#ai marketing europe

[optimizacijasajta]

GOOGLE GARANCIJE DA LI ZNATE ZA "GOOGLE GUARANTEE"? Na uspešnom digitalnom tržištu, poverenje je poput izvora sveže vode u pustinji - retko i dragoceno. Korisnici, bombardování anonimnim imenima i prevarama na internetu, često oklevaju pre nego što se odluče da pruže svoje teško zarađene dinare. Ali zamislite sjajnu značku, simbol viteštva koja se nosi samo na oklopima najhrabrijih boraca za uslugu. Ova značka, Google Garancija, nije samo ornament, već emblem poslovne bitke izborene i dobijene. Da bi osvojili ovu poželjnu titulu, preduzeća moraju proći kroz vatru proveravanja. Gugl, svevideći bog digitalnog carstva, podvrgava ih rigoroznim ispitivanjima. Licenca, osiguranje, i prošli podvizi se temeljito pregledaju. Samo oni sa besprekornim zapisom i gorom željom da zadovolje svoje kupce se smatraju vrednima da nose ovo digitalno odlikovanje. Za kupce, Google Garancija je više od sjajne značke, to je svetlost nade koja probija kroz mrak nepoznavanja. Više ne moraju da se slepo pouzdaju u anonimne entitete na internetu. Ali Google Garancija je dvostrani mač. Kompanije koje nose ovu značku postaju šampioni, ali i branioci časti. Njima je poverena sveta dužnost zadovoljenja kupaca. Ako se kupac oseti prevarenim, brzo i pravično rešenje je apsolutni prioritet. U protivnom, rizikuju da izazovu bes "reembursement" politike Gugla, moćnog arbitra u ovom digitalnom koloseumu. Ovaj program nije za slabe duše. Zahteva značajnu mesečnu naknadu, neprekidnu budnost nad srećom kupaca, i hrabrost da se suoči licem u lice sa nezadovoljnim klijentima. Ali za preduzeća koja se usude da se upuste na arenu Google Garancije, nagrade su bogate. Značka postaje magnet, privlačeći kupce koji traže mir i izuzetnu uslugu. To je svedočanstvo njihove nepokolebljive posvećenosti izvrsnosti, sjajna zvezda koja ih izdvaja iz mora konkurencije. Dakle, sledeći put kada budete putovali digitalnim okeanom u potrazi za uslugom, obratite pažnju na zastavu Google Garancije. To je više od marketinškog trika, već simbol pobede i kvaliteta, i dokaz nepokolebljivog duha zadovoljenja kupaca. Budite mudri kapetan svog digitalnog broda i upravljajte ga prema toj sjajnoj zastavi.

AI STRATEGIST PREDRAG PETROVIC

DIGITAL ART MARKETING - STRATEGIES FOR 2025

SEARCH EVERYWHERE OPTIMIZATION EXPERT

PREDRAG PETROVIC, SEO STRATEG

[aeoexpert]

The Future of Branding is Here:

The world of branding is undergoing a dramatic transformation thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). This cutting-edge technology is revolutionizing how brands connect with their audiences, build relationships, and foster loyalty. Here's how AI is reshaping the branding landscape:

Hyper-Personalization: AI enables brands to personalize customer interactions like never before. By analyzing vast amounts of data, AI can understand individual preferences, predict behavior, and tailor experiences accordingly. This leads to deeper engagement, stronger loyalty, and increased customer satisfaction.

** Smarter Decision-Making:** AI empowers brands to make data-driven decisions about their branding strategies. Sophisticated algorithms can analyze market trends, consumer sentiment, and competitive landscapes to provide valuable insights for brand positioning, messaging, and creative development.

** Content Creation on Autopilot:** AI can automate various aspects of content creation, such as generating product descriptions, writing social media posts, and even creating visual assets. This frees up human teams to focus on higher-level tasks like strategy and creative direction.

Elevated Customer Service: AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants provide instant and personalized customer support, enhancing the overall experience. These tools can handle simple inquiries, resolve issues, and even offer product recommendations, improving efficiency and satisfaction.

Predicting the Future: AI can predict future trends and consumer behaviors, allowing brands to proactively adapt their strategies and stay ahead of the curve. This enables brands to anticipate market shifts, identify new opportunities, and mitigate potential risks.

Navigating the Challenges:

While AI offers incredible opportunities, brands must also navigate certain challenges:

Data Privacy: Responsible data collection and usage are crucial. Brands must be transparent about how they collect and use customer data, complying with regulations and respecting consumer trust.

Authenticity Matters: While AI can enhance efficiency and personalization, brands must maintain authenticity in their interactions. Over-reliance on AI-generated content can lead to a loss of human touch and brand personality.

Ethical Considerations: AI algorithms can reflect biases present in the data they are trained on. Brands must be vigilant in identifying and mitigating potential biases to avoid harmful stereotypes or discriminatory practices.

The Future of Branding is Here:

AI is not just a passing trend; it's a fundamental shift in how brands operate. By embracing AI thoughtfully and responsibly, brands can unlock new levels of connection, personalization, and customer satisfaction. The future of branding is here, and it's powered by AI.

[global-research-report]

Generative AI in Europe: Innovations, Challenges, and Market Dynamics

The Europe generative AI market size was estimated at USD 2.42 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35.8% from 2024 to 2030. Generative AI is a subset of artificial intelligence that focuses on creating new content, such as images, music, or text and has been experiencing significant growth in Europe owing to the increasing availability of large datasets. Europe has seen a proliferation of data across various domains, including finance, healthcare, and entertainment. This abundance of data provides significant resources for training generative AI models, enabling them to produce more accurate and diverse outputs.

Moreover, advancements in deep learning techniques have played a pivotal role in driving the growth of generative AI in Europe. Deep learning algorithms, particularly those based on neural networks such as Variational Autoencoders (VAEs) and Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), have shown notable capabilities in generating realistic and high-quality content. These advancements have fueled innovation in generative AI research and applications across the region.

Access to extensive datasets is essential for enhancing and refining generative AI models. Countries like the UK, Germany, France, and Italy with advanced technological infrastructures possess abundant data resources, particularly in fields like computer vision and language processing, fostering the growth of a generative AI market. Additionally, cloud storage solutions offer significant benefits for the generative AI market. They simplify data access and collaboration, allowing teams across the region to store and share diverse datasets effortlessly. Furthermore, cloud storage operates on a pay-as-you-go model, easing financial burdens and ensuring secure management of sensitive projects.

Key Europe Generative AI Company Insights

Some key players operating in the market include Aleph Alpha; Mistral AI; and Helsing.

Aleph Alpha is an AI application and research company focusing on developing and operationalizing large-scale AI models for language, strategy, and image data, aiming to empower enterprises and governments with AI technology. Aleph Alpha's offerings include a platform that ensures operations are aligned with the latest requirements and risks are mitigated, as well as trustworthiness features that provide explainability and control over AI-driven processes and decisions.

