#I just want to be able to email a human an not submit a ticket to an AI who doesn't do shit

[goostiebee]

As it has been days since I have heard an actual response from a ‘human’ at Twitch, I will make it public on what happened.

On Thursday night, January 16th, around 8:30 PM EST, I was doxxed live on stream.

A new user entered my chat, making their username my street address, and announcing my legal name, full address, and phone number to everyone that was on my stream. My moderator quickly deleted the messages, but before we could block or ban the user, they immediately followed me, as they knew that information would stay on my chat no matter what.

In addition, they attempted to sign into my PayPal account multiple times. I saw all the attempts on my phone, as I require any sign in to send me a code to ensure it is me. They seemed to realize that after a few minutes and stopped. I froze for a few minutes, then I ended my stream, took down the VOD, but I still have the recording on me for evidence. I have changed all my passwords.

Unfortunately, I am unable to hide my private information on PayPal. Even when making a business account, it did not give me the option to. 

The moderator that was there that night reported this individual as soon as they realized this was my private information. They got a default response saying the report would be addressed soon. Roughly an hour after stream ended, they received a message saying action had been taken. They did not say how or in what way.

I was shell shocked when this happened, but when I recovered a bit, I reported the account in the morning. I made a ticket through their contact page, as I was unaware of how to report an account. I got a default response saying they would address my situation. An hour later, they responded, saying I was not addressing this the traditional way and told me to report them as I should have. They ignored the fact they doxxed me. I got a default response when I reported the traditional way they asked for immediately, and I have not heard anything since then. I am surprised there was no more detail about the actions they took, as the severity of doxxing doesn't feel like it was taken as seriously as it should. Their phrasing gives way to the smallest punishment being possibly just an account removal, as opposed to something permanent like the IP ban they mentioned being possible in the email, or legal action being taken through Twitch.

I am unable to contact my local authorities regarding this issue. This is due to my location. Where I live, there would be no chance of a case standing in court. The police closest to my area are only volunteers, we have no actual authority. Even if I discussed this with another town nearby, it would be dismissed and I would be told sorry, and that be it. This is due to the police in my area not willing to investigate situations like this. And, as much as I hate to say it, it also does not help that I am a woman. Female cases get dismissed quickly where I live.

The best I can do is contact Twitch regarding this case. They only told me to report them, as submitting a ticket through their contact page was ‘not sent the proper way.’ Ever since I submitted again, all I received was an automatic response on that same day. For all I know, this user could make another account and submit the same information. They didn’t tell me nor my moderator if anything will actually be done to stop this from happening again.

Now comes the question as to why this happened. I have no idea, as I am not able to get any answers. I don’t even know if I will without Twitch’s help. I do not know of anyone specific that would want to do this. Currently, however, there is one suspicion I have. I signed up for the TikTok replacement, RedNote, on Tuesday January 14th, that same week. When I was filling out my bio via my profile, I was forced to show the state I lived in. There was an option to make this private; however, even when switching it to private, it still showed it publicly. In addition, there are one of two ways to sign up for the app: entering your phone number and logging in via your store account (i.e.: Apple or Google Play). I did not want to put any card information on, so I went with my phone. I never posted anything on this account, I made this ahead of time in case the TikTok ban took effect. This, combined with my state being shown, feels like it was enough to hone in on where I am.

I want to stress, this may not be it. I could be completely wrong. I hope I am wrong. I saw how nice the community was in welcoming ‘TikTok refugees’ and what type of conversations everyone was having. However, I don’t want to rule out this could have been the reasoning behind my doxxing. Just because everything seems nice to everyone does not mean there won’t be any bad actors in that crowd.

Until I get some kind of response, I am in the dark. There have not been any other signs of this person emerging again, but if anyone sees a message formatted like above, please let me know.

And now is the most important part. I don’t want anyone else to get doxxed. It does not matter how big or small you are, you can get doxxed on your livestream like I did. I was reminded about blocked terms after the incident. For the love of god, please add your address and your phone number. If your legal name is uncommon, include it. Do all sorts of variations of all this information. Do your I/P address as well, just in case. Make all of these terms private. This means not even your mods can see this, it will only be you. 

