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reasonsforhope · 1 year ago

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We’ve just taken a major step toward cleaning up space junk.

On Monday, October 2, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US issued its first fine for space debris, ordering the US TV provider Dish to pay $150,000 for failing to move one of its satellites into a safe orbit.

“It is definitely a very big symbolic moment for debris mitigation,” says Michelle Hanlon, a space lawyer at the University of Mississippi. “It’s a great step in the right direction.”

But it might be more than just a symbolic gesture by the FCC. Not only does it set a precedent for tackling bad actors who leave dangerous junk orbiting Earth, but it could send shock waves through the industry as other satellite operators become wary of having their reputation tarnished. While the $150,000 FCC fine was modest, Dish’s share price fell by nearly 4% immediately following its announcement, pushing the company’s $3 billion valuation down about $100 million.

The FCC’s action could also help breathe new life into the still-small market for commercial removal of space debris, essentially setting a price—$150,000—for companies such as Astroscale in Japan and ClearSpace in Switzerland to aim for in providing services that use smaller spacecraft to sidle up to dead satellites or rockets and pull them back into the atmosphere...

Another hope is that the FCC’s fine will encourage other countries to follow suit with their own enforcement actions on space junk. “It sends a message out of America taking leadership in this area,” says Newman. “This is starting the ball rolling.”

Today there are more than 8,000 active satellites, nearly 2,000 dead satellites, and hundreds of empty rockets orbiting Earth. Managing these objects and preventing collisions is a huge task, and one that is becoming increasingly difficult as the number of satellites grows rapidly. The worsening situation is largely due to mega-constellations of hundreds or thousands of satellites from companies like SpaceX and Amazon, designed to beam the internet to any corner of the globe...

Hanlon says there are further measures that could be taken to discourage companies from failing to dispose of satellites properly. “Honestly, I would love to see that if you don’t meet your license requirements, you’re banned from launching for a number of years,” she says. “If you’re driving under the influence you can have your license revoked. These are the kinds of measures we need to see.”

Chris Johnson, a space law advisor at the Secure World Foundation in the US, says the loss of reputation for Dish about the satellite situation might be worse than any fine it could have received. “They promised to remove it and they didn’t,” he says. “It’s like the first operator of a car to get a speeding ticket.”

The fall in the company’s share price appears to be indicative of that reputational damage. The fine may not have been as severe as it could have been, but the FCC’s actions can be seen as a warning to other companies to tackle space junk. “This is going to be on their record and their reputation,” says Johnson. “It’s not trivial.”

-via MIT Technology Review, October 5, 2023

Always nice to see steps taken to tackle a problem BEFORE it causes incredibly massive issues

#space #space debris #united states #fcc #technology #big tech #satellite #astronomy #good news #hope

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linkablewritingadvice · 2 months ago

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How much should it cost to be a writer?

It depends what route you’re taking. If you are planning to go for traditional publishing, which looks like you finishing a manuscript and then querying agents who will then take your book to publishers, you should be paying for basically nothing. One exception would be if you decide to hire an editor to get a pass over your manuscript and/or query package before sending it off, but this is not required.

If you are in the process of trying to get your manuscript traditionally published, you may be approached by a “publisher” offering to publish your manuscript for a fee. THIS IS A SCAM! An author should never be paying for “publishing services.” Anyone asking you to pay for your own printing, marketing, etc. costs is taking advantage of you. These are called vanity publishers and they will not turn you a profit, help you attract readers, or provide you the prestige of being published.

Always check on Writer Beware - search for the name of the person or company. You can also just google that name along with the word “scam” or “reviews.” In general, don’t let yourself be blinded by dreams, or let yourself be convinced that something is a good idea because you really want it to be true. Never, ever, ever pay a publisher.

If you are going the self-publishing route, you will be paying for certain things, but none of those should be payment to be published. You are the publisher. Uploading your manuscript to Amazon or other marketplaces is free. However, you will be paying for things that a publisher typically pays for. This could include:

-Cover art - you could do this yourself, though this isn't recommended. A good cover is key to a book's success, so budget to purchase a pre-made book cover, or hire a professional cover artist.

To find pre-made book covers, you can just Google "premade book covers," or check one of these sites: BookCoverZone RockingBookCovers Beetiful

And here's a list of places to buy both custom and pre-made cover designs that's a good start. You can also check Reedsy and Etsy for people listing cover design services. If there is a self-pubbed author whose covers you love, try asking them what artist they use.

-Formatting - you could do this yourself using a formatting program like Atticus, or you could hire someone who does professional e-book formatting.

Here's an article on the turbo-DIY route. Here's a list of formatting programs you can use. To hire someone, you can simply search for book formatting services or look at places where people list such services for hire, like Reedsy, Fiverr, or certain Reddit boards.

