#ANOTHER CAMPAIGN I WONT SHUT UP ABOUT FOR A MONTH

[fandomflamemik]

WHAT A WAY TO WAKE UP EVERYONE SAY THANK YOU JEREMY

[sometipsygnostalgic]

low-key hoping wp doesnt repeat the mistakes of the past

dunno if you guys remember but there was a project called “Homestuck 2.0″ where they hired dante basco and a guy named john to produce homestuck youtube content. we have no idea what content this was, but john said one day that he had a bunch of videos lined up to post on the homestuck channel. 2 weeks later? john says he’s left whatpumpkin, and the homestuck 2.0 project is hard cancelled. why? we have no fucking idea. 

then you have to remember the 3d studio which was formed after the TOG scandal. in 2014 they published a trailer for hiveswap, and announced a release date of early 2015. now, early 2015 came and passed, the website’s release date was quietly moved to fall. obviously as you know, act 1 was NOT released in 2015; instead we found out on Christmas that the project had been entirely revamped, the New York 3d studio shut down and a new team of international artists employed, many of whom had worked on Paradox Space (another eventually abandoned WP project). we find out the dismissal of the 3d studio was extremely sudden; they claimed the game was “basically complete”. now i don’t really think this claim was legit, since the 3d game looked like... hot garbage, but it wasn’t the first or the last time a similar statement would be made.  When questioned about the development the 2d studio say the game has only been in production for “about a year”. they make the same statement a year later. kinda silly because at this stage we are in 2016, 3 years after the gigapause where hussie kicked hiveswap into gear. oh yeah, there was no news about hiveswap until late 2016, where  it was given a January 2017 release date. Did it come out in january? Like fuck - at the end of Jan it was delayed again for “several weeks of bugtesting”, which turned into “9 months of further development”. somewhere along the line Cohen issues an apology and says that he wont announce the game’s release date again until it’s ready. there are finally crew interviews which is better than nothing i guess, and after the last one cohen announces a very close september 2017 release date. 

hiveswap act 1 comes out, everything is awesome, we’re told act 2 wont be far away. a few months later we’re given an estimate of spring 2018. the Trollcall begins. the hiveswap comics contest soon follows. WP say they’ll throw a troll OC into the game. we believe at this stage that the game will be act 2, though I’m not sure.

now, week 12 into the hiveswap comics contest (WEEK 12 SWEET JESUS), at around the time period they said act 2 would be coming out, game musician James Roach and artist Poinko make a very sudden and clearly unwanted departure under an NDA. the troll call comes to an end and there is not an announcement after. the contest is going on for far too long, which makes me think that if act 2 was anywhere near done it certainly wouldnt be for that. 

maybe it’s a bit soon to start panicking, but i’m seeing some... very familiar developments here. sudden departure? no marketing campaign besides the fricken troll calls? remember that WP’s lackluster marketing and unannounced delays led to underwhelming act 1 sales, which could be affecting development now. what exactly is going on?

one of the more concerning developments to me has to be the SBAHJ kickstarter. andrew hussie has not yet delivered on his supermassive $2.5million kickstarter, yet he set up another for a sbahj book. why? the book was COMPLETE. why couldnt it just be normally published like the previous books? theres also how viz seems to be a heavy sponsor of hiveswap. they gave whatpumpkin $500,000 i believe. maybe more since then? not sure. but does that mean viz has creative control over the project now?

anyway, act 2 or not, i really doubt hauntswitch is going to be a thing. they’re not even giving it away to kickstarter backers which makes it clear that they expect the funding of the game to come from hiveswap. but hiveswap barely breaks even, since it hasn’t exactly become a cult phenomenom. (it was a bit silly that so many people were expecting it to do so by association, act 1 just isnt the type of game for that)

what is the future of whatpumpkin? is it bright or is it dirty? it’d be a shame to see a group of such talented and overworking developers fall apart.

[techcrunchappcom]

New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/the-latest-judge-wont-block-ny-plan-to-limit-gatherings-national-world-news/

The Latest: Judge won't block NY plan to limit gatherings | National/World News

ALBANY, N.Y. — A federal judge has refused to block New York’s plan to temporarily limit the size of religious gatherings in COVID-19 hot spots.

U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto issued the ruling Friday after an emergency hearing in a lawsuit brought by rabbis and synagogues who said the restrictions were unconstitutional.

They had sought to have enforcement delayed until at least after Jewish holy days this weekend. The rules limit indoor prayer services in certain areas to no more than 10 people.

The judge said the state had an interest in protecting public safety.

———

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

— President Trump credits antibody drug for quick recovery

— Spain declares state of emergency in Madrid to contain surge

— As virus fills French ICUs anew, doctors ask what went wrong

— British government will announce more support for businesses to retain staff in the coming months if they are forced to close because of lockdown restrictions.

— President Donald Trump says he wants to try to hold a campaign rally in Florida on Saturday, despite his recent COVID-19 diagnosis.

— Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

———

HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

RENO, Nev. — A recent spike in COVID-19 cases at the University of Nevada, Reno is prompting the school to suspend all in-class instruction effective Nov. 30.

UNR officials also are telling most students not to return to residence halls after Thanksgiving.

School officials said Friday they plan for students to return to dormitories for the spring semester and resume a combination of remote and in-class instruction Jan. 25. But during the period in between, all classes will be conducted remotely.

Only students facing extenuating circumstance will be allowed to live in campus housing. In recent weeks, one-out-of-nine of the county’s new cases have been tied to UNR.

———

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Health officials in Alaska’s largest city on Friday recommended up to 300 people associated with a youth hockey tournament quarantine or isolate after “a cluster” of COVID-19 cases were identified.

The Anchorage Health Department said players, coaches and fans from parts of south-central Alaska and Juneau attended the tournament, which was held Oct. 2-4.

The department said it encouraged everyone who attended who does not have symptoms to quarantine for 14 days, except to get tested, and encouraged those with symptoms to isolate for 10 days, except to get tested.

Dr. Janet Johnston, the department’s epidemiologist, said that means the department is recommending up to 300 isolate or quarantine.

Heather Harris, the department’s director, could not provide “concrete” numbers of positive cases associated with the tournament. She said the tournament organizers said they tried to enforce masking guidelines and kept a contact log of participants.

Contact trace investigations indicated “significant close contact in indoor spaces, including locker rooms, with inconsistent use of face coverings,” the city health department said in a release.

———

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Jim Justice announced Friday that bars around West Virginia University in Morgantown can reopen next Tuesday, a month after images of maskless college students packing bars led them to be shut down.

Police and state alcohol regulators will step up enforcement in the college town, Justice said at a coronavirus press briefing. The Republican governor abruptly ordered Monongalia County bars to close indefinitely on Sept. 2 — just two days after allowing them to reopen — as many patrons lined up without social distancing.

The owners of 12 restaurants and bars sued the governor and local officials in Morgantown last month in federal court over the shutdown.

“Bars that don’t enforce these guidelines, where we see a bunch of people packed in with no mask wearing … you will be shut down again,” Justice said, adding establishments risk having their licenses suspended.

County officials previously required bars to cut indoor seating occupancy by half, close dance floors and discontinue live performances and entertainment. Restaurants in the county had been able to continue dine-in service without operating their bars. Morgantown city officials did not immediately return a request for comment.

————

OKLAHOMA CITY — The number of people hospitalized in Oklahoma due to the coronavirus surged to a record one-day high of 749 on Friday, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

The number hospitalized either with the virus or under investigation for infection surpassed the previous high of 738 reported on Wednesday.

The department also reported 1,524 newly confirmed cases of the virus, the second highest daily increase since 1,7,14 new cases were reported on July 21, and 97,088 total cases. There are six additional deaths due to COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, bringing the total to 1,091. There were 13,515 active cases of the virus on Thursday, and 82,482 people have recoverd, according to the health department.

———

NATCHEZ, Miss. — A brother and sister in Natchez have both died of the coronavirus, Adams County Coroner James Lee said.

On Friday, Oct. 2, a 73-year-old woman died of the COVID-19 disease caused by the virus, and her 69-year-old brother died two days later, Lee told the Natchez Democrat.

“I’ve seen an increase in COVID deaths in Adams County in the past month and it’s very scary to me,” Lee told the Democrat earlier this week. Lee said his 25-year-old granddaughter was hospitalized with the coronavirus. “I won’t lie. I’m very afraid of this virus and what I see. I just wish we’d take this thing seriously.”

Mississippi is one of the top 20 states with the most new cases per capita in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University data analyzed by The Associated Press. The data was evaluated over a 14-day period.

Mississippi’s state Department of Health said Friday that Mississippi, with a population of about 3 million, has had more than 103,000 reported cases and at least 3,000 deaths from COVID-19 as of Thursday evening. That’s an increase of 862 confirmed cases and six deaths from numbers reported the day before, with the deaths occurring between Sept. 19 and Oct. 8 and recorded later using death certificates.

