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How More Americans Are Turning Their DIY Talents into Small Home Businesses

Home Business Magazine Online

As people were stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, they turned to creative hobbies, such as arts and crafts, to fill their hours. Similarly, many who were furloughed or let go from their jobs became entrepreneurs, starting their own businesses from their own homes. The wide availability of platforms such as Etsy to sell handmade goods provided crafters with the opportunity to start their own businesses based on their passion.

Being at home during the pandemic also caused many people to fill their time watching social media, opening the door for several individuals to turn their crafting passions into careers as content creators. The meteoric rise in interest in crafting has allowed crafting influencers to cater to a growing audience, but in terms of more mainstream platforms, such as television, crafting content remains aimed at a younger audience with “kiddie” activities such as popsicle stick or macaroni art.

However, by aiming content mostly at younger audiences, these platforms are missing out on a large, untapped audience of adult crafters. One study shows 41% of crafters are millennials — between the ages of 18 and 34 years old — with a further 35% being 35 to 54 and 23% being 55 or older. That means a mere 1% of crafters are under 18, yet this is the audience for which most crafting content has been produced — until Made It Myself TV.

How Made It Myself TV will inspire home crafting businesses

The first DIY/crafting channel offered by VIZIO on its platform, Made It Myself TV serves as a dedicated home for crafting content 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A partnership between VIZIO and TriCoast TV — the force behind the wildly successful Dark Matter TV — Made It Myself TV hopes to inspire viewers to pursue and enrich their crafting passions. And since Made It Myself TV is available on any television using VIZIO’s operating system, which comes equipped out-of-the-box on every VIZIO smart TV, millions of households across the country and world can enjoy the app’s amazing crafting content.

The arts and crafts field has historically been considered “female-oriented,” but that is simply no longer true. Woodworking, a crafting space that has traditionally been dominated by men, has been growing steadily in the crafting field — so much so that there is a nearly even split between women and men crafters.

“One of Made It Myself TV’s most prolific crafters is Marc Spagnuolo, The Wood Whisperer, whose phenomenal woodworking content appeals to a predominantly male audience,” says Marcy Levitas Hamilton, CEO of TriCoast TV.

Crafting as a communal experience

Group activities within the crafting space are growing. The idea of crafting as a communal activity is nothing novel — just think of knitting circles and quilting groups. Hamilton also hopes to inspire people to take up crafting hobbies (or even professions) with their loved ones. “We see people dip their toes into crafting to make a handmade gift for their partner or family member, but what if they crafted together?” she asks. “It could make for a valuable bonding experience that is just as memorable as the thing being made.”

Indeed, should crafters craft with a loved one. It could be the excellent foundation of a family business. Selling the products together on Etsy — or even at local craft fairs — can be an easy way to form a healthy second stream of income through an activity that is enjoyable and offers an amazing opportunity for people to grow closer together.

For Hamilton and the Made It Myself TV team, inspiration is the key to getting people to turn their passion for crafting into a creative profession. Their goal with the platform is to create widely appealing content that is “good, entertaining, and inspiring.” Made It Myself TV is designed to appeal to adults of all walks of life who are or want to get serious about crafting.

Partnering with high-profile influencers and such a massive platform as VIZIO will allow Made It Myself TV to become the dominant platform for high-quality, informative, and inspiring crafting content. As more people find ways to turn their creative hobbies into home businesses, downloading or watching Made It Myself TV will give them the inspiration they need to make this dream a reality.

The post How More Americans Are Turning Their DIY Talents into Small Home Businesses appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

Original source: https://homebusinessmag.com/businesses/business-opportunities/how-more-americans-turning-diy-talents-small-home-businesses/

21 best ChatGPT alternatives

I’ve been excited about ChatGPT, its API, and its SEO applications – everything from local SEO to title tags and content editing. And like many (including OpenAI’s founder), I’ve also seen its limitations.

While ChatGPT is remarkable, once you’ve used it long enough, you likely know the following:

It frequently “hallucinates” answers, acting as if it knows the correct answer when in reality, the platform is “confident but wrong.”
There are areas (like counting characters, doing specific types of computations, etc.) where it’s relatively weak (and a simple Excel function would work better).
The training data for ChatGPT goes up to late 2021, and it’s unable to access the live web.
It’s built to be a general-purpose AI chat product, not a “point solution.”
If you’re looking to use ChatGPT for functions like content creation or keyword research, it’ll become apparent very quickly that the tool was not designed to be an SEO solution (even if it can be helpful with SEO functions).

