Influencer earnings

Many people dream of becoming social media stars. But for most who pursue careers as content creators, just making ends meet is a lofty goal. Hundreds of millions of people around the globe regularly post videos and photos to entertain or educate social media users. About 50m earn money from it, according to a 2023 report from Goldman Sachs. However, last year, 48pc of creator-earners made $15,000 or less, according to NeoReach, an influencer marketing agency. Only 13pc made more than $100,000. Earning a decent, reliable income as a social media creator is a slog — and it’s getting harder. Platforms are doling out less money for popular posts, and brands are being pickier about what they want out of sponsorship deals. But those who stick with it eventually see some returns, surveys show. Creators say that’s because you can learn what kind of posts most resonate with an audience, which can lead to more followers and, in turn, more moneymaking opportunities.

(Adapted from “Social-Media Influencers Aren’t Getting Rich — They’re Barely Getting By,” by Sarah E Neeleman and Ann-Marie Alcantara, published on June 17, 2024, by The Wall Street Journal)

Black box of LLMs

Large language models (LLM) are built using a technique called deep learning, in which a network of billions of neurons, simulated in software and modelled on the structure of the human brain, is exposed to trillions of examples of something to discover inherent patterns. Trained on text strings, LLMss can hold conversations, generate text in a variety of styles, write software code, translate between languages and more besides. Models are essentially grown rather than designed, says Josh Batson, a researcher at Anthropic, an AI startup. Because LLMs are not explicitly programmed, nobody is entirely sure why they have such extraordinary abilities. Nor do they know why LLMs sometimes misbehave or give wrong or made-up answers, known as “hallucinations”. This is worrying, given that they and other deep-learning systems are starting to be used for all kinds of things, from offering customer support to preparing document summaries to writing software code.

(Adapted from “Researchers Are Figuring Out How Large Language Models Work,” by The Economist, published on July 11, 2024)

How to get ahead at work

If you want to move up the corporate ladder, you need to do more than meet deadlines and produce strong results. Employees who quickly move up often have an innovator’s mindset. What exactly does this mean? They demonstrate their value by questioning assumptions and pushing their organisations to stay competitive. By consistently bringing fresh ideas to the table and proactively solving problems, they naturally attract the attention of higher-ups. Anyone can build an innovator’s mindset. To start, get curious. Before diving into a project, consider asking questions that will help you and others think outside of the box: “What is the root cause of the problem I’m trying to solve?” “How can I add the greatest value, as fast as possible, and with the least investment?” When you are curious and solution-oriented, you can focus your energy on finding creative ways to overcome challenges rather than becoming mired in the problems themselves.

(Adapted from “3 Steps To Cultivate An Innovator’s Mindset,” by Soren Kaplan, published by HBR Early Career)

EU’s protectionism

Electric vehicles (EVs) from China are the EU’s latest target. On July 5, the European Commission started to apply provisional tariffs to them. These differ by firm, from 17pc for BYD to 38pc for SAIC, based on subsidies they have received from the Chinese state and their cooperation with the EU’s investigation. The commission’s logic for applying levies on top of an existing 10pc tariff on car imports is that Chinese carmakers have an unfair advantage owing to favoured treatment at home — a justification that allows the levies to fall within the World Trade Organisation’s rules. The move nevertheless illustrates the tightrope European officials must walk. They want to uphold the rules-based order, from which the continent benefits enormously, while ensuring that they are not threatened by more protectionist rivals.

(Adapted from “Europe Prepares For A Mighty Trade War,” by The Economist, published on July 11, 2024)

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, July 15th, 2024