The Guardian has accused Microsoft of damaging its brand by adding an offensive AI-generated poll to one of its articles.
In a story reporting on the death of 21-year-old Lilie James, whose body was found with serious head injuries in Australia, the tech giant’s AI asked readers to vote on the cause of her passing, giving them the options of murder, accident or suicide.
Furious readers reacted by describing the poll as “disgusting” and calling for the instant dismissal of the journalist – who had nothing to do with the poll.
Why we care. Microsoft’s decision to use AI instead of human writers is causing problems again. This is a clear reminder of why businesses should utilize AI to support human efforts rather than replace them. Neglecting this approach could damage your brand’s reputation and adversely affect your search rankings.
How this happened. Microsoft has agreements with major news organizations around the world, such as The Guardian and CNN, under which it can republish their articles in return for a portion of ad revenue. However, when the tech giant republished this story, its AI technology automatically added the offensive poll.
What The Guardian is saying. Anna Bateson, chief executive of the Guardian Media Group, wrote to Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith, accusing the company of upsetting James’ family, as well as causing “significant reputational damage” to both the newspaper and the journalist. She said:
“This is clearly an inappropriate use of genAI [generative AI] by Microsoft on a potentially distressing public interest story, originally written and published by Guardian journalists.”
Bateson then asked Smith to reassure her that:
“Microsoft will not apply experimental AI technology on or alongside Guardian journalism without the news publisher’s approval; and Microsoft will always make it clear to users when AI tools are used to create additional units and features next to trusted news brands like the Guardian.”
What Microsoft is saying. A Microsoft spokesperson said:
“We have deactivated Microsoft-generated polls for all news articles and we are investigating the cause of the inappropriate content. A poll should not have appeared alongside an article of this nature, and we are taking steps to help prevent this kind of error from reoccurring in the future.”
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History repeating itself. This isn’t the first time Microsoft’s generative AI has landed the tech giant in trouble. In September, the company was heavily criticized after publishing an AI-generated obituary for NBA star Brandon Hunter.
The former Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic player passed away suddenly this week, aged 42, after collapsing during a hot yoga class in Orlando, Fl. Shortly after his passing, fans were shocked to see the father of three described as “useless” in an obituary published on MSN. The headline read:
“Brandon Hunter useless at 42.”
Readers reacted by branding Microsoft “lazy” for leveraging AI to create articles and urged the company to rehire the editorial staff it replaced with AI.
Deep dive. Read the Guardian’s response in full for more information.
The Guardian has accused Microsoft of damaging its brand by adding an offensive AI-generated poll to one of its articles.
In a story reporting on the death of 21-year-old Lilie James, whose body was found with serious head injuries in Australia, the tech giant’s AI asked readers to vote on the cause of her passing, giving them the options of murder, accident or suicide.
Furious readers reacted by describing the poll as “disgusting” and calling for the instant dismissal of the journalist – who had nothing to do with the poll.
Why we care. Microsoft’s decision to use AI instead of human writers is causing problems again. This is a clear reminder of why businesses should utilize AI to support human efforts rather than replace them. Neglecting this approach could damage your brand’s reputation and adversely affect your search rankings.
How this happened. Microsoft has agreements with major news organizations around the world, such as The Guardian and CNN, under which it can republish their articles in return for a portion of ad revenue. However, when the tech giant republished this story, its AI technology automatically added the offensive poll.
What The Guardian is saying. Anna Bateson, chief executive of the Guardian Media Group, wrote to Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith, accusing the company of upsetting James’ family, as well as causing “significant reputational damage” to both the newspaper and the journalist. She said:
“This is clearly an inappropriate use of genAI [generative AI] by Microsoft on a potentially distressing public interest story, originally written and published by Guardian journalists.”
Bateson then asked Smith to reassure her that:
“Microsoft will not apply experimental AI technology on or alongside Guardian journalism without the news publisher’s approval; and Microsoft will always make it clear to users when AI tools are used to create additional units and features next to trusted news brands like the Guardian.”
What Microsoft is saying. A Microsoft spokesperson said:
“We have deactivated Microsoft-generated polls for all news articles and we are investigating the cause of the inappropriate content. A poll should not have appeared alongside an article of this nature, and we are taking steps to help prevent this kind of error from reoccurring in the future.”
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History repeating itself. This isn’t the first time Microsoft’s generative AI has landed the tech giant in trouble. In September, the company was heavily criticized after publishing an AI-generated obituary for NBA star Brandon Hunter.
The former Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic player passed away suddenly this week, aged 42, after collapsing during a hot yoga class in Orlando, Fl. Shortly after his passing, fans were shocked to see the father of three described as “useless” in an obituary published on MSN. The headline read:
“Brandon Hunter useless at 42.”
Readers reacted by branding Microsoft “lazy” for leveraging AI to create articles and urged the company to rehire the editorial staff it replaced with AI.
Deep dive. Read the Guardian’s response in full for more information.
