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Retooling the economy to meet the climate crisis has both opportunities and risks for the plastics industry, as a pair of recent decisions by President Joe Biden on electric cars and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on packaging illustrate.
First, the opportunity: On Aug. 5, Biden announced a target that by 2030, 50 percent of new cars sold in the U.S. should be electric vehicles, including plug-in hybrids and fuel cell models. That goal was immediately praised by the plastics division of the American Chemistry Council, which noted the role plastics play in making cars lighter, building better batteries and extending the range of electric vehicles.
Biden portrayed it as helping the U.S. take a leadership role in the technology and supporting domestic jobs. He also announced the development of new fuel economy and emission standards that ACC saw as another positive for lightweight plastics in cars.
But the next day, across the country, the risks were on display, too.
Brown on Aug. 6 signed legislation making Oregon just the second state, after Maine, to adopt extended producer responsibility legislation that will require companies to pay more to shoulder the burden of packaging recycling.
Plastic packaging recycling rates are dismal, and China's 2018 ban on imports of low-value plastics and paper scrap exposed the serious shortcomings with recycling in the United States.
EPR systems are complex, and a lot remains unknown about how they'll impact packaging material choices. But as EPR systems take shape and assess fees, certainly the use-and-dispose model for most plastic packaging is not good.
In both Oregon and Maine, there has to be a lot of detailed rule writing by governments to figure out fees companies pay and how to adjust for things like recycled content, recycling rates and overall environmental impact of the packaging.
But it's clear that in both states, governments are fed up with taxpayers footing most of the bill for packaging recycling. The EPR laws so far are not going the way the packaging industry would prefer.
In each state, the industry group Ameripen knocked the new laws.
St. Paul, Minn.-based Ameripen, which counts plastics firms Berry Global, Charter Nex Films, Dart Container and Dow Inc. among its members, said both Oregon and Maine are not giving industry a big enough role.
In Maine, Ameripen noted specifically that it supported a different EPR bill than the one that ultimately passed, which it said leaves companies "on the outside of the process and forced to foot the bill for a system where the Maine Department of Environmental Protection is the sole decision-maker."
In Oregon, it said similar things, that it was "disappointed" the new law "does not grant producers a greater role in the development of the program."
Ameripen made it clear that it believes companies have some financial responsibility for collecting and recycling and wanted to work with the states.
But it seems that so far, states are saying that because they've had the financial burden of unrecyclable packaging, they want to be the driving force behind how the EPR systems are designed.
The federal government is also paying much more attention, as shown by the recent news that a key U.S. senator on plastics policy wants a 20-cent-per-pound tax on virgin resin to help recycling, clean up marine debris and address environmental justice and pollution impacts from plastic production.
Which brings us back to Washington and electric vehicle policy.
ACC welcomed the Biden administration's ambitious electric vehicle target and its push for new fuel efficiency standards because they will "expand opportunities for lightweight, durable plastics" and for technologies to drive down emissions.
ACC noted that plastics make up 50 percent of a car by volume but only 10 percent by weight.
"We're pleased that President Biden's executive order calls for 'expansion of the full domestic manufacturing supply chain,' which includes the companies that create the modern plastics that will play an essential role in enabling electric vehicles," said Joshua Baca, ACC's vice president of plastics.
Other federal legislation is also recognizing the role of plastics.
ACC pointed out that House transportation and energy spending plans for next year include money to work on lower carbon vehicles, including plastics automotive recovery.
One House subcommittee, for example, noted in budget language "the importance that lightweight plastics and polymer composites play" around vehicle safety, innovation, fuel efficiency and adding skilled manufacturing jobs.
"Lightweight plastics help automakers build safer, more fuel-efficient cars and are essential to creating our nation's low-carbon infrastructure," Baca said in commenting on the House plans.
That's the landscape for the plastics industry in Washington and state capitals today.
There are opportunities to make a good case that plastics have an important role in meeting climate and environmental goals in durable goods like cars. But there's also increasing pressure to do more — and contribute more financially — around plastic packaging waste and environmental pollution from plastic production.
Underlying it all is the need to continue working on the long-range goal of decoupling plastic resin manufacturing from fossil fuels so that we can make most of the plastic we need from renewable sources like recycling existing materials or using bio-based feedstocks.
Steve Toloken is a Plastics News assistant managing editor. Follow him on Twitter @Steve_Toloken.


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“The future is private”. Four words spoken by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg may have implications for business owners and their ability to reach and engage with current and potential customers.
By Grace Griffiths (our work experience student) In a world where technology is slowly making formerly ordinary things such as shopping in stores and writing letters to family who live
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Think about the last time you bought a product or hired a service. Chances are that you researched a range of providers beforehand and eventually selected the business that had
In everything humans do, stories are essential.
It’s no secret that people love their mobile phones.
A whopping 87 per cent of all Australians access the internet every day. The vast majority of these people use Google as their designated search engine; over 90 per cent
It’s important to regularly update the content on your website. Though it can be time-consuming, adding fresh content on a regular basis holds many benefits. Here are our top seven
Social media is a wonderful tool for business owners. It allows you to advertise, share content and information, as well as providing a two-way conversation with consumers and customers. Yet
“OK Google, how do I account for voice searches in my digital content?” Voice internet searching is becoming increasingly common. Virtual assistants like Apple’s Siri, Google Home, Microsoft’s Cortana and
Getting your content seen or heard can prove a big challenge, irrespective of its quality. There’s such a surplus of content that yours can easily be buried in the avalanche.
While most focus on making strong impressions in person, many business owners and professionals neglect their online presence. Given that 80% of prospective employers trawl through internet archives before an
How often have you sat down to share your thoughts about your business and expertise, only to be disheartened when the content doesn’t come out as engaging as it sounded
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Email marketing has become one of the most essential advertising techniques for modern businesses. Put simply, businesses promote themselves to current and potential customers through direct email messaging. The main
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Linked in is the premier networking site for professionals. It has over 187 million users worldwide and is one of the most effective sites for building business to business relationships.
We are now living in an almost completely digital age. For small business owners, this means social media has become not only a place for updates, but a fully-fledged marketing
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A new year means new trends in the world of Content Marketing. Recognising these trends and understanding them will separate your content from the overwhelming mass of content this is

