Earning a bachelor’s degree has distinct benefits ranging from increased future earnings to workforce participation.  Kentucky is a state that is taking advantage of these benefits, aiming to increase its population with a postsecondary degree to 60% in the hopes of improving the overall economy. However, there are challenges to this goal.  Undergraduate enrollment has declined over the past ten years, and Kentucky is below the national average when it comes to bachelor’s degree attainment.  In order to combat falling enrollment, Kentucky has seen the creation of organizatio ..read more

Meta’s RayBan smart glasses are getting new updates including support for video calling and Apple Music, a new cat-eye frame style, and an official beta roll out of the multimodal AI assistant.   In addition to these, there are some new minor updates for the existing Wayfarer and Headliner models. Besides both the models getting new colors, the Headliner will also have a new low-bridge fit for people who struggle with their glasses slipping down their face.   The video call feature is gradually rolling out to everyone, and will enable the wearer to make video calls via WhatsApp ..read more

As its latest major move in the world of AI, tech giant Meta has added its AI chatbot on all of its platforms: Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger (minus Threads). The chatbot is available on each of these apps as a dedicated search bar.   Meta’s AI chatbot is powered by the company’s Llama 3 model – Meta’s most powerful AI model yet (even better than ChatGPT), and which it claims to be “the most intelligent AI assistant” that can be used for free. This should automatically make Meta’s integrated AI chatbot one of the best AI assistants out there too.   Users can directly ..read more

As a result of the agreement between Apple and the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA), the third-party iOS app store marketplace AltStore PAL is now live in the EU. The store has been developed by Riley Testut and Shane Gill to accommodate apps that can be self-hosted by developers on their own servers.   To install the app store, an annual subscription fee of €1.50 (plus tax) must be paid, which covers Apple’s Core Technology Fee (CTF). During the installation process, Apple confirms with the user multiple times if they wish to proceed with installing a third-party app, before it finally let ..read more

The Delta game emulator is the first game emulator that is available for free on the App Store for the first time. It'll enable iOS users to enjoy the gaming experience on their iPhones almost like a pseudo Nintendo DS or GBA. The app can be accessed on the App Store in several countries outside the EU, and in the EU, it is making debut with the newly launched third-party AltStore PAL app marketplace. According to Riley Testut, developer of the Delta emulator, both the app versions work the same. Other Nintendo emulators, including a wide range from the original Nintendo Entertainmen ..read more

The team at Qualtrics have created a fascinating timeline that gives insight into how the gender pay gap has changed year by year since 1960. The gender pay gap reveals the differences between male and female salaries. The team compared both average yearly salaries and the amount women make to a man’s dollar. These statistics are usually gathered while comparing equally qualified individuals in the same job positions. The timeline tracks every year from 1960 to 2022. Luckily there’s been strong improvements to this gap. In 1960, women made $0.61 to a man’s dollar but this decreased to $0.84 ..read more

Crayola has been inspiring young artists for over a century with their collections of vibrant crayons. These crayons are used to teach children how to identify colors with their fun names and bright labels. In tribute to a brand that’s been so important to kids since 1903, AAA State of Play created this beautiful infographic displaying every color that Crayola has ever created. There are plenty of discontinued sets like glitter crayons, neon crayons, and even multi-colored crayons, but this chart has captured them all. To help with research, they referenced the collections of Richard Gwynn a ..read more

There are many aspects to consider when designing brand messaging. One of the most important visual aspects to a brand is the logo. It needs to be instantly recognizable and evoke certain feelings and associations. The most powerful tool to accomplish these things is the choice of color. This infographic from WizardPins shows us the most popular color choices among top Fortune 500 brand logos. They found that blue was by far the most popular color. Brands that choose blue for their logo span all kinds of industries and include: Ford Walmart U.S. Postal Service IBM HP Delta Progressive Pfizer ..read more

Curating a positive customer experience is one of the most important areas of focus for a company. There are two important ways to produce this: strong brand consistency and hyper-personalization. Both have been proven to increase revenues when executed properly by a large number of major companies, including Spotify, Amazon, and easyJet. Brand consistency is when there is a uniform voice behind all of the messaging and value statements that a customer is exposed to, along with their own customer experience. Every channel must be consistent, spanning social media, emails, and websites. There ..read more

Roughly 76 million Americans face challenges accessing credit.  This is because they are either thin files, meaning that they have four or less credit accounts on their file, or they are credit invisible, which means they do not have a traditional credit file. Credit invisibility can be costly; in fact, a subprime credit score can cost an individual an extra $32,923 in interest on an average 30-year mortgage compared to a prime score.  There are ways to help move more Americans into scorable credit bands.  Equifax is an example of a company that focuses on aiding Americans in ..read more