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☆ Microsoft is bringing ChatGPT technology to Word, Excel and Outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Microsoft on Thursday outlined its plans to bring artificial intelligence to its most recognizable productivity tools, including Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel and Word, with the promise of changing how millions do their work every day. The new features, which are built on the same technology that underpins ChatGPT, are far more powerful (and less anthropomorphized) than its wide-eyed, paperclip-shaped predecessor. Microsoft is also introducing a concept called Business Chat, an agent that essentially rides along with the user as they work and tries to understand and make sense of their Microsoft 365 data. During a presentation to its customers on Thursday, Microsoft outlined its road map for how it plans to bring artificial intelligence to its Microsoft 365 services, including Outlook, Teams, PowerPoint, Excel and Word. A Microsoft spokesperson said 365 users accessing the new AI tools should be reminded the technology is a work in progress and information will need to be double checked.

☆ Microsoft adds OpenAI technology to Word and Excel
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Photographer: Charles Pertwee/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesMicrosoft is bringing generative artificial intelligence technologies like the popular ChatGPT chatting app to its Microsoft 365 suite of business software. features, dubbed Copilot, will be available in some of the company's most popular business apps like Word, PowerPoint and Excel. The Copilot technology is built upon a type of artificial intelligence software known as a large language model, or LLM. Microsoft executives demonstrated some of the capabilities of its Copilot tool on Thursday during an online presentation. In February, Microsoft debuted a new version of its Bing search engine that included a chatbot powered by OpenAI's GPT-4 language technology.

☆ Microsoft unveils AI office Copilot in fast-moving race with Google
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The technology company previewed a new AI "Copilot" for Microsoft 365, its product suite that includes Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations and Outlook emails. This partly underpins Microsoft's Copilot features, along with an older GPT-3.5 model, business and application data, Microsoft said. Microsoft Word app is seen on the smartphone placed on the keyboard in this illustration taken, July 26, 2021. Similar to live notes that Google showed reporters this week, Microsoft said its Copilot can summarize virtual meetings as they happen in its Teams collaboration software. Friedman pointed to Microsoft's business chat experience as the biggest development on Thursday because it can handle tasks across applications.

☆ Fiverr or Upwork: When freelancers should use one over the other
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Alexandra York | Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

While their expertise may vary, many freelancers rely on the platforms Fiverr and Upwork to advertise their services, find clients, and grow their businesses. In his experience, Upwork clients are CEOs, startup founders, and established companies, while Fiverr clients tend to be smaller business owners or general individuals. That means freelancers who use Upwork can pursue fewer projects at a time while Fiverr freelancers typically complete more shorter-term gigs to earn the same amount of income. Payment terms and protection vary between platformsFisher's biggest gripe about Fiverr is that it pays freelancers in up to 14 days while Upwork pays freelancers in up to 10 days. "Whether it's Fiverr, Upwork, or any of the other platforms out there, you need to build your profile," she said.

☆ 8 in-demand creative skills for freelancers―many can pay more than $100 per hour
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Demand for 3D animation grew 44% year over year on freelancer platform Upwork, for example, according to a recent report. Graphic designGraphic designers work on visuals for client brochures, websites, social media posts and so on. 3D animators on Upwork charge as much as $110 per hour. These designers charge as much as $125 per hour. Cartoonists on Upwork charge as much as $70 per hour.

☆ I'm a pastor living in rural Arkansas, and I make up to $3,000 a week with my side hustle using ChatGPT to make pitch decks for startups
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

He uses AI tools like ChatGPT and Tome to make pitch decks for businesses on the side. Now, I'm relying on AI tools like the new chatbot, ChatGPT, and the storytelling tool, Tome, for my creative work. AI tools have cut my turnaround time in halfLarry Lundstrom and his wife, Myra, in front of their home in Arkansas. Larry LundstromAfter years of designing everything from websites to college football logos, my creative work is now limited to freelancing. Before the dawn of AI tools it would probably take me a week — a full 40 hours — to put together a pitch deck from start to finish.

