The social network faces more accusations of favouring images based on certain races, genders, religions and ages. Are these machine learning biases intentional, or an accidental bi-product of skewed training data?
Serious flaws found in Twitter’s automated image-cropping programme, which favoured white people over those with darker skin colour, sent ripples across the internet last year.
Further evidence reveals that its algorithm is not only “racist”. It also apparently favours younger people, non-Muslims, and the able-bodied.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Artificial intelligence is there to augment human capabilities. Intelligent automation speeds up functionalities and improves efficiency. But in many instances, such as Twitter’s photo-editing system, there can be a wider social impact.
We’ve all done it. We see a person and in seconds we immediately start to profile them based on what they’re wearing. Wrinkled shirt. Bound to be sloppy. Open toe shoe. Unprofessional.
Of course appearance isn’t everything. But first impressions most certainly count. In fact, your dress code can speak volumes before you even introduce yourself as a real estate agent
In the highly competitive estate agency industry, agents should use every possible opportunity to attract potential leads. A real estate agent’s dress code is one of the most effective tools available to make the right first impression.
To save you from hassle, we’ve put together some basic tips on what to wear to be professional and make sure you look the part.
We’ve all heard of it by now. The merits of the Four-Day work week. Promising results are emerging from trials and studies conducted by progressive companies and governments around the world. From morale boosting to enhancing loyalty, you just have to Google the benefits of a Four-Day working week and you’ll be swamped by articles playing up the overwhelming benefits, quoting the need for employers to adapt to the challenges of modern-day society.
There are those business managers who love the idea. Some have even embraced it. Others dread it, wishing it would go away before their employees clamour for it or labour laws mandate it. I like to think of OVERWRITE.ai as a progressive employer…That’s why I find myself asking, is it for us?
The Woods from The Trees
Let’s keep in mind one thing. Underlying the very concept of the Four-Day work week is a singular objective. Productivity.
Having spent nearly the past 20 years in the UAE, I remember a time when the weekends were Thursday and Friday. Then, I think sometime back in 2004, the UAE’s leaders adopted a Friday/Saturday weekend format, to better align with the rest of the world. Now there are even rumoursthat policy makers will shift yet again to a hybrid Friday/Saturday/Sunday format, to further align with global markets and peers.
Be under no illusion that the only reason businesses and governments anywhere in the world, are looking at adopting a four day week, is to optimise productivity.
It’s not altruism. It’s about increasing efficiency. Employee happiness is a means to that end, rather than the ultimate goal. One that’s mutually beneficial to all parties in the equation. I’m not a cynic. I just like to cut through the noise and say it how I see it.
Needs Must
When the pandemic obliterated conventional 9-to-6 office work, the debate about employee wellbeing and the work-life balance shifted into high-gear. As economies now emerge from the trauma of 2020, many, like that of the UAE, are roaring. But nobody wants to return to pre-pandemic working models as we knew them. That’s old-school. Done. Dusted. Covid-19 has forced us not just to think, but finally to act, differently.
So it’s out with the old, and in with the new. But what is the new working model?
Novelty Knows No Bounds
US based streaming giant Netflix, has taken a novel approach to holiday protocol. It’s called “No Rules Netflix,” where staff get unlimited holidays. No doubt T&C’s apply.
One of my personal favourite unicorn stories, Australian online graphic design platform Canva.com, last week told employees they only need to come to the office 8 times a year.
Elsewhere, Four-Day working week pilot schemes have actually revealed some inspiring results. In some trials, by reducing working hours, without a reduction in salary, businesses can actually drive greater long-term profitability. Microsoft Japan tried the schedule out with positive results. Staff noted an increase in the pace of their day and were able to get more done in the same timeframe. The governments of Spain and Scotland are planning trials that would give workers an additional day off.
All these progressive employee initiatives are great, especially when you’re a multi-billion dollar tech giant or a nation state. But as I said before, let’s not forget that it’s all about achieving greater productivity.
To those touting the Four-Day working week, cases such as these would seem a vindication. But does one size fit us all?
Cindarella’s Slippers
For many industries such as healthcare, hospitality and retail, profit margins are already squeezed tight. Paying staff the same for less working hours in the hope that it yields greater long-term productivity is a risk many would rather not take. Likewise for the millions of small and medium businesses that struggle with survival as it is. The shoe simply may not fit.
Even those businesses that can financially afford to trial a Four-Day work week, how successful can its roll-out really be? It’s one thing for Microsoft Japan, where cultural nuances are understood by all, and everyone’s time-zone is the same. It’s a completely different story getting Microsoft’s 200,000 global employees to achieve greater productivity with so many practical differences getting in the way.
