Salaries for Remote Work Have Started to Decline, New Study Reveals

There was a time when it really seemed like people would be able to earn the highest salaries from the comfort of their very own home. In spite of the fact that this is the case, data released by the World Economic Forum revealed that remote job salaries are declining. Back in the third quarter of 2022, 37% of jobs paying more than $200,000 per year were remote, but more recent data shows that this proportion has plummeted to just 12%. This was data from the fourth quarter of 2023, and it reveals that remote jobs are paying less than might have been the case otherwise.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that this trend holds for jobs in the tech sector as well as non-tech related jobs. Hybrid jobs are also seeing the same trend, with 16% of high paying jobs offering hybrid schedules in the first quarter of 2023, which fell to just 3% by the last quarter of the year.

However, it bears mentioning that the World Economic Forum doesn’t think that remote jobs are going anywhere at this current point in time. Jobs might continue to be remote because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up fulfilling worker demand for better work life balance with all things having been considered and taken into account.

In April of 2022, 20% of all job listings on LinkedIn were remote, but this declined to just 8% by December of 2023. It will be interesting to see where things go from here on out, since companies clearly want employees to return to the office, but employees might want to have the freedom that comes with working from home.

One thing that’s for certain is that the work from home trend didn’t become the norm the way so many people expected it to. Quite on the contrary, it started to fade away pretty much as soon as people could start to return to working from the office, and this trend might continue in the future.

Read next: One Out of Six Phishing Email Attachments Get Opened, New Report Reveals
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

One Out of Six Phishing Email Attachments Get Opened, New Report Reveals

The first instance of phishing that was recorded online occurred in 1995, and by 2000, the infamous ILOVEYOU virus made it one of the most renowned forms of cybercrime in the world. In spite of the fact that this is the case, not much progress has been made in reducing the efficacy of phishing in subsequent decades. It bears mentioning that malicious attachments in phishing emails are still among the most widespread security risks out there.

Proofpoint, a cybersecurity firm for enterprises, recently analyzed 183 million simulations that involved phishing in some way, shape or form. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that in a test conducted by IT departments, one out of every six recipients of a phishing email clicked on the attachment.

Another form of phishing that saw a surprisingly high level of success was link based phishing with all things having been considered and taken into account. The way this works is that the recipient will find a link that will either take them to a fraudulent password reset page, or some type of webpage that would result in them downloading malware or ransomware.

Link based phishing was successful in 11% of instances based on the analysis that was conducted by the aforementioned cybersecurity firm. The phishing method that had the lowest success rate of all was that of data entry phishing, which succeeded on just 3% of occasions.

This just goes to show that malicious links make up the most significant phishing threats of all. That’s why it’s so essential to avoid clicking on links that you have received in emails unless you are aware of who sent the email to begin with. Another important thing that people need to do is report phishing as soon as it occurs. Just 18% of the people that fell prey to phishing attempts in these simulations reported what had occurred, and that can make them considerably more dangerous than might have been the case otherwise. The low reporting rate has the potential to allow malware to spread even further.

H/T: Statista.

Read next: Global Smartphone Shipments Set to Reach 1.2 Billion in 2024
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Global Smartphone Shipments Set to Reach 1.2 Billion in 2024

After a period of relative instability, global smartphone shipments are expected to increase by 3% in 2024 with all things having been considered and taken into account. The budget segment in particular was hard hit by the struggling economy, and it appears that it will be seeing a recovery in a wide range of regions including India and the MENA region. In spite of the fact that this is the case this segment is expected to see a 4% downturn this year.

It is important to note that the premium segment is going to see some truly impressive growth as well. It’s estimated that this market segment will see a 17% uptick in shipments in 2024, and as a result of the fact that this is the case, it will be driving much of the rebound that will be seen by the wider industry.

The budget economy segment, which refers to phones that are sold for between $150 and $249, is also going to see an 11% uptick. Apart from budget phones, the worst performing segments in terms of growth will be phones that cost between $250 and $599, which will see a 2% growth rate, and $800 plus, which will see a 3% rate of growth.

Based on what the data is showing, the smartphone industry will continue to see single digit growth in shipments for the foreseeable future. Such trends are crucial because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up bolstering a struggling industry. New OEMs such as Xiaomi are driving some of the growth, with Apple and Huawei helping to boost shipments for premium smartphones as well.

It will be interesting to see if the trend holds, since some companies might not be able to survive for much longer if growth falters in any way, shape or form. Chinese OEMs in particular will want to capitalize on growth at this current point in time since this will make competing with Apple easier than might have been the case otherwise.

H/T: CounterPointResearch

Read next: Data Shows Telegram Revenue Keeps on Increasing after the app Introduced In-app Purchases
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Data Shows Telegram Revenue Keeps on Increasing after the app Introduced In-app Purchases

Ever since Telegram has started monetizing their users in 2022, its revenue has been keeping on increasing. February 2024 is the biggest month for Telegram’s revenue till date.

The company has just raised $300 million after their revenue kept on steadily increasing last year. This raise of money will help Telegram make more profits.

In February, Telegram gained $5.2 in net revenue from Apple’s App Store and Google's Play Store. This is a 13% increase in revenue from January while January had more revenue than December. It just means that Telegram is generating more revenue with each passing month after monetizing the app.

Telegram’s revenue growth is being defined as slow and steady and this means that it can grow a lot more if it keeps on increasing with the same rate. Russia is the biggest contributor of its revenue, followed by Ukraine.

Telegram has earned a total net revenue of $52 million and most of it came from these countries. Downloads of Telegram aren't different from what they were before the monetization. Right now, the number of Telegram downloads on App Store and Play Store are still the same.

There were 26 million total downloads in February and since June 2022, 506 million downloads have been recorded. In June 2022, in-app purchases on Telegram were introduced and according to the data, it didn’t affect the number of downloads of the app.

Most of the app downloads are from India. India makes up about 94 million of the total downloads of Telegram apps since June 2022. This means that Telegram is growing a lot in revenue as well as downloads.

Now we will have to see what the year 2024 will bring for Telegram. The data shows that Telegram is going to grow more in the months to come.

Chart: AppFigures.

Read next: ChatGPT Will Now Cite Its Answer Sources For Enhanced Credibility
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

OpenAI Makes Headwaves With Its Own Voice-Cloning Technology

ChatGPT makers OpenAI seem to be on a roll as the company just unveiled its own voice-cloning initiative.

While the project is said to be both useful and intimidating at the same time, it’s only up for grabs to a limited number of the company’s partners, as of right now.

The latest endeavor is dubbed Voice Engine and it’s designed to clone a user’s voice by simply hearing a voice note comprising just 15 seconds. Additionally, the voice that’s replicated is designed to convey all sorts of emotions and intuitive human speech along the way as well.