domain: news


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- Reddit links leaked trade deal documents to Russian campaign Today 10:44 AM
- How to stream Alistair Overeem vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik Today 8:30 AM
- Amazon sends customers condoms and soap instead of Nintendo Switch Today 8:28 AM
- How to live stream Jermall Charlo vs. Dennis Hogan Today 8:00 AM
- Apple TV’s ‘Truth Be Told’ is a criminally dull drama Today 6:00 AM
- Thousands of Uber users have reported sexual assaults, company says Friday 5:40 PM
- ‘Astronomy Club’ reformats the sketch show Friday 4:58 PM
- Trump is concerned America’s toilets too weak Friday 3:53 PM
- Twitter users claim Billie Eilish is ‘over’ because she didn’t like Lady Gaga’s meat dress Friday 2:53 PM
- Nikki Haley says the Confederate flag was fine until Dylann Roof ‘hijacked’ it Friday 2:49 PM
- How emotional labor discourse spawned multiple memes Friday 2:22 PM
- Video of YouTuber Onision threatening ex-girlfriend resurfaces Friday 2:03 PM
- Marianne Williamson embraces anti-vax stance on Facebook Friday 1:58 PM
- Peloton Husband is worried memes will have ‘repercussions’ for his career Friday 1:55 PM
- ‘The Mandalorian’ stumbles as it returns to a familiar planet Friday 1:47 PM
Amazon is throwing money around to make voice-recognition tech awesome
After launching its Echo personal assistant, Amazon focuses on the bigger picture.
The Alexa Fund, named after the software that makes the company’s new Amazon Echo gadget so good at recognizing speech, “is open to anyone with an innovative idea for how voice technology can improve customers’ lives,” Amazon said in a press release.
The $180 Amazon Echo sold out almost instantly after going on sale Wednesday, owing to rave reviews from participants in the public beta. Reviewers singled out the Echo’s ability, using its Alexa algorithm, to correctly recognize speech across surprising distances. Amazon designed the Echo to fill a need for accurate, always-on voice recognition that even today’s top-of-the-line smartphones can’t always meet.
In addition to launching the Alexa Fund, Amazon also announced APIs for Alexa, called the Alexa Skills Kit, to let third-party developers use Alexa in their services and add capabilities to the algorithm.
The Alexa Fund has already invested in seven projects, including Orange Chef, a startup that links together smart kitchen gadgets and lets people query them by voice. There is also MARA, an exercise assistant that responds to verbal commands, thus replacing the need to interrupt a workout by reaching for one’s device.
Amazon isn’t just offering money. In its press release, the company also promised “tools such as early access to SDK capabilities, hands-on development support for hardware or software, enhanced marketing support on Amazon.com, [and] placement at Amazon showcase events.”
Screengrab via Amazon/YouTube
Eric Geller is a politics reporter who focuses on cybersecurity, surveillance, encryption, and privacy. A former staff writer at the Daily Dot, Geller joined Politico in June 2016, where he's focused on policymaking at the White House, the Justice Department, the State Department, and the Commerce Department.


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CLINTON, Miss.—Continental Tire the Americas broke ground in Clinton last November on its $1.4 billion commercial tire plant, but the first tires aren't expected to roll off the production line for more than 2½ years.
Between now and then, that leaves a lot of work to be done. Site clearing began in September 2016, plant construction won't begin until 2018 and the first tire is scheduled to be manufactured in December 2019.
"We've got this project in two phases because it's such a big site," Grant Bovim, Continental's project manager for the plant, said of the 1,000-acre plot the factory will be built on.
The first part is to develop the site, he said, with the second phase being construction of the facility. "It's really about the execution," Bovim said. "We have a plan now, what we want to do with the site. Then it's just to get all the team members together and make sure we meet our deadline within the right budget."
Starting from 'Square Zero'
Being able to construct a tire factory from scratch is a big advantage rather than trying to expand an existing site.
The Continental official joined the firm in 1988 as a young training engineer. From there, he became a project engineer and then moved into manufacturing. The South African native then became production manager for the plant in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
That plant is a good example of what happens with older facilities. "It was an older plant and it almost grows like a mushroom," Bovim said. "The flow is not always the correct flow."
That's the top benefit of starting new. "You get the flow of the material going in one side of the plant and the tires coming out the other side," he said.
It also helps to have everything new, according to Bovim. All the machinery is the same, and newer facilities tend to be more energy efficient, which helps bring down long-term production costs.
Continental also got a site with a clean slate, as the government and the Mississippi Development Authority took care of several obstacles during the two-year negotiating period. Those challenges included: relocation of 270 marked and unmarked burial plots; transfer of land from an education trust to Continental, in exchange for land the company donated to the school system; and mitigation of wetlands issues.
"All the local issues were handled by the MDA," Bovim said. "We took ownership of the site in late September. The MDA handed over what we called a clean site."
Time to move dirt
Plant sites typically are flat, but that wasn't the case in Clinton, bringing a longer timeline to get from groundbreaking to tire production. The site has undulations and a 45-foot drop from North to South, according to the Conti executive.
"Normally when we get a site it would be flat and we'd be ready to start (installing foundation) pilings a month after groundbreaking," he said. "Here we need to move 4 million cubic yards of dirt. The plan is to start piling in October."
While tire manufacturing is still farther down the horizon, the firm already is looking toward training needs. Continental has met with Hinds County Community College, Bovim said, to work with them to ensure that training requirements are tailored to the needs of the tire industry. The firm at a later stage also will work with several state universities.
Construction of the training center, in fact, will begin this July just outside the fence line of the tire production campus, Bovim said. "That's an important part of the project. We want it completed by July 2018 so we can already be using it to onboard our people and start training before we start installation of machinery,"
Looking ahead to production
Production during the first phase will be scaled to meet market requirements, with Bovim himself slated to transition to plant manager. "When you run the project, you become the plant manager so you make sure you build it correctly and you staff it correctly," he said.
Construction activities are expected to be finished by the end of 2021, with employment at the time projected at about 2,500, the company said. Conti can expand the scope of the facility beyond truck/bus tires if needed.
Several dealer customers who attended groundbreaking ceremonies are encouraged by Conti's vision for the site.
Bryan Ahern said Conti is the biggest supplier for his family's Cassidy Tire & Service chain that has 15 locations in the Chicago area, with business split evenly between commercial and passenger. "It's exciting to see them move up," Ahern said. "It's become the tire of choice and people are asking for the product, on the passenger side and especially now on the commercial side."
Continental is the largest truck tire vendor for McMahon's Best One Tire & Auto Care, which has five locations based out of Fort Wayne. They are affiliated with the Best One group, which boasts about 250 locations.
"Building these plants shows that they're here in America to stay," said Bubba McMahon III. "You can say it's made in America, and that's a huge selling point to a lot of people."
His wife, Kim, said they've been selling Conti tires for years, but business has grown substantially in recent years. "They're trying to make a move and become a bigger part of the market, and we think that's great," she said. "Our business with Continental has gone through the roof in the last five or six years."
Redburn Tire Co. in Phoenix has been a General Tire dealer since 1934 and became a Continental customer when the German firm bought General. Corporate Sales Manager Dave Richards agreed that building the plant in the U.S. sends a strong message. "I think it's really good they're investing in the states," he said. "They could have gone anywhere in the world."
Richards said Conti has made strides in the last decade to become a cradle-to-grave supplier for commercial tires.
"I'm impressed by their knowledge," he said. "Technically they're a very sound group. I think they push hard for that. If you have tire questions, Continental is going to answer for you, and I like that part of it."


