all, in fact: Both the synthetic text and human writing get converted into "embeddings," which are essentially mathematical representations of the text. There's enough data to rank the quality of the AI text, without getting to the level of doing any real reading. All of this information is encrypted as it's transferred, and comparisons are only made on devices where users have opted into Device Analytics on their gadgets (the option can be found in Privacy & Security > Analytics & Improvements in Settings on iOS, for example). Apple never knows which AI text sample was picked by an individual device, only which samples have better rankings from all the devices pinged. Genmoji and other tools Apple will test its AI outputs against user data without looking too closely. Credit: Apple This anonymized grading system can be used to improve text made or rewritten by its generative AI models, Apple says, and should also mean more accurate, more intelligent summaries of text as well. Outputs that rank the highest could be tweaked with a different word or two, before being sent back for another round of assessments. A simpler version of the same approach is already being used by Apple to power its Genmoji AI feature, where you can magic up an octopus on a surfboard or a cowboy wearing headphones. Apple aggregates data from multiple devices to see which prompts are proving popular, while applying safeguards to ensure unique, individual requests aren't seen or tied to specific users or devices. Again, this only happens on iPhones, iPads, and Macs that have been opted into Device Analytics. By getting devices to report "noisy" signals without any specific user information in them, Apple can improve its AI models based on aggregate data and users don't have to worry about their Genmoji prompts being discovered. Similar techniques will soon be used in other Apple Intelligence features, Apple says. Those features will include Image Playground, Image Wand, Memories Creation, Writing Tools, and Visual Intelligence, which have all been among the first Apple AI capabilities to actually make it out to devices. According to Bloomberg, the new and improved systems will be tested in upcoming beta releases of iOS 18.5, iPadOS 18.5, and macOS 15.5. We may well hear more about them, and about Apple Intelligence in general, at this year's Apple Worldwide Developer Conference, which is scheduled to get underway on Monday, June 9. Meanwhile, Apple's rivals in the AI space aren't showing any signs of slowing down—and have fewer scruples about using text written by their users to train their AI models further. In recent days we've seen Microsoft push out a range of updates for Copilot (including Copilot Vision and file search), Google add video generation to Gemini, and OpenAI upgrade the memory capabilities of ChatGPT. View the full article

US mortgage rates jumped last week by the most since October on the back of heightened volatility in the Treasury market, causing a pullback in financing applications for home purchases and refinancing. View the full article

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says battle could ‘force countries to choose’ between the two trading partnersView the full article

Snagging an internship can help future employees enhance their skills and knowledge and, overall, make them more desirable employees. But when it comes to actually working as an intern, not every company is a desirable place to be. Fortunately, Glassdoor, a company that analyzes workplace trends, explored thousands of intern reviews to put together its thorough list of the Best Internships of 2025. This year’s list includes 13 technology companies and six finance companies, with various other industries represented. The top companies offered not just competitive pay, but also roles that had a real impact—that is, the internships helped employees land jobs in their desired industries. Glassdoor also combined review ratings and workplace-factor ratings to rank the companies. Danny Cao, who heads Glassdoor’s internship program, said in the report that it’s no longer just students seeking intern roles, meaning competition is heating up. “While the majority of our internship applicants are current students, I’ve noticed a slight increase this year in recent graduates applying for summer internships,” Cao explained. “This could potentially be a growing trend that showcases how internships are evolving into a stepping stone for not only students but also early-career professionals navigating a challenging job market.” Here are the top 10 best companies to intern with this year: 1. EY-Parthenon Median Base Monthly Salary: $7,500 Overall Rating: 4.4 2. Capital One Median Base Monthly Salary: $8,833 Overall Rating: 4.2 3. Nvidia Median Base Monthly Salary: $8,333 Overall Rating: 4.2 4. AMD Median Base Monthly Salary: $7,916 Overall Rating: 4.2 5. Uber Median Base Monthly Salary: $7,750 Overall Rating: 4.1 6. Genentech Median Base Monthly Salary: $7,500 Overall Rating: 4.1 7. McKinsey & Company Median Base Monthly Salary: $8,333 Overall Rating: 4.1 8. Microsoft Median Base Monthly Salary: $7,875 Overall Rating: 4.1 9. Synchrony Median Base Monthly Salary: $ 5,166 Overall Rating: 4.1 10. LinkedIn Median Base Monthly Salary: $8,333 Overall Rating: 4.1 With competition increasing in multiple industries, including data science and software engineering, the time to apply is now. According to the report, February through March is when many internship listings are posted, though listings for certain fields peak in the fall. Regardless of when you apply, workers say, overwhelmingly, that an internship is extremely important. According to the report, 63% of Glassdoor users said their internship led to a full-time role. But even when it didn’t, 54% said it helped prepare them for their future in other valuable ways. Check out the full list of the best internships of 2025 here. View the full article