This makes the whole AI-themed dialogue very realistic in nature as well. Moreover, the firm adds how it was initially curated in the latter part of 2022 to better support the AI tool, ChatGPT, and its inert ability to convert text to speech. But instead of rolling out Voice Engine to the masses, it has opted to take a halt in that regard as perhaps the world is not quite ready, just yet.

The company rolled out a statement on the matter recently and spoke about how they hope to take on a more cautious and careful approach that’s designed to better cater to respective target audiences.

This carries the potential for voice misuse as mentioned in the blog post that revealed several types of Voice Engine in effect.

Translating content : You can use this for translation in tk multiple language. You can clearly see the voice is close to refrence audio in all languages.
HeyGen is one the ealry adopter of this. pic.twitter.com/86V5E5tpQ7

— AshutoshShrivastava (@ai_for_success) March 29, 2024

Speech generated through AI means is quite different from that seen in referenced audio. And that is the scary part because it does come with its fair share of threats online.

We’re talking about examples where it could be placed in the wrong hands and therefore sure technology might be utilized to remove deepfakes and hence can misinform the audience. However, keeping the risks of misuse on the side, the company feels Voice Engine might be a really useful and successful endeavor for society today.

Whatever the case may be, it’s now getting rolled out in users’ direction from all over the globe including a small figure of trusted individuals. Meanwhile, the company is currently boasting about providing reading assistance to a group of school kids. This would serve as translators too as one person’s voice is made use of to communicate in various kinds of languages.

Meanwhile, another case entails giving rise to voice cloning tech for those individuals who lose their voice, which happens to be a concept that’s quite similar to tech giant and iPhone maker Apple.

Furthermore, the company says it is rolling out Voice Engine through preview modes so that partners can benefit, even if they promise never to make use of this technology for reasons dubbed unauthorized like when impersonating the other.

Partners are said to disclose the respective audience and the voices that are being heard by the software as ‘AI-produced’ to ensure complete transparency when using the technology. In the same manner, OpenAI has added watermarking systems to better detect AI-based audio through Voice Engine.

Still, the company is not providing any kind of guarantee about this being rolled out as a bigger release for all. The voice cloning program is a trial and if things go as planned, we shall be seeing it released across the board. But until then, it all depends on how the whole society generates a response to the growing popularity of AI.

Did we mention how technology is already making it hard to differentiate fact from fiction?

Let’s wait and watch for this experiment to roll out and then see what sort of response comes from the company’s partners.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: Google Has Launched a New AI System in DeepMind Called SAFE that is Claimed to be Better than Humans in Fact-Checking
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Google Has Launched a New AI System in DeepMind Called SAFE that is Claimed to be Better than Humans in Fact-Checking

A new research has found out that Google’s DeepMind can perform better in fact checking than humans. The research was published in a paper and was titled “Long-form factuality in large language models”. In the paper, a fact-checking method called Search-Augmented Factuality Evaluator (SAFE) was talked about and it was found that SAFE breaks down each fact in a document individually and then fact checks it using search on Google.

One of the authors of the study says that SAFE uses Large Language Models (LLMs) to properly break down each fact and first check each fact itself by using its multi-step reasoning process and then also matches the facts with the results in Google Search. To find out if SAFE can be used instead of humans in terms of fact-checking, the researchers tested 16,000 facts with both DeepMind and Humans. It was found that SAFE matched humans 72% of the time. There was also 100 disagreements on facts between humans and SAFE and SAFE proved to be correct 76% of the time.

The paper claims that this LLM can achieve superhuman types of powers but many researchers argue about what ‘superhuman’ really means. Garcy Marcus who is an AI researcher says that he was confused after reading the term ‘superhuman’. He said that researchers are over-hyping the model and this wording doesn’t fit the model. He also added that the researchers meant that SAFE is better than under-paid human fact-checkers. To be really called a superhuman, SAFE needs to compete against many professional human data fact checkers because it is important for having the correct results.

Researchers are claiming that SAFE is 20 times cheaper than human fact checkers. SAFE was also used on many other models like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude etc to check if these models make factual errors. The results showed that the larger models have less factual errors. But some of the best models also generated false claims which shows that we shouldn’t over-rely on these models for factual information. SAFE was good at identifying those false claims.

SAFE Code has been open sourced on GitHub. The other researchers can use that code to fact-check their work and find any mistakes they made with some facts. SAFE has a long way to go and there is a lot of more work it still needs to compete with humans.

Image: DIW-AIgen

Read next: 34% of Americans Say They've Never Heard of ChatGPT
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

34% of Americans Say They've Never Heard of ChatGPT

ChatGPT is one of the most hyped up pieces of tech in the world, but in spite of the fact that this is the case, a fairly significant chunk of Americans haven’t heard of it yet. According to a new poll that was conducted by Pew Research, just 23% of Americans who responded to this survey had actually used ChatGPT at this current point in time. That’s a 5 point uptick from the 18% that said the same in July of 2023, but it’s still not as high as you’d expect.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that adults under the age of 30 were far more likely to have used ChatGPT than might have been the case otherwise. 43% of them said that they have used ChatGPT at some point or another in the past, which is up 10 pounds from the 33% that agreed with this statement in the summer of 2023.

As for adults between the ages of 30 and 49, the proportion rose from 21% to 27% with all things having been considered and taken into account. 17% of adults between the ages of 50 and 64 said that they use it, up from 13%, and even those who are 65 and older reported some level of usage, or 4% to be precise.

It bears mentioning that 34% of the people that responded to this survey stated that they hadn’t even heard of ChatGPT to begin with. This proportion was as high as 36% for Republicans. 38% of all survey respondents were of the opinion that any and all information provided by ChatGPT can’t be trusted, with 10% saying that they trusted some of the information it gave, and just 2% saying that they trusted it a whole lot.

This survey was meant to establish how much election information ChatGPT could provide that would be trusted in any way, shape or form. The low proportion of people willing to rely on it for this all important task just goes to show that ChatGPT isn’t really a trustworthy source of information just yet.

Read next: A Survey Shows that US Adults Are Perceiving Genders Negatively Because of Social Media Content
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

A Survey Shows that US Adults Are Perceiving Genders Negatively Because of Social Media Content

A survey conducted by Morning Consult among 2200 US adults who use social media found out that many users have negative views about gender on social media. Almost all posts on social media are influenced by gender. Even a dinner or color can be defined as girly or boyish. There are also talks about masculinity and femininity on social media. The survey shows that GenZ has many negative views about opposite genders on social media.

30% of the GenZ adults who use social media say that they have started to feel negatively about men and 22% say that they have negative feelings towards women. The things that have influenced their feelings are mostly poor experiences with the gender on social media. In addition to that, many GenZ adults admitted that they see a lot of negative stuff on social media and often doom scroll too.

Even with all this, there is a difference between US GenZ adults and US adults about how much they hate a certain gender even though the feelings of both of them are negative. 10% of the US adults have said that social media has played a great role in shaping their perception about men and women while 15% of GenZ has said that.