You may be looking for a ChatGPT alternative for all of these reasons. If that’s the case, you’re in luck because tons of investment is going into generative AI.

This article looks at 21 alternatives to ChatGPT, describing each product, who may want to check it out and why.

The best ChatGPT alternatives

An important thing to remember as you go through this list: these products are at very early developmental stages.

Some will rapidly develop and improve, a few will be shut down, and others will pivot away entirely from what they’re doing now.

I’d recommend trying them out for the specific function you’re using ChatGPT for now or would like to use ChatGPT for but haven’t had success with and see how they fit your own process.

Generally, in this article, I’m comparing ChatGPT “out of the box” in the web interface as it is currently constituted.

OpenAI recently announced plugins for ChatGPT (including a browser plugin), which may start to bridge the gap between ChatGPT and some of these alternatives.

If you have some coding ability, you may be able to change the difference in capabilities by leveraging those and the ChatGPT API.

1. Claude

What is Claude?

Claude describes itself as an “AI assistant” and is an AI chat platform similar to ChatGPT. It’s built on a different model called Constitutional AI.

Why should you care?

Claude is designed by former OpenAI engineers and is made by Anthropic, a company with over a billion in funding.

One of the investors on that list is Google. If you’re interested in AI and ChatGPT alternatives, I’d generally say that anything Google and Microsoft do is worth watching and checking out.

Additionally, Claude makes two claims that – if true – are worth caring about:

Their AI is “less harmful,” meaning it is safer and less likely to give dangerously wrong answers and/or dangerous advice or information.
Their AI is more “steerable,” meaning getting to your desired output is easier.

These things are difficult to evaluate in a quantifiable way, but if true both would be important.

Who is it for?

Generally, Claude can perform the same basic functionality as ChatGPT, but if you’ve used ChatGPT and have the following frustrations:

Getting “confident but wrong” answers or “hallucinations” where ChatGPT answers your question even if it doesn’t actually have the information you’re looking for.
Questionable or dangerous outputs from ChatGPT.
Difficulty getting the right answers and outputs from ChatGPT.

Claude is worth testing out for you as its explicit aim is to address these issues.

2. Google Bard AI

What is Bard AI?

Bard AI is a conversational AI similar to ChatGPT built on a different large language model (LLM).

Why should you care?

Bard is Google’s answer to ChatGPT and Bing AI chat. Again, anything Google and Microsoft are doing in this space will likely be worth noting.

Additionally, Bard is developed on top of a different large language model than GPT.

GPT powers many new AI tools, so those built on top of other models are worth noting, given that their LLM may be superior and lead to better or different capabilities.

Bard also has access to real-time data and the web, which differentiates it from ChatGPT.

Who is it for?

If ChatGPT’s inability to access real-time data is a limiting factor for you, Bard is worth checking out.

If you need up-to-date information or statistics for content creation, want analysis done on live web pages, etc.

3. Bing AI Chat

What is Bing AI Chat?

Bing AI Chat is a Microsoft (a major stakeholder in OpenAI, which owns ChatGPT) conversational chat product with access to the live internet and is built on GPT.

Why should you care?

Given Microsoft’s relationship with OpenAI and the combination of the GPT framework and live access to the web via Bing’s search capabilities, Bing AI Chat is worth paying attention to.

Who is it for?

If you’re looking for real-time data and particularly want citations with that data so you can see sources and the sites that the data comes from (to do things like build listicle, add citations to content, vet AI-generated information), Bing Chat is an interesting alternative to both ChatGPT and Google Bard.

4. ChatSonic

What is ChatSonic?

ChatSonic is a conversational AI built on top of GPT developed by Writesonic.

Why should you care?

ChatSonic attempts to layer on a few specific features on top of ChatGPT:

Real-time data and URLs from the web.
Easily accessible chat “personas” to talk to.
Shareable responses.
A longer memory of past questions than ChatGPT’s “memory” (though OpenAI is working on a version with a longer memory).
Ability to generate AI images.

Who is it for?

If you’re willing to pay for a conversational AI product and want a product with access to the web and better “memory,” this would be worth trying out (you can trial the product for free).

5. Jasper

What is Jasper?

Jasper is a writing-focused AI platform built on GPT with a conversational chat-based AI tool.

Why should you care?

Why should you care?