Mistral AI is a French AI company that produces large open-language models. Mistral AI's latest model, Mixtral 8x7B, has 46.7 billion parameters and outperforms other models in five languages. The company aims to develop open-weight models that are on par with proprietary models and to serve the open community and enterprise customers.

Pixis, Everseen, and DeepL are some of the other market participants in the Europe generative AI market.

Pixis is a technology company that develops codeless AI infrastructure to help brands scale their marketing efforts. The company offers proprietary artificial intelligence models deployed across various products and plugins, enabling businesses to scale their marketing, creative, and performance efforts.

DeepL is a leading AI communication company known for its advanced neural machine translation service, DeepL Translator. The platform utilizes AI to deliver high-quality translations for diverse languages and communication needs.

Europe Generative AI Market Report Segmentation

This report forecasts revenue growth at regional and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segment from 2017 to 2030. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the Europe generative AI marketreport based on component, technology, end-use, application, model, and region:

Component Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

Software

Services

Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs)

Transformers

Variational Auto-encoders

Diffusion Networks

End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

Media & Entertainment

BFSI

IT & Telecommunication

Healthcare

Automotive & Transportation

Gaming

Others

Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

Computer Vision

NLP

Robotics and Automation

Content Generation

Chatbots and Intelligent Virtual Assistants

Predictive Analytics

Others

Model Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

Large Language Models

Image & Video Generative Models

Multi-modal Generative Models

Others

Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

Europe

UK

Germany

France

Italy

Spain

Netherlands

Order a free sample PDF of the Europe Generative AI Market Intelligence Study, published by Grand View Research.

[aistrategisteurope]

MULTY SENSORY MARKETING

You're right to be curious about successful multi-sensory marketing! It's a fascinating approach. Here are a few brands I think are doing a great job:

1. Starbucks:

Smell: That unmistakable coffee aroma when you walk in the door is no accident. It's deliberately engineered to trigger cravings and create a comforting atmosphere.

Sound: The curated playlists contribute to the overall ambiance, often featuring mellow and relaxing tunes.

Sight: The warm colors, comfortable seating, and inviting displays all contribute to the "third place" experience Starbucks cultivates.

Taste: Beyond the coffee itself, the seasonal drinks and food offerings provide a variety of taste experiences.

2. Apple:

Touch: The sleek, minimalist design of their products encourages hands-on interaction. Apple Stores are designed for customers to touch and experience devices.

Sight: The clean, modern aesthetic of their stores and packaging reinforces their brand image of innovation and sophistication.

Sound: The distinctive sound effects of their devices, like the iPhone's unlock sound, contribute to brand recognition.

3. Lush:

Smell: This is a core part of the Lush experience. The strong scents of their handmade cosmetics fill the air, creating a unique and memorable sensory experience.

Sight: The vibrant colors and playful displays of their products are visually appealing and encourage exploration.

Touch: Customers are encouraged to touch and feel the products, testers are readily available, and the store environment is designed for interaction.

4. Singapore Airlines:

Smell: Their signature "Stefan Floridian Waters" scent is used in hot towels, on flight attendants' uniforms, and even diffused in the cabin, creating a sense of luxury and consistency.

Sight: The cabin design, lighting, and attention to detail all contribute to a premium visual experience.

Sound: Carefully selected music and announcements enhance the overall ambiance.

Taste: The airline is renowned for its high-quality in-flight meals, catering to a variety of tastes and preferences.

5. LEGO:

Touch: The tactile experience of building with LEGO bricks is fundamental to the brand. LEGO stores often have play areas where customers can interact with the product.

Sight: The bright colors and creative displays in LEGO stores are visually stimulating, particularly for children.

Sound: The clicking sound of the bricks connecting is a distinctive auditory element of the LEGO experience.

These are just a few examples, and many other brands are effectively using multi-sensory marketing. By carefully considering how each sense can be engaged, brands can create more immersive and memorable experiences for their customers.

AUTHOR:

Predrag Petrovic, European enterprise SEO expert

AI Strategist Predrag Petrovic is enhancing decision-making and reshaping customers

[aimarketingexpertemea]

How to use AI tools

looking to leverage AI tools for your social media and marketing needs! Here's a breakdown of how AI can supercharge your workflow:

1. Defining Audience

AI-powered social listening tools: These tools crawl social media platforms, analyzing conversations and identifying demographics, interests, and behaviors relevant to your brand or industry. Some popular options include Brandwatch, Talkwalker, and SproutSocial.

AI-driven audience analysis platforms: These platforms analyze your existing customer data (website traffic, CRM, etc.) to create detailed audience segments based on demographics, psychographics, and purchase behavior. This helps you target your content more effectively. Check out tools like Segment and Bluecore.

2. Generating Captions

AI caption generators: Tools like Jasper, Copy.ai, and Anyword can generate creative and engaging captions tailored to your content and target audience. You provide some basic information (image, topic, desired tone) and the AI suggests several options.

3. Writing Social Media Posts

AI content creation tools: Similar to caption generators, these tools can help you write full-fledged social media posts, including text, hashtags, and even suggest relevant emojis. Many of the tools mentioned above (Jasper, Copy.ai) offer this functionality.

Content repurposing tools: AI can help you reformat existing content (blog posts, articles) into social media-friendly snippets, increasing your reach and efficiency.

4. Responding to Comments/Reviews

AI-powered chatbots and customer service tools: These can handle common inquiries, provide automated responses, and even escalate complex issues to human agents. Examples include Intercom, Zendesk, and ManyChat.

Sentiment analysis tools: AI can analyze the sentiment (positive, negative, neutral) of comments and reviews, helping you prioritize responses and identify potential PR crises.

5. Keyword Analysis and SEO

AI-powered keyword research tools: These tools can identify relevant keywords, assess their search volume and competition, and suggest long-tail keywords to target niche audiences. SEMrush, Ahrefs, and SurferSEO all have AI-driven features.

Content optimization tools: AI can analyze your content and provide suggestions for improving on-page SEO, such as keyword density, readability, and heading structure. Clearscope and MarketMuse are great options.

6. Google Ads and Social Media Ads

AI-powered ad platforms: Google Ads and major social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) use AI to optimize ad targeting, bidding strategies, and ad creatives. Leverage their built-in AI tools for better campaign performance.

Ad copy generation and testing: AI can generate multiple ad copy variations and even predict which ones are likely to perform best based on historical data.

7. Translating Content

AI translation tools: Google Translate, DeepL, and Microsoft Translator are constantly improving in accuracy and fluency. They can quickly translate your content into multiple languages, expanding your reach to a global audience.

Important Notes:

Human oversight is crucial: While AI tools are powerful, they're not perfect. Always review and edit AI-generated content to ensure accuracy, brand consistency, and human touch.

