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In News

9 Apps You Should Never Install On Windows 11

December 29, 2025 No Comments

By Levin Roy

We all know that pre-built PCs come with a bunch of bloatware that needs to be uninstalled, but what about the apps you install yourself? Are there any commonly installed applications that you could do without? Plenty of them, actually. Many applications rely on huge marketing budgets to appeal to users, promising a bunch of features that are misrepresented or not needed at all. These apps then proceed to slow down your PC by running a bunch of processes in the background, often to collect user data. Even if you trust the companies in question, allowing them to collect your data presents a security risk, as their servers can be compromised.

Then there is the expense. Most such software comes with a monthly subscription model, costing you quite a bit over time for no real reason. Usually, they are loaded with advertisements for other apps and services on top of a premium subscription, forcing you to deal with annoying pop-ups even after paying through your nose. So let’s look at some apps you should never install on Windows 11.

McAfee

mariakray/Shutterstock

McAfee is one of the most well-known antivirus software suites out there, with a long history that has cemented it as a household name. It is also infamous for the dramatic life of its enigmatic founder, John McAfee, but that controversy doesn’t have much to do with the software itself. No, the antivirus is dragged down by its own poor performance and shady practices.

Let’s start with the main reason anyone gets a third-party antivirus: security. While McAfee was a decent antivirus program in the days of Windows XP, it doesn’t quite hold up anymore. But why then does it come bundled with so many pre-built computers? Because the company pays the manufacturers to include its software, not because it is a great application that secures your system. McAfee is often installed by new PC builders as well, enticed by limited-time offers, only to be constantly beset by pop-ups selling you additional plans and services. And since all of these are sold as subscriptions, you end up racking up a significant monthly bill for software that doesn’t add anything of value. Do yourself a service and avoid installing McAfee antivirus on your computer.

Norton

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Norton is another well-known antivirus behemoth that often comes installed on PCs and markets aggressively on media platforms. And just like McAfee, it is not worth the price. Heck, it is not even worth the free trial. The reason is poor performance. Norton antivirus has a reputation for slowing down your PC as it runs in the background, impacting your PC’s performance. Even that might be acceptable if it boasted perfect PC protection that could safeguard your data, but it does not necessarily work any better than Windows Defender.

This is the sad reality of most of these antivirus applications these days. Many verge on bloatware sold by an insane marketing push. Microsoft’s Defender has come a long way from the days of Windows XP, and handles most features of a proprietary antivirus by default, including virus definitions, real-time protection, and an aggressive blocklist to prevent exploits. This leaves less for a third-party antivirus to do, so they resort to shady marketing to continue making money. Norton is one of the more visible examples of this, but you should consider avoiding installing any third-party antivirus on a modern Windows computer.

ExpressVPN

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VPNs are the next big category of heavily marketed software that users install on new systems. ExpressVPN is one of its biggest and best-known names, backed by a huge marketing campaign and a long history of success. Except that the ExpressVPN of today is very different from the software that it started as, and might actually be spying on you instead of safeguarding your privacy.

The early iteration of ExpressVPN did its job pretty well. You could use it to bypass regional website restrictions and access web content that was blocked or priced differently at your real location. But as the VPN business boomed, ExpressVPN was acquired by Kape Technologies, a massive conglomerate. And the app started pivoting more toward marketing rather than performance, buying up review websites to help sell itself.

There is also a problem with the basic premise of how VPNs are sold. VPNs are good for getting past regional controls, but the marketing pushes them as a privacy and security product. In reality, browsers already encrypt your data, and some VPNs concentrate your data on their own servers. This leaves your personal information vulnerable to hacks, even if you trust the company itself not to profit off it. Case in point is ExpressVPN’s owner, Kape, which made a fortune collecting user data and making adware. A better option might be to use a VPN-enabled home router.

Honey

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The problem with online shopping is that there are so many sites selling the same things. You often buy a product at one site, only to discover later it was available at a much lower price on a different platform. Shopping extensions like Honey offer to solve this problem by checking around for the best deals whenever you add an item to your cart, saving you the effort of manually checking. The problem is that an extension like that gets access to far more data than you should be comfortable sharing, and isn’t completely honest in its recommendations, either.

Privacy is always a major concern with a shopping extension, since it monitors your purchases, and the data it collects can be sold to advertisers. This is particularly alarming here because you are also entering your payment details while shopping, and don’t want any application monitoring that. And this is before we get into whether they are scamming you entirely.

Honey, for example, shows you alternative buying links before you are about to check out, ostensibly giving you a better deal. But it was exposed for pushing its own affiliate links instead, earning it kickbacks without saving you a penny. So steer clear of shopping extensions like Honey and instead do your own research when buying a product. It takes time and effort, but that’s the only way to confirm you are not being taken for a ride.

CCleaner

Sharaf Maksumov/Shutterstock

Windows XP was a very successful operating system, but it had its issues. This gave rise to a class of PC cleaning and optimizing applications that would remove these unneeded files and speed up the PC’s performance. CCleaner was one of the first apps in this category, and quickly established itself as the market leader, with great effectiveness in cleaning up system files and registry entries. It was safe to use, making it a must-have for every PC.

But in 2017, it was acquired by Avast, the antivirus company. This is also around the time when Windows 10 started phasing out Windows XP (actually Vista, but that was a disaster). One of the major improvements in Windows 10 was the optimization. No longer did Windows need third-party applications to clean up temporary files or mess with the registry; The default system services could do it just fine. At the same time, Avast started turning CCleaner into a software bundle to sell its antivirus and other utilities alongside it. The result is a bloated, unnecessary mess.

CCleaner cleans nothing and slows down your computer, all the while trying to sell you other apps you don’t need. It has been hacked in the past as well, resulting in leaks of user data. Avoid installing this app on any PC running Windows 11.

WiFi Speed Boosters

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The concept of a software being able to boost your WiFi speed is tempting, even though it is completely bogus. Your wireless internet speeds are dependent on factors that cannot be controlled through software. Things like the network conditions, the router technology, and even the version of WiFi supported by your network card decide the quality of the internet you get. And of course, your Internet Service Provider (ISP), including what plan you are on.

But if you go online, you will come across apps that claim to be able to boost your WiFi speeds. They claim to be able to achieve this by optimizing your networks and selecting the right channel. The problem is that these are functions that modern routers perform by default, making such software redundant. All these WiFi boosters do is throttle services to conserve bandwidth, often blocking useful applications like downloads you left running in the background. The worst ones are just sitting there collecting data on your PC, while trying to sell you additional premium services and ads to make a quick buck.

There are better ways to increase your internet speed. If your PC has an antenna, make sure it is installed, and try to place your router in a position where it can reach your whole house evenly. Depending on the situation, it might be worth investing in a WiFi range extender or plugging your PC directly into the router through an Ethernet cable instead.

Crypto mining software

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There was a time when cryptocurrency mining was all the rage. The idea that you could put your gaming PC to work and earn yourself some money while you slept was very enticing, even if the logistics didn’t quite work out for hobby miners.

But times have changed. Bitcoin mining has reached the point where you need a massive server farm to turn any profit, and cryptocurrencies like Ethereum have switched to a different model entirely, ditching the computationally intensive mining process. This means that there is no viable way of making money on the side by installing cryptocurrency software on your PC. The legitimate mining applications changed to reflect this reality, recommending specialized mining computers for enthusiasts.

And yet, there are still cryptocurrency mining applications online that claim to be able to mine from your home PC and make you money. Some will say they mine using the cloud (but will pay you for some reason) while others still pretend that mining in the background is possible. In truth, these tend to be malware just looking to infect your system and steal data. Even Android is rife with such crypto mining scams. Some variants will actually mine cryptocurrency on your system, using up all your resources to make the hacker some crypto bucks. So, whatever you do, never install any crypto-mining applications on your computer.

