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The Edge: 5 Ways Big Tech Companies Have Used Data to Transform Their Business

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“Big Tech” are the Tech Giants, also known as the Big Five. They are Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Meta (formerly Facebook), and Microsoft. These are the dominant companies in search, online advertising, e-commerce, social media, computer software, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud services, and more. The companies are all “unicorns,” having market capitalizations of over $1 trillion up to $3 trillion.

Jaron Lanier, an early advocate and inventor of virtual reality, says, “If an online service is free, you can bet it is feeding a scheme that makes money by subconsciously manipulating people.” They achieve this manipulation by collecting and mining data with the help of artificial intelligence and then make money selling the results to the highest bidder. 

Here are five ways that Big Tech uses data to transform their business.

1. Algorithms

Big Tech created complex algorithms called “algos,” for short. An algo is a program that optimizes for a specific function, such as relevance or engagement. Using algos made these companies billions in profits.

Goggle’s algos are so powerful that they can predict a user’s behavior before the user thinks about the idea. Not only does Google know you better than your mother does, the algos know you better than you know yourself.

Meta has some algos that optimize for engagement. They learned that social media posts, which provoke outrage, attract more attention. This phenomenon is why negative information, even if untrue, spreads so quickly. Using this method is how the company keeps users engaged.

2. Big Data Mining

People using web content create a dataset of user information everywhere they go online. There is also mobile-phone tracking data showing where a person went, even if their phone is off. These two datasets can be combined and mined for insights.

Did you know that there are thousands of dataset repositories on the web? Scientists, researchers, students, or anyone interested in data mining can search for datasets using the Google tool.

Big Data mining looks for trends and gives insight into patterns that are not obvious and may be counter-intuitive. All Big Tech companies have massive data mining programs in progress and use many datasets to train AI.

3. Artificial Intelligence

Alphabet, through Google AI, is making such rapid advancements with artificial intelligence that it recently sparked a controversy about whether AI is sentient or not. One software engineer claimed that the AI was demonstrating self-awareness. Google promptly fired him for publicly making these claims and leaking confidential information.

Perhaps we can forgive him if he became confused between AI and human responses. The AI running behind the scenes for the Google Assistant, which you activate by saying, “Hey Google,” feels very humanlike at times. The huge amount of data collected by Google allows it to train the AI to simulate human responses, which are uncannily similar to what a real human person sounds like.

4. In-App Purchases

If you download an app from the Apple App store that contains in-app purchases, you may use the app for free. However, some users will make an in-app purchase. This purchase may be a digital collectible, premium feature, or game enhancement.

This strategy turns a free app into a revenue generator. Did you know that Apple takes a 15% to 30% cut of the sales? Elon Musk says that is ten times too high. Providing the App Store to let people download apps makes billions for Apple. More importantly, the data collected from app use is extremely valuable and allows Apple to track individuals across multiple devices. 

5. Privacy Moats

Apple thwarted Meta by cutting off access to iPhone user data by using the trend toward privacy concerns as an excuse. In May 2021, Apple added the App Tracking Transparency feature to the iPhone, allowing users to opt-out of advertising tracking.

Before this change, advertisers could track iPhone users across applications. Now, users can turn off this ability. They did this in droves.

Meta complained that the new policy cost them $10 billion in annual revenues. Moreover, the user data is still available to Apple, just not to others. Apple is expanding its mobile advertising efforts, which may partially explain this policy change.

Under the guise of protecting users’ privacy, Apple created a privacy moat. Apple retains its exclusive access to iPhone user data, giving Apple a significant competitive advantage.

5 Weirdest Decisions Made by Football Clubs

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History is filled with head-scratching decisions. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the bizarre world of football.

While players make poor moves on a regular basis, they can quickly make up for these mistakes with a timely goal or a clutch tackle. Management isn’t so lucky. A terrible decision can set a club back years — and it may even lead to relegation or financial ruin.

Ready for a good chuckle or a major eye roll? Keep reading to learn about the strangest decisions made by supposedly talented club executives. 

Frank de Boer Hired by Crystal Palace

On the job at Inter Milan for only 85 days, Frank de Boer had the club in last place in both Serie A and the UEFA Europa League when he was sacked. Curiously, Crystal Palace decided de Boer was the right man for the job. 