The U.S. Department of Justice has released several new trial exhibits – including internal Google presentations, documents and emails related to ranking.
Here are seven that specifically discuss elements of Google Search ranking:
This is a heavily redacted PowerPoint presentation put together by Google’s Eric Lehman – and like most of the other documents, it lacks the full context accompanying it.
However, what’s here is interesting for all SEOs.
In “The 3 Pillars of Ranking,” slide, Google highlights three areas:
Body: What the document says about itself.
Anchors: What the Web says about the document.
User-interactions: What users say about the document.
Google added a note about user interactions:
“we may use ‘clicks’ as a stand-in for ‘user-interactions’ in some places. User-interactions include clicks, attention on a result, swipes on carousels and entering a new query.
In this slide, titled “User interaction signals,” Google illustrates the relationships of queries, interactions and Search results, alongside results for the query [why is the ocean salty]. Specific interactions mentioned by Google:
Read
Clicks
Scrolls
Mouse hovers
In September, Lehman testified during the antitrust trial that Google uses clicks in rankings. However, once again, it’s important to make clear that individual clicks alone are a noisy signal for ranking (more on that in Ranking for Research). Google has publicly said it uses click data for training, evaluation, controlled experiments and personalization.
What is redacted:
A slide titled “Metrics” – all that is visible is one line: “Web Ranking Components.”
Seven additional slides, including two titled “Outline” and “Summary.”
These seven slides were part of a larger Q4 2016 Search All Hands presentation, prepared by Lehman.
In this slide, Google says “We do not understand documents. We fake it.”
“Today, our ability to understand documents directly is minimal.
So we watch how people react to documents and memorize their responses.”
And the source of Google’s “magic” is revealed:
“Let’s start with some background..
A billion times a day, people ask us to find documents relevant to a query.
What’s crazy is that we don’t actually understand documents. Beyond some basic stuff, we hardly look at documents. We look at people.
If a document gets a positive reaction, we figure it is good. If the reaction is negative, it is probably bad.
Grossly simplified, this is the source of Google’s magic.”
So how does this work?
In this slide, Google explains how “each searcher benefits from the responses of past users … and contributes responses that benefit future users”:
“Search keeps working by induction.
This has an important implication.
In designing user experiences, SERVING the user is NOT ENOUGH.
We have to design interactions that also allow us to LEARN from users.
Because that is how we serve the next person, keep the induction rolling, and sustain the illusion that we understand.
Looking to the future, I believe learning from users is also the key to TRULY understanding language.”
And in the final slide, Google sums up with this statement:
“When fake understanding fails, we look stupid.”
The other four slides are entirely skippable, unless you’re interested in knowing that “Search is a great place to start understanding language. Success has implications far beyond Search.”
Google is looking at end users – how people interact with Search results. Not as individuals – but as a collective.
3. Ranking for Research
It’s unclear who created this presentation, but there are some very interesting findings in here.
In this slide, Google talks about 18 aspects of search quality:
Relevance
Page quality
Popularity
Freshness
Localization
Language
Centrality
Topical diversity
Personalization
Web ecosystem
Mobile friendly
Social fairness
Optionalization
Porn demotion
Spam
Authority
Privacy
User control of spell correction
This slide discusses the shortcomings of live traffic evaluations. Yes, essentially Google is talking about clicks not being a good signal because they are hard to interpret.
“The association between observed user behavior and search result quality is tenuous. We need lots of traffic to draw conclusions, and individual examples are difficult to interpret.”
Finally, this slide provides a different illustration of how Google Search result ranking works:
There are some other interesting tidbits in this presentation, though not necessarily tied to ranking. Of note:
“Attempts to manipulate search results are continuous, sophisticated, and well-funded. Information about how search works should remain need-to-know.” (Slide 5)
“Keep talk about how search works on a need-to-know basis. Everything we leak will be used against us by SEOs, patent trolls, competitors, etc.” (Slide 10)
“Do not discuss the use of clicks in search, except on a need-to-know basis with people who understand not to talk about this topic externally. Google has a public position. It is debatable. But please don’t craft your own.” (Slide 11)
In this presentation, we learn how search really works.
This slide explains how search does not work. From the notes:
“We get a query. Various scoring systems emit data, we slap on a UX, and ship it to the user.
This is not false, just incomplete. So incomplete that a search engine built this way won’t work very well. No magic.”
In this slide, we learn how search does work:
“The key is a second flow of information in the reverse direction.
As people interact with search, their actions teach us about the world.
For example, a click might tell us that an image was better than a web result. Or a long look like might mean a KP was interesting.
We log these actions, and then scoring teams extract both narrow and general patterns.”
Next, we learn the source of Google’s “magic.” From the notes:
“The source of Google’s magic is this two-way dialogue with users.
With every query, we give a some knowledge, and get a little back. Then we give some more, and get a little more back.
These bits add up. After a few hundred billion rounds, we start lookin’ pretty smart!
