Business

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Online content is meant to inspire, engage and inform. More importantly, its goal is to put a business on its target audience’s radar. Even if an informative blog post doesn’t immediately convert readers into customers, the information stays in the back of their minds. Consumers will see the company as a helpful resource, perhaps prompting them to consider its offerings down the road. While digital content might be a good way for companies to reach increasingly savvy audiences, producing it takes significant effort. A lot more goes into social media posts, online articles and website pages than meets the eye. Businesses need a well-executed strategy, plus talented content creators with a bent for research and a bit of technical expertise. At the end of the day, though, creative people are only human, and the job’s demands can become overwhelming. That’s when content teams should get some help from AI tools in handling the … [Read more...] about How Businesses Can Use AI To Improve Their Content Strategy In 2023

President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general fielded questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 15. A 22-member committee grilled William Barr for over seven hours, asking for his thoughts on a number of issues facing the government. His comments about marijuana during his confirmation hearing caused the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF ( MJ ) to fall over 3%. Prominent marijuana producers like Cronos Group Inc. ( CRON ) and Canopy Growth Corp. ( CGC ) ended the day lower. Relief for Marijuana States If Barr is confirmed as the successor to Matthew Whitaker, the former Attorney General to George H.W. Bush said his Justice Department will “not go after” marijuana companies that operate in states where the drug has been legalized. The nominee said he disagreed with former Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to rescind the Cole Memorandum in January 2018. Instead, Barr vowed to uphold the directive issued under the Obama administration that … [Read more...] about What Does Trump Attorney General Nominee William Barr Think of Marijuana?

Netflix shares fell more than 30 percent early Wednesday after the streaming company reported a drop in subscribers for the first time in a decade. Netflix shares plunged more than 35 percent early Wednesday following disappointing results, while the Dow pushed higher in a mixed open for US stocks. The streaming giant caught Wall Street off guard for the second quarter in a row, reporting a drop in subscribers for the first time in a decade. Also Read: Netflix to bite the advertising bullet, but can it unlock Indian market potential? Also Read: Netflix tumbles as 200,000 users exit for first drop in decade Read More The company blamed the quarter-over-quarter erosion to suspension of its service in Russia due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The drop in shares was reminiscent of the prior quarter, when a weak subscriber outlook sent Netflix shares diving. Netflix' plunge especially weighed on the Nasdaq, which was down 0.7 percent at 13,522.73. … [Read more...] about Netflix shares plunge more than 30% on lost subscribers

The Federal Open Market Committee will meet on Wednesday, Feb. 1, to determine the direction of U.S. monetary policy. What will the Fed do? Since March 2022, it has already raised the fed funds rate by 4.25 percentage points, the largest one-year increase in four decades. When it comes to speculation over the direction of the fed funds rate, the financial press is filled with musings from Fed watchers and assorted wags. That is just background “noise.” (RELATED: EJ ANTONI: Wokeness Is Slowly Hollowing Out The Fed) There is only one objective measure of where the fed funds rate is heading — in other words, the “signal,” rather than the “noise.” It’s the Chicago Mercantile Exchange FedWatch Tool , which translates the prices of trades on fed funds futures contracts (read: market prices) to put a probability on where the fed funds rate will go. As Friedrich Hayek taught us long ago in his classic 1945 article, “ The Use of Knowledge in Society ,” an article that landed him … [Read more...] about STEVE HANKE And CALEB HOFMANN: The Fed Is Asleep At The Wheel And Americans Are Feeling The Consequences

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline The conservative political advocacy network backed by billionaire Charles Koch said Sunday the country “must move past the current political situation” and “turn the page on the past several years,” a statement largely interpreted to mean the influential group will oppose former President Donald Trump in his bid for the White House in 2024. Key Facts In a three-page memo —which did not mention Trump by name—Emily Seidel, the CEO of Americans For Prosperity and Americans For Prosperity Action, wrote the “Republican Party is nominating bad candidates who are advocating for things that go against core American principles,” and noted “the American people are rejecting them.” Seidel said “we need to turn the page on the past,” and the “best thing” for the U.S. “would be to have a president in 2025 who represents a new chapter.” The group will endorse one candidate by the summer, a source told the … [Read more...] about Koch Network Is Latest High-Profile Conservative Group To Oppose Trump’s 2024 Campaign

PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Demand for women-only motorcycle taxis soars in Indonesian capital Phuket Gazette / Reuters Related news US military shoots down Chinese spy balloon 14 hours ago Is Erling Haaland the new Beethoven, Shakespeare, or Rembrandt? 2 days ago Ladyjek and Sister Ojek, the most recent entrants to the female-only taxi services, have seen business take off less than four months after starting operations in the predominately Muslim nation. “In other public transportation such as public minivans, there are too many men in such a tight space, which makes me feel very uncomfortable. However, I feel safe if it’s Ladyjek because the bikers are also women,” Uki Pratiwi told Reuters before hopping on a motorcycle driven by a Ladyjek employee. Since its launch in October, the Ladyjek mobile app has been downloaded about 50,000 times and … [Read more...] about Demand for women-only motorcycle taxis soars in Indonesian capital

Representative Image The realm of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) has grown by leaps and bounds. As various industries remain curious about the applications of AI, it is only a matter of time before the workforce is augmented by it. According to an International Data Corporation (IDC) forecast, worldwide business spending on AI is expected to reach $500 billion by the end of 2023. Why is it important? We have to remember that the intelligence of an AI model is determined by what is taught by humans. The data sets used to teach AI models are inherently biased, and we must abide by guidelines to keep them in check. Read More The first step would be studying the effect of AI on human behaviour, whether positive or negative. Therefore, we must ensure that the system does not discriminate when providing information and that the information is free from bias and is accurate. Should big organisations care about AI principles too? … [Read more...] about MC Explains | What are Artificial Intelligence ethics?

Representative image After years of turning a blind eye, Netflix is starting to get serious about password sharing. In 2016 on the cusp of subscriber growth, Netflix described password sharing as a "positive thing". It reasoned that people you share the password with eventually sign up for accounts. Fast forward to 2023. Netflix reported that its subscriber base has shrunk for the first time in a decade and said that password sharing was part of the problem. It doesn't help that the competition has grown significantly since 2016. In this fight for subscribers, Netflix will do anything to maintain its bottom line. The company said that "widespread account sharing (100M+ households) undermines our long-term ability to invest in and improve Netflix, as well as build our business." Read More Also Read | Netflix slammed for using AI artwork in anime instead of paying an animator Is password sharing illegal? That depends on who you ask. The … [Read more...] about Everything you need to know about Netflix’s password sharing crackdown

People trying out different games at The Arena, Comic-Con, Bengaluru The year 2022 was a weird year for gaming. The industry continued to feel the lingering effects of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic with slower hardware sales and major delays for upcoming AAA games. Here is a look at some of the gaming highlights of 2022. More buggy launches Unfortunately, major AAA releases continued the trend of messy launches with games like Calisto Protocol or Gotham Knights. The year began with the dullest of thuds in Babylon's Fall, a half-baked unfinished co-op experience that showed Square Enix has learned nothing from its previous live service disasters. What hurt even more is that it was developed by industry darlings Platinum Games. Electronic Arts continued to release yearly installments in the FIFA franchise, and like every year, it was mocked but still sold in the millions. Thankfully, EA no longer holds the license to FIFA anymore. Read More Unfortunately, EA … [Read more...] about Gaming in 2022: A year in review

If you've got something to sell, it's time to get social. Social commerce -- using social media to directly sell products or services on-platform -- is far from a new phenomenon. But it is a fast-growing market: In 2023, social-commerce sales in the U.S. are expected to hit $56.2 billion, making up about 4.7 percent of overall e-commerce sales, according to an October 2022 report by McKinsey . Even if that percentage seems unremarkable, there's still good reason to invest in this growing e-commerce channel. Approximately 70 percent of all online purchases are influenced by social media, explains Jay Myers, co-founder of the Winnipeg, Manitoba-headquartered B2B e-commerce business Bold Commerce . "There's huge promise, huge potential," he says -- if businesses can figure out how they can use social media to convert on-platform sales: "The reason why a lot of brands are not seeing success is because they just see [social commerce] as a shiny new tool. They think, … [Read more...] about These 3 Social-Commerce Strategies Are Ramping Up Sales