He was gone less than three months later — after leading Crystal Palace to four losses in four games and without a single goal scored. These results were — quite frankly — very predictable given de Boer’s recent track record.

Steve Kean Appointed as Manager of Blackburn Rovers

Without any credentials to his name, Steve Kean was appointed the manager of Rovers in 2010. Unfortunately, it’s possible that Kean landed the job through dubious measures. Kean’s agent was an influential figure within the new ownership group, which almost certainly gave Kean a significant leg up over the competition. After two subpar seasons and a relegation, Kean was shown the door at Rovers.

Southampton Sign Ali Dia

In 1996, a man posing as football icon George Weah convinced Southampton manager Graeme Souness to sign his cousin. Souness took the bait and offered the man a contract despite having never seen him play in person.

Against all odds as well as good sense, the man found his way into a match and managed to stay on the pitch for more than fifty minutes. The man was quickly exposed as a fraud and released from his contract with the team. 

Tottenham Sack Jose Mourinho before EFL Cup Final

Consecutive North London derby victories — as well as a brief stint atop the Premier League — gave Spurs and Jose Mourinho all the momentum heading into 2021.

After hitting a rough patch that saw the club knocked out of both the FA Cup and Europa League, Spurs ownership decided to show Mourinho the door after less than 18 months on the job. This lack of patience was only exasperated by the fact that he was sacked just days before Spurs were set to play Manchester City in the EFL Cup Final. Predictably, Spurs dropped the match 1-0.

Juventus and Barcelona Swapping Arthur Melo for Miralem Pjanic

After greatly exaggerating the value of their respective players, Barcelona and Juventus swapped Melo for Pjanic in a move that some journalists — and even the Prosecutor’s Office of the Italian Football Federation — suspect was illegal. Neither player made a splash with their new club, with Pjanic appearing in only 19 games for Barcelona, while Melo has quietly existed on the Juventus roster.

Not all football decisions make sense to passionate fans, but therein lies the fun of the game: you never know what to expect. Whether foolish, unethical, or simply bizarre, these twists and turns keep us watching. 

How to Revolutionise Your Small Business With Data

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Big data has become a popular buzzword for businesses today. Digital ecosystems make it possible for businesses to incorporate enormous amounts of data about their customers and sales. This data can then be used to revolutionize the business and build the organization like never before.

If you want to help your business reach its maximum potential, incorporating business data is an excellent way to achieve that goal. Here are a few key ways that you can incorporate data to power your business. 

Improve your understanding of what customers look for before buying

Data can help you understand what customers want to see before they decide to move forward with a purchase. For example, you might find that people prefer certain types of content, such as short videos. They might also land on your page by researching particular keywords. Data will help you better follow what customers want to see throughout their buyers’ journeys, so you are more equipped to answer those needs.

Know how to build better email campaigns

Email can play a critical role in staying engaged with your target customers. For every dollar you spend, you can expect an average ROI of $44, which can make it an excellent investment. However, you do not want to waste money when drafting emails. Tracking data regarding what people open, the types of links they click, and how you can best engage your audience can help you build more effective marketing campaigns. You can use the data to better segment your email lists and then send out emails precisely targeted toward their interests.

Improve your customer service

When you employ data to guide your customer service, you can improve the customer experience. Data allows you to track customer profiles and how they use your product or service. You can also track common questions or concerns and then use this information to boost your ability to serve customers. You can better anticipate why people might need to contact you and know how you will solve the problem for them immediately.

Avoid repeating the same mistakes

Businesses make mistakes sometimes in their marketing or what they offer customers. Data allows you to track how people respond to everything you do so that you can avoid making the same mistakes twice. You might discover that no one seems to appreciate your latest ad. If you redesign your website, you might realize that customers become less likely to click on your CTA or respond to your offers. Only data will tell you if you made a mistake and that you need to fix it. 

Improve your forecasting

Forecasting can also play a critical role in business. It uses information from the past, combined with information about current conditions, to make a prediction about what will happen to the business moving forward. Proper forecasting can help you better plan for business growth. You will be able to anticipate the times of the year when you might see more sales and how different products rise and fall throughout the year. You can also anticipate how your business finances might evolve over time, which will help you better manage your accounts.

