There’s no denying that life is a lot more expensive today and our bank accounts are certainly feeling the effects of the ever-increasing inflation. People are doing the best they can to stay in the green, even if that means selling their homes and moving closer to work in an effort to save money on gas or find a cheaper area to live in.
Inflation is impacting the real estate market in some unique ways and HomeLight’s Top Agent Insights Summer 2022 report goes into great detail about it. Here’s a brief summary of what top agents say about inflation’s impact on buyers’ desire to move.
Renters are torn between renting or buying despite high-interest rates
You don’t need us to tell you that rent is increasing at a ridiculous rate – in many places, it’s risen more than 25%! People who once enjoyed the freedoms that renting allowed them are now worrying that they may not be able to afford rent anymore. However, if they decide to buy when prices are high and interest rates continue to rise, they may not be able to afford all the costs that go with being a homeowner.
Property taxes are draining retiree’s retirement savings
Seniors have waited a long time to retire and they’ve saved their pennies so they could enjoy their retirement. They may have even paid off their homes so that would be one less large bill to worry about. What they couldn’t have foreseen was the ridiculous housing market and how high home values have risen over the past two years. The high prices that houses were selling for means property taxes have increased as well. It’s the high property taxes that are hitting seniors’ wallets the hardest.
Buyers are looking for an energy-efficient home
In an effort to save as much money as they can, buyers want energy-efficient houses because climate change is very real and temperatures are certainly going to fluctuate more than normal. 48% of agents say that even though energy-efficient features will increase a home’s cost by 25%, buyers are still eager to buy these properties over any others.
Solar power and green materials are great marketing points
If you want to draw more attention to your property, 41% of real estate agents say listings that highlight solar panels and energy-star certifications are getting a lot of traffic. With that in mind, why wouldn’t a seller advertise those features? They could recoup 45% of the cost for these upgrades when they sell.
Saving money with low-maintenance landscaping
The calculator is placed above dollar money bills
Instead of paying for beautiful lawns with exotic plants, 22% of real estate agents say they’re seeing homeowners choose low-maintenance landscaping projects to spruce up their yard. That means they’re using masonry and native plants to achieve that drool-worthy curb appeal buyers are drawn to.
Astroturf could become more popular if inflation continues
Do you want a really low-maintenance lawn? Then astroturf may be the perfect thing for you. 17% of agents say that the properties of artificial grass are gaining more attention than one would think. Do keep in mind that astroturf is going to appeal to a much smaller buyer pool or none at all, depending on where you live. But, that’s why you work with a real estate agent because they’ll give you advice regarding what’s popular in your market.
It’s hard to say what we can expect if inflation continues to rise. Will it be like the 2008 recession? Will it be worse? Or will there be some miracle and we’ll avoid economic disaster? We’ll have to wait and see…
Flat feet have a different structure compared to arched feet. The shoe inserts or insole also vary when a person has flat feet. So, for such variation, there are respective products available. It makes choosing the right shoe wear. For flat feet, it can be sometimes confusing to find the best of its kind. The best shoe inserts for flat feetcan be found in the shoe features.
A main difference between the flat feet is the absence or slight presence of an arch in the feet. The lack of arch leads to exerting direct pressure on the bottom of the feet. It causes back pain, knee pain, and foot pain. They mostly suffer from the kind of inflammation even when they are walking. In such cases, the best shoe inserts for flat feet are specially developed keeping in mind the comfort and requirement of a flat foot.
Flexible Shoe Inserts For Flat Feet
There are no specific categorized insoles, but it is always effective to find the best shoe inserts for flat feet. The materials should be flexible as well as if a metatarsal pad is added to the insole. It helps to reduce the intense pressure on the feet.
Based on the factors, there are insoles available both online and offline. It should be bought keeping in mind the sizes and gender. Not only does it provides comfort and support to the flat feet. But, at the same time reduces the inflammation or pain of the plantar fascia area.
When it comes to choosing the best shoe inserts for flat feet, you should cross-check if the inserts are flexible, and provide comfort to the wearer.
Features To Consider Before Buying Shoe Inserts For Flat Feet
As many types of insoles are available in the market, it is essential to find out the best shoe inserts for flat feet. Some of the features that make the insoles suitable for shoes should be considered based on some features.
Foot inserts are ready to be placed in the sneakers
Shoes That Need Insoles
Always wear the shoes that need inserts or insoles. As proper fitting of the insoles is essential, it can be for one of your shoes or all. Depending on the number and kind of shoes based on style and shape, the insoles should be selected.