Experiment and iterate: The best way to learn how to use AI tools effectively is to experiment, track your results, and adjust your approach accordingly.

Ethical considerations: Be mindful of potential biases in AI-generated content and use these tools responsibly.

By incorporating AI tools into your workflow, you can save time, improve efficiency, and boost your social media and marketing performance.

تحسين محركات البحث بالذكاء الاصطناعي

[aimarketingdubai]

BLEEDING EDGE SEO DUBAI

Here's how to approach bleeding-edge SEO and some cutting-edge techniques:

1. Mindset:

Embrace experimentation: Be willing to try new things and track the results meticulously. Not everything will work, but the successes can give you a significant advantage.

Stay informed: Follow industry blogs, attend conferences, and engage with the SEO community to keep your finger on the pulse of emerging trends.

Be adaptable: The SEO landscape is constantly evolving. Be prepared to adjust your strategies as Google's algorithms change and new technologies emerge.

Data-driven: Rely on data and analytics to measure the effectiveness of your experiments. Don't just follow trends blindly.

2. Cutting-Edge Techniques:

AI-powered content optimization: Tools like Jasper.ai and Copy.ai are becoming increasingly sophisticated in generating high-quality, SEO-friendly content. Explore how these tools can enhance your content creation process.

Semantic SEO: Go beyond keywords and focus on understanding the intent and context behind search queries. Use structured data, schema markup, and knowledge graphs to help search engines understand the meaning of your content.

Voice search optimization: With the rise of voice assistants, optimize your content for natural language and conversational queries.

Programmatic SEO: Automate the creation of large volumes of content tailored to specific keywords and long-tail searches. This is particularly useful for e-commerce sites with extensive product catalogs.

Entity-based SEO: Focus on building your brand's online presence as a recognized entity. This involves creating content that establishes your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (E-A-T) in your industry.

Advanced technical SEO: Dive deep into technical aspects like Core Web Vitals, page speed optimization, mobile-first indexing, and structured data implementation to ensure your website meets Google's latest standards.

3. Proceed with Caution:

Don't sacrifice the basics: While exploring bleeding edge techniques, don't neglect the fundamentals of SEO, like keyword research, on-page optimization, and quality content creation.

Avoid black hat tactics: Stay away from any techniques that violate Google's guidelines. These tactics may provide short-term gains but can lead to penalties and long-term damage to your website's ranking.

Test and measure: Always test new techniques on a small scale before implementing them across your entire website. Track the results carefully to assess their effectiveness.

By embracing a forward-thinking mindset and experimenting with cutting-edge techniques, you can position your website at the forefront of the SEO landscape and gain a competitive edge in the ever-evolving world of search.

[digitalartmarketing]

GOOGLE CREATOR SUMMIT

It seems like the Google Creator Summit left many creators feeling disheartened and frustrated. Spending $400-$600 to travel to Google HQ, only to be told "You are creating good content, but unfortunately, we can't help you," is undoubtedly a deflating experience. 💔

This situation highlights a few key issues:

Lack of Transparency and Support: Creators invest significant time and resources in creating content that aligns with Google's guidelines, yet often face algorithm updates that negatively impact their visibility and reach. The lack of clear explanations and support from Google leaves creators feeling lost and helpless.

The Power of the Algorithm: Google's algorithm holds immense power over creators' livelihoods. While the algorithm aims to prioritize quality content, its complexity and constant updates can feel arbitrary and unpredictable, leaving creators feeling like they're at the mercy of a black box.

The Need for Better Communication: Creators crave clear communication and actionable advice from Google. Instead of vague statements, creators need specific guidance on how to navigate algorithm changes and ensure their content thrives.

This situation underscores the need for a more collaborative and supportive relationship between Google and creators.

Here are some potential ways Google could improve:

Increased Transparency: Provide clearer explanations of algorithm updates and their potential impact on creators.

Actionable Advice: Offer specific, actionable advice on how creators can adapt their content to thrive in the evolving digital landscape.

Improved Communication Channels: Create more effective communication channels for creators to voice concerns and receive support.

Recognize and Reward Quality Content: Develop better ways to recognize and reward creators who consistently produce high-quality, engaging content.

Ultimately, a healthy creator ecosystem benefits both Google and the creators themselves. By fostering a more supportive and collaborative environment, Google can empower creators to thrive and continue producing the valuable content that makes the internet a rich and diverse space.

[predragpetrovic]

Think Like a Creative Director in the Age of AI

How to Think Like a Creative Director in the Age of AI

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has changed the creative landscape forever. For creative directors, this means adapting to new technologies and ways of working. In this article, we will discuss how to think like a creative director in the age of AI.

Embrace AI

The first step to thinking like a creative director in the age of AI is to embrace it. AI can be a powerful tool for creative directors. It can help you to generate ideas, create visuals, and automate tasks. However, it is important to remember that AI is not a replacement for human creativity. It is simply a tool that can be used to enhance your work.

Use AI to Your Advantage

Once you have embraced AI, you can start to use it to your advantage. Here are a few tips:

Use AI to generate ideas. AI can be used to generate a wide range of creative ideas. For example, you can use AI to generate new product concepts, advertising campaigns, or website designs.

Use AI to create visuals. AI can be used to create high-quality visuals, such as images, videos, and animations.

Use AI to automate tasks. AI can be used to automate repetitive tasks, such as editing photos or creating social media posts.

Stay Up-to-Date on the Latest AI Technologies

The field of AI is constantly evolving. It is important to stay up-to-date on the latest AI technologies so that you can use them to your advantage. There are a number of resources available to help you learn about AI, such as online courses, books, and articles.

Develop Your Creative Skills

Even though AI can be a powerful tool, it is still important to develop your creative skills. AI cannot replace the human touch that is essential for great creative work. So, continue to hone your skills in areas such as storytelling, visual design, and copywriting.

Collaborate with AI Experts

If you are not an AI expert yourself, it is important to collaborate with AI experts. AI experts can help you to understand and use AI technologies effectively.

Embrace Change

The age of AI is a time of change. It is important to embrace change and be willing to adapt to new ways of working. By doing so, you can ensure that you remain a successful creative director in the years to come.

Conclusion

Thinking like a creative director in the age of AI requires embracing AI, using it to your advantage, staying up-to-date on the latest AI technologies, developing your creative skills, collaborating with AI experts, and embracing change. By following these tips, you can ensure that you are well-prepared for the future of creative leadership.

[janishoppin1950blog]

[xtruss]

Global Times: When The West Talks About China's Change, What Do They Fear?

— August 24, 2023

Out of touch with reality. Illustration: Liu Rui/Global Times

The world we live today is the world in which the West has been expanding for 500 years, but the Global South, represented by China, is on the rise.

However, the West's expansion and Global South's emergence are not going to integrate in a silky-smooth transition, especially for the West - it is entering this change with a deep affection and attachment to its 500 years of expansion.