What about those businesses that already offer a flat corporate structure? Where flexible working hours, even days, are the norm. Does the Four-Day week make sense?
Concordia res parvae crescent
Work together to accomplish more
That’s our space. OVERWRITE.ai’s never been a conventional 9-to-6 workplace. We’ve never had an office.
On any given Monday morning members of our team are just as likely to be behind their proverbial desk as they are to be at their local supermarket.
We’ve grown our team and our business with remote-working baked into the very dough of our company DNA. I like to joke that we were remote-working way back before the pandemic, when it wasn’t cool.
When the ability to adopt technologies that genuinely increase efficiency is so widely available to us, why would we not?
Everyone in our team knows what they have to do. We trust each other, as professionals, to get the job done in the time required, and to the best of our abilities. A core pillar of that trust is clear and respectful communication. We know who’s working on what, or who’s off where, because we communicate clearly to each other, respecting the fact that we are a team, and our overall success depends on every member in it, pulling their weight. Concordia res parvae crescent.
Hold My Stake
If the end goal is to optimise productivity, then how we get there isn’t going to hinge on a buzzword or whatever’s trending.
It’s easy to understand how the Four-Day working week carries such popular appeal. So many people are living under the pressure of so much to do with so little time. Finding those that are against the idea of a 3-day weekend would be harder than keeping ice from melting in the mid-summer sun.
As a business owner, I appreciate the argument that productivity isn’t dependent on the number of hours worked. The view that there’s a direct, positive correlation between hours worked and output quality, or quantity, is ludicrous to me.
I know exactly how busy our 21st century lives are, and I respect that nobody is more or less busy than anybody else. We all have the balancing act of our professional and personal lives, and the myriad (often chaotic) curveballs that are thrown at us. That’s why I don’t expect our people to be 9-to-6er’s. That’s not how to get the best out of them.
“People don’t perform to the best of their ability because they’re told or paid to. I’ve seen too many slave-drivers who think that way. They were all doomed.”
I like to think I’ve an open-minded view on many aspects of our business. I encourage constructive criticism and open communication. I get excited when even the newest or most junior member of our team shares feedback and ideas.
People perform, even outperform, when they are empowered with a sense of ownership in their work. When they’re allowed to infuse their work with their personality, stamp their unique fingerprint on it, people take pride in their output. They’ll never rest on their laurels. They will constantly aim to be the best version of themselves, better than they were yesterday. They achieve optimal productivity in a much more powerful, sustainable way. Their accomplishments and contribution to the business become exponentially valuable. And the business becomes truly, organically dynamic.
What’s Your Flava?
We’re witnessing a moment in history where the future of work is being decided. It’s a process. An exciting one. And you rarely find in life that “one size” really “fits all”.
One thing is for sure. OVERWRITE.ai will never be a cookie-cut business. Vanilla’s not our flavour. The day we stop wanting to be better, I’ll resign.
An AI Implementation Strategist accredited by the prestigious MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Ayman also has a Bachelors Degree in Mathematics from the world-renowned Queen Mary College, University of London, and a Masters in Real Estate Investment and Development from the University of Reading (UK). With 20 years’ experience working in real estate, banking and artificial intelligence, Ayman is the founder and CEO of PropTech platform OVERWRITE.ai.
OVERWRITE.ai is a world first, user-friendly marketing solution that allows estate agents to instantly autowrite unique, search-optimised property descriptions, taking the boring out of the daily grind.
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Two agents have released a hilarious video and it’s gone viral.
The rap about their current “seller’s market” has struck a chord with realtors all over the world.
Dressed to mimic the stereotypical realtor, complete with aviators, mullet and moustache, the agents spin out lyrics to the rap entitled “Escrow” in an open house set up.
Brought to you from inside their “latest listing”, real estate agents Nathan Mills and Travis Metzen from Minnesota, rap about the “fall out” of the massive boom in the property market, whilst theatrically showing viewers around the lavish property, in true bling-rap style.
Imagine living in a house that was built in a matter of hours, at the click of a button, involving a single, computer-operated machine. Add to the mix, affordability, sustainability and cutting-edge design, and you’ve got yourself a brand new, 3D printed home.
15 years years ago, a house made by a giant concrete-spitting printer was a left field concept, limited to the domain of the imagination. Even now, most people won’t have seen inside these pretty incredible digital constructions.
But with growing worldwide housing shortages, and a post-pandemic housing boom that’s left many first-time buyers priced out of the housing market, 3D printed homes are no longer just an idea on paper.