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One of every five beauty purchases online is made via the Amazon marketplace, according to a new report.
Films are available after 90-day pay-TV window expires in a deal with studio-supported Epix.
Netflix Inc. signed a five-year agreement with Epix that makes the premium movie channel’s library of films available to Netflix subscribers to instantly stream to their computers or televisions. The agreement greatly expands Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” streaming video library.
Epix, a fledgling premium pay movie channel available in about 4 million homes, is a joint venture among Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Lionsgate studios. Combined with agreements made with other companies, the new agreement provides Netflix subscribers streaming video access to about 46% of new Hollywood movies, a Netflix spokesman says. The Epix agreement preserves a 90-day pay-TV window, which means the films are available about three months after their debut on pay TV. Epix films will be available Sept. 1.
Netflix, No. 14 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide signed a similar distribution agreement with Starz in 2008. In July, it signed a deal worth more than $100 million a year with Relativity Media that makes films available to stream at the same time they hit pay TV. Netflix launched the Watch Instantly service in 2007 with 2,000 mostly older titles.
“Adding Epix to our growing library of streaming content, as the exclusive Internet-only distributor of this great content, marks the continued emergence of Netflix as a leader in entertainment delivered over the web,” says Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix. The company says last year 61% of its approximately 15 million subscribers streamed a TV show or film online.
Netflix is the No. 3 paid video provider in the country after Comcast and Time Warner, according to Forrester Research. Netflix’s latest deal makes it a greater threat to cable TV providers, says James L. McQuivey, a Forrester analyst. “There’s going to be a gradual awareness on the part of consumers that the premium movie channels they pay for on cable are not as necessary as they used to be,” he says.
Josh Bell, executive director of research firm Interpret says the move is about preparing for what’s next. “People are still renting DVDs. Streaming might not take over tomorrow but that is certainly in its future,” he says. Research documents Netflix’s growth in streaming video. Among all consumers who streamed online video in the last three months, 19% report using Netflix’s streaming service during the first quarter of 2010 compared with 14% in Q1 2009, Interpret says.
Neither Netflix nor Epix commented on the financial terms of the deal. But when an analyst asked Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer about a report that Netflix would pay Epix $1 billion over five years Feltheimer replied that number was “mostly in the ballpark.”
If the $1 billion figure is accurate, McQuivey says it would be a fair price for Netflix, considering how it helps Netflix lock up the streaming video market. “Netflix is going to try to get more revenue out of this deal, not to pay Epix, but to be able to go out to other studios to secure the rest of what they need,” he says. McQuivey predicts Netflix will charge more for the streaming service by early 2011, perhaps by charging more to receive a higher-quality video stream or by limiting the newest releases to subscribers willing to pay extra.


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Alex Sancaya has been promoted to the role of Managing Director for Sony Music Entertainment, Indonesia. his appointment comes less than a year after Julius Ng was appointed Managing Director of Sony Music Entertainment Malaysia and Singapore.
Handlin said of Sancaya: “During this time he has led and directed Sony Music Indonesia’s business operations with distinction and enthusiasm which has seen the company exceed its business plan targets and he has established excellent relations with our local artists and business partners.”
Handlin also added that Indonesia is an “important market for Sony Music with a vibrant local artist community.”
Prior to Sony Music, Sancaya held senior management positions at FMCG companies including L’Oreal and Danone.Music Business Worldwide


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In Advertiser Perceptions’ first report using the rebranded DV360, formerly DoubleClick for Advertisers, Google remains head honcho among DSPs.
Despite Google’s seemingly unstoppable momentum, some marketers expect a shake-up when Google pulls its ad ID from programmatic campaigns, a policy that’s live in Europe and expected to roll out worldwide next year.
How the Google policy would impact the DSP market is hard to predict, Mannion said, because buyers are divided and unsure of the effects.
Nineteen percent of survey respondents said Google’s policy change would deepen the relationship, while 14% said they would work less with Google. The prevailing sentiment is to wait and see.
And Google’s DSP is usually resilient to marketers’ concerns, Mannion said.
For instance, Amazon and some smaller players outrank Google on metrics like personal preference or intent to spend later in the year. But Google is utterly dominant on the three “selection drivers” that anchor account decisions: audience reach, a proven track record and an intuitive user interface.
Amazon DSP, master of managed service, needs self-service improvements
Amazon has set itself apart as the No. 2 to Google in the DSP market. But it has excelled with certain categories, whereas Google’s strength is in its blanket adoption.
Amazon-endemic brands, the kind of companies with retail trade marketing programs they can shift online or dedicated ecommerce marketing teams, are “fueling Amazon’s DSP growth,” Mannion said.
Amazon is also the No. 1 choice for managed service DSP accounts – when marketers pass budgets to a platform to spend on their behalf, without control over inventory or targeting (Amazon and Facebook stand out in this regard).
“Marketers are interested in and excited about working with Amazon,” Mannion said. “But when it comes to self-serve advertisers they don’t have the features and capabilities that are part of the criteria.”
The Trade Desk is best for self-service
The Trade Desk rounds out the DSP podium, and is the last clear “winner” in the category, in terms of products known to be profitable and securing market share, Mannion said.
Google is everywhere and Amazon is the DSP of choice for managed service marketers. But The Trade Desk represents the strongest challenger among self-service marketers.
The Trade Desk ranks third as the preferred DSP for all survey respondents, trailing Amazon and Google. Among self-serve DSP marketers, though, The Trade Desk leaps to the top.
What The Trade Desk has going for it is that the market is moving toward self-service tech.
Most respondents use primarily managed service tech through media networks like Google, Amazon or Facebook, where inventory is bought on behalf of marketers without granular reporting.
“But even though most respondents identify using managed service, the growth indicators favor self-serve,” Mannion said.
MediaMath makes gains with managed services
MediaMath has been one of the biggest overall DSP gainers in the past year.
Unlike The Trade Desk and most other programmatic ecosystem players, MediaMath has a strong managed service business, Mannion said.
Like The Trade Desk, though, MediaMath has benefited from the consolidation of ad-buying platforms by large tech players – like Adobe buying TubeMogul, Verizon packaging AOL and Yahoo into Verizon Media Group (née Oath) and AT&T’s deal for AppNexus, now Xandr Invest.
And managed service can be more defensible than self-serve tech, even though it’s a lower-growth category. For instance, The Trade Desk has won a lot of share from early DSPs, but managed service isn’t part of The Trade Desk’s DNA, Mannion said, so that business is less at risk.
Adobe Advertising Cloud is independent and well-integrated
Adobe and TubeMogul, the DSP it acquired in 2016, dropped off the map for a couple of years as the marketing cloud integrated its new video-buying tech.
“We’ve started to see Adobe making up a lot of ground in the past year, however,” Mannion said.
Adobe’s “intention trends” have grown quickly, and its DSP product is now the clear fourth option behind the top three in terms of which platforms marketers plan to use in the next year.
Adobe benefits from being a major player that can solidify its DSP’s reputation and create integrations across the ecosystem, two important metrics marketers cite as DSP selection criteria, Mannion said. And Adobe is also an “independent” that doesn’t own inventory, unlike Google, Amazon or AT&T.
The result is that Adobe can compete for practically any up-for-grabs account, whether managed or self-service, while others must focus on categories where they have a strong pitch.