Depending upon your type of business, you might turn to popular business tools like HubSpot, EngageBay, or Pipedrive to help you with business forecasting and collecting business analytics.

Getting started on data for your business

If you are ready to dive into the potential for data to revolutionize your business, plan on getting started with Google Analytics. This free source of data can help you track visitors around your site. Google also offers free training courses to help you learn how to use the program so that you can set up the charts and monitor them in a way that works for you.

To put the data to work for you, you want to delve a bit into the study of analytics so you can see how to use comparisons like Year over Year or Month over Month. It will also help you learn how to interpret data and use it for your business.  

To help you further learn all about the potential for data and your business, you can take advantage of courses offered through MOOC platforms, like Coursera.

Data can be a powerful tool for your business. If you have not already incorporated big data into your business forecasting, see how you can use this insight to improve your business performance.

5 Footballers Who Gave The Most Entertaining Post-Match Interviews

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The post-match interview feels like a dreaded chore to some footballers, but others find it as exhilarating as any athletic pursuit. Some of the world’s best players use this platform as a chance to show off their distinctive personalities. From self-deprecating humor to dry wit and sarcasm, these five players are even more entertaining to watch after they leave the field:

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

This slick striking Swede always has something on his mind after a match — whether it’s disdain for the referees, his opponents — or sometimes, even his teammates.

One notable Zlatan moment saw the gregarious Manchester United star prodding teammate Paul Pogba over his hesitancy to pass the ball Ibrahimovic’s way. Pogba took it all in stride and was eventually forced to pass one thing Zlatana’s way: his Premier League Man of the Match award.

David Luiz

Former Chelsea and Arsenal star David Luiz can make even the most boring post-match interview entertaining. One particular conference found Luiz trapped between Frank Lampard and Fernando Torres. As the two droned on in a sleep-inducing tone, Luiz tried his best to bring some lightheartedness to the proceedings through non-verbal expressions. After nearly three minutes, Luiz was finally allowed to speak, with his only words being an exuberant “Come on Chelsea!” as he threw his arms around his teammates.

Mohammad Anas

During a very heartfelt and sincere acceptance of his Man of the Match Award, Free State Stars striker Mohammad Anas had an unfortunate slip of the tongue. While thanking his fans, Anas also thanked “my wife, and my girlfriend.” Anas quickly attempted to correct himself, but at that point he had already gone viral throughout the world. Thankfully, his speaking error didn’t lead to a red card at home, as Anas is still happily married.

Erling Haaland

Sometimes an interview is made more entertaining by what isn’t said. Case in point: Erling Haaland — the Manchester City striker who refuses to elaborate when asked inane questions about what makes him great. Ironically, when the striker finally did speak up during his first Premier League post-match interview, he let slip some profanity that quickly got him reprimanded by the interviewer (but that fans enjoyed nonetheless).

Michail Antonio

Sky Sports couldn’t help themselves from exposing the planned celebration of West Ham forward Michail Antonio after he set the club’s Premier League scoring mark. When the interviewers showed Antonio stashing a cardboard cutout of himself in the crowd, the gig was up — and Antonio had no choice but to have a laugh about the whole thing.

When asked if he could stay atop the Premier League scoring table, Antonio remarked “Obviously!” Given his penchant for memorable goal celebrations, this won’t be the last time everyone has a laugh over his pitch antics.

There’s no denying that the best footballers are as comedically gifted as they are athletically capable. There’s no better opportunity to get a sense of this than with the post-match interview, which should be essential viewing for every true football fan.

The Simplest Food Is The Most Delicious? 5 Awesome Staple Foods From Around The World

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Don’t get us wrong, we wouldn’t turn down an expensive, three-course meal at a Michelin-starred restaurant – but very often the most delicious meals are actually the simplest: home cooking that is often taken for granted in its country of origin is often the most delicious, and sometimes it can be the healthiest, too. This is what we’re homing in on today: here are five staples from around the world that you should consider trying in your own diet.