This isn’t the only way we learn, but the most effective.”
So how does Google learn more from users? From the notes:
“On the surface, users ask questions and Google answers. That’s our basic business. We can’t screw that up. But we have to quietly turn the tables. One way is to:
ask the user a question implicitly
provide necessary background information
give the user some way to tell us the answer”
This slide looks at the 10 blue links.
“For example, the ten blue links implicitly pose the question, ‘Which result is best?’
Result previews give background. And the answer is a click.
This is a great UX for learning. For years, Google was mocked for great search results in a bland UI.
But this bland UI made the search results great.”
This slide is on Image Search:
“Image search poses a similar question– which do you like best? Thumbnails provide background information, and the user’s answer is logged as a hover, click, or further interaction.”
Finally, knowledge cards:
“For example, some knowledge cards need an extra tap to fully open.
On the left, an extra tap means the user wants lower classifications and an overview.
On the right, the user has too little background information.
More what? How is tapping here different from scrolling down? Users can’t make a good decision, so Taps and clicks are such distinctive events in logs; we should endow every one with meaning.”
This presentation discusses the “critical role that logging plays” in ranking and search.
This familiar-looking slide revisits the two-way dialogue being the source of Google’s magic. As explained in the notes:
“Search is a bit like a potluck, where every person brings one dish of food to share. This a great, big spread of food that everyone can enjoy. But it only works because everyone contributes a little bit.
In a similar way, search is powered by a huge mass of knowledge. But it isn’t something we create. Rather, everyone who comes to search contributes a little bit of knowledge to the system from which everyone can benefit.”
In this slide, Google discusses translating user behaviors. From the slide notes:
“The logs do not contain explicit value judgments– this was a good search results, this was a bad one.
So we have to some how translate the user behaviors that are logged into value judgments.
And the translation is really tricky, a problem that people have worked on pretty steadily for more than 15 years.
People work on it because value judgements are the foundation of Google search.
If we can squeeze a fraction of a bit more meaning out of a session, then we get like a billion times that the very next day.
The basic game is that you start with a small amount of ‘ground truth’ data that says this thing on the search page is good, this is bad, this is better than that.
Then you look at all the associated user behaviors, and say, “Ah, this is what a user does with a good thing! This is what a user does with a bad thing! This is how a user shows preference!’
Of course, people are different and erratic. So all we get is statistical correlations, nothing really reliable.
For example:
[REDACTED]
– If someone clicks on three search results, which one is bad? Well, likely ALL of them, because it is probably a hard query if they clicked 3 results. Challenge is to figure out which one is most promising.”
Finally, this slide discusses how logging supports ranking and Search. From the notes:
“… and here comes the part I warned you about. I’m selling something. I’m selling the idea of the logs term keeping the needs of the ranking team in mind. Pretty please with sugar on top.
But the basic reason is that the ranking team is really weird in one more way, and that is business impact.
As I mentioned, not one system, but a great many within ranking are built on logs.
This isn’t just traditional systems, like the one I showed you earlier, but also the most cutting-edge machine learning systems, many of which we’ve announced externally– RankBrain, RankEmbed, and DeepRank.
Web ranking is only a part of search, but many search features use web results to interpret the query and trigger accordingly.
So supporting ranking supports search as a whole.
But even beyond this, technologies developed in search spread out across the company to Ads, YouTube, Play, and elsewhere.
So– I’m not in finance– but grossly speaking, I think a huge amount of Google business is tied to the use of logs in ranking.”
This newsletter dove into the differences between desktop and mobile search ranking, user intents and user satisfaction – at a time when mobile traffic was starting to surpass desktop traffic on some days.
Google did a comparison of metrics, including:
CTR
Manual refinement
Queries per task
Query length (in char)
Query lengths (in word)
Abandonment
Average Click Position
Duplicates
Based on the findings, one of the recommendations was:
“Separate mobile ranking signals or evaluation reflecting different intents. Mobile queries often have different intents, and we may need to incorporate additional or supplementary signals reflecting these intents into our ranking framework. As discussed earlier, it is desirable that these signals handle local-level breakdowns properly.
Nothing surprising in this document (it’s unclear who wrote it), but one interesting bullet on BERT and Search ranking:
“Early experiments with BERT applied to several other areas in Search, including Web Ranking, suggest very significant improvements in understanding queries, documents and intents.”
“While BERT is revolutionary, it is merely the beginning of a leap in Natural Language Understanding technologies.”
It’s not enough to rely on word-of-mouth marketing or placing an ad in the local newspaper for your small, home-based business to succeed. Indeed, if your business revolves around something that defies state and country borders, such as content creation or even fiction writing, it’s no longer necessary to start selling in your hometown and branch out there. Pardon the cliché, but the entire world truly is your oyster.
