Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Software Licenses Are Now Easier To Comprehend Thanks To Generative AI

The number of times we’re bombarded with agreements asking for our consent on specific terms and conditions is countless. And that’s especially true in today’s booming digital era where everything seems to be online.

Most of the time, we fail to understand what’s written and simply click on accept without truly realizing the rights as well as drawbacks linked to our choices. But each license should be given due significance because that can really alter a lot of things including the way the software should be used.

A lot of internet users feel the licenses are either too long or complex, not to mention difficult to comprehend. But that’s all changing thanks to the launch of Generative AI. It would not be wrong to claim that the latter is revolutionizing the way users read and understand a specific license in question.

Things are becoming more simplified to comprehend and you can get the best summary of the rights as well as obligations to craft specific queries and even attain a reply depending on the content of the text enlisted.

During the start when we saw OpenAI launch ChatGPT, it was not at all easy due to character limits. Now, it’s a different ballgame as you have tools like Claude 2 that enable attachments for PDF so that AI programs glance over the licenses having plenty of text.

The perfect example in today’s recent times is Netflix. The latter has a long series of terms and conditions regarding usage and password sharing. You’ll see the streaming service allocating fees for account sharing taking place outside the home. And so many people had no clue because they never read the document carefully.

You probably purchased the subscription to ensure media consumption was on track and then broke rules through account sharing with your pals or loved ones located somewhere far from you.

On the other hand, another leading license is related to the rights over the use of a popular AI image creator tool dubbed Dezgo which has a long license document linked to delineating rights as well as the limitations.

You’d definitely like to know if you were running a firm and can make use of certain pictures commercially. If not, the long list of legal proceedings is plenty and no one wishes to be entangled in something of that sort. But that means comprehending a lot of tech-based pointers that are usually unclear at the start.

Thanks to AI tools, you can first see if they provide support for tasks like uploading files and if yes, you can ask if the pictures can be acquired for commercial use. With the document contents, you’ll definitely get the right response.

Today, the world of generative AI can be made use of for evaluating data that’s useful and quick too. We do agree that the flaws are there including being bombarded with questions that are open-ended. And most people do pass that on to the world of Generative AI. But it does mean you can fill in all of the gaps, thanks to AI which was not possible in the past.


Read next: Shifting Fortunes: Unraveling the World's Leading Economies from 2022 to 2075
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

July 2023 Rankings: The World’s Most Visited Websites Around The Globe

If you happen to be an avid internet user, we’re sure you’re familiar with a long list of websites from all over the world.

The figure for website giants who have been making it big are plenty but only the best continued to dominate in an unmatched manner. And in case you’re wondering which websites and apps ranked the highest, we’ve got some great news for you.

Thanks to stats taken from SimilarWeb by Datareportal, here is the world ranking for the most visited websites based on the type and amount of traffic they managed to generate. So let’s take a look!

Most Visited Websites By Type

You’ll be amazed at how specific themes did remarkably better than all others. But there are no surprises here that the theme of social media reigned supreme against all others.


Both the domains of chat and messaging as well as social networks had the greatest number of users with figures going up to 94%. Meanwhile, those comprising search engines stood in third place with 80.4%. Shopping and auctions took the fourth spot in the global website rankings list with 74.5% while location-based websites occupied the fifth spot with 53.8%.

Email, weather, music, and news websites had less than 50% of the user market engaged. Furthermore, other areas of less interest included games, mobility, banking, sports, and travel.

Most Visited Websites By Traffic

With a monthly average of 88 billion total user visits, the popular Alphabet-owned website Google is now standing at the top of the list with the largest figures for its classic flagship domain which is Google.com. The company that generates 80% of its earnings through ads is really doing great on this front where users visit at least 8 pages on an average basis.

In the second place, it’s Google’s popular video-sharing app called YouTube where the total number of visits by users every month stands at 33.4 billion. Every month, 2 billion users visit the platform to make the most of their leisure time on this app where they get to view all sorts of videos.

The third, fourth, and fifth rankings went to popular social media apps Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with 17 billion, 6.58, and 6.57 total user visits on the platforms each month.

It’s interesting to see China’s top search engine Baidu falling short of the top most visited websites from all over the world. It just had 267 million visitors arriving on the platform each month, completely away from the one billion figure seen for websites that made the top five list for most visited websites.

And while TikTok does appear to be a leader in the social media app sector, it ranked number 15.