Dahl

Dahl, also spelled dal, is common throughout India and made from different types of beans. It has a number of variations depending upon what region of the country a specific receipt originates from. For example, you will see more mung beans, used to make Mung dal, in the south, and more yellow split peas, used to make Chana dal, when the recipe comes from the north.

This recipe calls for the beans to be soaked overnight and simmered until the beans are tender. They are then mixed with seasonings like cumin, turmeric, ginger, chilly oil, or coriander. Healthy and delicious.

Borscht

Borscht comes to us from Eastern Europe, where it has been eaten for generations in areas like Ukraine and Poland. It combines beets, potatoes, beans, cabbage, and other staples, depending upon the precise recipe used. The nutrient-rich ingredients and delightful flavor make it a great soup to add to your rotation. 

Lentil soup

Lentil soup originates in countless cultures and regions, with traditional recipes hailing from Europe, South America, and the Middle East. This soup will generally call for any colored dehulled lentil that will disintegrate while cooking. These lentils then form the base for the soup and can be combined with a variety of other vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, onion, and various seasonings, depending upon the recipe. This is a cheap and varied soup to add to your rotation, particularly in the winter on cold evenings. 

Boiled or fried plantains

Plantains bear some resemblance to bananas, as they are in the same genus. However, unlike bananas, people consume cooked plantains. This staple is popular in West and Central Africa in addition to the Caribbean and South America along the coast.

You can enjoy this staple either fried or boiled. To fry them, simply slice the plantain into thin slices and then heat the oil in a pan and fry until they are golden. If you want to boil them, cut them slightly thicker– so you get about three pieces per plantain– and then boil until they are tender. In either recipe, season with hot sauce as desired.

Chapatis

The flatbread chapatis has a traditional region that stretches from East Africa to the Arabian Peninsula over to the Indian subcontinent. These delicious circular pieces of bread call for just finely ground wheat flour, salt, and water. The dough then forms round balls, flattened, and cooked on both sides. You can then serve it with various dishes and toppings for a complete meal.

As modern people, we have access to an incredibly rich menu of foods that come from around the world. Those interested in expanding their palates or improving their diets can look at some of these important staples from around the world to see if any of these might fit their own menus well.

Are We Headed into a Global Water Crisis? What’s Going on, and What Can Ordinary People Do About It?

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Water is something many take for granted, but the United Nations reports that more than 3.5 billion people – roughly half of the planet – are currently vulnerable to water scarcity. Worse, it projects that this number will rise to more than 5 billion people by 2050. This is due to multiple factors, such as pollution and infrastructural problems as well as overconsumption. 

The Fresh Water Problem

Obviously, water is an absolutely essential component of human health. Without access to potable water, a human can only survive for around three days at best. But fresh drinking water is only the start of the problems when it comes to meeting our ongoing water challenges.

As the global children’s charity World Vision puts it, “access to clean water changes everything; it’s a stepping-stone to development.” Where clean water is plentiful, communities don’t need to compete for rights to limited water resources. Crops and livestock get enough water to flourish. Personal hygiene and household sanitation improves. These advantages, in turn, lead to a healthier population of adults who can serve as productive workers as well as children who can readily attend school.

The Causes of the Water Crisis

There are many different contributing factors to the water crisis, many of which can be addressed through better regulations and changing procedures.

Scientists, who have studied the issue most carefully, have directly tied the effects of global warming and climate change to the water crisis. In addition to engendering extended periods of drought and other long-term harmful environmental conditions, climate change is increasing both the frequency and intensity of hurricanes and other violent weather events that can destroy water supply infrastructure.

Other factors contributing to the mounting water crisis include armed conflict, forced migration, corporate greed, political disenfranchisement, and the poor handling of wastewater and water waste. The problem is also precipitated by a lack of reliable water data and a lack of cooperation among natural resource experts across national lines.

How You Can Help

Any serious attempt to address the water crisis must include sweeping changes to public policy and business regulation. However, this doesn’t mean that the average person is powerless to help.

It all begins with simple awareness. People who understand the true severity of the water problem may be motivated to prioritize healthy water stewardship in their daily lives. Something as simple as taking a shorter shower can make a real difference if it becomes a permanent habit.