Razer Synapse

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Razer is a market leader in gaming peripherals, most famously for its gaming mice and keyboards. Since gaming devices usually come with RGB lighting, Razer also offers a proprietary software for managing these lighting profiles, along with adjusting keybinds for special buttons, called the Razer Synapse. Just as dedicated drivers made by a device’s vendor tend to be better than generic drivers, you would expect a dedicated app to work best with Razer devices, right? Wrong. It doesn’t work well at all.

The major issue with Razer Synapse is performance. An application like this is meant to be lightweight, running unobtrusively in the background with minimal system impact. The Synapse, on the other hand, causes a very noticeable FPS drop while playing some games. Even in games without performance issues, the basic functions of the software work inconsistently. Keybinds don’t trigger correctly, fan profiles revert to default when you minimize the app, or it fails to recognize your devices. Not to mention the software takes up too much disk space for a simple task.

To be fair to Razer Synapse, this is often the case with company-specific software like this, even from other manufacturers like MSI or Logitech. You may be better off sticking to universal software like SignalRGB, which can manage most of these devices from a common platform.

NVIDIA

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NVIDIA is the GPU company, and it’s likely your PC uses an NVIDIA graphics card. Chances are also good that the company pushed you to download the NVIDIA app during driver installation. It is optional, but most users pick yes because the idea of a dedicated app for managing your GPU settings and tweaking them for every game sounds good. Except it cannot quite do that.

When you open the NVIDIA app, it greets you with a list of all installed games on your system, and then proceeds to show you graphical settings that you find in-game. Trying to change the universal settings just changes the very options you can see in the standard NVIDIA control panel on the taskbar, giving you nothing new. Worse, the NVIDIA app can negatively impact your PC performance, usually due to unoptimized overlay or malfunctioning game filters.

Another reason you might have installed this app is to record gameplay, as the previous GeForce Experience was dedicated to this function, and worked without a major drop in performance. But the new NVIDIA app struggles with this function as well, with the instant replay switching off randomly, or being unable even to take screenshots. For now, it’s better to stick with GeForce Experience or switch to something like OBS rather than installing the NVIDIA app.

Feature image credit: Alex Photo Stock/Shutterstock

By Levin Roy

Sourced from BGR

In News

Google is desperate for us to forget the simple joy of the original internet: Links

December 23, 2025 No Comments

By Wes Fenlon

We have to go back.

Until I found the website ooh.directory last year, I hadn’t really understood, completely, how malnourished my internet diet had become. I still had some bookmarks I visited everyday, and the social media feed I checked (too often) for breaking news and interesting stories. But only when I made a conscious effort for the first time in a decade to fill up an RSS reader with bloggers, critics, news sources, and even webcomics did I realize that I’d lost track of the original, primal joy of the internet:

Clicking a link and finding a whole new world unfurl before me, as fast as my dial-up modem or DSL connection could load it in.

I suppose I started taking this experience for granted at some point; once we all came to understand the internet as an infinite repository for knowledge, the obvious goal became accessing that knowledge more efficiently. It’s not that I ever really stopped clicking on links. I just stopped putting in the work of looking for websites through directory listings, like the ones I used to love browsing on Yahoo.com for hours at a time (Home > Recreation > Games > Video Games > Emulation, anyone?).

I realize in hindsight that that was the really magical part, not knowing what I would get when I clicked. Finding a site wholly born from the passion and personality of someone I’d never met was as much the point as the information that site contained.

For 20 years Google has been trying to kill this version of the internet that I loved. At first I think it was with good intentions: the internet just seemed so vast back then (ha!) that a search engine that could truly crawl all of it to surface the “best” stuff was amazing. Then, of course, Google took over the entirety of internet advertising and tightly integrated it with search. It took over browsing with Chrome so it could control the standards websites would have to adhere to. It made it so you could search without even going to Google.com.

Yahoo's games directory circa 2002 — (Image credit: Yahoo via Internet archive)

Google itself has become the final form of “Saved you a click,”

It started auto filling what everyone else was searching for, so that it could precisely tailor those results pages (and all the lucrative sponsored links at the top—$198 billion in ad revenue last year!). For years now we’ve watched Google rip more and more information out of the websites it once presented as promising, useful links and act as though it’s done us a huge favour.

Why should you click on George Clooney’s Wikipedia page (the first result when you search his name) when a snippet of it is right there in the sidebar? Surely you want to know “Is George Clooney richer than Brad Pitt?” and the answer is right there for you in the “People also ask” widget, sandwiched between the links.

Surely when you Google “Does Master Chief have sex?” you just want the answer to that pressing question as quickly as possible, right? Google is doing you a great service with its new AI Overview, then, which summarizes “Yes, Master Chief has sex with a human Covenant spy named Makee in a specific episode of the live-action Halo TV series.”

Mister Chief — *(Image credit: Frank O’Connor)*

It graciously provides a source for this information with a link to the 2022 YouTube video Master Chief Lays Pipe in the Halo Show.

But Google would really much rather entice you to click a button it highlights with swirling RGB lights titled “Dive deeper in AI mode,” where it promises to provide more context. As much context as you want. Endless context. I click it to see what insights it can offer. Master Chief “is often jokingly referred to by fans as a ‘big green virgin,'” Google tells me. Sure!

We all know that Google has, for years, been trying harder and harder to stop helping us navigate the internet and instead be the internet, with the answer to any and every thought or query right there at the top of the results page.

We can all feel in our bones that this convenience has become more and more a hindrance, every search weighed down by paid results and shortform videos and SEO’d-to-hell listicles as autocomplete funnels us to the lowest common denominator results.

And yet the infection eating away at Google’s core goes deeper than “search sucks now.” Google’s AI overviews aren’t just leeching traffic away from the very websites it’s happily pilfering from, with no fucks given in the halls of big tech about fracking the internet’s core until the whole thing collapses in on itself. The rot is spiritual.

Google’s AI overviews demonstrate with diamond clarity that Google views the trillions of links it crawls as nothing more than information—data to be surfaced in any form, the more immediate and convenient the better. Google itself has become the final form of “Saved you a click,” a 2010s Twitter phenomenon that writer Charlie Warzel once succinctly analysed as fighting less against clickbait than “the premise of simply reading.”

“In @SavedYouAClick’s”—or, now, Google’s!—”perfect world, information doesn’t just want to be free, it demands to be right in your face in its entirety—showmanship, gimmicks, and creativity be damned. Your time is, quite simply, too precious.”

Google Discover headlines rewritten by AI — (Image credit: The Verge)

AI overviews and everything about the modern Google experience view the totality of the internet as nothing but questions and answers. The same goes for ChatGPT, Grok, whatever—they’re not just offensive because they’re built on stolen material and wrong half the time, but because they don’t even recognize the actual value in what they’re stealing. How else should we interpret Google now deciding to rewrite our headlines with AI, turning this:

‘Child labour is unbeatable’: Baldur’s Gate 3 players discover how to build an army of unkillable kids through the power of polymorph and German media laws

Into this?

BG3 players exploit children

What could the point of these AI headlines possibly be, other than to convince you that all the ‘information’ you ‘need’ is contained within Google’s feed in its most easily digestible form? Don’t waste time clicking away! Rest assured that all flavour will be hewn from the bone and discarded before serving so that you’re left with nothing but a flavourless content broth, so calorie light you can scroll-slurp it forever without interruption.

