Victoria Fox's Blog, page 187

Passenger finds ‘genius’ way to be VIP in economy class in viral TikTok

A passenger has gone to extreme lengths to create a VIP section in economy — and while many have labelled it “genius” others have concerns about it.

Giga Vashakidze, from California, was on a flight from San Diego to Venice, Italy, when he noticed the passenger sitting next to him using a blanket to create next-level privacy.

The passenger tucked had tucked part of the blue blanket in the overhead compartment and left it hanging down, blocking anyone from seeing into the row.

Stunned by the act, Giga recorded a video and posted it to TikTok asking fellow travelers if they’ve ever witnessed anything like it.

“Caught my neighbor turning economy class into a VIP section. Has anyone else experienced this on their flight?” he asked, adding a laughing emoji.

The clip has been viewed half a million times with many left impressed by the passenger’s VIP scheme.

The viral video of the passenger’s make-shift ‘VIP’ space can seen, with a tucked part of a blue blanket in the overhead compartment hanging down.TikTok

“GENIUS,” one person demanded.

“Omg that’s actually genius,” another agreed.

Others labelled it “smart” and were keen to give it a go on their next economy flight.

The make-shift VIP space was propped right behind another passenger sitting in front of it. TikTok

However, some were shocked the airline let he passenger get away with it.

“WTH? Why is the airline allowing this?” one person asked.

“Nothing surprises me anymore about people,” wrote another.

One person hit back, saying: “What’s wrong with it? They’re not hurting anyone”, to which some pointed out there’s possible emergency issues with it.

“Emergency evacuation might be an issue would be my guess,” one person explained.

“That’s a great idea. They’re doing nothing wrong as far as I’m concerned and I have their privacy too,” said another, while a third added: “For security reasons I can’t imagine this is allowed.”

Giga did not share any more details on whether the passenger was forced to take it down.

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Road crew paints stripe over ‘pretty big’ dead raccoon on Memphis street

This raccoon got a new stripe — postmortem.

A city road crew in Memphis apparently painted a line right over a dead raccoon that was lying in the street, according to a report.

Richie EsQuivel told WREG he had to do a double-take when he saw the roadkill covered with a fresh line of white paint on the shoulder on Getwell Road.

He got out of the car and took a picture of the strange sight.

“The animal was maybe there for a few days by the looks of it. It’s pretty big and hard to miss,” EsQuivel told the outlet.

A spokesperson for the city said that crews will remove the dead critter on Friday morning. 

“It’s funny how much attention the picture is getting,” said EsQuivel.

A curious citizen snapped a picture of a dead raccoon with a painted white line over it in Memphis.Richie EsQuivel

“It’s kinda sad that they just striped over a dead animal. I would assume they have a street sweeper machine come through before they did a job that big, but who knows.”

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Internet split after Australian pub customer left ‘rude’ message on receipt

Pubgoers are in a heated debate after a Melbourne pub customer was left a “rude” message on their receipt for a simple request.

A receipt from the Cornish Arms in Brunswick, Melbourne was shared to social media this week.

“Lovely note that a restaurant left on my friend’s dinner receipt,” the person who shared the image wrote, in reference to a hidden message left underneath one of the items.

Underneath an order of a glass of Terre Forti Pinot Grigio, the receipt read: “Ice in it f***ing bogans”.

The $149 receipt also displayed another order of the same wine and a glass of prosecco, both with “ice in it”. The message was presumably a note left for whoever was making the drinks.

Underneath an order of a glass of Terre Forti Pinot Grigio, the receipt read: “Ice in it f***ing bogans.”Credit: Reddit

Some Aussies slammed the pub worker responsible for leaving the note and defended the patron for requesting ice in their wine.

“It’s actually meant to be drunk around 10-13 degrees, not the sweltering 25-35+ degrees we get,” one Reddit user explained.

“The temperature of the wine affects flavors in a similar way to cheese.

“At the end of the day, doesn’t matter what’s ‘expected’ or ‘appropriate’. The customer has paid for it and can drink it however they like.”

“This is absolutely hilarious but also very amateur to leave the notes on the receipt for the customer,” added another.

A third said: “At the bar I work at, one of our regulars who is a very, very wealthy lady always orders some ice on the side of her pinot grigio and, while I wouldn’t choose to have it that way myself, the point of hospitality is to graciously allow people to have their order as they want it (within reason).”

Others, however, called the note a “funny mistake” and urged the patron to find the humour in it.

“The only excuse for ordering ice in your wine is if you’re game enough to laugh at yourself about it,” one person said.

“No dressing on the salad, extra gravy, mash instead of chips in fish and chips, medium-well steak AND ice in a drink?’ another commented, poking fun at the group’s other menu alterations.