Other ways to practice healthy water stewardship include installing low-flow toilets, reusing graywater, and collecting rainwater for watering gardens and lawns. Of course, it is also important to ensure that you aren’t losing water to leaking pipes or other plumbing inefficiencies. People who live by the ocean can even look into desalinizing technology that can transform seawater into freshwater.

Moreover, humbly and quietly changing your own actions will contribute, however subtly, to a gradual change of awareness in your country, making it more likely for much needed regulation changes and global action to occur.

You can also consider donating to a water charity, such as WaterAid. WaterAid is a charity that has been helping address water issues for over three decades, and their website is a wealth of information on the subject, too. 

5 Fundamentals Of Data Visualization

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Big data and analytics are here. In fact, they govern the world, and ignoring that is no longer an option.

In order to keep up with the huge piles of data that you can find in every industry and profession, we all need powerful and reliable tools. More often than not, those tools are found in the realm of data visualization.

If you are going to work closely with data visualization resources, then you will want to remember the fundamentals. They can help you avoid many common mistakes and extract as much value as possible from your efforts.

Data Cognition and Perception

The fundamental purpose of data visualization is to make it easy to understand abstract data at a glance. There are countless tools available, all built on the principles of cognition and perception. Can people understand the representation, and is it leading to meaningful conclusions?

To master cognition and perception, any visualization can be analyzed by asking a few key questions:

  • Is a clear relationship on display?
  • Is the data representation accurate?
  • Can you easily compare quantities?
  • Is it obvious how the information can and should be used?

If your visualization scores an easy “yes” to each of these questions, then it is successful in terms of cognition and perception.

Design Evaluation

The next fundamental utilizes an evaluation to ensure that the visualization is accomplishing its goals while remaining an accurate and reliable display of information. With so many visual representations available, it’s difficult to distill evaluations into a single checklist, but a general set of criteria can help you build a more specific evaluation for your project: 

  • Scale: Inconsistent scaling on a graph can distort the data representation.
  • Accuracy: Always triple-check that the data is accurate in the final visual.
  • Convention: Follow visual conventions to avoid confusion.
  • Cherry picking: Never exclude data to alter the conclusions.
  • Bias: Look for signs of bias, whether intentional or not.

Depending on the visual representations, you may also need to evaluate how easy it is to read the presented information and whether or not the visualization is leading to reasonable conclusions (as the saying goes, correlation does not equal causation).

User-Centered Design

The third fundamental that we are exploring is one of the most popular philosophical orientations for data visualization.

The concept is simple. How does the end user interact with the information represented?

As an example, a visualization of user statistics for a smartphone app might be used to help developers make decisions about the next set of updates. If you’re preparing this visualization, then it’s important to remember that the developers are not the ones who ultimately use this information. The data is informing development for the sake of the end user, and data representations should remember that.

Explanation vs Exploration

When dealing with data, there are two different things that happen. During analysis, you explore data to see what it can tell you. When you present the data, you explain the findings to others.

Visualization is involved in both of these aspects. When exploring data, you can use whatever representation tools make sense to you until you find something worth sharing. For explanation, visualizations have less freedom, as they need to present clear information to your audience.

It’s easy to get stuck on explanation and forget about exploration. Manage your time and explore the data as deeply as you can before honing in on the best solutions for explanation.

Communication

The fundamentals so far provide ways to approach visualization and enhance its value. The final pillar looks at data visualization from the other direction. There are two purposes to data visualization: making sense of the data and communicating.

When focusing on communication you need only remember two things. Make clear points, and aim for your audience. With a large data set, it’s easy to draw many conclusions, but when you present information (especially to non-experts), it’s essential that you distill everything into simple and clear points.

Catering to your audience is also vital. When one nuclear physicist presents findings to a room full of other nuclear physicists, the visualizations will look very different than if they are presenting that information to a board of investors (who presumably pay for the research). Always rethink the visualization from the perspective of your audience. It’s a simple but essential step in the process.

5 Hobby Microscopes for Beginners

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Whether you need a microscope for a class or simply to use for fun, you’ll need to make sure you invest in a model that will suit your needs. Microscopes for beginners can be plastic toys or they can be fully functional tools. Learning more about microscopes can help you choose the right model for your needs and make the most of your investment.