Consider The Foot Type
It is not difficult for arch feet to find their type, but for the selection of the best shoe inserts for flat feet, the requirements are not the same. The flexibility of the materials should also be kept in mind while choosing insoles for the feet.
What Are The Activities
Are you trying to find one for your regular wear or regular exercises? In both cases, the basic need varies. Based on the activities, you should choose the insoles. Runners type is designed differently from heel insert insoles.
Always Consult A Professional
For wearing the best shoe inserts for flat feet, it is essential to consult a professional. Consulting an expert helps in discovering the insole suitable for the type of feet. Also, they can provide suggestions of the kind of designs and comfort that will match the feet type.
Customized
After the assessment of the feet type, size, and the best-fit one should customize the kind of insoles. Customized flat feet designs will enable to provide support as well as ensure stability to the feet.
Final Words
Thebest shoe inserts for flat feet cannot be specifically separated or categorized. But with customization and consultation finding the suitable one is possible. When choosing one for your needs, you should go with the insoles that meet your specific needs and requirement.
Let’s face it: we all lead busy lives with days that feel scheduled out minute by minute. With advancements in technology comes smart home products to add to your household for maximum efficiency. Here’s our ranking of the best home automation ideas that you can add to your household in 2022.
Smart Lights to Match Your Daily Life
Is there anything worse than coming home to a dark and empty house? Long gone are the days of fumbling and trying to find your light switch when you walk in! With smart lights, you’re able to automate your schedule to make sure your lights come on and off exactly when you need them to. Here are our best home automation ideas for smart lights:
Create a sunrise and sunset by automatically lighting or dimming your lights
Automate your smart lights to turn on when you enter a geofence
Turn all your lights on and off through your phone
Enjoy Vacations Stress-Free While Your Home is Lit Up
Another one of our best home automation ideas is to set your smart lights while you’re on vacation. Instead of your home look dark and empty from the curb, you can automatically set up a schedule, even if you’re thousands of miles away! Whether you’re on a beach or in Europe, your home will look lived in.
Programming Your Smart Thermostat to Your Schedule
How often do you sit at your desk and realize you didn’t adjust your thermostat before heading out? When you upgrade your thermostat to a smart thermostat, you’re able to change your home’s temperature from your phone. Not only is this one of the best home automation ideas for 2022, but it’s also a great way to save some money on your electricity bill.
Set your thermostat to follow your daily schedule, or let your thermostat figure it out for you! Not sure how that looks? Here’s our recommendation for a thermostat schedule:
Adjust temperature when you wake up
Turn off when you typically leave for work
Turn back on around the time you normally come home
Adjust for bedtime
Not only will your thermostat do it for you automatically, but you’re able to adjust the temperature and time if your daily schedule changes.
Automate Your Home Security With a Click of a Button
Upgrade your home security system by automating it to fit your lifestyle! There are a few different ways you can level up your security through automation. Here are some of the best ways to do it:
Switch to keyless entry locks. Not only can you ditch your keys, but your smart lock can automatically lock when you’re out of your home or can be set on a timer.
Utilize a home security app that allows you to lock and unlock your doors with a click of a button
Install motion sensors that send real-time notifications to your phone
A new home security system is installed
Utilize Amazon Alexa For Daily Life
While Alexa is a great go-to source for quick jokes, simple questions, or playing music that’s stuck in your head, you can also automate it to work with your schedule. You can set alarms throughout the day, control your lights or set up routines.
Alexa Routines
Set routines with your Alexa to set up your day. You can create a morning routine with alarms, turning on lights, or even automatically playing the morning news. Upgrade your morning routine with this great home automation!
You can also set nightly routines, such as dimming the lights at a certain time, playing calm music, turning on your security system, or even reading you a bedtime story.
Look Towards Smart Solutions For Your Daily Life
Living in a smart home is a great idea to advance your life. Not only will you feel like you’ve just stepped out of an episode of “The Jetsons” but you’re able to automate daily activities. Say goodbye to menial tasks, and step into a tech-friendly future with the best home automation ideas.
Many professionals need to present their work to clients or other audiences at some point, and they worry about capturing their attention. Plain presentations make people lose interest and can cost you a contract. Many presentations miss their mark by not highlighting the essential information hard enough.
A common problem in unimpactful presentations is an overload of data and statistics. The information can be unappealing if you do not present it in a way that stands out. Having figure-based information to present doesn’t mean that you can’t make your deck appealing. You can still capture the attention of your audience with data.
Adopt particular strategies to help data stand out during a presentation and connect well with your addressees.