———

HELENA, Mont. — Montana reported more than 700 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Friday and has topped 200 deaths since the pandemic began in mid-March. An increasing number of cases in the state’s most populous county likely means residents there will be facing more restrictions to stop the spread of the respiratory virus.

On Monday, Yellowstone County Health Officer John Felton announced case benchmarks that would lead to county health officials to limit the allowed capacity of bars, restaurants and churches to 25%. If the county topped a daily average rate of 40 cases per 100,000 people by the last week in October, the restrictions would begin Nov. 2, he said.

However, if the county topped an average rate of 50 cases per day per 100,000 residents in any week before that, the restrictions would begin immediately, Felton said. Businesses that serve alcohol would be required to close at 10 p.m.

The county has confirmed 439 cases from Monday through Thursday, including 155 on Thursday, health department spokesperson Barbara Schneeman said Friday. If 126 more cases are confirmed Friday and Saturday — the numbers would be reported Saturday and Sunday — the restrictions would be put in place.

The county would likely announce the restrictions Monday but give businesses some time to make adjustments, Schneeman said.

———

LAS VEGAS — Federal health administrators say Nevada officials must rescind a statewide directive issued several days ago telling nursing homes to stop using two types of rapid coronavirus tests due to the likelihood of false positive results.

The head of COVID-19 diagnostic testing at the federal Department of Health and Human Services said Friday that Nevada is prohibited by law from imposing the ban it ordered Oct. 2.

Nevada nursing homes and long-term care facilities were instructed by state Epidemiologist Melissa Peek-Bullock to quit using point-of-care antigen tests from two companies, Quidel Sofia and Becton Dickinson, because officials found that among the 60 positive results found since July the number of so-called “false positives” was 60%.

The results came from follow-up testing using more definitive polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests.

Dr. Brett Giroir, head of COVID-19 diagnostic testing efforts at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said Friday that that false positives are a fact of life in virus screening, and the value of identifying 40% of true positives is a lifesaving matter for nursing homes.

———

GENEVA — The World Health Organization reports a worldwide record of 350,000 new daily coronavirus cases.

The U.N. health agency says the confirmed daily high of 350,766 cases surpasses by nearly 12,000 a record set earlier this week. That tally includes more than 109,000 cases from Europe.

British scientists reported the coronavirus outbreak is doubling every few weeks. French hospitals are running out of ICU beds. Spain declared a state of emergency in Madrid because of soaring cases.

WHO’s emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan acknowledged the worldwide surges, saying “there are no new answers.” He says although the agency wants countries to avoid punishing economic lockdowns, governments must ensure the most vulnerable people are protected and take measures toward that end.

———

TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas’ top public health official warned the state is “losing the battle” against the coronavirus and reported another record increase in new cases.

The state Department of Health and Environment says Kansas reported 1,855 new cases since Wednesday, an increase of 2.9%, to bring the total for the pandemic to 65,807.

The state reported another 40 COVID-19-related deaths, increasing the confirmed total to 763. Twenty-six of those were reported Thursday in Shawnee County, where the local health department reviewed previous death certificates from the Topeka area.

———

MADRID — Spain’s Health Ministry has reported 12,788 new cases of the coronavirus.

Madrid remains the hardest-hit region, with 2,256 confirmed cases in the previous 24 hours. The second highest was Aragón (487).

The Spanish government on Friday declared a state of emergency in Madrid, where special restrictions on movement are in place.

Spain has more than 860,000 confirmed cases, the highest in Europe. It has nearly 33,000 deaths, the third-highest total in Europe after Britain and Italy.

———

ROME — Italy recorded one of its highest single-day totals of coronavirus infections, adding 5,372 cases and 28 more deaths.

Hard-hit Lombardy, the onetime European epicenter of the pandemic, added 983 cases and southern Campania added 769.

Campania’s spike in cases has alarmed public health officials, given the region is less equipped to handle a surge in cases than the prosperous north. The regional governor has defended the measures the region has taken to date, but experts warning Italy’s center-south still isn’t prepared for a second wave.

The head of the Italian association of hospital anesthesiologists, Alessandro Vergallo, tells news agency ANSA that intensive care beds could be filled in Campania and the Lazio region around Rome within a month if new restrictions aren’t adopted.

———

LONDON — The British government will pay two thirds of the salaries of workers in companies that close because of coronavirus restrictions expected to take effect next week.

Treasury chief Rishi Sunak responded to calls from businesses, local leaders and unions to provide a financial package to prevent mass job losses in pubs and restaurants in parts of northern England.

The U.K. has more than 42,600 confirmed deaths, the highest in Europe and No. 5 in the world. It’s likely more because of a lack of testing early in the pandemic, and the British government changing in July how it counts deaths – only those within 28 days of a COVID-19 diagnosis.

The latest daily figures published Friday showed 13,864 new cases. Though down from the previous day’s 17,540, its nearly double from a week earlier.

The daily death toll rose to 87, the highest since early July, for a confirmed total of 42,769.

———

TORONTO — The Ontario government says its prohibiting indoor dining in restaurants and bars in Toronto and Ottawa for 28 days starting on Saturday.

The measures include closing gyms and theaters after Ontario registered a record 939 coronavirus cases on Friday.

Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams says the measures wouldn’t have been necessary if more people had followed public health guidelines by wearing masks and keeping a social distance.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said Canada experiencing a second wave of the coronavirus.

———

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says doctors have told him that he could’ve become very ill with COVID-19 and credits an experimental antibody drug for helping him recover.

Trump told Rush Limbaugh in his call-in radio show on Friday that he was not in “great shape” and “might not have recovered at all.”

But the president says one day later, he was fine. Health experts say there is no way for the president or his doctors to know whether the drug was effective.

Trump says he is trying to get federal health officials to quickly approve an emergency use authorization from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, which provides the antibody drug.

He adds it just “wiped out the virus,” which he says has killed five friends.

Health experts say it’s not a cure, but experimental antibody drugs like those are among the most promising therapies being tested. They aim to help the immune system fight the coronavirus. However, they are still in the testing phase and their safety and effectiveness are not yet known.

———

NEW YORK — Fans of Broadway will have to wait a little longer for shows to resume, until at least late May.

Although an exact date for various performances to resume has yet to be determined, Broadway producers are now offering refunds and exchanges for tickets purchased for shows through May 30.

Broadway theaters abruptly closed on March 12, knocking out all shows — including 16 that were still scheduled to open — and scrambling the Tony Award schedule. Producers, citing health and city authorities, previously extended the shutdown to Jan. 3.

Actors’ Equity Association, the national union that represents actors and stage managers, has urged lawmakers to include arts funding and loans to help those who work in the live performing arts.

———

LONDON — Dr. Kate O’Brien, the World Health Organization’s director of immunization, says even though fast-track approval processes have been started for COVID-19 vaccines, no shots will be approved unless they can demonstrate minimum levels of efficacy and safety.

She noted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently said it would require at least two months of follow-up safety data before licensing a vaccine and advanced trials were designed so researchers could examine data at certain points before the trial’s completion to know if the vaccine works.

Dr. Alejandro Cravioto, the group’s chair, says careful monitoring of any COVID-19 vaccines used in broad immunization programs was critical.

He says there’s a need to “follow the safety of these vaccines for a longer time once they start being used in this much more massive way.” He calls for surveillance systems to be reinforced in countries to evaluate the vaccine’s impact on COVID-19 deaths and other factors.

———

LONDON — Buckingham Palace says the Countess of Wessex is self-isolating at home after contact with someone who later tested positive for the coronavirus.

The palace says the 55-year-old Countess Sophie hasn’t experienced symptoms but is following relevant government guidelines. Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones married Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, in 1999.

The royals have been touched by the pandemic in the past. Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, tested positive for the coronavirus in March.

Charles, 71, recovered and described himself as one of “the lucky ones” with only mild symptoms.

———

[v177293]

That’s How We Roll

Summary: The silence, heavy with a mixture of disbelief and horror, only lasted for a couple of seconds before the room dissolved into utter chaos. Or in which Saitama is a Dungeon Master for fun and should probably get paid for all the shit he has to deal with.

Word count: ~1800

Note: D&D AU, everyone is as human as can be and there is no running around in capes and thighs (sadly).

It started like any other game night.

Which is to say, Genos spent all day cleaning the apartment from floor to ceiling as if their place wasn’t already spotless, the fading light of the sunset shining through the windows only emphasizing how Saitama could probably see his reflexion on every surface if he wanted to. Weren't it for the fact that he got tired of seeing him run around the place like a busy bee while he was trying to catch up to his latest manga, he was sure the teenager would have forgotten to at least sit down and eat before the day was over. The man could admit he had been a little bit of a slob before Genos decided to all but forcibly become his new roommate, but this was just a whole new level of ridiculous dedication.