OpenAI Playground can be a useful tool for testing specific functions or tasks on different tools within the playground.

Who is it for?

This product can be interesting if you are considering using different OpenAI APIs and want to compare outputs based on different tools.

OpenAI offers $18 in free API usage, which can allow you to work through a number of prompts.

9. Perplexity AI

What is Perplexity AI?

Like You.com, Perplexity AI is an AI-powered search engine combining conversational AI with citations to external sources.

Why should you care?

Perplexity AI is a tool that takes conversational AI functionality and layers on links to external sources and related questions, making the outputs easy to share.

Who is it for?

If you’re looking for a combination of AI and real-time data (for tasks like researching specific topics, building lists of recent news events, or researching fast-changing topics), this is a free tool worth checking out.

10. Caktus AI

What is Caktus AI?

Caktus AI is a student-focused AI product.

Why should you care?

This will be interesting for SEOs and anyone creating content for the web as a great source of well-cited content, lists of citations, and ideas for free tools and widgets in informational content.

Who is it for?

SEOs and people creating content for the web who are interested in using AI tools should check this (and similar products) out. You do need to create an account to use the product.

Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.

See terms.

11. GitHub Copilot X

What is GitHub Copilot X?

GitHub Copilot X is an AI coding assistant built on GPT-4, specifically designed to help debug and write code.

Why should you care?

These task-specific tools can help with coding tasks – including if you’re having issues with a free tool, WordPress or technical SEO.

Who is it for?

Anyone doing a significant amount of coding should check out GitHub Copilot X.

12. Amazon CodeWhisperer

What is Amazon CodeWhisperer?

Amazon CodeWhisperer is a machine learning-powered coding companion allowing AI-powered coding assistance.

Why should you care?

Why should you care?

Why should you care?

One of the shortcomings of tools like ChatGPT or Bard is that the answers are sometimes shallow, and it’s often not apparent where the answers come from.

AI-powered research tools are worth paying attention to if you’re creating content or visualizations on the web. They may be a great source of quality information and sources (which you can quickly access via AI).

Who is it for?

Anyone creating content – particularly higher-quality long-form content – should check out Elicit and similar AI tools.

Wrapping up

Tools like Elicit and DeepL Write are great examples of one way to think about ChatGPT “alternatives.”

Don’t just look for competitive conversational AI products from big tech companies.

Instead, consider if highly specific point solutions can outperform ChatGPT as an alternative for the task at hand and help you do better work more efficiently.

The post 21 best ChatGPT alternatives appeared first on Search Engine Land.

Original source: https://searchengineland.com/chatgpt-alternatives-395322

Twitter: Blue subscribers will now see ‘approximately’ 50% fewer ads

Twitter is now delivering on its promise to show less ads to Twitter Blue subscribers. The company has added details of how “Half ads” will work to its Help Center.

Why we care. If you’re advertising on Twitter or thinking about it, this change could have a minor impact on ad reach. “Minor” because the total number of Twitter Blue subscribers is less than 1% of its overall user base.

What’s changed. Twitter has added this information:

“See approximately 50% fewer ads in the For You and Following timelines. As you scroll, you will see approximately twice as many organic or non-promoted Tweets placed in between promoted Tweets or ads. There may be times when there are more or fewer non-promoted Tweets between promoted Tweets.”

– Twitter Blue Help Center document

Clearly, “Half ads” won’t actually be “half ads” on Twitter. It will be approximately 50% fewer, and limited to the For You and Following feeds.

Where “Half ads” doesn’t apply. Twitter specifically mentioned it won’t apply to the following areas, but noted it’s not “limited to” these:

Ads on profiles.
Ads in Tweet replies.
Promoted events in Explore.
Promoted trends.
Promoted accounts to follow.

Updated Twitter Blue subscribers count. Twitter now has 498,117 Blue subscribers as of April 2, according to this analysis.

The post Twitter: Blue subscribers will now see ‘approximately’ 50% fewer ads appeared first on Search Engine Land.

Original source: https://searchengineland.com/twitter-blue-fewer-ads-395426

Make money as a professional mourner!

Reading Time: 4 mins

Professional mourners – or moirologists to give them their official title – have been in practice for well over 2,000 years. Now you can even find them in parts of the UK.

In fact, the number of bookings for professional mourners has gone up by 50% in the last year!

Here’s how you can become one.

What is a professional mourner?
How do you become one?
What does professional mourning involve?
How to get work as a professional mourner

What is a professional mourner?