Read next: Cracking the Code: Assessing the Power of Social Media Ads
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Data Shows The Reliable Web Source and News Apps On The Internet

According to insights complied by Meltwater and WeAreSocial, which are based on SimilarWeb data, the well-known and trusted website users get their information from is YAHOO.COM, coming in first place with 406 million unique visitors and 3.27 billion total visits, both based on a monthly average. The average time spent by each user per visit was 8 minutes and 23 seconds, and the average number of engagement was 5.57 pages per visit.

The second is QQ.COM, with 180 million unique visitors and 806 million total visits. The average time per visit is 3 minutes and 20 seconds, with 3.39 being the average pages per visit. Third, we have MSN.COM with 166 million unique visitors and 702 million total visits. The average time per visit is longer than the previous one, with 5 minutes and 19 seconds, and 4.93 being the average pages per visit.

In sixth place, we have CNN.COM with 138 million unique visitors, 587 million total visits, 3 minutes and 3 seconds being the average time, and 2.34 pages on average per visit. Next that follows is NYTIMES.COM, with 138 million unique visitors, 575 million total visits; the average time spent on the website is 3 minutes and 18 seconds, with 2.67 pages on average for each visit.

Right after NYTIMES is DAILYMAIL.CO.UK at the eighth rank with 86.4 million unique visitors and 391 million total visits, the time on average per visit is 4 minutes and 23 seconds for 3.30 pages.

FORBES.COM comes in at the fourteenth place with 72.1 million unique visitors, 119 million total visits, 1 minute and 16 seconds being the average time per visit. The average number of pages per visit is 2.01.

Once again, the figures stated for unique visitors and total visits are all based on a monthly average.

Quite shockingly, the actual news website for NEWS.YAHOO.COM comes in at last, the twentieth ranking with a total of 59.7 million unique visitors, 243 million in total visits, 3 minutes and 25 seconds being the time spent for 2.54 pages, both for each visit.


On the other side, Data.AI collected information on mobile applications that users have shown a direct preference for as their source of reliable news. The data is sourced from the 'news and magazines' section and ranked based on active user monthly averages over one year between July 2022 and June 2023. They based their list on user activity on both iPhone and Android phones.

The first app is Google News by the company Alphabet. The second is Dailyhunt by the company of the same name. Third is Hindi News by Dainik Bhaskar by the company D B CORP and next is UpDay. Fifth is Yahoo! Japan by Softbank. The BBC company application, BBC News, comes in eleventh on the list, with Opera News the company Opera quickly following at the twelfth rank. CNN NEWS by Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox News by Fox Corporation were also on the list, coming in at fourteenth and fifteenth rank, respectively. Finally, at the twentieth spot came the NYTIMES app by the company NY TIMES.
by Ahmed Naeem via Digital Information World

Instagram's Wacky New Update: From Message Requests to Chat Invitations!

Hey there, fellow netizens! Today, we'll delve into the strange and weird world of Instagram's newest upgrade, as posted by the ever-curious Ahmed Ghanem. Prepare for the shift that has the whole social media globe talking!

Background: The Mysterious Message Request Feature

Consider this: You're going through your Instagram account when a bizarre message from someone you don't know appears. Raise your eyebrows! Welcome to the realm of the "Message Request" function, where non-followers' communications creep into your inbox like sneaky ninjas.

The New Update: Enter Chat Invitations


Ahmed Ghanem's tweet reveals an Instagram creative masterstroke: they're replacing the mystical "Message Requests" with something more straightforward: "Chat Invitations." There will be no more hidden communications from strangers! Instead, the first communication you get will be a kind invitation. How friendly!

Consequences of the New Update

Ah, the tremendous move elicits both joy and doubt. On the one hand, the update's main goal is to improve user safety. Instagram hopes that converting messages into chat invitations will offer you greater control over your inbox and keep those creepy crawlies at bay. No more unwanted texts to spoil your day!

Advantages: The Sun Shines After the Rain

Let us enjoy the bright side of this news. To begin, "Chat Invitations" allow you to choose whether or not to accept the chat. Goodbye, uncomfortable talks with weird bots and "I found you on Explore and thought we'd be BFFs" messages. It's a win-win for creators since it lowers spam and allows them to engage with actual fans.

Disadvantages: The Clouds on the Horizon

Not everyone, though, is flinging confetti. Some people are concerned that converting communications to "Chat Invitations" would hinder spontaneous encounters. Remember when you discovered your long-lost penfriend from Peru? Those chance meetings might become a thing of the past, leaving us all yearning for a sprinkling of randomness.