The survey also talks about how for GenZ, social media is like their gendered space. Apps like TikTok and Snapchat are more popular among GenZ women while apps like X and Reddit are full of GenZ men. And in these apps, there are a lot of talks about gender and gender biases. A trend on TikTok called the Dating Diaries is getting popular among women where they talk about their bad dating experiences. On the other hand, men on Reddit are demanding rights for men. Misogyny is often a central content theme on Reddit.

62% of the US adults say that negative content on social media is the main reason why most people are perceiving genders this way, not the social media companies. Even if this can worsen the mental health conditions of GenZ, it is nothing that is a threat for which an action should be taken.

Read next: YouTube Shorts Boosts Earnings for 25%+ of Partner Program Channels
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Survey Shows Americans Consider Their Cars as Their Family Members and Most of them Want to Buy Electric Cars

A survey conducted by OnePoll on the behalf of Meineke shows that about half of the Americans think of their cars as part of their family. The survey was done among 2,000 Americans and it was revealed that 51% of Americans said that their car is part of their family while 53% said they would keep their car forever with them if they get the chance. For 22% of the Americans in the survey, they have an emotional attachment with their car while 24% said that they have very fond memories in their car.

Six out of ten respondents also had a practical approach and said that their car is reliable(58%) and 45% said that they want to keep their car forever because of the gas mileage their car has given them. 80% of the Americans said that they would like to keep their car as long as it is saving them money. Some of the respondents(46%) said that they will probably use their current car as they cannot afford a new one. Even with the attachment with the current car, 34% of the surveyed car owners said that they will most likely purchase the same model of their car if given the chance. Only 47% of them said that they will probably look for new and latest models, with the majority saying that they will buy an electric car.

45% of Americans said that electric cars are the future and younger people completely agreed with them. 41% are relieved that they have an option of buying an electric car in the future. 59% of the GenZ and 56% of the millennials agreed to it as compared to GenX(37%) and baby boomers(27%). VP of Marketing Meineke Car Care Centers, Christopher Streahle, said that people are adopting electric cars quickly, with the younger generation more hyped up for it than others. As electric cars are good for the environment too, many car owners are considering buying them.

The survey then asked the respondents the reasons why they would buy an electric car. 35% said that they will buy it as they will then no longer have to pay for gas, 33% said that electric cars are good for the environment and 29% said that they create less pollution. 25% would buy electric cars because of tax credits and 17% said that they would buy them because they have quick and smooth acceleration. But Americans still have doubts about electric cars as 66% say that electric cars have very high costs and 41% think that electric cars will increase their visits to the mechanic.

Read net: These Are The Ideal Cities for Digital Nomads, Madrid Spain Takes the Lead
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

These VPN Apps Are Turning Android Phones into Cybercrime Proxies

A report put out by the Satori threat intelligence team at HUMAN has just published a list of 28 apps on the Google Play Store that can effectively turn Android phones into proxy servers. 17 of these apps are actually VPNs, which people often use in order to circumvent internet blocks or mask their identity with all things having been considered and taken into account. In spite of the fact that this is the case, their phones may actually be getting used to cover up instances of cyber crime.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that these 17 apps were available free of charge, which might make them more enticing to download than might have been the case otherwise. The apps, VPN or otherwise, are as follows:

• Lite VPN
• Anims Keyboard
• Blaze Stride
• Byte Blade VPN
• Android 12 Launcher (by CaptainDroid)
• Android 13 Launcher (by CaptainDroid)
• Android 14 Launcher (by CaptainDroid)
• CaptainDroid Feeds
• Free Old Classic Movies (by CaptainDroid)
• Phone Comparison (by CaptainDroid)
• Fast Fly VPN
• Fast Fox VPN
• Fast Line VPN
• Funny Char Ging Animation
• Limo Edges
• Oko VPN
• Phone App Launcher
• Quick Flow VPN
• Sample VPN
• Secure Thunder
• Shine Secure
• Speed Surf
• Swift Shield VPN
• Turbo Track VPN
• Turbo Tunnel VPN
• Yellow Flash VPN
• VPN Ultra
• Run VPN

These apps contain a monetizing app by the name of LumiApps. The way this works is that a webpage is loaded in the background using the device’s unique IP address which then retrieves data. The data is then sent to companies. It bears mentioning that the use of this app is in line with GDPR, but it also ended up being used to convert devices into proxies.

Image: HumanSecurity

After this report was published, Google ended up removing any and all apps using this monetization platform because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up stopping this campaign in its tracks. These apps are now available again, although they likely don’t contain LumiApps anymore. Google Play Protect is now capable of detecting the use of this SDK, and the presence of these apps indicates that the SDK isn’t present anymore.

In spite of the fact that this is the case, some of these apps were uploaded from diverging accounts. That seems to suggest that the app publisher is trying to circumvent previous bans, and it remains to be seen what Google will end up doing on the matter at hand.

Any user that is using one of the aforementioned apps would do well to delete them as soon as possible. Failing to do so could result in their devices being turned into proxies at this current point in time.

Read next: Cyberbullying Increased After the Pandemic, New Report Reveals
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Cyberbullying Increased After the Pandemic, New Report Reveals

A new report by the World Health Organization has just revealed that cyberbullying among school age children increased during the pandemic as well as in its aftermath. Around 17% of the 37,000 youths surveyed in Wales said that they experienced bullying, and overall the survey involved just under 280,000 children, or 279,000 to be precise. These survey respondents hailed from 44 different countries around the world.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that 12% of boys experienced bullying in 2018, and this number has now risen to 15%. As for girls, the proportion rose from 13% to 16%. The number was even higher in England, with 19% reporting experiencing bullying in some way, shape or form online. This proportion represented the number that had been bullied within the past two months.

It bears mentioning that 11% also acknowledged that they had cyber bullied someone else in that time period with all things having been considered and taken into account. Over in Scotland, the same percentage reported bullying others online, whereas the ones that experienced bullying was at the 18% mark.

Cyber bullying is a serious concern because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up seriously harming the mental health and wellbeing of children. As a result of the fact that this is the case, studies like these are an essential component of the process by which the matter at hand can be fully understood in its entirety.

More work must be done to educate young people about why cyberbullying is something that they shouldn't be taking part in. The pandemic likely drove this trend due to the reason that children were cooped up at home during lockdowns and didn’t really have anywhere that they could go. With screen time frequently hitting six hours per day and the relative anonymity that comes with online interaction, an increase in cyber bullying appears to be something that’s rather inevitable. At the end of the day, it’s something that needs change all in all.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: Cloudflare Blocked 9.3 Million Emails Every Day in 2023
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Google's Battle Against Fraud, Over 270 Million Financially Violating Ads Blocked in 2023

In 2023, Google made a big move to keep its ad space clean and safe. The company’s latest report on ad safety shows that it blocked and got rid of 12.7 million ad accounts because they broke its rules. This number is almost twice as many as the year before. Google also stopped 5.5 billion ads from showing up for the same reason. These ads were not following Google’s guidelines.