Seriously, when the gang came to their place for game night, it always became so much worst.

Like right now.

“You know,” he said with a strange mix of horrified fascination and boredom, “if you keep sweeping the floor like that, I'm pretty sure you're gonna make a hole right through it.”

Genos froze, looking down at the broom in his hands as if seeing it for the first time. “I was only-”

“-obsessively sweeping the same patch you've already cleaned at least five time since this morning?”

“Well, that is-”

“Aw, come on.” While there was something almost cute about seeing him play the regular housemaid while sporting one of the most epic resting bitch face he had ever seen, enough was enough. “Sit down, will you? You're making me dizzy, man.”

“Ah, sorry!” Leaving the broom in a corner, Genos took place next to him, contrite, before perking up slightly after Saitama patted him distractedly on the head, leaving his soft pale hair in disarray as he went back to his manga.

Or at least tried to, only managing to read a couple of pages before the other started fiddling with the different books and miniatures on the table, clearly antsy to start now that the agreed meeting time was almost there.

Not that he had to wait for long; Saitama was just about to tell him to stop fidgeting so much when Mumen rang the door - right on time, as usual -, a smile on his face and a box of store bought cookies in his hands. He probably stopped on the way while riding to their place despite knowing they had more than enough discounted junk food stocked especially for the occasion.

“I know,” his friend answered, slightly sheepish, when Saitama lowered his eyes to the proffered box. “But one can never be too prepared!”

Soon after, King was knocking at the door, the older man joining them in the living room with his usual stone faced awkwardness, greeting them with a nod before taking place at the table. His portable console was already out, ready to wait until the last member of their group deigned to grace them with his presence.

Which could take a while, if past experiences where anything to go by.

Turned out, they were.

It took a good fifteen minutes filled with insults badly disguised as complains from Genos before Sonic finally barged in with a “Hey losers!” To be honest, Saitama was sure the other did it just to piss them off. Not that he was bothered by it, but the man had to admit, seeing how his boyfriend was seething not so silently next to him while glaring hotly at the newcomer, it probably worked.

One day, maybe Genos would finally understand part of the reason Sonic kept doing things like this was because the kid kept rising to the bait. If you ignored him long enough... well, Sonic wouldn't exactly get bored of it, but he'd at least try to bother someone else.

Oh, well. In the end, as long as the other wasn't trying to be a pain in his ass, he didn't particularly care.

They had a game to start anyway.

The story in itself was fairly simple, as far as campaigns went. Not that Saitama was too lazy to come up with a good and fulfilling plot, three dimensional NPCs and compelling quests, but after all these months playing with what had now become his usual group, he'd quickly come to realize one thing: even with all his careful planing and best intentions, they always somehow managed to screw things up.

Every. Single. Time.

Which was why, an hour in the game, the man should have thought a bit more before setting a small group of slightly hostile mercenaries on their path to spice things up. Honestly, they all needed it after Genos and Sonic spent what was admittedly way too much time arguing over who's character was going to sleep on which side of the room of the next inn they were going to encounter.

Sometimes, he couldn't believe he was dating one of those children. Cute or not, he was this close to throwing his pen right in the middle of that pretty face.

“Master!”

Sighing, Saitama gave the teenager the stink eye. “Dammit, Genos, I’ve told you a thousand time to stop calling me that!” Was it really so hard? People were going to start asking weird questions if he kept that up. Only that kid could go around calling his boyfriend master with such a straight face and not care about being heard by someone else.

“But Saitama-san! You’re our Dungeon Master! It is only proper to refer to you by your title!”

Sonic snickered, smirking. “Is that the excuse you use in bed, too? Kinky.”

“You-”

“Alright!” Mumen cut in brightly, lifting a finger to adjust his glasses. “I say we try talking to them. Who knows, this might be a big misunderstanding and if we make them see reason, we wont even need to fight!”

Going by Genos' put out expression, the plan wasn't to his liking. No surprise there, he thought. Kid seems to think heading straight in the middle of the fray is an acceptable reaction for a wizard. Which, to be fair, usually worked in the grand scheme of things since it more or less forced everyone else to follow lest they wanted to be short of a mage. It also more often than not ended with Genos' character KO'd on the floor in dire need of King's healing spells. At this point, though, it was kind of a given that Genos couldn't finish a session without at least one near death experience.

Honestly, his weird fondness – read, obsession – of fire spells was not a good reason to choose a class with so little defence, especially considering how boneheaded he was.

Eyes narrowed and arms crossed tightly across his chest, Genos didn't take long before letting know his far from surprising opinion on the matter. “We can take them. There is only seven of them, we don't need to lose any time talking to those low lives.”

“What about you guys, then?” Mumen looked at the other two, clearly uncomfortable with making any decision before hearing from everyone. Sometimes, Saitama wished he had twenty of him. “Any thoughts on the subject?”

“I, uh,” King started after a short moment of silence before wilting slightly when everyone's eyes turned on him, his voice dying as he caught the full force of Genos' intense stare. “I don't mind either way.”

“See? He doesn't care, so we should just-”

“And now,” Sonic cut in loudly, posing dramatically with the plastic katana he always brought for the occasion drawn towards the ceiling, a self-satisfied grin on his face, “comes the time where I, Speed-of-Sound Sonic, double-crosses you.”

The silence, heavy with a mixture of disbelief and horror, only lasted for a couple of seconds before the room dissolved into utter chaos.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Genos said with a growl in his voice that promised mayhem.

“It means, you numbskull, that my ninja-”

“Rogue,” Saitama said with the long suffering annoyance of someone who've had the same argument one too many time.

“Ninja,” Sonic continued with a side eyed glare in his direction, “thinks that he'd rather align himself with the winners, and clearly, it's not you.”

“Now, everybody, I'm sure we can-” Mumen started, always the voice of reason, before being rudely interrupted by the incensed blonde.

“You perverted asshole, I’m going to fucking incinerate you!”

“I’d like to see you try, you useless piece of trash wizard!”

King wisely kept his mouth shut, his shoulders hunched on themselves as if this could make him a smaller target. An incredible feat, really, for a man of his stature – and not to mention the slightly terrifying and foreboding expression he tended to wear as soon as his nervousness got the better of him. Saitama could all but taste King’s anxiety permeating the air.

Not that he could blame him.

“Master!” Genos' voice was full of determination, his pale golden eyes burning with overwhelming furry as if he had forgotten, once again, that this was only a game. “I cast fireball on the stupid thief!”

Because with everyone's characters standing so close to each other, this was sure to end well.

“Not if I cut your throat first, you brat! Even your lame-ass boyfriend won't be able to save your skin, then!”

“How dare you talk about Saitama-san like this!”

Saitama sighed, silently face palming as Genos disrupted the entire table with a scream of outrage as he went over it to try and strangle Sonic, dices rolling under the furniture with a clatter and snacks spilling on King’s character sheet. The man barely had time to save the picture of his well endowed cleric maiden before it got ruined forever by a handful of greasy party mix.

Sadly, this was another familiar sight on their game nights. And here he'd thought that this time, maybe, hopefully, things could be different. Honestly, he thought as he watched Mumen try to calm the other two down, voice barely audible over the ruckus, once again glad there were no neighbours close enough to get annoyed by all this noise. It’s like I’m a babysitter or something. And I don’t even get pai- oh, no they didn’t.

Yes. Yes, they did. Alright, that was it.

“Oi! Watch my floor, you little shits! You’re spilling soda everywhere!”

His only answer was the shocked howl bursting out of Sonic's throat as Genos suddenly got a hold of his hair.

Seriously. Every damned time.

[narcisbolgor-blog]

Yemeni Bodega Owners Strike, Pray And Protest Trump’s Muslim Ban

NEW YORK As the sun set Thursday evening, hundreds of Yemeni bodega owners lined up for prayers outside Brooklyn Borough Hall. An imams chants of Allahu Akbar filled the air, and the storekeepers alternated between standing and kneeling onto the cold concrete. There was a lot to pray for.

President Donald Trumps ban on immigrants from Yemen and six other Muslim-majority countries has affected some of these bodega owners personally. Some have family members stranded overseas, the U.S. visas they worked so hard to obtain rendered useless.

Other shop owners are afraid to visit family outside the U.S., for fear that they wont be allowed to return to the country where theyve lived and worked for years.

When the prayers were finished, the gathering turned into a full-fledged protest, with the bodega owners holding up American and Yemeni flags. Speakers often had to pause for loud chants of USA!

Today, Im not just a borough president, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams told the crowd. Today I am Yemeni! Today I am Iraqi! Today Im Iranian! Today Im Sudanese! Today Im Libyan! Today Im Somalian! Today Im Syrian!