Make money as a professional mourner!

Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Chinese cultures have a common history of professional mourning, with grieving and wailing common at Chinese ceremonies.

In fact, professional wailing has been a Chinese custom since the time of Emperor Wu of Han (156BC to 87BC) and was common during the Northern and Southern dynasties. It was stamped out during the Cultural Revolution but is currently enjoying a revival. It isn’t just China that has a history of professional mourning too. In ancient Egypt, “wailing women” were paid to cry and clutch at the dead body of the deceased.

In Western civilizations, professional mouring dates back to ancient Rome were the theatrics were in full force with some mourners even going as far to pull out their own hair. Here, the size of the funeral procession was also considered a measure of achievement (the larger, the better). However, after the fall of the Roman Empire, professional mourning died out – pun intended – in Europe until the 18th century. In Victorian England though, professional mourning was reignited under a new guise, “funeral mates”. Even Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens’ beloved character, featured as one.

Today, the practice of professional mourning is very much alive across the UK.

How do you become a professional mourner?

Oddly enough, there’s already a market here for professional mourners in the UK. So much so in fact that Rent a Mourner, the UK’s former professional mourning hub, has had to cease operations because of overwhelming demand – sob. Before their fond farewell though, the company did reveal that there bookings were up 50% year-on-year. So, there is money to be paid in professional mourning. Arguably, there is even more now that the market has opened up, making it the perfect time to start your own professional mourning business.

Ian Robertson, from Rent A Mourner, explained a little bit about the business before they shut shop. The most common reasons people requested a mourner was because the deceased had outlived family and friends, or didn’t have anyone else. A representative of the deceased would meet with the company and discuss the background details of the deceased. The company would then be able to provide an attendee to the service. It is a discretionary service with only the immediate family aware of their presence.

Robertson also goes one step further to explain that staff would meet with the client before the service to agree “the story.” The professional mourner will then be informed of the “deceased’s background, achievements, failures etc, so they can converse with other mourners with confidence.”

What does professional mourning involve?

Make money as a professional mourner!

A great deal of social skill is required to be a professional mourner, with the role not simply a case of ‘making up the numbers’. It’s essential to be able to engage with fellow mourners and be part of the occasion.

You need to be confident in social situations. Ultimately, you will be dealing with complete strangers and they may be in a highly emotional state, as such you will need to be confident and cool under pressure.
You need to be a good conversationalist. The ability to engage with others easily and to understand the discretion that is required in such a situation are very important in professional mourners. Previously, Rent a Mourner would ensure that at least two professionals attended each funeral so they can be of assistance to one another. This may be a tactic you would like to adopt in your own business too!
Good timekeeping. An ideal mourner would have to possess great timekeeping, a good memory and be a relaxed and laid back individual too!

How to get work as a professional mourner

At the moment there’s not really enough demand in any area to get you full-time work as a mourner. It’s not the sort of thing you can treat as a career at the moment.

You also have the issue of time and distance to get from one funeral to another.

But there is nothing to stop you earning money from professional mourning by setting up your own business.

Job Search by

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The post Make money as a professional mourner! appeared first on MoneyMagpie.

Original source: https://www.moneymagpie.com/make-money/make-money-as-a-professional-mourner-2

Maximizing Efficiency and Improving Safety: The Impact of Intelligent Transport Solutions

Home Business Magazine Online

Intelligent transit information can enable transport operators to provide smarter journeys. With technology continuously evolving, the systems in place for vehicle monitoring and keeping people up to date with transport schedules, continue to improve.

Collectively, these are known as intelligent transport systems (ITS).

Read on to find out more on how they can maximize efficiency and safety for transit agencies and operators.

A brief guide on intelligent transport solutions

To understand the benefits of ITS, it’s best to briefly know what they are. ITS are systems and technology applied to the transportation infrastructure, which manages the reliability of the transportation network, ensuring it runs smoothly.

ITS can improve many aspects of transportation, for agencies, drivers, and riders, by combining leading-edge information and communication technologies.

Real-time vehicle monitoring

A prime example of ITS is real-time vehicle monitoring, which takes positional information from tracking devices on public transport, and relays them to transit agencies to manage and monitor.

This links in with real-time passenger information, which gives riders live service updates that can be seen on various displays. For example, for train updates this would be on-platform.

Live service updates give more reliable information related to public transport schedules and predicted arrivals, so passengers can make journey decisions based on this information.

