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eidesignlearning · 1 year ago

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Advanced Learning Strategies for Multigenerational Workforce

The need for learning has changed with the presence of a multigenerational workforce. It is crucial to realize this transformation, given the changing demographics and shifting workplace paradigms, and the subsequent impact on the workforce.

There’s a paradigm shift in workforce compositions today. And it’s impacting everything – from how individuals choose to interact (in-person vs. virtual) and work (on-premises vs. remote), to communication preferences (one-on-one, in-person, text, voice, video), and rewards and benefits. And yes, this paradigm change also impacts how employees learn and develop.

According to data, Millennials (born between 1981-2000) represent the highest concentration in today’s workforce at 40%, closely followed by Gen X (1965-1980) at 33%. With a significant proportion of Boomers (1946-1964) already retired or heading there, that generation now represents just 15% of today’s workforce, while Gen Z (2001-2020) comes in at 10%.

So, do these statistics really matter when it comes to planning workforce learning strategies? Yes, they do!

Advancements in healthcare and longevity mean that people now have the potential to live longer lives. The recent economic malaise has put pressure on intending retiree finances. Consequently, workers are reconsidering retirement plans and extending careers beyond the traditional retirement age. With individuals working for six or more decades, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that more than 68% of workers will be aged 55-64 by 2031, with 20% projected to be 65 years or older.

This demographic shift has led to the emergence of a multigenerational workforce. Moving forward, organizations must adapt to this reality by implementing age-friendly practices, fostering learning and engagement across generations, and creating inclusive workplace cultures. For this multigenerational workforce to be effective and productive, individuals must continue to learn and grow while employed. Achieving this requires companies employing multi-gen workforces to put effective learning strategies in place.

Generational Learning

Understanding the realities of generational learning is essential for Learning and Development (L&D) leaders. This enables leaders to tailor learning approaches, improve communication, and increase engagement. Recognizing diverse preferences contributes to productivity, skill development, and effective retention strategies. Additionally, it supports succession planning and facilitates the integration of technology. Ultimately, this understanding fosters an inclusive organizational culture, benefiting both individual employees and the broader organization.

Benefits of Generational Learning

In today’s dynamic work environment, the convergence of different generations brings forth a rich tapestry of experiences, perspectives, and skills. From Baby Boomers to Gen Z, each cohort contributes unique value to the workforce. Here are some of the benefits of fostering a multigenerational team:

Holistic Perspectives Imagine a mosaic where each tile represents a distinct viewpoint. A multigenerational workforce mirrors this diversity. By blending insights from seasoned professionals and fresh graduates, organizations gain a 360-degree perspective on challenges and opportunities. This kaleidoscope of viewpoints fuels innovation and drives better decision-making.

Creative Problem-SolvingPicture a brainstorming session where a seasoned executive and a tech-savvy intern collaborate. The combined wisdom and digital fluency yield ingenious solutions. Age-diverse teams excel at problem-solving and experimentation, fusing traditional wisdom with cutting-edge approaches. The result? Creative breakthroughs that propel businesses forward.

Cross-Generational MentorshipThe mentorship process need not follow a linear path. Seasoned leaders impart battle-tested knowledge, while young talents infuse fresh energy. But here’s another benefit—reverse mentoring. Junior employees, armed with digital prowess, guide tenured colleagues through the ever-evolving tech landscape. It’s a symbiotic exchange that enriches both parties.

Knowledge ContinuityTacit knowledge, accumulated over decades, resides within the hearts and minds of experienced employees. When shared across generations, it becomes an organizational treasure trove. The company’s legacy remains intact as Baby Boomers pass the torch to Millennials and Gen Z. In-house promotion has become the norm, reducing reliance on external hires.

Workplace BondsA diverse workplace steeped in generational knowledge provides an environment of continuous learning when leveraged correctly. In a multigenerational setting, unique relationships blossom. Whether it’s a Gen Xer mentoring a Gen Yer or a Gen Zer teaching a Boomer about digital trends, these connections foster job satisfaction and emotional well-being.

A multigenerational workforce isn’t just about bridging age gaps; it’s about creating a vibrant workforce where wisdom, innovation, and camaraderie intersect. Organizations thrive with learning strategies that empower age diversity.

Challenges of Training a Multigenerational Workforce

In today’s corporate world, the intersection of diverse generational cohorts also brings forward an array of challenges:

Evolving Communication DynamicsConsider situations where a seasoned executive values face-to-face conversation, while tech-savvy interns excel in quick text and online chat exchanges. Bridging these communication gaps requires adaptability. The solution lies in adopting flexible communication channels—whether it’s email, video calls, or casual hallway discussions—tailored to fit each generation’s unique communication style.

Dispelling StereotypesIn workplaces with a diverse age range, ingrained patterns and stereotypes may emerge. Baby boomers might view Gen Z as overly sensitive and inexperienced, while the younger generation may see boomers as resistant to technology. Left unaddressed, these stereotypes can create a negative atmosphere. The goal is to dismantle biases, fostering an inclusive environment where the combination of wisdom and innovation prevails.

Shifting ExpectationsImagine a performance review where a Gen X manager evaluates a Millennial’s contributions. Criteria differ—experience versus agility, stability versus adaptability. Compensation and benefits become varied: stock options for one, remote work for another. Navigating these diverse expectations requires a personalized approach, like using a custom compass to navigate unfamiliar territory.

Addressing the challenges in a multigenerational workforce isn’t complicated. To make multigenerational organizations grow and thrive, it’s important to embrace diversity and harmonize various perspectives across cohorts of various age groups of employees.

Effective Learning Strategies for Training a Multigenerational Workforce

L&D leaders may consider leveraging the following strategies to create highly effective learning strategies in multigenerational workplaces:

Understanding the AudienceCreating tailored learning inclusive of the recognition of diverse learner needs, preferences, and personalized learning approaches is key in promoting successful engagement.

Design for inclusivityDevelop learning that embraces diversity, ensuring accessibility and relevance for all members of the multigenerational workforce.

Types for LearningOffer a variety of learning formats, such as online courses, workshops, mentorship programs, and collaborative projects, to accommodate diverse learning preferences.

Enhance Communication with LearnersEstablish clear and open communication channels to keep learners informed and engaged throughout the learning process.

Bridge the GapFacilitate collaboration sessions that encourage interaction and knowledge sharing among employees from different generations.

Promote FeedbackEncourage feedback from employees at all levels, including managers and leaders, to continually improve learning programs and adapt to evolving needs.

Create a Culture of Continuous LearningLearning strategies must instill a mindset of ongoing learning and professional development as a fundamental aspect of the organizational culture.

Remember, a multigenerational workforce thrives when learning becomes a shared journey—a bridge connecting past wisdom and future innovation.

Personalize Learning for all Workforce Generations

While it may seem like an extensive list of demands and anticipations to address, implementing simple adjustments in learning strategies can effectively customize the approach for individuals of all age brackets.

Let the Learner Take the Lead: Empower individuals to define career goals, interests, and learning preferences. Enable learners to take charge of their learning journey.

Explain the Benefits of Learning: Busy employees need a compelling reason to invest time in learning. Clarify the purpose behind learning initiatives. Design with the learner at the center of the learning experience providing a holistic approach to value and participation.

Mentoring and Reverse Mentoring: Bridging generational gaps fosters collaboration and mutual learning. Implement mentoring and coaching programs, including reverse mentoring—where younger employees teach digital skills to tenured employees. This creates a symbiotic exchange, ensuring knowledge transfer.

Learning Through Real Business Scenarios: Theoretical learning gains depth when applied in real-world scenarios. It’s like learning to swim by (actually) diving into the pool. Encourage learners to manage actual projects, handle stretch assignments, or participate in temporary redeployments. These experiences solidify skills and prevent forgetting.

Conclusion

Fostering a multigenerational workplace necessitates breeding a culture of inclusivity and knowledge exchange, ultimately boosting innovation and problem-solving prowess. By investing in inclusive learning initiatives, organizations equip employees across diverse generations with the essential skills needed for prosperity. This strategic approach unlocks the full potential of a multigenerational workforce, leading to business optimization and heightened collective effectiveness.

#eidesign #elearning company #microlearning

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rolandfontana · 6 years ago

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Inside the Minds of Men Who Murder

Each mass killer is uniquely evil, but they have common goals and characteristics.

Some seek revenge. Some seek fame—or infamy, its modern synonym. Some are sadists, others simply sad.

There are psychopaths, like Eric Harris, the torchbearer of the two Columbine High School killers, whose enormous ego left no room in his psyche for empathy. Others are reacting to trauma—a fractured or abusive home life, conflict with peers, a failed romance, like the growing club of spree killers motivated by the condition that has become known, unfortunately, as “involuntary celibacy.”

Still others are delusional, including Seung Hui Cho, the 2007 Virginia Tech rampage killer, who imagined himself a buddy of Vladimir Putin, bragged about a supermodel Martian girlfriend, and grandly compared himself to Moses.

In researching my new book, Mass Killers: Inside the Minds of Men Who Murder, I spent months exploring the written and recorded leavings of this growing apocalyptic sect.

Three factors turn up frequently: mental illness, easy access to firearms (especially assault rifles), and missed signals by parents, law enforcers, school officials, or other authority figures. Many seek to blame others and exact revenge for a history of personal failure. Socially and emotionally isolated, they strike out after an event that they blow out of proportion—a breakup, for example.

Nearly all mass killers are male. In the U.S., about one in ten is female, and just one woman turns up on the list of the 27 deadliest shootings in U.S. history. Many of these men and boys exhibit what has become known as “toxic masculinity.”

Researchers Rachel Kalish and Michael Kimmel explained:

What transforms the aggrieved into mass murderers is also a sense of entitlement, a sense of using violence against others, making others hurt as you, yourself, might. Aggrieved entitlement inspires revenge against those who have wronged you; it is the compensation for humiliation…Aggrieved entitlement is a gendered emotion, a fusion of that humiliating loss of manhood and the moral obligation and entitlement to get it back. And its gender is masculine.

Anders Breivik. Photo by No Rules via Flickr

I looked at the writings of about 50 mass killers. Some are humble, some grandiose—from brief, introspective suicide notes to tome-like whines by sex-deprived men. A few left notes and journals that are poignant. Others are bloviated and narcissistic, like the ultimate selfie. They range in length from an eerie, five-word message left by a Michigan school bomber nearly a century ago—”Criminals are made, not born”—to the Mein Kampf-sized manifesto of Norwegian mass killer Anders Breivik, whose turgid dissertation goose-steps along for nearly a million words.