What Type of Microscope is Best for a Beginner?

There are two different types of microscopes to choose from; stereo and compound. The main difference between the two is the amount of magnification offered and the types of things the microscope can examine. Choose a microscope based on the things your child most wants to explore.

Stereo Microscopes: This type of microscope offers lower magnification, usually from 10-40x; it can be used to examine samples of all types. Pretty much anything that is interesting and will fit on the platform can be used. If your child wants to examine coins, feathers, rocks, toys and other items that are not prepared slides, a stereo microscope like the one below is a good choice.  Astereo microscope shows off items at up to 30 times their actual size, making it easy for curious kids to examine and learn.

Compound Microscopes: A compound microscope works with much smaller samples and slides and is what most of us think of when we hear the word “microscope”. Choosing a compound microscope is essential if your child or teen wants to look at slides or very tiny items. Compound microscopes like the one below offer greater magnification and work with pre-made slides or slides you prepare yourself. Most compound microscopes offer magnification up to 1000x, and are ideal for a student taking a class in biology.

Digital Microscopes: Aside from determining the type of microscope you need, you should also consider how the microscope will be used. Do you want to be able to see the results on a screen or save them to a tablet or device? Then a digital microscope like the one below may be best for you.

Stereo vs. Compound Microscopes for Beginners

As long as you get a quality microscope, both types are ideal for kids. The main difference is the amount of magnification and the types of items you can view. Choose the type of microscope based on what your child needs for school or the objects they most want to learn about.

Microscopes for Beginners – Choose a Quality Microscope for Best Results

Some kids microscopes are designed to be toys or novelty items; when you select on to use for science class or exploration, choose one that is designed with that purpose in mind. Toy microscopes may have a similar look but won’t be as user friendly or yield the best results. A few things to keep in mind when you choose a microscope for a beginner:

  • Avoid flimsy, lightweight plastic models; the scope should feel heavy for its size.
  • Any microscope branded with a character or theme is likely a toy and not going to yield good results. 
  • Adjustable dials and settings make it easy to get a good view of a variety of items.
  • A microscope for adults may be a better choice and value than one labeled “for kids”.
  • Look for magnification up to 1000x – any higher and you may not get the clarity you need to fully explore an item or slide.

Choosing a Microscope for a Beginner

Think about what you want to use the microscope for and what level of magnification you need before you go shopping.  Comparing both the actual microscope and any extras and additions it comes with can help you get the best possible value from your purchase. Thinking about both your current needs and how you may use the piece in the future will also help you choose the right microscope for you and your family. 

5 No-Make-Up Techniques to Have a More Attractive Face

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Makeup is fantastic at helping women look their best. It can thicken thin eyebrows, cover up blemishes, brighten under eye circles, and enliven sallow cheeks. It’s one of the best tools women have for looking more attractive.

The problem with makeup is that it’s often used as a “Band-aid”. In other words, it covers up problems instead of fixing them. This means that when the makeup comes off, you may end up looking like a completely different person — and that’s not ideal.

For a myriad of reasons, it can be beneficial and advantageous to feel and look your best without having to rely on the crutch of makeup. 

Below, we’ve outlined 5 of our favorite tips for looking more attractive without the use of makeup. Here we go!

5 Tips for a More Attractive Face Without Makeup

1. Solidify a quality skincare routine.

You should have a morning skincare routine and a nighttime skincare routine. Make sure you have a cleanser and a moisturizer for both. These are the bare minimum requirements, but if you’d like, you can also add in a toner, an exfoliator, an emulsifying balm, or other products to combat things like wrinkles and acne.

2. Do some deep work

It’s a fact that more attractive faces tend to be smiling faces – if you’re happy, relaxed, and confident, your face will probably be at its most attractive. So remember to do something for yourself every so often – get a massage, play a sport that you like, make time for friends and be kind to yourself. If you feel like it’s gotten a little difficult to pick yourself up, consider speaking to your doctor or a professional therapist.