Always ensure, as well, you have a trusted moderator in your chat. I am lucky that I had one moderator in my chat that night that deleted the messages as soon as possible as well as flooded chat so it would get hidden on my side and cleared chat once I ended stream.

Please get this out there. @ Twitch on this. I want this situation to be solved, and I want to feel safe, even if this really was just a one time thing. But being pushed to the side like this makes me terrified for my life. I cannot tell the authorities and I cannot even afford to move, let alone my family. All I can do is pray to whatever god that nothing happens to me nor my family. Please let this be known.

[goldieballerina]

we made it to the midterm!! things i've learned since starting college

under the cut because it got really long

you're going to get locked out

you're going to forget your towel when you go to shower

make sure your professors know you -- office hours, emails, and answering questions during class are great ways of doing this

everyone says not to take 8ams. you might be able to. this is a personal thing

everyone told me i would learn to like coffee in college while pulling all nighters. i haven't had coffee and i haven't pulled an all-nighter.

homework may be assigned a week or so before it's due. if you start working on it the day it's assigned, you can stop and start when you get bored without worrying about having to power through to submit on time

^^ this is true for nearly every assignment format

if you have to write a paper or something, get your first draft down as soon as possible and then shut the document. open it the next day to start editing and refining

don't use easybib for bibliographies, they make you disable your adblocker and then it's like unusable (check if your school gives access to noodletools, and if not, gdocs has a fairly good citation thing under "tools")

clubs are fun and generally low-commitment! go to some! you can join halfway through the semester if you want! they can have nothing at all to do with your major and are a good way to unwind a little

sports games are similar! and i say this as someone who isn't a big sports fan, but see if you get free student tickets and check out a game (i watched my first hockey game last weekend and it was super cool)

you're going to have to download so many apps (some of them you will use all the time, some will be useless. download them all and then delete the ones that don't work)

same thing with discord servers

make sure you have some way of scanning things into pdfs

don't assume anything in your dorm room is clean until you've cleaned it yourself

get snack clips (i haven't done this and i need to)

your professors are human and are generally very understanding that sometimes Life happens and you can't make it to class, need to leave early, or miss an assignment deadline (they will likely be even more understanding if you have made yourself known to them and/or stayed on top of attendance and classwork)

don't skip class if you can help it (yes it will be tempting. no don't)

there are people there to help you academically, mentally, and physically -- use these resources!

i never work on calc homework alone anymore - i go to the tutoring center so that when i have a question i can put my hand up and get it answered instead of getting frustrated

if you type your notes keep them all in one doc so you can ctrl-f for keywords when studying easily (use heading to keep track of which days/topics they are)

you're going to make friends, it just kind of happens

check out what events might be happening where you can do cool things/get free stuff or food (my uni has therapy dogs come once a month and my friends and i always go)

if your school has a bus that goes off-campus, figure out where it stops and make use of it for things you need but can't get on-campus

eat vegetables (sometimes this gets away from me)

stay up to date on vaccinations

giving blood is a great way to get free food and sometimes other rewards

call the people you care about

figure out where you like to study

try to stay on speaking terms with your roommate

if you carry a reusable water bottle, wash it regularly

pick a random time you have free to do laundry (everyone wants to do it on sundays - figure out a time where you have a 2-3 block of free time and do it then)

don't go to parties alone and especially don't get drunk/high at parties alone

you can take a deep breath and shut your computer off if you need to

if you have a lofted bed get a shelf to clamp onto the side (especially if you have glasses and things you like to keep right next to your bed)

keep on top of washing your bedding and towels

you can say no to dates you don't want to go on

time flies, i know that's a cliche but it genuinely feels like i've blinked and made it here

you can do it

[maximuswolf]

My experience with Rockstar support (rant)