The thing is: Showmanship, gimmicks, and creativity? That’s what living is for, man! That was the whole original joy of clicking on an old website with no idea what you were going to get; whether it would start auto-playing a midi version of the Star Wars theme or dazzle you with a tiled 32×32 pixel tiled background of the Zelda triforce or a dancing baby.

Search and “AI” … have become so focused on serving up the known that they no longer bear any resemblance to the version of the internet that cherished discovering the unknown

Remember cursing when you landed on a Flash website because it would take so long to load, but then being like damn, this looks cool?

Remember joining a message board because you really liked a website’s Final Fantasy 7 guides and then, I don’t know, marrying someone else who posts there?

Okay, that was not an experience too many people had. But some did! And you sure as hell would never even crack open the door leading to that wholly unpredictable path through life if, in the year 2025, you Googled “what’s the best materia in Final Fantasy 7,” read the AI overview, and never clicked a thing.

(Dumbshit AI can’t even give you the right answer which is that obviously Knights of the Round is the best materia because it’s cool, more practical choices be damned).

Image 1 of 4

Eyes on Final Fantasy fansite in the early 2000s — (Image credit: EyesonFF.com via Internet Archive)

There are a million yeah, buts we could get into here: sometimes headlines really are misleading, sometimes websites are so stuffed with ads that reading them kinda sucks (sorry, but I remind you again that Google monopolized the ad market), sometimes search results pages are useless because the few human writers still eking out a living are fighting against a million spammy content mills to win a popular search term Google has told everyone to type in. Sometimes you do just need a quick answer to a quick question.

But Google has made us forget how much more nourishing clicking a link can be—how much beyond mere information could await you when that page loads. Search—and really any sort of “AI” that can answer your every question—have become so focused on serving up the known that they no longer bear any resemblance to the version of the internet that cherished discovering the unknown.

Ooh.directory, a blog listing site — *(Image credit: Ooh.directory)*

So now, every few months, I find myself back on ooh.directory, clicking around at random. I love the front page, where it shows me a blog that is celebrating its 25th birthday today.

I click the random button and learn there’s a guy out there named Robert X Cringely (wow).

I land on the personal site of a game developer who worked on Doom 2016 and Deer Avenger 4: The Rednecks Strike Back and has created 1,450 pieces of Javascript art (so far), each in under 140 characters of code.

Javascript sunset — *(Image credit: KilledByAPixel)*

Without it I never would’ve started reading Sandwich Tribunal, a blog trying to review every sandwich listed on Wikipedia. They’ve been at it for 10 years. Never in my life would I have possibly typed the words “Rou Jia Mo, the Flatbread Sandwich of Shaanxi Province” into Google.

But now I know that there’s a sandwich out there that marries two culinary traditions dating back 3,000 years and 1,400 years, respectively—a sandwich I must eat before I die.

We’ll all need something like a Rou Jia Mo to sustain us during the internet nuclear winter that Google is eagerly creating, and once AI has fully destroyed search you’ll have to look for it the old fashioned way. Go out there, and find your own.

Feature Image credit: Future

By Wes Fenlon

Wes has been covering games and hardware for more than 10 years, first at tech sites like The Wirecutter and Tested before joining the PC Gamer team in 2014. Wes plays a little bit of everything, but he’ll always jump at the chance to cover emulation and Japanese games.

When he’s not obsessively optimizing and re-optimizing a tangle of conveyor belts in Satisfactory (it’s really becoming a problem), he’s probably playing a 20-year-old Final Fantasy or some opaque ASCII roguelike. With a focus on writing and editing features, he seeks out personal stories and in-depth histories from the corners of PC gaming and its niche communities. 50% pizza by volume (deep dish, to be specific).

Sourced from PC Gamer

In News

The LinkedIn Update That Will Crush Your Reach Unless You Adapt Fast

December 23, 2025 No Comments

By Jodie Cook

LinkedIn just made a decision that’s about to destroy most creators’ reach. The platform decided faceless education is dead. That means generic business advice gets buried. Safe content gets ignored. Yet most people keep posting like nothing changed.

When I visited LinkedIn’s New York headquarters in September they told me something that should have been obvious. People don’t come to LinkedIn for Wikipedia. They come for connections with real humans who happen to know useful things. The algorithm now reflects this reality. If you don’t adapt, your content becomes invisible.

Stop hiding behind your content: LinkedIn’s new reality

Your face beats your frameworks

I tested this with two identical posts. Same exact advice about scaling a coaching business. One had my face. One had a pretty Canva graphic. The face post got 4x more views. LinkedIn’s algorithm now prioritizes posts where people can see who’s talking.

Upload a simple selfie with your next post. Not a professional headshot. Just you, being you. Show people the human behind the advice. When someone scrolls to your content, they should recognize you instantly, not just your brand colours.

Turn teaching into entertainment

Remember when LinkedIn was all “5 tips for better leadership” posts? Those days died. The platform wants productive procrastination now. People need to be hooked by your content but should feel good about scrolling, not guilty. You’re a teacher, a gameshow host, and their cheerleader.

Share your morning routine disaster that led to a business breakthrough. Tell them about the client call where everything went wrong before it went right. Make them laugh before you make them think. Educational content wrapped in entertainment gets 10x the engagement of straight advice.

Lead with why they should care

Your credentials matter more than ever. Not because you need to flex, but because people need to know why to listen. LinkedIn shows your content to strangers now, not just your network. They don’t know you’re the coach who helped 100 founders scale. Tell them in line one.

“After coaching founders through $50M in raises, here’s what I know about pitch decks.” Beat that. “I spent 10 years making these LinkedIn mistakes so you don’t have to.” Perfect. Skip the wind-up. Get straight to why your voice matters.

Make your quirks your superpowers

Generic Gerald posts about leadership. Boring Barbara shares motivational quotes. Meanwhile, Anna who collects vintage typewriters and relates every business lesson to her collection? She’s memorable. Your weird hobby, your strange morning ritual, your controversial opinion about your industry. These are connection points.

Pick three personality markers that make you, you. Maybe you start every day with fantasy novels. Perhaps you dictate all your content while walking. Whatever makes you different, weave it into your posts. Give people reasons to remember you beyond your expertise.

Create binge-worthy content series

LinkedIn rewards creators who keep people on the platform through rabbit holes of connected content. Think Netflix for business content. One post should make them want to check your profile for more.

Start a weekly series only you could create. “Startup lessons from my disastrous kitchen experiments.” “What my toddler taught me about negotiations.” “Bad marketing emails I got this week.” Make it specific to your experience. People find one post in your series, then they hunt for the rest.

Become the expert people actually remember: LinkedIn in 2026

Enough of the frameworks, hot takes, and platitudes. Your audience craves real connections. They want to learn from someone they’d grab coffee with, not another faceless expert. LinkedIn finally caught up to what humans always wanted. Connection first, content second.

Stop posting like a content machine. Start showing up like the expert you actually are. Be more weird. The algorithm rewards humanity. Your perfectly polished posts are losing to someone’s messy Monday confession that happens to include brilliant advice. Choose which side you want to be on.

Feature image credit: Getty

By Jodie Cook

Find Jodie Cook on LinkedIn. Visit Jodie’s website.

Sourced from Forbes

In Uncategorized

4 marketing tricks to not fall for this holiday season

December 22, 2025 No Comments

By Marielle Segarra, Malaka Gharib

Extra 20% off! Factory sale! Last chance! You may have seen these offers while shopping. But are they actually good deals?

To find out, Life Kit spoke with Brian Vines, a reporter at Consumer Reports, and Lindsay Weekes, editor-in-chief of Brad’s Deals, a site that curates promotions from online retailers. They share common marketing techniques that companies use to entice shoppers to buy more — and tips on how to make smarter purchases.