On Tuesday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock expressed her feelings in a virtual speech to the Lowy Institute, an Australia think tank: "Increasingly, China is a rival - when it comes to the very fundamentals of how we live together in this world.

"China has changed, and that's why our policy toward China also needs to change," she added.

If we look at the changes in US and Western policy toward China based on the so-called change of China, described by Baerbock, what we see is a China that is seemingly like the West of 500 years ago - full of drive for global exploration, expansion, and colonization, and unafraid to use military power as a precursor to unifying the wealth and faith of the world under the banner of Western civilization

However, China's "change" in Baerbock's description is filled with the Western imagination.

Over the past four decades of its reform and opening-up, China has followed a path of peaceful development. At the core of China's change is the modernization of a home to one-fifth of the world's population, fundamentally altering global development and our way of living together.

China's change is not a result of failing to respond to the abrupt changes in the tide of globalization. On the contrary, Chinese enterprises that have been or are on the verge of leading the world are all advancing in the market economy.

The West looks at China's change with fear, because they are not willing to fully give China the world status it deserves, including China's position in the global manufacturing and the global market.

One example is the West's treatment of electric vehicles produced in China.

In a recent interview with the Telegraph, a senior British government official said, "If it is manufactured in a country like China, how certain can you be that it won't be a vehicle for collecting intel and data?"

Jim Saker, president of the Institute of the Motor Industry, put it more sinisterly and told The Times that "the threat of connected electric vehicles flooding the country could be the most effective Trojan horse that the Chinese establishment has."

The backdrop to this concern is that China has become the world's largest producer of electric cars, with surging exports knocking on the doors of the US and Europe.

All products related to the internet and AI technology undoubtedly face information security concerns. But highlighting the ideological attributes of this issue, rather than addressing it realistically through legal provisions that are consistent with a market economy, is clearly contrary to the order emphasized by the West, and underscores the fact that this so-called order, which is used to bash China, is in fact self-serving, narrow-minded and conservative.

In the final analysis, it is evident the West can't accept the challenge posed by China's change, and still recognizes in its bones that China can only be inferior to the West as a follower, rather than a leader.

China is changing, the Global South is changing, and such changes are bound to touch Western interests. If the West pushes China to the hostile side because of their inability to accept such changes, in the end, China will not be the only one facing difficulties and challenges.

Whether the West is willing to share the order they have built over the past 500 years is directly related to the advancement or retreat of human development.

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Month - August 2024

1.Negative Power Prices Hit Europe as Renewable Energy Floods the Grid

European power markets are experiencing a notable shift as renewable energy sources, particularly wind and solar, become a larger part of the energy mix. On Wednesday, power prices in several European markets, including Germany, dipped below zero due to a surge in green electricity production.

2. Taiwan introduces ban on performances by captive wild animals

Live performances by wild animals held in captivity, including performances by dolphins, tigers, and other non-domesticated mammals, will no longer be permitted in Taiwan under new Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) regulations.

3. FTC bans fake online reviews, inflated social media influence; rule takes effect in October

The FTC voted unanimously to ban marketers from using fake reviews, such as those generated with AI technology, and other misleading advertising practices.

The ban also forbids marketers from exaggerating their own influence by, for example, paying for bots to inflate their follower count.

4. Chinese drones will fly trash out of Everest slopes

Come autumn, Nepal will deploy heavy lifter drones to transport garbage from the 6,812-metre tall Ama Dablam, south of Everest. This will be the first commercial work an unmanned aerial vehicle does in Nepal’s high-altitude zone.

The heavy lifter from China’s biggest drone maker, Da Jiang Innovations (DJI), will take on tasks traditionally handled by Sherpas. Officials believe it will help reduce casualties on Everest.

5. Swiss scientists have found a way to use the whole cocoa fruit to make chocolate and not just taking beans and discarding the rest.

Kim Mishra (L) and Anian Schreiber (R) cooperated on the new chocolate making process

Food scientists in Switzerland have come up with a way to make chocolate using the entire cocoa fruit rather than just the beans - and without using sugar.

The chocolate, developed at Zurich’s prestigious Federal Institute of Technology by scientist Kim Mishra and his team includes the cocoa fruit pulp, the juice, and the husk, or endocarp.

6. Six-year-old boy found in Vietnam forest after five days

A six-year-old boy who was missing for five days has been found deep in a forest in Vietnam. Dang Tien Lam, who lives in the northwestern Yen Bai province, was playing in a stream with his nine siblings on 17 August when he wandered into the hills and got lost, local reports said.

He was found on Wednesday by local farmers who heard a child's cry while they were clearing a cinnamon field close to the forest.

7. Lego plans to make half the plastic in bricks from renewable materials by 2026

Lego plans to make half the plastic in its bricks from renewable or recycled material rather than fossil fuels by 2026, in its latest effort to ensure its toys are more environmentally friendly.

The Danish company last year ditched efforts to make bricks entirely from recycled bottles because of cost and production issues. At the moment, 22% of the material in its colourful bricks is not made from fossil fuels.

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[mostlysignssomeportents]

Apple to EU: “Go fuck yourself”

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/06/spoil-the-bunch/#dma

There's a strain of anti-anti-monopolist that insists that they're not pro-monopoly – they're just realists who understand that global gigacorporations are too big to fail, too big to jail, and that governments can't hope to rein them in. Trying to regulate a tech giant, they say, is like trying to regulate the weather.

This ploy is cousins with Jay Rosen's idea of "savvying," defined as: "dismissing valid questions with the insider's, 'and this surprises you?'"

https://twitter.com/jayrosen_nyu/status/344825874362810369?lang=en

In both cases, an apologist for corruption masquerades as a pragmatist who understands the ways of the world, unlike you, a pathetic dreamer who foolishly hopes for a better world. In both cases, the apologist provides cover for corruption, painting it as an inevitability, not a choice. "Don't hate the player. Hate the game."

The reason this foolish nonsense flies is that we are living in an age of rampant corruption and utter impunity. Companies really do get away with both literal and figurative murder. Governments really do ignore horrible crimes by the rich and powerful, and fumble what rare, few enforcement efforts they assay.

Take the GDPR, Europe's landmark privacy law. The GDPR establishes strict limitations of data-collection and processing, and provides for brutal penalties for companies that violate its rules. The immediate impact of the GDPR was a mass-extinction event for Europe's data-brokerages and surveillance advertising companies, all of which were in obvious violation of the GDPR's rules.

But there was a curious pattern to GDPR enforcement: while smaller, EU-based companies were swiftly shuttered by its provisions, the US-based giants that conduct the most brazen, wide-ranging, illegal surveillance escaped unscathed for years and years, continuing to spy on Europeans.