The Instagram Update Fiesta in a Nutshell

That's all there is to it, guys! Instagram's latest change, which converts "Message Requests" into "Chat Invitations," has provided much-needed relief to users concerned about online safety. While it opens up a world of regulated contacts, it also raises the question of whether unforeseen connections may be lost along the road.

Remember that change is unavoidable and that sometimes we must say goodbye to the old to accept the new. So, let us raise our virtual glasses to Instagram's bold action and watch how it plays out in the huge world of social media. Happy chatting (invitations) till next time!

Read next: Top Instagram Celebrities Earn Over $1 Million Per Post, Here’s Who They Are
by Rubah Usman via Digital Information World

Monday, July 24, 2023

New Study Proves Large Language Models Fail To Accurately Process Longer Context Windows

A new study compiled by top researchers at Stanford University is challenging a very popular concept related to Large Language Models.

LLMs were usually considered to be great at taking in large documents and producing an accurate understanding of what exactly is taking place, churning out search results of a higher degree. But you’ll be amazed at how that might not be the case.

The study published recently claims that the exact opposite is actually true. Not only do such models fail to attain enough access to the document, but they’re also not great at making use of the right data provided to them when bombarded with long context windows. The latter is the term used for the text length processed and the response proved at any point in time. So it’s like thinking of it as a form of memory when conducting a chat with the AI-powered tool.

This study really did manage to attain a lot of attention across the board after it was published as so many developers started to experiment with it and took on the assumption that the bigger the context window, the better the accuracy and performance. And that would make it so much more useful across so many domains.

But now, the opposition is growing to how longer text documents aren’t great at enabling comprehension of a great degree and any queries put out by the user aren’t going to be given a response as one would hope.

With that being said, we’re still seeing so many top firms dealing with LLM produce more variations in models that are said to work great with large context windows. For instance, we’re talking 100k tokens for producing a summary of a long chat and putting out drafts of the sort.

When you go back to the study, it proves how so many facts being outlined about long context windows are getting super flawed. The chance to search and correctly analyze data is not up to the mark as per the researcher’s findings.

In reality, the models performed at their best when the right data arose at the start or toward the end but when the length was extra long, the performance seen at the middle of the document was poor for longer length documents. Meanwhile, the performance would just drop down when the content became longer.

As the study gains popularity and acceptance, many leading tech CEOs are using it while citing evidence about how you don’t need to stuff a whole document inside Windows to carry out a search.

So, what’s the solution as the problem seems to be a major one to deal with right now.

Experts feel the answer is a semantic search. There is no longer the need to stuff in documents. Instead, it’s a great idea to make use of vector databases that would stay viable for a long time. One common example is Pinecone who is providing such services to make the lives of users easier.

Pinecone is designed for the sole purpose of search. However, another point worth a mention is how this new study by Stanford is not claiming that putting documents of long length into the context window will prevent it from working.

The end result ultimately depends on the likes of the content in question that is being analyzed. As it is, LLMs aren’t too great at differentiating between several things at the same time that happen to be linked. However, they are great at noting down anything relevant, especially when the rest happens to be far from the topic of interest.


Read next: ChatGPT In The Spotlight: Where The Popular Yet Controversial App Stands Today May Surprise You
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Web Design Mistakes That Can Hurt Your Online Reputation and Customer Experience

It takes site visitors 1/10th of a second to judge your brand. As such, for businesses that rely on online presence, prospects, and customers make determinations primarily based on website design. Online businesses and brands with an online presence should reconsider their website design if it isn’t appealing enough to attract customers within 50 milliseconds.

Photo: unsplash

Developing a website that directly resonates with the target customers’ demands and expectations is certainly challenging. However, it is possible if businesses can avoid some simple mistakes. For instance, dental hospitals looking to capitalize on their online presence should adopt a dental website design that allows patients to find, evaluate, and book their services without struggling. The same applies to ticketing businesses, rentals, and ecommerce stores.

How a Poor Web Design Affects Your Business

Simple web design mistakes can cost your business a fortune. Below are a few ways web design mistakes affect customer experience and online reputation.

1. Hurts your brand reputation

Unsurprisingly, 75% of customers judge a business’s credibility based on its web design. Simple web design mistakes can cost your brand a good reputation. For instance, customers can abandon their cart if they can’t easily find what they are searching for. Your business incurs significant losses and diminished revenue.

