Photo: sdx15 (Shutterstock)

Google is updating the Google Assistant with better contextual learning features designed to make the digital helper more accurate. One of the changes is the ability to teach the Google Assistant how to pronounce names correctly – after a little self-started language training.

Before the update, the Google Assistant only pronounced your preferred nickname based on how it was spelled. If your name can’t be given correctly, you can try to help by spelling the name phonetically in the wizard’s settings. However, you can now teach him how to say your name by speaking to him directly. Here’s how:

1. Say “Hey Google” or tap the Google Assistant icon on your device to bring up the Google Assistant, then tap the Settings button in the bottom menu. (You can also access this menu from the Android settings at Settings> App & notifications> Assistant> Show all assistant settings.)
2. Scroll down and tap “Basic information” then choose “Nickname.”
3. Tap “Play” to hear the current pronunciation of the Google Assistant.
4. To change it with your voice, choose “Record your own.”
5. Tap “Recording” then say your name out loud. The Google Assistant stops recording and saves what you said after you finish speaking. It will then say your name back to you aloud.
6. If you are satisfied with the pronunciation, you can now exit the settings. If it’s not right, tap “Recording” try again.

The new language training feature is being introduced now, but it may not be available to all users yet. In the meantime, you can keep teaching the Google Assistant to pronounce your name the old-fashioned way – or at least try to. Spelling your name phonetically does not always result in accurate pronunciation. However, it is worth trying to see if the new method is not yet available to you or if the Google Assistant is still having trouble understanding your voice.

1. In the Google Assistant settings, go to Basic information> Nickname.
2. Choose “Say it out loud.”
3. Enter your name phonetically.
4. Press “Play” to hear the Google Assistant pronounce the new spelling.

The new language training is also used to teach the Google Assistant to pronounce the names of contacts that are stored in the Google Assistant “Your people” list.

1. Open the Google Assistant settings.
2. Scroll down and select “Your people.”
3. Tap a contact to open their information, or select “Add person” to add someone from your saved contact list or to create a new contact.
4. When editing the person’s contact information, scroll down to Name pronunciation.
5. Tap “Record your own” to change the pronunciation based on your voice, or tap “Speak it out” type the pronunciation phonetically.
6. Tap “To save” when you’re done.

In addition to the new language training, Google also announced changes that will allow the assistant to recognize the contextual wording and more closely track your recent questions or commands. For more information on these changes and the new language training, see the official Google blog post.

G / O Media can receive a commission

Photo: 9dream Studio (Shutterstock)

Almost every resume template has a home address space, but do you really need to include it? If you’re a data protection officer, you can rub yourself against it, and not just because potential employers are very unlikely to contact you in the mail: putting your address on something as public as a résumé can lead to a certain socio-economic impact Bias introduce into the recruitment / hiring process which may affect your chances of getting a new job.

Because of these concerns, the current prevailing wisdom on this matter is to omit your mailing address whenever you can Careers page after the career The website has expert knowledge that insists your address is redundant. However, it turns out there are reasons, including your address, that are important and they come up more often than you might think.

Why should you leave out your address?

However, let’s first look at the typical reasons for not providing your address. As mentioned earlier, there is always a risk that your address will result in some discrimination against a recruiter, whether it’s a socio-economic bias or a simple concern that your commute to the office will be too long. (This is worthless Lifehacker has specifically addressed this issue in the past.)

Another problem that many job seekers are probably not aware of comes from the companies that use applicant tracking systems to scan and store resume information. How Caitlin Proctor writes for ZipJob, Some companies program their ATS to filter out addresses, as collecting these addresses can technically lead to Violation of personal identification laws.

If asked to submit a resume through one of these automated systems, Proctor recommends that you only “include your city, state, and zip code on your resume when you submit it online”.

G / O Media can receive a commission

However, there are reasons why you should include it

Aside from these concerns, there are a variety of reasons, including your address, that can serve you well during the interview process. As Dan Schawbel, managing partner of the personnel consultancy Workplace IntelligenceAccording to Lifehacker, including mailing addresses is still helpful for businesses, especially in this new era of remote working.