One (erroneous) way to look at this is as a "compliance moat" story. In that story, GDPR requires a bunch of expensive systems that only gigantic companies like Facebook and Google can afford. These compliance costs are a "capital moat" – a way to exclude smaller companies from functioning in the market. Thus, the GDPR acted as an anticompetitive wrecking ball, clearing the field for the largest companies, who get to operate without having to contend with smaller companies nipping at their heels:

https://www.techdirt.com/2019/06/27/another-report-shows-gdpr-benefited-google-facebook-hurt-everyone-else/

This is wrong.

Oh, compliance moats are definitely real – think of the calls for AI companies to license their training data. AI companies can easily do this – they'll just buy training data from giant media companies – the very same companies that hope to use models to replace creative workers with algorithms. Create a new copyright over training data won't eliminate AI – it'll just confine AI to the largest, best capitalized companies, who will gladly provide tools to corporations hoping to fire their workforces:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/09/ai-monkeys-paw/#bullied-schoolkids

But just because some regulations can be compliance moats, that doesn't mean that all regulations are compliance moats. And just because some regulations are vigorously applied to small companies while leaving larger firms unscathed, it doesn't follow that the regulation in question is a compliance moat.

A harder look at what happened with the GDPR reveals a completely different dynamic at work. The reason the GDPR vaporized small surveillance companies and left the big companies untouched had nothing to do with compliance costs. The Big Tech companies don't comply with the GDPR – they just get away with violating the GDPR.

How do they get away with it? They fly Irish flags of convenience. Decades ago, Ireland started dabbling with offering tax-havens to the wealthy and mobile – they invented the duty-free store:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty-free_shop#1947%E2%80%931990:_duty_free_establishment

Capturing pennies from the wealthy by helping them avoid fortunes they owed in taxes elsewhere was terribly seductive. In the years that followed, Ireland began aggressively courting the wealthy on an industrial scale, offering corporations the chance to duck their obligations to their host countries by flying an Irish flag of convenience.

There are other countries who've tried this gambit – the "treasure islands" of the Caribbean, the English channel, and elsewhere – but Ireland is part of the EU. In the global competition to help the rich to get richer, Ireland had a killer advantage: access to the EU, the common market, and 500m affluent potential customers. The Caymans can hide your money for you, and there's a few super-luxe stores and art-galleries in George Town where you can spend it, but it's no Champs Elysees or Ku-Damm.

But when you're competing with other countries for the pennies of trillion-dollar tax-dodgers, any wins can be turned into a loss in an instant. After all, any corporation that is footloose enough to establish a Potemkin Headquarters in Dublin and fly the trídhathach can easily up sticks and open another Big Store HQ in some other haven that offers it a sweeter deal.

This has created a global race to the bottom among tax-havens to also serve as regulatory havens – and there's a made-in-the-EU version that sees Ireland, Malta, Cyprus and sometimes the Netherlands competing to see who can offer the most impunity for the worst crimes to the most awful corporations in the world.

And that's why Google and Facebook haven't been extinguished by the GDPR while their rivals were. It's not compliance moats – it's impunity. Once a corporation attains a certain scale, it has the excess capital to spend on phony relocations that let it hop from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, chasing the loosest slots on the strip. Ireland is a made town, where the cops are all on the take, and two thirds of the data commissioner's rulings are eventually overturned by the federal court:

https://www.iccl.ie/digital-data/iccl-2023-gdpr-report/

This is a problem among many federations, not just the EU. The US has its onshore-offshore tax- and regulation-havens (Delaware, South Dakota, Texas, etc), and so does Canada (Alberta), and some Swiss cantons are, frankly, batshit:

https://lenews.ch/2017/11/25/swiss-fact-some-swiss-women-had-to-wait-until-1991-to-vote/

None of this is to condemn federations outright. Federations are (potentially) good! But federalism has a vulnerability: the autonomy of the federated states means that they can be played against each other by national or transnational entities, like corporations. This doesn't mean that it's impossible to regulate powerful entities within a federation – but it means that federal regulation needs to account for the risk of jurisdiction-shopping.

Enter the Digital Markets Act, a new Big Tech specific law that, among other things, bans monopoly app stores and payment processing, through which companies like Apple and Google have levied a 30% tax on the entire app market, while arrogating to themselves the right to decide which software their customers may run on their own devices:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/07/curatorial-vig/#app-tax

Apple has responded to this regulation with a gesture of contempt so naked and broad that it beggars belief. As Proton describes, Apple's DMA plan is the very definition of malicious compliance:

https://proton.me/blog/apple-dma-compliance-plan-trap

Recall that the DMA is intended to curtail monopoly software distribution through app stores and mobile platforms' insistence on using their payment processors, whose fees are sky-high. The law is intended to extinguish developer agreements that ban software creators from informing customers that they can get a better deal by initiating payments elsewhere, or by getting a service through the web instead of via an app.

In response, Apple, has instituted a junk fee it calls the "Core Technology Fee": EUR0.50/install for every installation over 1m. As Proton writes, as apps grow more popular, using third-party payment systems will grow less attractive. Apple has offered discounts on its eye-watering payment processing fees to a mere 20% for the first payment and 13% for renewals. Compare this with the normal – and far, far too high – payment processing fees the rest of the industry charges, which run 2-5%. On top of all this, Apple has lied about these new discounted rates, hiding a 3% "processing" fee in its headline figures.

As Proton explains, paying 17% fees and EUR0.50 for each subscriber's renewal makes most software businesses into money-losers. The only way to keep them afloat is to use Apple's old, default payment system. That choice is made more attractive by Apple's inclusion of a "scare screen" that warns you that demons will rend your soul for all eternity if you try to use an alternative payment scheme.

Apple defends this scare screen by saying that it will protect users from the intrinsic unreliability of third-party processors, but as Proton points out, there are plenty of giant corporations who get to use their own payment processors with their iOS apps, because Apple decided they were too big to fuck with. Somehow, Apple can let its customers spend money Uber, McDonald's, Airbnb, Doordash and Amazon without terrorizing them about existential security risks – but not mom-and-pop software vendors or publishers who don't want to hand 30% of their income over to a three-trillion-dollar company.

Apple has also reserved the right to cancel any alternative app store and nuke it from Apple customers' devices without warning, reason or liability. Those app stores also have to post a one-million euro line of credit in order to be considered for iOS. Given these terms, it's obvious that no one is going to offer a third-party app store for iOS and if they did, no one would list their apps in it.

The fuckery goes on and on. If an app developer opts into third-party payments, they can't use Apple's payment processing too – so any users who are scared off by the scare screen have no way to pay the app's creators. And once an app creator opts into third party payments, they can never go back – the decision is permanent.

Apple also reserves the right to change all of these policies later, for the worse ("I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it further" -D. Vader). They have warned developers that they might change the API for reporting external sales and revoke developers' right to use alternative app stores at its discretion, with no penalties if that screws the developer.