2. Customer experience is affected

More than 80% of online shoppers said they couldn’t return to websites without wanting a customer experience. User experience can make or break your success in converting generated leads. You shouldn’t ignore customer experience to gain a competitive edge in your niche. Customers criticize a poor web design. It negatively affects their purchase intent and drives them to competitor websites.

3. Poor conversion rates

Almost 60% of online customers say they won’t recommend businesses with poorly designed websites. As mentioned, web design mistakes can ruin customer experience, making them rethink their purchase decision. Common mistakes, such as failing to optimize your website with the right call to action, not making it mobile-friendly, and using cluttered navigation tools, can significantly drop conversion rates.

4. High bounce rate

More than 90% of internet users reject websites based on design-related issues. You should reevaluate your web design aspects if your bounce rate is over 70%. A high website bounce rate means you aren’t attracting the right visitors, or site visitors don’t enjoy the user experience. Inconsistent design elements and cluttered navigation are common web design mistakes that increase your site's bounce rate.

5. Low engagement rate

Approximately 38% of internet users stop engaging websites with unattractive layouts. A user-friendly website design/layout can hold site visitors long enough and make finding what they are searching for easy. Web design mistakes, such as cluttered navigation, boring design, and minimal white space, can make site visitors uneasy.

Critical Web Design Mistakes to Avoid

As mentioned, a poor web design can hurt your online reputation, customer experience, and other hallmarks of business success. That said, below are common web design mistakes to avoid.

1. Inconsistent design elements

Websites with consistent design elements make it easy for visitors to familiarize themselves with site components and UI patterns. Sites with uniform text arrangement and fonts enjoy better readability, scalability, and navigation. To achieve this:
  • Have site menus in the same position
  • Use the same logo, fonts, and colors
  • Optimize website interaction elements like CTA buttons
  • Don’t overload the website with many elements
  • Have a clear visual hierarchy

2. Unattractive website theme and color

Unfortunately, internet users won’t stay longer on a messy and unattractive website. As mentioned, a first impression is very crucial. If your website has good traffic but getting minimal conversions, low engagement, and a high bounce rate, chances are the color and theme are the problems. Below are a few tips to fix this:
  • Choose brand colors that can arouse visitors emotionally
  • Follow the 60/30/10 rule: 60% dominant, 30% secondary, and 10% accent colors
  • Understand color psychology

3. Unresponsive UI

An unresponsive UI can take a toll on your website traffic. Unlike before, designing a website for a single device isn’t enough. A big percentage (51%) of website traffic currently comes from mobile devices. This underscores the importance of having a responsive and flexible website. If your website isn’t responsive, consider the following:
  • Adopt a minimalistic design approach
  • Have a defined website topography
  • Develop a fluid grid
  • Test website responsiveness for different devices regularly

4. Clumsy navigation

A Stanford University study found that websites that are easy to navigate have more credibility. Unfortunately, most business owners don’t stress this fact. A clumsy navigation tool won’t motivate your site visitors to go beyond the home page. They won’t spend time checking other product options and prices. To avoid this:
  • Plan your website navigation using a sitemap
  • Use a sticky menu
  • Prioritize website pages
  • Add a clearly visible search bar
  • Limit the number of items on your navigation tool
  • You should maintain a consistent navigation bar across all web pages. Working with a professional web designer is prudent.

5. Slow loading speed

Loading speed essentially refers to how long it takes for a webpage to display its contents. Website loading speed is an important Google ranking factor and affects the customer experience. Modern internet users prefer websites that load content in a blink of an eye. If your website takes long to load:
  • Optimize image size: Optimizing image sizes on your website significantly increases load speed. Using .jpg image files is the best way to achieve this. With .jpg files, you can be sure of high-resolution photos and visuals that won’t affect site load speed.
  • Use white space: Great use of white space also reduces data consumption. As the name suggests, white space is unused space on web pages. It has no text, images, or videos. Proper use of white space spreads web content and design elements, which accommodates mobile users. Site visitors can read your content with ease. White space also helps web pages load quickly.
  • Remove auto-play multimedia: Disabling auto-play in audio and video files also improves site loading speed. Doing this means users won’t use much of their mobile data when accessing your site from their smartphones. Autoplay is also an irritating way of promoting content. Disable autoplay to allow site visitors to manually activate visuals if interested.

6. Not addressing customer needs

A good web design should go beyond creating an aesthetically pleasing website. Your website should primarily focus on addressing customer needs. You should identify your target customers and know what they hope to get from your site. For instance, websites for established businesses should have a professional appearance that reflects the brand. Customers should easily find what they want.