-Ad campaigns - you may want to pay for ad campaigns on platforms like Meta or Amazon. More niche, author-specific platforms like BookBub, Book Funnel, or Book Sirens also come with certain costs.

-Author services - you may wish to hire an expert in things like marketing, blurb copy, social media metrics, newsletter management, etc. You can find information on that here.

Be aware that scam publishers might try to pitch themselves as "author services" - you should be paying someone to help you with specific aspects of your self publishing work, NOT paying to be published.

-Software and platforms - whether it's a subscription to Duotrope, a paid Scribophile account, access to pro Canva features, etc. you may decide to pay for tools that you will use to do your work well.

-Expert advice - some people offer courses, books, or other resources on how to do specific things like write a compelling blurb or run an effective ad campaign. You may notice that a lot of the links I shared here will include upsells from people doing exactly this!

Be very cautious about this, as most of these people claim that they make tons of money on their self published books, but really, they make their money selling this stuff to people like you. Always check out a person’s free resources first, and wait to invest in this sort of thing until you have a specific question you need answered or are trying to do a very particular thing that you need granular guidance on.

One thing you should NOT pay for is a review, feature, or interview. Self-published authors will be approached by a lot of scammers who claim that, for a nominal fee, they will share information about your book to their huge audiences. These are completely useless and a waste of money. Never spend money on this.

Always keep track of what you are spending on all of this. You may be able to deduct it from taxes you pay on your income from writing, and you will want to really understand what your profit margins look like.

#self publishing #writing #writer beware #writing advice

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clovercoin · 2 months ago

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YAY SEPTEMBER, CLOVERCOIN IS BACK!

[ Original Patreon Post ] Phew, almost forgot the life updates after doing all those art packs in the other post. So let's catch up with what's happening with CloverCoin! Life has been very very busy since I got back from my mom's funeral. Our dog Junior (rottie) had a previous elbow injury that wasn't healing over and when I got back home we decided to take him to the vet for a second look since the pain meds they gave us ran out. Turns out Junior had big swollen ball of cancer in his elbow and he was never going to regain function in that arm again. He was in so much pain we were really apprehensive on what the right course of action was. But the vets all worked with us since they knew Junior so well from all his previous visits, with their help we managed to get an extra fast amputation surgery scheduled for the infected arm. It was extremely expensive but it gave our dog immediate pain relief while we figured what treatment plan we were going to do next. Originally we all thought it was bone cancer and that he would likely need to be put down to avoid further pain in the very near future even with his amputation. With further testing and investigation of his cancer arm, we found out it was actually a type of blood cancer of his white blood cells. We all assumed if it's blood and fluid that must mean it's everywhere, right? We were wrong AGAIN! Wither further scans we found no further signs of cancer growth in his body, lymph nodes, or organs. With this new information we made the decision as a family to pursue oncologist for Junior and get him chemo / cancer treatments. It drained the rest of our savings account that we've been working so hard for to buy a house next summer... But Junior himself has completely bounced back to the happy dog he's always been. He's eating again, learning how to run and play on his one foreleg, and just excited to still be here. So while it did cost all of my savings, I have to say it's been worth it. With his reviewed case, he went from less than 6 months to live to possibly living 2-3+ more years now. So we're all so happy and grateful to still have our service boy still with us. Now that we're on a routine with Junior and his chemo treatments, I'm also getting back to work on my end! CloverCoin Patreon is back online for September 2024! We're so excited to see so many patrons stuck around and how excited you all are for more art! Thank you!!! I'm currently working on setting up a Bigcartel shop page with all of our stickers and postcard goods. I'll be sure to announce the shop's grand opening here soon as it's all ready. Thank you so much for all of my patrons testing out merch every month with me so we can make this possible! Last big to-do on my list now is that my current desktop Cintiq is not working for me. We had an original Cintiq 22 HD from 2014. But that poor thing died last year. We ordered a new tablet on super sale from amazon but.... We're very unhappy with the product and it doesn't work with my desk or work station. So we'll be taking it down and trying to resell it to get our money back. However this means I still do not have a desktop tablet to work with for online streams and recordings. REALLY BUMS ME OUT! I'm very fortunate that I still have my ipad and it's been working great. So I'm not totally without a tablet for work. But Prov and I will now be making an effort to replace my Cintiq tablet with a new one maybe before the year is over. Ouch my poor savings account, it's already taken such a beating from all the vet bills and now I have to replace very expensive hardware? yuck! So... Lots of money being spent. But overall we're very lucky and we're so happy. I'm just so grateful to have my happy dog recovering really well. I'm glad my ipad works great even after being beat up for past 7-8 years?? Woah! Good job lil buddy. Just... A lot has gone wrong this year. A lot of bad shit has happened. And Prov and I are so damn lucky to be here and have everything we do. So I'm going to keep working VERY HARD to get all this updated, shop posted, commissions completed, and make back every single dime of my savings!!! OR SO HELP ME! >:0 Thanks everyone for sticking it out while we're figuring out every bump in the road. We really appreciate all your patience and kindness. You're all the best and I can't wait to share even more art with you all! AJD . ART