Change the Formatting
Data in spreadsheets makes a lot of sense because each has a specific output. However, it may be challenging for a third party to decipher the information at a first look. The way you format the data may not be the right fit for conveying it to your audience.
Unlike you, who had several days to interact with the data, the audience only has a few seconds or minutes to figure it all out. Attempt to make the process easy for them to avoid losing their interest. For example, having a table with plenty of numbers may be challenging for some people to interpret. A pie chart visually showing the proportions of data may stand out better.
If you lack the time or expertise to figure it all out, you can hire excel experts to help you format data as you want. Such professionals know how to maneuver data and present them in various formats on spreadsheets.
Give a Real World Example
People usually relate to the information they receive that concerns their situation. You are probably presenting to a client looking for solutions to a problem they are facing in business. To help illustrate the data, give your audience a real-world example of the data in action.
Research shows that problem-centered learning is an effective way to help people retain information. The ultimate reason for collating and analyzing data is to provide insights for decision-making. Many managers and business owners lack the patience to try and figure out how your data relates to their business issues and would rather see it instantaneously.
You can provide simulations of how your output will help along a decision process or satisfy an emerging market challenge. If possible, provide case studies of how such information has proven critical in solving problems.
Keep It Top Level
When you want to deliver particular messages to your audience, there is a temptation to have a lot of information in your presentation because you feel it is critical. Such an approach is counterproductive as the message recipients tire and switch off. You are better off presenting high-level information.
Avoid bogging your audience down with too much detail. Research shows that great presenters use fewer words and slides. Try and keep the data presented to only the most essential, top-level items. You can always give your audience a takeaway document with more detailed data if they are interested in learning more.
The most important aspect of information delivery is to command attention. You can get an opportunity later to deep dive into other details. The tip especially applies if you are introducing the information to an audience.
Make It Visually Stimulating
Innovation is very important for a successful presentation
Appealing visuals and color displays attract most people. The aesthetic appeal of your presentation will catch the attention of your audience and compel them to focus on the information you are conveying. Make your presentation stimulating with aspects like colors, imagery, video, text design, etc.
If you feel challenged by your creative imagery skills, you can use a graphic designer. However, you can also do a lot of fun content styling and formatting in PowerPoint or Google Slides. Search for relevant imagery on the internet until you identify one befitting your needs. Be sure to highlight or bold what you want people to understand.
Have an Interacting Element
Interacting with audiences during a presentation enhances message intake and the likelihood of buy-in to your proposition. These sessions allow you to adjust to feedback and change your delivery style as you move along.
Make your presentation as interactive as possible. One way to increase engagement is to ask your audience a question and have them take a poll revealing their answers. After analyzing the answers they provided, expose the correct data and allow them to see how close or far off they were.
The audience interactions also encourage them to feel like they are part of the process instead of just observers. If in a pitch, such feelings increase the likelihood of getting buy-in from the prospective clients and a closed sale.
Stand Out in Your Presentation
Presentations are about the style of delivery as much as the content. Many times incisive content falls flat because of poor delivery. After you master your content, work on your delivery mode for presentation success. Ask for feedback to help you better yourself before the actual session.
Contract lifecycle management is managing the contract’s life cycle as you use it in the business. It is a process that ensures that the contract business and its stakeholders are aligned to achieve desired business outcomes.
You can use it in any scenario where there is an agreement between two parties. For example, there is an agreement between an employer and their employees or between a company and its suppliers.
It helps companies manage their contracts, employees, and vendors in an organized manner. It ensures that the company’s contracts are up-to-date with the latest information, new vendors are added and removed when needed, and that you assign projects efficiently to your employees.
Many companies use contract lifecycle management to make sure they can keep track of the contracts they have signed with their vendors and employees. It also helps them make sure that they have all the information about these contracts at hand to work efficiently.
Here are specific ways that contract lifecycle management can contribute to your business’ success.
Standardize the process from start to finish
Contract lifecycle management is a tool that can help a company to standardize the process from start to finish. The business must standardize the contract management process to help with business success.
Contract lifecycle management is helpful for companies when they need to recruit talent and when they want to retain it. It helps them stay on top of their employees’ expectations by providing them with feedback on their performance or by giving them clear goals that they have set for themselves.
The contract lifecycle management also helps with managing the contract itself. Companies can track the time spent on a project, what they’ve finished, who did it, and how much time they spent on each task. You can use this information for billing purposes, analytics, or quality assurance.