On the other hand, a website for retail stores should focus on improving the customer’s shopping experience. The website should have basic features, such as an attractive product display and an easy checkout process. Understanding the target audience and designing a website around their needs ensures that you provide customers with the best experience.

7. Unsecured website

Security is another important element of web design that can hurt your site’s reputation and customer experience. Websites that aren’t secured with SSL certificates are a barrier to site visitors and SEO. Internet users promptly get a warning of an insecure website. Google and other search engines warn them before granting access. These notifications affect the number of people visiting your site.

Endnote

There’s a lot that goes into designing a good website for your business. Online visitors will come back to your website if they find what they are searching for with ease. Simple web design mistakes can affect your business growth and reach. You can avoid the mistakes mentioned above by working with web design experts.

by Web Desk via Digital Information World

The Rise of Self-Diagnoses: Teens on Social Media Seek Mental Health Labels

Social media sites such as TikTok and Instagram have recently evolved into destinations for more than simply amusing videos and interesting information. A disturbing trend is rising as more youth use these sites to self-diagnose mental health issues. Adolescents have identified with labels such as ADHD, autism, depression, and others due to the impact of content providers freely expressing their own diagnoses and symptom checklists.

While some parents value the mental health information accessible on social media, there are rising worries regarding self-diagnosis accuracy and the possible harm caused by mislabeling. To protect vulnerable youth, experts advise social media firms to create protections and promote responsible content creation. However, with long waitlists for professional help and the residual effects of the epidemic, properly addressing this mental health crisis remains a struggle.

The Impact of Social Media on Teen Mental Health

Social media sites have received growing attention for their potential to expose younger users to hazardous information and worsen teen mental health difficulties. However, over two dozen parents have now expressed a new concern: kids using these sites to self-diagnose mental health issues. Because of the ease with which kids may obtain information about various disorders, they have begun to self-identify with symptoms to which they may be related.

Parents indicate that their teenagers spend time searching for videos concerning mental health illnesses and that as time passes, they begin to connect with the producers they follow. This identification can lead to various self-diagnoses, including ADHD, depression, autism, and agoraphobia. As a result, it appears like a new self-diagnosed ailment emerges every week, leaving parents anxious about their child's well-being.

The Potential Risks of Self-Diagnosing

While the internet has increased access to knowledge, it has also increased the potential for misunderstanding and misdiagnosis. Teens may mislabel their mental health issues, leading to incorrect judgments about their difficulties. A false sense of identity-based on a non-professional diagnosis can damage adolescent behaviour and alter their sense of self.

Dr Larry D. Mitnaul, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, has noticed an upsurge in teens self-diagnosing due to social media posts. ADHD, autistic spectrum disorder, and dissociative identity disorder are among the most common self-diagnoses. This tendency and adolescent emotional fragility can be upsetting, driving individuals to seek identification through labels that may not adequately represent their mental health.

According to experts, some teenagers may over-identify with certain identities to excuse their actions in social circumstances. Teens typically see social media users discussing psychiatric diseases as trustworthy sources, either because they themselves suffer from the disorder or self-identify as experts on the subject. This can encourage people to self-diagnose and seek information about their perceived problems.

The Function of Social Media Companies

Parents and professionals underline the need for social media firms to take measures to safeguard young users from the risks of self-diagnosis. They propose implementing algorithms to detect excessive consumption of specific mental health content, which could trigger a reminder for users to take breaks and reflect on their consumption habits. Responsible content creation and moderation are vital to ensure that misleading or harmful information is not widely spread.

While some platforms have introduced features to promote well-being and limit exposure to certain content, more proactive measures are necessary to combat the negative effects of self-diagnosing on teen mental health.

What should be done?

As the trend of self-diagnosing mental health conditions on social media continues, it poses significant challenges for parents, experts, and social media companies. While some teens find support and understanding through these platforms, many are at risk of misinterpreting symptoms and self-identifying with misleading labels.

To solve this issue, responsible content development and suitable instruction are required. Social media businesses must take the initiative to put measures in place to protect vulnerable users, particularly minors, from self-diagnosis risks.

Summing up

Parents and educators should actively interact with their adolescent children about their internet experiences, assisting them in navigating the large quantity of information accessible and encouraging them to seek expert guidance when required. We can encourage good online behaviours and shield young minds from the hazards connected with self-diagnosing mental health issues on social media if we work together and take a proactive approach.


Read next: Public Backlash: The Surprising Fallout of Politicians' Incivility on Social Media
by Rubah Usman via Digital Information World