Enter social media marketing. With digital platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, X (Twitter) thriving more than ever on a global scale, it’s of vital importance that you take advantage of these media sites to spread the good word about your services or products. But maybe you’re so busy with working you don’t have the time to spend marketing on social media. Plus, perhaps you feel too self-conscious when schilling your goods not only to friends and family, but to the entire world. That’s where professional social media marketing comes into play.
Says the professionals at LYFE Marketing social media marketing agency, who bill themselves as an affordable social media marketing agency, creating and managing top-performing advertising services, email services, and more is critical for your small business. It’s also important to create and manage top-performing social media campaigns on all the important platforms like Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, and more. A reputable full-service agency should deliver an excellent return on investment (ROI).
That said, what are some social media marketing tips for your home-based small business in 2023 and beyond? According to a recent report by Medium’s Startup Stash, if you operate a small business that relies heavily on web traffic for driving sales, a lot of your effort should be concentrated on attracting visitors to your website and converting them from prospective clients to real clients.
A good way to gain targeted traffic via social media is to engage in a content marketing strategy. This is the process of creating and distributing valuable and relevant content to attract, engage, and acquire what will come to be your target audience.
That said, here are some valuable tips to assist you with increasing your brand awareness, building brand credibility, and establishing valuable relationships with your target audience, who will continue to buy your products or utilize your services again and again.
Social Media Posts Should Be Short and Sweet
Social media platforms are said to utilize algorithms to read and analyze every post. The algorithms are never constant and, in fact, ever-changing. They determine the kind of content that will be displayed inside a user’s feed.
Algorithms are programmed to analyze social media posts such as photos, words, videos, link credibility, and more. They also take into consideration users’ feed preferences. Most social network platforms are said to favor short and meaningful content plus user engagement. It’s been proven that users are more likely to click on short, “bite-sized” content than they are on long, drawn-out posts.
Share Unique Content That Builds Your Personal Brand
It’s said to be amazing the amount of small businesses that aren’t aware of the awesome advantages unique content serves. Aside from developing a brand and developing a relationship with potential customers, the prime objective of social media marketing is simple. It’s to drive traffic directly to your website to gain access to email addresses, grab sales, and even encourage clients to contact you directly.
If you’re not sharing content that’s connected directly to your website, you will not get any website traffic. Your website content should be your primary magnet. In other words, don’t send potential clients directly to a third-party store like Amazon. Send them to your website first.
When you share content from websites other than your own, you can entertain customers or provide them with some industry-related information. But when you share content via your own unique website, you are attracting visitors who will likely become customers.
Use Web Links, Video, and Photos to Increase Engagement and Reach
When social media platforms use algorithms to go through new posts, they are said to favor content that includes some sort of attractive media. Video is especially popular since it displays more than static photos or plain posts with links. Post impressions and links are considered “the key” to gaining more engagement, which will inevitably lead to more exposure to your brand and products.
In the end, social media can be a valuable tool for getting the word out about your home-based small business. Priority one is creating a stunning website that is easily navigable, and step two is getting the word out via social media marketing posts, which will lead potential customers directly to your website.
Become a mystery shopper and get FREE meals in restaurants, FREE stays in hotels and FREE drinks in bars.
Many mystery shopping companies will provide you with different assignments depending on who their clients are. We show you here how to get mystery shopping jobs and bag lots of freebies as a mystery shopper.
Nowadays, all industry sectors employ mystery shoppers – retail, automotive, financial services, hospitality, property, call centres, public services, travel, and even the voluntary sector – so there’s a huge range of work available.
If you become a mystery shopper you could be enjoying a weekend break one month and phoning a call centre to complain about your gas bill the next.
You don’t need any formal qualifications to be a mystery shopper – but you do need to have good observational skills and a good memory.
Mystery shopping (sometimes known as secret shopping) has been around for 60 years and is now highly regulated in the UK. The Market Research Society has created a code of conduct, and standards are maintained by trade bodies such as the Mystery Shopping Providers Association.
Good part-time work
Mystery shopping is very flexible and not usually suitable as a full-time job, but it can be good to fit around other jobs in your life.
This is the most common option. You’ll be given a brief and a checklist of things to look out for. You need to follow your instructions (without letting anybody know you’re testing them), evaluate the response and then provide feedback, usually by way of an online questionnaire.
Covert video mystery shopper
This is specialist stuff and only for well-trained shoppers. Essentially, you’re given a brief; you enter the premises as a customer, and then you record the entire process using covert video cameras. Companies need clear pictures, so don’t go for this if you record your feet at family events!
Site inspection
For a site inspection, mystery shoppers may be asked to do one of two things. You may be asked to go to a store and buy specific items from a specific retailer. This is to ensure customers are getting what they pay for, as well as the availability of stock.
The mystery shopper may also be asked to interact with staff when searching for and purchasing their items. This is to check how staff interact with customers. You will then provide your feedback to the company conducting the mystery shopping.
Eating at restaurants
Getting paid to eat at restaurants? Sounds like the dream. This dream could become a reality for you if you take up mystery shopping, and could be a fun side hustle.