Many share what another academic researcher called “common psycholinguistic themes,” including a “pseudocommando mindset” and “heroic revenge fantasy.”

Very few high-casualty sprees are impulsive. Killers in this class do not “snap.” They plan their assaults for months or even years, drawing up detailed battle plans and accumulating expensive weaponry. For most, documentation of this process in journals or videos is an essential component; they are well aware that they are leaving evidence that will help the marquee lights of their crimes burn brighter and longer.

Some merely hint at violence, but many expressly threaten mass murder, sometimes spelling out where, when and how.

Stage Managers of Evil

A few young killers have used final notes to romantically stage-manage their own funerals. One example was Jaylen Fryberg, 15. Despairing over a broken romance, he killed four friends and himself in 2014 at his school near Seattle. Just before the shooting, he sent a text message to his parents directing them how to dress him in the casket (“brand new expensive-as-shit camo”) and what music to play (“poppin’ shit”).

Many mass killers treat their end-of-life messages as though they were dating profiles, including lists of favorite movies and music—even colors and snacks. Nothing about themselves seems too granular or extraneous to leave out.

At 3 in the morning on September 4, 2006, nine days before he shot 20 students at Dawson College in Montreal, Kimveer Gill posted this entry in his online journal:

I ate some cheesey poofs. Ya know, those cheese stick things, like cheetos. Ahhhhhh, now you see.The power of the cheesy poof can not be denied.

A few days later, he had progressed from snack-happy to Mr. Pitiful. He wrote, “Fuck people. Fuck life. Fuck god.”

How much do we really learn while trying to peer into these dark souls?

As Columbine’s Harris noted, “Sometimes we will spend an entire lifetime trying to figure out someone, and even after that length of time we still can’t possibly know everything about that person. The same goes for ourselves.”

Yet essential contours come into relief that may help unravel the mysteries of what experts view as a mass shooting contagion in the U.S., Canada, Germany and, to a lesser degree, Scandinavia and other European precincts. (To be clear: Mass murders happen in other countries, but the U.S. is by far the worldwide leader.)

“The phenomenon is feeding on itself,” warns Peter Langman, a Pennsylvania psychologist who is the world’s premier archivist of deep research on school shootings, which he generously shares at SchoolShooters.info.

Manifestos of murder were rare until the 1999 Columbine killings near Denver. We now presume that mass killers will leave an explanation, and it becomes news when they don’t. Stephen Paddock, the suicidal Baby Boomer who killed a record 58 people attending a music festival in Las Vegas in 2017, was an outlier because he was determinedly mute about his motivations.

The vast trove of the Columbiners is easily accessed on the Internet, and several dozen derivative killers in the U.S. and abroad have culled and copied details pioneered by Harris and his beta partner, Dylan Klebold. They identify with Harris and seem to believe they are joining an eternal club of fist-bumping bros. (As Sandy Hook school killer Adam Lanza put it, “Everyone knows that mass murderers are the cool kids.”

Many declare themselves part of an imaginary revolution—a “war of vendetta,” the Virginia Tech shooter called it. The idea that these aggrieved males are world-changing revolutionaries might seem patently absurd, as it did to me when I began to study their macho rhetoric. But if the endgame of the revolution is repeated examples of mass murder, haven’t they succeeded in a sense?

“One way of understanding the concept of contagion is the possibility that the more the taboo against mass murder is broken, the easier it becomes for the next perpetrator,”

Langman, the school shooting expert, writes. “Each time that threshold is crossed may lower the threshold for people already on the path toward violence. Thus, the phenomenon may be feeding on itself, growing with each new incident.”

David J. Krajicek

The message is foreboding, unfortunately.

David J. Krajicek (@djkrajicek) is a contributing editor of The Crime Report. Since 1999, he has written The Justice Story for the Sunday New York Daily News, the longest-running true crime feature in American journalism. His work has also appeared in Alternet, The New York Times, Columbia and Boston magazines, Slate, The Village Voice, The Manchester (U.K.) Guardian and Mother Jones.

Inside the Minds of Men Who Murder syndicated from https://immigrationattorneyto.wordpress.com/

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hermionesterrier · 6 years ago

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More Than Human: Chapter 9 Liveblog Pt. 2!

Something about it made her look very feminine, and Butch held his breath a little longer before exhaling. He stared at her awhile, then realized she had just asked him something.

He lets her playfully shove him. He's not even high but he's letting her think he is. He thinks it's the only way she'll open up to him. But he's watching her and observing her and he's focusing on every little move she makes. He's so painfully aware of her presence, of her proximity. He's thinking about how easy it would be to kiss her right then and there and he's careful enough not to blow the smoke he knows she doesn't like in her face. Oh Butch....he's so head over heels for her that it's just painfully obvious at this point.

Those quiet Green moments are part of the reason why I'm so in love with this ship. It doesn't need big love gestures to be epic. The text just lets them...be. The writing for them specifically is so unique that they make every scene they're in comforting yet electrifying. Kudos to SBJ 💚 PLEASE DON'T TAKE THEM AWAY FROM ME

BOOMER WANTS BUBBLES TO SING AND PLAY FOR THE BOTH OF THEM I'M C R Y I N G

Protective Brick, battling the creeps away, one glare at a time xD

AHAHAHAHAHAHA BLOSSOM WANTS TO LICK BRICK OMG

BRICK AND BLOSSOM KISSING. HE. KISSED. HER. KISSSING. I CAN'T. DEAD. SEND. HELP. I REPEAT. BRICK AND BLOSSOM K I S S I N G!!!!!!!!

I am commenting from the grave kbye

Brick's gonna be very upset the guys ate his cereal

Despite the length, her hair still curled in circular, wavy patterns against the carpet, like black ink on a blank canvas. Butch is very artisty when it comes to his Buttercup thoughts isn't he xD

This scene KILLS ME I AM TALKING FROM THE GRAVE RN OKAY I CAN'T WITH THIS DAMN CHAPTER

Butch completely fascinated with Buttercup like wow too fucking cute

Mitch had said that they'd never done anything worth mentioning, which sounded stupid to Butch. He didn't understand how any guy could stand to keep his hands off her when Buttercup looked like this. Except him. But Butch was different. He didn't know how, but he was different. Uh huh sure Butch. It's definitely not you who can't stop staring at her and you're tooootally not attracted to her that you actually have to force yourself to stop looking nopppe not at alllll

Reds are a mess...more so Brick tho hehehehe

Fuck it begins...watch as I curl into a ball and wrench my own heart out...

SHE IS SO HAPPY SO FUCKING HAPPY I CAN'T DEAL WITH THIS NOPE SORRY NO

Buttercup, after a horrified moment's contemplation, reached for Blossom's glass of milk and sniffed it. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Smooth Bubbles lol xD

"No part of my brain is in that girl's body, I swear." The suspicion is real tho hahahahahaha

Awww @ the boys showing genuine concern over Brick ❤

Yea sure Brick because hormonal kissing totally normally shifts the earth like something heavenly and puts puzzle pieces into place like duh ofc....fucking idiot gives me headaches why are boys so stupid?

Boomer & Butch barged into Brick's room to keep him company and cheer him up with some weed even though they don't know what's wrong with him SINCERE BROTHERLY MOMENTS ARE MY BREAD AND BUTTER OKAY

Oh my god Blossom is so hopeful and waiting and making excuses for him and it's breaking my fucking heart

This part is so triggering for me ngl I fucking hate it

FUCK YOU BRICK FUCK YOU AND YOUR STUPID PLAN HOW DARE YOU GIVE HER HOPE JUST TO CRUSH IT LIKE THAT YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE

SOMEONE HOLD BLOSSOM PLEASE THIS IS TOO PAINFUL I'M NOT OKAY

Crying does help

How could he ask her to just forget a moment in her life that was one of the happiest she'd ever experienced? I thought, she started, and then tried to stop, but it finished itself. I thought he liked me. FUCK MY LIFE I AM BAWLING

Oh man Buttercup's so concerned and Blossom's trying to get herself together and fuck I can't handle this

Stop stop STOP THIS FUCKING HURTS PLEASE STOP

Is it wrong that I feel just as betrayed and excluded as Buttercup? I feel so much for Blossom but that's her sister! And it's really unfair to exclude her like that especially since she knows she went through her own emotional breakdown after Mitch so she would understand....she IS her sister too :/ i'm very protective shhh

"...Okay. Is she okay?" Both of his brothers looked up at him. "Who?" Butch said sharply. "Is who okay?" Brick stared at Boomer, wide-eyed, one hand still on the doorknob. Can we just take a moment to deduce that Butch was definitely asking if Buttercup's okay? He got worried about Buttercup and no one can convince me otherwise nope na uh....AND BRICK YOU FUCK YOU BETTER BE WORRIED ABOUT BLOSSOM

And the first person Buttercup chooses to go vent to is....? #besties

Butch's "Whoa, whoa, whoa" totally reminded me of Noah Centineo, that's like his catchphrase! Anyone else think he'd make an awesome Butch? I already casted him in my head sorry not sorry xD

Buttercupppp :'(

Brick suddenly hated himself, more than anything. GOOD YOU SHOULD

IT'S THE ASTEROID SCENES I AM CHOKING GREENS WILL BE THE DEATH OF ME I SWEAR I LOVE THEM AND THESE SCENES SO FUCKING MUCHHHHH

Oh he's pissing her off real good oh god

A+ to Butch for instinctively knowing exactly what she needed 💚

"No boys are smart when it comes to girls." Truer words have never been spoken

"Why doesn't he like me?" Blossom mumbled, her tone childlike, plaintive. / Instead she kissed her sister on the forehead and whispered, "To Hell with him. I like you." I AM FUCKING C R Y I N G this is one of my absolute F A V O R I T E sister moments it is FUCKING PAINFUL AND BEAUTIFUL AND BUBBLES LET ME LOVE YOU FOREVER AND EVER ❤❤❤

Buttercup panted for breath, her muscles aching and joints sore. Butch was draped on top of her, his elbows shaking as he propped himself up; he, too, was panting. Her fist opened against his stomach, skimming along the tense muscle before gliding over that chest of his, rising and falling in an incessant, almost calming pattern of movement. She bumped her forehead against his shoulder as she pressed her cheek to his sweaty neck and whispered, "Thanks. I needed that." I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE SBJ I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE :D this totally threw me off the first time I read it ahahahahahaha panting sweaty touching muscle aching greeeeens *_*

I love how after they beat the shit out of each other they still have to make sure the other's okay xD

A small, slow smile worked its way onto his face. She watched it form, almost mesmerized at the gradualness with which it appeared. Like how Butch stared at her smile in those photos and videos? Is this his head over heels in love smile? :D

"Don't see your bra showing." "I like to let it all hang out there, you know." That cracked me up hehehehe

Butch actually apologizing for staring at a pretty girl's boobs? That's a first xD

SHE SAW THE STARS REFLECTED IN HIS DEEP GREEN EYES LIKE WHO THINKS THAT ABOUT SOMEONE THEY CONSIDER "ONLY A FRIEND" HUH???

