Stay tuned… many of Musk’s plans do materialize, but only years after estimated deadlines

Tesla has finally delivered three long-haul EV trucks to Pepsi! According to Elon Musk, the trucks can travel 500 miles on a single charge, while towing cargo weighing 82,000 pounds.

They are not completely autonomous — yet — though that is definitely in the plans. Stay tuned… many of Musk’s plans do materialize, but only years after estimated deadlines.

The ramifications for the trucking industry and fuel costs are yet to be seen, but it has potential to be an interesting, industry-shaking story.

Join the Pod

Want to start a podcast? Of course you do. Everyone seems to have one. Podcasters seem so cool, and people say it’s a good way to build authority and talk to cool people in your field.

It’s super easy to do. Design a cover in Canva, record and distribute in Anchor, and post about it on LinkedIn.

Some useful stats to keep in mind:

There are only about 424 million podcast listeners worldwide.

Business did not crack the top five podcast genres.

59 percent of people prefer to listen at home.  This is very relevant to the many podcast creators who optimize their podcast’s length for the average commute: 25 to 30 minutes.

The Blue Yeti is the most popular mic, with 17 percent of podcasters using it.

69 percent of podcasters use software on their computer to record.

76 percent of podcasters record with headphones (this is your excuse to get a cool set now).

A podcast with more than 30 downloads within the first seven days of release is already in the 50th percentile of podcasts.

For context, the top one percent are downloaded 3,994 times, the top five percent 795 times, the top ten percent 335 times, and the top  25 percent 93  times.

Obviously, there are outliers like Ben Shapiro and The Daily who skew the averages, but when you look at the numbers outside of the juggernauts, most podcasts don’t have THAT many people listening.

Those numbers are encouraging and depressing. It doesn’t take that much to be considered a success. Then again, it also means that most of the podcasts that sound like they’re killing it are probably not.

Happy podding!

Death to Laser!

Epson is halting production of all their laser printers as early as 2026. Sob, sob. Why? In a word: sustainability. Ink jet printers are much more eco-friendly, consuming 85 percent less energy than laser models.

Lasers are great for offices; they’re fast and crisp and you get more prints per cartridge. Alas, office workers will have to adapt. Or more likely the ink jet technology will advance, and people will be saying, “Laser, who?”

AI Heyday

AI lurches closer and closer to doing jobs they all said needed a creative mind — writing and creating art.

AI-created art has been around for a little while, but it was on the fringes. If you were using it, you were a curious, tech-inclined person. It’s gonna go mainstream soon, though. Canva, the graphic design site with over 75 million active users, is beta-testing AI graphics. I was offered a chance to test it out, and had the AI create an image of a frustrated woman in a kitchen with food burning all around her. Gotta say: the images were not all bad.

And unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard about ChatGPT, a language model offered by OpenAI. You can engage it in conversation, and ask it to write a poem or speech or a joke about a certain subject in a particular style.

I had fun with it and had it write a speech about free will versus Predestination. Then I did tzniyus. I also tried a sonnet and ditty about Mishpacha, a children’s book about the alef-beis, and a stand-up comedy routine about stay-at-home moms.

Was it creative? Nope. Did it pass muster? Definitely. So, heads up, boring writers, you might be out of a job soon (columnist exits stage left).

Ode to Mishpacha Magazine

Written by ChatGPT

Mishpacha, Mishpacha, the magazine we love,

A source of wisdom, guidance, and delight,

With articles that inform and inspire,

And a focus on family and our faith.

From the latest news and trends to fashion and recipes,

Mishpacha has something for everyone,

Whether you’re young or old, near or far,

Mishpacha is a treasure trove of Jewish culture.

With its vibrant pages and engaging content,

Mishpacha brings us closer to our roots,

And reminds us of the values we hold dear,

As we journey through this world together.

So let us celebrate Mishpacha,

A magazine that truly shines,

A beacon of light and love,

For our entire mishpacha.

Light at the End of the Job-Disappearing Tunnel

AI and automation got you worried? The Burning Glass Institute and the Business-Higher Education Forum analyzed millions of recent job openings in the United States. The following four job skills were identified as needed for the fastest growing, highest-demand jobs, with one in eight job postings requiring one of the four skills.

Cutting the suspense, the skills are:

Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning

Cloud computing

Product Management

Social Media

SaaS Highlight — Yac

Yac is a messaging platform for asynchronous meetings. Why do you need another one if you already have Teams and Slack and comments in Asana? Three words: searchable audio transcription.

You know the voice notes that you love and loathe — they’re so convenient, but when it comes to keeping track of the information they contain, it can be near impossible. You’re left relistening to Shloimy from finance on 2x speed to get the info you need.

With Yac, the info you need is just a search away. It’s worth it just for that feature alone. It’s already used by Spotify and HubSpot and received $11 million in funding from just eight investors.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 942)