The reason this matters is that stopping these bad accounts and ads is important for keeping brands safe and making sure people can shop online without worry. But there’s a tricky side to this. Sometimes, Google might accidentally block ads or accounts that haven’t done anything wrong.

Here’s what Google found last year, it stopped more than 200 million ads that tried to trick people. It blocked over 270 million ads that broke its financial rules. Google also stopped more than 1 billion ads that were harmful, like those spreading malware. The company took major action against more than 395,000 publisher sites, a big increase from the past year.

Google has been updating its rules to fight scams and fraud better. It made 31 changes to its Ads and Publisher policies. Some updates help advertisers avoid showing ads next to content they don’t like. Others help Google stop bad actors more quickly.

Google also started a new policy to limit how much new and unknown advertisers can show ads. Plus, it launched a way for users to see ads from verified advertisers easily. Ai is a big part of Google’s plan to catch bad ads and accounts. Google says AI helps it find and block fraud before it even starts or right away if it slips through. AI and machine learning, especially new technologies, are a key part of checking ads and publisher sites.

Google promises to keep updating its system to fight bad ads. If someone thinks Google was wrong to block their ad, they can ask for another review. Google uses these cases to improve how it checks ads.

Duncan Lennox, a big boss at Google, said that their goal is to stop bad ads and accounts quickly with the help of AI. he mentioned that AI, including new tech, starts most of their checks on ads and sites.

This shows how serious Google is about keeping its ad platform safe and trustworthy, using the latest technology to stay ahead of those trying to break the rules.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: LinkedIn Engagement Soars, 44% Increase in 2024
by Mahrukh Shahid via Digital Information World

ChatGPT Proves Effective in Cybersecurity Tests, Yet Raises Concerns Over Vulnerability Exploitation

A study by Charles Darwin University has found that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help a lot in fighting cyber crime. The study was done by the professors from the Institute of Energy and Resources of CDU and they published their research in the International Journal of Information Security. The researchers from the university used generative AI for penetration testing known as pentesting. Pentesting is often used by cybersecurity to find weak spots in any system. Pentesting testing was performed on AI by giving it a few assessments and activities and then asking ChatGPT to identify threats. The testing included getting into a computing machine to download some files, analyzing their source codes in web pages, and finding previous or hidden flaws.

Dr. Bharanidharan Shanmugam, who took part in this research, said that they did this study to find if generative AI like ChatGPT can be useful to detect any harmful hacks and the results of the study were somewhat satisfactory. According to Shanmugam, ChatGPT is capable of detecting cyber crimes that are led by specific systems and organizations. During the scanning period, ChatGPT can easily do thorough scanning of the target and can then identify vulnerabilities and cyber crime activities in a system.

• Related: ChatGPT Use Ruins Memory and Academic Performance According to This Study By Pakistani Researchers

Even though ChatGPT has proved to be a great tool during the above phases, it is also capable of exploiting vulnerabilities of the machines. ChatGPT is a revolutionary tool for pentesting but it should also be monitored. If ChatGPT is to be used as a cybersecurity tool, it should be adopted after following some practices and guidelines. By using ChatGPT and other generative AI tools, we can maintain a safe digital environment.

Image: DIW-AIgen

Read next: 85% of People Make Health Decisions Based on YouTube Videos
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

85% of People Make Health Decisions Based on YouTube Videos

Medical or health related content on YouTube is quite a massive industry, and it turns out that a surprisingly high proportion of people are relying on it for the purposes of making their own health decisions. According to a recent study that was published by BMC Public Health, 88% of the people that participated in a survey watched content of this variety on YouTube. 85% of these individuals said that this had some kind of an influence on health related decisions that they made with all things having been considered and taken into account.

On top of all of that, 44% went so far as to say that they rely on these YouTube videos to figure out whether or not they need professional medical care or advice for a given ailment. What's more is that they decide on adopting health practices after watching these videos as well.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that 59% of adults are watching health related content on YouTube as of 2022. That is a sharp uptick from the 40% that said the same in 2020, which just goes to show how much influence this rapidly rising genre can end up having on people.

3,000 people were surveyed as part of this study, and it seems to suggest that the proportion may be even higher than previously considered. Such a trend may very well end up being dangerous because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up spreading misinformation. People might potentially believe factually dubious information and make the wrong health related decisions as a result.

15.7% of the people that responded to this survey said that they base their health decisions off of YouTube quite often, indicating that it is a big part of their diagnostic process. With healthcare so far out of reach for such a large chunk of the world, these people may not even have another option apart from relying on whatever information they can get from internet based sources such as YouTube and the like.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: ChatGPT Use Ruins Memory and Academic Performance According to This Study By Pakistani Researchers
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

ChatGPT Use Ruins Memory and Academic Performance According to This Study By Pakistani Researchers

The rise of ChatGPT has made it so that countless students all around the world have turned to it because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up making homework a lot easier to do. However, according to a new study found in the International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, it appears that this trend is making students a fair bit less intelligent than might have been the case otherwise.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that students are relying on ChatGPT in order to deal with an immense amount of academic pressure. It bears mentioning that this leads to chronic procrastination, a decline in memory recall, as well as a spiraling academic performance.

The study in question was conducted at the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences in Pakistan, and it involved two phases that judged whether or not students used ChatGPT at this current point in time. One interesting thing revealed in this study was that students that craved rewards were somewhat less likely to rely on ChatGPT in some way, shape or form.

Another factoid presented in this report was that students didn’t really seem to mind that ChatGPT was producing substandard or inferior work. This seems to suggest that they are merely trying to do the bare minimum, and that they might be the kinds of students that would find workarounds even if ChatGPT wasn’t available to them.

Students were asked to reveal whether or not they used ChatGPT, and the self reported data may not be quite as accurate as some might hope. In spite of the fact that this is the case, it provides a window into the minds of students who are relying on ChatGPT to get through school. More work will have to be done in order to understand the mechanisms at play here, and there will be further studies conducted that will confirm or refute the facts presented. One thing that remains certain is that ChatGPT has changed the nature of academic performance forever.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: Study Finds that Children May Overestimate Smart Speakers Because They Don’t Have Much Information About Them
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

These Are The Ideal Cities for Digital Nomads, Madrid Spain Takes the Lead

With spring right around the corner, tickets to Europe from the US are set to reach their lowest point ever during the year. As a result of the fact that this is the case, many digital nomads will be headed to a series of different destinations all of which have been compiled into a top ten list based on how popular they are. This is based on data from the Digital Nomad Index, and it reveals quite a lot about the state of the digital nomad lifestyle at this current point in time.

