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But while the company's profile in the industry has stayed constant and swaggering, behind the curtain, its business has been increasingly troubled, 10 insiders told Business Insider. Creator economy professionals mingled beneath glowing jellyfish and coral light fixtures inside Jellysmack's creator lounge during VidCon 2023. "As a startup in the ever-evolving creator economy, we are constantly testing and adapting our business model," the Jellysmack spokesperson told BI in a statement. Advertisement"The world was falling apart with the pandemic, but early Jellysmack felt like a dream," the second former staffer told BI. BI viewed two Jellysmack contracts and an email exchange between Jellysmack and one of its creator clients to verify the practice.

Persons: —, SoftBank, lanyards, Jellymack, Jellysmack, YouTubers, Brad Mondo, Meta, Michael Philippe, Jellysmack cofounders Swann Maizil, Robin Sabban, Nathan Guetta, Condé Nast, Youri Hazanov, Sean Atkins, hasn't, Snapchat —, Amanda Perelli, JellyFi, deprioritize, that's, it's, Ollie Forsyth, They've Organizations: Service, Business, Facebook, influencers, BI, YouTube, Disney, Comcast, Keli, Big Tech, cryptocurrency, MTV, HBO, Copyright Capital, SoftBank, Productions, OKA Media, Network Media LLC, Crime, Star, Spotify, Crime Network Locations: VidCon, SoftBank

☆ I started a business with my mom right out of college and we've grown it to 7 figures in revenue. I've never had a real job, and I love being my own boss.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Perri Ormont Blumberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . After graduating with a psychology degree in 2010, I went into business with my mom, Ann Lightfoot. What started as a mother-daughter duo organizing closets and hauling trash has turned into a successful business with 14 employees. Clients started pouring in.

Persons: Kate Pawlowski, Ann Lightfoot, Pawlowski, —, It's, I've, Lightfoot, Julia D'Agostino, We've, we've, Decluttering Organizations: Service, Facebook Locations: Montclair , New Jersey, New York

☆ Millennials Make the Most of the Housing Market; Renovating Rentals
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Emily Jensen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

In a 2022 survey by Apartment List, a quarter of millennials said they expected to rent forever. And housing experts say that when it comes to homeownership, millennials are the most screwed generation. "Millennials have a much different mindset on life in general than the generation before us," Muller told me. But millennials' housing misfortunes go beyond personal spending habits; they entered adulthood at a terrible time for the housing market. At the same time the housing market was soaring out of control during the pandemic, people were spending more time at home.

Persons: Brigette Muller, she'd, Muller, I'm, Franchesca Ramsey, Marco Zamora, millennials, There's, Jim Parrott, Parrott Ryan, Parrott, they've, Caroline Winkler, Winkler, Alexandra Gater, Hattie Kolp, Benjamin Fix, —, Rose Matthes, Matthes, Zamora, messaged, Stardust, she's, Nice, I've, Emily Jensen Organizations: TikTok, Urban, Urban Institute, Urban Outfitters, YouTube, New York, GQ, Street Journal, Fashion Locations: Greenpoint , Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Washington , DC, reno, Toronto, New York, San Francisco, Denver, Santa Fe, Poplight, Washington ,, Nice, Philadelphia, New, New York City

☆ Google Sues to Block AI Ads Preying on Small Businesses
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( John D. Mckinnon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Google says hackers are posting ads offering to download its Bard AI chatbot, which is a free web-based platform and isn’t available through download. Photo: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg NewsScammers are capitalizing on the rush of consumer interest in artificial-intelligence tools to steal U.S. small businesses’ social-media-account passwords, Google alleges in a new lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed Monday, targets unnamed individuals in India and Vietnam. Google said the hackers have been tricking small-business owners into clicking on Facebook ads that offer to download Google’s Bard artificial-intelligence chatbot. When they do, the ads hit them with malware that steals their social-media credentials.