#CloverCoin #AJferret #AJ ferret #ferret #ferrets #fursona #fursonas #sona #sonas #tablet #dog #dogs #rottie #rotties

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mariacallous · 1 year ago

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Palestinian graphic designer Bilal Tamimi’s YouTube videos from the village of Nabi Saleh in the West Bank have received 6 million views during the past 13 years. His uploads document joyous festivals and peaceful protests—but also violent skirmishes between Nabi Saleh’s 600 residents and occupying Israeli soldiers. “I need to show to the world what’s happening in my village and the suffering of my people from occupation,” he says.

The platform has helped Tamimi broadcast to his more than 20,000 subscribers, but he’s locked out of YouTube’s revenue sharing program that pays a share of ad sales to more than 2 million video creators in 137 countries or territories. When Tamimi tries to sign up, YouTube’s app says, “The YouTube Partner Program is not available in your current location Palestine.”

The internet has given some Palestinians a global audience, but many benefits of online life that billions around the world can take for granted simply don’t work for people in Gaza and the West Bank. In addition to YouTube’s partner program, money transfer services such as PayPal and ecommerce marketplaces, including Amazon, largely bar Palestinian merchants from entry. Google tools for generating revenue from web ads or in-app purchases are technically open to Palestinians but can, in practice, be inaccessible due to challenges verifying their identity or collecting payment.

As Israeli forces have bombarded Gaza in pursuit of Hamas, tech workers’ and rights activists’ frustrations with the region’s digital inequality has grown. Palestinians are barred from YouTube’s Partner Program and struggle with intermittent connectivity. Israeli YouTube channels in the program could be bringing in some revenue from conflict-related content. Popular Israeli singers have drawn views with songs honoring victims of Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, while travel advice channel Traveling Israel has received millions of views on historical explainers.

Human rights organizations say the disparity in access to online sources of income weakens the Palestinian economy. "Many Palestinians who work online struggle to be paid," says Marwa Fatafta, a policy and advocacy manager at the rights organization Access Now. YouTube’s policy “fits a larger pattern of tech companies’ discriminatory approach to Palestinians.”

Google spokespeople, who asked not to be named for safety concerns, say in a statement that the company is committed to creating economic opportunities for Palestinians through services and training. The YouTube Partner Program won’t be available in the Palestinian territories until Google launches a local version of YouTube, which involves customizing features and options to the language and culture. "We continue to invest in the infrastructure that's needed to offer more tools to monetize with Google to ensure it’s a seamless process and follows local legal requirements,” one of the spokespeople says.

To get a sense of how Palestinians are excluded from or face barriers to tapping the world’s largest ecosystem for making money online—Google’s—WIRED reviewed popular Palestinian YouTube channels, news websites, and apps associated with the region. Interviews with content creators, activists, and current and former Google staff familiar with the region and company policies helped fill out the picture. The investigation revealed how a series of Palestinian projects and companies hit financial dead ends when attempting to monetize online in ways easy for people in countries such as the US and Israel. Others resorted to complicated geographic workarounds that siphon off revenue.

The Google sources not authorized to speak to media allege those challenges reflect years of internal politics and neglect of Palestinian users at the company. The sources say a localized version of the company’s search engine, Google.ps, launched in 2009 only after a desire to provide more relevant results narrowly beat out concerns about public backlash for an action some people could view as endorsing disputed territories. But there hasn’t been management resolve in recent years to risk changing the status quo to introduce a Palestinian YouTube that would give local creators access to monetization.

US congressman Mark Pocan of Wisconsin says Israel’s current attack on Gaza underscores how wrong that pattern of online exclusion is. “When massive companies make money hand over fist from creators but deny them their fair share just because of where they live, that is just plain wrong,” he says. It is crucial, he argues, that “Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank have equal opportunities for economic participation.” In May, Pocan led several Democratic US lawmakers in urging PayPal to allow Palestinian accounts. PayPal, which declined to comment, hasn’t changed its policies.

Duty First

Tamimi, 57, started posting on YouTube in 2010 and views it as a duty in service of his villagers, not a way to get rich. He first tried to join the service’s revenue sharing program a few years ago as a way to defray his costs. “I would for sure try to improve my work, to have a good camera,” he says. “And maybe I can help other people who are doing what I am doing through workshops and cameras.”

Today Tamimi uses an iPhone 12 Pro Max he bought himself and camcorders and equipment donated by B'Tselem, a Jerusalem-based nonprofit organization that aims to document human rights issues in Palestinian territories.