Butch reeeeeally doesn't like her hair long...and what it represents to him.

This whole scene is everything okay like they're just (ironically considering what they'd just finished doing) so fucking gentle with each other and so quietly comfortably touchy and total comfort zone like I LOVE EVERY LITTLE THING ABOUT THIS SCENE E V E R Y T H I N G greeeeeens 💚💚💚

Yup Buttercup knows, Blossom. She gets it. She understands

I'm better than that, she thought again, jaw set and face hard. I'm stronger. DAMN STRAIGHT LEADER GIRL!

Oh my god Brick fuck off and grow up! You chose to reject the best thing that's ever happened to you so deal with the consequences....idiot.

I still feel bad for him even though I harp on him so much ngl xD BUT WTF IS WRONG WITH HIM LIKE HE'S ACTUALLY UPSET THAT SHE DOESN'T LOOK MORE UPSET WHAT DO YOU EXPECT YOU EGOTISTICAL MORON WTFFFF

Only Blossom would use the 3 day rule to force her sisters into doing their homework hehehehe

Brick you grinch, leave the Blues alone not everyone has to be as miserable as you are.

Brick almost went after him, ready to beat some God damn sense into him, because fuck, what did Boomer know? What did he know about anything? He didn't get that this was all his stupid teenage emotions getting in the way of rational thought, that he was blinded by affection for her, and she had no idea, she wasn't looking at him, she wasn't talking to him, no matter if she was only doing exactly what Brick had suggested they do— STOP PROJECTING YOUR ISSUES ONTO THE BLUES YOU ASSHOLE YOU DID THIS TO YOURSELF AND BROKE MY BABY'S HEART....this was so well done and human though kudos sbj :D

Wait is that the first time Boomer's said the L word seriously? B A B I E S

"Something tells me Brick's not going to get a lot of things," Bubbles said cheerfully. Like a girlfriend. Shots fired :D

Oh my god Boomer is KILLING MEEEEEE LITTLE BOY BLUE LET ME HUG YOU

He's so insecure and he feels like not even Bubbles trusts him to be strong enough to handle shit. I see where he's coming from and him being so upset is making me so upset :'(

She hadn't realized how much of a little boy Boomer was, how much he bought into this idea that he was the dumb one who couldn't do anything, to the point where he assumed everyone thought that of him and resented them for it. :'(((

He is a little boy who actually doesn't know any better. Man the boys' upbringing was so messed up and they're still teenagers.

BUT SHE DIDN'T TELL HIM TO GO HOME AND HE FOLLOWED HER ANYWAY AWWWW BUTCH YOU BIG SOFTIE 💚

Aaaand Boomer told Bubbles. Now the only one who doesn't know about JS Inc. is the one who probably shouldn't know....I feel like this is gonna blow up when she finally finds out.

SAY BYE TO YOUR MULLET BRICK AHAHAHAHAHAHA

All the haircuts though...symbol for the boys' character evolution or a big change coming up?

ROBIN WEARING MIKE'S JACKET!!! I love these little throwaways for them. THOSE TWOOO ❤

Sidenote: 3 guesses who Mike was looking for in the prom chapter :D

Watch as Brick turns into a big baby craving attention *rolls eyes*

"I'd rather kiss Brick than you," Butch sniped at Boomer. "Holy crap, I'd pay twice as much to see that happen!" Buttercup shouted, raising both hands, and the rest of the girls whooped and hollered. HOLY SHIT YESSSS PLEEEEASE GIMME *_*

I would also pay to see Butch and Buttercup kiss just putting that out there...

Buttercup's inner panic at the possibility that Butch might kiss her tho xD

HER SHOULDERS GOT TENSE WHEN BUTCH KISSED ANOTHER GIRL TELL ME THAT ISN'T A SIGN OF JEALOUSY I FUCKING DARE YOU

Butch licked his lips thoughtfully. "Cherry soda." He winked at Julie as he sat down, and as Buttercup stared furtively at him it seemed to her that he was avoiding meeting her eyes. Hmmm am I overthinking or is Butch feeling kind of...guilty or ashamed that he kissed someone else?

Coincidence or use of powers that Butch's spin landed squarely on Buttercup?

SHE'S DOING IT! SHE'S ACTUALLY FUCKING DOING IT OH MY GODDDD THAT'S SO LIT HOLY SHIT

A few of the other guys voiced their hearty thanks to him. Butch, meanwhile, stared at the full bowl, the image of Buttercup's jaw, open wide and with her cheeks slightly sucked in, playing over and over again in his memory. He suddenly felt a strong, strong craving for cherries. SCREAMS INCOHERENTLY!!!!!!!

Buttercup kisses Brick. Was talking about Brick contemplating the kiss with my best friend (shoutout! 💚). She was saying she's hoping it doesn't turn into a cheesy love triangle or some shit like that but I really don't think SBJ will travel down that road....hopefully xD

Butch is pisssssed af hehehe...wonder if this will come back later.

Let Him come, Bubbles thought, her face hardening for a second, for one brief moment where she forgot to keep it inside, to herself. He can bring it. Let Him try. She focused on Boomer's bright expression, on that happy smile, and summoned up a cheer. Let Him come, she thought again. Her hands tensed, gripping the cushion of the couch. He won't take Boomer from me. I won't let Him. I swear to God, I swear, if He lays a hand on Boomer, if He so much as touches a single hair on his head, I swear I will make Him regret it. I am very much looking forward to that point in the future where Bubbles goes all ~haaardcooore on Him's ass to protect Boomer :D

TEENAGERS HAVING FUN YAYYY

That ended on a pretty depressing note though :(

AND NOW COMES THE NEWEST CHAPTER THAT I HAVEN'T READ YET

God help me when I'm done with it because I will probably be a m e s s

Time for you to join the dark side!

#sbj more than human #jess reads mth

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becauseiamnotanelephant · 6 years ago

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Do Everything. It’s a theme.

Today started early. Weekends always start early, but this time it wasn’t for a bike ride, it was for a presentation to the Open House New York board as they kicked off their board retreat to plan for the programming in 2019, which will be focused on transportation. Public speaking is not my forte, and public speaking about a a subject I am not an expert on is definitely out of my comfort zone.

Despite freaking out all week and talking to myself for the past several hours to prepare my spiel, it actually turned out really well. I think I need to remind myself more often that even though I look like a kid sometimes, I actually sort of know what I’m talking about, and especially in the case of this presentation, people are actually interested in what I am saying. I take it as a good sign that people were taking pictures of the slides I was presenting. I think the information is actually kind of cool too, so I think that helps. And there was a ridiculous moment when I was talking about two images on a slide and I completely froze about which was on the right and left-hand side of the screen, so there was a chance to have real connection to the audience as I admitted that for a traffic engineer, I have a hard time remembering right and left. It’s true. And pathetic, but funny. (Same way that it’s really sad that no matter what, I will spell the word broccoli wrong on the first try).

Anyway, the presentation went really well. Some questions I couldn’t answer, but enough random facts that made it seem I was sort of answering the questions. And also some cool things that the audience brought up that I have thought of as well - like what kind of planning are we doing in anticipation of the baby boomer generation getting to the point where they can’t drive?

Some cool things they thought of as program ideas included creating a video or experience so that people could really understand what it’s like to travel through NYC on different modes. Waiting for the subway, riding a bike on Eighth Avenue, and I thought it would be interesting to see what it’s like to sit like in the back of an ambulance and understand the stress associated with getting through the streets of NYC - maybe it would cause drivers to be more reactive when they hear sirens.

And then I biked home, switched bikes, changed my clothes, and went on a maiden voyage with the new bike, Jeff, and Chris.

Fuck, this wind is ridiculous. It was a very unpleasant ride up north battling a non stop and pretty powerful headwind. We didn’t even make it to Nyack. It was cold. We were hungry. Chris fixed a flat. And then fixed it again. We watched. And we did not decide on a name for the new bike. Still to be determined.

Then, went home and changed clothes again and bikes again.

This time, to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for dinner and a visit with my uncle and cousin, and then a fucking race to Michael Brown’s house to get there before the surprise party. Fun chatting with several of their friends, and then home to crash.

Views from my morning presentation:

Some stupid shit from the internet that made me laugh.

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newstfionline · 6 years ago

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Gen Z Is Coming to Your Office

By Janet Adamy, WSJ, Sept. 6, 2018

Sean McKeon was 11 years old when the 2008 financial crisis shot anxiety through his life in Hudson, Ohio. He remembers his father coming home stressed after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over the bank where he worked. A teacher asked classmates if their parents cut back that Christmas. They all said yes.

That unsettling time shaped the job plans he hatched in high school. “I needed to work really hard and find a career that’s recession-proof,” says Mr. McKeon, now 21. He set his sights on a Big Four accounting firm. He interned at EY in Cleveland and will become an auditor there after graduating from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, next year.

About 17 million members of Generation Z are now adults and starting to enter the U.S. workforce, and employers haven’t seen a generation like this since the Great Depression. They came of age during recessions, financial crises, war, terror threats, school shootings and under the constant glare of technology and social media. The broad result is a scarred generation, cautious and hardened by economic and social turbulence.

Gen Z totals about 67 million, including those born roughly beginning in 1997 up until a few years ago. Its members are more eager to get rich than the past three generations but are less interested in owning their own businesses, according to surveys. As teenagers many postponed risk-taking rites of passage such as sex, drinking and getting driver’s licenses. Now they are eschewing student debt, having seen prior generations drive it to records, and trying to forge careers that can withstand economic crisis.