It is important to note that three of the most popular cities for these frequent travelers happen to be in Spain. The Digital Nomad visa introduced in this country in December of 2022 taxes just 24% for income up to $645,000, which makes it a much more tantalizing option for nomads than might have been the case otherwise. Here are the ten most popular destinations ranked.

Madrid, Spain

Providing a vibrant cultural tapestry coupled with a low cost of living and access to high speed internet, Madrid has emerged as an excellent option for digital nomads looking to visit Europe. As if that wasn't enough, it also has far better Europe than regions further up north with all things having been considered and taken into account.

Barcelona, Spain

Much like Madrid, Barcelona has a thriving city culture that digital nomads would most certainly be looking to take advantage of. On top of all of that, it has great public transport options along with a low cost of living. Digital Nomad visas for Spain only require you to show an annual income of around $28,000, which many freelancers can manage.

Tampa, Florida

Florida is one of the states in the US that charge the least in taxes. As a result of the fact that this is the case, it has become a bit of a haven for Digital Nomads. The quality of healthcare in this city is also quite high by American standards, and the pleasant climate of Tampa is yet another benefit that brings Digital Nomads in droves.

Las Palmas, Spain

This is yet another city from Spain that many Digital Nomads will be looking to visit. With a beautiful cityscape coupled with white sand beaches just a short walk away, Las Palmas is a great option for Digital Nomads who are interested in an adventurous trip to Spain, as well as those that want to soak up some sun.

Toulouse, France

This is the only French city that made the cut, helped in no small part by the gorgeous architecture that it has to offer. What's more is that this city has an abundance of natural beauty that can be just what a freelancer might need whenever they are trying to get the creative juices flowing, and the aerospace developments happening here are also a factor that may be at play.

Honolulu, Hawaii

Travelers who are on the lookout for a tropical getaway are more than likely going to end up checking out Honolulu. The presence of coworking spaces here is definitely something that suits the freelancer and digital nomad lifestyle, so in a way Honolulu is somehow able to combine the requirements of modern living with tropical beauty.

Lisbon, Portugal

If you are a digital nomad who earns at least $42,000 per year, you might be interested in heading to Lisbon. This city has a thriving culture of coworking spaces that make it an excellent choice for people that work on the go, and the beautiful architecture serves as the cherry on top. Add in the historic tram and it’s rather easy to understand why Lisbon is such a popular destination.

Bari, Italy

This Italian city along the coast offers enchanting views coupled with a dense cityscape that is full of culture. The coast also makes it so that you can get a great deal of seafood that is as fresh as can be, and the dining options provide the beautiful coast in full view.

Bologna, Italy

Anyone that is looking to go to a city for the cuisine will be spoiled for choice if they decide to head to Bologna. There is an academic vibe here that is highly suited to the digital nomad lifestyle.

Rome, Italy

Rome has been one of the greatest cities in the world for thousands of years, so it’s no surprise that digital nomads like to head here for a spell, especially when the weather is perfect like in spring. With views of the coliseum outside your window and great cafes downstairs, this city seems like it was made for digital nomads.

City	Ease of compliance	Legal requirement	Taxes	Housing cost	Access to housing	City affordability	Political stability	Safety and security	Internet	Healthcare	Happiness	Cultural attractions	Mobility	Temperature
Madrid	75.58	72.45	64.5	81.61	88.59	78.92	79.69	88.51	74.53	96	85.2	85.32	91.58	59.78
Barcelona	75.58	72.45	64.5	82.94	87.67	78.73	79.69	88.31	73.76	95.83	84.29	81.68	91.52	63.03
Tampa	82.56	82.2	76.27	76.44	67.63	74.23	81.63	84.83	79.93	91.18	87.91	63	90.18	97.78
Las Palmas	75.58	72.45	64.5	88.47	74.77	87.62	79.69	88.41	72.50	95.11	84.86	59.62	93.71	71.70
Toulouse	84.88	79.59	60.24	88.57	77.72	71.25	83.39	87.41	76.92	93.36	88.1	58.79	90.47	57.52
Honolulu	82.56	88.85	68.7	66.72	67.92	59.36	81.63	84.83	79.93	91.8	90.4	55.89	89.99	100
Lisbon	69.77	74.19	54.12	83.53	84.46	84.89	87.55	87.45	72.41	90.86	75.08	81.62	90.81	55.41
Bari	56.98	76.34	55.68	90.94	100	79.39	76.21	83.62	60.31	91.16	84.69	59.05	91.88	50.00
Bologna	56.98	76.34	55.36	88.3	94.99	72.73	76.21	83.62	60.31	95.18	84.69	60.61	90.25	51.10
Rome	56.98	76.34	54.6	85.61	94.6	72.84	76.21	82.33	61.59	92.38	84.69	68.19	88.66	67.40
Athens	67.44	73.21	60.51	86.06	76.98	83.94	71.9	85.59	58.61	83.24	70.5	68.76	88.42	57.62

Read next: These Are Top States for Remote Work in the US, Highlighting Affordability and Quality of Life Factors
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

This Material is Revolutionizing the Next Generation of Solar Cells

Solar power is one of the most crucial things for researchers to focus on because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up stopping climate change in its tracks. A critical factor that must be considered in solar cells is how efficiently they can convert energy, and researchers just started using a material that is much more efficient than might have been the case otherwise.

It is important to note that silicon currently has an efficiency of 22%. It is the most widely used material for solar cells in the world, but in spite of the fact that this is the case, there are many things that make it less than ideal. The low efficiency aside, silicon is also extremely costly which makes these solar cells a little too expensive for the average consumer.

This is where perovskite comes in. This synthetic material is being called game changer by people like Michael McGehee, who currently teaches in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute at CU Boulder.

The main benefit of perovskite cells is that they can potentially end up converting 50% of available energy into usable electricity, which is a massive step forward with all things having been considered and taken into account. According to McGehee, the renewable energy market will need to grow by at least fivefold and potentially even tenfold in order to meet increasing demand, and the doubling of efficiency brought about by perovskite cells will be a massive help in that regard.

One potential obstacle of perovskite cells is the difficulty of coating it onto glass panels that act as building blocks for the solar system. The use of nitrogen gas in this process reduces the efficiency, so this will be something that will have to be rectified if perovskite can replace silicon as the main source of solar energy. It will be interesting to see where things go from here on out, since this material will have to be optimized in the near future.

Image: AI-gen

Read next: Powering AI May Force Tech to Burn More Fossil Fuels
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Meta Has a Mixed Record With Suppressing Misinformation, New Study Reveals

One of the biggest controversies that have surrounded Meta over the course of the past few years has to do with the vast amount of misinformation on its platforms. This issue became even more prominent than might have been the case otherwise during the Covid-19 pandemic, prompting Meta to adopt a brand new content moderation policy with all things having been considered and taken into account. In spite of the fact that this is the case, a new study that was published in Media International Australia revealed that the strategy has produced mixed results.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that this process is referred to as shadowbanning and content labeling. The former involved reducing the amount of problematic content in the feed through algorithmic methods, but the research shows that it’s not as effective as one might end up assuming.