Tamimi’s focus on winning attention over profit is no different than other YouTube creators, says Bing Chen, who once led global creator initiatives at YouTube. “Revenue is of course an incentive, but fame is more so,” says Chen, who now develops and invests in creators through his company AU Holdings.

You don’t need a fancy camera or editing to draw an audience. When Israeli professors analyzed about 340 TikTok videos from 2021 related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict they found pro-Israeli videos had higher production values but received lower engagement. They argued that viewers preferred Palestinian content because public sentiment tends to favor those seen as victims.

At a time of widespread suffering now on both sides of the border and an intense period of global attention on the region, Palestinian channels like Tamimi’s could be drawing record engagement and revenue—money that could, one day, make rebuilding easier.

Instead, Tamimi has withdrawn from YouTube. He started posting only infrequently after his village stopped organizing weekly protests around 2018 and with no income available feels no loyalty to the Google service. When an incident flares up, he is now more likely to livestream on Meta’s Facebook, where he draws thousands of viewers. “YouTube is like an archive,” he says, not a place to share new content.

Geographic Gaps

YouTube’s revenue program for creators, known as YPP, launched in 2007 and pioneered the concept of a major social media platform turning amateur stardom into a well-paying job. It now has competition from Meta, X, and TikTok—which also don’t offer their programs to people in Palestinian territories—but remains the leader in influence and geographic reach.

Despite YouTube’s dominant position, WIRED’s review found that YPP doesn’t let in creators from over a quarter of the world's 100 most populous countries, most of them in Africa. It welcomes people from many countries with smaller populations than the Palestinian territories, where, combined, an estimated 5 million people reside. Creators from Iraq and Yemen, also Arabic-speaking places troubled by conflict, are listed as supported.

Chen, who helped develop YPP while working at YouTube, believes that the platform’s leaders may want to avoid funding creators whose content puts them at risk from local authorities, and also worry that language barriers or limited staffing could make it difficult to provide suitable customer service.

But it’s not impossible for platforms to work with creators in Palestine. California-based fundraising service Patreon gets money to Palestinian users through the payments provider Payoneer, and smaller money-moving tools such as Saudi Arabia’s PayTabs say they support transactions with Palestinian accounts.

Other parts of Google’s vast empire claim to serve Palestinians businesses, but people reached by WIRED say the reality is very different.

Google documentation says the Google Play app store allows developers from 163 markets, including one listed as “Palestine,” to sell apps and in-app purchases and that Google’s AdSense advertising system supports 232 countries or territories, including “Palestinian Territory.”

Odeh Quraan, who runs a Ramallah-based software development agency called iPhase with overseas customers, says the sign-up process for AdSense requires entering a PIN mailed by Google. But Israel controls the flow of mail to the West Bank, and many items never arrive, he says. He circumvented that by using Stripe’s Atlas service to establish a company in the US state of Delaware without ever setting foot there. But it comes with downsides. “Taxes are a headache, and transferring money from the US bank account to the local banks has turned out costly,” Quraan says.

Three out of 12 popular Palestinian news websites display ads using Google technology, compared with 11 out of 12 well-known Israeli news sources, WIRED found. One of the Google spokespeople says the company in late October began notifying websites in the region about a virtual alternative to the mailed PINs, though the option is not stated in public support documentation.

Elsewhere in Ramallah, software development company Mongid stopped offering in-app purchases from an ecommerce app on Google Play and abandoned a YouTube channel with tutorials on using online learning tools because it was too difficult to receive revenue via Google, says CEO Mongid Abu-Baker.

This month, he and two other app developers interviewed by WIRED have been stymied by a new Google Play requirement that all developers get verified by global professional services firm Dun & Bradstreet. Neither the Palestinian territories nor their country code for phone numbers are listed as options on sign-up webpages, and Palestinian developers must seek customer service from Dun & Bradstreet through offices in Israel rather than an Arab country.

Abu-Baker calls the lack of recognition an affront on his identity. “Palestinian companies hold an importance no less significant than any other worldwide,” he says. He downgraded his account to avoid verification and now worries about losing access to some Google Play features.

Efrat Segev, chief of data and product for Dun & Bradstreet in Israel, says hundreds of Palestinian businesses have finished verification over the past two years and that complaints are few but that it is trying to remedy the concerns. Google declined to comment.

The difficulties faced by Abu-Baker and others in Palestine clash with messaging from Google’s leaders in California about its work in the Middle East. Last year, Google chief financial officer Ruth Porat announced that the company would spend $10 million over three years to help Palestinian graduates, developers, and entrepreneurs “advance their digital skills and find employment.” Just weeks before the recent war broke out, Google said it aims to serve 3,500 Palestinians from the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem through the investment.

Asked on stage at a conference this month about Google’s role in contested areas like Gaza, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said his company can be a critical technology partner. “We don't see it in the geopolitical context,” he said. “We see it in an enabling context.”

