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The breakout star of this season of The White Lotus? Aimee Lou Woodand her distinctive real-life smile. I mean, I cant believe the impact my teeth are having, the English actress told Jonathan Ross last month on Ross’s eponymous British chat show. I hope that people dont start, like, filing their teeth so they have gaps. Too late. Unfortunately, Wood may have unintentionally reignited a troubling DIY dentistry trend. On TikTok, users are once again taking nail files to their own teeth, with hashtags like #teethfiling and #teethfile, racking up more than 130 posts, according to Screenshot Media. @nikkysixxbxtch Couldve ended very poorly original sound – elaina While Woods smile may be the most recent inspiration, this isnt a new phenomenon. Teeth-filing videos have been circulating online for years. Im going to file my teeth down with a nail file because they are not perfect, one TikTok user said in a since-deleted video posted back in 2020. I have some ridges, and were ballin on a budget. But what might seem like a quick cosmetic fix can cause lasting harm. When you file your nails, your nails grow back, but your teeth dont, Detroit-based dentist Zainab Mackie told the Washington Posts Allyson Chiu, who originally reported on the trend. That outer enamel layer doesnt grow back. ... Once its gone, thats it. Dental professionals on TikTok have long warned users to step away from the emery boards and see a professional instead. Dont get mad at me when your teeth are more sensitive than a two-year-old crying over spilled milk, because I aint going to help you, orthodontist Benjamin Winters (aka the Bentist) said to his 5.5 million TikTok followers in a video that went viral. @thebentist @cheneltiara why you do dis to me! PSA: I dont recommend doing this have your dentist check to make sure its safe first! #teeth #braces original sound – The Bentist / Orthodontist Wood herself has opened up about her struggle to embrace her teeth when she was growing up. The Americans cant believe [my teeth], but theyre all being lovely, she said on the popular chat show. It feels so lovely. A real full-circle moment after being bullied for my teeth, forever. Maybe theres a lesson in that.
Category:
E-Commerce
The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. As someone deeply invested in sustainable mass transit and supply chain automation, I’m also invested in an idea that could change the world of freight transport for us all. The global supply chain is in flux. Even before new tariffs, the nearshoring trend in North America has created an urgent demand for more innovative and efficient freight solutions. However, despite automotive advances, transport logistics are riddled with inefficienciesbottlenecks at congested ports, trucks idling for hours at border crossings, and outdated infrastructure struggling to meet modern demands. But what if we could change that? What if freight could move continuously, seamlessly, and autonomously away from public roads? That’s precisely the vision behind Green Corridors, an emerging technology company tackling some of the most congested trade routes in North America. A new era for freight mobility Led by president and CEO Mitch Carlson, Green Corridors is pioneering a transformative approach to freight logistics, combining industrial automation with intelligent infrastructure. Their pilot projects under development include a 60-mile autonomous freight corridor between the Port of Houston and an inland terminal currently in feasibility stage, and a 165-mile corridor between Laredo, Texas, and Monterrey, Mexico in predevelopment stage. These projects will redefine the way goods progress across these critical trade arteries. The core of the new system is an elevated guideway system where autonomous freight shuttles traverse a dedicated track to transport cargo seamlessly over these highly congested routes. Beyond incremental improvements to trucking or rail, the solution is an entirely new paradigm for freight transport. The implications are massive: Eliminate congestion: By shifting freight movement away from roadways and onto dedicated guideways running autonomous shuttles, these corridors substantially increase safety, reduce road maintenance costs, and alleviate traffic jams that cost billions of dollars in lost productivity. Strengthen national security: The system integrates directly with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, ensuring that every shipment is pre-scanned and approved before it crosses the U.S./Mexico border. Compared to today’s manual methods, in which only about 5% of cargo is fully scanned, this would mark a monumental shift in security and efficiency. Reduce emissions: Freight shuttles vastly reduce emissions from semi-trucks. Likewise, the shuttles run at 30 mph versus 60 and run on rails versus rubber tires, using clean diesel fuel and electric propulsion. A single corridor could cut emissions by up to 75% while maintaining 24/7 operations. Productivity: The trade routes Green Corridors are targeting are money-losing scenarios for traditional transport. In the proposed new model, truckers are more productive, have a higher quality of life, and able to make more trips per day. Tailor-made for nearshoring As nearshoring increases in North American markets, Mexico has overtaken China as the leading U.S. trade partner. This trend is a positive development in many respects; however, the infrastructure challenges of ground transport continue to hinder efficiency. Laredo, the nation’s No. 1 port of entry, sees 18,500 trucks cross the border daily, often waiting up to eight hours. The high growth of this route, particularly as the U.S. moves further away from reliance on factories in Asia, has made it challenging for Laredo to meet the increasingly higher pressure to remain profitable and predictable for ground transport. Green Corridors removes these inefficiencies and sets a new standard for freight logistics in an era where predictability, security, and efficiency are paramount. A national and global vision While the Laredo-Monterrey and Houston projects are first in line, Green Corridors is eyeing a much larger transformation. As it scales, the company plans to target intelligent freight transportation corridors in major port cities such as Los Angeles, Seattle, and New York. Ultimately, the solution could scale to anywhere congested corridors are throttling economic productivity. In its next phase, the company would like to play a primary role in reshaping shipping routes worldwide. For example, Mexico’s proposed Interoceanic Corridor, a 188-mile rail project meant to compete with the Panama Canal, could potentially use the Green Corridors intelligent freight transportation system to create a more efficient alternative instead. Instead of waiting weeks for ships to queue through the canal, companies could seamlessly transport freight from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico in hours. The road ahead Clearly infrastructure projects of this scale don’t occur overnight, but momentum is building. Green Corridors has already submitted its presidential permit application for the Laredo-Monterrey corridor. If approved, the project could be operational by 2030, according to my interview with Carlson. The company has aligned itself with leading engineering firms (including my own organization, Chang Robotics), financial institutions, and multiple government agencies to ensure a smooth execution. This type of development is the future of freighta system that operates 24/7, doesn’t clog our highways, and enhances security, while reducing environmental impact. For businesses navigating the complexities of modern supply chains, it offers the path to a more efficient and sustainable future. In an era where logistics disruptions can mean the difference between profit and los, that future can’t come soon enough. Matthew Chang is the founder and principal engineer of Chang Robotics.