Persons: chatbot, Gabby Jones Organizations: Google, Bloomberg Locations: India, Vietnam

☆ Netflix and others have pulled back on hard-hitting documentaries as streamers seek more true crime and 'nothing too political'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

"Beyond Utopia" attracted interest at Sundance from streamers like Amazon's Prime Video and Netflix. Interest peaked four years ago at the Sundance Film Festival, fueled by Amazon and Netflix, which paid a record $10 million for the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez doc "Knock Down the House." In the crime realm, WME advised, Netflix was seeking films based on big, well-known cases and scams like "Dahmer" and "Tinder Swindler." Filmmakers point to streamers' self-censorship and 'cold feet' over sensitive topicsSome filmmakers said there are still champions at the streamers for documentaries that push the envelope. "Beyond Utopia" is among a number of recent films that have been snubbed by the big streamers, despite winning awards and buzz.

Persons: Madeleine Gavin, It'll, It's, Gavin, Hulu, Peter Broderick, Hulu didn't, Sundance fests, Broderick, WME, Dahmer, Ted Hope, Hope, Vanessa Hope, Taiwan's, he'd've, Oscar, Bryan Fogel, Jamal Khashoggi, Thom Powers, it's, Keith Ochwat, Ochwat Organizations: Sundance, Netflix, PBS, Sundance Film, Amazon, Alexandria, Paradigm Consulting, Amazon Prime, Apple, Hulu, Hollywood, Gravitas Ventures, & $ Locations: Joy, Congo, arthouses, Hulu, China, Park City, Syria, Russian, Ukraine, Venice

☆ I teach dining etiquette to Americans. Many people miss the basics — here are the most common mistakes I see.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Alice Draper | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Jayne Withers teaches classes about dining etiquette to both children and adults in Florida. I always enjoyed teaching, which is probably why I started my etiquette business after decades of working in publishing and wellness. From 2016 to this year, my husband and I ran a restaurant called Sealantro British Cafe, and I used some of the contacts from its mailing list to grow my etiquette business. That's a very common theme, and that's how I started teaching adults. I now teach courses on modern formal dining for adults and college students, dining out for children, business dining, international business etiquette, afternoon-tea etiquette, and etiquette for teenagers.

Persons: Jayne Withers, Jayne, Harry Potter, wasn't, Grandma, I've, Emily, Emily can't Organizations: Cambridge University, Service, Cambridge, galas, Swann School of Protocol, Facebook, Vero Locations: Florida, Wall, Silicon, Preston , England, Cambridge, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, British, America, Caribbean, Paris

☆ Trump uses Facebook to fund presidential run, two years after Meta banned him
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The Meta ad archive shows that since early June, the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee spent more than $500,000 on digital Meta ads. There is no public data showing how much the Meta ads have directly raised for the Trump campaign. Trump's campaign outraised all of his Republican primary opponents in the second quarter, according to Federal Election Commission records. Some of the recent Trump ads falsely claim, for instance, that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, "lets violent murderers and TRUE criminals run wild in her city." Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Source: Meta Ad Library

Persons: Donald Trump, Sam Wolfe, Trump, it's, Andrew Arenge, Arenge, Alex Conant, Sen, Marco Rubio, —, Brad Parscale, Parscale, Jack Smith, Joe Biden's, Republican Sen, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Fani Willis, Willis Organizations: Republican, Reuters, Meta, Facebook, Trump, Trump Save America, Committee, CNBC, University of, Democrats, Republicans, Commission, NBC News, White, Inc, FEC, U.S, Capitol, Atlanta Locations: Columbia , South Carolina, U.S, Canada, New York City, Georgia, New York, Fulton County, Atlanta

☆ GOP presidential candidate Larry Elder's financial disclosure shows he made between $1 million-$5 million from far-right newspaper, The Epoch Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

GOP presidential candidate Larry Elder filed his financial disclosure on Monday, three months late. He reported earning between $1 million and $5 million from the far-right newspaper, The Epoch Times. In the disclosure, Elder said he made between $1 million and $5 million from The Epoch Times. AdvertisementAdvertisementFounded in 2000, The Epoch Times is a nonprofit publication with close ties to the Chinese religious sect, Falun Gong. Joan Donovan, a nationally-recognized misinformation and disinformation expert, said in an interview with NBC News that The Epoch Times was "a known disinformation operation."