Apple's contempt extends beyond app marketplaces. The DMA also obliges Apple to open its platform to third party browsers and browser engines. Every browser on iOS is actually just Safari wrapped in a cosmetic skin, because Apple bans third-party browser-engines:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/13/kitbashed/#app-store-tax

But, as Mozilla puts it, Apple's plan for this is "as painful as possible":

https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/26/24052067/mozilla-apple-ios-browser-rules-firefox

For one thing, Apple will only allow European customers to run alternative browser engines. That means that Firefox will have to "build and maintain two separate browser implementations — a burden Apple themselves will not have to bear."

(One wonders how Apple will treat Americans living in the EU, whose Apple accounts still have US billing addresses – these people will still be entitled to the browser choice that Apple is grudgingly extending to Europeans.)

All of this sends a strong signal that Apple is planning to run the same playbook with the DMA that Google and Facebook used on the GDPR: ignore the law, use lawyerly bullshit to chaff regulators, and hope that European federalism has sufficiently deep cracks that it can hide in them when the enforcers come to call.

But Apple is about to get a nasty shock. For one thing, the DMA allows wronged parties to start their search for justice in the European federal court system – bypassing the Irish regulators and courts. For another, there is a global movement to check corporate power, and because the tech companies do the same kinds of fuckery in every territory, regulators are able to collaborate across borders to take them down.

Take Apple's app store monopoly. The best reference on this is the report published by the UK Competition and Markets Authority's Digital Markets Unit:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/63f61bc0d3bf7f62e8c34a02/Mobile_Ecosystems_Final_Report_amended_2.pdf

The devastating case that the DMU report was key to crafting the DMA – but it also inspired a US law aimed at forcing app markets open:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/2710

And a Japanese enforcement action:

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Japan-to-crack-down-on-Apple-and-Google-app-store-monopolies

And action in South Korea:

https://www.reuters.com/technology/skorea-considers-505-mln-fine-against-google-apple-over-app-market-practices-2023-10-06/

These enforcers gather for annual meetings – I spoke at one in London, convened by the Competition and Markets Authority – where they compare notes, form coalitions, and plan strategy:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cma-data-technology-and-analytics-conference-2022-registration-308678625077

This is where the savvying breaks down. Yes, Apple is big enough to run circles around Japan, or South Korea, or the UK. But when those countries join forces with the EU, the USA and other countries that are fed up to the eyeballs with Apple's bullshit, the company is in serious danger.

It's true that Apple has convinced a bunch of its customers that buying a phone from a multi-trillion-dollar corporation makes you a member of an oppressed religious minority:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/12/youre-holding-it-wrong/#if-dishwashers-were-iphones

Some of those self-avowed members of the "Cult of Mac" are willing to take the company's pronouncements at face value and will dutifully repeat Apple's claims to be "protecting" its customers. But even that credulity has its breaking point – Apple can only poison the well so many times before people stop drinking from it. Remember when the company announced a miraculous reversal to its war on right to repair, later revealed to be a bald-faced lie?

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently

Or when Apple claimed to be protecting phone users' privacy, which was also a lie?

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

The savvy will see Apple lying (again) and say, "this surprises you?" No, it doesn't surprise me, but it pisses me off – and I'm not the only one, and Apple's insulting lies are getting less effective by the day.

Image: Alex Popovkin, Bahia, Brazil from Brazil (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Annelid_worm,_Atlantic_forest,_northern_littoral_of_Bahia,_Brazil_%2816107326533%29.jpg

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

--

Hubertl (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2015-03-04_Elstar_%28apple%29_starting_putrefying_IMG_9761_bis_9772.jpg

CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

[probablyasocialecologist]

There is no obvious path between today’s machine learning models — which mimic human creativity by predicting the next word, sound, or pixel — and an AI that can form a hostile intent or circumvent our every effort to contain it. Regardless, it is fair to ask why Dr. Frankenstein is holding the pitchfork. Why is it that the people building, deploying, and profiting from AI are the ones leading the call to focus public attention on its existential risk? Well, I can see at least two possible reasons. The first is that it requires far less sacrifice on their part to call attention to a hypothetical threat than to address the more immediate harms and costs that AI is already imposing on society. Today’s AI is plagued by error and replete with bias. It makes up facts and reproduces discriminatory heuristics. It empowers both government and consumer surveillance. AI is displacing labor and exacerbating income and wealth inequality. It poses an enormous and escalating threat to the environment, consuming an enormous and growing amount of energy and fueling a race to extract materials from a beleaguered Earth. These societal costs aren’t easily absorbed. Mitigating them requires a significant commitment of personnel and other resources, which doesn’t make shareholders happy — and which is why the market recently rewarded tech companies for laying off many members of their privacy, security, or ethics teams. How much easier would life be for AI companies if the public instead fixated on speculative theories about far-off threats that may or may not actually bear out? What would action to “mitigate the risk of extinction” even look like? I submit that it would consist of vague whitepapers, series of workshops led by speculative philosophers, and donations to computer science labs that are willing to speak the language of longtermism. This would be a pittance, compared with the effort required to reverse what AI is already doing to displace labor, exacerbate inequality, and accelerate environmental degradation. A second reason the AI community might be motivated to cast the technology as posing an existential risk could be, ironically, to reinforce the idea that AI has enormous potential. Convincing the public that AI is so powerful that it could end human existence would be a pretty effective way for AI scientists to make the case that what they are working on is important. Doomsaying is great marketing. The long-term fear may be that AI will threaten humanity, but the near-term fear, for anyone who doesn’t incorporate AI into their business, agency, or classroom, is that they will be left behind. The same goes for national policy: If AI poses existential risks, U.S. policymakers might say, we better not let China beat us to it for lack of investment or overregulation. (It is telling that Sam Altman — the CEO of OpenAI and a signatory of the Center for AI Safety statement — warned the E.U. that his company will pull out of Europe if regulations become too burdensome.)

[thecolorblockcurator]

I’ve been thinking about a few things lately

And it seems like we’re at the precipice of another dark age. Dark ages are typically when education, reading, writing, scientific progress are lost

And by precipice I mean, it could go either way. Historically the rise of fascism has lead to incredible powerful art movements - as well as aggressive censorship

Now I don’t think it’s so dramatic that everything will be lost, collapse of a civilization -only ruins will be left kind of thing. We’re in a completely different age with more visibility and information than ever before

But I do think this time it’s a shift from reading and art to content that has been happening over the years & with generative AI it’s only pushing it further.

What got me thinking about it was- I just read about a new publishing company that is only selling AI generated books & plans to publish and flood the market with 8000 new ai generated books next year.

There is power in art. Art is transformative, political, it teaches us to be curious, to think creatively, to see things from different perspectives. Making art of any kind helps us from everything to processing trauma, to expressing our voice, to creating communities.

Content passes the time, it grabs our attention. It fills the room with noise. And it keeps people distracted. It keeps people in a passive yet heightened state.

And the second thing I’ve been thinking about is feudalism. The economic / political system that was around in the last dark age in Europe.