Category:
E-Commerce
The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. For years, the real estate industry had lacked the data necessary to drive informed business decisions. Data is often fragmented, incomplete, or nonexistent, making it difficult for landlords and real estate professionals to analyze trends, forecast market shifts, and optimize their operations. Our research at RentRedi showed us that 90% of our landlords previously used pen and paper or spreadsheets to manage their rental properties before adopting our software, giving them little access to helpful data. With the adoption of centralized platforms like ours and other real estate technologies, data collection is skyrocketing. Investors, real estate agents, and property managers are adopting technologies that streamline operations, and in the process, those platforms are generating vast amounts of data that can be used to provide deep insights into market behaviors that benefit the landlords providing it. This data revolution presents an unprecedented opportunity for real estate businesses to make smarter, data-driven decisions, reduce risk, and drive growth. By understanding where real estate data comes from, overcoming data overload, and strategically harnessing information, real estate agents and investors can significantly improve operations and drive business growth. How to harness data and use it to your advantage Whether you sell, buy, or manage real estate, data plays a crucial role in providing opportunities for you to make more informed decisions. Effectively utilizing real estate data can lead to improved business operations and increased profitability. Rental property owners, for instance, can leverage data insights to increase on-time rent collection, get better tenants, minimize evictions, reduce vacancies, and streamline property maintenance. Insights can also help establish better operating procedures, such as utilizing 5-pronged tenant screening processes (comprehensive background checks, credit reports, criminal reports, eviction reports, and income and asset verification) to identify high-risk tenants or adjusting lease terms to encourage on-time payments. Running surveys to gather customer feedback can help owners improve understanding of renters needs and what matters most to them. Real estate agents can use the feedback to enhance their communication skills, property showing process, and negotiation strategies, leading to an upgraded overall client experience, more referrals, and repeat business. Likewise, gathering tenant feedback helps property owners understand what matters most to their customers, allowing them to enhance tenant satisfaction and retention. Finally, using a property management system that consolidates, categorizes, and analyzes data will streamline processes, and ensure easy access to critical information, so focus can remain on the most relevant metrics and trends. Specific applications of real estate data Rental property investors can leverage property management software to implement innovative solutions that benefit themselves and their tenants. For example, we analyze data to identify trends, providing it back in usable formats to improve real estate businesses. Turning data from insight into actionable guidance is key. If data reveals that renters using autopay pay rent on time 99% of the timeas opposed to an 88% on-time payment rate for those who dontyou know to offer your tenants (and advise them to set up) automatic payments to avoid missed or late payments and resulting late fees and penalties. Likewise, data may show that landlords are likely to see a 13% jump in on-time rent payments when using a credit boost feature to report on-time payments to credit bureaus, which also helps renters establish credit and raise their existing credit scores. With this information, landlords can consider offering that service to tenants. These actionable insights strengthen the landlord-tenant relationship. Where to find data sources To leverage data to improve your real estate business, you need to know where to find it. Real estate data comes from a wide variety of sources: from public records and market reports to proprietary databases and tenant interactions. To effectively mine real estate data, professionals should start by identifying key data sources relevant to their operations. For example, public records, MLS listings, and property tax assessments provide valuable market insights, while customer surveys and online reviews reveal tenant and investor sentiment. Property listings and market transactions provide data on property sales prices, listing durations, vacancy rates, and location-based demand, as well as demographic data such as neighborhood trends, population growth, and urban development. This type of data provides valuable insights into property valuation and investment opportunities. In the rental industry, tenant applications and tenant screening provide data on income, employment history, credit scores, and rental behavior, which aids in risk assessment. Meanwhile, tracking rent payments reveals payment patterns that help landlords and property managers optimize rent collection strategies. Building performance and maintenance logs also provide helpful data, especially IoT sensors and smart building technologies that track energy usage, maintenance needs, and occupancy trends, allowing for sustainability and cost reduction planning. The challenges of too much data Simply having access to this data isnt enoughits crucial to know how to extract meaningful insights from it. Data can be a powerful tool, but the sheer volume of information available can be overwhelming, particularly while simultaneously managing properties and/or growing your portfolios. Too much data can slow decision making. Organizing, interpreting, and applying the data in beneficial ways for your businesses takes time, is difficult, and can lead to analysis paralysis if done manually. Besides, raw data is not always actionable. Thats why its important to utilize analytical tools and dashboards to translate complex datasets into visual reports that make patterns and trends easily digestible and understandable. Final words The growing availability of real estate data presents both challenges and opportunities. Collecting and analyzing data from diverse sources provides professionals across the real estate industryfrom landlords to large-scale developerswith the ability to make better decisions regarding investment, property improvements, and customer satisfaction. Adopting data-driven solutions can lead to greater efficiency, improved business relationships, and increased profitability. By centralizing information, leveraging analytics, and implementing smart policies, real estate investors can harness the power of data to transform their businesses in an increasingly digital world. Ryan Barone is cofounder and CEO of RentRedi.
Category:
E-Commerce
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