Automated fare collection

ITS can use automation through automated fare collection — an efficient way to streamline ticketing for passengers.

By streamlining the ticket experience, riders can access the best value fares and have the choice to pay in the most convenient way for them. Part of this can involve mobile ticketing applications, which make travel plans for riders easier.

Automated fare collection can save time through the function of contactless processes, removing cash and the human element of buying a train ticket. Speeding up this process allows for a punctual service, with riders reaching their destination effortlessly.

The impacts of intelligent transport solutions

With a few specific examples of how ITS works, there are further impacts that these systems have, particularly on efficiency and cost cutting for transport companies.

Here are a few showing just how powerful they can be when used effectively and on a wider level:

Safer roads – Using ITS is one of the greatest ways to make transportation safer. Real-time data collected with ITS helps with quality of driving, in turn reducing accidents. Not only this, but immediate updates can be sent if an incident was to happen, ensuring further accidents are prevented.
Public transport and passenger loyalty – ITS can help encourage more people to travel on public transport. But when using this form of transportation, riders want efficiency. ITS do this by providing more accurate schedules for travelling, and better information about delays. Riders will have increased trust in using public transport, which will encourage more people to use it.
More transport data – With ITS gathering such vital real-time information, there is a large array of accurate travel data that can be accessed to aid towards developing transport systems.
Drive revenue – For transit agencies and operators, ITS can help to drive revenue, as the data collected can locate unmet demand, whilst creating revenue streams from sales of live service data.
Reduce costs – By using ITS and properly managing the transportation network, it allows for capacity optimization across a whole transit network. Not only this, but the use of ITS generate operational reports that can support transport grants.

The impact of ITS is clear, especially with regards to its efficiency and helping to streamline the future of transportation. By improving efficiency, the safety and reliability of transportation networks will only improve, as this technology continues to evolve.

The post Maximizing Efficiency and Improving Safety: The Impact of Intelligent Transport Solutions appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

Original source: https://homebusinessmag.com/management/technology-management/maximizing-efficiency-improving-safety-impact-intelligent-transport-solutions/

How to Use Social Media for Apartment Rental Marketing

Home Business Magazine Online

Social media has become essential in advertising and promoting vacant rentals. From Facebook to Instagram and beyond, using these platforms to their fullest potential can help drive qualified leads that result in more renters. Whether you’re looking to fill a one bedroom apartment in New Jersey or a luxury high-rise in Los Angeles, here are a few tips on using social media for apartment rental marketing:

Identify Your Target Audience

Knowing your target audience is vital to the success of any business. Understanding who your customers are and what motivates them to make purchasing decisions is essential. By identifying your target audience, you can tailor your marketing strategy to their needs, preferences, and interests. It allows you to create content that resonates with them and ultimately drives conversions.

Using market research and data analysis to gain insights into your audience’s behavior and demographics is crucial. With this knowledge, your business can effectively communicate with your audience and build long-lasting relationships. Invest in understanding and identifying your target audience, and watch your business grow.

Utilize Paid Advertising on Social Media Platforms

Increasing your footprint on social media platforms can significantly boost your brand presence and growth. Utilizing paid advertising on social media is an effective strategy for targeting potential customers and driving traffic to your website or other platforms. Targeting a specific audience increases the likelihood of gaining new customers interested in your product or services.

Paid advertising campaigns can be customized to different audiences, budgets, objectives, and more. With A/B testing options available, you can have up-to-date data that allows you to adjust your campaigns as needed and maximize the results of each campaign. Investing in paid advertising on social media platforms helps you reach a broader audience while saving time and money vs. other marketing strategies.

Share Photos and Videos of Your Listings

As a real estate agent, sharing photos and videos of your listings is vital to your marketing strategy. These visual aids allow prospective buyers to glimpse what could potentially be their new home. By incorporating high-quality, professional photos and videos of your listings, you can showcase the property’s standout features and attract more potential buyers. Remember, visual content is king in the technology and social media age. So, use this powerful tool to help sell your listings and establish yourself as a top-performing agent in the industry.

Engage with Potential Tenants

Finding quality tenants for your property can be challenging, but engaging with potential tenants is vital to securing a successful rental agreement. As a landlord or property manager, it’s crucial to be approachable and responsive to inquiries and communicate clearly throughout the application process. Utilizing online resources and social media platforms can also aid in reaching a wider pool of potential tenants.