☆ This startup wants to take on PowerPoint and Notion with its interactive presentation software. Check out the 9-slide pitch deck Chronicle used to raise $7.5 million from Accel.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The startup has created interactive presentation tools to modernize outdated storytelling methods. We got an exclusive look at the 9-slide deck it created with its own tools to raise the fresh funds. Sydney and San Francisco-based Chronicle has designed a software tool that enables teams to quickly design sleek presentations. While creating presentations, Chronicle offers users pre-designed blocks as templates so they can save time while creating impactful designs, he added. Check out the 9-slide deck — created using the startup's own interactive tools — that helped secure the fresh funds.

☆ 'Bare Minimum Monday' is nice, but it's got nothing on 'Try-Less Tuesday'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Rebecca Knight | Tim Paradis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"Bare Minimum Monday" is the latest workplace trend taking over TikTok. First, a bit about Bare Minimum Monday: "It's a practice where employees show up to work to only do the bare minimum on a Monday, often starting the day late after a productive morning of self-care rituals," Fortune wrote. Marisa Jo, a TikToker credited with gifting Bare Minimum Monday to the masses, describes it as a way to both eliminate the "Sunday scaries" and remove the "unnecessary pressure" she was putting on herself to be productive. Bare Minimum Monday is, of course, the TikTokian progeny of "quiet quitting," which itself sprang from a dark time when there were few name-your-pain labels for us plebeians. Work not from a café, work not from thy kitchen table, and, above all, work not from thine office.

☆ I earn $9,500 a month selling printables I make on Canva. Here's how I scaled my Etsy store while on maternity leave.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Rachel Jimenez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Eventually, work got busy, so blogging and running my Etsy store went on the back burner. When I refocused on my Etsy store a few years later, I grew my average sales to about $9,500 a month. My Etsy store, however, was consistently bringing in about $50 a month, even though I'd basically ignored it for a year. When I saw someone doing well with online marketing or an Etsy store, instead of being jealous I'd ask myself, "What can I learn from them?" Customers value digital products because they can be reusedA digital product can be a PDF, a JPEG image, or even an Excel spreadsheet that you make once and profit from forever.

☆ The week that tech became exciting again
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN Business —Let’s be honest: For much of the past decade, tech events have been pretty boring. In each case, the changes were powered by new AI technology that allows for more conversational and complex responses. And there are already rumors of another event next month for Microsoft to demo similar features in its Office products, including Word, PowerPoint and Outlook. Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Baidu also said this week that they would be launching their own ChatGPT-style services. Microsoft employee Alex Buscher demonstrates a search feature integration of Microsoft Bing search engine and Edge browser with OpenAI on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Redmond.

☆ I made $200,000 last year selling printables. It's mostly passive income and I can end my day before school pick-up — here's how I built it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Jane Fazackarley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In the beginning, when I was only selling printables with personal-use licenses, I had several people ask if I could also create commercial-use printables, so I added those to my offerings. I noticed I was getting free traffic from Google and Pinterest, so I decided to cash in and start selling printables. My husband, who's now very supportive of my printables business, was skeptical that it was a good use of my time. I launched the memberships after customers requested more help selling printables, and I currently have around 190 members. My printables business means I can be there for my familyI can work as little or as much as I want.

Feb 9 (Reuters) - A unit of medical device maker Medtronic plc (MDT.N) must pay $106.5 million to competitor Colibri Heart Valve LLC for patent infringement, a Santa Ana, California federal jury said Wednesday. The jury concluded after a seven-day trial that Medtronic CoreValve LLC's Evolut devices violate a Colibri patent for replacing heart valves in patients with heart disease, representatives for the companies confirmed Thursday. A spokesperson for Medtronic said the Minneapolis-headquartered company strongly disagrees with the verdict and will appeal. It alleged doctors use Medtronic's devices in a way that infringes Colibri's patent, which covers a method for controlling the deployment of self-expanding artificial heart valves. The case is Colibri Heart Valve LLC v. Medtronic CoreValve LLC, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, No.