“Give that girl a pay rise, she’s a legend,” laughed a third.

Cornish Arms said the employee is now on a three-month probation. The Cornish Arms/Facebook

The pub confirmed it had received a complaint from the customer on July 25, three days after the incident.

“Staff were spoken to and reminded of their workplace responsibilities and the junior staff member then came forward to management and was very apologetic, not realizing it would print on the customer’s receipt,” a spokesperson for the Cornish Arms told Channel 7.

“She has been spoken to and placed on a three-month probation.

“Her comment in no way reflects the values of the Cornish Arms and we will continue to educate and train staff to ensure the business evolves.

“The customer has since been spoken with and will be returning for a meal on us soon.”

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Bella Thorne busts out of sexy corset top in stunning new pic

Bella Thorne nearly busted out of a barely-there white satin corset Thursday in a sexy snap posted to her Instagram Story.

The 25-year-old former Disney Channel star stunned in a mirror selfie sent out to her 25.2 million followers that showcased a strappy Safti Haita white number with just enough material in the right places to avoid a nip slip.

The recently engaged popular OnlyFans creator paired her daring look with a black and red heart-patterned skirt and a long diamond bolero necklace.

According to the Italian brand’s website, Thorne’s sexy garment is the Luna Corset Top — and it will set inspired fashionistas back a little over $500.

The item comes in sizes XS, S, M, and L, but is made-to-order.

Bella Thorne, 25, shared the Safti Haita corset with her 25.2 million Instagram followers.bellathorne/Instagram

The former “Shake It Up” star often bares it all with her fashion choices.Bella Thorne / Instagram

“Tastefully chic top with lovely detailing,” reads the garment’s description.

“Half-boned top with buttoning and extra long self-tie straps in the front. Premium cotton sateen fabric. Professional dry clean only.”

Thorne has made millions on OnlyFans. bellathorne/Instagram

Thorne is no stranger to fearless fashion.

Late last year she launched her own jewelry line, Thorne Dynasty, which includes the $85 Crown Jewels Thong: a black G-string adorned with up to eight crystal-studded characters.

Thorne is pictured at Milan fashion week in September 2021.WireImage

Thorne launched her own jewelry line, Thorne Dynasty, late last year.Steven Hirsch

She told Page Six in February: “Thorne Dynasty is all about making a statement, and what is bolder than [a] bedazzled thong designed to be seen?”

“I personally like to show it off with a low-rise pair of jeans [and] cropped shirt to add attention to the thong,” Thorne added.

In April, she shared another sexy photo series in a $325 tiny crocheted Hello Kitty bikini.

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How To Remove A Payment Method From Your Apple ID (And Why You Might Want To)

Sometimes, when you attempt to remove a payment method from your Apple ID, you may receive an error message stating your payment method cannot be removed. This usually is not the result of a glitch but rather certain circumstances in which Apple needs to keep a payment method on file.

These circumstances include recurring subscriptions, unpaid balances, and family account sharing. In the first two cases, you can remove your payment method after canceling recurring subscriptions and paying any outstanding balances you owe.

In the case of family account sharing, you can’t remove a payment method from a shared account unless you’re the account organizer. Even if you are the organizer, you also can’t remove it if someone else is using it to pay recurring fees. If, however, you don’t want to see shared payment methods on your Apple ID, you can leave Family Sharing to remove them.

Open the Settings app on your iPhone.Tap on your Apple ID at the top of the screen.Tap Family Sharing.If you are a member of the shared account, tap Leave Family Sharing, then you can remove the payment method.If you are the organizer of the shared account, tap Purchase Sharing.Tap Stop Family Sharing then you can remove the payment method.

Remember, if a family member were using one of your methods to pay something, they would need to set up a new payment method themselves.

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Discord cuts 4% staff as part of company reorganization

Chat app Discord has let go of nearly 40 employees (4% of its workforce) as part of company’s restructuring efforts, according to multiple reports.

Several Discord former employees posted on Twitter and LinkedIn that they were impacted by the layoffs. The job cuts have affected people in marketing, design, and entertainment partnership teams.

The company confirmed the development to Business Insider in a statement and added that it is focused on long-term growth.

“Discord can confirm that approximately 4% of our team have been let go as part of the reorganization of some business units, and we are ensuring that those impacted are being supported. We are focused on the long-term growth of the business and delivering on our mission,” a company spokesperson told the publication.

Last month, Discord rolled out a Family Center as an opt-in tool to better inform parents and guardians about their children’s activity on the app. The company also introduced a feature to let users directly stream Xbox gameplay to servers and DMs. In March, Discord updated its Clyde bot with OpenAI’s ChatGPT tech so users can ask it for suggestion during a group chat.