Most advertisers will confidently tell you that the cost per click (CPC) on Google Ads rises year after year. But is that actually true? And if it is, how quickly are CPCs inflating? Surprisingly, there’s no simple answer. To get closer to the truth, we’ll explore three reliable data sources – and explain why this question matters more than most advertisers realize. The problem of CPC inflation If you advertise on Google, CPC inflation should be high on your list of concerns. Why? Because rising CPCs directly erode advertising performance. For example, if CPCs increase by 5% this year, your budget will deliver 5% fewer clicks – assuming all other variables stay constant. Let’s look at a simple example to illustrate: If average CPCs rise by 5%, advertisers lose 5% of their clicks – despite spending the same amount. But performance targets don’t go down just because costs go up. In most cases, the only way to keep up is to increase total ad spend by that same 5%. That might work – if you can also raise your prices by 5%. The example below shows how adjusting pricing can maintain revenue outcomes, even as CPCs increase. And this is where the problem lies: as CPCs continue to rise, businesses are forced to increase their prices just to stay level. Ideally, prices rise at the same rate as market inflation. But if CPCs rise faster than inflation, your margins start to erode. That’s the danger of CPC inflation – and it often goes unnoticed. So, how big is this problem really? To answer that, we’ll look at three key data sources that reflect CPC trends over time: Google annual reports: Alphabet, as a public company, reports changes in CPCs as part of its revenue breakdown. Third-party tools (WordStream): WordStream collects data from thousands of Google Ads campaigns and publishes annual CPC benchmarks by industry. Owned ad accounts: At our agency, we track exact search terms over several years across multiple industries to measure CPC fluctuations at the most granular level. CPCs from Alphabet’s annual reports To better understand CPC trends, we extracted data from Alphabet’s annual reports (Form 10-K) covering the years 2018 to 2024. This table shows the year-over-year percentage change in two key metrics: The volume of paid clicks. Average CPCs. For example, the 2024 column represents the change compared to 2023. The “Average” column has been added for reference and does not appear in the original reports. What stands out is that in three of the six years (2024, 2023, and 2021), both paid clicks and CPCs increased. In those years, Google effectively earned more by generating more clicks and charging more per click. The most dramatic shifts occurred between 2020 and 2021, a period marked by COVID-driven growth in online activity. As demand surged, competition rose – and so did CPCs. Looking at the broader trend, the volume of paid clicks increased every year, averaging a 14.5% annual growth rate. But CPCs only rose in three out of the six years, with an average annual increase of just 2.33%. This is surprisingly low – I expected a more consistent upward trend of at least 3% per year. However, there are important limitations to this data. Alphabet’s reports likely cover more than just Google Search – other platforms like YouTube and the Display Network may be included. Additionally, the figures reflect global data, which could be skewed downward by lower CPCs in emerging markets. It’s also possible that the growing use of automated bidding tools has contributed to slower CPC inflation overall. Dig deeper: Dealing with Google Ads frustrations – Poor support, suspensions, rising costs Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. Business email address Sign me up! Processing... See terms. Wordstream CPC data WordStream publishes an annual industry benchmark report on Google Ads CPCs, drawing insights from over 17,000 campaigns. Below, I’ve compiled their reported CPC data for U.S.-based advertisers from 2021 to 2024. The first five columns show the average CPC for each industry by year. The final column reflects the compound annual growth rate (CAGR), which is calculated to measure how quickly CPCs are rising on a smoothed annual basis. To put this in context, the average U.S. inflation rate over the past five years – measured by the consumer price index (CPI) – is 4.24%. Industries with a CPC CAGR above this benchmark are highlighted to show which are seeing CPC inflation outpacing general economic inflation. Interestingly, 12 of the 23 industries analyzed have CPCs growing faster than the CPI. That means the majority of industries are experiencing CPC inflation above the national average price inflation. When averaging across all industries, the overall CAGR is 3.18% – slightly below the CPI. However, this average is heavily impacted by an outlier: the Finance and Insurance sector, which shows a sharp -12.68% decline. This anomaly may be the result of reporting errors, data shifts, or other unknown variables. If we exclude this outlier, the average CAGR rises to 4.02%, and the median across all industries sits at 4.37%. Both are in line with or slightly above CPI, reinforcing the conclusion that CPCs for most industries are increasing at – or faster than – the rate of inflation. Dig deeper: Top Google Ads recommendations you should always ignore, use, or evaluate Owned CPC data The following data comes from accounts our agency manages. We’ve selected seven accounts across uncorrelated