Technique 1: Creating a sense of urgency

When you see words like “buy now” or “flash deal,” while shopping, take caution, say our experts. Retailers use a sense of urgency to push consumers to make quicker shopping decisions, Vines says. They don’t want you to think too hard about the purchase.

This strategy also relies on shoppers’ fear of missing out, Weekes says. It makes people think, “if I don’t purchase this right now, I’ll never get this deal again.”

The next time you encounter an offer like this, take a beat. Remember, companies are constantly making products, Vines says. “You will not miss the boat.”

You may realize that you only wanted to buy something because it felt urgent. Or you might find a better deal, especially if you wait to shop for something at the end of the season, Weekes says.

Technique 2: Calling out the “original price”

When you see a price tag that displays an item’s “original price,” say $200, next to the current price, say $75, that’s called price anchoring.

“It makes people fixate on that [higher] price versus the sale price,” Weekes says. It can also make the product appear higher-value, making you want it more.

A lot of the time, that “original price” was never the original price — or hasn’t been that price for a long time, Weekes says.

Outsmart the gimmick by focusing on the actual price of the item, our experts say. If the tag says it’s $75, then assess for yourself whether you think that’s a good deal, regardless of that original price.

Technique 3: Inflating the base price

Another pricing strategy retailers use is to raise the base price of an item just before the busy season, then offer a steep and enticing percentage discount, like 40% or 50%. But since the base price is higher, the item might cost the same as it did last week, or maybe more. This tactic is called “high-low pricing.”

To get around this gimmick, do a price comparison, say our experts. Look for historical pricing data online, or how much the retailer has charged for this product over time.

You can also see if a product is cheaper at another retailer or a second hand website. That’s a great option for clothing — you can even find the same pair of jeans, new with tags still on, for a fraction of the price when you buy second hand.

If you’re shopping at a store, go online to see if you can find a better price at another store across town, Vines says. Then talk to a sales associate and ask them if they can match that competitor’s price. You can also add an item to your online cart and check on the price over a few days or weeks to see if it changes.

Technique 4: Building a fantasy

Marketers sell you a fantasy: the idea of that picture-perfect holiday dinner where everyone’s connecting and nobody’s fighting. Or the vision of you as your sexiest, most confident self.

“These all play to our aspirational, I’ve-got-my-stuff-together side, based on the amount of things we’re able to gather and put in our carts,” Vines says.

So if you find yourself typing in your credit card information while fantasizing about some idealized version of yourself or your family, pause, say our experts.

That doesn’t mean you don’t get your family any gifts for the holidays. But when you consider a purchase, remember that you don’t have to buy this particular item.

You can also get creative. Bake them their favourite cookies. Plan a group dinner or a family hike. Find a treasure they’ll love at a second hand store. These gifts can be just as meaningful as something you buy from a store.

Feature image credit: Mininyx Doodle/Getty Images

By Marielle Segarra,

Marielle Segarra is a reporter and the host of NPR’s Life Kit, the award-winning podcast and radio show that shares trustworthy, non-judgmental tips that help listeners navigate their lives.

Malaka Gharib

Malaka Gharib is the deputy editor and digital strategist on NPR’s global health and development team. She covers topics such as the refugee crisis, gender equality and women’s health. Her work as part of NPR’s reporting teams has been recognized with two Gracie Awards: in 2019 for How To Raise A Human, a series on global parenting, and in 2015 for #15Girls, a series that profiled teen girls around the world.

Sourced from KOSU

In News

Skip the Startup Struggle — Here’s How Buying a Business Lets You Profit Sooner

December 22, 2025 No Comments

By Daria Shaposhnikova, Edited by Kara McIntyre

Buying a ready-made business isn’t “cheating;” it’s the smarter, faster and more sustainable way to win.

Key Takeaways

Buying an established online business can leapfrog the trial-and-error phase of starting from scratch, sparing time and money.
Despite popular belief, acquiring an existing ecommerce business offers the advantage of a proven model, allowing for more confident decision-making and less psychological stress.

There’s something romantic about the idea of building a business from the ground up. You picture yourself hunched over a laptop at 2 a.m., tweaking product descriptions, obsessing over logo fonts and testing 15 different shades of blue for your checkout button. You’re not just launching a store — you’re birthing a vision.

But here’s what that romantic notion usually leaves out: the 18 months of throwing money at Facebook ads that go nowhere, the suppliers who ghost you after taking your deposit and the soul-crushing realization that nobody wants to buy hand-poured candles in vintage teacups, no matter how perfect your Instagram aesthetic is.

Starting an online business from nothing isn’t just hard. It’s expensive, time-consuming and statistically speaking, likely to fail. According to various industry reports, somewhere between 80-90% of ecommerce startups don’t make it past their first year. Those aren’t odds most people would accept anywhere else in life, yet we’ve somehow convinced ourselves that starting from absolute zero is the only legitimate path to business ownership.

What if there was a different way?

The case for buying what already works

Imagine walking into a fully functioning business on day one. The website is built. The product suppliers are vetted and reliable. The advertising campaigns have been tested, refined and actually generate sales. Real customers have already voted with their wallets, proving that yes, people do want this thing you’re now selling.

This isn’t some fantasy scenario. It’s exactly what happens when you buy an established online business instead of starting from zero.

The appeal is straightforward: You’re skipping the part where most businesses struggle and fail. You’re not guessing whether your niche has potential or whether your marketing angle works. Someone else already figured that out, spent the money proving it and now you get to walk in and take over a machine that’s already running.

Time is the real currency

Money matters, but time might matter more.

Starting an ecommerce business from scratch doesn’t just cost you capital — it costs you months or years of your life. Six months of testing products that don’t sell. Another six months figuring out why your conversion rate is terrible. A year of learning that your target audience isn’t who you thought it was.

When you buy an established business, you’re buying back all that time. The learning curve still exists — you need to understand how the business operates — but you’re not starting from absolute zero. The store has a track record. The ads have performance data. You can see what works and what doesn’t because someone already ran those experiments.

The psychological advantage

There’s an underrated psychological component to buying versus building.

When you start a business from nothing, every setback feels existential. A slow week feels like failure. A bad month makes you question everything. You’re constantly wondering whether the problem is temporary bad luck or fundamental proof that your idea doesn’t work.

When you buy an established business, you have evidence that it works. A slow week is just a slow week — variance, not verdict. You can troubleshoot with confidence because you know the underlying model is sound. That psychological foundation changes everything about how you operate.

You make better decisions when you’re not constantly second-guessing whether the entire enterprise is viable. You experiment more freely because you’re optimizing something proven rather than validating something uncertain. The difference in stress levels alone might be worth the premium you pay upfront.

What you’re really buying

When you purchase an established online business, you’re not just buying a website and some sales history. You’re buying infrastructure.

You’re getting supplier relationships that took months to establish and vet. You’re getting customer email lists of people who’ve already bought once and might buy again. You’re getting advertising creative that’s been tested against real audiences. You’re getting product descriptions written by someone who figured out which features actually matter to buyers.

All of this exists as intellectual property and operational knowledge that has real value. Starting from zero means you’re paying for all of that education through time, mistakes and money spent on things that don’t work. Buying an established business means someone else already paid that tuition and you’re getting the degree.

The practical path forward

Here’s the best part: You don’t need to become an ecommerce expert overnight. The store is already running. The systems are in place. The money is already flowing.

The beauty of an established store is that it’s already proven it can generate profit with minimal hands-on involvement. The advertising campaigns are optimized and running. The supplier relationships are established. Customer service can be handled through simple systems that are already in place. You’re monitoring a machine that’s already humming along, not building one from spare parts.