Early signs suggest Gen Z workers are more competitive and pragmatic, but also more anxious and reserved, than millennials, the generation of 72 million born from 1981 to 1996, according to executives, managers, generational consultants and multidecade studies of young people. Gen Zers are also the most racially diverse generation in American history: Almost half are a race other than non-Hispanic white.

With the generation of baby boomers retiring and unemployment at historic lows, Gen Z is filling immense gaps in the workforce. Employers, plagued by worker shortages, are trying to adapt.

LinkedIn Corp. and Intuit Inc. have eased requirements that certain hires hold bachelor’s degrees to reach young adults who couldn’t afford college. At campus recruiting events, EY is raffling off computer tablets because competition for top talent is intense.

Companies are reworking training so it replicates YouTube-style videos that appeal to Gen Z workers reared on smartphones.

“They learn new information much more quickly than their predecessors,” says Ray Blanchette, CEO of Ruby Tuesday Inc., which introduced phone videos to teach young workers to grill burgers and slow-cook ribs. Growing up immersed in mobile technology also means “it’s not natural or comfortable for them necessarily to interact one-on-one,” he says.

Demographers see parallels with the Silent Generation, a parsimonious batch born between 1928 and 1945 that carried the economic scars of the Great Depression and World War II into adulthood while reaping the rewards of a booming postwar economy in the 1950s and 1960s. Gen Z is setting out in the workplace at one of the most opportune times in decades, with an unemployment rate of 4%.

“They’re more like children of the 1930s, if children of the 1930s had learned to think, learn and communicate while attached to hand-held supercomputers,” says Bruce Tulgan, a management consultant at RainmakerThinking in Whitneyville, Conn.

Gen Z’s attitudes about work reflect a craving for financial security. The share of college freshmen nationwide who prioritize becoming well off rose to around 82% when Gen Z began entering college a few years ago, according to the University of California, Los Angeles. That is the highest level since the school began surveying the subject in 1966. The lowest point was 36% in 1970.

The oldest Gen Zers also are more interested in making work a central part of their lives and are more willing to work overtime than most millennials, according to the University of Michigan’s annual survey of teens.

“They have a stronger work ethic,” says Jean Twenge, a San Diego State University psychology professor whose book “iGen” analyzes the group. “They’re really scared that they’re not going to get the good job that everybody says they need to make it.”

Just 30% of 12th-graders wanted to be self-employed in 2016, according to the Michigan survey, which has measured teen attitudes and behaviors since the mid-1970s. That is a lower rate than baby boomers, Gen X, the group born between 1965 and 1980, and most millennials when they were high-school seniors. Gen Z’s name follows Gen X and Gen Y, an early moniker for the millennial generation.

College Works Painting, which hires about 1,600 college students a year to run small painting businesses across the country, is having difficulty hiring branch managers because few applicants have entrepreneurial skills, says Matt Stewart, the Irvine, Calif., company’s co-founder.

“Your risk is failure, and I do think people are more afraid of failure than they used to be,” he says.

A few years ago Mr. Stewart noticed that Gen Z hires behaved differently than their predecessors. When the company launched a project to support branch managers, millennials excitedly teamed up and worked together. Gen Z workers wanted individual recognition and extra pay. The company introduced bonuses of up to $3,000 to encourage them to participate.

After seeing their millennial predecessors drown in student debt, Gen Z is trying to avoid that fate. The share of freshmen who used loans to pay for college peaked in 2009 at 53% and has declined almost every year since, falling to 47% in 2016, according to the UCLA survey.

Denise Villa, chief executive of the Center for Generational Kinetics in Austin, says focus groups show some Gen Z members are choosing less-expensive, lower-status colleges to lessen debt loads. Federal Reserve Bank of New York data show that nationwide, overall student loan balances have grown at an average annual rate of 6% in the past four years, down sharply from a 16% annual growth rate in the previous decade.

Lana Demelo, a 20-year-old in San Jose, Calif., saw her older sister take on debt when she became the first person in their family to attend college. “I just watched her go through all those pressures and I felt like me personally, I didn’t want to go through them,” says Ms. Demelo. She enrolled in Year Up, a work training program that places low-income high-school graduates in internships, got hired as a project coordinator at LinkedIn and attends De Anza College in Cupertino part-time.

Gen Z is literally sober. Data from the Michigan survey and federal statistics show they were less likely to have tried alcohol, gotten their driver’s licenses, had sex or gone out regularly without their parents than teens of the previous two or three generations, Ms. Twenge, the San Diego State professor, found.

They grew up trusting adults, and Gen Z employees want managers who will step in to help them handle uncomfortable situations like conflicts with co-workers and provide granular feedback, says Mr. Tulgan, the management consultant.

When Mr. Tulgan’s company surveyed thousands of Gen Z members about what mattered most to them at work, he heard repeatedly that they wanted a “safe environment.” He is advising clients to create small work teams so managers have time to nurture them.

“I was in no rush to get a driver’s license,” says Joshua Berja, a 21-year-old San Francisco resident who waited until he turned 18 to get one. He lives with his parents to save money, runs errands for his mother and picks his father up from work.

Gen Z is reporting higher levels of anxiety and depression as teens and young adults than previous generations. About one in eight college freshmen felt depressed frequently in 2016, the highest level since UCLA began tracking it more than three decades ago.

That is one reason EY three years ago launched a program originally called “are u ok?”--now called “We Care”--a companywide mental health program that includes a hotline for struggling workers.

Mr. Stewart, of College Works Painting, says he wasn’t aware of any depressed employees 15 years ago but now deals frequently with workers battling mental-health issues. He says he has two workers with bipolar disorder that the company wants to promote but can’t “because they’ll disappear for a week at a time on the down cycle.”

Smartphones may be partly to blame. Much of Gen Z’s socializing takes place via text messages and social media platforms--a shift that has eroded natural interactions and allowed bullying to play out in front of wider audiences.

In the small town of Conneaut Lake, Penn., Corrina Del Greco and her friends joined Snapchat and Instagram in middle school. Ms. Del Greco, 19, checked them every hour and fended off requests for prurient photos from boys. She shut down her social media accounts after deciding they “had a little too much power over my self-esteem,” she said.

That has helped her focus on studying at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla., to become a software engineer, a career she sees as recession-proof. When the last downturn hit, she remembers cutting back on gas and eating out because her parents’ music-lesson business softened.

“I learned a lot about the value of money,” she says. “I’ve always wanted to have a very secure lifestyle, secure income.”

She says the negative experience with social media made her want a professional LinkedIn page, and she took a seminar at college to learn how to do that.

The flip side of being digital natives is that Gen Z is even more adept with technology than millennials. Natasha Stough, Americas campus recruiting director at EY in Chicago, was wowed by a young hire who created a bot to answer questions on the company’s Facebook careers page.

To lure more Gen Z workers, EY rolled out video technology that allows job candidates to record answers to interview questions and submit them electronically.

Getting employees comfortable with face-to-face interactions takes work, Ms. Stough says. “We do have to coach our interns, ‘If you’re sitting five seats away from the client and they’re around the corner, go talk to them.’”

Mr. McKeon, the Ohio student, sees a silver lining growing up during tumultuous times. He used money from his grandfather and jobs at McDonald’s and a house painting company to build a stock portfolio now worth about $5,000. He took school more seriously knowing that “the world’s gotten a lot more competitive.”

“With any hardship that people endure in life, they either get stronger or it paralyzes them,” Mr. McKeon says. “These hardships have offered a great opportunity for us to get stronger.”

#Generation Z #workplace and Generation Z

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berniesrevolution · 7 years ago

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Last Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission, led by deregulation zealot Ajit Pai, presented a plan to dismantle net neutrality in America. Not only must we fight to prevent that from happening, we must ensure it can never happen again.

Net neutrality is the principle that all internet data delivered to customers must be treated equally. Net neutrality rules prevent internet service providers (ISPs) from allowing users to see more of some types of content and less of others. Some potential consequences of repealing net neutrality rules include unfair speed and access advantages for large companies and tiered internet packages that further commodify things like streaming video and social media.

While telecom companies insist that government regulation hinders their business, opponents of ending net neutrality view these rules as a bulwark against an internet that would be built solely for the profit of large corporations at the expense of its users. Critics see a future of high-cost internet with add-ons, data caps, and fast lanes that complicate access and eliminate the open internet as we know it.

In the healthcare battle, we have seen how rallying people behind a vision of the future can be more effective than simply fighting to maintain the status quo. While lawmakers have been slow to come around, the majority of Democratic voters now support single-payer healthcare. “Medicare for all” provides a vision for a better future. This makes it easier for healthcare activists to knock on doors and win converts. It gives people something to fight for rather than simply stand against.

The same could be true for net neutrality. Instead of just standing against Pai’s proposals, let’s stand for nationalizing the internet.

In the post-Reagan era in America, we have been conditioned to believe that the government isn’t equipped to handle large-scale projects. Conventional wisdom has been that private industry is better equipped to handle things than the government. Deregulation has been the agenda of baby boomer conservatives. And it has failed. It has failed the environment. It has failed the airline industry. It has failed education. It will fail the internet.

(Continue Reading)

#politics #the left #technology #the internet #net neutrality #nationalization

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morganbelarus · 7 years ago

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It’s time to nationalize the internet

The same could be true for net neutrality. Instead of just standing against Pai’s proposals, let’s stand for nationalizing the internet.

What would a nationalized internet look like? When we talk about nationalizing the internet, the best model to imagine probably isn’t the post office, but electric and water companies. Like these public utilities, internet is piped into your house. Also like water and electric, you need the internet to fully function in the modern world.

So, why shouldn’t the internet be a utility?

The biggest argument against this view is that it would eliminate competition. Competition, free-market types believe, is the key to innovation. Under this system, the job of an ISP is to deliver as fast a connection as possible for as low a price as possible. The problem is, competition among internet providers is a joke.

Currently, many consumers have only one or two options for high-speed broadband providers in their area, if any. Fifty-million households have one choice or fewer. Nearly 40 percent of America’s rural households lack high-speed internet, according to the FCC. As many customers know, those that do have high-speed access are subject to fluctuating bills and varying levels of service.