3. Perfect your eyebrows.

If the eyes are the windows to the soul, the eyebrows are the curtains — and anyone who’s owned a bedroom knows that curtains can make or break the design of a room.

Many women struggle with unshapely, thin, over-plucked (or overgrown) eyebrows. Fix your eyebrows once and for all by having them sculpted by a professional eyebrow artist. Dyeing or tinting, laminating, waxing, plucking, threading, and tattooing are all options depending on what eyebrow issues you struggle with.

4. Improve the way you eat.

What you eat affects the way you look. If you don’t consume a healthy diet, you may have skin issues because of it.

To improve your overall nutrition, try to cut out as many processed foods and sugars as possible. Move toward more whole foods: vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean meats, seafood, and healthy fats and oils. 

Finally, drink more water. Yes, you can actually hydrate your skin from the inside out!

5. Protect your skin from the sun.

Lastly, don’t let your skin succumb to sun damage, including lines, wrinkles, sunspots, and discoloration. Every day, whether it’s sunny or cloudy, use sunscreen. Dermatologists recommend at least an SPF 50 protectant. Additionally, whenever possible, cover your face with a hat and sit in the shade. You’ll enjoy beautiful skin for years to come this way.

While makeup certainly has its place in a woman’s beauty arsenal, it goes without saying that every girl wants to feel attractive without having to cover up blemishes, dark under eye circles, patchy skin, and other skin issues. Use the tips above to help you achieve skin you can feel confident about — even without makeup.

5 Survival Tips For Medical Students

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Becoming a physician can be one of the most rewarding careers, but it comes at a significant cost. Medical school is demanding, and that stress can overwhelm you. Consider five survival tips for today’s medical student. 

1. Find a Study Partner and/or Group

Having a study partner gives you someone to bounce ideas from and helps you be more productive as you study. A partner keeps you accountable for your work ethic and you do the same. 

You could also consider a study group. Study groups allow you to discuss difficult subjects with others to get a better understanding of them

2. Find a Mentor or Two

Mentors offer advice and support to help you advance in your career. They will also know all the tricks to get you through some of the most grueling four years of your life. Find one or two, and let them guide your path. 

That might mean looking beyond the boundaries of the school. Successful medical students are proactive in their search for extra experience and information outside of what is included in the medical school curriculum. Some examples are participating in a research project or volunteering in the community. The right mentors will assist you in making professional contacts that will lead to residencies, fellowships, and other possibilities.

3. Set Boundaries

In case you hadn’t heard, medical school can be both challenging and chaotic – and it’s going to be tempting to improvise, skip sleep, and maybe even skip meals. The solution is to set boundaries ahead of time, before you encounter the stressful scenario, helping you stay on point with your study while also avoiding depleting your mental resources over time. One of the most critical boundaries to establish a sleep schedule. Going to bed and getting up at the same time each day will improve your performance. 

Create a few routines that involve others, such as calling your parents at set times, and make sure friends understand you are not available to go out and do things every single night. That will help prevent distractions. At the same time, part of healthy boundary setting is to know when to break them – sometimes staying up a little later during your final week of the semester is ok. Staying up til 2am right in the first week on the other hand, may indicate that you could improve your judgement a little! 

4. Set Goals For Yourself

It is critical to set daily goals that are both practical and attainable. Remember to take it slowly. You’re in it for the long haul, so focus on daily tasks rather than trying to do everything at the last minute.

Make one of your goals to explore all your options. Consider doing one or more away rotations (typically in your fourth year) to broaden your experience. Finally, join specialty interest groups and career-advising opportunities given by your medical school when your schedule allows.

5. Get Your Study System Locked Down Fast

There will be a lot of information, and it’s all essential. This makes having an excellent study regimen crucial if you want to avoid feeling overwhelmed by the quantity of content you need to learn.

Determine whatever approaches and frameworks are most effective for you, and integrate them into your daily schedule. Do you learn better in groups, for example? If so, look for study partners early. Create a standardized approach that can be implemented consistently regardless of what you are studying based on what works for you. This is especially important during clinical rotations, when blocks of study material, specialist journal reviews, and board review questions will be visited regularly.

Medical school is a challenge but one worth taking, so go into it knowing that you can survive with careful planning.