They’re being printed, they’re being lived in and they’re shaking up the structure of traditional house building.
What’s more important, lead quality or lead quantity? It’s an age old question that I’m sure you’ve asked yourself many times. And it’s one that’s got some of the UK’s property portals trading hammer blows with each other.
Is your portal sending you cold leads, or leads so warm they could slice through butter?
Every one of us has what it takes to be successful in our own right. Some of us take that leap into the realm of entrepreneurialism, not knowing what lies in the darkness beyond our comfort zone.
What makes the difference between those who can see in the dark, and those that lose their way?
In Part 3 of a series of one-on-one chats between OVERWRITE.ai’s Founder Ayman Alashkar and Dubai property success-story Firas Al Msaddi, Ayman discusses why solving a genuine problem is the secret to any would-be entrepreneur’s success.
Whether you’re new to estate agency or a seasoned veteran, your daily to-do list must feel like it’s off the scale. In this 21st century, post-Covid world we live in, how you manage your workload makes the difference between you and the next broker.
From marketing yourself and your listings, networking, transacting, managing colleagues and clients, it can be overwhelming for even the most experienced realtor. So many tasks. So little time. Sometimes it may feel like it’s hard to even know where to start.
We’ve got your answer, in one little word. Efficiency.
And this week, we’re bringing you 5 daily time-busting hacks that’ll help you master the art of it.
Whether you’re ‘asking Alexa’ or ‘summoning Siri’, Conversational Search is not only rolling off our tongues, it’s boosting sales.
We’re not talking lowkey decisions, like in which hotel to spend our next city break. AI-driven ‘conversations’ are now driving far more important choices, including finding the right real estate broker to buy our next home.
Although unlikely to ever fully replace the keyed-search, agreed wisdom predicts massive growth in the conversational AI market by 2025. Business leaders and marketers are waking up to the conversation, contemplating new ways of using this technology to get customers to complete a transaction.
Here’s what Oliver Pickup writing for Raconteur has to say (Intro by Charlotte C.)
The proliferation of smart devices and the improving capabilities of AI-powered voice assistants mean that voice searchability is no longer a mere ‘nice to have’.
Are marketers and their businesses investing enough time, money and effort in improving their conversational search rankings? Maybe we should ask Siri?
Given that Juniper Research forecasts that consumers will be using voice assistants on more than 8.4 billion devices by 2024, while MarketsandMarkets predicts that the global conversational AI market will grow from £3.4bn in 2020 to £9.8bn in 2025, there’s a strong case that they should be doing more.
Consumers embrace new technology if it makes life simpler and more effortless for them. Otherwise, what’s the point?
Firms that have already invested in achieving higher voice search rankings are benefiting from it. For instance, translation service Lionbridge started optimising for voice search in July 2019. Twelve months later, it had almost 47 times more ‘featured snippets’ – the short text at the top of a page of Google search results. This improvement aided a 127% year-on-year increase in traffic to the firm’s website.
“Businesses should view optimising for conversational search as mandatory,” argues Olga Andrienko, head of global marketing at Semrush, which manages Lionbridge’s marketing analytics. “We have already seen the dramatic effect it can have on businesses’ search results. As voice assistants are further integrated into people’s everyday lives, this influence will grow.”
Nick McQuire, chief of enterprise research at tech consultancy CCS Insight, agrees. “As one of AI’s most important areas of development, conversational search is progressing rapidly,” he says.
Bringing AI to the masses
Conversational search development has accelerated “because it sits at the centre of two important trends”, McQuire suggests. First is the improvement in AI speech technology. Second is the need to improve information search in businesses. “This area”, he says, “is often listed as ‘broken’ by customers owing to information silos, especially across several data stores, documents and applications.”
McQuire continues: “The fact that all the big tech firms have started to tackle this area with products and tools demonstrates the scale of the customer need.”
Conversational search is a more complex matter than people simply using their voices instead of keyboards, though. For instance, on what smart device is the search being conducted – a screen-less Apple HomePod, a Google Nest Hub Max or an Amazon Alexa?
Amazon Alexa
Apple HomePod
Google Nest Hub Max
While companies can pay to appear on the first page of a conventional typed search on a computer screen, mastering conversational search is not so straightforward. For one thing, marketers don’t always have the same real estate for advertising.
If a device being used for voice search has no screen, how likely is it that a business will pull traffic to its website if it ranks outside the top three search results? Equally, if the device has a screen, a more visual response is presumably better. Notably, the average answer length for the three most popular voice assistants – Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant – is 23 words, according to Semrush.