Persons: Larry Elder, Gong, he's, Elder, Kimberly Leonard, spender, Joan Donovan Organizations: Epoch Times, Trump Facebook, Service, GOP, Twitter, Trump, Facebook, NBC News, Times, Republican National Convention, RNC Locations: Wall, Silicon, Milwaukee , Wisconsin

☆ I can make $1,300 a day cleaning roofs and gutters. It's one of the easiest and highest-paying side gigs out there — here's how I got started.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Jenna Gyimesi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

He says that power washing, roof and gutter cleaning are easy side hustles. There is so much demandClaeys likes to use a leaf blower to help clean gutters. But people still needed their homes maintained, so I ran a Facebook ad with four different services; roof cleaning, gutter cleaning, pressure washing, and roof and gutter combo. But I got it done, and now I teach people how to clean roofs on YouTube, so it has come full circle. It's a young man's gameI'm 27, so I'm not old yet, but roof cleaning is more of a young man's game.

Persons: Spencer Claeys, Claeys, I've, we're, Jack Daniels, Clayes, I'm, It's, Jenna Gyimesi Organizations: Service Locations: Northwest, Wall, Silicon, Washington State

☆ 3 friends pooled $3,000 to sell T-shirts—they've brought in over $250 million since 2019
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

When Bartlett and a couple friends pooled $3,000 to launch men's apparel brand True Classic in 2019, he'd never sold clothing before. But the idea behind True Classic, affordable shirts built to flatteringly fit the everyman, seemed to resonate with people. The mistake, he says, nearly put True Classic out of business. Now, finally, True Classic is once again positioned to compete with direct-to-consumer rivals like Everlane and Vuori, and clothing giants like Nike and Ralph Lauren. True Classic spent $40 million on its first inventory order for the year.

Persons: Ryan Bartlett's, Bartlett, he'd, — Nick Ventura, Matthew Winnick —, Ralph Lauren, who'd, should've, couldn't Organizations: CNBC, Nike, Facebook Locations: Los Angeles, Ventura

☆ I made nearly $1 million in revenue my first year on Etsy. Here's how I did it and my best tips for shop owners.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Aria Yang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

One of my clients back then had an Etsy shop, and she was selling products both on an Etsy shop and a Shopify Store. I wasn't the standard DIY or handmade crafts Etsy shop ownerI didn't make crafts or other handmade products — I was the give-me-something-to-sell-and-I-will-sell-it type of Etsy shop owner. Essential tips to start your first-ever Print-on-demand Etsy store1. For example, when you get an order from your Etsy shop, Printfuls will print it and fulfill it for you. If you're an Etsy shop owner and would like to share your story, email Aria yang at ayang@insider.com.

Persons: Hannah Gardner, Etsy, —, — they're, Rich Organizations: Morning, Commerce, USPS Locations: Etsy, Miami, West Palm, Brazil, Hollister

☆ How the generative A.I. boom could forever change online advertising
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Meta, Alphabet and Amazon , the leaders in online advertising, are all betting generative AI will eventually be core to their businesses. In May, Meta announced its AI Sandbox testing suite for companies to more easily use generative AI software to create background images and experiment with different advertising copy. However, Shaked said he's "not sold on the creative piece yet," regarding Meta's nascent foray into providing generative AI tools for advertisers. Jay Pattisall, an analyst at Forrester, said several major hurdles prevent generative AI from having a major immediate impact on the online ad industry. Stacy Reed, an online advertising and Facebook ads consultant, is currently incorporating generative AI into her daily work.

Persons: Sebastien Bozon, ChatGPT, Shane Rasnak, Rasnak, Cristina Lawrence, Lawrence, Mark Zuckerberg, Andrew Caballero, Reynolds, Yarden Shaked, Shaked, Jay Pattisall, Forrester, Pattisall, Reddit, Scott McKelvey, OpenAI, McKelvey, that's, Meta, Stacy Reed, it's, Reed, they've, Ryan Reynolds Organizations: AFP, Getty, Facebook, Twitter, CNBC, Meta, Meta's, Georgetown University, Bloomberg News, Mint Mobile, Social Locations: Utah, San Francisco, Washington

☆ I was fired by a client for using AI. I'm not going to stop because it's doubled my output, but I'm more clear about how I use it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Tina Sendin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Tina Sendin used the AI writing tool Jasper.ai to write articles for a project on a tight deadline. Since I couldn't clone myself, I tried what I thought would be the next best thing: I used AI. I was using AI to clone myself as a writerI essentially used Jasper.ai as an extension of myself. I draft the article first, then use an AI tool to enhance it and ensure I've maintained the client's tone of voice. I'll learn about AI, so I'll know how to use it to improve my workflow and optimize my everyday work.