Today is our day! Adams continued, the crowd erupting in cheers. We are here to protest, to pray and to show we are patriotic.We, too, are American. With your display today of closing your businesses, you are sending a clear and loud message to America that you have the right and your families have the right to be part of the American dream.

Yemeni-American activist Rabyaah Althaibani told the crowd her family has been in the U.S. for 40 years.

We are landlords, business owners, professionals, Althaibani said. We contribute. My cousins are NYPD cops and served in the Iraq War.

I have an uncle in Jordan who escaped the war, she continued, referring to the brutal civil war in Yemen, where American-made bombs are being dropped by Saudi planes.

He is a refugee, him and his family, Althaibani said. He escaped the war and he has been in Jordan for almost two years as a refugee. He has been vetted. Him and his six children and his wife. And hes been cleared and he has been approved for resettlement in Michigan.

But what happened the night Donald Trump signed the executive order? The Muslim ban. My uncle called me and told me, Rabyahh, this is not the America youve always told me about. He was so heartbroken. He couldnt believe that this is going to happen to him. That hes going to be there for another six months.

Spencer Platt via Getty Images

Trump signedan executive order last week that indefinitely bans Syrian refugees from coming to the U.S., shuts down the whole refugee program for 120 days, and bars all immigrants and visitors from seven Muslim-majority countriesfor at least 90 days.

Trump issued the order in the name of national security, even though there have been no fatal terror attacks on U.S. soil by immigrants from the seven banned countries. The order was a partial fulfillment of Trumps Islamophobic campaign promise to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S.

Hours after Trump signed the order, disturbing stories emergedof border officials across the country detaining or deporting immigrants, visitors and refugees.

Massive protests broke out at airports.Yellow cab drivers in New York, many of whom are from now-banned countries, went on strike and refused to pick up passengers from JFK Airport.

Thursday, the bodega owners went on a strike of their own.

We are closing our business on Thursday 2-2-2017 from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in support of our families, friends and loved ones who are stranded at US airports and overseas, read posters many owners posted on shop windows.

According to the strikes organizers, some 1,000 Yemeni bodega owners took part.

This shutdown of grocery stores and bodegas will be a public show of the vital role these grocers and their families play in New Yorks economic and social fabric, the strike organizers wrote on Facebook.

Originally, we considered starting the shutdown at 8am, but the grocers, they made it clear they wouldnt be willing to close if that meant their regulars wouldnt get their morning coffee, rally organizer Debbie Almontaser, also a board member of the Muslim Community Network, said in a press release.

Even when their lives have been turned upside down, they refused to disrupt the lives of the very people they serve daily.

We are challenging the ban in the courtrooms, we are challenging the ban in the streets, Afaf Nasher, a Yemeni American and executive director of the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told the crowd near the end of Thursdays protest. CAIR and other groups have filed a slew of lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of Trumps immigration ban.

We are challenging the ban in our homes, Nasher continued. We are challenging any discrimination to any Muslim American no matter where, when or how.

And on this night, as I look across the crowd and I see your faces, I have to say I remember my own father, my mother, my brother, my sister. And the values we grew up with: Honesty, integrity, decency.

And I want to say: Trump has none of those characteristics.

More From this publisher : HERE

=> *********************************************** Read More Here: Yemeni Bodega Owners Strike, Pray And Protest Trump’s Muslim Ban ************************************ =>

Yemeni Bodega Owners Strike, Pray And Protest Trump’s Muslim Ban was originally posted by 11 VA Viral News

[morganbelarus]

Yemeni Bodega Owners Strike, Pray And Protest Trump’s Muslim Ban

NEW YORK As the sun set Thursday evening, hundreds of Yemeni bodega owners lined up for prayers outside Brooklyn Borough Hall. An imams chants of Allahu Akbar filled the air, and the storekeepers alternated between standing and kneeling onto the cold concrete. There was a lot to pray for.

President Donald Trumps ban on immigrants from Yemen and six other Muslim-majority countries has affected some of these bodega owners personally. Some have family members stranded overseas, the U.S. visas they worked so hard to obtain rendered useless.

Other shop owners are afraid to visit family outside the U.S., for fear that they wont be allowed to return to the country where theyve lived and worked for years.

When the prayers were finished, the gathering turned into a full-fledged protest, with the bodega owners holding up American and Yemeni flags. Speakers often had to pause for loud chants of USA!

Today, Im not just a borough president, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams told the crowd. Today I am Yemeni! Today I am Iraqi! Today Im Iranian! Today Im Sudanese! Today Im Libyan! Today Im Somalian! Today Im Syrian!

Today is our day! Adams continued, the crowd erupting in cheers. We are here to protest, to pray and to show we are patriotic.We, too, are American. With your display today of closing your businesses, you are sending a clear and loud message to America that you have the right and your families have the right to be part of the American dream.

Yemeni-American activist Rabyaah Althaibani told the crowd her family has been in the U.S. for 40 years.

We are landlords, business owners, professionals, Althaibani said. We contribute. My cousins are NYPD cops and served in the Iraq War.

I have an uncle in Jordan who escaped the war, she continued, referring to the brutal civil war in Yemen, where American-made bombs are being dropped by Saudi planes.

He is a refugee, him and his family, Althaibani said. He escaped the war and he has been in Jordan for almost two years as a refugee. He has been vetted. Him and his six children and his wife. And hes been cleared and he has been approved for resettlement in Michigan.

But what happened the night Donald Trump signed the executive order? The Muslim ban. My uncle called me and told me, Rabyahh, this is not the America youve always told me about. He was so heartbroken. He couldnt believe that this is going to happen to him. That hes going to be there for another six months.

Spencer Platt via Getty Images

Trump signedan executive order last week that indefinitely bans Syrian refugees from coming to the U.S., shuts down the whole refugee program for 120 days, and bars all immigrants and visitors from seven Muslim-majority countriesfor at least 90 days.

Trump issued the order in the name of national security, even though there have been no fatal terror attacks on U.S. soil by immigrants from the seven banned countries. The order was a partial fulfillment of Trumps Islamophobic campaign promise to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S.

Hours after Trump signed the order, disturbing stories emergedof border officials across the country detaining or deporting immigrants, visitors and refugees.

Massive protests broke out at airports.Yellow cab drivers in New York, many of whom are from now-banned countries, went on strike and refused to pick up passengers from JFK Airport.

Thursday, the bodega owners went on a strike of their own.

We are closing our business on Thursday 2-2-2017 from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in support of our families, friends and loved ones who are stranded at US airports and overseas, read posters many owners posted on shop windows.

According to the strikes organizers, some 1,000 Yemeni bodega owners took part.

This shutdown of grocery stores and bodegas will be a public show of the vital role these grocers and their families play in New Yorks economic and social fabric, the strike organizers wrote on Facebook.

Originally, we considered starting the shutdown at 8am, but the grocers, they made it clear they wouldnt be willing to close if that meant their regulars wouldnt get their morning coffee, rally organizer Debbie Almontaser, also a board member of the Muslim Community Network, said in a press release.

Even when their lives have been turned upside down, they refused to disrupt the lives of the very people they serve daily.

We are challenging the ban in the courtrooms, we are challenging the ban in the streets, Afaf Nasher, a Yemeni American and executive director of the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told the crowd near the end of Thursdays protest. CAIR and other groups have filed a slew of lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of Trumps immigration ban.

We are challenging the ban in our homes, Nasher continued. We are challenging any discrimination to any Muslim American no matter where, when or how.

And on this night, as I look across the crowd and I see your faces, I have to say I remember my own father, my mother, my brother, my sister. And the values we grew up with: Honesty, integrity, decency.

And I want to say: Trump has none of those characteristics.

More From this publisher : HERE

=> *********************************************** Learn More Here: Yemeni Bodega Owners Strike, Pray And Protest Trump’s Muslim Ban ************************************ =>

Yemeni Bodega Owners Strike, Pray And Protest Trump’s Muslim Ban was originally posted by 16 MP Just news

[apsbicepstraining]

The dangerous fantasy behind Trump’s normalisation

Boris Johnson has urged people to snarl out of the doom and gloomines. Yet such a situation is not normal. Persuasion ourselves the president-elect doesnt symbolize everything he says is a fantasize that stops us learning Trumpism for the barbarism it is

It was David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker, who crystallised developments in the situation into a chilling shard, in accordance with the US presidential election result. Speaking on CNN, he said: When I listen to Conrad Black describe Donald Trump, I ponder Im hallucinating. When I listen him described as not sexist , not racist , not playing on white-hot fears , not energizing hate, when hes described in a kind of normalised acces, as someone in absolute owned of program lore, as someone whos somehow in the acceptable series of rhetoric, I reckon Im hallucinating. And I dread for home countries, and I dont think its unreasonable to do so. I accept the results of our poll, of course I do. At the same season, I feel Vladimir Putin played a distinct persona in this election, and thats outrageous. And weve normalised it already. You would think that Mitt Romney had won.