Analyze Performance Data to Optimize Results

Analyzing performance data is crucial in optimizing results in any industry. Whether it’s tracking website traffic, sales numbers, or employee productivity, the ability to gather and analyze data is pivotal in identifying areas for improvement and driving success.

By deep diving into performance data, businesses can pinpoint bottlenecks, identify top performers, and make informed decisions about resource allocation. The beauty of data analysis is its ability to cut through the noise and provide a clear picture of what’s working and what’s not. With the right tools and approach, organizations can turn data into actionable insights and maximize their potential for success.

Incorporate User-Generated Content for Authenticity

Incorporating user-generated content into your marketing strategy can be a powerful tool for establishing authenticity. With more and more consumers turning to social media for recommendations and opinions, having genuine user reviews and experiences can provide trust and transparency that traditional advertising simply can’t match.

By actively engaging with your audience and encouraging them to share their stories and feedback, you demonstrate that your brand is open to feedback and eager to improve and create a sense of community around your product or service. The key is making it easy for users to share their content while ensuring it aligns with your brand’s messaging and values.

Final Thoughts

The power of digital marketing is undeniable, and real estate agents, landlords, and property managers can benefit significantly from incorporating these strategies into their businesses. To get the word out about the one bedroom apartment in New Jersey or the three-bedroom house in Florida, utilizing digital marketing tools and strategies can help you reach a broader audience and maximize your success. From creating content to optimizing campaigns, focusing on these essential tactics can help you stand out from the competition and establish yourself as an industry leader.

The post How to Use Social Media for Apartment Rental Marketing appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

Original source: https://homebusinessmag.com/marketing/how-to-guides-marketing/how-to-use-social-media-apartment-rental-marketing/

Microsoft’s vision for a prosperous content ecosystem in a generative AI world

Lost in the non-story about Bing adding ads to Chat (ads were already there) was a blog post by Microsoft attempting to assure content creators that the goal of new Bing is to “drive more traffic and revenue to publishers.”

“The Internet works because of an important ecosystem which starts with publishers creating great content which drives traffic and interest by people to consume that content, and then ultimately advertisers that want to reach people in a high quality and targeted environment.”

– Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft corporate vice president, Modern Life, Search, and Devices, “Driving more traffic and value to publishers from the new Bing“

Mehdi was addressing concerns in the content creator community that search engines that provide results assembled by generative AI (a.k.a., “Chat” and “Answers” in Bing) will upend the ecosystem. The value exchange (content providers creating content in exchange for search engines sending monetizable traffic) will overwhelmingly favor the search engines.

Mehdi admits the concern is widespread by authoring this post. Why else would Microsoft need to assure content creators that things will be better in an AI-driven search results world?

Microsoft knows that content creators – publishers, content marketers, brands, and SEOs – are fretting about the prospect of less traffic and revenue.

Microsoft’s goals are laudable

Microsoft is expressing the best of intentions for all of its constituencies.

Searchers first. “The new Bing is helping to better address people’s search needs with new capabilities like chat, answers, and content creation,” Mehdi wrote.

Microsoft’s vision is to move “beyond search to create your copilot for the Web.” “People are finding value in having search, chat, answers, and creation capabilities all in one experience,” Mehdi wrote.

It’s difficult to argue with putting users first, but that doesn’t ensure that results generated in this way won’t disadvantage content creators.

For publishers, Mehdi said Microsoft’s goals are to:

Drive more traffic to publishers. Measure success in part by how much traffic is being sent from the new Bing/Edge.
Increase publisher revenue. Drive more traffic to publishers with new features like chat and answers, and pioneer the future of advertising in these new mediums by sharing revenue directly.

Traffic/revenue for all, more for Microsoft Start participants

Microsoft claims the benefits of adding a chat interface to search will inure to all publishers. But members of its Start program will reap the lion’s share of those rewards.

For all publishers, additional engagement generated by chat and the inclusion of citations in chat results will drive more traffic and create an opportunity for publishers to monetize that traffic.

Microsoft has experienced a traffic gain of about 15% since launching the new Bing. The service has approximately 100 million users and 100 million chats daily, the company said. About one-third of those users are new to Bing; Microsoft concludes those new users are an opportunity for publishers to get more traffic and sell more ads.

Start, launched and in beta September 2021, is Microsoft’s version of Google News or Apple News. It’s a personalized news portal, available as a website or mobile app, where you can manually add or remove interests and content from Start publishers.