☆ Microsoft’s Bing finally has a chance to take a bite out of Google with ChatGPT. But it has to move fast.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Microsoft finally announced a new ChatGPT-enhanced Bing that can challenge Google's search dominance. But while ChatGPT pushes Microsoft and Bing forward, Google has been aggressively reminding everyone that it's been doing the AI thing for a long time. Microsoft has to move fast to keep its advantageBing has consistently been a distant second to Google Search for decades. Still, with its sizable war chest and long history with developing AI in-house, Google appears ready for a fight. In much the same manner as Microsoft's master plan, Google plans to bring ChatGPT to its own suite of software, including Gmail and Google Docs.

☆ Microsoft announces its new search engine with OpenAI that promises to be 'more powerful than ChatGPT'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Aaron Mok | Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft just announced its latest search engine, the "new Bing." The new Bing will run on a new next-generation language model Microsoft calls the "Prometheus model" designed specifically for search purposes. The search engine will also include a chat extension that Microsoft said can come in handy for things like "trip planning and shopping." Users can "talk" to the search engine by asking it to recommend the cheapest TV when shopping or to create a itinerary for a five day trip with the family. The news comes just weeks after Microsoft announced that it will be investing billions of dollars into OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT-like tools into its products such as search engine Bing, Excel, and Powerpoint.

☆ I'm a shy introvert who read 'How to Win Friends and Influence People.' Here are 3 ways it made me more likeable and a better salesperson.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Jen Glantz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Jen Glantz recently read "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie. The book provides 30 different principles around how to make people like you more, influence their way of thinking, and be a better leader. After finishing the book, I spent two months implementing a few of the main points in my personal life and business interactions. Rather than provide feedback or even share my own journey as an entrepreneur, I listened and responded with follow-up questions. As a solopreneur who didn't get a business degree or go to business school, I'm constantly having to find ways to grow my skills and expand my knowledge.

☆ One of Jeff Bezos' secrets to success: The boss should always talk last in meetings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

If you ever find yourself taking a meeting with Jeff Bezos, don't expect the billionaire Amazon founder to speak first. There's a reason Bezos thinks managers should always speak last in business meetings, for example. "I hold a lot of meetings, and I would talk first in a meeting, and [Bezos] goes, 'No, no, no. Similarly, Bezos recommends keeping the meetings themselves as short as possible once the reading period is over, Sanchez said: "Keep meetings under an hour, if you can." Bezos' meeting method is favored by other tech executives, too.

☆ A public-speaking expert shares 8 tips to perfect — and even enjoy — your next work presentation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Ella Hopkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Practice your presentation beforehand — but don't memorizeGold cautioned against learning a presentation by rote. He suggested thinking about a presentation as several stories, each with a point, to allow yourself flexibility while speaking. "There's no harm in giving a presentation with less data, and then following up with a handout," Gold added. "You want it to be something that gives them a visual trigger to remember what you said after the presentation rather than being the actual presentation itself," Gold said. He suggested that, if you don't know an answer, tell them that it's a great question but you don't want to answer off the cuff.

☆ Microsoft could bring back Clippy, but make him smart
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —This week, Microsoft confirmed it’s planning to invest billions in OpenAI, the company behind the viral new chatbot tool ChatGPT. The prospect of Microsoft, maker of software that people mostly hate, getting involved with ChatGPT, a product people generally like, is raising a lot of eyebrows. Almost immediately, people began joking on social media that ChatGPT could be used to revive the broadly maligned, big-eyed goon known as Clippy. “There is a kernel of truth to the Clippy comparison,” David Lobina, an artificial intelligence analyst at ABI Research, told Sam. All of the above suggestions were generated by asking ChatGPT various forms of the question, “How could Microsoft integrate ChatGPT into its products?”Argh, Samantha, you scamp!

☆ Harvard neuroscientist: The 'most underrated' skill all successful people have—'especially introverts'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Juliette Han | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The most underrated skill that successful people, especially introverts, have is the ability to write clearly. Before you communicate an idea or request, decide on the best format to deliver your information. For example, if you are sharing research involving complex data, then a PowerPoint displaying charts and images may be the best format. Format the email so it's easy to read on phone screens (e.g., short, bulleted sentences). If your message exceeds one page, create a separate document to attach and use the email to provide highlights.