Hillary Clintons assent speech interred the tomahawk, on the basis that the quiet send of superpower a principle Trump explicitly accepted before the election would like to request that the society give him an open head and the chance to lead. Obama was warmer still: We are now all rooting for his success in marrying and guiding the country. The peaceful modulation of power is one of the specific characteristics of our republic. And over the next few months, we are going to show that to the world We have to remember that were actually all on one team.

The logic is that Democrat are, by definition, true-life devotees in democracy: theyre not the privilege. They dont is making an effort to charge or recount or rerun an election. That principle placeds off a series of replies suggested by reason and biography: if consenting Trumps leadership is the democratic way, then any American patriot should line up behind him. Other leaders of democratic societies should furnish him partnership and backing. The combat has been prevailed, and the only next theatre for a body politic is reconciliation.

Trump and Obama have good discussion at White House

Yet this situation is not ordinary or, if you prefer that in social media expressions, #notnormal. When girls are lining up for long-term contraception in a piteou, pragmatic farewell to their reproduction freedom; when the chief strategist accuses of permitting racism and antisemitism; when the vice-president-elect signed legislation necessary maidens to hold and pay for burials for miscarried foetuses; when the president-elect has pledged to deport three million immigrants; when he has at least 12 allegations regarding sex misconduct superb against him; when he has announced cabinet ministers that includes his own three children: this examines nothing like a democracy. It examines nothing like reconciliation. It seems despotic, inflammatory, extreme and murderous: it appears, in short, precisely as Trump promised it would look, as he campaigned on a pledge to jail his opposing. His adversaries react that he maybe doesnt mean what he says, a position for which there is precisely no evidence. Their desire to normalise has come up with them in the fantastical nation of viewing the forthcoming presidency as there is a desire to it, and not as it plainly is.

Normalising is not Nigel Farage frolicking in a golden elevation with Donald Trump: Farage was a man of the same stamp all along. The knowledge that his hyperbole was always so flaccid, so shifty, so euphemistic by comparison with Trumps doesnt excuse it any more than British decay is apologized when, compared with the USs, the summing-ups are always so paltry.

Boris Johnson: snap out of doom and gloom. Image: Zuma Wire/ Rex/ Shutterstock

But Boris Johnson, foreign ministers, telling EU captains to click out of the doom and mist, announcing Trump a dealmaker, someone with whom we can do business, telling us to see this is an opportunity: that is normalising. Gaze on the bright side, liberals. The sheer fatuousness of Johnsons speech, the absence of any recognizable values, or a backbone to place behind them, heightens in me an unfathomable, hot, eye-pricking feel of having been betrayed. How was it possible for Johnson to disappoint, after his delinquent and self-serving summertime? Its like discovering that a neighbor, after a long party-wall spat, has browsed you to the Stasi. I knew he was a jerking; I never realised he despised our shared humanity.

Normalising is not Marine Le Pen, up with the lark to hail the brand-new dictatorship of which she hopes to be the next beneficiary. But it is Theresa May waiting anxiously by the phone to assure Trump she would be his special relation; it is also a single column inch devoted to wondering how this affects our Brexit negotiating position. When you have a prime minister who will not raise a peep in defence of propriety, you are in a new world. Its data cannot be fed into age-old formulas.

Normalising is not the Ku Klux Klan taking a rosy-cheeked look of the Trump presidency, it is CNN questioning uncritically, contacting out for that judgment. It is currently in the process of pattern a gag out of the Breitbart headline, Would you preferably your child had feminism or cancer ?, issued under the inhuman chairmanship of manager strategist Stephen Bannon. I want to see the absurdity of it, but it is not amusing. Bannons ilk checks a woman on a quest for glory and equality and was intended to irradiate it out of her. Its like living in a John Wyndham novel.

Normalising is not anything the rightwing fanatics do, and they do not try: they dont look for acceptable labels for themselves. It is the mainstream that twists itself into conciliatory pretzel knots find nicer words for totalitarian, such as alt-right.

Democrats try to find the demerit within themselves: request not whether a racist dislikes; ask what induced the racist so indignant in the first place. Once we have found the right is part of the liberal elite to pin it on, the hate maybe wont racket so frightening.

All this has a few beginnings: there is straightforward dismissal, the first phase of heartbreak. Trump cant lies in the fact that bad, because that would simply be too bad. There is a sense that the far right doesnt precisely ignore liberal sensibilities, it actively takes nourishment from our anguish. The US journalist Wajahat Ali, writing the day after research results, described his conversation with his father: Please be careful if Trump prevails, his supporters will feel very energised. This was assumes out by the spike in racist and sexist hate crimes in the US, and resonates here in Britain, too.

Golden future? When Nigel fulfilled Donald. Picture: Nigel Farage/ PA

Racists are energised by the victory of racists, and announcing them racist simply rams that win residence. A year ago, to be antisemitic would have necessitated exclusion from public life, and now it amounts to fitness for high-pitched power. Every day you reassert a fundamental significance of humanity, you demonstrate a inexpensive, disdainful thrill to the person who reached it necessary for you to say it. You cannot shame a white supremacist; unaccountably, you feel the pity yourself when you try. The indict is so extreme, if they dont accept, then you are required to hysterical. There is an underlying truism, here, that the act of debating introduces its own legitimacy. If we are really going to go back to square one and have to explain why grabbing a woman by the pussy is a violation of her human dignity, or why you cant injunction an entire religion from your coasts, where does that discontinue? What field have you relinquished just by allowing the question? It is genuinely hard to say.

The hard right does not accept argumentation as a route to a shared truism; it is simply not how they are wired. They take a judgment; you take a consider; their view electorally dominates, you shut up. Expiration of, as they ever say on Facebook. You merely dont get onto, do you? You LOST. That is the authoritarian style. It is hard to escape a pragmatic conclusion that verbal duel is pointless, but it is also wrong; the following objectives now is not exhortation. I dont contemplate anybody is going to unearth any concealed finesse or rapport in the person or persons of vice-president-elect Mike Pence. The aims of moving these fundamental polemics is solidarity with one another, lest, in the stillnes, we lose our bearings.

As to the drop-off into leftwing in-fighting, so confusing from the task of trenchantly opposing a tyrant, it has the same motorist: if you are fighting to reach a consensus, nonetheless bitterly, you can only do so with people who will move. You cannot discuss climate change issues with a person who contemplates all scientists are crooked; you cannot consider abortion with people who conceive wives as chattel to begin with; its meritless. And hitherto to fight with one another is not neutral, it does more than just pass the time. It composes incorrect equivalence or, worse, a hierarchy that has its arse on downwards. If we speak about Hillary Clintons corporate cosiness and not Trumps endorsement by the KKK, “you think youre” unavoidably putting one above the other.

Stephen Bannon and the alt-right in the White House

What does non-normalising look like? Bernie Sanders told the Today programme today that it would be billions of beings coming together to defend the organizations and the legal rules. This is specific to the US, plainly there isnt much point in millions of non-Americans coming together, for all that the brand-new toxicity of the USs political culture concerns us all, essentially and theoretically. And its reactive, since the Trump presidency will choose the sites of the conflict. Yet there is intend and hope in recollecting, as the American Civil Liberties Union has, that the president is not pope; that there is a physique and a initiate of laws; that supreme court adjudicates can bend whichever way they will, but there are only so many ways and means of interpreting a constitution founded on the universal area of human rights; and that millions of people can and will oppose their traducement with the support of the ages.

A protester in Chicago with a clear message. Picture: Kamil Krzaczynski/ Reuters

The American columnist Masha Gessen, who has wasted the majority of members of their own lives living in dictatorships, gives her six rules for surviving under one, and they read as a direct accusation of the political answer so far. First, conceive the tyrant: if he says he will evict you, he means to. When you claim “he il be” exaggerating, you reflect nothing but your own are looking forward to rationalise. Relatedly, dont be fooled by tiny clues of normality, the curious moderate placed in this or that orientation, a peremptory call for peace.

Dispiritingly, convention No 3 is: Universities will not save you. The only meaningful mode to marry that and Sanderss call is to assume that institutions are as strong as the peoples of the territories ready to defend them. Rule No 4 is: Be outraged. Wherever you are in the world, however insignificant you think yourself, each time you shrug, caper, look on the bright side or do a Boris Johnson, you do grave sin to the people in the tyrants pipeline of ardour. Rule No 5: Dont shape endangers. This is to been set aside the grease of the modern political process. Politics cannot be the art of the possible when the impossible has already happened. No 6 is: Recollect the future. Trump cannot last for ever.