Multiple chain restaurants use mystery eaters to ensure their customers are getting brilliant food and even better service. They will pay you to go to their restaurants, have a meal and report back to them. In some cases, your meal will be paid for and in other cases, your meal will be covered and you will be paid for your time on top.
It is important to be aware that some agencies will offer you a fixed amount of money to eat at a restaurant. Remember, it may not be enough to cover the cost of the meal, so you will need to check beforehand.
watch films
As with restaurants, cinema chains want to ensure their customers are getting the best experience possible. So, if you’re an avid cinema-goer or movie buff, this may be the perfect job for you.
Not only will you be able to watch films for free, but agencies will often allow some cash for snacks and drinks. This allows you to interact with the staff, try the yummy goodies available to munch on whilst you watch the film.
You will be asked to review many things, from the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff, the availability of snacks, the prices and even the comfort of the seats. Your overall experience will be asked for. It is important to keep in mind that reviews can take time and agencies require detailed responses, so keep this in mind when you apply.
Online opportunities
Telephone mystery shopper
If you’re better at playing a role on the phone than in person, you might prefer this option – there’s plenty of work available. You’ll be given a company to call with a set of questions that a typical customer may have. Again, you’ll need to assess the response and provide feedback.
Postal monitoring
This one requires minimum effort. Your home address is simply used for receiving brochures and other promotional material. You return the items, and the content and speed of delivery is measured.
N.B. don’t be conned by ‘mystery shopping’ scams that get you to receive money into your bank account and then send most of it on to a foreign account to ‘test’ the money transfer company. These are totally bogus and should be avoided and, ideally, reported to Action Fraud. Be careful only to use the mystery shopping agencies we mention on MoneyMagpie so that you’re not scammed.
Email mystery shopping
You’ll be sending specific enquiries to websites and monitoring the speed and content of the response. Depending on your personality, writing emails is potentially much easier than talking to businesses in person or on the phone!
Again, you’ll need to assess and then pass on your findings.
giving your opinion online
It’s not mystery shopping as such, but giving your opinions about products or services through online survey companies is the same type of thing.
It’s another easy and quick way of making some extra cash in your spare time.
You have to be careful which online survey companies you join though. These are the ones that we like:
Make sure you set up a separate email address before you sign up to any of these. Give this separate email address to them when they ask for contact details so that your usual inbox isn’t flooded with offers and ads (that’s one of the ways they make their money).
Step 1: Find the right mystery shopping agency for you
Check out the list below and sign up with one of the many mystery shopping agencies on offer. It’s not a complete list, the full list of genuine agencies can be found in our mystery shopping eBook (which is absolutely free!)
Some specialise in specific industries, others are more general. You could try investigating the major department stores – Selfridges for example has its own mystery shopping panel.
This list contains some of the better mystery shopping agencies in the UK. We have the complete list in our Mystery Shopping eBook.
Most of the agencies will get you to take a test before they’ll let you in. These can be quite tricky so you might have to do them a few times before getting them right. Don’t be put off though – persist!
If you want to find a company on your own…
Make sure they’re based in the UK with a UK phone number and address.
Don’t just put ‘mystery shopping’ into your search engine. All sorts of dodgy companies could come up.
If you see a company you haven’t heard of before, put their name into the search bar and see what websites like ours say about them. Check the forums too as people who have had experience of them will say what they think.
Make sure you keep an eye out for the small ads too. Local papers and recruitment agencies often carry mystery shopping adverts.
You should be looking for the ones you’ll get the most out of, whether that’s the pay you receive for the jobs you do, or the freebies you get from the places you inspect.
It should never cost you to join a company – they should be paying you for the work you do.
Step 2: Go out in the field
Once the agency accepts you, you can begin looking for jobs on their website.
You need to go and shop – or eat – or enjoy a show – but the main objective is to follow the guidelines exactly, without having the instructions in front of you.
You’ll need to report on products and services, which can include anything from aspects of the decor, cleanliness, atmosphere, how the staff deal with other customers, how many staff there are and what they’re all doing.
Most mystery shopping agencies ask that you don’t write notes or make what you’re doing obvious while you’re ‘on the job’, as it can affect the way you’re treated by the staff. The company’s main objective is to get an impartial experience.
Note that at time of writing, the UK is on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic and you should only be doing minimal shopping trips for essential groceries right now. You can however make a note of the in-person mystery shopping opportunities available and apply for them when life returns to normal!
Step 3: Report on your mystery shopping experience.
This will usually involve filling in an online questionnaire with short or longer answers about your experience as a customer.
You’ll receive payment/reimbursement after you’ve reported on your job, which you’ll ideally do within 24 hours of completing the task.
Pay rates differ from company to company and depend on the complexity of the work.
Generally, you can expect to earn £5 – £25 per task plus expenses (but as little as £1 – £5 for phone work).