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New Diet: Forget Excising, Just Eat Clay?
Pretty soon we'll have to start seeing all kinds of Facebook posts about how people plan on getting in shape in 2019.
New Years resolutions are upon us. That means gyms and fad diets are in our future. What if you could skip working out and eating healthy and just swallow some clay once and a while?
According to News Atlas, scientists are fighting obesity by studying clay that attacks fat cells. Apparently, this is not new theories. A recent study conducted with lab rats actually showed the clay beat out rats that were being fed weight loss supplements.
Before I jump on the clay diet i'll want more rock solid evidence...


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PCB maker Unitech saw its 2019 revenues surge 14.73% on year to a record high of NT$22.42 billion (US$749.89 million) on strong shipments of rigid-flex boards for AirPods 2, and stronger shipment momentum is expected to send its revenues hitting a new peak in 2020, according to industry sources.
Thanks to Apple gearing up to boost its share of the TWS (true wireless stereo) headsets market with AirPods, Unitech's revenue contribution ratio for rigid-flex boards shipments for the devices rose to over 50% in 2019, and the ratio may ramp up further in 2020 given the company's clear order visibility for AirPods 2 throughout at least the first half of the year, the sources said.
But Unitech has said that it will strive to boost rigid-flex board capacity utilization by removing manufacturing bottlenecks of its existing production lines, and will not set up new capacity unless orders from clients pick up significantly.
3528 Flexible Led Strip
Unitech is expected to see its rigid-flex boards adopted by more TWS headsets brands due to the firm's relatively mature technology for the segment, despite AirPods Pro adopting the solution of SiP+flexible boards involving higher cost and assembly difficulty, the sources said.
Unitech has also landed sufficient orders for anylayer HDI boards for handset battery modules, tablets and notebooks to boost its capacity utilization in the first half of 2020, the sources added.
Mini LEDs and micro LEDs are expected to become improved backlighting solutions that can significantly enhance displays quality and create added value in the upcoming years.
Printed Circuit Board, Rigid Pcb, Flex Pcb, Isola Pcb - Golden Triangle,http://www.gtpcba.com/


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Essential Worker Groups Plan Nationwide Strike for May Day
A loose coalition of independent worker groups from Whole Foods, Target, Instacart, Amazon, and similar companies are calling for another strike—this time on Friday, May 1—to protest what have been deemed unsafe conditions faced by essential employees during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, especially as coronavirus restrictions begin to lift, potentially further increasing risk to worker safety.
Since the strike isn’t organized by any one official union, it’s being referred to by a number of names and hashtags. Whole Worker—which previously encouraged Whole Foods employees to call out sick on March 31—is once again calling this event a “Sickout” as part of #EssentialWorkersDay—timed to coincide with International Workers Day. A group called Target Workers Unite is also calling for a “Mass Sickout” with the hashtag #Strike4OurLives. Meanwhile, reporter Michael Sainato shared a number of posts on Twitter including one referring to the event as the “Mayday General Strike” with #generalstrike2020 and others that demonstrated additional support from workers at places like Trader Joe’s and Shipt. The Intercept reported that participants have also committed to join from other well-known brands like Walmart and FedEx, too.
Due to the nature of these calls, specific demands are hard to pin down but the overarching message is that these workers want improved safety measures, including better access to PPEs, and better pay and health insurance that reflects the additional hazards their jobs now entail.
However, what is once again not clear is how many people will actually be participating in this strike and what sort of impact those strikers will be able to have across so many fronts. After Whole Workers’ March 31 Sickout, Whole Foods Market dismissed the protest with a statement saying, “It is disappointing that a small but vocal group, many of whom are not employed by Whole Foods Market, have been given a platform to inaccurately portray the collective voice of our 95,000+ Team Members who are heroically showing up every day to provide our communities with an essential service. So far today we have seen no changes to overall absenteeism and we continue to operate all of our stores without interruption.”
Whole Worker itself seemed to acknowledge the need to improve, writing that they “gathered feedback from our last action and implemented […] changes in our organizing strategy.” And obviously, the simple fact that another strike is necessary with nearly identical demands would seem to demonstrate that work is left to be done.
So will tomorrow be different? “It’s more powerful when we come together,” Chris Smalls told Vice’s Motherboard. Smalls, who is a lead organizer of this new strike, was controversially fired from Amazon’s Staten Island fulfillment center. “We formed an alliance between a bunch of different companies because we all have one common goal which is to save the lives of workers and communities.”