“Where someone lives is important in determining remuneration, taxes and eligibility,” he explains. So whether or not you provide your address may affect whether or not you go through pre-interview screening.

In addition, you will have to change your address anyway if the company does a background check – a practice that is now “almost universal” across the company spectrum. According to a 2019 study by HR.com and the National Association of Professional Background Screeners.

It is also true that at some point your prospective employer left your address on file so they can send you your tax documents and a host of other necessities related to your employment. Schawbel says of your mailing address: “Your employer needs it for his records and the files he keeps on you when he hires you.”

As the pandemic recedes and offices slowly come back to life, employers across the economy will likely be more willing to meet their workers’ demands for a hybrid schedule. Here, too, Schawbel emphasizes how this requires complete transparency of employee addresses.

For example, I want to make sure the people who work for me are in the same time zone so that we are in sync. Many employers will offer hybrid work arrangements after Covid and this will affect who they hire as these candidates would have to come to the office at least a few days a week.

If your sense of caution overrides these practicalities, you could shoot yourself in the foot if you applied for a new job without revealing your address.

Photo: Olena Yakobchuk (Shutterstock)

Social media is full of gym selfies showing people beaming in sweat after a good workout. It’s also full of people complaining about fitness selfies. Are those who take them self-obsessed? Starved for attention? Have a negative impact on how you as a viewer think about your body? Should everyone stop taking them?

I want to propose a revolutionary alternative: maybe people should do what they want. Perhaps fitness selfies bring more joy to the world than they take away. If they bother you, the problem may not be with the selfie-takers at all.

Curate your feed

I find some types of gym-related social media content really inspiring while others bore me or annoy me. If your social feeds have things that are driving you crazy, unfollow or mute those accounts and see what you’d rather see.

For example, I don’t follow a lot of people who take selfies posed at the gym – not because there’s something wrong with that, but because I want to see people do things. I follow people who show their impressive lifts or illustrate the daily routine of their training. See somebody dedication reminds me that I can be that dedicated too. If a selfie is thrown in here or there, I don’t mind; If I’m not in the mood to see one, I’ll scroll by.

Once you can see what bothers you about fitness selfies in your feed, you can make smart decisions too. Don’t follow someone who makes you feel bad or whose social presence doesn’t add to your life. If someone is posting ab-flexing selfies every day and you’d rather not see that many, the problem may not be theirs at all.

G / O Media can receive a commission

Other people’s selfies aren’t about you

The truth is, people take selfies at the gym for themselves, their friends, and their followers and they have their own reasons for doing so.

Lifting up videos and body photos is useful for assessing progress over time. Form check videos may or may not fit the definition of a fitness selfie (depending on who you ask), however You are a valuable tool For anyone working with a remote trainer or wanting to analyze their own elevators.

Gym-related social media posts are also a way of seeing how many people participate in a community. Maybe you work out at home or go to a commercial gym where the other guests don’t share your specific fitness interests. But you want someone out there to know that you are working toward a big goal every day – whatever that may be – so that you don’t feel quite so alone. Often times, you are more likely to find someone on social media than, say, endlessly telling your co-workers about it.

I got to know many other lifters through this method, especially during the pandemic. I see them exercise and they see me; We cheer each other and feel sorry for the days that don’t go well. We could work together to plan how to overcome an obstacle or discuss where to buy the best pair of knee sleeves. These people are my fitness friends, whether I ever see them in real life or not.

Other benefits of fitness selfies

Fitness selfies, lift videos, and everything else can also be beneficial for those who watch them. When I learn a new lift – let’s say Log Press – I follow its hashtag on Instagram and watch people reach it. I watch their shape, but also pay attention to where and how they settle in their gym or at home. That’s how I discovered that a pair of tires, for example, under the end of the log can make good crash pads.

These posts can also help you locate a new gym. I have reviewed gyms and competition venues by looking for posts tagged in those locations so I know what to expect when I go there or to overcome your fears of trying something new. It’s also inspiring to read people’s captions as they talk about overcoming their own fears or setting or reaching a new goal.

Gym selfies are almost always about more than just narcissism. And in those cases where it’s really just someone thirsting for a few likes, what’s so bad about that? Wanting to be liked is part of being human.