What exactly is being innovated here? Innovations like smart TVs, mobile hotspots, and smartphones have been transformative for many people’s lives. But these technologies have nothing to do with the delivery of broadband internet.

Writing in Pacific Standard, Rick Paulas described the current ISP situation like this: “nly a few massive companies have been able to compete with one another, and a majority of those competitions have ended in a kind of stalemate where they just end up carving up the marketplace block by block, or building by building, and forcing the residents to either choose their service or choose nothing.”

So, there isn’t much innovation going on. But what proof do we have that the free market drives innovation for ISPs? Jeff Dunn of Business Insider tried to argue for a free market solution but ended up admitting that, as currently constituted, the barrier to entry is so high for an ISP startup that robust competition is impossible. In the Washington Post, Larry Downes claimed that public utilities don’t innovate but declined to name one crucial advancement made by Comcast or its ilk in recent years. A recent New York Times op-ed also failed to articulate what innovations have made the nightmare of Time Warner customer service worth our while.

If there are no particular innovations these conservative commenters can point to, who is to say that an internet paid for and overseen by the government wouldn’t be as good if not better? Couldn’t we just vote out politicians who fail to keep our municipal ISPs on pace to handle our computers and smartphone needs? Perhaps the will of the people will be a more effective means for progress in this sector than corporate innovations.

Again, tens of millions of people in America don’t have high-speed internet. Those people are disproportionately poor and disproportionately rural. Are we to really believe that a child who goes without high-speed internet in their childhood can expect to compete in the global marketplace? Can a child in Appalachia, on a Native American reservation, or living in poverty in the inner city really be expected to achieve their potential if they don’t have quality internet access? What percentage of the jobs have you done have depended upon a working knowledge of the internet? What dream job doesn’t require a strong internet presence?

Wouldn’t universal access to high-speed internet actually increase the intellectual and productive possibilities of our country? Maybe the key to innovation is giving everyone in America an opportunity to innovate.

In fact, some Democrats are moving in this direction. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday announced a $40 billion plan to bring high-speed internet to America’s underserved communities.

“Every rural home is entitled to broadband at the same speed and levels as every urban home,” Schumer said during a town hall meeting in New York’s Livingston County. “In fact, it’s not just rural homes but a lot of suburban homes that are left behind.”

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jainamkerkarmedia · 5 years ago

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Create A Killer Facebook Marketing Strategy In 7 Easy Steps

Steps for creating a Facebook Marketing Strategy

Marketing is so entirely different now than it used to be. Most campaigns are digital now, with social media as the biggest method for conveying advertisements to crowds. With two billion monthly clients, Facebook is by a long shot the most mainstream social media platform. Nonetheless, you’re going to require an astounding Facebook marketing technique in the event that you need your business to stand apart among the 50 million organizations on Facebook! Facebook advertisements are the foundation of many independent venture’s marketing strategies, however, you have to focus on the content on your page in addition to your advertisements.

In case you’re new to Facebook, on the off chance that you don’t have the foggiest idea of how Facebook advertising functions, you could squander a lot of cash and also time publicizing on Facebook. We’re here to furnish you with Facebook advertising strategy sure to enable your business to succeed!

1. Set your goals:

Set your Goals for Facebook Marketing

The absolute initial phase in your Facebook advertising strategy ought to be to define objectives. What results would you say you are hoping to accomplish from your Facebook marketing procedure? Is it accurate to say that you are attempting to pick up brand awareness, an increment in site traffic, gain leads? When you have decided your objectives, you can modify your Facebook marketing strategy accordingly. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all Facebook marketing technique. Defining objectives is the manner by which you ensure your procedure is catered to your particular needs. Facebook’s various advertisement targets will assist you in accomplishing your business objectives. These targets fall under three of the accompanying classifications.

Awareness: creates enthusiasm for your business’ offerings.

The awareness group incorporates the accompanying goals:

Consideration: gets clients thinking about your business.

Brand awareness: gets the message out about your brand so more individuals know about it.

Reach: gets to as many clients possible who match your intended interest group.

The consideration group incorporates:

Traffic: drives users to your site or app.

App installs: coordinates clients who click on your ad to the app store to download your application

Engagement: expands the number of clients who see and engage with your Facebook page content, for example, posts and events.

Video views: gets more clients to watch your Facebook videos.

Generation of leads: secures new leads by gathering client data, for example, email addresses, first and last names, and telephone numbers.

Messages: urges more clients to take part in discussions with your business on Facebook Messenger.

3. Conversions: urges clients to purchase your item or service.

The conversions class incorporates the accompanying things:

Conversions: prompts more clients, new or existing, to buy on your site, subscribe to your mailing list, download your application, or make different conversions that are important to your business objectives

Catalogue sales: promotes items from your item inventory that are important to your intended interest group

Store visits: drives foot traffic to your business’ physical store.

2. Research your target audience:

Find your target audience to build Facebook marketing strategy

No Facebook content, organic or paid, will perform well if it’s conveyed to a crowd of people who don’t want to engage with your content. A person who loves only hip-hop music is not going to purchase your opera album, so promoting your CDs to this individual won’t produce the conversions you’re focusing on. You ought to respond to the accompanying questions to figure out who is your intended target group.

What are their main interests? For instance, in case you’re promoting an action movie, your optimal audience incorporates clients who appreciate motion pictures, action, and violence.

Where do they live? In the event that your business is entirely on the internet, your intended interest group may live anywhere. Be that as it may, in case you’re attempting to reach local people to drive foot traffic, indicate a geological radius. Different variables, for example, seasonal influence, may likewise decide the area of your intended target group.

What age segment would you like to reach? Would you like to reach millennials generation Zs or baby boomers?

Does your intended interest group have a particular income range? On the off chance that you offer costly items or service, you would prefer not to convey your advertisements to a group of people that may not be happy to spend an excessive amount of cash.

Researching on everything that you can about your intended target group will assist you with delivering significant content to individuals who are generally disposed to respond. In the event that you’ve just amassed a list of customer leads, you can transfer it to Facebook as a Custom Audience. Facebook will utilize that data to convey your promotions to clients who have already associated with your business in some way. Be that as it may, be aware of Facebook’s most recent endeavours to be progressively straightforward with clients about advertisers who target them with Custom Audiences.

3. Decide on a budget:

Decide a Facebook Marketing Budget

In the event that you aren’t cautious, you can wind up spending a great deal of money on Facebook Marketing promotions. Be that as it may, when used wisely, the cash invested in promoting on Facebook is usually a good use of money. In the same manner that you should be specific about your objectives and target crowd, you need to be explicit about where your money will go.

For instance, you need to budget for the promotions of the advertisements, just as the innovative process behind them. Facebook doesn’t charge you to make content, yet you may discover that you need to put resources into a Facebook promoting agency. Make a spending limit for any segment of your Facebook Marketing Strategy plan that you are eager to put resources into. Contingent upon the size of your business, your spending will fluctuate. Be sensible and do the math. You might need to get a financial expert to help you precisely ascertain the expenses.

4. Create original and engaging content:

We prescribe arranging posts about a month ahead of time and keeping up a regular posting timetable, for example, five posts for each week. In this manner, you can expand the points you post about, plan for any up and coming occasions or events, and keep your posting consistent. Likewise, preparing permits you to guarantee you’re just publishing excellent content. It’s a smart thought to incorporate a picture, video or gif with each and every post you make. By and large, Facebook posts with pictures get more than double the engagement than those without pictures do. That being stated, posts with videos get considerably more natural engagement than posts with just pictures! The composed content included with your posts ought to be short, yet not very short.

Individuals have restricted capacities to focus and don’t care for perusing huge blocks of content on Facebook Marketing. Nonetheless, one-sentence captions now and then battle to get the message across. A decent principle to follow is remembering three sentences for your copy: one to catch the attention of the users, one to increase the value of your post, lastly a call-to-action. Your call-to-action ought to urge your followers to accomplish something like click on a link, watch a video, tag other people, and so on. Creating an original and engaging content is the most crucial part in the Facebook Marketing Strategy.

5. Create Facebook advertisements that are original and engaging too:

A significant number of similar techniques behind making engaging Facebook content can be used to making good Facebook advertisements. You will need to remember similar tips about utilizing splendid, clear pictures with faces in them and videos that pass on meaning without the requirement for audio. With regards to the advertisement copy, your source of inspiration will rely upon your promotion goals. Whenever the situation allows, we suggest staying with a similar three-sentence technique used to compose your Facebook posts.

Notwithstanding the sort of promotion you’re making, remember your intended target group and ensure your call-to-action is plainly displayed in the last sentence. The kinds of promotions you use will rely upon your goals. If you need to build visibility and brand awareness, you’ll place more significance in-page like ads and boosted posts. In case you’re attempting to change over followers into clients, you’ll need to concentrate on lead generation or conversion campaigns. There are additionally particular campaigns for objectives like getting app installs, producing site traffic, and encouraging event responses.

6. Post content when your audience is engaged the most:

When you get to know your audience, you should focus on the hours of the day when they’re the most engaged with your content. When you’ve distinguished those key days and times, plan your content to post at those occasions. This will improve the probability that your target audience will engage with your content, helping you drive conversions. Scheduling tools make it simple to plan bulk content. You can schedule your posts for the week or even the month to guarantee you’re posting consistently and frequently, keeping your crowd engaged with when they’re the most active on Facebook.

7. Monitor your Facebook campaign’s performance frequently using analytics:

How would you know how well your Facebook campaign is performing? Facebook’s Ads Manager offers an assortment of metrics to assist you with estimating performance and post reach. A year ago, Facebook disentangled its advertisement metrics with new labels, so it’s simpler to comprehend your metrics now like never before. On the off chance that you or the individual accountable for your Facebook campaign experiences difficulty understanding Facebook’s metrics, a Facebook advertising agency can assist you with comprehending and deciphering your outcomes.

That brings us to the end of the 7 steps required to create a killer Facebook marketing strategy for small business. With these tips and tools in your toolbelt, you will be able to successfully use Facebook to promote your business.

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hermanwatts · 5 years ago

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Sensor Sweep: Firefly, Lou Antonelli, Nintendo 1985, Robot Anime

T.V. (Medium.com): Every generation has their white whale of a concluded series. Baby boomers got hooked on Star Trek and made a big noise about it until they got movies, spinoff shows, more movies, more spinoff shows… Generation X kept the love of Star Wars alive until they got novels, video games, comics and, err, prequels. Milennials got Firefly. And three years later, Serenity, a movie that, while excellent, reminded us that the story worked better on TV. And then nothing.