My experience with Rockstar support (rant) I recently had to deal with Rockstar support over the course of 3 days and 2 separate tickets. I recently got a new PC with pretty great specs and I wanted to go back and play GTA V with everything maxed out. I own the game on steam, and have owned it since 2016. For anyone who doesn’t know, even for single-player, GTA V requires the player to launch the game with their Steam account and then ALSO log into the Rockstar launcher. At some point in the last 4-5 years or so, someone hacked into my rockstar account and changed the login email address to their own email address. My Steam account has never been hacked, just btw. Rockstar’s extra login is what compromised my security.Anyway, I make a ticket, which requires me to log into a Rockstar account. So I also made another one of those. In this ticket I describe my problem. That I’m trying to log in but I’ve been hacked. I also added a BUNCH of extra information proving I am who I say I am. The card used to purchase the game, every address I’ve logged into the game from, dates, and all kinds of other information that, put together, only I would know. But both times they asked me for more information, all of which was impossible to know since my account was stolen from me. They asked for the date the login email was changed, when the account was associated with Xbox Live and PSN (it never was, or at least not by me), a screenshot of the receipt for the game (I explained both times that this was impossible as I changed my steam login email a few years ago and I thought I didn’t have access to the email account I used to use), and they even initially said they’d only talk to me from the email used to log in to the Rockstar account. The email address that isn’t mine. Which I had already told them multiple times.The thing they really seemed to care about for some reason was the screenshot of the receipt, even though I had given them my CD KEY, a screenshot of me logged into my steam account, and a bunch of other shit that should be more than enough to prove I’m the owner of the license I’m claiming to own. The only way I was able to get my account back was because I happened to find an old device that was still logged into my original Steam email address. Nobody saves game receipts for 9 fucking years. If I hadn’t gotten VERY lucky, I would have never gotten access to my account. And you can’t even delete games from your steam, so I would have had to make another steam account entirely in order to ever be able to play the game again.This is completely unacceptable customer support. At no point did it feel like a human was actually reading my correspondence. And their security is clearly worse than Valve’s, defeating the only possible benefit to the user for logging in to another launcher. The CD key and the screenshot of me logged into my steam account should have been all they needed.This was incredibly frustrating and I will not be buying GTA VI. I highly discourage anyone from playing any Rockstar games on PC Submitted January 25, 2025 at 11:45AM by acrazyguy https://ift.tt/ufgVheO via /r/gaming

[theda-rison]

Adventures in nothing working

I just need to tell you about technology just Trying Me earlier, before I finally post my Nano post:

In the first or so week of November, I tried to make an author Instagram. A bunch of other people in the writing discord I’m in were talking about it and like, as much as I love Tumblr, Twitter is basically the online version of an author moving to NYC to be closer to agents and publishers, and I guess IG is more like LA (on account of it being more appearance driven). Tumblr is like living in the middle of nowhere - which is nice, that’s exactly why I stay here - but I do also need to be where the agents are. I’m probably never going to have a twitter because it just seems like a wash, so I went with IG.

So, the me that existed in the first week of November tries to make an Instagram with my author email. I don’t know what the fuck happens, but as soon as I make it, I can’t get into it. I try to make it again, it tells me that my email is already used; I try to log in, it tells me that the account doesn’t exist. Schrödinger's account. I get mad (because what else am I supposed to do) and find the only way of placing a complaint and place it. OF COURSE I don’t hear anything back over the course of November. Fuck you Instagram.

So today I’m like, “I need to do it. I need a presence. I need to live in LA.” and I try again. In the somewhere between a half hour and an hour:

Still can’t use that email. Okay cool. Fuck you IG.

I go to make a new email. I mistype my birth year. Google tells me I’m under the age of 13.

I fix it. I try again. Google tells me I’m still under the age of 13. Fuck you Google.

Now Google won’t let me make a fucking account. I am raging at this point because I already have like three Gmail emails for different shit why did this make you think I’m 13? Fuck you.

I consider making a Hotmail account, but I hate Hotmail.

Yahoo exists, and while I’m not 13, I’m also not 73.

I remember Protonmail exists and make an email there.

I use that and finally make the IG account.

I triumphantly told the people in the writing Discord that I have an author IG (after ranting about the stupidity that is technology), and everyone added me and I added them. I ask if they connected their personal IGs to their professional IGs, and one of them mentioned that she uses an app to post from her desktop. The people in the Discord are so smart and amazing and super great and know things.

Anyway, it was like... 9am by the time I was done and I was ready to go back to sleep and also become Amish. From now on, I will print my updates using woodblocks and nail the papers to the town bulletin board. And then I’m going to put myself in the pillory, because the internet can’t get me there.