Now what I studied in my history program was more of the rise of industrialization & colonialism so I’m not as strong with my background in feudalism and I want to fully understand it before I completely form this idea

But, I’ve seen others write about this too and I think they’re onto something- it seems like we’ve breached late stage capitalism to some new type of feudalism. And I think that has some validity

Whether it’s related to the tech industry or corporate real estate. Or some combination of the two. I can see how this could be a type of feudalism. The effects are the same in terms the distribution of power, wealth, labor, ownership, as well as the cultural factors of approved art what art is allowed to be made and visible or in our case, consumed.

In regards to art- I can see how content, noise, trends are more valuable to a new type of feudalism than art. And how they both lend themselves to create a new type of dark age

So what does that mean? What should we do?

Create art. Write stories, poetry, zines, paintings, collages. Wrestle with ideas. Learn about new things that are confusing and difficult to understand at first. Carve out time for silence, so you can actually think without 3 different types of media all playing at once.

I think we have to actively fight this. And trust me I get sucked into instagram and tumblr more than I want to be.

And for me I know what I’m fighting is- it’s gotten to this point where it feels like by not being engaged in content I’m not being productive. That sitting in silence to let myself wrestle with ideas for a bit is somehow wasting time. - Which of course it’s not.

[mariacallous]

Next year will be Big Tech’s finale. Critique of Big Tech is now common sense, voiced by a motley spectrum that unites opposing political parties, mainstream pundits, and even tech titans such as the VC powerhouse Y Combinator, which is singing in harmony with giants like a16z in proclaiming fealty to “little tech” against the centralized power of incumbents.

Why the fall from grace? One reason is that the collateral consequences of the current Big Tech business model are too obvious to ignore. The list is old hat by now: centralization, surveillance, information control. It goes on, and it’s not hypothetical. Concentrating such vast power in a few hands does not lead to good things. No, it leads to things like the CrowdStrike outage of mid-2024, when corner-cutting by Microsoft led to critical infrastructure—from hospitals to banks to traffic systems—failing globally for an extended period.

Another reason Big Tech is set to falter in 2025 is that the frothy AI market, on which Big Tech bet big, is beginning to lose its fizz. Major money, like Goldman Sachs and Sequoia Capital, is worried. They went public recently with their concerns about the disconnect between the billions required to create and use large-scale AI, and the weak market fit and tepid returns where the rubber meets the AI business-model road.

It doesn’t help that the public and regulators are waking up to AI’s reliance on, and generation of, sensitive data at a time when the appetite for privacy has never been higher—as evidenced, for one, by Signal’s persistent user growth. AI, on the other hand, generally erodes privacy. We saw this in June when Microsoft announced Recall, a product that would, I kid you not, screenshot everything you do on your device so an AI system could give you “perfect memory” of what you were doing on your computer (Doomscrolling? Porn-watching?). The system required the capture of those sensitive images—which would not exist otherwise—in order to work.

Happily, these factors aren’t just liquefying the ground below Big Tech’s dominance. They’re also powering bold visions for alternatives that stop tinkering at the edges of the monopoly tech paradigm, and work to design and build actually democratic, independent, open, and transparent tech. Imagine!

For example, initiatives in Europe are exploring independent core tech infrastructure, with convenings of open source developers, scholars of governance, and experts on the political economy of the tech industry.

And just as the money people are joining in critique, they’re also exploring investments in new paradigms. A crop of tech investors are developing models of funding for mission alignment, focusing on tech that rejects surveillance, social control, and all the bullshit. One exciting model I’ve been discussing with some of these investors would combine traditional VC incentives (fund that one unicorn > scale > acquisition > get rich) with a commitment to resource tech’s open, nonprofit critical infrastructure with a percent of their fund. Not as investment, but as a contribution to maintaining the bedrock on which a healthy tech ecosystem can exist (and maybe get them and their limited partners a tax break).

Such support could—and I believe should—be supplemented by state capital. The amount of money needed is simply too vast if we’re going to do this properly. To give an example closer to home, developing and maintaining Signal costs around $50 million a year, which is very lean for tech. Projects such as the Sovereign Tech Fund in Germany point a path forward—they are a vehicle to distribute state funds to core open source infrastructures, but they are governed wholly independently, and create a buffer between the efforts they fund and the state.

Just as composting makes nutrients from necrosis, in 2025, Big Tech’s end will be the beginning of a new and vibrant ecosystem. The smart, actually cool, genuinely interested people will once again have their moment, getting the resources and clearance to design and (re)build a tech ecosystem that is actually innovative and built for benefit, not just profit and control. MAY IT BE EVER THUS!

[a-d-nox]

economic advice and timely buying tips: 2025 transits

as of late, social media has many discussions about what to buy - or avoid buying - over the next few years, largely in response to the political climate in the united states. across europe, many regions are actively preparing their populations for potential crises (sweden's seems to be the most popularly discussed - link). due to the urgency and pressure to act, as if the world might change tomorrow (and it could though i believe we still have time in many places), i’ve decided to analyze the astrological transits for 2025. in this post i provide practical economic advice and guidance on how much time astrology suggests you have to make these purchases everyone is urging you to prioritize. if it seems to intrigue people i’ll explore future years as well.

things the world needs to prepare for in 2025 in my opinion and why my advice is what it is: the rise of ai / automation of jobs, job loss, geopolitical tensions, war, extreme weather, inflation, tariffs - a potential trade war, a movement of using digital currency, the outbreak of another illness, etc.

uranus goes direct in taurus (jan 30, 2025)

advice

diversify investments: avoid putting all your money in one asset type. mix stocks, bonds, index funds, and, if you feel comfortable, look into sustainable investments or new technologies.

digital finance: familiarize yourself with digital currencies/platforms or blockchain technology.

build an emergency fund: extra savings can shield you from sudden economic instability. aim for 3-6 months’ worth of expenses.

reevaluate subscriptions and spending: find creative ways to reduce spending or repurpose what you have. cancel subscriptions that don't align with needs/beliefs, cook at home, or diy where possible.

invest in skills / side hustles: take a course/invest in tools that can help you create multiple income streams.

by this date stock up on

non-perishable food items like canned goods, grains, and dried beans. household essentials like soap, toothpaste, and cleaning supplies. basic medical supplies. multi-tools. durable, high-quality items over disposable ones (the economy is changing, buy something that will last because prices will go up). LED bulbs, solar-powered chargers, or energy-efficient appliances. stock up on sustainable products, like reusable bags and water bottles. blankets. teas. quality skincare.

jupiter goes direct in gemini (feb 4, 2025)

advice

invest in knowledge: take courses, buy books (potential bans?), and/or attend workshops to expand your skill set. focus on topics like communication, writing, marketing, and/or technology. online certifications could boost your career prospects during this time.

leverage your network: attending professional events, joining forums, and/or expanding your LinkedIn presence.

diversify income streams: explore side hustles, freelance gigs, and/or monetize hobbies.

beware of overspending on small pleasures: overspending on gadgets, books, or entertainment will not be good at this point in time (tariffs already heavy hitting?).

by this date stock up on

books / journals. subscriptions to learning platforms like Skillshare, MasterClass, or Coursera. good-quality laptop, smartphone, and/or noise-canceling headphones. travel bags - get your bug out bag in order. portable chargers. language-learning apps. professional attire. teas. aromatherapy.

neptune enters aries (march 30, 2025)

advice

invest: look into industries poised for breakthrough developments, such as renewable energy, space exploration, and/or tech.

save for risks: build a financial cushion to balance your adventurous pursuits with practical security.

diversify your income: consider side hustles or freelancing in fields aligned with your passions and talents.