You don’t need to master the intricacies of ecommerce logistics or become a marketing guru. The business comes with everything working — your role is more like an owner who checks in regularly rather than someone who needs to understand every technical detail. With support and clear metrics, you can oversee everything confidently without drowning in complexity.

Making the decision

The traditional entrepreneurship narrative says you should start from nothing because struggle builds character or proves commitment or whatever. But that’s just narrative. It’s not a strategy.

If your goal is to own a profitable online business, buying one that already works is often the most direct path there. You’re trading some upfront capital for a massive reduction in risk and time. For most people, that’s an excellent trade.

You don’t need to reinvent ecommerce. You don’t need a revolutionary product idea. You don’t need to risk your savings on an unproven concept. You can just buy something that works, learn how it operates and take it from there.

That might not be as romantic as the founder mythology we’ve all absorbed, but it’s quite possibly smarter. And in business, smart beats romantic every time.

By Daria Shaposhnikova

Daria Shaposhnikova is a marketing executive with 15 years of experience leading teams and driving for complex IT and B2B products. As CMO, she brings expertise in brand strategy, market positioning and a proven track record in launching new products and scaling brands.

Edited by Kara McIntyre

Sourced from Entrepreneur

In News

Story archetypes and their use in digital marketing strategies

December 19, 2025 No Comments

By Rumble Romagnoli,

Archetypes have long been used by marketers to help define a brand’s personality, which in turn allows for a powerful and cohesive digital marketing strategy to be rolled out. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the world of luxury marketing, where story archetypes help brands to define their image and tailor their marketing to a very specific group of individuals.

Relevance explain how story archetypes can be a powerful tool in luxury brand storytelling.

There are 12 archetypes, which were defined by famed Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung. These carefully constructed story archetypes each reflect enduring personas that feed into the human experience, helping a brand to discover its personality and brand voice by anchoring it to a clearly defined story archetype that is already embedded within humanity. This story archetype ultimately defines how and the way that brand communicates to its target audience, helping to make the brand instantly recognisable.

By identifying the specific archetype that a brand embodies, marketers can tap into what that brand’s clients consciously, or unconsciously, desire to experience. Archetypes are, at their very essence, story characters, whose symbolic or personal significance evokes emotional reactions in the listener.

Once a luxury brand has chosen their story archetype, they can create a powerful and compelling story that resonates with individuals’ desires, essentially enabling their target audience to better relate to a brand and their product. And, when you consider that a survey by Meaningful Brands in 2017 highlighted that 84 percent of people expect brands to produce content that entertains, provides solutions, experiences and events, carefully selecting the right story archetype and producing compelling content to appeal to that archetype has never been more important, or powerful.

A brand’s overall digital marketing strategy will also be driven by their archetype, dictating where their marketing focus should lie as well as what social media platforms will work best for them.

Story archetypes run the gamut from those that create excitement, to those that convey comfort to others, and choosing the right one is essential for the success of any brand.

The following 12 archetypes are typically used by marketers, with each story archetype tapping into the common narrative that individuals experience and see on a day-to-day basis.

The 12 story archetypes

The Creator

Naturally expressive, original and imaginative, the Creator wishes to see new ideas take shape and see visions realised. This is the ideal story archetype for technology brands, in addition to marketing and design brands, companies who believe that anything is possible and that ideas should not be stifled. Novel and experimental digital marketing strategies tend to work best with this archetype, with brands often focusing on their creative and innovative ideas. The multinational technology company Apple ideally fits this story archetype as it constantly pushes the boundaries of technological evolution.

The Everyman

Naturally empathetic, unpretentious and resilient, the Everyman’s purpose in life is to be accepted and belong. This is the story archetype for brands that wish to be known for their reliability and quality. Trust is central to this archetype, along with a feeling of belonging. Digital marketing strategies that offer a realistic down-to-earth view will appeal best. Luxury fashion and beauty brand Fenty appeals to the Everyman, with its no no-nonsense products designed to appeal to a wide range of people.

The Innocent

Idealistic, optimistic and hopeful, the Innocent wishes to live life in harmony and is the archetype for brands that offer wholesome fun, alongside brands that promote wellness, or those selling natural products, for example. Simple, yet cheerful marketing campaigns tend to appeal best to this archetype. Exclusive brand Chanel appeals to this story archetype with its luxurious goods that promote happiness and wellbeing.

The Explorer

Naturally independent, authentic and curious, this archetype craves, freedom, and adventure, with marketing campaigns tapping into this archetype’s desire by focusing on risk taking, travel and discovery. Ambitious and innovative, Explorer brands aim to push the boundaries and embrace anything is possible attitude. The Explorer story archetype is perfect for brands that promote exploration, such as Land Rover and its go anywhere rugged off-road vehicles.

The Caregiver

Compassionate, nurturing and dedicated, the Caregiver’s purpose in life is to help others. Brands that align with this story archetype offer protection, safety and support for their customers, and often includes healthcare, education, resorts, and baby care brands. Emotionally driven digital marketing strategies tend to appeal best to this archetype. The Four Seasons Hotels are ideal for this, with their latest marketing campaigns tapping into how they can help families spend more quality time together.

The Ruler

Confident, competent, and responsible, the Ruler aims to be a role model to others. Digital marketing strategies for brands that align with this story archetype need to have an authoritative voice, infused with a sense of wealth and success. Brands such as Porsche are an ideal fit for the Ruler archetype.

The Magician

Intuitive, insightful and inspiring, the Magician’s purpose in life is to transform the ordinary into extraordinary. Digital marketing strategies should be imaginative and inspiring, aimed at making dreams comes true and turning problems into opportunities. Italian jewellery company Bvglari’s extraordinary and exceptional designs perfectly resonates with the ideals of this story archetype.

The Rebel

Unconventional thinkers who can develop new, cutting-edge approaches, the Rebel’s purpose in life is to shake up the status quo, a great fit for action-orientated brands that want to stand out and be different. Digital marketing strategies should demonstrate the brand as an alternative to the mainstream in order to be successful. Balenciaga’s forward-thinking and cutting-edge designs perfectly align with this archetype.

The Entertainer

Playful, spontaneous, and humorous, the Entertainer aims to make people feel good, lighten the mood, and enjoy themselves. Fun-filled creative marketing strategies that create an emotional response work best. A great story archetype for fun-loving brands that are aimed at encouraging people to have a good time, such as historic fashion house Gucci.

The Lover

Appreciative, passionate and committed, the lover’s purpose in life is to make people feel special. Brands tap into this feel-good attitude by creating compelling digital marketing strategies that pleasure the senses. A great fit for aesthetically beautiful brands, especially very exclusive ones, such as Hermes.

The Sage

Intelligent, knowledgeable and reflective, the Sage seeks to find answers to their questions. This story archetype is a great fit for educational or research-based brands, as well as news outlets. Factual digital marketing strategies that challenge the audience to think differently and discover more about the world will work best with this archetype. Patek Philippe, one of the oldest luxury watch manufacturers in the world, is a great example of an iconic brand that perfectly fits with this story archetype.

The Hero

Determined, achievement-orientated and focused, the Hero’s purpose in life is to improve the world. Brands that align with this story archetype promote themselves as being superior to their competitors, often creating loud and bold marketing campaigns, such as the prestigious watchmaker Rolex.

At Relevance, we use story archetypes to help us craft compelling stories that align perfectly with our client’s brand personality but we also go beyond the traditional story archetypes to develop our own. Based on data and assumptions that we have in-house, we really believe in the power of creating your own archetypes that uniquely characterise a specific brand. For example, we have a huge amount of information on high-net-worth-individuals and ultra-high-net-worth-individuals, from their lifestyles and spending habits, to their education and business profiles. This unique data enables us to identify trends amongst this audience, create our own story archetypes, and then craft innovative digital marketing strategies and campaigns that are based on data and facts, not assumptions.