Reduce the need for manual tasks
Contract lifecycle management is a process that automates the contract management process. It can reduce the need for manual tasks in this process and provide better visibility into contracts and their statuses.
Contract lifecycle management can be a tedious process that requires careful monitoring and timely responses. However, it is necessary to ensure the success of a business.
It reduces the need for manual tasks, which can be time-consuming and prone to human error. Aside from that, it avoids mistakes by providing a centralized repository of all contracts related to an organization.
Simplifies tracking and monitoring
With CLM software, you can improve your business’s tracking and monitoring of contracts, contract approvals, and renewals.
The benefits of using contract lifecycle management are many. For example, it provides a centralized location for all contracts, simplifies the contract approval process, and allows easy access to all contractual information.
Tracking and monitoring seem like a relatively simple job, but it can be tedious over time. With CLMs, it becomes a lot easier to do so you can still do the job in a good enough quality without tiring yourself out.
Eases collaboration
Companies that use contract lifecycle management are more successful than those that don’t. It is a way to streamline the entire collaboration process between different departments, and it is a crucial step in business success.
Contract lifecycle management is a system that manages all the contracts that a company has with its partners, clients, and vendors. This system includes negotiating contracts, preparing them for execution, and executing them after all parties have signed them.
Improved revenue
The contract lifecycle management software is a valuable tool for any company. It can help manage the contracts and streamline the contract management process, eventually leading to better revenue.
Contract lifecycle management is a process that ensures that you’ve managed all the agreements between the company and its clients in a timely and organized manner. It helps to reduce risk, mitigate disputes, and improve customer satisfaction.
Due to these benefits, it becomes much easier to close deals with a potential customer.
Simplify the process of personalizing contracts
Contract lifecycle management is a process that can help companies maintain a healthy contract portfolio and reduce the risk of violating any laws or regulations.
It starts with identifying the legal and regulatory requirements for specific contracts. The company then needs to map these requirements to the existing agreements. This step will help them determine which contracts need to be updated and those that require you to draft from scratch.
The contract lifecycle management process should also include an assessment of risks associated with each contract, such as breach of confidentiality, data security, and intellectual property rights infringement.
A CLM can help simplify these complicated parts of managing a contract. It doesn’t take as much time as it usually would, especially since you have different agreements with different customers.
Effective risk and compliance management
Contracts are an essential part of the business. They are a legally binding agreement between two or more parties, and they help the company protect itself from legal risks. However, it is not easy to manage contracts with all their complexities.
Effective risk and compliance management are one of the main benefits of using contract lifecycle management software. It helps companies identify risks early to avoid any potential negative consequences later on.
Saves money and time by eliminating delays
Contracts are an essential part of a business. You can use them to protect the company and its employees from risks while also providing a clear roadmap for how things will happen. The contract lifecycle management process can help companies save time and money by eliminating delays in the contract process.
The contract lifecycle management process starts with defining the project’s scope and determining what type of contract is needed. After this, contracts are drafted, reviewed, executed, and managed throughout their life cycle. These steps can be tedious and lengthy, so CLM software is a welcome approach to ensure there are no delays.
Boost customer trust and brand reputation
Customer trust is very important to the business
Another benefit of investing in CLM is that it can help organizations boost customer trust and brand reputation by making sure that they are not violating any contract terms.
This process can help reduce the risk of being penalized for violating the contract by a third party. It also helps ensure no gaps between what the company promised and what they’ve delivered on those promises.
Wrapping up
Contract lifecycle management is not something you want to overlook, especially when you’re starting to deal with several contracts all at once while running your business. It will make you more efficient, but it can even improve your reputation with clients, which can generate even more business for you. If you can, consider investing in CLM software today.
The technology industry is one of the most important industries in the world. We use technology daily to keep us better connected, yet we know little about how it’s all created. As much as it may seem like magic, it was actually made by coders, programmers, and other computer science geniuses.
In this fast-growing industry, you might be wondering how you can get started and become part of it? It may seem difficult to find your initial bearings, but once you make that leap, it will be life-changing.
Why Learn to Code?
There are many benefits to learning to code, here are a few that we think should spark up an interest;
It is a booming industry so a lot of related jobs are in demand. Whether you are looking to work for a company or freelance, there are lots of opportunities.
When coding you’ll find new challenges and be continuously learning. This really boosts your problem-solving and logic skills, giving your left side of the brain a proper workout.
It’s fun! Nothing is more rewarding than seeing your technological creations come to life before your eyes. After you’ve passed the initial stages of getting started you can delve into specific parts you are more passionate about and be more creative.