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Mondelēz International has announced an agreement to acquire Clif Bar, the leading U.S. maker of nutritious energy bars with organic ingredients, for $2.9 billion with additional contingent earnout consideration. The acquisition will expand Mondelēz International’s global snack bar business to more than $1 billion, including its complementary refrigerated snacking business Perfect Snacks in the U.S. and leading performance nutrition business Grenade in the U.K. The acquisition also advances the company’s strategy to reshape its portfolio to sustain higher long-term growth.
Mondelēz International will continue to operate the Clif Bar business from its headquarters in Emeryville, Calif. The company will continue to manufacture Clif Bar products in its facilities in Twin Falls, Idaho, and Indianapolis, Ind.
|Mondelez International Planning to Sell Chewing Gum Business|
The transaction is expected to be top-line accretive in year two and to create cost synergies by using Mondelēz International’s global and North American scale to expand Clif’s sales distribution and to gain further penetration in existing and new customers and channels in the U.S. Subject to customary closing conditions and a pre-closing F reorganization and conversion to a limited liability company by Clif Bar, the transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year, following customary regulatory review.
The acquisition will build on Mondelēz International’s prioritization of fast-growing snacking segments in key geographies. So far this year, Mondelēz International has announced an agreement to acquire Ricolino, Mexico’s leading confectionery company, from Grupo Bimbo and closed on its acquisition of Chipita S.A., a leader in the Central and Eastern European snack-size cakes and pastries category.


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Dark is divine: What colour are Indian gods and goddesses?
In India where light skin is coveted, a new campaign is re-imagining popular Hindu gods and goddesses with a darker skin, writes the BBC's Geeta Pandey in Delhi.
The desire for fairer skin is not new in India and for centuries, fair complexion has been considered superior.
Fairness creams are among the highest selling cosmetic products in the country and top Bollywood actors and actresses regularly appear in commercials endorsing fairness products.
In recent years, creams and gels have been introduced which claim to lighten armpit hair and even female genitals, and advertisements encourage customers to believe that lighter skin tones would help them improve their lives by getting a better job or win them love.
In the past few years, there have been campaigns such as Dark is Beautiful and #unfairandlovely, calling on people to celebrate dark skin.
Yet, the unhealthy obsession with light skin has continued and, as ad filmmaker Bharadwaj Sundar says, it's not just limited to earthly beings, it includes the divine too.
"All the images of the popular gods and goddesses that we see around us, photographs in our home shrines or prayer halls, online, on calendars, stickers and posters in shops and pasted behind auto-rickshaws, all show them to be light-skinned."
In a culture obsessed with fairness, Mr Sundar points out that even Krishna, who is described as a dark-skinned god in the scriptures, is often shown as fair. And so is the elephant-headed Ganesha, even though there are no white elephants in India.
"Everyone here prefers fair skin. But I am a dark-skinned person and all my friends are dark-skinned too. So how do I identify with fair-skinned gods and goddesses?"
To fight this disconnect, Mr Sundar, who is based in the southern city of Chennai, teamed up with photographer Naresh Nil and the two have come up with "Dark is Divine" - a project that portrays gods and goddesses with a darker skin colour.
They recruited "dusky" male and female models, dressed them up as gods and goddesses and shot the campaign images over two days in December and the result is quite stunning.
Model Suruthi Periyasamy told the BBC that she had to face too many rejections in the past "because no-one wanted a dusky model" and that she was "thrilled" when she was chosen to portray Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth.
"Lakshmi is the most popular goddess in India, everyone wants a daughter-in-law like her because she brings prosperity so I feel so blessed to be her."
Ms Periyasamy says everyone talks about working with dark-skinned models, but no-one really encourages them. She says she hopes that this campaign will "change the minds of some people to allow us to shine in life".
Since the campaign was launched last month, Mr Sundar says they have received lots of calls and the responses have been largely positive, though some people have accused them of unfair biases, pointing out that goddess Kali is always portrayed as black.
Mr Sundar says he's a devout Hindu and does not mean disrespect to anyone but "if we look around, we find that 99.99% times, the divine is fair-skinned".
"Appearance plays a major role in how we perceive people, especially women, and we felt that this needed to be addressed," he says.
"And through the Dark is Divine project, we are trying to challenge the belief that fair skin is superior."


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It's not just school lunches that are getting attention
from the White House. Updates to nutrition labels will be announced later this week, according to anonymous sources talking to POLITICO
From the former:
Food policy experts are guessing that the changes will result in calories being displayed more prominently and serving sizes more in line with what American consumers are actually eating.
Other changes, which could be unveiled with multiple format options, might include dropping and adding certain nutrients from the list of vitamins and minerals with daily value percentages, dropping the requirement to list “calories from fat” or adding whole wheat percentages. Most experts expect the FDA will require more accurate serving sizes, as the current labels are based on decades old data on consumer consumption.
From the latter:
The government is largely playing catch-up as the nation’s eating habits, food trends and advancements in obesity research have evolved since 1993, when food labels bearing basic calorie counts and fat grams became standard. The new labels will likely make calories more prominent, differentiate between natural and added sugars and make serving sizes more realistic.
That first attempt was an interesting time, according to D.C. lawyer Bruce Silverglade
, who worked on the standards at the time.
"We wanted the nutrient content of foods to be expressed both 1) in terms of a customary serving of the food; and 2) in terms that would enable the public to understand whether a serving of the food had relatively high or low amounts of each nutrient listed. ...
"Looking back, requirements for mandatory nutrition labeling did not provide all of the benefits that were anticipated."


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New passenger service system will make the company more agile
Cabo Verde Airlines will officially restart its operations on June 18 with a weekly flight on Fridays between Sal Island and Lisbon. The resumption will be gradual, connecting the archipelago through the hub in Sal.
From June 28 2021 until March 28 2022, Cabo Verde Airlines will make four weekly flights between Praia/Sal and Lisbon on Fridays and Mondays; a weekly flight to and from Sal/Praia/Boston on Tuesdays with return on Wednesdays and a weekly flight to and from Sal/São Vicente/Paris on Saturdays with return on Sundays.
Cabo Verde Airlines also informs that, depending on the rate of vaccination and the unblocking of international borders, it expects to launch new frequencies and additional destinations, if pandemic conditions will permit it.
The airline informs that it has a new passenger service system, named HITIT, a modern platform with an integrated sales, operations and accounting solution, a new technology that will increase the efficiency and reliability of customer service.
Erlendur Svavarsson, CEO of Cabo Verde Airlines says, “We are excited that we can finally resuscitate the airline from the ashes of the pandemic. The beaches of Sal, the unique restaurants and the warm and hospitable cape verdean people will welcome guests back to a destination truly different from all others. This is just the beginning, and we are looking forward to creating a better future”, he adds.
Note that Cabo Verde Airlines has been stopped since March 2020, took advantage of this forced stop of the pandemic to reorganize itself, train its teams and implement a new sales system that allows it to automatically notify passengers of all flights in progress, a huge investment in customer experience that is expected to be fruitful to make the company more agile and reliable.
The company will also have a rebate program for unpaid flights vouchers, which allows travel to be scheduled up to three years after the issue, a program that aims to compensate all passengers for canceled flights, as a result of the sudden pandemic that has plagued all airlines.