Last week, investment firm Fidelity improved the value of some of its holdings including Discord and Reddit. This was a positive sign as compared to June when Fidelity cut its Discord holdings’ valuation to $1.7 million — down 47% since the original investment of $3.3 million made in 2021.

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AI influencer attracts men despite not being real; expert shares red flags on celebrity dating apps

Virtual influencer Milla Sofia is garnering the attention of men on social media, posing in tiny bikinis, gorgeous gowns and even golf attire. There’s only one catch: She’s not real.

The Finland-based influencer openly discloses on her platforms that she is an artificial intelligent bot, and on her website, Sofia is described as a “24 year old virtual influencer and fashion model.”

However, that has not curbed interest, with some social media users indicating they wish to meet her in-person.

Several users are commenting on AI virtual influencer Milla Sofia’s social media, believing her to be a real woman. (Milla Sofia Twitter)

DATING AN AI? ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DATING APP FOUNDER PREDICTS THE FUTURE OF AI RELATIONSHIPS

“A lot of people just don’t read the description, and they just see a beautiful woman, and they just comment away. And that’s social media for you,” Alessandra Conti, a celebrity matchmaker, tells Fox News Digital.

According to Conti, AI-generated users like Milla Sofia are becoming a trend not just on social media but also in the dating world, especially in the last year.

WATCH VIDEO: Celebrity dating app Raya has AI bots

“I’ve been a professional matchmaker for 10-plus years, and this year specifically, I have seen such a massive spike in clients – both male and female clients – coming in saying that they’ve been catfished so many times because these AI bots … they’re so difficult to discern if it’s artificial intelligence or if it’s human. They look so authentic,” she explains.

Milla Sofia was curated to look like a desirable female. (Milla Sofia Twitter)

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Catfishing refers to when a person is purposely deceived by another via a false profile. 

“There are a few telltale signs that you can … just look out for,” Conti said about profiles that are not clearly labeled like Milla Sofia’s. She notes that monetary discussions are one sign.

WATCH VIDEO: Celebrity matchmaker talks catfishing culture

“But I think it’s really difficult because a lot of the people that are being catfished tend to be 35-plus, so they’re kind of the target demo. … These bots look and sound so, so real,” Conti added.

Sometimes the bots can be (sort of) real like Caryn Marjorie, who is a real-life influencer that Conti explains has monetized her name and likeness by creating an AI version of herself called CarynAI. According to her website, CarynAI is “the first influencer transformed into AI.”

“CarynAI will never replace me,” Marjorie told Fortune in May. “CarynAI is simply just an extension of me, an extension of my consciousness.”

A real-life influencer has started charging for people to interact with an AI version of herself. (Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic/Getty Images)

Conti added, “She is advertising, essentially, as: ‘I will be your girlfriend. But it’s $1 a minute.’ So, these people, these men are paying a dollar a minute to chat with her, her image, her likeness. She’ll even leave voice notes for them based on the questions that they’re asking her.”

“It’s eerie, it’s wild. But I think that with that, it’s a bit different because that’s consent. AI with consent, in my opinion, is OK. … But I think the real trouble comes in when it’s older men or women that are getting catfished on these dating apps by these artificial intelligent men and women that really look so real.”

Raya is a popular dating application used by celebrities and other members of the elite. (Raya)

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Raya, a popular dating application that is often used by celebrities and athletes due to strict privacy rules, has even been infiltrated by AI bots.

“Catfishing is prevalent on Raya as well. Even though it’s quote unquote a high profile, higher-profile dating app, it’s still a dating app. And these AI bots are highly intelligent, and they get in whichever way that they can. So, that’s why even if you’re on a dating app, unless there’s another human being involved that is verifying that you are meeting another human being, always be vigilant. Always, always, always. Trust but verify.”

Conti explained how conversations about monetary discussions is usually a good indicator that something is awry.

“A huge red flag, if they ask in any way for any type of money or crypto  … or they just bring up investing. That seems to be a common … conversation starter that a lot of these AI bots are using. They talk about crypto, they talk about investing, and they talk about these amazing opportunities, but they only do that after they’ve hooked these women, and these men, too, emotionally.”

Caroline Thayer is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Follow Caroline Thayer on Twitter at @carolinejthayer. Story tips can be sent to caroline.thayer@fox.com.