Convenient and contextualised answers
Semantics aside, the crucial point for marketers is that consumers want their problems solved quickly. So says Kashif Naqshbandi, CMO at IT recruiter Tenth Revolution Group, who adds: “Most of the time they are not just looking for a ‘what’, but also a ‘how’ and ‘why’. This is why question-driven conversational search has spiked.”
Naqshbandi explains that few people are now searching online for, say, a “mountain bike” and then clicking through web pages of information. Instead, they are asking specific questions – for instance, “what sort of mountain bike should I buy?” – to seek a contextualised answer.
“Consumers are more accustomed to these fast, personalised interactions that help them cut through the digital noise and find a solution,” he says. “Marketers have to evolve to deliver interactive, dialogue-based experiences to stay competitive.”
Euan Matthews, director of AI and innovation at ContactEngine, a developer of conversational AI systems, agrees that people ultimately want to save time wherever possible and are happy to pay for convenience.
“Consumers embrace new technology if it makes life simpler for them. Otherwise, what’s the point?” he says, attributing Amazon’s continuing ascendancy to the time it saves customers. But he adds that a “big pitfall” for marketers is to focus only on the search element.
To illustrate his point, Matthews says that some devices, when asked about the best local Indian restaurant, say, will now offer a follow-up option of booking a table through Google, and – if the user accepts – they will add this booking to the digital calendar.
“This time saving is not because of the conversational search,” he says. “It’s more because that search has been seamlessly married with the ability to execute a transaction on your behalf. Marketers must consider how to marry conversational search and the transactional capability of the voice assistant, because this is what saves consumers time and makes it more likely that they’ll progress down the sales funnel.”
The direction of travel is clear, so marketers must alter their course accordingly. “We will see more advances in the ability for conversational search to end in a transaction – and this will drive uptake,” Matthews predicts.
Will it ever replace keyed search? “I doubt it,” he says. “Some searches are best not voiced aloud.”
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of OVERWRITE.ai and its owners.
Oliver Pickup contributes to Raconteur – Special reports in The Times / The Sunday Times
This story has been published from an online news feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline and has been changed.
OVERWRITE.ai is a world first, user-friendly marketing solution that allows estate agents to instantly autowrite unique, search-optimised property descriptions, taking the boring out of the daily grind.
Regardless of your business or the industry you’re in, technology and its pace of change, is forcing you to adapt at an unprecedented rate.
Adopting technology into your growth strategy is a no-brainer. But some technologies require the type of change that has a real impact on human values, like privacy. Without a clear ethical position, employees lose faith in their management’s integrity, and rather than benefit from tech, the business suffers.
When adopting technology, companies need to do more than just ensure regulatory compliance. To retain the trust of increasingly sceptical workforces, consumers, and even public, they must invest even further.
From Rolex watches, to yacht parties or the lure of swanky new offices, there’s endless incentives tempting brokers to join the “next best” real estate team.
Selecting an agency to work for is often a hard decision for the budding real estate recruit. Every office has its own pay structure, support systems, culture, incentives and other non-monetary attributes that make it stand out.
So how can an agency monetise its value proposition, in order to attract the best talent in the market? And what other factors can influence new agents to join, whilst retain those already employed, so a brand’s most valuable assets aren’t poached by the competition?
Real estate has long been the go-to investment for those looking to build long-term multi-generational wealth. In red-hot real estate markets, a property’s time-on-market is often single-digit days, and a “fix and flip” investment is fast becoming a tempting strategy.
But as with any business decision, you must take some precautionary measures before diving in.
A “get rich quick” attitude to flipping a home could have you ending up in the poorhouse, and your project turning into a bottomless money pit.
There’s a whole lot of house moving going on right now, as worldwide property sales reach levels unseen in decades. With this brings stiff competition amongst brokers, causing some agents to go above and beyond – even after the deal is done.
So how can agents think outside the box when it comes to building long term client relationships, and leaving that all important lasting impression?
We’ve all heard about that agent who remembers their client’s birthdays, sending cards, flowers or baskets of chocolates. It’s not rocket science, but it’s the little things that can really count.
The Covid-19 pandemic has hastened the technological transformation of various sectors and Dubai’s property market has joined the bandwagon.
Cashing in on the need for change and operational efficiency among brokers in the industry, property technology platform OVERWRITE.ai was set up in the UAE in the third quarter of last year.
Covid-19 has shaken the confidence of an endless list of businesses around the world. But when it comes to PropTech, Founders and Investors aren’t worried. Are we about to witness a bull-run on PropTech and if so, how can real estate companies, startup founders, and investors, position themselves to seize the gains that lie ahead?