Some Israeli creators, like those in Palestine, feel Google isn’t living up to that. Oren Cahanovitc, owner of the Traveling Israel channel, says videos discussing politics are being flagged by YouTube as not suitable for ads. Corey Gil-Shuster, the Tel Aviv-based creator behind the Ask Project, which interviews Israelis and Palestinians about their views on the conflict, says he’s seen the same pattern.

YouTube’s screening tools can deem videos showing violence or capitalizing on war as inappropriate for advertisers, although partner program participants also get some revenue from paid subscribers to YouTube who don’t see ads. That business, and revenue stream for creators, is growing.

Palestinians lack the opportunity to receive checks from YouTube at all. The Israeli creator Gil-Shuster says the disparity was news to him and that the fix seems clear. “Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza, obviously,” he says, “should have equal right to benefit from monetization as anyone else.”

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meganwilhoit · 2 years ago

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Digital Retailing: Branding on the Web

Branding is a super important tool and concept, not just for businesses but also for one's personal use. A few months back my school's American Marketing Association (AMA), hosted an event for “personal branding”, and expert individuals came in to discuss what branding was and how we could develop our own “brand”. Although this event pertained to personal branding, it still helped me grasp a better understanding of what branding actually is. And what I learned was branding is made up of a lot of different things, not just the company's name or logo.

By definition, branding is “is the process of giving meaning to a specific organization, company, products or services by creating and shaping a brand in consumers’ minds. It is a strategy designed by organizations to help people to quickly identify and experience their brand, and give them a reason to choose their products over the competition’s, by clarifying what this particular brand is and is not” (Marion, 2022).

As more people shift towards the e-retail shopping experience, companies are having to adjust their branding to accurately reflect their company on a digital platform. I also think it should be noted that customers' expectations play a huge role in the differences between online and offline branding. Meeting these expectations is crucial for a company to succeed in branding and overall. Although I do think branding can be very similar between the web and the traditional retail environment, there are also some differences that should be considered to fully optimize the customer experience.

The first difference is in customer service. Customer service is a part of a company's brand and implementing good customer service will give consumers a better idea of what the company represents. Customer service can be much easier to obtain in the traditional retail environment. Consumers can speak directly to an associate or manager if any issues arise.

A personal experience of exceptional customer service in a traditional retail environment is when I shop at Altar’d State. They are a women’s boutique with the mission “Our mission is to serve as an inspiration, empower others and give more than we receive. We do this by lifting those who need a helping hand, volunteering our time to enrich lives, and extending the power of prayer.” (Altar’d State, n.d). Whenever I shop with them I am always given the best customer service, from the moment I walk in I am greeted by an associate and they offer to help me find exactly what I am looking for. They will offer a dressing room if I am a pile of clothes and will also offer advice and compliments while in the dressing room. Altar’d State goes above and beyond in its customer service aspects to build its brand and show its consumers what they strive for in a company. But with e-retailing, this interaction and customer service cannot be performed, companies have to use other resources to create these experiences with customer service and stay consistent with their branding.

An online retailer that I think has achieved high levels of branding through its customer service is Amazon. Amazon has been successful in filling the void of social interaction that is found online. They offer quick shipping with Amazon Prime, even offering one-day/overnight delivery in some areas. They promote “frequently bought together” or “similar products” on all their product listings to offer their consumers more advice and expertise. And Amazon has extensive reviews from customers who have purchased the product previously. Other customers can view these reviews with different filters (such as most recent or best to worst) to find all the readily available information before purchasing. Amazon also has a traditional customer service phone line and email for their customers if any larger issues arise. But the majority of the time customers can navigate through Amazon’s website to make returns or contact supplies.

Another difference in branding is through packaging design. We all know how a brand's product packaging can help with its branding. Brands can use their logos, slogans, and colors on their packaging to keep consistent branding and help spread awareness of the brand. Some examples are Tiffany’s iconic blue box with the white ribbon or Campbell's classic red and white soup cans. But I also view packaging design as how the product is presented to the customer upon purchase. This can also help a company’s brand differentiate between traditional retail environments and online retailers. If a company has poor packaging (such as unidentifiable or not securing the product properly) customers are going to associate the company with low quality.

In a traditional retail environment, the packaging design falls down to how the products are placed in the bag and the branding on the bag. One example from personal experience that comes to mind is Victoria’s Secret. Once I check out my item are wrapped in their color-themed tissue paper (typically white or pink), placed in their classic pink striped bag, and more tissue paper is added to the top. Each of these elements helps their branding. Not only do I feel I have purchased a more high-quality product due to the packaging, but the branding of the bag helps me and other consumers clearly identify the brand.