What Languages are Best for Beginners?
Coding is a vast subject, where there are hundreds of different coding languages, each with a different purpose to what they can do. It’s not always easy to figure out what’s the best one to start with and that’s really because there is not just one answer. There are multiple different languages that work well in the beginning, but it’s best to start with the one that fits in with your coding goals. Below are some coding languages that beginners often start with and a little summary of how they can be helpful.
HTML – used as a foundation of the internet, and can set up content for web pages. HTML is a great starting block for beginners and often you’ll find even when you are more advanced you’ll be referring back to HTML.
CCS – HTML and CSS go as a nice pairing, so often you can learn them together. However, CCS handles the colors, sizing, fonts, and layouts of web pages. If you want to sparkle up a page, this is the one for you.
JavaScript – JavaScript helps make web pages more interactive. You can learn how to add videos, maps, and animated graphics.
Python – Python is another good option to start with as a lot of its code reads more like English so it’s easier for beginners to get a good grasp of. It isn’t built for a specific task, it instead helps build websites and software, automate tasks, and conduct data analysis.
Don’t feel that you have to keep to just one of these, you can switch between a few, and in the next section, you’ll learn more about how best to learn these.
Coding Tutors
The best way to learn to code thoroughly and quickly is with your very own coding tutor. In a one-to-one environment, your tutor can focus on key areas specific to your needs, track your progress, and you will be able to learn at your own pace. Tutor House, a top online tutoring platform, provides online coding lessonsfor students. Their tutors are highly experienced in many coding languages, and you can opt-in for a free trial call to find out how they will help achieve your goals. Learn at a time convenient to you and get personalized feedback to see a positive improvement.
Online Tutorials
If you prefer to go the longer route and be self-taught, there are numerous online coding tutorials and resources out there for you to pick up on. Tutorialspoint is a coding channel that carefully explains concepts to you and provides beginner tutorials for many different languages such as HTML, CCS, and Javascript. Self-teaching can be tricky, so make sure you go through these tutorials and resources at your own pace and practice each point thoroughly before moving on to the next. This will move you in a positive direction where you can track your own progress.
Books and Podcasts
A young girl has a lot of books to read in the short time period
There are many books and podcasts that can help educate you on topics on coding. Books are a great way of learning more about coding history and how people have developed in the tech industry. Podcasts can inform you on current and specific topics on coding; such as cyberwarfare, and the socio-economic impact of artificial intelligence. This will help you have a deeper understanding of your discipline and find interests in particular areas in your free time. It’s especially useful to read about topics that are difficult and it helps you see things from a different perspective.
Mini Projects
Most importantly, learn coding by doing. Start yourself up on a mini project and challenge and see how well you can adapt. Whether that is through your lessons with a tutor, an online course, or learning with friends. Sometimes it’s easier to learn when you have a particular motivation to create. The more action, the better the results, and it builds up your problem-solving skills along the way.
Have You Learned The Secret Language Yet?
Like with traditional language learning, to learn a coding language, you need to be passionate, you need to be patient, and you need to practice. There is so much you can do and learn in the coding world, you’ll never get bored. That’s why often coders, new and old, can learn from each other as each person learns with a whole new perspective. Coding is worthwhile to learn – don’t miss out!
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks have become rampant over the last couple of years, primarily because of the pandemic. Many people are working from home and accessing online services throughout the pandemic.
In a report from NETSCOUT, about 10 million DDoS attacks occurred in 2020. It primarily targets remote and other essential services that are often used to make it through the lockdown.
Industries hit hard by these attacks are healthcare, e-commerce, and streaming services.
What is a DDoS attack?
In a nutshell, a DDoS attack involves bombarding an IP address with substantial traffic volumes. So, if the IP address points to a web server, legit traffic can’t reach it, and your site becomes unavailable.
A flood attack is another type of DDoS attack. Groups of servers are flooded with requests which need processing by victim machines. It’s often generated in huge numbers by scripts that run on compromised machines that are part of a botnet. As a result, it exhausts the server resources of the victim, such as the memory or the CPU.
As networks become more and more diverse, now is the time for network observability. What is network observability? It’s the ability to answer questions about your network quickly and efficiently.
A DDoS works in the same principles except that malicious traffic comes from several sources but comes from one central point. Since traffic sources are distributed worldwide, DDoS attack prevention is more complicated than preventing DDoS attacks from a single IP address.
Fortunately, you can avoid these attacks. Here are some of the best practices for preventing them and protecting your business:
1. Make a DDoS response plan
Do you know what you’ll do in case of a DDoS attack? How do you respond? Having a definite plan right from the get-go will allow you to react quickly and efficiently whenever your network is being targeted.