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5 Ways ChatGPT Is Harming Your Brand (And What To Do About It)

Your brand is an asset. With a strong personal and company image, you can build an audience that can’t wait to hear from you and reduce your marketing costs to zero. But brands take years to build and seconds to ruin. Hours spent defining a customer avatar, crafting that perfect voice, and poring over landing page copy can all go to waste if you don’t protect it from external influences that could bring it harm. While ChatGPT has the potential to supercharge your output and help you get more done in less time, it could have darker implications for the effort you’ve expended.

Lucy Werner is founder of HypeYourself.com, an education platform to help build your brand and get it out there. Werner has taught hundreds of entrepreneurs through workshops, resources and courses for creative institutions like The Futur, Bayes Business School, and the University of Arts London. Werner has over 20 years of communications experience and has written two bestselling books, Hype Yourself and Brand Yourself. She has been listed in Alt Marketing’s Power 100, The Dots Risings Stars and Start Up Magazine Female Founders to Watch.

Werner is big on brand and thinks you should be too. But she’s noticed more businesses using ChatGPT to guide their marketing strategy and create content, putting their brand in harm’s way in the process. Werner shares the five main pitfalls so your business doesn’t suffer.

How using ChatGPT could be harming your brand1. Misaligned suggestions

Relying on ChatGPT to set your strategy and guide your company decisions might not be a good idea. The large language model has plans for your brand that probably don’t match yours. So know yours first. Werner said if you don’t do this, “you are in danger of being steered into badly selected partnerships, collaborations and self-promotion.”

If you’re going to prompt ChatGPT to write your content and advise your next step, incorporate your company goals into the training. After you have its suggestions, get a second opinion from colleagues, clients and friends, “ensuring that where and with whom you align yourself fits with where you see your business heading.”

Werner’s advice is not only to know what you want but write that definition down for all to see. “Jot down all the ambitions that apply to your business and pick between three and five to train ChatGPT on.” When you prompt, include, “advising based on the overarching goals of [add your goals here],” to give ChatGPT your worldview and help it understand your mission.

2. Loss of authenticity

Werner doesn’t want you to wind up with a “cookie-cutter-based brand strategy,” that “won’t take into account how you operate, your audience, your purpose and what you stand for, or any unique provenance to your business.” She warned that, “You are at risk of losing what makes you truly authentic,” if you ignore this nuance.

Your biggest ace cards are the ones that make you different, but ChatGPT doesn’t know them. Not only that, it has a different a world view. Those off-the-wall ideas, unique insights and ability to empathize with that audience you know inside-out are unfamiliar to the LLM. “One-size fits no-one,” said Werner. ChatGPT cannot simply give you content and business ideas without being prompted to within an inch of its life, “with clever prompts that are authentic to you.” Include these before you make requests.

Create a prompt to include every piece of relevant information about your brand and use this before you begin any conversation with ChatGPT. Set the scene with your company name, purpose, operations and audience. Then, don’t take what comes out at face value. “Stick to your own path,” said Werner. “Remember what you do, who you stand for and don’t get too heavily swayed by advice lest your style becomes toned down and unrecognisable.”

3. Too much focus on digital

Social media might not be the channel that’s right for you, but with the term almost synonymous with marketing right now, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was the only way, especially when using ChatGPT makes it so easy to create reams of content. “Not all brands thrive on social media, loud and extroverted self-promotion and digital assets,” explained Werner. “There is another understated source of customers that works wonders for many businesses. And that’s word-of-mouth.”

When your current focus is making existing customers happy, digital marketing might be nothing but a shiny object that could redirect energy and cost referrals. “If stealth marketing and nurturing word-of-mouth recommendation has worked well, don’t completely flip the way you take your brand out there based on AI recommendations.” You could be forgoing reliable upsells to existing customers while you’re chasing new ones on Twitter. You risk confusing people with your messaging.

Werner’s advice again is to, “remember who you are.” Just because you could now create endless blogs, tweets and email campaigns, doesn’t mean you should. Use your existing strategy as the north star and get help based on that rather than overhauling it completely.

4. Over-reliance on words

Large language models are biased towards language. But there are other elements of your brand to consider. “A visual brand identity brings your business to life and helps your audience to remember you,” explained Werner. “Your brand should be a micro-billboard for your business on all touchpoints.” There needs to be, therefore, unequivocal congruence between the language used and the image conveyed. They should be expertly tied together.

“ChatGPT will not help you connect the dots. It probably won’t suggest clever ways to use your brand using both text and visual-based communication,” said Werner. But you might not need an expert to tie it together. “From your email signature to the banners on your social media profile, how you present your work, product or services and every single other way your reputation is managed in public, consider tools other than ChatGPT to bring your message to life.”