A Money Magpie’s mystery shopping Experience
Our Publishing Editor, Marc Crosby, decided to join up to a mystery shopping agency to see just how easy it was to earn money. Here he tells us about the experience:
“I joined up to one of the online mystery shopping agencies and, after putting in a few details, was asked to do a mystery shop for a fast food chain in my local area. It didn’t take long to be offered the job and they were willing to pay £20 for completing it.
It really did feel like going undercover, little did the staff know I was watching their every move, mwahahaha…well, except, they probably did, because mystery shopping takes a little practice. I was told to note down how long it took from asking for my order to the meal being handed to me, which meant using my phone as a stopwatch. That’s easier said than done when you’re juggling your wallet around.
By the time the meal was handed to me and I’d fumbled for the ‘stop’ button, they probably knew what I was up to (which might explain why a member of staff held the door open for me as I left, wishing me a good day – not a normal procedure at fast food stores!) But, hey ho, good service and I gave a good score. All I needed to do was go back and quickly answer a few questions that took no longer than half an hour to complete.
I was paid within two weeks and was offered loads of mystery shopping work after. Honestly, it could have been a nice little earner if I had more time to do it.
So if you’re in doubt, I’d say give it a go. Mystery shopping really is quite easy money, plus the company usually pays for your food/item, so that’s another bonus!”
Whatever you do, don’t miss our number one article 10 easy ways to make quick cash – featuring the very best money makers around including mystery shopping!
Winter payment 2023: Millions of households to receive £300 from DWP between 31 October and 19 November 2023
This is the second of 3 payments totalling up to £900 supporting eligible people on means-tested benefits with the cost of living
Payments make up part of government’s record financial support for the most vulnerable worth an average of £3,300 per household
Tax credits-only customers who do not qualify for a payment from DWP will receive £300 from HMRC between 10 and 19 November 2023
Millions of households across the UK will receive £300 directly from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) between 31 October and 19 November.
This is the second of 3 payments totalling up to £900 for those eligible and on means-tested benefits, such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit, or tax credits, in 2023 to 2024, and eligible pensioner households will also receive a further £300 payment later this year as an addition to the Winter Fuel Payment.
The £300 Cost of Living Payment will be sent out automatically and directly to recipients, meaning those eligible do not need to apply, contact the Government, or take any action to receive it. This includes tax credits-only customers who will receive the payment from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) between 10 and 19 November 2023.
The payment reference for bank accounts will be the recipient’s National Insurance Number followed by DWP COL or HMRC COLS.
Mel Stride, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said:
The best way we can boost bank balances is by bearing down on inflation, but as we get there, we are ensuring the most vulnerable households are cushioned from high prices with a further Cost of Living payment.
Alongside this, thousands of Work Coaches across the country are helping find work, increase their hours and boost their skills. I encourage anyone who wants to progress their career and strengthen their finances to visit their local Jobcentre to find out what help is available.
Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, added:
Halving inflation and getting price rises under control is the best way to support households struggling with their bills. But it is also right that we are helping the most vulnerable in our society, and this latest Cost of Living payment is part of a package of support worth £3,300 per household on average over this year and last to help those struggling the most.
Google has rolled out its Ads Editor version 2.4, with 16 new features and updates for advertisers to utlize to improve the efficiency of their capaigns.
Below is a breakdown of what’s new.
New Features:
App Install Ads deep links. You can add app deep links to App Install Ads using the App URL field, just like with App Engagement Ads.
Automatically created Ad Strengthassets. Ad Strength of responsive search ads will take automatically created assets into account to ensure that Ad Strength results are accurate.
Asset source in asset report. The “Asset source” column is now available for channel level, asset group level, and ad level asset reports. This column enables you to differentiate between automatically created assets and advertiser provided assets.
Additional fields in Discovery product ads. Discovery product ads now support the following additional fields:
Videos
Long headline
Path 1
Path 2
In-feed video ads. Editor now works with in-feed video ads for Discovery campaigns, combining features of Discovery and responsive display ads.
Text mode for selecting videos. You can now switch between video picker and text mode in the video asset library. Previously, Editor v2.4 used a video picker to select videos for ads. With text mode, you can directly enter video IDs to choose videos.
Campaign level broad match. Editor now supports the broad match keywords campaign setting. When activated for a campaign, only broad match keywords can be used, and any existing non-broad match keywords will be converted to broad match.
Video view campaigns. Editor now supports Video view campaigns, which are Video campaigns with Target CPV bid strategy and multi-format video ads.
Search themes in Performance Max campaigns. Editor now works with search themes in Performance Max campaigns. These themes help you share important insights with Google AI about your customers’ searches and the topics that drive conversions for your business.
Replace Text tool for product groups. You can now use the Replace Text tool to change text across all parts of a product group. For instance, you can quickly correct a consistently misspelled brand name throughout your product groups.