According to Professor Amelia Johns, one of the lead authors of this study, misinformation actually gets a fair amount of engagement. As a result of the fact that this is the case, it tends to get pushed by the algorithm thereby exposing it to a higher proportion of users at the end of the day.

The main issue at this current point in time appears to be that Meta consistently errs on the side of caution. The company is hesitant about stifling free speech because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up inciting backlash, and this is creating a situation wherein misinformation has the ability to thrive.

The company claims that removing content is not an effective way to make it so that misinformation is suppressed. It asserts that users will find ways to circumvent removal of content, and that shadowbanning and labeling is more effective. However, suppression has not shown many positive results either, so many might suggest that removal would’ve been a far more effective method for getting rid of misinformation once and for all. Meta will need to adjust its moderation policy accordingly, otherwise the issue won’t be going away anytime soon.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: Shocking Study Reveals AI May Be Writing 1 in 3 Software Reviews
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

You Won't Believe How Many Online Reviews Are Being Written by Robots

Since new AI writing tools came out, there's been a big jump in reviews written by artificial intelligence (AI) on websites that talk about software for businesses. Sites like Capterra, G2, and TrustRadius are where users go to read these reviews. The good folks over at OriginalityAI looked at 245,000 reviews on these sites to see which ones might have been written by AI.

They found out that between 10% to 30% of reviews after these AI tools started being used could be from AI. Reviews with the best scores are more likely to be from AI. This means that some products might seem better than they are because of these AI reviews.

Capterra, G2, and TrustRadius all had more AI reviews in the past four years. Before AI tools got popular, less than 10% of reviews were from AI. But after these tools came out, the number of AI reviews went up. TrustRadius, however, has seen a drop in AI reviews recently. They say this is because they don't accept many reviews and are careful about which ones they think are real.

G2 and TrustRadius have seen fewer AI reviews lately. Before the latest AI tool, ChatGPT, came out, Capterra's AI reviews more than doubled. G2 also saw a big increase. But TrustRadius had fewer AI reviews after ChatGPT came out. This shows that some websites are trying to fight against the rise of AI reviews.

The problem is that if many reviews are from AI, it's hard to know if the feedback on products is real. Some of these AI reviews might be based on real user experiences, but it's tricky to tell. Websites are using tools to spot AI-written reviews, but there are still a lot of them. Capterra, for example, saw a big jump in AI reviews recently. This situation makes it hard for people looking for honest opinions on software.

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by Mahrukh Shahid via Digital Information World

Powering AI May Force Tech to Burn More Fossil Fuels

The feverish race to unlock artificial intelligence capabilities has set off an insatiable hunger for electricity among tech's biggest players. This rising tension with the industry's widely-publicized environmental commitments took centerstage at a summit hosted by CERAWeek by S&P Global in Houston Taxis.

While estimating AI's precise power needs remains unclear, the immense computing resources required have sparked a data center construction boom. Tech leaders like Bill Gates emphasized the staggering energy demands, with powerhouse AI systems like ChatGPT consuming amounts far exceeding those of a typical U.S. household.

After listening to Bill Gates at #CERAWeek, here are a few things we align on: 1) We are living in a hydrocarbon-driven economy. 2) As energy demand surges with tech advancements like AI, the energy sector's evolution grows increasingly complex. 3) Emphasizing carbon management… pic.twitter.com/FfObkGKGaD

— Catherine Reheis-Boyd (@WSPAPrez) March 21, 2024

Many executives expressed concerns that traditional renewable sources may lack the consistency needed to reliably meet AI's voracious energy appetites. Wind and solar remain susceptible to variability, while building new nuclear facilities requires lengthy timelines ill-suited for immediate gaps.

The CEO of natural gas company EQT, Toby Rice, depicted an industry unwilling to wait for renewable infrastructure upgrades, articulating tech's urgency by stating natural gas is the inevitable solution. He revealed receiving a torrent of requests to rapidly accelerate natural gas supplies.

The conundrum intensifies under the United States' ambitious goals to eliminate power sector emissions by 2035 and make the entire economy net-zero by 2050. While some industry leaders reaffirmed those targets, Dominion Energy's CEO Robert Blue acknowledged surging AI-driven demand "complicates" achieving that vision.

As artificial intelligence capabilities continue expanding at a blistering pace, powering this growth may force inconvenient trade-offs between environmental leadership and the tech sector's ambitions.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: 2024 Cloud Hosting Insights: Unveiling the Top Four Trends
by Asim BN via Digital Information World

2024 Hosting Insights: Unveiling the Top Four Trends

As the foundation of the online economy, web hosting affects millions of users' daily lives, from casual bloggers to large e-commerce enterprises. The industry's crucial role is highlighted by its progression from basic shared hosting to the current domination of cloud and edge computing technologies.

Staying up-to-date on the latest web hosting trends isn't just beneficial - it's crucial for companies and individuals who want to get the most out of their websites in terms of resources, security, and performance. Understanding modern hosting capabilities allows people to fully leverage and optimize their online presence.

Liquid Web recently released their 2024 State of the Hosting Industry report, where they surveyed 500 business decision makers at mid- to enterprise-level businesses. As we analyze five of the top trends they uncovered this year, we'll look at the challenges and benefits that these trends now house as well as the future potential they hold for the web hosting industry.

Trend #1: Cloud Hosting

Nowadays, cloud hosting is not just an option - it's something that businesses of all sizes widely use. The cloud industry is still evolving rapidly, with new and innovative developments happening all the time. Two examples of these trends are the growing acceptance of serverless architecture (where companies don't have to manage their own servers) and the increasing popularity of using multiple cloud providers (known as a multi-cloud approach).

Image: DIW-Aigen

The survey looked at how common cloud hosting is across different industries. The results were very clear - a huge 71% of businesses now host at least half of their IT systems and data in the cloud. This high number shows just how transformative and widely adopted cloud hosting has become for organizations' digital operations and infrastructure.

Challenges

Despite its prevalence, adopting cloud hosting does come with its set of challenges. The report identified key pain points faced by companies embracing the cloud:

• Security Concerns: 46% of respondents encountered difficulties in ensuring the security of cloud environments due to insufficient visibility.
• Cost Management: Concerns about controlling and maximizing cloud service costs were mentioned by 49% of respondents. Although flexible, the pay-as-you-go concept necessitates close supervision to avoid going over budget.
• Integration Complexities: When transferring current apps to the cloud, 54% of respondents encountered integration complications. For many organizations, integrating seamlessly with old systems and procedures continues to be a persistent difficulty.