I would contribute a seventh, which is to remember the past: whether its globalisation or those who are left behind, whether its economic stagnation or the long, flogging tail of the financial clang, we should, as we clamber over one another to be modern in our interpretings, recollect there is nothing new about this history. It is the oldest in the world: nebulous rancours held chassis and intensity by the rhetoric of unabashed hatred. You cannot find common case on the plight of the low-waged; navigate your own style through the submerge of secular stagnation, and epithet Trumpism for the barbarism that it is.

The post The dangerous fantasy behind Trump’s normalisation appeared first on apsbicepstraining.com.

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[my-tranhung]

Posted by PPCKirk

I have been chewing on a keyword vs. audience targeting post for roughly two years now. In that time we have seen audience targeting grow in popularity (as expected) and depth.

“Popularity” is somewhat of an understatement here. I would go so far as to say that I've heard it lauded in messianic-like “thy kingdom come, thy will be done” reverential awe by some paid search marketers. as if paid search were lacking a heartbeat before the life-giving audience targeting had arrived and 1-2-3-clear’ed it into relevance.

However, I would argue that despite audience targeting’s popularity (and understandable success), we have also seen the revelation of some weaknesses as well. It turns out it’s not quite the heroic, rescue-the-captives targeting method paid searchers had hoped it would be.

The purpose of this post is to argue against the notion that audience targeting can replace the keyword in paid search.

Now, before we get into the throes of keyword philosophy, I’d like to reduce the number of angry comments this post receives by acknowledging a crucial point.

It is not my intention in any way to set up a false dichotomy. Yes, I believe the keyword is still the most valuable form of targeting for a paid search marketer, but I also believe that audience targeting can play a valuable complementary role in search bidding.

In fact, as I think about it, I would argue that I am writing this post in response to what I have heard become a false dichotomy. That is, that audience targeting is better than keyword targeting and will eventually replace it.

I disagree with this idea vehemently, as I will demonstrate in the rest of this article.

One seasoned (age, not steak) traditional marketer’s point of view

The best illustration I've heard on the core weakness of audience targeting was from an older traditional marketer who has probably never accessed the Keyword Planner in his life.

“I have two teenage daughters.” He revealed, with no small amount of pride.

“They are within 18 months of each other, so in age demographic targeting they are the same person.”

“They are both young women, so in gender demographic targeting they are the same person.”

“They are both my daughters in my care, so in income demographic targeting they are the same person.”

“They are both living in my house, so in geographical targeting they are the same person.”

“They share the same friends, so in social targeting they are the same person.”

“However, in terms of personality, they couldn’t be more different. One is artistic and enjoys heels and dresses and makeup. The other loves the outdoors and sports, and spends her time in blue jeans and sneakers.”

If an audience-targeting marketer selling spring dresses saw them in his marketing list, he would (1) see two older high school girls with the same income in the same geographical area, (2) assume they are both interested in what he has to sell, and (3) only make one sale.

The problem isn’t with his targeting, the problem is that not all those forced into an audience persona box will fit.

In September of 2015, Aaron Levy (a brilliant marketing mind; go follow him) wrote a fabulously under-shared post revealing these weaknesses in another way: What You Think You Know About Your Customers’ Persona is Wrong

In this article, Aaron first bravely broaches the subject of audience targeting by describing how it is far from the exact science we all have hoped it to be. He noted a few ways that audience targeting can be erroneous, and even *gasp* used data to formulate his conclusions.

It’s OK to question audience targeting — really!

Let me be clear: I believe audience targeting is popular because there genuinely is value in it (it's amazing data to have… when it's accurate!). The insights we can get about personas, which we can then use to power our ads, are quite amazing and powerful.

So, why the heck am I droning on about audience targeting weaknesses? Well, I’m trying to set you up for something. I’m trying to get us to admit that audience targeting itself has some weaknesses, and isn’t the savior of all digital marketing that some make it out to be, and that there is a tried-and-true solution that fits well with demographic targeting, but is not replaced by it. It is a targeting that we paid searchers have used joyfully and successfully for years now.

It is the keyword.

Whereas audience targeting chafes under the law of averages (i.e., “at some point, someone in my demographic targeted list has to actually be interested in what I am selling”), keyword targeting shines in individual-revealing user intent.

Keyword targeting does something an audience can never, ever, ever do...

Keywords: Personal intent powerhouses

A keyword is still my favorite form of targeting in paid search because it reveals individual, personal, and temporal intent. Those aren’t just three buzzwords I pulled out of the air because I needed to stretch this already obesely-long post out further. They are intentional, and worth exploring.

Individual

A keyword is such a powerful targeting method because it is written (or spoken!) by a single person. I mean, let’s be honest, it’s rare to have more than one person huddled around the computer shouting at it. Keywords are generally from the mind of one individual, and because of that they have frightening potential.

Remember, audience targeting is based off of assumptions. That is, you're taking a group of people who “probably” think the same way in a certain area, but does that mean they cannot have unique tastes? For instance, one person preferring to buy sneakers with another preferring to buy heels?

Keyword targeting is demographic-blind.

It doesn’t care who you are, where you’re from, what you did, as long as you love me… err, I mean, it doesn’t care about your demographic, just about what you're individually interested in.

Personal

The next aspect of keywords powering their targeting awesomeness is that they reveal personal intent. Whereas the “individual” aspect of keyword targeting narrows our targeting from a group of people to a single person, the “personal” aspect of keyword targeting goes into the very mind of that individual.

Don’t you wish there was a way to market to people in which you could truly discern the intentions of their hearts? Wouldn’t that be a powerful method of targeting? Well, yes — and that is keyword targeting!

Think about it: a keyword is a form of communication. It is a person typing or telling you what is on their mind. For a split second, in their search, you and they are as connected through communication as Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Watson on the first phone call. That person is revealing to you what's on her mind, and that's a power which cannot be underestimated.

When a person tells Google they want to know “how does someone earn a black belt,” that is telling your client — the Jumping Judo Janes of Jordan — this person genuinely wants to learn more about their services and they can display an ad that matches that intent (Ready for that Black Belt? It’s Not Hard, Let Us Help!). Paid search keywords officiate the wedding of personal intent with advertising in a way that previous marketers could only dream of. We aren’t finding random people we think might be interested based upon where they live. We are responding to a person telling us they are interested.

Temporal

The final note of keyword targeting that cannot be underestimated, is the temporal aspect. Anyone worth their salt in marketing can tell you “timing is everything”. With keyword targeting, the timing is inseparable from the intent. When is this person interested in learning about your Judo classes? At the time they are searching, NOW!

You are not blasting your ads into your users lives, interrupting them as they go about their business or family time hoping to jumpstart their interest by distracting them from their activities. You are responding to their query, at the very time they are interested in learning more.

Timing. Is. Everything.

The situation settles into stickiness

Thus, to summarize: a “search” is done when an individual reveals his/her personal intent with communication (keywords/queries) at a specific time. Because of that, I maintain that keyword targeting trumps audience targeting in paid search.

Paid search is an evolving industry, but it is still “search,” which requires communication, which requires words (until that time when the emoji takes over the English language, but that’s okay because the rioting in the streets will have gotten us first).

Of course, we would be remiss in ignoring some legitimate questions which inevitably arise. As ideal as the outline I've laid out before you sounds, you're probably beginning to formulate something like the following four questions.

What about low search volume keywords?

What if the search engines kill keyword targeting?

What if IoT monsters kill search engines?

What about social ads?

We’ll close by discussing each of these four questions.

Low search volume terms (LSVs)

Low search volume keywords stink like poo (excuse the rather strong language there). I’m not sure if there is any data on this out there (if so, please share it below), but I have run into low search volume terms far more in the past year than when I first started managing PPC campaigns in 2010.

I don’t know all the reasons for this; perhaps it’s worth another blog post, but the reality is it’s getting harder to be creative and target high-value long-tail keywords when so many are getting shut off due to low search volume.

This seems like a fairly smooth way being paved for Google/Bing to eventually “take over” (i.e., “automate for our good”) keyword targeting, at the very least for SMBs (small-medium businesses) where LSVs can be a significant problem. In this instance, the keyword would still be around, it just wouldn’t be managed by us PPCers directly. Boo.

Search engine decrees

I’ve already addressed the power search engines have here, but I will be the first to admit that, as much as I like keyword targeting and as much as I have hopefully proven how valuable it is, it still would be a fairly easy thing for Google or Bing to kill off completely. Major boo.

Since paid search relies on keywords and queries and language to work, I imagine this would look more like an automated solution (think DSAs and shopping), in which they make keyword targeting into a dynamic system that works in conjunction with audience targeting.

While this was about a year and a half ago, it is worth noting that at Hero Conference in London, Bing Ads’ ebullient Tor Crockett did make the public statement that Bing at the time had no plans to sunset the keyword as a bidding option. We can only hope this sentiment remains, and transfers over to Google as well.