Persons: Tina Sendin, Sendin, I'd, Jasper, I've, Ryan Reynolds, ChatGPT, it's Organizations: Morning, Google, Facebook Locations: ChatGPT, Jasper

☆ Meta's social media apps back up after outage
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 16 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (META.O) said on Friday services on its social media apps Facebook and Instagram were restored, more than two hours after an outage that affected thousands of users. At one point, nearly 20,000 users in total said they were having trouble accessing Facebook and Instagram and Meta's messaging service WhatsApp, according to outage-tracking website Downdetector.com. Outage reports had come down to less than 500 as of 6:30 p.m. Issues with Meta's Ads Manager, the advertising tool that lets brands buy and create Facebook ads, were also resolved, the company said. Reporting by Niket Nishant and Samrhitha Arunasalam in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Niket Nishant, Maju Samuel Organizations: Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Meta says aware of issues with advertising tool
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 16 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (META.O) on Friday said it was aware of issues with its Ads Manager, its advertising tool that lets brands buy and create Facebook ads. "Our engineering teams are aware and are actively looking to resolve the issue as quickly as possible," Meta said on its status page. More than 15,000 users in total said they were having trouble accessing Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, according to Downdetector. "We're aware that some people are having trouble accessing our products. We're working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible, and we apologize for any inconvenience," a Meta spokesperson said.

Persons: Meta, Downdetector.com, Niket Nishant, Maju Samuel Organizations: Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Facebook faces new allegations of gender discrimination in its delivery of job ads. Research by human rights group suggests it's a global concern
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Clare Duffy | Carlotta Dotto | Naomi Hirst | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

But Global Witness' research suggests that this results in job ads being targeted to users based on gender stereotypes. And in some cases, human rights advocates say, the biases that appear to be shown by Facebook's ad system may exacerbate other disparities. Global Witness targeted the ads to adult Facebook users of any gender who resided in, or had recently visited, the chosen countries. Certain roles were less strongly skewed — a package delivery job ad, for example, was shown to 38% women users in the Netherlands. In December, Real Women in Trucking filed its EEOC complaint alleging that Facebook's job ads algorithm discriminates based on age and gender.

Persons: Naomi Hirst, Clara Wichmann, Ashley Settle, Settle, Meta, Linde, Ireland —, Caroline Leroy, Blanvillain, Fondation des Femme, Pat de Brún, de Brún, —, Brún, Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg, Sandberg, Peter Romer, Friedman, " Romer, Facebook's, Hirst, Meera Senthilingam, Seth Fiegerman, Carlotta Dotto, Carolina Moscoso, Tal Yellin, Damian Prado, David Blood, Gabrielle Smith Organizations: CNN, Facebook, Global, Facebook's, des, UK, Human Rights, Commissioner's, Meta, US, Employment, Commission, Real Women, Trucking, Ad, Ireland, Fondation des, Amnesty, Employment Opportunity Commission, University of Southern, Real, Data Locations: Europe, France, Netherlands, Canada, United States, India, South Africa, United Kingdom, Indonesia, University of Southern California

☆ I built a website that brings in 6 figures in passive income. Here are my best tips on getting started, from using Google AdSense to growing organic traffic.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Robin Madell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

He says getting advertisements onto his site was simple, and now he gets payouts every month. That motivated me to add some new features and optimize the site for search engines. I couldn't find any good resources on the web or in the Google search results with the information I sought. This is where an ad network came in — using a network to sell ad space keeps the entire process passive. For a small web publishing business, monthly net profit can be as simple as ad revenue minus hosting costs.

☆ Chinese retailers helped lift Meta's first-quarter sales in a tough online advertising market
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Meta can thank Chinese retailers for helping lift the company's first-quarter sales after three consecutive quarters of revenue declines. It's a sign that China's recent easing of its zero-Covid policy has indirectly benefited Meta, with Chinese companies using Facebook and Instagram's massive reach around the world to land new customers. Still, Meta's sales grew only 3% year over year to $28.65 billion during the first quarter, underscoring that there's still turbulence in the digital advertising market. Li said that Meta also saw stronger demand in the quarter as Russia's war in Ukraine passed its one-year mark as of February. Indeed, the company's Reality Labs unit, which is building the virtual reality and augmented reality technologies needed for the yet-to-be developed metaverse, logged nearly $4 billion in first-quarter losses off $339 million in sales.