Author Interview (Liberty Island): It was four months of Hell for the Sad Puppy finalists– from the announcement of the ballot in April until the WorldCon in August – and essentially a left-wing lynch mob. In the end, the whole fiasco can be considered useful because it made the secret manipulators come out of the closet. Larry Correia has been completely vindicated.

Fiction (Paperback Warrior): “East of Desolation” was Jack Higgins’ (real name: Henry Patterson) 22nd novel, published in 1968 by Berkley and then reprinted dozens of times using different cover art. The book arrived seven years prior to Higgins becoming a mega-bestseller and household name with his 1975 novel “The Eagle Has Landed”. While booming sales never supported the material, the 1960s produced some of Higgins’ finest literary work, evident with this ice-capped adventure starring brush pilot Joe Martin.

Westerns (Mostly Old Books): A taut and violent short western that finds young Jess Remsberg, consumed with avenging the rape and murder of his wife, scouting for an Army wagon train that finds itself outnumbered in a brutal cat-and-mouse battle with a band of merciless Apaches. The tension remains high as the brilliant Apache warlord Chata matches wits step for step with young and ambitious Army Lieutenant McAllister who is close friends with Jess.

Book Review (Pulp Fiction Reviews): New Pulp writer Derrick Ferguson is best known for his action packed adventures, be they the exploits of Dillon, Fortune McCall or Sebastian Red. All of these should already be on your reading list. But back in 1914, Ferguson wrote this truly amazing novella, “The Madness of Frankenstein” that is his homage to the great Hammer horror flicks of the 60s and 70s. Having finally picked up a copy, we were eager open its pages and discover what special grisly treats Mr. Ferguson had whipped up for his unsuspecting readers.

Cinema (Scifi Movie Page): Disney+ has officially arrived, with all the force and weight that Uncle Walt’s 600 lb. entertainment gorilla can muster. The Mouse plays for keeps, and the buzz around event releases like The Mandalorian and the various MCU projects immediately put their streaming service in the top tier alongside Netflix and Amazon.

But Disney’s strengths go beyond their acquisition (and undeniably strong shepherding) of hot IPs such as Marvel and Star Wars. Their library stretches back over 80 years, and a large amount of it is available for streaming.

D&D (Walker’s Retreat): You know you’ve got something worth watching when you get a comment like this: “Yes. Monotheism is the missing link that D&D needs for a medieval authentic feeling in your game. I use it. In addition it does one of two things. It either keeps SJWs away from your game, or it attracts them because they want to break your game or be an antichurch outsider. In those cases they always end up quitting because they don’t get what they want.”

Gaming (RMWC Reviews): The Nintendo Entertainment System represented a sea change in what video game consoles could do and how they were received at home. Released in 1985 in North America, the NES came out at a time when the American market was still reeling from the great industry crash of 1983. Compared to the Atari 2600 which was the previous home console of choice, the NES had better graphics, sound, processing power, and yes, gimmicks. The 1985 launch was actually limited to New York City for the holiday season, and was then expanded in 1986 when it was clear to be a success.

Anime (Wasteland and Sky): As anyone who knows anime knows, there are two kinds of mecha series. First there were the originals, the super robots, then there were those created with Mobile Suit Gundam, the real robots. The former were pulp heroes that went on adventures to stop the villains while the latter were based on soldiers fighting in wars. Different approaches and aims allowed for very different legacies.

Book Review (Matthew Constantine): The second book in The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander, The Black Cauldron is somewhat more complex and more interesting than The Book of Three. Having already been introduced to many of the characters, we don’t need to go through that again and can instead jump right into the action. Taran and friends are tasked with finding and destroying the Black Cauldron aka the Crochan, the magic item used to create near invincible Cauldron Born, undead warriors.

Tolkien (BBC): A pub made famous as a meeting place for fantasy authors CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien is to be made into a hotel. The Eagle and Child in St Giles’, Oxford, has a plaque inside commemorating the writers’ get-togethers. Known as The Inklings, they would regularly meet up with other academics at the Grade II listed pub. The application was approved by Oxford City Council’s west area planning committee on Tuesday.

D&D/Cinema (Tenkar’s Tavern): Comicbook.com shared an article about the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie (due Summer of 2021) – Thanks to Luke Gygax for sharing the article on Facebook. The upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie will feature at least one character with ties to the Forgotten Realms and will focus on a quest for an iconic magical object. ComicBook.com can exclusively report that the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie currently in development by Paramount will focus on a group of adventurers looking for the Eye of Vecna, a powerful artifact that dates back to the earliest days of the game.

Pulp Hero (Black Gate): I have to confess that writing The Spider is a completely different experience for me than writing the Wild Adventures of Doc Savage, Tarzan, John Carter, or any of the other classic pulp heroes I’ve been privileged to bring back to life in new novels. With these other pulp heroes, it’s largely a matter of concocting a logical plot and having the heroes go through their customary pieces, although I seem to have quickly become an accidental king of crossovers since I’ve managed to convince the various license holders to permit me to have a few of them collide, such as Doc Savage and The Shadow, Tarzan of the Apes and King Kong.

Review (Porpor Books Blog): Men of Violence: All Review Special’ ($5.99, 93 pp) features reviews (limited to 250 words for an individual book and 500 words for a series) of over 100 paperbacks and comics published from 1953 to the present day, that fall (more or less) into the genre of ‘Men’s Adventure’ fiction. Needless to say, we live in an era in which men rarely read for pleasure, the genre of Men’s Adventure is regarded as affront to a Woke society, and any adolescent who brings a copy of Torture Love Cage (Jack Savage, 1959) to school probably will be expelled, and obliged to receive Counseling before being readmitted.

Book Review (Rough Edges): Almost a year ago, I read the first book in the Casca series by Barry Sadler and really enjoyed it. I didn’t mean for so much time to go by before I got back to the series, but that’s the way it happened. I’ve finally read the second book, GOD OF DEATH, which picks up the story of Casca Rufio Longinus, former Roman soldier who was present at the Crucifixion and was cursed with immortality because of it. Wounds or illness that would kill a normal man can’t claim him, and he’s doomed to wander the world, always making his way as a mercenary soldier.

Novel Excerpt (DMR Books): Wulfhere and Eanhere and their army of bears crept down the valley silently. From a cliff they could see Penda’s men as they sat in a little grove eating their midday meal. Eanhere took half the bears and crept round to the other side of the grove while Wulfhere waited on this side with the rest. Wulfhere crept quietly closer till only a small knoll stood between the Mercians and himself, and he could hear their loud talk and laughter. “Ha, we will root this bear out of his den, and he will go the way of his people!” one said as he emptied his horn of mead.

Art (Karavansara): Turns out this is a Robert Maguire cover for a novel called The Deadly Lady of Madagascar, bt Frank G. Slaughter (nice name for someone writing about deadly ladies) that I will try and find somehow. If I can’t write it, I can certainly read it.

Alt. History (Enter Stage Right): Alternative history (popularly called “alternate history”) is sometimes termed “uchronia” or counterfactual history. It is important to remember that alternative history pertains to events that are in the past at the time when the narrative is being written. So, for example, the 1920s projections of Hugo Gernsback about the 1980s cannot be properly termed as being alternative history – even though his vision of the world of the 1980s is much different from what has actually occurred.

D&D (Sacnoth’s Scriptorium): So, I just got a comment on my post back in September on the new film documenting Arnesom’s role in the creation of D&D. Since the comment seems to come from the filmmaker himself, thought I’d feature it here so as to give the filmmakers a better chance to have their say. Here’s their comment.

Gaming Magazines (Silver Key): Later issues of White Dwarf introduced readers to Thrud the Barbarian. The loinclothed barbarian stereotype born in the pages of sword-and-sorcery (Brak, Thongor, Kothar and their ilk) was by then quite pervasive, and strip author Carl Critchlow had fun with a character that was literally all muscle and no brain—a tiny head upon a massive, muscular body. Issue #50 (February 1984) has Thrud invoking “the sacred jockstrap of Robert E. Howard�� before hacking his way through a horde of castle defenders, whom he (mistakenly) believes are holding a princess captive in the tower.

Science Fiction (Tellers of Weird Tales): I’m going back farther now into the past, into spring when, in a week when I was sick, I read The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis. Things To Come (1936) was still fresh in my mind when I read these books. That freshness may have influenced my thoughts on Out of the Silent Planet (1938), Perelandra (1943), and That Hideous Strength (1945). I shouldn’t spend too much time on this, but I’m sure I will. There is a lot in The Space Trilogy and it’s hard to move past some of these things without commenting on them and applying them to issues current in this blog and in our world of today.

Weird Tales (Dark Worlds Quarterly): Seabury Grandin Quinn would begin his writing career in The Thrill Book, an early Weird Tales precursor devoted to strange and off-trail fiction. Street & Smith, the future publisher of The Phantom and Doc Savage, ran The Thrill Book for sixteen issues, from March 1 to October 15, 1919. The magazine would publish Francis Stevens’ The Heads of Cerberus, one of the first science fiction novels about parallel worlds.

Sensor Sweep: Firefly, Lou Antonelli, Nintendo 1985, Robot Anime published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

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businessliveme · 5 years ago

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Mobile wallets to messaging apps: Top shopping trends of UAE revealed

Penetration of technology in the United Arab Emirates market has led to a rise in digital shopping. A total of 51 percent of UAE shoppers use mobile wallet, 48 percent use social media, and 28 percent use messaging apps to make purchases, revealed a recent global Connected Shoppers report by customer relationship management (CRM) firm Salesforce.

Digitally savvy UAE shoppers have an average of five shopping apps on their mobile devices.

As 2019 winter shopping season approaches, 76 percent of UAE shoppers plan to increase their winter holiday purchases via online marketplaces while another 48 percent say Instagram will be their main source of winter holiday shopping inspiration.

Read: How to Never Be Stranded After a Canceled Flight

However, traditional brick-and-mortar stores remain as relevant as ever, with their roles evolving into hubs of discovery, experience and fulfilment. In the United Arab Emirates, the top reasons to shop in-store are to touch and feel the merchandise, the overall in-store experience, and to get merchandise immediately. The report also shows that 56% of UAE shoppers have purchased a product online for in-store pickup.