But Internet of Things (IoT) Frankenstein devices!

Finally, it could be that search engines won’t be around forever. Perhaps this will look like IoT devices such as Alexa that incorporate some level of search into them, but pull traffic away from using Google/Bing search bars. As an example of this in real life, you don’t need to ask Google where to find (queries, keywords, communication, search) the best price on laundry detergent if you can just push the Dash button, or your smart washing machine can just order you more without a search effort.

Image source

On the other hand, I still believe we're a long way off from this in the same way that the freak-out over mobile devices killing personal computers has slowed down. That is, we still utilize our computers for education & work (even if personal usage revolves around tablets and mobile devices and IoT freaks-of-nature… smart toasters anyone?) and our mobile devices for queries on the go. Computers are still a primary source of search in terms of work and education as well as more intensive personal activities (vacation planning, for instance), and thus computers still rely heavily on search. Mobile devices are still heavily query-centered for various tasks, especially as voice search (still query-centered!) kicks in harder.

The social effect

Social is its own animal in a way, and why I believe it is already and will continue to have an effect on search and keywords (though not in a terribly worrisome way). Social definitely pulls a level of traffic from search, specifically in product queries. “Who has used this dishwasher before, any other recommendations?” Social ads are exploding in popularity as well, and in large part because they are working. People are purchasing more than they ever have from social ads and marketers are rushing to be there for them.

The flip side of this: a social and paid search comparison is apples-to-oranges. There are different motivations and purposes for using search engines and querying your friends.

Audience targeting works great in a social setting since that social network has phenomenally accurate and specific targeting for individuals, but it is the rare individual curious about the ideal condom to purchase who queries his family and friends on Facebook. There will always be elements of social and search that are unique and valuable in their own way, and audience targeting for social and keyword targeting for search complement those unique elements of each.

Idealism incarnate

Thus, it is my belief that as long as we have search, we will still have keywords and keyword targeting will be the best way to target — as long as costs remain low enough to be realistic for budgets and the search engines don’t kill keyword bidding for an automated solution.

Don’t give up, the keyword is not dead. Stay focused, and carry on with your match types!

I want to close by re-acknowledging the crucial point I opened with.

It has not been my intention in any way to set up a false dichotomy. In fact, as I think about it, I would argue that I am writing this in response to what I have heard become a false dichotomy. That is, that audience targeting is better than keyword targeting and will eventually replace it…

I believe the keyword is still the most valuable form of targeting for a paid search marketer, but I also believe that audience demographics can play a valuable complementary role in bidding.

A prime example that we already use is remarketing lists for search ads, in which we can layer on remarketing audiences in both Google and Bing into our search queries. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could someday do this with massive amounts of audience data? I've said this before, but were Bing Ads to use its LinkedIn acquisition to allow us to layer on LinkedIn audiences into our current keyword framework, the B2B angels would surely rejoice over us (Bing has responded, by the way, that something is in the works!).

Either way, I hope I've demonstrated that far from being on its deathbed, the keyword is still the most essential tool in the paid search marketer’s toolbox.

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[apsbicepstraining]

Clinton accepts Democratic nomination, supposes 2016 ‘choice is clear’ | Fox News

PHILADELPHIA- Hillary Clinton, announced today that the two countries faces a few moments of gues, sealed her status in American biography Thursday night as the first dame to surface a major-party ticket, officially participate in the flashlight from President Obama as the Democratic campaigner for president.

The former first lady, senator and Secretary of State extradited a swelling criticize against Republican nominee Donald Trump, objection his fitness to dominate the Oval Office and specifying the atmosphere for what promises to be a bruising three-month campaign.

The choice is clear, Clinton told delegates in Philadelphia in a 56 -minute, rosy addres that stood in contrast to Trump’s convention speech in which the mogul pounded away at headwinds facing the nation and drove home the pressing need for change.

“He’s taken the Republican Party a long way, from ‘Morning in America’ to ‘Midnight in America, ‘” Clinton pronounced, following a warm prologue in which her daughter, Chelsea, covered a personal picture of Hillary the mother and grandmother. “He wants to divide us – from the rest of the world, and from each other.

Hes betting that the perils of todays world will blind us to its unlimited promise, Clinton added. He wants us to fear the future and suspicion one another. Well, a great Democratic President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, came up with the perfect berate to Trump more than 80 years ago, during a much more perilous day: The only occasion we have to fear is fear itself.

Hillary’s vision is a borderless world where working person have no power , no chores , no safety.

— Donald J. Trump (@ realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2016

The speech was ended many times by loud rallies from supporters of former competitive Bernie Sanders, which were soon drowned out by Clinton loyalists singing, Hillary!

2016 Election Headquarters

The latest headlines on the 2016 elections from the most difficult epithet in politics. See Latest Coverage -~ ATAGEND

Clinton, 68, was asked to win over the Sanders allies, as well as disaffected Republican and independents, vowing to fight for working people.

I will be a president for Democrats, Republicans, independents, for the struggling, the endeavor, the successful for all Americans together, she said.

Clinton laid out a largely liberal plan that at times echoed themes from Sanders campaign that have weaved their space into the party programme, on issues wandering from taxes to the minimum wage to immigration to health care.

Trump struck back before the darknes was over, liberating a statement that alleged Democrats of creating a fantasy world at their agreement and spreading a false letter that everything is wonderful.

At Hillary Clintons convention this week, Democrats have been to talk about a macrocosm that doesnt dwell, ” the statement read. “A world where America has full employment, where theres no such concept as revolutionary Islamic terrorism, where their own borders is altogether self-assured, and where millions of innocent Americans have not suffered from rising misdemeanour in municipalities like Baltimore and Chicago.

Trump, who surged ahead of Clinton in most referendums following his own party’s agreement last week, spoke at a revival in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and washed the DNC convention before it wrapped up.

“I think we’ll stay here all night because I don’t really want to go home and watch that nonsense, ” he said.

And he bashed Clinton’s address on Twitter:

The deeply personal attacks capped by last-place night’s back-and-forth portend a potentially bitter run-up to the November election. Trump has taken to calling Clinton “Crooked Hillary, ” while Clinton and other Democrat have denigrated Trump as a loose cannon who scarcity the nature to be president.

He loses his cool at the slightest provocation, Clinton said in her pronunciation. Imagine, if you dare, thoughts him in the Oval Office facing a real crisis. A mortal you are able to enticement with a tweet is not a boy we can trust with nuclear weapons.

The Democrats shutting convening night included a sharper security focus than earlier in the week. Retired Marine Gen. John Allen, who led troops in Afghanistan, attested Thursday for Clinton as the candidate who are in a position keep the country safe and free.

America will defeat ISIS, he devoted, mentioning the fright opponent that apparently was glossed over by earlier pact orators. As he addrest, competing melodies of USA and No More War broke out in the audience.

The final darknes capped a drastic week in Philadelphia that started with the abrupt abdication of defendant Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz amid yet another email gossip and ended with an all-hands-on-deck push for unity meant to ease fermentation among Sanders adherents and others who spent the convention railing against the Democratic establishment.

Even on the last day, objectors coordinated phenomena to inspire voters to de-register from the party. And as representatives streamed past the perimeter for the discussions, a contingent of anti-Clinton protesters shouted at the entrances, Hell no, DNC, we wont be voting in favour of Hillary!

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus rent Hillary Clinton’s acceptance speech Thursday as “merely a litany of platitudes” that glossed over critical issues facing the country.

“Time and again, Hillary Clintons dishonesty and cronyism have proved she is the wrong person to lead our country as chairwoman, ” Priebus said in a statement. “The American parties is good enough of the decay, the hypocrisy, and the stonewalling which have been the specific characteristics of her entire career.”

The post Clinton accepts Democratic nomination, supposes 2016 ‘choice is clear’ | Fox News appeared first on apsbicepstraining.com.

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[apsbicepstraining]

Clinton accepts Democratic nomination, supposes 2016 ‘choice is clear’ | Fox News

PHILADELPHIA- Hillary Clinton, announced today that the two countries faces a few moments of gues, sealed her status in American biography Thursday night as the first dame to surface a major-party ticket, officially participate in the flashlight from President Obama as the Democratic campaigner for president.

The former first lady, senator and Secretary of State extradited a swelling criticize against Republican nominee Donald Trump, objection his fitness to dominate the Oval Office and specifying the atmosphere for what promises to be a bruising three-month campaign.

The choice is clear, Clinton told delegates in Philadelphia in a 56 -minute, rosy addres that stood in contrast to Trump’s convention speech in which the mogul pounded away at headwinds facing the nation and drove home the pressing need for change.