Start publishers include heavy-hitters (e.g., The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fox News and USA Today) along with less mainstream publications like Past Factory, The Stock Dork and Neon Moon.

Microsoft is exploring placing ads in chat and sharing ad revenue with Start partners whose content contributed to the chat response.

Traffic-driving tactics for Start members include:

An “expanded hover experience” where hovering over a link from a publisher will display more links from that publisher, increasing user engagement and driving more traffic to the publisher’s website.
A “rich caption” beside the chat answer helping to drive more user engagement with the content on Microsoft Start. Users engaging with content on Start will be the catalyst for sharing ad revenue with partners.

Start participation is ‘limited’

Start “participation is limited right now while this program is in beta,” Mehdi wrote. It’s been in beta for 18 months. Publishers/bloggers can apply if they meet these criteria:

Are based in the U.S., Germany, Spain, France or Italy.
Post frequently and have an “active content site.”
Bloggers/non-news content producers generally need to produce five articles or more per month.
News publishers need to produce a minimum of 10 articles per day, including live/breaking coverage.
All must use WordPress, Substack, or Medium – or have a website that generates an RSS feed. 
Fiction isn’t permitted.

As for benefits? Microsoft says Start has “millions” of daily users, so it’s good for brand building. You can also earn ad revenue from your content and reader gratuities.

This is the message we received after filling out the “Start” application.

Paying publishers: The Facebook experience

Facebook dabbled with paying news publishers from 2019 to 2022.

The company shelled out more than $100 million to publishers including “more than $15 million to the Washington Post, just over $20 million to the New York Times, and more than $10 million to The Wall Street Journal,” according to a June 2022 WSJ article.

Meta stopped paying U.S. publishers in July 2022, after deciding to diminish the prominence of news in members’ newsfeeds.

Why we care

Microsoft has boldly stated its ambition to double the sales of its ad business to $20 billion in the next several years. Clearly, the company is betting on generative AI to play a role in its ascendance.

Microsoft also knows that it can’t do it alone, and is trying to convince publishers that its vision of a win-win publishing ecosystem will materialize.

At this early stage, who’s to say the brain trust in Redmond is incorrect?

It’s clear that traffic-hungry content creators have to go along with the ride for now. There is no alternative. (Although doubling down on building brand and non-mediated channels like email are wise investments.)

It’s heartening to see Microsoft acknowledge that publishers should be compensated for fueling new Bing, but we’re looking for more transparency on the Start program.

We understand that managing Start is an enormous task, even for a company of Microsoft’s resources. Microsoft’s minimum obligation should be to tell aspiring Start participants more about it. Here are some examples:

How many applications are being approved each month?
How many program participants do you expect by the end of this year? 2024?
Are you committed to publishing a roadmap for the program that informs participants and aspiring participants of plans and progress, e.g., how much traffic are you driving to member sites?

Finally, not mentioning Google’s silence on its vision for the future of content creators would be an omission. Consider it done.

The post Microsoft’s vision for a prosperous content ecosystem in a generative AI world appeared first on Search Engine Land.

Original source: https://searchengineland.com/microsoft-content-ecosystem-generative-ai-world-395352

Google search quality raters shift focus to chatbot response rating

Google has prioritized rating chatbot prompt responses above rating the quality of search results, at least for some of its contract workers, since January, Insider reports.

Why we care. Google is clearly committing a lot of resources to Bard and other AI initiatives right now. Search remains its core product – and chief money-maker – so it’s interesting to learn that Google is so heavily invested in Bard that they have reportedly taken resources away from rating search results, which could potentially impact quality.

Reviewing AI prompts, not search. Raters are given a user prompt (e.g., a question, statment or instruction), along with two possible responses generated by an AI chatbot (the name “Bard” was not used). Raters were instructed to pick the best response.

But. Raters are finding themselves guessing vs. assessing and verifying the chatbot responses. That’s because some raters said they don’t have enough time to research which answer was better, especially on technical or complex topics they may not be familiar with, according to Insider.

So much for E-E-A-T. Google’s raters have a specific amount of time to complete their tasks, which vary from 60 seconds to several minutes.

“Three hours of research to complete a 60-second task, that’s a great way to frame the problem we’re facing right now,” a rater told Insider.

Search quality raters. Google has employed human raters since at least 2005 – tasking them to rate the quality of pages, websites and search results, using an extensive set of guidelines. Google has always said the feedback from raters doesn’t directly impact organic search rankings but their feedback could be used to evaluate changes.