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Kanye West’s unorthodox Yeezy Foam Runner has quickly garnered a following, with each release not only instantly selling out, but also re-selling for 4-5 times the retail price. The eco-friendly model’s momentum will carry on into the summer, when another new colorway is expected to arrive.
According to The Yeezy Mafia, a pair dubbed “Ochre” will be joining the Foam Runner lineup. The brownish yellow pair gets its name from a natural earth pigment that bears a similar hue. This follows reports that the model will also release in “Mineral Blue” and “Red October” colorways later this year.
Expect the “Ochre” Foam Runner to arrive in July 2021 for $80. We’ll update you with official images and release information in the months ahead.
UPDATE (09/17): Adidas has confirmed that the “Ochre” Yeezy Foam Runner is releasing tomorrow, Sept. 18 via Confirmed and at select retailers for $80.


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VCs and startup CEOs join hands to launch Covid-19-focussed Grant
Apr 1, 2020The Action Covid Team Grants, which is possibly a first-of-its-kind initiative globally, has already received about 40% of its target corpus.
Startups seek change in listing requirement
Sep 18, 2019The startups want a revision in rules that govern the listing of startups on Indian stock exchanges.
PayU, Fosun closing $10m round in DotPe
Sep 16, 2019Additionally, a number of high-profile angel investors are also expected to pump money into the company.
WhiteHat Jr scores $10 million in Series A
Sep 10, 2019 This is the second ed-tech bet by Owl in India in the last three months.
Investopad founders open $25 million Good Capital fund
Sep 9, 2019The development comes even as a number of marquee investors, such have launched their seed-stage investment vehicles, at a time when early-stage financing for India’s startup ecosystem has dipped.
Drivezy gets parking at Oyo post agreement
Sep 9, 2019"Our association with Drivezy will help us add a new dimension to our service offerings,” Gaurav Ajmera, COO — India and South Asia at Oyo, said.
OYO Hotels & Homes acquires co-working firm Innov8
Jul 16, 2019As part of the acquisition, OYO will also onboard an estimated 150 Innov8 employees on to its rolls.
SoftBank elevates Vision Fund CEO Rajeev Misra to executive VP
Jun 4, 2018This potentially places the veteran banker among those in line to succeed the Tokyo-based company’s founder Masayoshi Son.
Snapdeal's CFO Anup Vikal puts in his papers
Oct 17, 2017Vikal led the failed acquisition talks on behalf of the ecommerce marketplace with Flipkart and was reportedly in favour of the deal going through
Copyright © 2021 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service


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VADO has appointed Paul Cook to the position of specification area sales manager for the South East Region. Paul has previously worked for Bette, Vitra and Twyfords.
Pete Mersh, VADO’s UK specification national sales manager said: “Paul’s considerable knowledge and experience will ensure our specification customers in the South East region continue to receive the excellent support they’ve come to expect from VADO.”
Meanwhile, VADO’s retail team continues to grow in line with its expanding retail business and it has appointed Rich Keohane as its area sales manager for the South Wales and West region. Rich has previously worked for Kohler Mira.
Mark Davidge, VADO’s director of UK Retail Sales said: “Rich’s enthusiasm and industry knowledge guarantee that VADO’s customers in the South Wales and West region will continue to enjoy our unmatched levels of customer service.”


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Food sector reform: Tackling the runaway food inflation train
Nothing can be more ironic than to have food inflation at 18% (August 2013 over last August) in a country that takes pride in enacting the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and bestowing "the right to food" to 67% of its population by promising 5 kg cereals per capita per month (pcpm) at highly subsidised rates.
Given that cereals consumption is 10.7 kg pcpm, people will have to face the markets for at least half of their cereal needs, and much of the other foods ranging from fruits and vegetables to protein. But inflation in vegetables is at 78% with onions going through the roof, and in protein foods at 19%. Even cereals are up at 14%, with the basic staple, rice, at 20%.
Much of this is self-inflicted and controllable, provided we are ready to take some bold steps.
While food inflation hovered below 4% during FY 2001 to FY 2008, it jumped to double digits during FY 2009 to FY 2013 and is continuing at that pace. One reason was the big fiscal stimulus of FY 2009, just before the last election, which doubled the fiscal deficit in a single year.
In a country where an average household spends almost half of its expenditure on food, it was but natural that this increased spending will put pressure on food prices.
The supply response in agriculture is positive and gave a high farm GDP growth in response to better price incentives, but not so high as to keep have to control food prices in the medium term, we must wind down the fiscal stimulus in a calibrated way.
That's where the dilemma between growth and food inflation appears. Though the fiscal stimulus helped raise overall growth, it also pumped up lot of expenditure through NREGA-type activities.
These have led to an unprecedented increase in farm wages, which have been growing at almost 18% per annum for the last five years. This is causing cost push food inflation, partly also via MSPs responding to rising costs in farming.
Unless labour and land productivity increases faster, this pressure on food inflation is going to stay. But policymakers can do a lot to bring food inflation from 18% to less than 7%, if not below 4%. The government has huge stocks of cereals, way above what it needs for its commitments under NFSA. At least 20 million tonnes of rice and wheat can be liquidated in the domestic market at pragmatic prices (wheat at Rs 1,400/quintal and rice at Rs 1,900/qtl).
Next, import duties on fruits and vegetables can be slashed to zero or 5%, from the current levels of 30% in most cases. In case of onions, government will have to import large quantities and distribute that in domestic markets at below market prices to break cartels of rent seekers, if there are any.
But a more durable solution to perishable commodities lies in exempting them from the APMC Act, and encouraging more efficient value chains that connect farmer groups with processors and organised retailers.
We have been too slow and timid in building these value chains. Processing is critical to stabilise prices of fresh perishable products. Even in case of onions, if the government gives priority to promote dehydrated chopped onions (given that onions have 80-85% water), they can be stored easily in large quantities for much longer, and consumers can easily switch to these when the prices of fresh onions go sky-high.
This processing technology exists in India and some processors are already exporting dehydrated onions to countries like Japan. The government can keep some stocks of these to stabilise prices, whenever the need arises. Several other vegetables and fruits, eggs, meat and fish also need this processing.
Our processing levels are generally less than 5% in most fresh products compared to 20-50% in south-east Asian economies. This is the biggest investment opportunity in transforming the food sector, creating millions of jobs in the rural non-farm sector, and connecting hinterlands with the fast growing middle class, while keeping food inflation below 4%.
(Ashok Gulati is Chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices. Co-authored with Shweta Saini, consultant, ICRIER. Views are personal)