“He’s taken the Republican Party a long way, from ‘Morning in America’ to ‘Midnight in America, ‘” Clinton pronounced, following a warm prologue in which her daughter, Chelsea, covered a personal picture of Hillary the mother and grandmother. “He wants to divide us – from the rest of the world, and from each other.

Hes betting that the perils of todays world will blind us to its unlimited promise, Clinton added. He wants us to fear the future and suspicion one another. Well, a great Democratic President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, came up with the perfect berate to Trump more than 80 years ago, during a much more perilous day: The only occasion we have to fear is fear itself.

Hillary’s vision is a borderless world where working person have no power , no chores , no safety.

— Donald J. Trump (@ realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2016

The speech was ended many times by loud rallies from supporters of former competitive Bernie Sanders, which were soon drowned out by Clinton loyalists singing, Hillary!

2016 Election Headquarters

The latest headlines on the 2016 elections from the most difficult epithet in politics. See Latest Coverage -~ ATAGEND

Clinton, 68, was asked to win over the Sanders allies, as well as disaffected Republican and independents, vowing to fight for working people.

I will be a president for Democrats, Republicans, independents, for the struggling, the endeavor, the successful for all Americans together, she said.

Clinton laid out a largely liberal plan that at times echoed themes from Sanders campaign that have weaved their space into the party programme, on issues wandering from taxes to the minimum wage to immigration to health care.

Trump struck back before the darknes was over, liberating a statement that alleged Democrats of creating a fantasy world at their agreement and spreading a false letter that everything is wonderful.

At Hillary Clintons convention this week, Democrats have been to talk about a macrocosm that doesnt dwell, ” the statement read. “A world where America has full employment, where theres no such concept as revolutionary Islamic terrorism, where their own borders is altogether self-assured, and where millions of innocent Americans have not suffered from rising misdemeanour in municipalities like Baltimore and Chicago.

Trump, who surged ahead of Clinton in most referendums following his own party’s agreement last week, spoke at a revival in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and washed the DNC convention before it wrapped up.

“I think we’ll stay here all night because I don’t really want to go home and watch that nonsense, ” he said.

And he bashed Clinton’s address on Twitter:

The deeply personal attacks capped by last-place night’s back-and-forth portend a potentially bitter run-up to the November election. Trump has taken to calling Clinton “Crooked Hillary, ” while Clinton and other Democrat have denigrated Trump as a loose cannon who scarcity the nature to be president.

He loses his cool at the slightest provocation, Clinton said in her pronunciation. Imagine, if you dare, thoughts him in the Oval Office facing a real crisis. A mortal you are able to enticement with a tweet is not a boy we can trust with nuclear weapons.

The Democrats shutting convening night included a sharper security focus than earlier in the week. Retired Marine Gen. John Allen, who led troops in Afghanistan, attested Thursday for Clinton as the candidate who are in a position keep the country safe and free.

America will defeat ISIS, he devoted, mentioning the fright opponent that apparently was glossed over by earlier pact orators. As he addrest, competing melodies of USA and No More War broke out in the audience.

The final darknes capped a drastic week in Philadelphia that started with the abrupt abdication of defendant Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz amid yet another email gossip and ended with an all-hands-on-deck push for unity meant to ease fermentation among Sanders adherents and others who spent the convention railing against the Democratic establishment.

Even on the last day, objectors coordinated phenomena to inspire voters to de-register from the party. And as representatives streamed past the perimeter for the discussions, a contingent of anti-Clinton protesters shouted at the entrances, Hell no, DNC, we wont be voting in favour of Hillary!

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus rent Hillary Clinton’s acceptance speech Thursday as “merely a litany of platitudes” that glossed over critical issues facing the country.

“Time and again, Hillary Clintons dishonesty and cronyism have proved she is the wrong person to lead our country as chairwoman, ” Priebus said in a statement. “The American parties is good enough of the decay, the hypocrisy, and the stonewalling which have been the specific characteristics of her entire career.”

The post Clinton accepts Democratic nomination, supposes 2016 ‘choice is clear’ | Fox News appeared first on apsbicepstraining.com.

from WordPress http://ift.tt/2tHxuYl via IFTTT

[apsbicepstraining]

Clinton accepts Democratic nomination, supposes 2016 ‘choice is clear’ | Fox News

PHILADELPHIA- Hillary Clinton, announced today that the two countries faces a few moments of gues, sealed her status in American biography Thursday night as the first dame to surface a major-party ticket, officially participate in the flashlight from President Obama as the Democratic campaigner for president.

The former first lady, senator and Secretary of State extradited a swelling criticize against Republican nominee Donald Trump, objection his fitness to dominate the Oval Office and specifying the atmosphere for what promises to be a bruising three-month campaign.

The choice is clear, Clinton told delegates in Philadelphia in a 56 -minute, rosy addres that stood in contrast to Trump’s convention speech in which the mogul pounded away at headwinds facing the nation and drove home the pressing need for change.

“He’s taken the Republican Party a long way, from ‘Morning in America’ to ‘Midnight in America, ‘” Clinton pronounced, following a warm prologue in which her daughter, Chelsea, covered a personal picture of Hillary the mother and grandmother. “He wants to divide us – from the rest of the world, and from each other.

Hes betting that the perils of todays world will blind us to its unlimited promise, Clinton added. He wants us to fear the future and suspicion one another. Well, a great Democratic President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, came up with the perfect berate to Trump more than 80 years ago, during a much more perilous day: The only occasion we have to fear is fear itself.

Hillary’s vision is a borderless world where working person have no power , no chores , no safety.

— Donald J. Trump (@ realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2016

The speech was ended many times by loud rallies from supporters of former competitive Bernie Sanders, which were soon drowned out by Clinton loyalists singing, Hillary!

2016 Election Headquarters

The latest headlines on the 2016 elections from the most difficult epithet in politics. See Latest Coverage -~ ATAGEND

Clinton, 68, was asked to win over the Sanders allies, as well as disaffected Republican and independents, vowing to fight for working people.

I will be a president for Democrats, Republicans, independents, for the struggling, the endeavor, the successful for all Americans together, she said.

Clinton laid out a largely liberal plan that at times echoed themes from Sanders campaign that have weaved their space into the party programme, on issues wandering from taxes to the minimum wage to immigration to health care.

Trump struck back before the darknes was over, liberating a statement that alleged Democrats of creating a fantasy world at their agreement and spreading a false letter that everything is wonderful.

At Hillary Clintons convention this week, Democrats have been to talk about a macrocosm that doesnt dwell, ” the statement read. “A world where America has full employment, where theres no such concept as revolutionary Islamic terrorism, where their own borders is altogether self-assured, and where millions of innocent Americans have not suffered from rising misdemeanour in municipalities like Baltimore and Chicago.

Trump, who surged ahead of Clinton in most referendums following his own party’s agreement last week, spoke at a revival in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and washed the DNC convention before it wrapped up.

“I think we’ll stay here all night because I don’t really want to go home and watch that nonsense, ” he said.

And he bashed Clinton’s address on Twitter:

The deeply personal attacks capped by last-place night’s back-and-forth portend a potentially bitter run-up to the November election. Trump has taken to calling Clinton “Crooked Hillary, ” while Clinton and other Democrat have denigrated Trump as a loose cannon who scarcity the nature to be president.

He loses his cool at the slightest provocation, Clinton said in her pronunciation. Imagine, if you dare, thoughts him in the Oval Office facing a real crisis. A mortal you are able to enticement with a tweet is not a boy we can trust with nuclear weapons.

The Democrats shutting convening night included a sharper security focus than earlier in the week. Retired Marine Gen. John Allen, who led troops in Afghanistan, attested Thursday for Clinton as the candidate who are in a position keep the country safe and free.

America will defeat ISIS, he devoted, mentioning the fright opponent that apparently was glossed over by earlier pact orators. As he addrest, competing melodies of USA and No More War broke out in the audience.

The final darknes capped a drastic week in Philadelphia that started with the abrupt abdication of defendant Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz amid yet another email gossip and ended with an all-hands-on-deck push for unity meant to ease fermentation among Sanders adherents and others who spent the convention railing against the Democratic establishment.

Even on the last day, objectors coordinated phenomena to inspire voters to de-register from the party. And as representatives streamed past the perimeter for the discussions, a contingent of anti-Clinton protesters shouted at the entrances, Hell no, DNC, we wont be voting in favour of Hillary!

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus rent Hillary Clinton’s acceptance speech Thursday as “merely a litany of platitudes” that glossed over critical issues facing the country.

“Time and again, Hillary Clintons dishonesty and cronyism have proved she is the wrong person to lead our country as chairwoman, ” Priebus said in a statement. “The American parties is good enough of the decay, the hypocrisy, and the stonewalling which have been the specific characteristics of her entire career.”

The post Clinton accepts Democratic nomination, supposes 2016 ‘choice is clear’ | Fox News appeared first on apsbicepstraining.com.

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