Device targeting in Discovery campaigns. You can now enable mobile carrier targeting, and campaign level device bid adjustments for desktop, mobile, tablet, and TV in Discovery campaigns. For bid adjustments, the only adjustments allowed are 0% and -100%.
Brand settings for Search and PMax campaigns. Editor now supports brand settings for Search and Performance Max campaigns, specifically:
Brand restrictions for Search
Brand exclusions for Performance Max
Dynamic Search Ads features in PMax. Editor now supports features related to Dynamic Search Ads in Performance Max campaigns, including:
Adding Dynamic Search Ads in Performance Max campaigns.
Specifying page feeds to use in your Performance Max campaigns.
Supporting webpage targeting for asset groups.
Ad format controls for Video reach campaigns. You can now choose the ad formats that show for Video reach campaigns, including:
In-stream ads
In-feed ads
Shorts ads
Demand Gen ad group level location and language. You can now set language and location targeting for Demand Gen campaigns at the ad group level. Remember that you can only choose the targeting level when creating the campaign, and you can’t modify it later.
PMax dynamic Search Ads upgrade tool. You can track each campaign’s migration status in the tool, but keep in mind that Google Ads Editor won’t be accessible until the migration finishes. Once the migration is done, the tool downloads draft campaigns and identifies any failed upgrades. It also highlights errors, like missing assets. After fixing these errors, the recommendations are applied immediately.
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Why we care. The new features have been designed to give advertisers greater control, simplify the editing process, and enhance the efficiency and overall performance of your Google Ads campaigns.
Deep dive. Read Google’s full list of changes for more information.
Google has rolled out a new Ad Review Centre for AdSense, Ad Manager and AdMob.
Five major changes have been added to the platform – all aimed at improving the user experience for advertisers.
Below is a breakdown of what’s new.
New Features:
Larger area to view ads. The new Ad Review Centre features an improved layout to maximise the area that you have for viewing ads.
New, easy-to-use filters. Google has added new filters to make it quicker and simpler to select statuses like ‘Allowed’ and ‘Blocked’.
Bulk actions are easier: The search engine has also introduced a prominent ‘Select all’ button so it’s now easier to take actions on pages of ads.
Simplified image search. The new Ad Review Centre has rolled out a more prominent ‘Search by Image’ button and improved the search results. It also now shows image search requirements in the image selection dialogue.
Improved detail view: Lastly, the platform has also updated the detail view by adding an expandable ‘Ad info’ area with more metadata and a new ‘Related ads’ tab to make it quicker to find related ads.
Why we care. These new features have been introduced to enhance the efficiency of ad management, simplifying the advertiser’s tasks and potentially saving them valuable time in the process.
What Google is saying. A Google Ads spokesperson said in a statement:
“We’re super excited to introduce the new Ad Review Centre for AdSense, Ad Manager and AdMob.”
“We’ve spent a lot of time listening to feedback from publishers and partners alike, and we’ve made several investments to improve the experience for everyone.”
Organising a club can be a rewarding and fulfilling experience, whether it’s a sports club, book club, hobby club, or any other type of social or interest-based group. To ensure the smooth operation and success of your club, you’ll need various supplies and resources. In this article, we’ll explore the essential supplies needed when you’re organising a club, from the planning stages to the club’s ongoing activities.
1. Stationery and Office Supplies
Having basic stationery and office supplies is essential for organising and managing your club. You’ll need pens, notepads, sticky notes, paper, printers, ink and toner, and folders for taking notes during meetings, jotting down ideas, and keeping important documents organised.
2. Sign-Up Sheets and Membership Forms
You’ll need sign-up sheets and membership forms to keep track of club members and their contact information. These forms help you gather essential data, such as names, email addresses, phone numbers, and any specific interests or preferences members may have.
3. Meeting Space and Reservations
If your club meets in person, you’ll need a dedicated meeting space. Depending on the nature of your club, this could be a room at a community center, a local café, or even someone’s home. Ensure that you have a system for reserving and coordinating the use of this space.
4. Communication Tools
Effective communication is vital for club organisation. Tools like email, group chat apps, or social media pages can help you stay in touch with members, share updates, and plan events. Consider creating a club-specific email address or social media account to centralise communications.
5. Promotional Materials
You’ll need promotional materials to attract new members and promote your club. These can include flyers, posters, and digital graphics that highlight the club’s purpose, meeting times, and contact information. Be prepared to distribute these materials in your community or online.
6. Budget and Financial Supplies
You’ll need a budget if your club requires funding for activities, events, or materials. You may also need financial supplies, such as a petty cash box, a ledger to track expenses, and receipts for purchases related to club activities.
7. Club Materials
Depending on the type of club, you might need specific materials related to your activities or interests. For example, an art club might require art supplies, while a sports club needs sports equipment. Ensure you have the necessary materials on hand for club activities.
8. Club Uniforms or Attire
Some clubs may choose to have uniforms or specific attire for their members. This could be as simple as matching T-shirts or more formal attire, depending on the nature of the club. Ensure you have a process for ordering, distributing, and maintaining these items.