Contact the team of digital marketing experts at Relevance if you require digital marketing strategies that work coupled with severe standards of excellence. And, for a bit of fun, why not check out our quiz and discover your archetype.

By Rumble Romagnoli

CEO at Relevance.

Sourced from The Drum

In News

If You Want Your Brand to Be Discovered, You Have to Harness AI — Here’s How

December 19, 2025 No Comments

By Chelsea Gladden • Edited by Kara McIntyre

AI is redefining search. Without a strong, reputable third-party digital footprint, your brand risks disappearing in today’s competitive online landscape.

Key Takeaways

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is becoming a critical tool for brands to gain visibility and sales via AI-driven platforms.
Strategic press coverage using SEO-driven keywords enhances a brand’s chances of being recommended by AI tools like ChatGPT.
Building an affiliate program and optimizing digital presence are key steps for brands to leverage AI and increase their market share.

There’s a celebration going on amongst PR professionals. In an industry that takes on a lot of “no’s” for the coveted “yes” and takes hit after hit as a result of the dishonest agencies, the good “guys” needed some good news. With the ever-changing landscape of media, from print publications folding to all clients needing an affiliate option if they want press to feature their products, PR is now getting clients discoverable in AI.

In fact, without press, most brands do not exist when it comes to Answer Engine Optimization and Large Language Models (LLMs). Press is after its own SEO and uses coveted keywords based on what consumers are searching for, and now those keywords are linking out to those articles in ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.

Why AEO matters now

AI is changing the way people search. Instead of scrolling through Google, shoppers are asking AI engines directly for recommendations. In fact, Small Business Trends reports that 47% of U.S. consumers are shopping directly via AI tools.

Our long time Everything Branding clients are receiving the benefit of consistent press and, as a result, AI recommends their products. For example, when searching for “the best pepper grinder,” our client MannKitchen consistently appears as the number one option, citing the press our team secured as the source. Within ChatGPT, for example, you can also click on the link to see the original article. This widens the audience and views for that article. Press is strategically writing articles catered to traditional Google search and now also for AI, so they can secure more UMVs and higher advertiser dollars, all the while selling products for brands.

A mistake many emerging brands make is assuming shoppers will come without the effort to find them. Starting Google ads too soon generally fails because consumers don’t know the brand exists and aren’t googling it yet, nor interested in a brand they have never heard of. Once the brand starts getting press mentions, Google and Meta ads tend to convert better and now AI search is an added bonus.

How do you get recognized by AI?

Step 1: Secure press coverage

National outlets are now writing with AEO in mind, using SEO-driven keywords and structured content that LLMs can easily pull into answers.

Step 2: Build an affiliate program

With print consistently going away, magazines lost a major source of revenue with print ads. Media outlets got savvy and realized if they are telling their audience what to buy, they should be paid on the sale. Many media outlets now require brands to have an affiliate program before considering them for product roundups.

Step 3: Optimize your website for AI

Beyond press, you can improve your AI visibility through technical updates. In fact, I often run client sites through ChatGPT itself and ask: “What would make this brand show up in AI search?” The recommendations usually include adding schema markup, optimizing metadata, and building authoritative backlinks.

Step 4: Choose the right PR partner

Not all agencies are created equal. I’ve spoken with brands that felt burned by PR partners who overpromised and underdelivered. Here’s what brands should look for:

Verified testimonials (with names and businesses publicly mentioned; ignore any that are unspecific, like “Shelia M, Beauty Brand” and trust those that can easily be validated by checking if the personal name matches the brand, for example, “Jonathan, owner of Honeydew Sleep”).
Up-to-date expertise (Does the agency understand affiliate requirements and AEO practices?).
Flexibility to pivot (digital standards change fast, and agencies must keep up).

Doing a quick Google or AI search on an agency before signing can also reveal whether they practice what they preach. Make sure to differentiate between agencies that make over-the-top guarantees versus what is reality. For example, any agency that “guarantees” the Today Show is not being truthful.

Why DIY PR rarely works

I’ve worked with passionate founders who tried pitching editors directly. While their enthusiasm was clear, most outlets ignored them because editors prefer working with PR reps who understand their timelines, workloads and content needs.

One editor once told me, “I’d rather get one pitch from a PR professional than five emails a day from a founder asking why their sample hasn’t been featured yet.” Acting as the middle person builds trust with the press and ultimately leads to more coverage.

The bottom line

If SEO was the marketing differentiator of the 2010s, AEO is the differentiator of today. From my experience, the brands that invest in press, affiliate readiness and AI-friendly optimization are the ones already showing up in AI answers and getting sales directly from them.

The sooner brands adapt, the sooner AI will recognize them as the go-to choice in their category. Just like the internet boom brought more opportunities, now the AI driven boom is doing the same. It’s a win all around — press is being paid to sell products, brands are finding and selling to their customers and PR agencies are becoming the unsung heroes. And loving it.

By Chelsea Gladden

Chelsea Gladden, CEO and founder of Everything Branding, leads the award-winning agency specializing in commerce-driven PR, AEO and digital marketing. Since 2018, the firm has driven high-authority press to boost brand visibility, including AI-driven and LLM-powered search results.

Edited by Kara McIntyre

Sourced from Entrepreneur

In News

What to Put on a Small Business Website: 8 Must-Have Sections

December 18, 2025 No Comments

Sourced from Grey Journal

Your website has three seconds to convince visitors to stay. This reality makes every section of your small business website critical to converting casual browsers into paying customers.

Building a website involves more decisions than most new business owners anticipate. The good news is that successful small business websites follow a proven structure. Whether you are launching a free LLC or expanding an established company, these eight sections form the foundation of an effective online presence.

Home Page Essentials

The home page serves as your digital storefront. Visitors should understand what your business offers within seconds of arrival. A clear headline communicates your primary value proposition immediately. Supporting text explains how you solve customer problems.

Your home page needs a prominent call to action that guides visitors toward the next step. This might be scheduling a consultation, requesting a quote, or browsing your products. Include high-quality images that represent your brand professionally. Avoid generic stock photos that could appear on any competitor’s website.

About Your Business

The About section builds trust through transparency. Share your company’s origin story and explain what motivated you to start the business. Customers connect with authentic narratives about real challenges and solutions.

Include information about your team members and their qualifications. Professional headshots and brief biographies humanize your business. Highlight any awards, certifications, or industry recognition your company has received. This section should answer why customers should choose your business over alternatives.

Products or Services

This section requires detailed descriptions of what you sell. Each product or service needs its own dedicated space with specific information. Vague descriptions leave potential customers confused and unlikely to purchase.

Consider these elements for your offerings:

Detailed specifications and dimensions where applicable
Clear pricing structures or starting price ranges
High-resolution photos from multiple angles
Customer testimonials specific to each product.

These components remove uncertainty from the buying process. Customers appreciate transparency about what they will receive and how much they will pay. Update this section regularly as your inventory or service menu changes.

Contact Information

Make it effortless for customers to reach you. Display your phone number, email address, and physical location prominently. Many businesses lose sales because contact information is buried or difficult to find.

A contact form provides an alternative for customers who prefer written communication. Keep form fields minimal to reduce friction. Your contact page should include these key elements:

Multiple contact methods including phone, email, and physical address
Operating hours clearly stated with time zone specified
Interactive map showing your business location
Expected response time for inquiries.

These details set proper expectations and demonstrate professionalism. Consider adding a live chat feature for immediate assistance during business hours.

Customer Testimonials

Social proof influences purchasing decisions more than most marketing messages. Display authentic reviews from satisfied customers throughout your website. Include full names and photos when possible to increase credibility.

