Customers Are Starting to Use ChatGPT to Shop. Here's What Retailers Need to Know - Inc.com   

What Jamie Siminoff Did After He Sold His Company to Amazon Is Perhaps Even More Fascinating Than His Billion-Dolla...

Over the past few months, Matt Bahr, founder and CEO of the New York City-based post-purchase survey company Fairing, noticed an emerging trend. When asked how they first heard about a product or brand, customers increasingly gave a new answer: ChatGPT.

While those responses weren't exceptional in number, there were enough to pique Bahr's interest. In his experience, the early adopters harbinger many more to come. "In the first month that we saw 'TikTok' listed as a response, there were about 50 mentions, and now there are hundreds of thousands," he says.

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China’s appeal to poor countries is changing - The Economist   

Not long after he assumed power in 2012, Xi Jinping began talking about reviving the historic Silk Road, a network of trade routes that once connected east and west. Little did the world know that these musings would turn into Mr Xi’s signature foreign policy. In the years that followed, China laid thousands of miles of tarmac and poured an ocean of concrete, building ports and pipelines across the globe. In 2023 the country celebrated the tenth anniversary of this infrastructure binge, which came to be known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

More than 150 countries signed on to the scheme, under which China doled out hundreds of billions of dollars in loans and grants. Many receiving countries badly needed the infrastructure China has helped provide. But there have been plenty of problems, too. So the anniversary festivities were accompanied by a reassessment. The BRI is changing, along with Mr Xi’s message to the global south.

The strongest criticism of the BRI is that it has contributed to dangerous debt levels in poor countries, some of which are now teetering on the edge of default. During the scheme’s first decade, Chinese lenders paid little attention to human rights, corruption or risk assessments. Deals were often secret, resulting in plenty of white elephants. When debt needs restructuring, China tends to go it alone, shunning other lenders and driving a hard bargain behind closed doors.

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New Research Reveals People Who Don't Make Constant Eye Contact Could Be Paying a Lot More Attention Than You Think - Inc.com   

What Jamie Siminoff Did After He Sold His Company to Amazon Is Perhaps Even More Fascinating Than His Billion-Dolla...

One of the smartest people I know -- we'll call her Michelle -- sucks at maintaining eye contact. Even though eye contact ranks high on the average list of tips for how to make a good first impression. Even though eye contact nonverbally indicates attention. Interest. Engagement.

None of that seems to matter to Michelle. She rarely makes eye contact. Occasionally, sure, but most of the time she looks away. 

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These Under 30 Listers Tripled Revenue In Two Years By Transforming Plastic Bottles Into Bathing Suits - Forbes   

Fair Harbor has repurposed more than 30 million recycled plastic bottles to make its board shorts, flannels and sweaters, among other clothing.

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When siblings Jake and Caroline Danehy appeared on our 2020 Under 30 list, their swimsuit brand Fair Harbor had just hit $2 million in revenue. A year later, they exploded—hitting $18.1 million in 2021 thanks to a sustainability-focused mission and an aggressive, old-school marketing campaign.

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