Opportunities and Benefits

Even with the difficulties, there are still a lot of advantages and prospects with cloud hosting. The respondents emphasized the following advantages:

• Scalability and Flexibility: 76% agreed that cloud hosting provides both flexibility and scalability. Unmatched agility is provided by the capacity to scale resources up or down in response to demand.
• Innovation Acceleration: According to 63% of respondents, cloud hosting encourages innovation. In a cloud setting, access to cutting-edge technology like artificial intelligence and machine learning is more smooth.
• App Resiliency: 55% discovered that cloud hosting enhances the resiliency of hosted apps. This resiliency is achieved through features like redundancy, automatic scaling, load balancing, and robust monitoring that prevent downtime.

It's clear as we work through the complexities of cloud hosting that, despite some ongoing difficulties, the advantages greatly exceed them.

Trend #2: Edge Computing Integration

Edge computing processes data differently than traditional cloud approaches. Instead of sending all data to a central cloud server, it moves computation closer to the data source, eliminating the need to send everything over the network.

It provides major benefits like reduced latency, faster real-time processing, and less network traffic load. Essentially, edge computing brings cloud processing power closer to where it's needed most, allowing more efficient data processing right at the "edge" near sources.

Though 89% of survey participants reported using edge computing as part of their infrastructure, they still had concerns around some of the challenges.

Challenges

• Operational Complexity: When it came to the deployment and management of edge computing infrastructure, 53% of respondents voiced worries. Because technicians have to monitor and manage edge nodes from one location, careful orchestration is required.
• Skillset Shortages: 55% reported that the talent gap to architect, develop, and operate edge solutions was a big challenge in integrating edge technologies.
• Ecosystem Immaturity: 40% of respondents highlighted that system standards are lacking and that their partners’ solutions were still evolving.

Opportunities and Benefits

• Performance Improvements: 80% of respondents saw improvements such as quick content delivery, lower latency, and a better end-user experience.
• Cost Savings: 57% said that they are experiencing cheaper cloud processing and data transport expenses.
• Increased Innovation: 53% reported that innovation is happening more quickly now because edge computing is making it possible to complete tasks that cloud technology by itself is just not able to do.

As edge computing becomes more widely understood, it becomes clear that implementing it is not only a trend but also an essential economic decision for companies hoping to prosper in the quickly changing digital era.

Trend #3: Serverless Architecture

The term "serverless architecture" is a bit misleading. It doesn't actually mean there are no servers involved. Instead, it refers to abstracting away server management responsibilities from developers. With serverless, the cloud provider handles all the underlying infrastructure, scaling, and maintenance tasks. Developers can then focus solely on writing code.

This serverless paradigm shift enables a more agile development process. It improves scalability since the cloud can automatically scale resources up or down as needed. And it streamlines deployment by reducing overhead.

According to 65% of survey respondents, a primary factor driving serverless adoption is cost savings. With serverless computing, companies only pay for the resources used when their code is actually running, optimizing spending.

Challenges

• Cold Start Latency: 57% expressed concerns about performance, such as the latency experienced during "cold starts" when serverless functions are initiated. Real-time applications may be impacted by this initial delay.
• Vendor Lock-in: 49% of those who had not adopted serverless architecture identified vendor lock-in, security, and surprise costs as potential drawbacks. Following the serverless platform of a particular cloud provider may reduce flexibility and make migration more difficult.
• Obscurity of Architecture: 54% of decision-makers had issues with serverless architecture’s lack of visibility into the underlying infrastructure due to its abstracted nature. Since the infrastructure is hidden, complex distributed logging is required to trace issues.

Opportunities and Benefits

• Cost Efficiency: 65% highlighted cost efficiency benefits, attributed to consumption-based pricing and automated scaling options.
• Easier Rollout Process: 63% experienced improvements in the rollout process with faster releases and feature velocity.
• Higher Availability: 60% noted the high availability and resiliency of serverless architecture due to built-in redundancy, auto-scaling, and failover mechanisms.

As we learn more about serverless architecture, it's clear this paradigm shift is about more than just technology. Serverless represents a fundamental change in how companies approach digital infrastructure and development. It functions as a strategic tool for operating profitably and efficiently online.

By offloading server tasks to the cloud, serverless allows streamlining operations, reducing overhead, and increasing agility. Companies can focus on core products and services. Serverless reshapes the landscape, enabling businesses to be nimbler, cost-effective, and better positioned for digital success. It's an approach that helps organizations thrive, not merely a technical implementation.

Trend #4: Containerization

Containerization is a cutting-edge software development and deployment technique that aims to bundle and isolate dependencies among programs into lightweight, isolated units known as containers. Unlike traditional virtualization techniques, which require a different operating system for every application, containers share the host system's kernel, making them extremely portable and efficient. These containers comprise code, runtime, system libraries, and settings all packed together to enable programs to execute reliably across a range of contexts, from development to production.

Regardless of the supporting infrastructure, containerization offers a standardized and effective means to bundle, distribute, and operate software programs. Through the abstraction of operating system requirements and the packaging of programs with necessary components, containerization improves scalability, flexibility, and portability while streamlining the deployment process.

Containers help operations teams by simplifying administration and resource use, while developers can design, test, and deploy apps more quickly and reliably. All things considered, containerization is a paradigm change in software development that enables enterprises to adopt cutting-edge DevOps procedures, spur creativity, and quickly adjust to changing business requirements.

Challenges

• Talent Shortages: 62% face a scarcity of expertise in containerized app development and operations.
• Regulatory Compliance: 38% of those not currently using containerization expressed uncertainty when it comes to meeting regulatory requirements.
• Integration Concerns: Another 36% worried about integrating containers with proprietary middleware or databases.

Opportunities and Benefits

• Faster Rollout: 64% of respondents see containerization as an opportunity to roll out application changes quicker.
• Improved Utilization: 58% recognize the benefits of containerization in terms of enhanced resource usage, streamlined orchestration, and more targeted development efforts.
• Creative Solutions: 352% acknowledge that container restart policies contribute to bolstering application resilience and availability by enhancing system robustness.

Containerization is a key trend that is changing the software development and deployment environment, as the field is always changing. This method transforms the way programs are packaged, deployed, and run in a variety of settings by encapsulating dependencies into lightweight and portable containers. Although there are obstacles to overcome, such a lack of skilled workers and undefined regulations, containerization presents a wealth of advantages and prospects for enterprises who adopt it.

As emphasized by the survey respondents, containerization has numerous benefits. Containers enable development and operations teams to operate more productively and efficiently by enabling quicker deployment of application updates, improving resource use, and boosting system robustness. Moreover, containerization encourages innovation and creativity by offering a uniform platform for software development and implementation.

Essentially, containerization is a fundamental change in the way businesses approach software development and operations, not merely a technological accomplishment. Organizations may achieve unprecedented levels of agility, scalability, and resilience by utilizing containerization, which will help them remain competitive in the ever-evolving business environment of today. It's becoming increasingly evident that containerization has an influence that goes well beyond technology, influencing software innovation and business success in the years to come.