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On July 29, U.S. News and World Report touted annuities as a hot new investment for the coming years. The report concluded that these “misunderstood” investments were seeing record sales and overdue for high-tech innovations that will greatly increase their appeal.
Recent regulatory changes are also improving the reputation of annuities this summer. This July, the IRS released an official notice of new regulations, which would place strict limits on the ability of financial institutions, like insurers, to offer lump sum payments instead of the standard defined benefit annuity payments.
In certain types of annuity plans, retirees were being offered lump sum payouts rather than lifetime payments, which the IRS said transferred an unacceptable amount of risk to retirees. Not only that, but the normally divided California legislature unanimously voted to prevent insurance companies from levying surrender charges on death benefit annuities. Surrender charges fined annuity holders for withdrawing funds early, a practice opposed by politicians and senior citizen advocacy groups.
In 2013, there were about 34 million outstanding annuity contracts, valued at a total of $2.5 trillion. This year, the recent changes by the IRS, states like California, and the expectation of technology related innovation in annuity sales have investors reconsidering their take on annuities.
“By 2020, we’re going to see people able to buy annuities direct,” said annuities expert Stan Haithcock. “Whenever you have that kind of online sales model, you get a guy like Jeff Bezos who takes an Amazon approach and says, ‘I’m going to sell annuities direct.’
“In fact, it surprises me that Bezos hasn’t done it already.”
Investors and consumers have often been wary of fixed benefit annuities, which are often far too complex for laypeople to understand. Others criticize annuities with early withdrawal surrender charges, which place strict limits on the annuity holder’s financial flexibility. Although California will prevent surrender charges starting January 1, 2016, most types of annuity contracts will remain unaffected.


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Last year, over 150 women lined up on the streets of New York to get their blood drawn in a white and yellow van. The van was offering free anti-mullerian hormone tests to celebrate the launch of fertility startup Kindbody.
Although this hormone test doesn’t directly predict overall fertility, it can help predict the success of in vitro fertilization and egg freezing — and that’s enough to get people lining up around the block.
IVF and egg freezing have grown in popularity over the past few years. There are many reasons for this, but the upshot is that many women now take a more proactive approach toward their fertility. Kindbody recognizes this trend and thinks it can help.
Kindbody recently raised $10 million in funding from GV — Alphabet’s VC wing, formerly known as Google Ventures. This brings the company’s total funding to $32 million.
Kindbody offers fertility and healthcare services, which includes things like fertility testing, fertility preservation, healthcare for women, supplements and more. The company has a digital healthcare platform for members, as well as locations in New York, San Francisco and LA. It also accepts a handful of major health insurance brands in NY.
Kindbody was founded by Gina Bartasi, who previously founded two other fertility startups. Her most recent venture, Progyny, had its IPO in October and is now valued at more than $2 billion.
For Kindbody, the next step is marketing its services to employers, so its fertility services can be offered as an employee benefit. Kindbody has already signed on 15 companies as customers as the company partners with more customers and expands across the country.
“What we continue to hear from large, self-insured employers is the desire to buy specialty services directly from providers,” Bartasi said in a statement. “There’s easily a 20 percent cost reduction by eliminating the middleman and automating much of the operations. The result can be millions of dollars in savings.”
If those numbers bear out, maybe fertility services will become as common as employer-backed health insurance.


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61 million American adults have a disability. Experts say an intentional approach to accommodations can help companies ensure these workers feel valued.
Remote work is just one accommodation employers can offer to make the workplace a more welcoming place for people with disabilities.
The famed investor met Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky for lunch in 2014, spurring the founder to type up a 3,600-word report on their conversation.
"The truth is, at my age and with my habits I'm not going to be doing an Airbnb thing," the famed investor said.
The new CEO of Trivago says travelers want the coziness of an Airbnb but the predictability of a hotel, and it's creating a new type of company
Startups are emerging that offer travelers the professional management and predictability of a hotel, but with the coziness and feel of a home.
The original Spice Bus from 'Spice World' has been turned into an Airbnb that you can rent for less than $130 a night
The bus sleeps three and features 90s magazines, scrunchies, animal-print carpet, and a neon "girl power" sign on the wall.
Some of China's biggest companies, including Alibaba, have been affected with couriers unable to work and make deliveries.


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Hollywood’s latest baby food diet has been credited with helping some of the world’s most glamorous women slim down. Now the fad has reached British women...
Sales of wet baby food have risen by 20 per cent compared to last year, with sales of dry baby food rocketing by 59 per cent, according to the web grocer, Ocado. Heinz Mum’s Own Creamed Porridge sales have doubled and Spaghetti purees are up 87 per cent.
The diet consists of 14 small portions of pureed food per day followed by a normal dinner but has been criticised by nutritionists. ‘The reason it’s called baby food is because it’s for babies,’ says nutritional therapist, Janine Fahri. ‘I’m an advocate of eating little and often, but 14 times a day?’
Women trying to slim down for their summer holiday bikinis are said to be driving the sales trend. Advocates of the diet believe it is possible to lose up to 20lb in six weeks when combined with regular exercise.
Pots and packets of baby food often contain between 100 and 150 calories, as well as being subject to strict nutrition controls, limiting salt, sugar and other additives.
Personal trainer, Tracy Anderson, is credited as the diet’s creator and is recognized for sculpting the figures of Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow.


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Digital Wholesale Solutions is to demerge from Daisy Group following a partnership with Inflexion which sees the private equity firm make a significant minority investment in the business. The demerger, which values DWS at £1bn, is the final step in separating DWS from the Daisy Group.
As part of the transaction, which was signposted on January 5th, the majority of the shareholders of Daisy Group are reinvesting directly into DWS.
DWS is a high growth, channel-only software platform business providing IT, communications and cloud products and services on a wholesale basis to over 6,000 UK partners, from vendors including Vodafone, O2, BT/EE, Microsoft, TTB and Virgin Media Business.
Its services are targeted at resellers serving SMEs in the 10-250 employee range.
DWS’s CEO Terry O’Brien (pictured) will remain in post, leading the business with the support of his existing management team.
O’Brien commented: “The announcement is brilliant news for DWS, brilliant news for our vendors and most importantly brilliant news for our partners.
"From the get-go, it was clear that Inflexion shared our excitement about the UK channel community and the huge potential for growth as SMEs increase their investment in digital technology.
"I’m delighted that Inflexion is joining our team, where we are obsessed with building a great channel-only business, delivering great products and a great experience for partners through a great platform.”
Matt Riley, founder of Daisy Group and who will remain as Chairman of DWS, added: “In a fast moving, dynamic, highly competitive market, with customers demanding more from their partners, we made a strategic decision to separate our direct and indirect businesses to provide better focus and agility.
"The change has reignited the growth in all our businesses and today’s announcement is the next step on that journey.”
Simon Turner, Managing Partner of Inflexion, commented: “The business Matthew and his team have built up is testament to what the hard work of an ambitious entrepreneur can achieve.
"DWS is exceptionally well placed to continue its organic and acquisition led growth as it builds its market position further.
"We look forward to partnering with Matthew, Terry and the whole DWS team as they continue on their impressive journey.”
The investment is subject to regulatory approval.