"scam likely": avoid “get-rich-quick” schemes or ventures that seem too good to be true.

adopt sustainable habits: focus on sustainability in your spending, like buying high-quality, long-lasting items instead of cheap, disposable ones.

by this date stock up on

emergency kits with essentials like water, food, and first-aid supplies. multi-tools, solar chargers, or portable power banks. art supplies. tarot or astrology books (bans?). workout gear, resistance bands, or weights. nutritional supplements. high-quality clothing or shoes.

saturn conjunct nn in pisces (april 14, 2025)

advice

save for the long term: create a savings plan or revisit your budget to ensure stability.

avoid escapism spending: avoid unnecessary debt.

watch for financial scams: be cautious with contracts, investments, or loans. research thoroughly and avoid “too good to be true” offers.

focus on debt management: saturn demands accountability. work toward paying down debts to free yourself from unnecessary burdens.

build a career plan: seek roles / opportunities that balance financial security with fulfillment, such as careers in wellness, education, creative arts, or nonprofits.

by this date stock up on

invest in durable, sustainable items for your home or wardrobe that offer long-term value. vitamins or supplements. herbal teas or whole grains. blankets. candles. non-perishable food. first-aid kits. water. energy-efficient devices.

pluto rx in aquarius (may 4, 2025 - oct 13, 2025)

advice

preform an audit: reflect on how your money habits and your long-term goals.

make sustainable investments: support industries tied to innovation, like renewable energy, ethical tech, or sustainable goods.

expect changes: could disrupt collective systems, so build an emergency fund. plan for potential shifts in tech-based industries or automation. AI is going to take over the workforce...

reevaluate subscriptions and digital spending: cut unnecessary costs and ensure your money supports productivity. netflix is not necessary, your groceries are.

diversify income streams: brainstorm side hustles or entrepreneurial ideas.

by this date stock up on

external hard drives. cybersecurity software. portable chargers. solar panels. energy-efficient gadgets. non-perishable food. clean water supplies. basic first-aid kits and medications. portable generators. books on technology and coding. reusable items like water bottles, bags, and food storage. gardening supplies to grow your own food. VPN subscriptions or identity theft protection.

saturn enters aries (may 24, 2025)

advice

prioritize self-reliance: build financial independence. create a budget, eliminate debt, and establish a safety net to support personal ambitions. avoid over-reliance on others for financial stability/decision-making.

entrepreneurship: consider starting a side hustle / investing in yourself.

save for big goals: plan for major life changes, such as buying property, starting a business, etc. make a high yield saving account for these long-term goals.

by this date stock up on

ergonomic office equipment. home gym equipment. non-perishable foods and water supplies for potential unexpected disruptions. self-protection; consider basic tools or training for safety. high-protein snacks, energy bars, or hydration supplies. supplements like magnesium, B-complex vitamins, etc. stock up on materials for DIY projects, hobbies, or entrepreneurial ventures.

jupiter enters cancer (june 9, 2025)

advice

invest in your home: renovating what needs renovating. saving for a down payment on a house.

focus on security: start or increase your emergency savings. consider life insurance or estate planning to ensure long-term security for your family/loved ones.

embrace conservative financial growth: cancer prefers security over risk. opt for conservative investments, like bonds, real estate, and/or mutual funds with steady returns.

focus on food and comfort: spend wisely on food, cooking tools, or skills that promote a healthier, more fulfilling lifestyle (maybe this an RFK thing for my fellow american readers or this could be about the fast food industry suffering from inflation).

by this date stock up on

furniture upgrades if you need them. high-quality cookware or tools. stockpile your pantry staples. first-aid kits, fire extinguishers, and home security systems. water and canned goods for emergencies. paint, tools, or materials for DIY projects. energy-efficient appliances or upgrades to reduce utility costs.

neptune rx in aries/pisces (july 4, 2025 - dec 10, 2025)

advice

avoid financial conflicts: be mindful of shared finances or joint ventures during this time.

avoid escapist spending: stick to a budget.

by this date stock up on

first-aid kits, tools, and essentials for unforeseen events. water filter / waterproof containers. non-perishables and emergency water supplies.

uranus rx in gemini/taurus (july 7, 2025 - feb 3, 2026)

advice

evaluate technology investments: make sure you’re spending money wisely on tech tools, gadgets, or subscriptions. avoid impulsively purchasing the latest gadgets; instead, upgrade only what’s necessary.

diversify streams of income: explore side hustles or gig work to expand your income sources. focus on digital platforms or innovative fields for additional opportunities.

reassess contracts and agreements: take time to revisit financial contracts or business partnerships. ensure all terms are clear and aligned with your goals.

prioritize financial stability: uranus often brings surprises, so focus on strengthening your savings and emergency fund.

avoid major financial risks: uranus retrograde can disrupt markets. avoid speculative ventures and focus on stable, low-risk options.

by this date stock up on

lightweight travel gear or items for local trips. radios, power banks, or portable hotspots in case of disruptions in digital connectivity. stockpile food, water, and household goods to maintain stability during potential disruptions. invest in high-quality, long-lasting items like tools, clothing, or cookware.

saturn rx in aries/pisces (july 13, 2025 - nov 27, 2025)

advice

review career: assess whether your current job or entrepreneurial efforts align with your long-term aspirations (especially considering the state of the world). adjust plans if needed.

strengthen emergency funds: aries energy thrives on readiness. use this time to build/bolster a financial safety net for unforeseen events.

prepare for uncertainty: build a cushion for unexpected financial changes, especially if you work in creative, spiritual, or service-oriented fields.

by this date stock up on

health products that support long-term well-being. essential supplies like first-aid kits, multi-tools, or non-perishables. bath products. teas. art supplies. drinking water or water filtration tools.

jupiter rx in cancer (nov 11, 2025 - march 10, 2026)

advice

strengthen financial foundations: building an emergency fund or reassessing your savings strategy. ensure everything is well-organized and sustainable.

by this date stock up on

quality kitchenware, tools, or cleaning supplies. pantry staples and emergency food supplies.

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