Instead of relying too heavily on word-based communication, get good at the visuals too. Werner recommends tools like Adobe Firefly or Midjourney, where you can, “use word prompts to help craft mock-ups you need on royalty-free images.” When you’re making a pitch deck, don’t just explain how or what you can deliver, show it. Appeal to people who receive information in different ways by looking beyond language for your brand.

5. Loss of trust

Especially for entrepreneurs looking to build a thought-leadership profile, “without some significant editorial training, it will be challenging to replicate your mannerisms, personal stories and anecdotes using ChatGPT.” Nearly impossible, in fact, especially with ChatGPT’s language hallmarks. “People know if you have cut corners in your messaging and they start not to trust you,” added Werner. Not what you want for your squeaky-clean image. Don’t become reliant on ChatGPT content; continue adapting your own spin.

Once people smell that something isn’t quite right, they’ll find it hard to maintain their belief in your brand. Customers who were once loyal go elsewhere and you might feel like you’re starting from scratch. The personality is what built your brand in the first place, make sure it doesn’t get edited out by generic language that anyone could use.

Werner’s advice is to set rules. “Create some guard rails for your ChatGPT use.” Limit how you co-create in practice, so you don’t fall down a slippery slope with no exit route in sight. The rules could state you use ChatGPT, “for first drafts, but you always circulate them internally afterwards,” offered Werner. “Or maybe it’s just a headline tweak to make sure you are creating the best opportunity for a click-through.” Little and often rather than to its maximum ability all of the time.

Used in the wrong way, ChatGPT will harm your brand. But entrepreneurs aware of the pitfalls can make sure this doesn’t happen. Counteract the possibility of misaligned values, loss of authenticity, over-reliance on digital, content, and the eyebrow raises that overly-edited AI content can bring. Know your brand, know yourself, and use ChatGPT as a valuable tool rather than a replacement for thought.

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India restricts import of laptop, tablets and servers

India restricted import of laptops, tablets, other personal computers and servers with immediate effect on Thursday, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in an amendment to an import policy.

“Import of laptops, tablets, all-in-one personal computers, and ultra small form factor computers and servers falling under HSN 8741 shall be ‘restricted,’” a government notification said, adding that the import will be allowed against a valid licence for restricted imports. The restriction will also not apply to passengers carrying the mentioned devices in their baggage.

The move is likely to help boost local manufacturing, but New Delhi did not elaborate its rationale.

The revised policy.

In recent years, India has been offering incentives to encourage local manufacturing. The country has already attracted smartphone manufacturers and is now gaining the interest of chipmakers and semiconductor producers. The next step is to include hardware manufacturers in the country’s manufacturing network.

In May, the Indian government announced a $2 billion incentive scheme to boost local production of IT hardware in the country and promote businesses locally building devices such as laptops, PCs and servers. It was an upgrade to the previous program under which the government was willing to spend $892 million.

Dell and HP are among the companies that already have manufacturing facilities in India. The Indian government aims to expand local production further and make the country a desirable location for Apple and its manufacturing partners to establish a global manufacturing hub.

More to follow.

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Tears of the Kingdom sells 18.51M copies in a couple of months

Missed the GamesBeat Summit excitement? Don’t worry! Tune in now to catch all of the live and virtual sessions here.

Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (released in May) got off to a good start with sales of 18.51 million copies in its first couple of months.

That’s a pretty spectacular result for the launch of any game, and Nintendo saw huge gains in the quarter as a result, the company reported today.

On top of that, Nintendo’s movie spurred game sales. The April release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie positively impacted sales of Mario related titles, with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe recording sales of 1.67 million copies, the company said.

As a result of these factors, hardware unit sales increased 13.9% year-on-year to 3.91 million units, and software unit sales increased 26.1% year-on-year to 52.21 million units.

Nintendo games coming soon.

Nintendo said that digital sales rose 35.9% year-on-year to 119.6 billion yen, helped by the depreciation of the yen combined with good sales of downloadable versions of packaged software for Nintendo Switch and increased sales related to Nintendo Switch Online.

In the mobile and IP related business, the combination of an increase in income from royalties and the high level of audience engagement with The Super Mario Bros. Movie resulted in overall sales of 31.8 billion yen (an increase of 190.1% year-on-year).

The end result is that overall sales reached 461.3 billion yen, with sales outside Japan of 369.0 billion yen accounting for 80.0% of that total. Operating profit came to 185.4 billion yen. With the depreciation of the yen in foreign exchange markets, Nintendo recorded foreign exchange gains of 47.2 billion yen, with the result that ordinary profit totaled 253.7 billion yen and profit attributable to owners of parent totaled 181.0 billion yen.

While the numbers for the quarter are good, Nintendo did not change its forecast for the full fiscal year ending March 31, 2024.

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