Final Thoughts

Wrapping up the insights presented by Liquid Web's comprehensive 2024 State of the Hosting Industry Report, several overarching themes emerge, providing a deeper understanding of the evolving hosting landscape:

1. Adaptability is Key: Successful hosts all possess the capacity to adjust to emerging trends. Whether it's embracing edge computing, managing multi-cloud configurations, or embracing serverless architectures, flexibility enables businesses to remain resilient in the face of rapid technological advancement.
2. Balancing Act of Challenges and Opportunities: Every trend brings with it a new set of difficulties, ranging from complicated integration to worries about data protection. But these difficulties frequently mix with a wealth of opportunity. Growth and innovation are unlocked through proactive problem-solving and strategic navigation.
3. User-Centric Approach: Decision-makers and hosting companies are realizing more and more how important the end-user experience is. A user-centric approach anticipates future demands and not simply meets present needs, such as low-code integrations and data privacy compliance.
4. Collaboration and Integration: Cooperative ecosystems are the foundation of hosting in the future. The significance of smooth integrations is highlighted by trends like serverless architectures, multi-cloud methods, and hybrid hosting. The foundation of a strong hosting infrastructure is interoperability and the dismantling of silos.
5. Evolving Role of Data Centers: Conventional data centers go through a metamorphosis and become virtualized entities. Achieving equilibrium between historical systems and modern requirements is essential, since the hosting environment is shifting to prioritize efficiency, sustainability, and scalability.

The web hosting sector is one that is always evolving, full with chances, problems, and innovative ideas. Keeping up with these developments makes you more than just an observer; it empowers you to actively shape the digital future. You can achieve greater success by embracing these trends, overcoming obstacles, and adjusting to the changing web hosting landscape.

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by Irfan Ahmad via Digital Information World

From Chaos to Clarity: Using Mind Maps to Organize Ideas and Projects

Are you feeling overwhelmed by a complex project or big idea? Does your to-do list have you feeling scattered? When you're faced with a tangled mess of information, it can be hard to see the big picture and make progress. Enter the humble mind map with some paper and pens, this technique can transform chaos into clarity.

Image: DIW-AIgen

What Are Mind Maps?

A mindmap is a visual diagram that connects ideas, concepts, and information around a central topic using branches, colors, symbols, and words. By mapping out connections on paper, you can:

· Get the big-picture view of complex projects

· See relationships between ideas

· Identify gaps in your thinking

· Brainstorm new ideas and solutions

· Improve your focus and memory retention

Mind maps leverage the visual and spatial parts of your brain to improve learning, creativity, and organization. Studies show mind mapping can improve memory retention by up to 15% over conventional note-taking.

How to Make a Mind Map

Ready to go from chaotic to organized? Follow these steps:

1. Start with your central idea or topic in the center of the page. This is the core concept you want to focus on.

2. Draw 4-6 branches stemming from the central concept to represent primary thoughts or categories.

3. Add secondary branches with related ideas that stem from the main branches.

4. Use keywords, images, colors, and symbols throughout the map. This engages your visual memory and creativity.

5. Connect different branches together to create links between ideas.

6. You can go as deep with branches and connections as you want - the key is to visually map everything out.

7. Once finished, review the mind map for insights and new connections. Does it reveal any gaps or areas needing development?

Mind Map Uses

With some practice, mind mapping can help you organize almost any complex project or idea. Try using it for:

· Brainstorming sessions - map out thoughts and spur new creative connections.

· Research projects - connect sources, facts, and concepts visually. See how they relate.

· Project management - break down goals, tasks, and resources to see the big picture. Identify priorities and assign tasks.

· Strategic planning - map out objectives, SWOT analyses, options, and key decisions.

· Studying - connect course concepts visually for improved retention.

· Writing projects - map out the key themes, chapters, and connections in your book or article.

· Presentation planning - connect your core ideas and flow visually.

Pro Tip: Use mind map software like Miro for virtual collaboration and organization.

The Power of Visual Organization

Feeling overwhelmed is natural when tackling complex projects and ideas. The humble mind map provides a visual workspace to organize your thoughts and gain clarity. By mapping out connections and priorities, you can focus on the critical details without losing sight of the big picture. Mind maps reveal insights you may have missed in conventional note-taking, helping turn chaos into clarity. Give this creative technique a try for your next big project!
by Asim BN via Digital Information World

These Are Top States for Remote Work in the US, Highlighting Affordability and Quality of Life Factors

In the US, working from anywhere you like has become a big deal. About 11% of people with jobs do this. They use the internet and other tech to do their jobs from different places. This kind of work is getting more popular. A group called DesignRush that looked at different states to see which ones are the best for people who work like this. They checked things like how much it costs to live there, food prices, taxes, and healthcare.

The places in the south of the US looked really good because they don't cost a lot to live in. Mississippi is at the top of the list. It's cheap to rent a place there, and taxes aren't too bad. But, the internet and healthcare can cost more. Mississippi is a friendly place with a strong music culture. Oklahoma comes next. It's super cheap for housing and food, which makes it a great choice. People there are nice, and there's a lot of nature to enjoy.

Image: DIW-AIgen

Arkansas is also good for similar reasons. It's affordable and has a welcoming vibe. There are lots of activities to do in the small towns and cities. Texas is another great option because it doesn't have an income tax. This means people can save more of their money. It's got big cities like Dallas and Austin, and it's known for its tech jobs. Tennessee is fifth on the list because it's cheap to live there, and there's no income tax either.

• Also read: Fiverr Highlights Top 5 Freelance Skills - Web Dev, Video Editing, App Dev, Social Media, AI

North Dakota and South Dakota both offer low rent and a lot of space. They're good for people who like the outdoors. Ohio has reasonable taxes and food prices, plus it's rich in culture. Missouri and Alabama are also on the list. They have low living costs and are becoming tech hubs.

DesignRush's study helps people who work remotely pick the best state for them by looking at important things like housing, food, taxes, and healthcare.

Ranking	State	Features
1.	Mississippi	Affordable rent, average taxes, high transport costs, friendly atmosphere
2.	Oklahoma	Low cost of living, lowest housing and food costs, friendly inhabitants, beautiful scenery
3.	Arkansas	Low cost of living essentials, vibrant atmosphere, various recreational activities
4.	Texas	Zero-income tax policy, competitive living costs, diverse landscapes, technological hubs
5.	Tennessee	Zero-income tax policy, affordability in transportation, healthcare, and food, good quality of life
6.	North Dakota	Low rent prices, connectivity, accessibility, peaceful environment
7.	South Dakota	No tax burdens, economically friendly rent, natural beauty, adventurous opportunities
8.	Ohio	Average taxes, low food prices, dynamic cultural experiences, vibrant cities
9.	Missouri	Low housing costs, adequate living expenses, famous cities, growing tech hubs
10.	Alabama	Low tax rates, affordable living costs, up-and-coming tech hubs, historical significance

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by Mahrukh Shahid via Digital Information World