9. First Aid Kit
Safety is a priority, so having a basic first aid kit on hand for emergencies is a wise precaution. Include bandages, antiseptics, and any other supplies necessary for minor injuries that may occur during club activities.
10 Record-Keeping Tools
Maintaining records is crucial for club organisation. Consider using record-keeping tools like notebooks, digital spreadsheets, or software designed for clubs and organisations. These tools can help you track membership, attendance, and financial records.
Conclusion
Organising a club requires a variety of supplies and resources to ensure its success and smooth operation. From basic stationery to communication tools and event planning materials, having the right supplies on hand can help you effectively manage your club and create a positive experience for members. Whether your club is focused on a shared hobby, a common interest, or a social cause, the supplies mentioned here are essential for keeping your club organised and thriving.
The holiday shopping season is here! If you are on the lookout for must-have gifts for all the business owners in your life, below are some awesome picks that will be a hit. From a car air freshener that will keep long commutes fresh, to a haircare gift that will help the recipient look and feel their best, these gifts are sure to make the season even more jolly:
Pure Brazilian Silk Smoothing Balm
Made with Keratin, Hydrolyzed Silk and Coconut Oil, this smoothing balm controls and softens unruly hair. Features a heat and humidity-resistant formula that will leave your hair feeling light, bouncy and gorgeously sleek. Use regularly before styling for faster drying, more manageable hair with fewer tangles, less frizz, better hold and smoothness that last. Salon perfect results every time! Retails for $28 at purebrazilian.com
Formulated and manufactured in Brazil, Pure Brazilian offers the best hair smoothing system on the market. A hallmark of professionalism and exceptional haircare, Pure Brazilian’s products feature an easy-to-apply formula, give radiant shine, strengthen the cuticle, eliminate frizz, and improve hair health by protecting the cuticle. These hair essentials have a special formulation of minimal chemicals to give maximum results. Hair color pops, as cuticles are sealed with moisture.
Pure Brazilian offers awesome holiday gifts for beauty lovers and more. is honest about their ingredients and keeps their line small and simple. Their products also reduce blow-dry and styling time, protects against heat damage from styling, and prevents split ends and breakage, which promotes growth.
PURGGO Car Air Eco-Purifier & Freshener
Freshen up their ride with the minimalistic and all-natural PURGGO car air eco-purifier & freshener! It’s made with pure and sustainable natural bamboo charcoal, which absorbs & eliminates odor instead of masking it. Fragrance- & allergen-free, the PURGGO is all-natural, non-toxic, and 100% asthma and allergy friendly. PURGGO perfectly combines nature, science, and love.
All the product contains is pure all-natural moso bamboo charcoal, one of the most renewable natural resources in the world and Mother Nature’s purifier, which has been carbonized and activated at 1110°F – 1300°F (600°C – 700°C). Bamboo charcoal is a tried and tested air cleanser that’s been used in Asian countries for thousands of years. On top of this, it lasts for 365+ days (longer lasting than any product available worldwide) and works continuously in the background! Retails for $23.99 on Amazon.
Alpha Skin Care Body Bundle Set
Featuring two best-selling body products, this anti-aging skincare gift hydrates and exfoliates for an all-day glow. Includes moisturizing Body Wash that is formulated with 10% Glycolic Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) to gently release dead skin cells and reveal fresh, healthy, younger-looking skin. Also features the prestigious Renewal Body Lotion that is formulated with 12% Glycolic Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) to thoroughly hydrate and gently exfoliate, leaving skin soft, smooth and younger-looking from head to toe. Made for all skin types, this set is $29 at www.alphaskin.com
For over 30 years, Alpha Skin has been helping customers get healthier and younger looking skin faster with their products specially formulated with Glycolic Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHAs) that promote skin health. Clinically tested, cruelty free, hypoallergenic, non-irritating, and allergy-tested, Alpha Skin products are fantastic gifts for the holidays.
Medical Scrubs Collection Infinity Footwear BOLT
These chic shoes have a breathable, flexible knit upper for all-day comfort, especially if you’re prone to swollen feet. Underneath, an ultra-cushiony midsole with airbag adds even more comfort. Also features an oil- and slip-resistant sole and a removable, shock absorbing latex-free polyurethane insole with arch support and heel cupping for stability and all-day comfort. The interior lining and insole are also treated with Certainty® antimicrobial technology to inhibit the growth of microbes that cause odor. Retails for $67.96 at medicalscrubscollection.com
Made with Keratin, Hydrolyzed Silk and Coconut Oil, this smoothing balm controls and softens unruly hair. Features a heat and humidity-resistant formula that will leave your hair feeling light, bouncy and gorgeously sleek. Use regularly before styling for faster drying, more manageable hair with fewer tangles, less frizz, better hold and smoothness that last. Salon perfect results every time! Retails for $28 at 