Video testimonials carry even more weight than written reviews. Ask happy customers if they would record a brief statement about their experience. Feature these prominently on your home page and relevant service pages. Regularly update testimonials to show ongoing customer satisfaction.

FAQ Section

Anticipate common questions and provide clear answers. This section saves time for both you and your customers. Address concerns about pricing, shipping, returns, and service processes.

Organize questions into logical categories for easy navigation. Use straightforward language without industry jargon. Update this section based on actual questions you receive from customers. A comprehensive FAQ reduces barriers to purchase and decreases support inquiries.

Blog or Resources

Regular content demonstrates expertise and improves search engine visibility. Share valuable information related to your industry. Educational articles position your business as a trusted authority.

Topics should address customer pain points and common challenges. Effective blog content includes these formats:

How-to guides that solve specific problems
Industry news analysis and trend commentary
Case studies showcasing successful customer projects
Behind-the-scenes looks at your business operations.

Practical advice generates more engagement than promotional content. Aim for consistency in publishing rather than occasional lengthy posts.

Privacy Policy and Terms

Legal pages protect your business and inform customers about data practices. A privacy policy explains how you collect, use, and protect customer information. Terms of service outline the rules for using your website.

These pages seem mundane but are legally necessary. Many payment processors and advertising platforms require them before approving business accounts. Consult with a legal professional to ensure compliance with relevant regulations in your jurisdiction.

Bringing It All Together

Your small business website needs all eight sections working in harmony. Each component serves a specific purpose in the customer journey. Start with these fundamentals and refine based on user behaviour and feedback. Analytics tools reveal which sections perform well and which need improvement. A website is never truly finished but evolves alongside your business.

Feature image credit https://unsplash.com/photos/person-holding-pencil-near-laptop-computer-5fNmWej4tAA

Sourced from Grey Journal

In News

I Use ChatGPT Every Day: Here Are 8 Prompts That Are Now Part of My Routine and That I Can’t Live Without

December 18, 2025 No Comments

Sourced from The Modern Field

We’ve all been there. Your screen’s full of tabs, notifications are going off nonstop, and you’re running around all day. But by the end of it, you’re left wondering what you really got done.

We turn to tech to help keep things under control, right? AI helps us write emails, fix grammar, and summarize long articles. But what if your AI could be more than just an assistant, and actually help you think better?

I use ChatGPT every day, and it’s changed the way I interact with it. It’s become a tool that helps me think more clearly, sparks my creativity, and even improves my relationships.

I’m going to share eight ChatGPT prompts I use all the time now. These have completely changed the way I work and live, and made AI way more helpful than I ever expected.

1. Start Your Day with the Motivation Coach

The Prompt: “Tailor my daily schedule to my current mood, energy, and available time.”

We all know how exhausting it can be to just figure out what to do next. That “what should I do now?” decision-making can wear us out before we even get started. This prompt is like having a personal coach who creates a plan that works with your energy, not against it.

Let’s say it’s Monday morning, you’re feeling overwhelmed, and your energy’s low. You’ve got a three-hour block before your first meeting, and you need to tackle a big report, but you’re stuck.

Instead of staring at a blank page, you give ChatGPT the prompt. It might respond with a structured plan like this:

09:00 – 09:10: Ease In – “Grab a coffee or tea, no screens. Let’s honor your low energy. It’s okay to start slow.”
09:10 – 09:30: One Small Task – “Open the report file. Don’t write yet—just read the brief and organize your folders. Small, low-energy stuff to get you moving.”
09:30 – 10:15: Focused Work – “Set a 45-minute timer. Your only goal is to write the executive summary. Don’t worry about anything else.”
10:15 – 10:30: Recharge – “Step away from your desk. Walk, stretch, or listen to a song. You need this break.”

This plan provides the structure your brain craves when it’s feeling scattered. It takes the pressure of planning off your shoulders, so you can focus your energy on actually doing the work. If you’re feeling burnt out, this prompt is a great way to ease back into things.

2. Get a Reality Check with an AI Critic

The Prompt: “Assess my concepts through the lens of a [tech reviewer, literary critic, master cook].”

Honest feedback can be hard to come by. Friends might hold back to spare your feelings, and colleagues could be biased. But an AI? It’s got no agenda and no emotions: it can give you brutally honest, constructive criticism. That’s why I use this prompt every day to test my ideas. It’s a key part of how I stay productive and improve my work.

Let’s say you’ve got an idea for an app: “PlantPal,” which identifies houseplants from a photo and gives you a watering schedule. You ask ChatGPT to evaluate it like a tough venture capitalist.

Here’s the kind of feedback you might get:

Market Saturation: “The plant identification space is already crowded. What’s your unique angle? A slightly better UI isn’t enough.”
Monetization: “Your ‘diagnose my sick plant’ feature is interesting, but how sustainable is the AI behind it? Can competitors copy it quickly?”
Blind Spots: “You haven’t considered community features, which are crucial for engagement in hobbyist apps. Also, who’s training your AI to diagnose plants?”

This kind of no-holds-barred feedback is priceless. It lets you test your ideas in a safe space, without worrying about offending anyone or facing judgment. You can refine your concept privately before it’s ready for the real world.

3. Manifest Success and Beat Imposter Syndrome

The Prompt: “Rewrite this [email, project plan] like I’ve already succeeded.”

The words we use can totally shift how we see ourselves. If you’re dealing with imposter syndrome, your writing might come off as unsure, lots of “maybe,” “I think,” or “just.” This prompt helps you reframe things from a place of confidence, making you sound like you’ve already succeeded.

And it’s not just about sounding confident; it can actually help you feel more confident too!

Consider this hesitant email draft:

Before: “Hi team, I was hoping we could maybe look into a new marketing strategy for Q4. I think it might be a good idea to explore TikTok. Let me know if you have any thoughts.”

Now, watch what happens when you apply the prompt:

After: “Team, for Q4, we’re pivoting our marketing strategy to target the TikTok demographic. I’ve outlined the first three campaign ideas and will assign roles by EOD Friday. My projections show a 15% increase in lead generation. Let’s make it happen.”

The second version is direct, confident, and clear. It bridges the gap between your inner doubts and the outer competence you need to lead.

By communicating like you’ve already succeeded, you naturally inspire more trust and buy-in from others. Over time, that feedback will help build real, earned confidence.

4. Turn Big Ideas into Actionable Steps

Big goals can feel super overwhelming. Take something like “I want to start a podcast”. it’s exciting but also totally paralyzing. You’re probably wondering, “Where do I even begin?”

This prompt breaks that big idea down into bite-sized tasks and helps you prioritize them by what will make the most impact with the least effort. It’s my go-to move whenever I’m launching something new.

You tell ChatGPT your vague idea, and it gives you a list of concrete steps: like choosing a niche, buying equipment, learning to edit, reaching out to guests, and so on. Then it organizes those tasks into a simple Impact vs. Effort matrix.

	Low Effort	High Effort
High Impact	1. Define your niche and target audience. 2. Record your first 3 episodes (using your phone). 3. Choose a name and create simple cover art.	1. Build a promotion and guest outreach strategy. 2. Consistently publish weekly episodes. 3. Secure sponsorships.
Low Impact	1. Spend weeks designing the perfect logo. 2. Agonize over the brand’s color palette.	1. Build a custom website before having any listeners. 2. Purchase expensive, professional-grade audio equipment.

The matrix makes it so clear where to start. You tackle the “High Impact, Low Effort” tasks first. Those quick wins give you the momentum to push through the harder, more time-consuming stuff. Suddenly, that giant mountain of tasks becomes a series of small, manageable hills.