Googlers also were asked to help improve Bard. Google asked its employees to spend 2-4 hours testing Bard, rewriting answers or providing other forms of feedback, as we reported in February.

Read the Insider report (warning: paywall). Google contractors say they don’t have enough time to verify correct answers from the company’s AI chatbot and end up guessing via Thomas Maxwell.

The post Google search quality raters shift focus to chatbot response rating appeared first on Search Engine Land.

Original source: https://searchengineland.com/google-chatbot-response-raters-395361

Love horror films? Earn £5 for watching two freaky flicks

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Love horror films? Earn £5 for watching two films.

A new study has revealed that Birmingham is home to the biggest horror lovers in the UK. People from this major city love horror more than any other region in the country. In fact, 26% of people named it their favourite genre.

The nationwide survey, conducted by Showcase Cinemas, has delved into the film fascinations of the UK. This is to celebrate a spooky set of releases coming up within the next few months.

To mark the run of freaky flicks, Insider members at showcase cinemas who watch any two (or more!) horror films between now and May 4th, will receive £5 in rewards to use during a future visit.

Horror fans will be in their element, with films such as Scream VI, Renfield and Evil Dead Rise available to watch this April.

On the other end of the scale to Birmingham, the study showed Portsmouth is home to the biggest ‘scaredy-cats’ in the UK. Just 6% of those surveyed chose horror as their favourite genre. This is less than any other area in the country!

Jon Dixon, UK Marketing Director for Showcase Cinemas said:

“Horror has always been a huge hit at the cinema, as people love for their emotions to be pushed to the limits. There are some amazing horror films coming out this year, which is why we wanted to give something back to cinemagoers who suffer a scare or two.

“We’ll be offering any Insider members who watch any two or more horror releases until early May an extra £5 in rewards, which means they can put that money towards their ticket for another horror, or maybe save it for something else if they’ve had enough scares for a while!”

To claim the reward, guests will need to be an Insider member and watch at least two of the participating horror films before May 4th. Anyone who isn’t currently a member can sign up for free via the Showcase website.

TOP TEN HORROR LOVING CITIES

BIRMINGHAM (26%)
CAMBRIDGE (25%)
BRISTOL (24%)
EDINBURGH (24%)
COVENTRY (23%)
LEEDS (23%)
LIVERPOOL (22%)
YORK (21%)
NEWCASTLE (20%)
GLASGOW (18%)

The post Love horror films? Earn £5 for watching two freaky flicks appeared first on MoneyMagpie.

Original source: https://www.moneymagpie.com/make-money/love-horror-films-earn-5-for-watching-two-spooky-flicks

Rename a burger – and win £2,000!

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Rename a burger, and win £2,000!

Flaming Grill are giving pub goers a challenge. The company has launched a competition on social media platform Instagram, in which it is asking people to put their wit to the test and rename a signature burger from its menu.

The best part? You could win the huge prize of £2,000 if your name is picked.

The pub chain is asking Brits to put their best puns forward to rename the Flaming Grill Signature Stinger burger. So, if you think you’re a bit punny, why not apply?

The Signature Stinger features a southern-fried chicken fillet and mouth-watering crispy chicken strips. This is then topped with cheese, a piri piri sauce kick and jalapenos for extra heat. The pun opportunities are endless.

If puns are your grill-ty pleasure, head over to the Flaming Grill Instagram account to enter. You will need to follow the page, share the pinned post and share their suggestion through a comment on the Signature Stinger burger post.

You can enter as many times are you like, with the company encouraging people to suggest the weirdest and wackiest names you can think of!

Mia Broadbent, Marketing Manager at Flaming Grill, said:

“We’re looking for a Flamin’ great new name for our Signature Stinger burger, and who better to choose the new name than the great British public?

“With a £2,000 prize up for grabs for the winning name, this is a fantastic opportunity for customers to stretch their creative muscles and potentially pick up a grand prize at the same time!”

The competition is open anyone to anyone who has an Instagram account and will be live until 23:59 on Monday 24th April. Jack Rear, Telegraph Lifestyle reporter, will then shortlist the ten most creative contenders, before opening it up to the public to decide the winner via an Instagram poll.

The post Rename a burger – and win £2,000! appeared first on MoneyMagpie.

Original source: https://www.moneymagpie.com/make-money/rename-a-burger-and-win-2000