Creating a response plan can take some planning. The more complicated your site infrastructure, the more detailed your response plan is. Regardless of the size of your company, your goal should include the following:
Systems checklist
A professional response team
Clearly defined notification and escalation procedures
List of internet and external contracts which should be informed about the attack.
Detailed communication plan for stakeholders.
2. Keep security infrastructure up to date
Your network is as strong as your weakest links. You need to know of legacy and outdated systems in your infrastructure since these can be entry points for attacks once compromised.
Your data center and systems should also be up to date. It will help if you patch your web application firewalls and network security programs that you might have. Also, when working with an ISP or hosting provider, a security and data center vendor for implementing advanced protection capabilities is an excellent idea.
Don’t put all your eggs in the same basket. Your data centers should be placed on different networks to ensure that all your data centers aren’t in the exact physical location and on various data centers. You need to ensure that these aren’t places wherein traffic bottlenecks in your network.
3. Identifying your network’s traffic
Every organization’s infrastructure has internet traffic patterns, so you need to know yours. Once you know the typical traffic pattern of your organization, then you have a baseline.
Doing so ensures that you can quickly identify the symptoms of a DDoS attack if any unusual activity happens.
4. Always look out for the warning signs
Again, DDoS attacks come with classic symptoms. The most common symptoms are intermittent site shutdown, spotty internet connectivity, and disconnection.
But the problem is that these warning signs are pretty similar to other issues that you might be having in your system, like a slower internet connection and viruses.
If these problems become prolonged and severe, your network will likely suffer from a DDoS attack and utilize proper prevention actions.
5. Use a cloud-based service provider
Cloud providers are offering high levels of cybersecurity. It includes firewalls and monitoring software protecting your business assets and networks from cybercriminals. It also has much greater bandwidth than most private networks. Therefore, it’s unlikely going to fail with increasing DDoS attacks.
Similarly, reputable cloud providers have network redundancy, duplicating systems, data, and equipment. Therefore, if your services become unavailable and corrupted because of an attack, you can quickly switch to secure access on your backed-up versions.
6. Sufficient server capacity
A word hosting is displayed as a central figure of the picture
Since many DDoS attacks work by overwhelming network bandwidth, overprovisioning bandwidth is one way to counter this attack.
Therefore, you need to ensure that your server capacity can handle several heavy traffic spikes by adding bandwidth.
Doing so ensures that you’re ready for any unexpected surges of traffic that are caused by these attacks. Although it won’t completely stop a DDoS attack, it will provide a couple of extra minutes to prepare your defense before all of your resources are used up.
7. Practice good cyber hygiene
You should also engage in the best security practices. It includes regularly changing passwords, securing authentication practices, knowing when to avoid phishing attacks, etc.
The more minor the errors you’ll be committing right from the get-go, the safer it will be for you if there’s an attack.
Over to You
Considering how complicated and devious attacks are, you’ll hopefully follow these best practices to prevent DDoS attacks effectively.
Doing so keeps your web property secure and that you’re more than ready to fight off any of these attacks. Good luck!
Did you know 71% of people enhance their selfies? With the rise of social media, users have a need to enhance photo quality quickly and easily. Lucky for the world, there are apps and software for that!
The more tech-savvy users can use photo editing software to make glamorous photos. For the rest of the world, there are many apps available to help you create good-quality images that stand out in social feeds.
Keep reading for easy ways to enhance your photos.
1. Use an App to Remove Backgrounds
Did you know there are apps to remove backgrounds? And once you do that, you can replace it with something else?
For example, let’s say you took an awesome selfie in the bathroom at work. Naturally, you don’t want to have the bathroom in the background, so you can edit it out! You could even replace it with flowers or nature to make it look like you were somewhere else entirely.
For a cleaner and more polished appearance, try background remover apps. Easily eliminate unwanted backgrounds and replace them with more attractive settings, creating standout photos for your social media feeds.
2. Use Image Enhancement Tools
There are so many tools available to improve images! You can use filters on most social media platforms that do this. If you want to step up your game, you can download apps that make it a few steps further.
You can use filters, add text, or insert stickers. You have the option to zoom in on pictures or add an overlay to change the color. There are several enhancement tools that erase red eyes or blemishes, too.
Cropping or creating a collage is another innovative idea to change up your images. Some apps will even add natural-looking makeup to your photos! Many of these apps require subscriptions, but the features are limitless!