5. Uncover Hidden Patterns with the Habit Detective

The Prompt: “Analyze my calendar and spending from the last week and identify any patterns in what I’m inadvertently prioritizing.”

We often don’t realize what we’re actually prioritizing in life. We might say one thing—like, “I want to write a book”. But when we look at how we actually spend our time, it tells a completely different story.

By giving ChatGPT objective data about your life, like your calendar or spending habits, it acts as a neutral mirror, showing you exactly what’s going on behind the scenes. It’s one of the most eye-opening prompts I’ve used for boosting self-awareness.

For example, you could tell ChatGPT:

“My goal is to write a book. This week, I worked 9-5, went to the gym, and watched Netflix for 3 hours every night. I had brunch with friends on Saturday and did chores on Sunday.”

And the analysis you get might look something like this:

“Looking at your schedule, it’s clear that you’re unintentionally optimizing for stress recovery and low-effort entertainment. You’ve effectively prioritized physical health and social connection. However, your goal of ‘writing a book’ receives 0% of your dedicated time. Your evenings are optimized for passive consumption—Netflix—rather than active creation.”

This kind of data-driven feedback can be a real wake-up call. It forces you to look at your habits without any of the emotional story you tell yourself.

Once you see the truth in black and white, you can make the necessary adjustments to align your actions with your real goals.

6. Sharpen Your Pitch with a ‘Shark Tank’ Drill

Whether you’re pitching a new business or just trying to convince your family to try a new dinner idea, you need to be clear, concise, and persuasive. Using the “Shark Tank” approach forces the AI to craft a pitch that’s all about benefits and impact.

As someone who uses ChatGPT every day, this exercise has really helped me get better at communicating ideas quickly and effectively.

Let’s say you’ve got an idea for a subscription box for artisanal coffee beans. You give the prompt to ChatGPT and this is what you get:

“Sharks, 90% of coffee drinkers have never tasted the top 1% of coffee. Why? Access. We’re ‘Global Grind,’ a curated subscription service delivering exclusive, single-origin beans right to your door. We’re not just selling coffee—we’re offering a world tour for your taste buds. For a $100,000 investment, we’re offering 10% of the company and plan to dominate the $80 billion premium coffee market. So, who’s ready to wake up and smell the profit?”

This exercise forces you to stop talking about the details of your product and start focusing on the benefits. Instead of saying “Here’s what I made,” you learn to say, “Here’s what’s in it for you.” It shifts the perspective from creator to audience, and it’s a game-changer for how you present ideas.

7. Level Up with Advice from Your Future Self

The Prompt: “What minor adjustment could I implement today that my future self would appreciate?”

We’re hardwired for short-term rewards, which makes it tough to stick with habits that pay off later. This prompt cleverly sidesteps that by focusing on small, easy changes that add up over time. It’s a simple but powerful way to boost long-term productivity without feeling overwhelmed.

Instead of suggesting something huge like “run a marathon,” ChatGPT will suggest small, actionable tweaks with big impact:

Physical Health: “Place a glass of water by your bed tonight. Drink it first thing tomorrow before checking your phone. This adds up to an extra 18 gallons of hydration each year.”
Mental Health: “Pick one person to say ‘no’ to this week in order to protect your time and energy. This helps you build the habit of setting healthy boundaries.”
Financial Health: “Find one recurring subscription you don’t use anymore and cancel it. It’s a one-time action that’ll save you money every month.”

This prompt reframes positive changes as gifts to your future self, making the long-term benefits feel more immediate and rewarding. It shifts the focus from instant gratification to the bigger picture, helping you make better choices in the now that your future self will be grateful for.

8. Deepen Relationships with Thoughtful Actions

In our busy lives, good intentions often fall through the cracks. This prompt uses AI not to replace human connection, but to facilitate it. It helps bridge the gap between wanting to be a good friend and actually doing something about it. It’s a surprising reason why I use ChatGPT every day.

You can give it some context: “My friend Mark just started a new, stressful job. He loves history podcasts and is trying to eat healthier.”

ChatGPT will offer you a few personalized suggestions, sorted by effort:

Low Effort: “Send him a link to a specific history podcast episode with a message: ‘Heard this and thought of you. Hope the new job is going well!’”
Medium Effort: “Next time you meal prep, make an extra portion of a healthy lunch. Drop it off with a note: ‘One less thing to worry about this week. You got this.’”

This prompt takes the guesswork out of thoughtful gestures. It helps you turn your general feelings of care into specific, easy-to-implement actions, making it more likely that your good intentions will actually become real moments of connection.

Your New Thinking Partner

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Feature image credit: Airam Dato-on // Pexels

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In News

Social media marketing falls flat as a signal of quality, research finds

December 17, 2025 No Comments

Edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Andrew Zinin

Research published in Information Systems Research finds that social media marketing (SMM) does little to help high-quality firms stand apart from competitors. Instead, it often pushes companies of all quality levels toward similar spending and pricing strategies, blurring the very signals firms hope will differentiate them in digital marketplaces.

The INFORMS study, “Signalling Quality to Consumers: The Role of Social Media Marketing,” was authored by Qinquan Cui and Kenan Arifoğlu of University College London and Dongyuan Zhan of the University of Science and Technology of China.

Social media platforms have transformed the way consumers learn about products. Unlike traditional advertising, where firms broadcast one-way messages to increase awareness, SMM allows consumers themselves to generate and share information such as reviews, ratings, comments, and peer recommendations, all of which influence perceived product quality.

As a result, firms increasingly rely on SMM both to expand their customer base and to influence the external information consumers receive.

“Firms often believe that spending more on social media marketing helps signal superior product quality,” said Cui. “However, when we modelled this environment using a game-theoretic approach, we found that high-quality firms cannot reliably use SMM spending to separate themselves from mid- or low-quality competitors.”

Game-theoretic approach is a way of analysing situations where multiple decision-makers (players) interact, and the outcome for each depends not only on their own choices but also on the choices of others. Game theory provides a formal mathematical framework to predict behaviour, identify optimal strategies, and understand incentives in competitive or cooperative environments.

To analyse the strategic interactions in their study, the researchers studied two scenarios: a benchmark case, where SMM only increases product awareness; and an information-revelation case, where SMM also improves the precision of online reviews and other external factors.

In the benchmark case, the researchers found that firms cannot credibly signal their product quality simply through different SMM spending levels. What they found was that two things can happen: first, there can be something called “partial pooling,” where low- and mid-quality firms choose the same level of SMM spending, while at the same time, high-quality firms separate by spending less; second, there can be “full pooling,” where all firms spend the same amount.

“We discovered that higher-quality firms actually limit their SMM spending to maintain a smaller but more profitable customer base,” said Arifoğlu. “Spending more would invite lower-quality firms to mimic them, making separation impossible.”

That said, when SMM does play a specific information-revelation role, meaning it makes online signals like reviews more accurate, the challenge intensifies. The study found that only full pooling or a limited form of partial pooling can occur, and that high-quality firms find it even harder to distinguish themselves from lower-quality firms.

In a sense, when all firms spend at the same level on SMM, a commoditization of messaging and branding can happen.

“In situations where SMM enhances the precision of online reviews, mid- and low-quality firms actually lose some of their incentives to pool with high-quality firms,” Zhan said.

“But high-quality firms also cannot set themselves apart. In the end, the information glut created by SMM spending by mid- to low-quality firms makes it more of a challenge for high-quality firms to differentiate.”

The authors conclude that SMM may not be the most effective quality-signalling tool for firms in competitive environments. Rather, high-quality firms may benefit from moderating their SMM spending rather than increasing it, and being more focused and innovative in their marketing to their highest-value market segments.