industries, each with search terms that have had consistently high spend over a period of five years or more. We chose search terms rather than keywords to eliminate ambiguity and ensure consistency. A search term is an exact word or phrase, unchanged over time. All of these terms have been managed by the same agency (us), allowing us to track CPC changes with high accuracy. Below, we’ve graphed the CPCs over time for each of the seven search terms. Legal industry CAGR: 14.25% Dental industry CAGR: 8.97% Ecommerce camping goods CAGR: 4.68% Removalist CAGR: 10.99% Medical technology CAGR: 12.79% Footwear CAGR: 13.82% Travel CAGR: 16.72% Below are the summarized results for all industries. Across these accounts, the compound annual growth rate of CPCs is significantly higher than what we’ve seen in Google’s annual reports or WordStream’s benchmarks. Summary of findings We looked at three sources to understand how CPCs have changed over time. Here’s what we found: 2.33%: The average annual CPC increase from Google’s annual reports (2019–2024), covering all markets, platforms, and industries. >4%: The CAGR from WordStream benchmarks across all industries (after removing outliers) over the last four years. 11.75%: The average CAGR from our managed accounts, based on the top search term in each of our seven highest-spend accounts (average time frame: 9 years). Based on years of experience, my gut feeling has always been that CPCs are rising rapidly – and our own data backs that up with an 11.75% increase. But when we look more broadly, that growth moderates: WordStream shows 4%, and Google claims it’s just 2.33% – lower than CPI inflation. So, which number should we trust? The limitations of this approach Using aggregated data – like WordStream’s benchmarks or Google’s reporting – comes with limitations. These sources may not be comparing apples to apples year to year. For example, if an account switches to a new ad manager who slashes CPCs by shifting strategy, this might appear as a market trend – but it’s really a management change. Aggregated data can’t always control for that. There’s also the issue of selection bias. WordStream’s data may skew toward accounts that use their tools, introducing confounding variables. Perhaps a tool update improved performance, or a price hike caused certain advertisers to leave. Their data might reflect advertiser behavior as much as market dynamics. By contrast, our internal data is tightly controlled, so we understand the full context. However, the tradeoff is sample size – seven accounts aren’t enough to reflect the entire market. So while our data may be more precise, it’s less generalizable. Conclusion All three data sources confirm that CPCs are rising. The question is – by how much? And more importantly, what’s happening in your own account? That’s the number that matters most. If your CPCs are rising faster than inflation or benchmarks, you’ll need to respond – whether by: Raising your own prices. Exploring more cost-effective ad strategies,. Even shifting platforms. Benchmarking your CPC growth against CPI or industry data can help you understand whether your account’s trajectory is justifiable – or unsustainable. One final thought: If your CPCs are rising faster than inflation, then it’s cheaper to acquire a customer today than it will be tomorrow – and likely cheaper than it will ever be. Major brands like Coca-Cola understood this long ago. The brand equity they built decades ago still pays dividends today – and it was far cheaper to build back then. Advertising is an investment. If CPCs go up, the cost of not investing today will only grow. Dig deeper: PPC budgeting in 2025 – When to adjust, scale, and optimize with data View the full article

It can be alarming to find an unknown folder or file on your computer, not least because malware can install temporary files without your knowledge that allow an infection to hide or spread. If you're a Windows 11 users, the empty "inetpub" that recently appeared on your computer isn't malicious—and it's actually critical to patching a security flaw in your system. The folder, spotted last week by Windows Latest, was created on users' devices during the most recent Window 11 Patch Tuesday update. It is part of a security fix for an elevation of privilege vulnerability (labeled CVE-2025-21204) in the Windows Update Stack that allows attackers access to modify system files or folders, though Windows Latest reports that Microsoft hasn't clarified exactly how the folder is related to the patch other than offering "increased protection." If you find the inetpub folder on your device, do not delete it. If you already have, do not despair—you can recover it to ensure the vulnerability is patched. How to recover a deleted "inetpub" folder on Windows 11If you accidentally deleted the empty inetpub folder on your computer running Windows 11, you need to restore it for the security patch to be effective. While you can normally recover deleted files and folders from the Recycle Bin, File History, or a backup (or using recovery software), there is a specific process to restore the inetpub folder as described by Windows Latest: Go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features. Click Turn Windows features on or off to pull up a dialog box. Check the box next to Internet Information Services and click OK. This will recreate the deleted folder with the same security protections as the original. View the full article