3. Color Adjustments
Adjusting the color, saturation, and lighting of a photo can make all the difference. An easy way to enhance photos, using this tool that most phones already have installed is a quick fix. There are several areas you can make adjustments to:
Saturation
Color
Lighting
Brightness
Tone
Contrast
Vibrance
Sharpness
Clarity
Noise
If you aren’t a photographer or an artist, some of these may be confusing. You can click this link to learn more about each.
4. Adjust the Resolution
A girl is adjusting resolution on her photo camera
A good-quality image has a high resolution. If your photo doesn’t have a high resolution, there are ways to fix it! You can use software such as Photoshop or Adobe to improve it. You can also download many photo apps to your devices that will allow you to adjust.
When you have a higher resolution, you have a clearer picture. It’s not blurry and doesn’t look pixelized. The more pixels the image has, the clearer it looks.
Read More Interesting Articles
Did you enjoy this article about how to enhance photo quality for your pictures? We hope you learned cool techniques for your next photo editing session!
Interested in reading more fun articles? Check out our blog!
Air sanders play an essential role in getting the best results for any woodworking project. Hence, selecting the best quality product is highly important. But, apart from that, you also need to take special care of the products for better service quality and longevity. In fact, the quality sanders will help you get the best finish as well.
Following are some tips that can help you take care of the air sanders well. So, please read below to know how to do it properly.
Check the RPM
Some orbital sanders are specifically designed to work at 10,000 RPM and 12,000 RPM. But, if you don’t take care of it, then the RPM will reduce with age. So, it is best to check the RPM of your sander regularly. Hence, you can use the Tachometer to know about its speed. So, if the sander is not spinning with the correct RPM, you can go for some oiling primarily.
Detect the Air Pressure
Secondly, air pressure is also one of the essential things to maintain in the sanders. In case there are any sanding marks or swirls, then it’s time to check the air pressure. If the air sanders get the right air pressure, you can get the right RPM. Thus, you can use different tools to check the Air pressure and fix the problem in a swift manner.
Maintain the Backup Pads
Now, people tend to ignore this tip that reduces the longevity of the sanders eventually. So, if the backup pads degrade, you need to replace them with new ones. Hence, if you don’t do that, then you will not get the right finish. So, you need to use proper techniques and clean the backup pads properly. In this regard, replacing them within every 3-4 months is necessary. Also, notice if you are getting the right results to understand if any further action needs to be taken.
Oil the Equipment Regularly
Regular oiling is highly important if you want the air sanders to work properly. With extensive use, the speed can reduce drastically. As a result, it will cause uneven scratches and poor quality of work. So, if you don’t do oiling in a timely manner, it will cause friction which will not be good. Therefore, oiling them regularly can help you get the best results in the long run.
Types of Air Sanders
Now, let us understand different types of air sanders that you can select for different purposes:
Random Orbital Sanders
This kind of sander holds the sandpaper in a circle shape; it vibrates properly. In this way, it reduces the chances of any swirl marks. In addition to this, this machine offers speed control and is much quieter than other sanders.
Detail Sander
This one might be a little noisy but lightweight compared to the other options. This is ideal for any smaller projects through which you can get into tight spaces and corners.
Belt Sander
A belt sander is an aggressive tool. It has a 3-4 standing belt. They are best for smoothening large surfaces like wooden floors. You must choose a model that has a built-in compartment for dust collection.
Drum Sander
The Drum sander is a highly aggressive tool that needs careful handling. It is used for vast areas that require heavy sanding. Hence, it is mainly used to remove the bevels of prefinished flooring, etc.
Edge Floor Sander
This is a comparatively strong sander that is used for smoothening the edges or corners. To use this, you need to lean it at a specific angle which will help in reducing the damage.
Workman is using the special air sander to finish the job
1 in 4 people quit their job in 2021. The number continues to grow and is not likely to subside this year.1As the “Great Resignation” upsets companies across every industry, employers are searching for ways to reduce employee turnover.
The interest in turnover is more relevant than ever. Unemployment levels and job openings returned to pre-pandemic levels. Losing trained workers requires the organization to invest significant time and money to recruit, interview, train, and onboard new hires. Turnover disrupts an organization because it requires managers, peers, and human resources to divert resources and takes time away from the organization’s primary service goals.
As the pandemic played a huge role in upheaval, more workers now cite on exit interviews the desire to stay working remotely as a reason to resign. The contrast is universal. Many worked increasingly long hours at home. At the same time, higher numbers than ever claim less work-life balance as a result of being “always-on”. The lack of opportunity and growth many employees experienced contributes to the mass exodus from current employers. Whatever their specific reason for leaving, workers are confident enough in their job prospects to try something new. What more than 50% don’t want to change, is going into the office.