As shoppers explore the digital experience, global consumers used an average of eight channels to communicate with companies.

The report reveals that UAE shoppers are moving targets, jumping across physical and digital destinations as they browse, purchase and request service and support, with 14% of purchases occurring on emerging digital touchpoints that are completely separate from retailers’ and brands’ owned properties.

“UAE shoppers are among the most digitally-savvy and brand conscious in the EMEA region, with our Connected Shoppers Report showing that they have the world’s highest average number of shopping apps, five, on their mobile devices,” said Thierry Nicault, Regional Vice-President Enterprise Business Unit (EBU) for Middle East, Africa and Central Europe, Salesforce. “Retailers should forget about pulling shoppers only into their four walls. As winter holiday shopping approaches, brands, retailers, and online marketplaces must go wherever UAE shoppers are – in-store, mobile, social media – and become companies that consumers love.”

The report surveyed over 10,000 global consumers across 20+ countries, including 200 from the United Arab Emirates, as well as four generations — silents/baby boomers, Gen Xers, millennials and Gen Zers — offering insights into the vendor-shopper relationship regardless of shopper demographics.

Read: Louis Vuitton Explores Potential Takeover of Tiffany in U.S. Luxury Push

Top emerging shopping trends of in the United Arab Emirates are:

Retailers, brands and online marketplaces are battling for wallet share In an era of constant connectivity, hyper-personalized engagement, and new business models like direct-to-consumer for brands, shopping today looks nothing like its former self. 88% of UAE shoppers buy from a combination of retailers, brands, and online marketplaces.

Shopping is evolving, as consumers define new terms of engagement: Today, retail is more than a transaction at a checkout counter. Vendor-shopper relationships are strengthened when consumers feel understood and special. In fact, 77% of UAE shoppers said they tend to shop with a specific brand in mind. The report shows that exclusive shopping experiences and promotions are a valuable way for companies to build loyalty (and lucrative) relationships.

Shopper journeys are moving to the edge of vendor-owned channels

Physical stores remain critical as discovery, experience and fulfilment hubs

Purchase Preferences Vary Across Generations: Globally, the report found that generational differences reveal clues to future retail transformations as younger shoppers gain more purchasing power. Members of the silent and baby boomer generations are more likely to stick with traditional means of shopping, as expected. However, all other generations — from Gen Xers to millennials and Gen Zers — are more likely to adopt new paths to purchase like mobile wallets, messaging apps and social media.

Surprisingly, Gen Z is not leading the adoption of all emerging touchpoints. Voice assistants, video chat, chatbots, visual search and live-stream videos enjoy more popularity with Gen Xers and millennials than with Gen Zers.

The post Mobile wallets to messaging apps: Top shopping trends of UAE revealed appeared first on Businessliveme.com.

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jeannette-marshall-optioneerjm · 7 years ago

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Nagging moms raise more successful girls!

I love going to Google to look for an image, usually mid-way through, while writing a blog. Ironically, the more productive I feel in real life, the better the writing seems to become. If looking at the stats on meanderingABOUT and YUPPYdom are a strong indication. Finding the perfect image to compliment the point I want to emphasis, often buried in all the other stuff I write. I might start out with a strong title and then start writing. However, once the image has been chosen, there is a strong likelihood that the title will change along with it. I could spend hours looking at Pinterest art and photographic splendor: there is a LOT of talent out there in the universe. Thankfulness I may be slightly off the mark in my thankfulness blog to commemorate our Canadian Thanksgiving this year earlier in October [ usually, it fall around the third week of October, or so I thought ]. I’m sure my brother is thankful every October. That is when he married his love of his life, his wife. He was kinda private about relationships from what I remember growing up. He is affectionately stereotyped as the Baby Boomer Older Sibling or BBOS (yes, somewhat bossy, but typically laid back unless you touched one of his record albums and left a speck of dust, he’d punch you in the arm). Not anywhere else. Just the arm. Thankfully, it never happened very often. In fact, once was quite enough.

Ironically, growing up in the 1960s was not all about being groovy and surrounded by peace and love. From what I recall, corporal punishment was outlawed just before me. Happy to note, such an adventure to the principal’s office for the strap is not among the repertoire of experiences I have had. Yes, the innocent aura of my tribe of 1961 friends and classmates. Yes, the worst year in history according to demographic specialists who authored “Boom Bust or Echo”. Light reading for a 25 year old to be sure. That would have been in 1986. A self-confessed YUPPY of a bygone era, overshadowed by Millennial entitlement, a product of our generous and forgiving parenting style where we tried to reason, take away “privileges” the worst punishment these hipsters had to endure. That, and our endless nagging or demanding Mom. That REMINDS ME!! One of my daughters texted me with a link to the following: “Study: Girls with nagging moms grow up to be more successful”

READ: Nagging moms …. LINK

YES, this is the same one who gave me the PINK SLIP a couple of weeks ago. One minute I’m driving her crazy and the next, I’m her hero. The best story of nagging happened when she was at the enlightened age of 13. As a January baby, beginning school at 3 because I recognized that she had a very inquisitive mind and knowledge student. I was trying to think of a gift for my son, who would have been 16 at Christmas. That’s when you start to realize that gifts are not masses of stuff but one perfectly thought out gift that connects with the age appropriateness of a boy starting the difficult journey of becoming a man. Not something too boyish, it was getting to be a real bore buying a video game or a video console every year. It was also expensive and not quite memorable. In steps my daughter, where we’re about to embark in the biggest mother-daughter battle of our respective generations. Setting the tone for the next 15 to 20 years. She suggests that I get him two tickets to this concert in February just in and around his birthday. Brilliant! Now I had not even thought of that! Probably because it was not uncommon for me to take them and pals to the Glenbow Museum in Calgary [when I did have to pay for entrance, having years ago been their advertising representative, attending free openings, general meetings, shareholder meetings, artist presentations, launching shows]. They all had been to live performances with me from The Nutcracker to Phantom of the Opera to The Wiz on Broadway in New York, NY. So I did buy those two tickets as my lovely offspring suggested. Son was just “meh” over the present. He didn’t even appear interested with his sister’s first pay-as-you-go cell phone [ one of the reasons she turned into a math whiz I’m sure, from learning to subtract backwards on declining minutes of coolness ]. Well, as it happens. The daughter had actually wanted to go to said concert. She was 9/10 convinced that her brother would reward her thoughtfulness for coming up with the idea, that he would ask her to go with him. As the date of the concert started to draw closer, her hints were replaced by out-and-out-demands that he take her to the concert. As the most perfect brother would, he just didn’t respond. The more she squawked, the less he noticed.

It was time to go to war. It was time to get everyone on her side of the army to help convince her brother that she was the most logical and OBVIOUS partner. He didn’t agree. I respected his decision, reinforcing that choice every time she peeped up. The day of the concert also happened to be when I was going to compete in a Toastmasters’ International Contest by giving a speech. I was nervous already, about to step off the cliff of my comfort zone and compete. Dressed to the nines to work I went that day. Thinking back as one of the most disastrous days as a mother. Like any army general, I had the battalion organized with the support and help of the Master Sgt, my mother, and her side kick, my father. I would pick up the one daughter at home with my son, then drop her off at my parents, who would pick up the youngest daughter from her soccer game, which I had arranged carpooling with another soccer mom. My parents would feed the girls and my son would eat garbage at the concert and be content after I drove him there with his buddy. Like any well-intentioned-mother, I had clearance from work to leave at four o’clock to “prepare for my contest” that evening. I was already trying to think of ways I could bow out gracefully without showing the stage fright I was hit with! Happily practicing and rehearsing out loud as I joined the commute home: not appearing as though I were singing like all the other gals in the various lanes, nope. I was looking like I was talking to myself!

SOURCE: Getty Images

Being a single mother of three, perfection was my decree: the better a job I do at being a parent than their dad, the happier they would be. No, no yelling. While a locked jaw clenching my teeth was usually the best sign for the troops to run for cover: it never looked good and appeared more foreboding than any disciplinary measures handed out. When I arrived home, not one girl was missing but both! Huh? Oh, look a note from the articulate writer who confessed to having swiped her brother’s concert tickets and gone to it with her best friend, Stephanie. {Ironic how both girls best friends when they were 13 were both named Stephanie – I ignored any red flags with the 2nd daughter that I shouldn’t have!} Now that I think of it, I wonder if I ever did save that note. With butterflies, sunshine and flowers surrounding the words, she begged for forgiveness and understanding on how much SHE wanted to go to the concert. How mean her brother WAS for not agreeing to take her, she couldn’t stop herself and her best friend from going. Fear not, she knows what she is doing and will text when she is safely settled into the seats so I won’t worry about her! I aptly stepped into the role of psycho [which a daughter has accused her mother of on more than one occasion]. OMGosh, the competition. Everything was choreographed and timed to perfection like carefully laid out dominoes [which I never mastered for real]. Now I had to call my mom to tell her that I wouldn’t be dropping off the one daughter, but that didn’t mean that all other plans were in play: they still needed to pick up the younger daughter at her soccer game at precisely 7:30 p.m. Of course, I had to wait for her to come to the entrance of her seniors building after riding the elevator down.

SOURCE: Allan Sanders

That was fine because like any fierce general faced with combat, I was barking on the phone to the Stephanie mother, who was proudly informing me that she had done her part of the carpooling to the concert since her daughter was so graciously invited to share with mine, apparently, picking them up when it was over after my competition! My competition! Less than an hour and a half. Fat chance for rehearsal before the stage. Hey, I couldn’t make it! I had to retrieve my daughter from the concert. I was going to teach her a lesson.