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Kinetic, the leading out-of-home media agency is restructuring its business in the UK in a move that reflects the changing and dynamic nature of the out-of-home market and the company’s continued growth.
Three distinct new planning divisions will be created, each under the stewardship of a Director.
James Copley, currently Client Development Director, will lead all Kinetic’s direct client business. Nicole Lonsdale, currently Group Account Director for Kinetic’s Mindshare clients, will now direct all business from non-WPP agencies, while Gideon Adey, currently Group Account Director, is to lead all Group M business. All will report directly to Paul Shearring, CEO of Kinetic in the UK.
Paul Shearring commented: “The market is constantly changing. Since the launch of Kinetic two years ago, the business has performed exceptionally well. These changes are about evolving the business so that it can continue to perform at its best. We have a highly talented management team and this new structure will enable them to continue to deliver the best for our clients.”
The move follows a number of board level changes in March which included the promotion of Paul Shearring, previously Managing Director UK, to the new role of CEO for the UK, following substantial UK and international business growth.
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RAK Ceramics, one of the world’s biggest producers of ceramic products, plans to acquire 100 per cent of Germany’s Kludi Group as it seeks to expand its operations internationally.
The company will acquire Kludi Group at a valuation of €39 million ($42.9m), RAK Ceramics said on Tuesday.
The deal, subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to be completed by May 31.
"This acquisition of Kludi Group aligns to our growth strategy and commitment to strengthen our presence in core markets and focus on core products,” Abdallah Massaad, group chief executive of RAK Ceramics, said.
“It provides RAK Ceramics with the opportunity to spearhead our expansion into European markets and enhances our positioning in projects across the sanitary ware and faucets business.”
Founded in 1926, Kludi Group produces kitchen and bathroom faucets and shower systems. It has manufacturing facilities across Germany, Austria, Hungary and the UAE, with sales across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Abu Dhabi-listed RAK Ceramics already has a joint venture with Kludi Group for the production and sale of fittings in the Middle East under the brand name Kludi RAK.
The partnership between the two companies since 2007 has “grown and proved to be successful and profitable, recording impressive growth and sustainable margins”, it said.
Founded in 1989, RAK Ceramics has a presence in more than 150 countries through its network of operational hubs in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, Asia, North and South America and Australia.
It specialises in the manufacture of ceramic wall and floor tiles, tableware, sanitary ware and faucets.
The company plans to boost spending this year to increase production capacity at different manufacturing units on the back of higher demand, as global economies continue to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, Mr Massaad told The National in an interview earlier this year.
“In the last two years, we did not spend in capex [capital expenditure] because of the virus and supply chain disruptions," he said. "This year we will spend more because we are going to grow.”
RAK Ceramics swung to a profit of Dh246.45m ($67.16m) in 2021, compared to a loss of Dh129.7m a year earlier, as revenue surged 21.8 per cent annually to Dh2.86 billion and impairment losses declined 36 per cent to Dh32.8m.
The company also plans to set up a new manufacturing unit in Saudi Arabia this year to cater to the rise in demand for its products in the Arab world's largest economy. RAK Ceramics' revenue in the kingdom jumped 26.7 per cent last year.


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More than 92 percent of all searches on the internet happen on Google. So, it should not come as a surprise that when it released the May 2022 Google Core Algorithm Update, almost a large number of news publishers felt the impact within two weeks. Quintype conducted a webinar to help publishers interpret the impact of this update.
The webinar was hosted by Anupam Dasgupta, VP of marketing with Quintype. Anupam was joined by Anish Balan, the VP of customer success at Quintype. Since the success of Quintype customers depends on whether they are getting enough traffic or not, Anish has worked with a number of publishers and helped them get better at SEO.
Anupam started the webinar with a basic introductory question: what is this core update all about? Anish briefly explained that Google rolls out updates every once in a while. Some updates are only small that can affect things like snippets or AMP but core updates are the bigger updates that can change the ranking up or down.
The next question asked by Anupam dispelled some rumours about the update. He asked Balan that a number of website owners are worried whether Google is out to penalize some websites? Or what will happen to my site? Anish cleared that every Core Algorithm does not penalize websites. It is actually to give better results to the end-users of Google. The ranking of some websites may go up or down because of this.
After explaining what the May 2022 Google Core Algorithm Update is, Anish asked Anupam a relevant question about how should websites, blogs, or publishers should react that are seeing low traffic. As Anupam has seen many such updates rolled out by Google, he suggested that website owners or news publishers should not panic if their traffic is down. Sometimes, the end metrics like sales or subscriptions are not even affected by a small loss of traffic. He also suggested focusing on off-page SEO and keyword intent of the traffic.
Going towards the middle of the webinar, the two panelists also touched upon the topic of thin content vs rich content. Both the panelists agreed that with this update, Google will move to improve the ranking of pages that publish fresher, more relevant, and richer content.
Keeping the past updates trend and the recent May 2022 Google Core Algorithm update in mind, Anish suggested that the website owners and news publishers should focus more on the following if they want better content:
The intent of the keyword that the end-user is searching on the Google
The bio of the author who has written the content
Giving more context to the content instead of just publishing a wire story
The two panelists agreed that Google is getting better at finding whether a piece of content is rich and original or not, whether the content is in English or local languages. Anish also talked about whether it is possible to rank on Google Discover or not.
In the last section of the webinar, Anupam and Anish answered the questions of viewers on topics like optimal article length, internal linking, and image optimization for better SEO. You can watch the whole webinar if you are interested in how May 2022 Google Core Algorithm Update can impact your rankings.
If you are looking for more ways to make your website SEO friendly, you should check out our flagship product – Bold CMS. Bold does not require you to put extra effort into the technical side of SEO. You can focus on writing quality content while it ensures to make your content search-ready.