☆ Meta just suffered a major Facebook ad glitch that has advertisers asking about refunds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesOver the weekend, Alex Gorlick experienced what he called the worst Facebook glitch he's seen in the decade he's worked in digital advertising. A spokesperson for Facebook parent Meta acknowledged there was an ad glitch but declined to provide details or an explanation as to why it happened. Additionally, the Facebook ad bug impacted companies running ads tied to Earth Day. Hott noted that Facebook experienced a major ad glitch a day before Black Friday in 2020 as well as another similar bug earlier that summer. The main issue for advertisers will be whether they get refunds from Meta because of the glitch, industry experts said.

☆ The 5 absolute worst ways to earn passive income, according to a 6-figure entrepreneur who's tried dozens of them
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Jen Glantz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Flipping products, making money through ads, and credit-card bonuses were a waste of her time. At first, I was making passive income as the stocks increased in value, and I sold off a few shares to make a profit. Trying to make passive income in the stock market is risky, especially when you're someone who doesn't fully understand it. In the end, this passive income stream proved to be stressful, time-consuming, and risky. After earning those bonus points, I redeemed them for cash or statement credits, and called that passive income.

☆ The Obscure G.O.P. Bookkeeper at the Center of the George Santos Mess
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Grace Ashford | Nicholas Fandos | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The degree to which Ms. Marks was aware of Mr. Santos’s numerous biographical deceptions is not clear. In May 2021, Red Strategies USA was born. The placements cost $3,800, though Mr. Hafizi paid Red Strategies $12,000, according to a person with direct knowledge of the arrangement. Red Strategies was not the only company Mr. Hafizi patronized that was tied to Ms. Marks, who was also his treasurer. By then, Ms. Marks and Mr. Santos were just a few weeks from an unlikely upset victory that would alter the course of their careers.

☆ 5 marketing experts on how to pull off a heritage-month campaign that's authentic and builds trust with the community
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Erica Sweeney | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

"I want all businesses to make people of all stripes feel warm and welcome," he told Insider. "There are times when something can be well-intentioned but could be wildly off," he told Insider. Michelle Thames, founder of Thames Media Solutions. Courtesy of Michelle ThamesAuthentic marketing resonates with people and is more likely to boost brand awareness, said Michelle Thames, founder of Thames Media Solutions in Chicago. "It's definitely important to have a connection instead of just posting a meme and slapping up a picture, which doesn't really resonate," she told Insider.

☆ I grew my Shopify store while in college and sold it for $1 million on OpenStore. Here’s how.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Ella Hopkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Max Medroso started his microscope business, TheSTEMKids, while at college in 2020. Medroso sold his business for $1 million to OpenStore, a startup that buys Shopify stores. While I was at college studying mechanical engineering in 2020, I came across a portable microscope while browsing Amazon. Courtesy of OpenStoreI tested my business idea before buying in bulkI went to college wanting to start a business. When I set up a Shopify store to sell my microscopes in September 2020, I wanted to test out the idea before I bought lots of stock.

☆ Trump campaign raised $7 million since indictment, aide says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Former US President Donald Trump sits in the rear of his limousine as he departs Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on April 1, 2023. Former President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign raised $7 million in the days after his indictment in Manhattan, a top campaign aide said Monday. Senior Trump aide Jason Miller announced the haul as the ex-president was en route to New York City ahead of his expected arrest and arraignment on Tuesday. Trump has repeatedly decried District Attorney Alvin Bragg's probe as a "witch hunt," and has attacked the DA himself in vitriolic terms. After the grand jury's vote, Trump's campaign started running Facebook ads that seized on the development.

☆ Trump campaign uses newly restored Facebook page to fundraise off indictment
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The archive shows at least three different Trump campaign fundraising ads that leverage the indictment. The Facebook ads, run through Trump's page, say they were paid for by the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee. The political action committee raises money for the Trump campaign and Save America, the former president's leadership PAC. The Facebook ad archive shows a majority of those who have seen that Friday fundraising ad alone are men and women over the age of 65. A Trump campaign spokesman did not respond to a request for comment when asked how much the former president's campaign has raised since the indictment.

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