In the e-retail environment, packaging design falls into how the packaging is shipped to the consumer. Patagonia is a clothing brand (online and traditional retail) but a huge focus on sustainability and being environmentally friendly. To ensure this message is conveyed through all their channels, they have made a strong effort to make their packaging design more sustainable. Their shipping boxes are cardboard but the inside of their boxes have some of their classic designs to keep branding consistent. They also have made efforts to minimize the amount of packaging required and made plans for their consumers to easily recycle these packaging components. Patagonia is using its packaging design to convey its message of being sustainable while still ensuring the packaging is identifiable to its brand.

One way online retailers can build their branding and ensure it is consistent with their message is through social media. Over the past three years or so we have seen social media turn into e-retailers themselves. Instagram and Pinterest have even been able to create “shopping centers” on their networks where consumers can easily shop for products and purchase them through the app. Customers can follow companies on social media to keep up on new releases, and upcoming sales, and even enter potential giveaways. Companies can use their social media to connect with their customers on a more personal level while still being in the digital environment. Companies can also use social media to help with their digital branding by posting pictures and videos that accurately reflect the brand and what they are all about, especially since “a picture is worth a thousand words”.

Two examples came to my mind when thinking of companies that use social media to help build their brand. The first is Patagonia. As I stated before they are huge on sustainability and environmentalism, one of their marketing campaigns was even about “Don’t Buy This Jacket”, which brought awareness to the overconsumption of clothes. On Patagonia's social media accounts, they strive to maintain this message, instead of consistently posting about their products, they actually feature environmental activists as well as consumers wearing Patagonia while performing outdoor activities. This is a great example of using social media to accurately reflect their brand.

The other example that came to mind was Aerie, a smaller section of American Eagle featuring women's intimates and loungewear. Their purpose is to “love everybody”, and through their social media accounts, they post so many diverse women wearing Aerie clothing, whether that is different bodies or ethnicities, and featuring women with disabilities too. This is to bring love to one another and show that every body is beautiful, not just the “standard” we see all too often in magazines.

Traditional and online retailers can both use the same branding strategies but they use them in different ways, such as how they create customer service experiences or how they package their products. But I also think social media play’s a huge role in a company's branding. This is where companies can really connect with their consumers and show off their products as well as their purpose and what they stand for.

References

Altar'd State. (n.d.). Standout For Good. Altar'd State. Retrieved January 30, 2023, from https://www.altardstate.com/stand-out-for-good/

Marion. (2022, March 9). What Is Branding? The Branding Journal. Retrieved January 30, 2023, from https://www.thebrandingjournal.com/2015/10/what-is-branding-definition/

#branding #digital marketing #marketing #digital

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otoecommerce · 6 months ago

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Grow Online Store From ZERO to $100k

Keeping your Amazon seller account healthy is very important for your business. An expert Amazon account management agency can help by taking care of your account, following Amazon rules, and making your product listings better. Staying updated with rules and having clear product descriptions and pictures can help you get noticed and trusted by customers, leading to good reviews and more sales. Improve your online business with good Amazon account management services.

With Otoecomm managing your account, you can relax knowing your business is in capable hands. We handle everything from setting up your account to managing shipments. Oto Ecomm is a leading Amazon account management agency, providing complete and professional support for all your Amazon seller account needs.

#amazon #business #ecommerce #online selling #online services #photography #fashion shoot

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janedoewrites · 1 year ago

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Did you self-publish? If yes, what was it like? Any advise for writers looking to publish?

I did self-publish, yes.

How I Did It

It was easier than I thought it'd be, at least, the way I approached it. Caveat that I went through KDP (i.e. Amazon) for a number of reasons that basically came down to a) ease of publishing b) availability of hard copies c) the shipping of hard copies on a global scale (not all countries are available but it's a decent amount) d) it's a place people often go to for books period e) the cost of publishing (the way it works is that print is done "on-demand" it's slower but I don't have to pay out of pocket for X print copies that I then have to sell to make the money back). f) fairly good royalties g) the general terms and conditions and 'ownership' of my material.

There are downsides in that it's through Amazon, whom nobody likes, and that there's return shenanigans in that if I get money from a purchase and if someone chooses to then return the book then that money gets taken away from me personally. (This has gotten better, recently, with ebook purchases as now if a reader reads past a certain percentage they're considered as having 'bought' it where before a lot of people treated it like a library and didn't realize it was the author they were fucking over and not Amazon who makes sure they're not the ones taking the cut).

And look, to those who want to give me flack, we live in a society and people buy books on Amazon. Them's the breaks.

There are other ways to self-publish and platforms you can pay to be a part of where they'll work to not only get you listed on Amazon but bookstores such as Barnes and Noble but it's a little more complicated/does cost some amount to do.

What Was it Like

It's a fairly simple process through KDP at least. What you do is set up an account with tax information/agree to terms of service/so on and so forth. You can then manage your books through a profile and the manuscripts you can write in pre-provided document templates that have the print structure for whatever size book you want to write (e.g. 6"x9").