How has workplace culture changed today?
The days when managers simply “command and control” employees are gone. Organizations have changed. Employees bring different needs, wants, and expectations than just two years ago. As people rethink what work means to them and how they are valued, how they spend their time has greater consequences. There are not enough people to replace the retirees that permanently left the workforce. The common goal for any company today is to retain the valued employees they have. Managers, even unknowingly, can create an environment that cultivates or hinders employee morale, undermining the investment HR or leadership makes in benefits, reward programs, and training.
Managers are hired for both their subject matter expertise and also their “soft skills”. As stressors rose for them as well, some were not able to translate those valuable assets into managerial communication or employee motivation. A study by Life Meets Work found that 56% of American workers claim their boss is “mildly” or “highly toxic”.2 The staff enduring high-stress situations can suffer from emotional exhaustion and recurring anxiety, significantly decreasing performance, creativity, and problem-solving. With strong exit interview reports that compare and contrast microculture experiences, disconnects are clearer to see. A microculture is a mix of demographic and organizational aspects that form a unique cultural envelope for a given population. A single company can have dozens of unique experiences that exit interview analysis reveals.
For example, when employees feel supported at work, they are more likely to indicate a highly fair work environment. According to Gartner, creating a better employee experience will be the most important initiative for HR executives in 2022. “To do this, organizations need to go beyond policies and develop philosophies.” (Brian Kropp, Chief Researcher) One of the challenges is not knowing if these manager breakdowns exist, or where they are most prevalent. Organizations that conduct exit interviews with meaningful exit interview questions about direct supervisors, can unlock hidden insights.
Schematic representation of the procedure of the exit interview
Consider…How well do existing employees trust their manager?
How do those same employees feel about your “employer being a good place to work”?
The negative correlation is high. Employees that don’t trust their manager are less likely to promote that employer to others.
What manager insights are built by conducting exit interviews?
Why do so many great employees leave their job?
Only 27% of those who say they have “good managers” are thinking about quitting in the next 12 months, versus 63% of employees who have a “bad manager”. Manager relationships can more than double the intention to leave.
So, the best exit interview questions include and inform specific manager actions and unearth areas for which an underperforming manager can see gaps to develop. Most helpful on an exit interview template include:
Accessibility
Fairness and equality
Trust
Respect / Appreciation
Nature of feedback
An inclination for career development
The role of supervisors is key to an employee’s job experience. They control the degree of structure and potential conflict in the work itself. Managers provide informal and formal feedback to staff on their work behavior and control rewards and even the job security that the employee may enjoy. All these parts of the job experience are particularly important to employees who are trying to adjust themselves to a volatile environment.
Millennial employees are especially less tolerant of mismanagement. Those who feel stifled by their manager are far more likely to quit. They desire an environment that allows them to grow, accept, and use their ideas. Millennials desire greater freedom and trust, and consistently quit jobs when they don’t feel that with their manager.
Managers must be sensitive to the desires of all generations of workers, not just millennials, and must treat all fairly and with respect to avoid issues such as age discrimination.
How can you prevent staff turnover with exit interviews?
What can exit interviews do to slow staff turnover and retain top talent? Those exit interview questions are a crucial step in the offboarding process. An employee’s experience contains valuable information and is the cornerstone of any long-term retention strategy. Good exit interview questions anchor the data that can drive specific changes across:
Benefits
Compensation
Staff Training
Recruiting
Recognition Programs
Manager Coaching
Exit Interview Action Items
Employee turnover triggers a complex chain of events within organizations. When similar exit interview trends are reported across departments, titles, locations, divisions, we have a compelling argument for change. How do the managers of those departments or locations compare?
Learning the precise gaps in management skills allows leadership to fill those gaps with targeted training and support tools. Helping managers to master interpersonal skills gives them the ability to hone their positive influence as well as curb negative impact. Increase the chance that your managers are one of the 27% who is “good managers”.
Author Bio:
Reka Barna is a Senior Talent Management Associate at Retensa, the world’s leading innovator of employee retention strategies, that provides the tools to predict and prevent breakdowns across the Employee Lifecycle. Her work at Retensa focuses on supporting retention consulting projects on staff turnover, employee engagement strategies, and composing Talent Management research. She is a graduate of Touro College School of Health Sciences, New York, and pursuing her master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Miley on June 21, 2022 