Don’t mess with the mom Everyone knows this. Wisdom about staying away from Grizzly bear mothers with her cubs is common knowledge! Unfortunately for daughter, she wasn’t aware of doing anything wrong. She had left me a note, made carpooling arrangements, all without interfering with the original plan. She had a phone! Imagine me texting from the pulled over spot I was at [setting the appropriate example, important at all times, as though children and grandparents have CCTV capabilities that weren’t even installed, or not yet, or were they? Ensuring mannerly conduct complimenting the polished, professional suit I was in that said: “I mean business!” Back in that early dawn of the new Millennium of the early 2000s, it likely was a Blackberry, the clear badge of honor most YUPPIES grasped and carried, or hooked on our waists with the blazer casually tucked aside, like a police firearm, the Blackberry. No professional parent of an honorable upbringing child would NOT have a Blackberry! Also, we didn’t have SMART PHONES where we could thumb or swipe maps and itineraries with merely a flick! We were thumb champions, children of the 60s, Yuppies of the 80s! I did my best to appear “calm” in my text to said daughter to ask her where she was, trying to appear casual, avoiding betraying at all costs, the combination of rage and panic: my baby is at a concert without parental attendance! Surely, they would ask for ID or notice that the name on the ticket was in her brother’s name? You ask? Well, back then, they were not email confirmations with all the pertinent information like NAME of purchaser, concert seat, which could have easily have been printed out again under any circumstances! Imagine the parking at the Calgary Saddle Dome. Darn, I couldn’t just pull up as a drop off, I had to pay for parking, look for parking, park, then hoof it to the entrance. Heaven and mercy. At least the son has a remarkable memory! He recalled an approximate location of the seats, which he observed where pretty amazing, now that he thought of not having them anymore. The rebellious daughter had not responded to my text. The nerve!

I likely gained attention while driving and parking waving my arms and raising eyes to the heavens when telling my buddy, Maddy, what I was in the midst of: a crisis of massive proportions! She graciously offered to let the folks know that I would not be able to compete due to an unforeseen family emergency! [ How many hear that and think: “she chickened out”? ] Well I was thinking about it, but now I had no choice! I marched up to the security guard at the entrance attracting some attention for wearing a beautiful navy pant suit, perfectly coiffed hair, aesthetically polished nails and tasteful complimenting accessories and matching shoes with purse! After explaining my situation: that my daughter had taken her brother’s present and come to the concert without my permission or knowledge and I needed to lock in parenting strategy 101: grab daughter and eject from the concert. A motley crew we must have appeared: my five feet zero executive pace, clicking pumps with a purpose in mind. Accompanied by the security guard who was a big foot Chibawka with less hair, appearing more like a bodyguard. By then, I was pretty accustomed to flipping eyeballs and raised brows.

Let’s call him George. While escorting me to the office at the opposite of the building, he asked me for a description of said daughter in case we miraculously crossed paths with the offender. Only kids born in the 90s remember “EMO” which was the opposite of whatever their parents may have happened to look like: lots of very dark circles around eyes, fashionable hardly ever! Black clothes: black jean jacket, black jeans, black t-shirt, with died pitch black hair. Maybe carrying her pay-as-you-go flip phone for peers to notice, they were more than happening by being at said concert. George didn’t slow his pace after ingesting the description any decent mother would recall what her child looked like for Pete’s sake [ nobody says: “Pete’s sake” anymore, you notice?]. He empathetically observed and commented that she would fit right in since she looked like every other concert goer we were speeding past.

Just as we were approaching the will-call booth to begin closing in on the culprit, I did get a text back [she probably remembered the number one rule she was nagged about when she got her pay-as-you-go-phone: “always answer the mother, no matter what you are doing, even if on the toilet and asking her to hang on so she could wash her hands”). My daughter’s text calmly advised that I should not worry as she is in her seats, safe. The concert was about to begin. She’ll let me know when it is close to ending so I can swing by and pick them up out front. They were so advanced technologically at the time: all I had to do was provide the attendants with my DEBIT CARD [note: single mother as stated previously. CREDIT CARDs go better being part of a couple]. My ID was used to verify that I should be a very irate parent. They were able to verify that the seats were claimed with the tickets. The speed in response was amazing! The other security guards were starting to form a circle around me as I waited for the seat details and escort to pick up my daughter. Trying not to be rude [texting while conversing was unheard of “back then”], I texted to inform daughter that I was in the building, she was going to be surrounded by security guards and her name was going to be said out loud by the act’s lead singer, telling her that she should meet her mother at the concourse! Never humiliate a child unless you want revenge She gasped and said that she was on the floor, no longer in her seats, so I wouldn’t be able to find her. By now, I was furiously texting to demand that she give herself up and come out, it wasn’t going to end well for her if she didn’t. Smarty pants response was that the concert was just starting and she’d be coming out when it was done. My response was less composed when I told her to watch for all the guards’ flashlights going up and down the aisle. We knew where the seats were. She could meet me or we could come and get her. When caught in an argument with an adolescent child, name calling, threats don’t work. The show down was set at the replacement for the Corral in Calgary, the Saddle Dome. The stadium was blacked out with the exception of George and I carefully avoiding taking a tumble, with a flashlight guiding him and his hulk blinding me. She wasn’t there! We went back to the concourse as my thumbs were warmed up and I reminded her she should be hearing her name any second before the band started. Embarrassment is revenge a parent should enforce. At 13, being singled out among peers at such a big coolness event with the mention of having a mother, was a disaster worth considering. She gave herself up. There was only so much she was prepared to do. She walked up to me with Stephanie so casually, as if it was a well thought out planned meeting. “You’re coming with me” George boomed as he grabbed their arms as he started to firmly walk them to someplace he had in mind. There was no rehearsal on what we would do when they finally gave themselves up. I was curious somewhat on where we were going, but too puffed up with pride for accosting the culprits: I was victorious. I had won. I had found the stubborn so and so. Every stadium has a jail for wayward tweens and teens, originally intended for drunks and obnoxious folks waiting for a trip to downtown. George took them into the jail I caught a glimpse of a grey room, more like an arena dressing room without any bars. George politely asked me to wait outside I’m sure my look of astonishment wasn’t lost on the girls, who may have decided at that precise moment that the fun was done. They were catching heat of the shocking kind! After what seemed like a very long time, remembering that everything had been a blur since sailing out of work to glide into my wonderfully planned organizational masterpiece of pulling off being in three places at once. George came out and whispered to me: ” I really think ‘we’ got them. What would you like me to do? Scare them?” Masterfully calm parenting was out the window. I exclaimed: “YES! Make her pay. She deserves to do the time!” After promising to come out in a few moments, George hailed another enforcer, motioning another Big Foot Chibawka to join me and wait for a few, he needed help escorting a couple of young girls out of the building. True to character, the young darling was miffed and annoyed by the time she reappeared. Declaring to all within hearing (a wide area) directed to George and complaining to me that a big deal was being made out of nothing. “Nothing?” boomed George, supported by a scowl from his associate. “Were you not in possession of stolen tickets?” he asked. “Stolen!?!” she responded. They were her brother’s tickets and they were NOT stolen she declared, indignantly. “Young lady, did you pay for those tickets?” She immediately glared at me to provide support. I was quite intimidated by the turn of events and remained quiet. [Not my strongest suit.] George then turned, all 6 or 7 foot of over 200 lbs, quite easily two of me or my daughter and I combined and asked me: “Ma’am would you like me to take this young lady down to the police station for them to do an inquiry on stolen property?” I gulped and blushed as concert stragglers were being entertained by this scene, suggesting that perhaps that wasn’t necessary if she was prepared to come home with me then and at the same time drop her friend off home on the way. The longest mile You’ve seen in the movies where the police escort or bailiff escorts the criminal to jail or to court. In our case, it was two imposing figures flanking all three of us as they walked with us to the nearest exit. George asked if we needed assistance to our vehicle and I assured him it wasn’t far and we were good to go. As I turned to lead the girls to the car, George winked at me. Oh the shame, embarrassment was the rant the whole drive home, while her friend was frozen in fear to what she may expect when she got home where her mother was waiting. She had ignored her mother’s frantic calls and text messages as well. After allowing my wayward daughter to exhaust herself from crying and bemoaning how she was going to be the laughing stock when “everyone” heard that her mother had come down to the stadium and hauled her out, narrowly avoiding jail time. Things were pretty quiet by the time we got home. Her younger sister perched and ready with her grandmother waiting to hear how her heroine, older sister, rebelled and got caught. Per normal, the brother had escaped to his corner of the house, where he often went to when he wanted to avoid “the drama” of the girls. The daughter dutifully brushed her teeth and went to bed without a peep. Fresh the next day, off to school she went to face the music from her peers. Respectful, polite and chipper as though what had unfolded the night before was a dream or conjured imagination of events. Of course, by the time I got home that evening, I had no steam left. Yet my daughter wasn’t apologetic or acting like anything had happened. After dinner, wash up and after less fuss than usual for what time it was to go to bed [not having the “wait till your father hears this” refrain available as a single mother]. When all was quiet, kids settled and snug in their beds, my daughter crept downstairs to check in and see whether I was gritting my teeth still. She approached me quietly and then said that she understood what had happened and how things happened the way they did. She said that I became a hero to all parents who had heard that I hadn’t done what they would have done: wait at home until they got home before going on the offensive. I was a hero because I went out of my way to prove that she was wrong. She then chipper-like confessed that she hadn’t been embarrassed at all. In fact, she was a hero for being so rebellious by going to the concert alone. Sigh. That was one of the first struggle over power between my daughter and me. The never ending saga of being the nagging mother, trying to teach right from wrong, good manners and bad. Like the happy moral of the story that she optimistically revealed of two champions: a mother and a daughter, each forging their way toward circumstances that required a stand off. Apparently, both equally glorious. After a pink slip and the silent treatment, I did reach out and we had a Facetime conversation last weekend. Lovingly mother and daughter as though it was all par for the course. She then texted me a note about an artist that I had unveiled a recognized woman who became famous in the 80s when she passed away, sending her pieces to appreciate in value. Validating that such was the case. Then the text and article about how nagging moms raise more successful girls: from a daughter skyrocketing in her own right as an emerging artist, scholarships, grants and the Dean’s list earned solely on her own.

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nancydpolardau · 8 years ago

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Housing affordability: thousands of large homes occupied by one person in Sydney and Melbourne – The Sydney Morning Herald

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NSW and Victoria are sitting on a glut of 100,000 underused houses, with more than 2000 six-bedroom homes across Sydney and Melbourne occupied by just one person, a Fairfax Media analysis has revealed.

In NSW, Canterbury-Bankstown, Northern Beaches and Blacktown local government areas each have between 1400 to 2000 four-bedroom homes with just one person living in them, while in Victoria, there are more than 1000 in Monash, Whitehorse and Frankston, data from the census figures shows.

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