When you're finished and have your page count in the formatted text, you go and see what size covers are required for hard copies (if you're interested) and can either use stock images to generate covers or else cover images that you own (e.g. you do it yourself or commission it as a book cover by an artist). For e-books they give specifications on the quality your cover should be for the best resolution/results.

You then submit your manuscript/cover art for copyright review, get an ISBN (KDP provides this for free for hard copies if you use them), and decide on digital rights management, promotion options, and pricing structure (where you're told up front the cost of printing/the amount you get after KDP's cut of the royalties).

It sits in reviews for up to 72 hours and provided all goes well you're then live, you get an author page and links to your works, and you can distribute how you want/tell the world to buy your book.

In other words, it was stupid easy.

Should You Self-Publish

There are pros and cons to self-publishing vs. publishing in general.

One great pro is nobody tells you what to do and so long as you follow terms of service (which hopefully you do as it's things like: don't write about the glorification of violence, glorification of sexual violence, so on and so forth) you can publish what you like without having to necessarily be 'marketable'.

Remember that published books are intended to sell and they generally either target extremely niche markets in a very deep way or else try to cast a very wide net with a book everyone can enjoy. One thing you'll see a lot of if you go the publishing route is "I as an agent enjoy unique stories. Now, tell me at least five books that are exactly like yours that were published in the last five years." There are exceptions, but it's generally not a field that likes risk or shaking the boat. They want to be able to sell books.

Another great pro is you're depending only on yourself. You can publish the book as soon as you're finished editing without having to convince someone else it's great stuff.

And of course, there's the pro that you don't have to get an agent or publisher to say yes. The way it typically works is if you want the big or prestigious publishers, you have to have an agent and that agent usually has to have some in roads with that publisher. Which means you have to submit a few pages of a manuscript/a summary and other things to them and hope they get back to you on that. This can be very time consuming (as they generally allow a window of 4-6 weeks) and annoying.

The cons is that you have to market yourself and you don't have the leg up that publishing would otherwise get you (where you are associated with whatever books they already have published just by being published by them, they may or may not run marketing campaigns and advertising for your material, and they can get your books distributed on a much wider scale). What this means is that if you don't have a large-ish platform already and care about sales/intend to make a living on this then you're going to have a very rough time getting a foot up.

The other part of this is that obviously you don't get a forward/amount of money before any books are sold as you otherwise might with a publishing agency. You only get the royalties you earn through sales.

Any Advice?

The self-publishing bit is easy enough that the hardest part is the writing and the editing. Obviously, I haven't gotten far in at this point, and I'm also not all that concerned about sales (I have no intentions of quitting my day job and becoming an auteur any time soon) so I'm perhaps not the person to ask at this point in time.

If you go Amazon worth thinking about is if you want to go the Kindle Unlimited route or not. I haven't as of yet, because I'm not feeling the burn for promotion.

What it is for those not familiar is that Amazon will market your book much more internally (e.g. that stuff that pops up on your kindle when you turn it on), run sales and promotions on it, but your ebook version can be read for free/lent to others for free with you getting a small amount of money depending how far readers make it into the book. The idea being that as you reach a much larger audience, you get more money than you otherwise would have. It's a good way to market if you have no platform/following already and a good way to proliferate the book but you lose out on people actually buying it.

#amazon #kindle unlimited #kdp #publishing #self publishing

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muiligbolahan9 · 6 months ago

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smmeshopscom22 · 7 months ago

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tamapalace · 1 year ago

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Takahiro Mizuno, Director and Chief Tamagotchi Officer at Bandai Japan Featured in Nikkei Business Publications Article on Tamagotchi Uni

Nikkei Business Publications is a book and magazine publisher based in Tokyo, Japan which also features a website on all things business. With Tamagotchi gearing up for the next major anniversary, and the release of the Tamagotchi Uni, Nikkei Business Publications featured an article about the Tamagotchi Uni, and even spoke with Takahiro Mizunio, Director and Chief Tamagotchi Officer, and Hirohiko Sekito, Global Toy Planning Department Planning Team Manager.

The article reviews the new Tamagotchi Uni and how it features Wi-Fi connectivity, along with pink and purple shell colors which are popular amongst generation Z. With the Tamagotchi brand a few years away from the 30th anniversary, it is not uncommon to see three generations of Tamagotchi-loving family fans.

Throughout the years, there have been releases of Tamagotchi in select markets, but regular market updates were limited to the Japan market. One of the features of the Tamagotchi Uni is that this is a global model that unifies all design and play content.

Mr. Takahiro Mizuno, Chief Tamagotchi Officer explains the the reason why it became the same model worldwide. As the Tamagotchi Original was re-released in North America, the Tamagotchi was discovered more and more and people starting enjoying it as a fashion item instead of accessories, inflicters and celebrities wore them. Would you look at that, the Tamagotchi Original was a huge influence for a global release, remember that!