☆ How Microsoft could use ChatGPT to supercharge its products
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

For Microsoft, integrating the chatbot tool could make its core software products more powerful. All of the above suggestions were generated by asking ChatGPT various forms of the question, “How could Microsoft integrate ChatGPT into its products?” Microsoft, for is part, has said little on possible integrations beyond recently announcing plans to add ChatGPT features to its cloud computing service. “Microsoft will deploy OpenAI’s models across our consumer and enterprise products and introduce new categories of digital experiences built on OpenAI’s technology,” Microsoft said in a press release this week, announcing the expanded partnership. For Microsoft, that could make integrating the tool into specific products problematic. Integrating ChatGPT too quickly into Microsoft’s products could run the risk of schools rethinking their use of that software.

☆ Microsoft confirms it’s investing billions in ChatGPT creator OpenAI
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Microsoft on Monday confirmed it is making a “multibillion dollar” investment in OpenAI, the company behind the viral new AI chatbot tool called ChatGPT. As a result of its existing exclusive deal with OpenAI, Microsoft recently said it would soon add ChatGPT features to to its cloud computing service, Azure. But there are some risks for Microsoft and OpenAI here. That could potentially create “much negative publicity” for the companies associated with these tools, said David Lobina, an artificial intelligence analyst at ABI Research. The opportunity is immense, however, and could boost Microsoft’s position in the growing arms race over artificial intelligence, and provide a helpful boost to OpenAI in the process.

☆ Microsoft CEO says OpenAI partnership will allow companies to access tools like ChatGPT in workplace emails, slideshows, and spreadsheets
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Increased availability of Microsoft's Azure OpenAI Service follows AI integration within the company's own products like Excel and Bing. The tech giant announced earlier this week it opened access to its Azure OpenAI Service, which uses Microsoft cloud computing technology to allow companies to use AI tools like ChatGPT, according to a company press release. "With Azure OpenAI Service now generally available, more businesses can apply for access to the most advanced AI models in the world," the announcement states. Nadella went on to say that workers should embrace new AI tools instead of fearing them, the Journal reported. At the Wall Street Journal panel Tuesday, he said AI tools will increase human productivity, in turn bolstering economic growth and wages.

☆ Pitch Decks That Advertising Tech Startups Used to Raise Millions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Business Insider | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

Check out these pitch decks that they've used to sell their vision and raise millions from private equity and VC investors. Blocking ad fraudAdtech startup Lunio, announced a $15 million Series A funding round in September 2022. In May 2022, the software-as-a-service startup raised a $30 million Series B round, led by Insight Partners. Marketing in the metaverseAnima, an augmented-reality startup, raised a $3 million funding round from investors in Janury. He raised $50 million in Series D after closing a $34 million Series C last year, bringing its total raised to $100 million.

☆ Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan junior bankers reveal the best — and worst — parts of their jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Emmalyse Brownstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The 2022 poll captured the thinking of more than 2,500 junior bankers across 50-plus firms. For years, recruiting firm Odyssey Search Partners has been polling first-year junior bankers on their current work experience and future goals. The annual survey has revealed an interesting trend, which is that junior bankers who work at top tier boutique banks tend to be happier. This slideshow contains the specific remarks junior bankers offered to explain why they rated their experience good or bad. Odyssey Search Partners2 Top boutique investment banks based on Mergers & Inquisitions classification of banks as way to categorize the investment banks; this is not to be viewed as a ranking.

☆ What Junior Bankers Think of Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and More
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Emmalyse Brownstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The 2022 poll captured the thinking of more than 2,500 junior bankers across 50-plus firms. See what they think, in their own words, about their various Wall Street employers. For years, recruiting firm Odyssey Search Partners has been polling first-year junior bankers on their current work experience and future goals. This slideshow contains the specific remarks junior bankers offered to explain why they rated their experience good or bad. Odyssey Search Partners2 Top boutique investment banks based on Mergers & Inquisitions classification of banks as way to categorize the investment banks; this is not to be viewed as a ranking.

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