💃 Windows users need this: FancyZones lets you create custom grid layouts or use pre-configured options on a PC. To use it, download and install Microsoft’s free PowerToys utility and find FancyZones. Pick a layout you like, then hold down on Shift and drag a window into one of the zones. Voila!
Haven't logged into LinkedIn lately? 5 reasons you really should be using it
How much do you know about LinkedIn? Sure, you probably understand it’s a social network for professionals, but it’s so much more.
Unlike most social networks that are used to share the latest vacation pictures, LinkedIn was designed for more important reasons. It can help you make connections, share work experience and find or post jobs.
Your LinkedIn profile can be set up to look like a resume, complete with accomplishments and referrals from colleagues. If you’ve never experienced the power of LinkedIn, we can help. Here are five smart ways to use LinkedIn to network, poach employees, boast and more.
Visit LinkedIn.com/Kim and post a job for free.
1. Sales prospecting
If you’re wondering what sales prospecting is, it’s exactly what it sounds like — sorting through tons of companies and individuals to find prospects who will most likely turn into paying customers.
This can take a lot of time and effort and relies on knowing where to look. In the past, sales prospecting mainly consisted of cold calling and following up with every potential lead.
Now that we live in a digital world, those days are gone. Most buyers make decisions online. That’s where LinkedIn comes into play.
With about 1 billion members, LinkedIn is a leader in connecting buyers and sellers. One of the most important sales techniques is understanding how buyers behave, making prospecting easier with greater success.
An IDC social buying study revealed:
- 75% of B2B buyers use social media to make buying decisions.
- 50% of B2B buyers use LinkedIn to make purchasing decisions.
- 76% of B2B buyers prefer to work with recommendations from their professional network.
Those numbers prove how important LinkedIn is when it comes to sales prospecting. Information is power and LinkedIn is packed with information buyers are looking for.
Your smartwatch isn’t as accurate as you think
Sensors in today’s smartwatches can detect your heartbeat, track how you sleep and even monitor blood oxygen levels. We’re not far from your watch tracking your blood sugar … and possibly sending reports about it to your doctor.
Wear your emojis on your sleeve: A new study says frequent emoji users have higher emotional intelligence — i.e., they’re better at understanding and connecting with others. On the flip side, people who avoid emojis, especially in close relationships, may struggle with emotional closeness. Great news for me! 💃
It took radio 38 years to reach an audience of 50 million and just 13 years for television to hit that mark. How long did it take Facebook to reach 50 million users? Was it … A.) 6 months, B.) 1.5 years, C.) 3 years or D.) 5 years?
1 million Starlink users
Added over the last four months. They hit 3 million total in May. Some major price drops certainly helped; Starlink lowered its dish price from $499 to $299 in August. I use it on my boat and as a backup at home.
Alt + Tab: A keyboard shortcut pro Windows users know. Use it to cycle through your open programs quickly. On a Mac, it’s Cmd + Tab.
Selling your wares on Amazon? Amazon’s new Amelia AI assistant helps third-party sellers with advice, queries and account issues. It can also assist you with prepping for the holidays or getting a quick overview of your sales and inventory reports. Find Amelia in Seller Central. It’s in beta and available to select users for now.
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
🔐 Change your password: Over 2 million VPN passwords were stolen using malware last year. ExpressVPN, Proton VPN and NordVPN were the biggest targets. The companies weren’t breached; hackers went after users through phishing attacks, keyloggers and credential stuffing. Change your password ASAP if you have a VPN. And remember, “beefstew” as a password isn’t stroganoff.
🏃♂️ Anything for likes: Strava users are paying mules to fake their workouts. Prices vary by region, but one account on Fiverr charges $16 for a five-mile run. Why on Earth? Some folks are injured and want to maintain their in-app activity streaks, and others just want to impress their online followers. Bizarre.
Love this idea: Two Colorado sisters launched a dating app designed for people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. Users can tap “X” or “❤️” to sort through matches, and there’s a “Dateability Deets” section where you check off terms that describe your condition. Check it out on iOS and Android.
Gemini Live is free to Android users: Google’s AI assistant chats in real time and you can interrupt it with new info or directions. To try it, open the Gemini app and tap the circular waveform with a sparkle icon in the bottom right. You’ll enter full-screen chat mode.
Prison changes a man: About two weeks after his arrest in France, Telegram’s CEO says it’s not fair he was held responsible for others’ criminal activity on his app. Still, he calls it his “personal goal” to fix the problems. Step 1: Telegram’s updated FAQ page says users’ private chats are no longer protected from moderation. Cry me a river. Way too little, way too late.
Canva has jacked up its prices: By 316%, to be exact. Canva Teams (up to five users) is going from $120 to $500 per year. If you use it, be sure to snag the 40% discount for the first 12 months. Canva usually announces price changes, but this time, they’ve quietly emailed customers instead. No wonder.
📄 Talk data to me: OpenAI paid users can upload a mountain of PDFs, data files and images. It will spit out a full analysis in moments — something that might take a human team months. It’ll even answer questions and generate charts, too.
Principle of least privilege: Business owners, ask your IT folks if your accounts are set up this way. It means users and systems only get access to what they need to get their tasks done. It’s a simple way to keep your info safe.
48% of TikTok users
Under age 30 use it to keep up with politics and news. Frightening. This is why it’s so important to understand the role Communist China has in this app and its data. The older Americans get, the less they rely on TikTok for news; 36% of 30- to 49-year-olds get their news from TikTok, as do 22% of those ages 50 to 64 and 24% of folks 65 and older.
Can’t trust ’em: Meta and Google secretly teamed up to target kids with ads for Instagram on YouTube. They exploited a loophole allowing personalized ads to be served to an “unknown” group, aka users whose age and parental status aren’t identified. Seriously? You can tell it’s a kid based on their search history.
Have a heart condition? You might have a smartwatch to keep an eye on your ticker, but one in five users says they feel intense fear when they get an irregular rhythm notification. That extra anxiety isn’t helping your heart. If you have an Apple Watch, try taking some deep breaths with the Mindfulness app before you panic.
🚨 Hide and C:/Seek: Hackers grabbed the personal info of more than 400,000 Life360 users, including names, phone numbers, emails and more. Life360’s location-sharing app is used primarily to help parents keep an eye on their kids. More bad news: Life360 owns tracker company Tile, which hackers also breached, nabbing not only personal info, but also device IDs. Don’t wait to change your passwords, and be on alert for phishing, phone and texting scams.