It was widely recognized not only by those who play with it, but also the young people of generation Z who were unaware of the trends. It means a lot that Tamagotchi fans all over the world can play with the same model! We agree!

Tamagotchi Original has become a mega-hit product with shipments of approximately 4.4 million units in Europe and the United States between 2018 and 2022. In 2022 they were released again in Japan, sold in WEGO stores for the young demographic, and succeeded in acquiring a new target for people in their teens and twenties. “I feel that a new brand value has been created,” says Mr. Mizuno.

The Tamagotchi Smart was the first wearable model which returned to the original concept of caregiving play and was a model that was more enjoyable to play alone. However the spread of online culture due to COVID-19 has boosted the installation of Wi-Fi in the Tamagotchi Uni.

Mr. Daihiko Sekito of Bandai, who was in charge of planning, recalls, "I wanted to create an environment where I could communicate with fans around the world with my own Tamagotchi. The Wi-Fi function that allowed me to connect to the Internet was essential.”

The Wi-Fi function uses IoT service of Amazon Web Services, designed to withstand the connection of more than 1 million units worldwide. Mr. Mizuno says, "It's great to be able to update and add functions. Adding fun will make it a model that you can play for a longer time than before." Although it is such a small device, it has become a platform like a smartphone.

There are also opportunities to interact with influencers and talents who acted as image characters for this promotion. Limited-time game events are held at Tama Arena, and event information is available via the cloud.

In the medium-term plan that started in 2022, we set the goal of “Connect with Fans” and set the goal of deepening global connections centered on IP (intellectual property).”I think that the environment for Japanese products to sell overseas has become even better. Now is the perfect opportunity for the BANDAI NAMCO Group to increase the value of its IP. I would like to ride this trend and expand Tamagotchi more and more." Mr. Mizuno)

It is very interesting to see both Takahiro Mizuno and Daihiko Sekito of Bandai interacting with the Tamagotchi Uni together, and with Tamagotchi Uni packaging from outside of Japan. This was an awesome article that really provides some additional insight into the Tamagotchi Uni and how the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the development of a Tamagotchi that connects the globe together.

#tamapalace #tamagotchi #tmgc #tamagotchiuni #tamagotchi uni #uni #tamatag #virtualpet #bandai #nikkeibusinesspublications #nikkei business publications #nikkei #takahiromizuno #takahiro mizuno #daihikosekito #daihiko sekito #cto #chieftamagotchiofficer #chief tamagotchi officer

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knightofhylia · 1 year ago

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Deck Review: The Wonderland Tarot

Deck

The deck is The Wonderland Tarot by Chris and Morgana Abbey. I got mine from Amazon, but you can find it at most occult stores. It’s a pretty standard deck and I’ve seen it sold for as low as 12 bucks so it’s very easy to get. I picked this one because I love Alice in Wonderland, and I love cards that come in tins. It’s playing card size so it’s one of the easiest to shuffle and the tin makes it easy to travel with. The imagery is based on the original book and illustrations. Some of the cards are very ugly and charming at the same time, very classic Victorian-era caricatures of royalty and such.

Booklet

It is almost a one-to-one copy of Rider Waite deck in imagery but the suits are changed. Wands and Peppermills, Swords are Flamingoes, Coins are Oysters and Cups are Hats. The Major Arcana is all the same. The deck can also be used as a regular playing card deck using only the minor arcana. There are two extra cards that serve as title cards, it’s a picture of Alice looking in the mirror, one card is normal and the other is flipped. They don’t have any meaning in the booklet, but I usually give them a ‘Happy Squirrel’ type of meaning, aka stop asking the cards and go outside, or use it to determine yes or no.

The booklet tone is very harsh and confusing, the interpretations are based on Waite's Pictorial Key to the Tarot so it's very. victorian esoteric. It’s hard to apply modern situations to some of the guidelines so in general I combine what the booklet says with everything I know about Alice in Wonderland and the regular Rider Waite deck.

Spirit

Puka is love, peace, and harmony of all things.He is an incredibly devoted spirit and always bounces back from the hardest times with always something good to say about it. I’ve been working with him for most of my life, connecting over similar autism special interests and inspiring me through my family troubles. He is excellent at handling chaos and soothing it back into a more manageable form. Relates very well with current or former Christians. His tag is 'adamkvi'

Reading Style

Puka really does give the best advice if you know how to find it. He is tricky to read with because, like Wonderland, there are multiple meanings and metaphors at play. Sometimes cards are pulled reverse but, within the context of the reading SHOULD be upright. Sometimes what is not in the reading is more important than what is. This also means that the readings are never the same, what a Frog symbolizes to one person is different to someone else. However, every message is always meant with the best intent.