I don’t know what it is: is it a curse? Do I have powers? I’m always the one that finds these things. Websites should pay me to test their shit, because I will be doing the most innocuous, normal shit and somehow break everything.

Like, one day I'll find out I'm actually an eldritch monstrosity and this isn't even my Final Form and I'll be like, "Nah, that tracks."

A Very Smart Doctor: The test just came back and you're actually Shub-Niggurath, the Black Goat of the Woods With A Thousand Young.

Me: .... I have kids? Are they cute?

A Very Smart Doctor: ...They're extraplanar monstrosities who are amalgamations of human, animal, and nightmare.

Me: .... So they're cute.

A Very Smart Doctor: Yeah, they're pretty cute.

Me: Sweet.

The beginning to a strange sitcom.

[nyfacurrent]

Business of Art | Five Tips for Smarter (Not Harder) Fundraising

Follow these steps to make a strong impression on a tight schedule.

Say you’ve got a great idea for an art project, and you’re ready to make it happen. Projects of scale will inevitably need to be funded; how you cover the costs will be up to you. The vast world of funding includes: grantwriting, crowdfunding, individual donors, benefits and ticketed events, and in-kind contributions. While grantwriting will be just one tool in your toolkit, it’s an important one.

In this article, we’re sharing tips inspired by a recent workshop by The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) in partnership with College Art Association (CAA) titled “Fundraising and Strategy: How to Work Smarter, Not Harder, on Grant Applications.” The workshop was part of a one-day program, “The Artist as Entrepreneur.” Presenters Peter Cobb, Senior Advisor, NYFA Learning; and Rebecca Guber, Founder and Director, Asylum Arts argue that fundraising will take up time, but it doesn’t need to overwhelm your day-to-day if you think strategically. The below advice is presented in the context of grant applications, but much of it can be applied to other fundraising methods.

Be Selective

Applying for as many grants as possible, without careful consideration of eligibility criteria and other factors, won’t lead to more funding. A strategic approach will reduce the time you spend crafting applications, while at the same time upping the probability that you’ll receive the ones for which you apply. It’s a win-win.

Essentially, fundraising involves a lot of matchmaking between your work and the funder. You need to understand the funder’s needs and goals. Cobb suggests asking yourself the following questions as you complete an application or proposal, and ensuring they match up with the funder’s mission:

What do I do?

What problem(s) do I solve?

What needs do I address, and for whom?

A compelling application “makes it easy for the funder to make the connection,” says Cobb. If an organization supports emerging artists who tackle environmental issues, then you may not be the best fit if you’ve already received several prestigious awards and primarily address issues of gender in your work. But if climate change is central to your work and you would, in fact, describe yourself as emerging, then your time will be well spent in applying.

This matchmaking mindset applies to many aspects of the application itself. When setting the dollar amount for a funding request, the amount of funding requested for a project should feel proportionate to the funder. If they generally allot $40,000 for a project, don’t ask for $5,000. Conversely, if project grants from the organizations are $5,000 on average, don’t request $40,000. This is just one of the many ways to show that you’ve done your research, and to highlight the connections between the funder’s focus and the ins-and-outs of your project.

Build Relationships

Many funders are more approachable than you may think. If there is someone at the organization you can connect to—ideally the program manager or coordinator for the grant you’re interested in—do it. There are several ways to kickstart and cultivate this kind of relationship and to leverage your network, for introverted and extroverted artists alike.

In a concise, respectful email, ask the program manager a real question you have about the grant. This question should show that you’ve read the guidelines well. Guber recommends adding: “Is there anything you would suggest to me, based on my question?”  

Connect to the program’s alumni or past grantees. A past grantee may even share their application with you, to help you infer what makes an application successful in this funder’s eyes. Even better if you happen to be close to a former grantee. That person is an ideal editor for your application.

Many funders hold receptions and other events to celebrate their programs and awards. Attend these if possible to show your engagement with the organization’s work, and—again, respectfully—try to connect with staff in a genuine way at the event.

Once you’ve established a working relationship with a funder’s representative and they’ve shown interest in your projects, send thoughtful, personalized invites for your events and ask if you can subscribe them to your newsletter.

In all communications, especially early on, maintain a degree of formality. “I hate reading ‘XOXO’” as a sign-off, laments Guber. If you’re unsure of the staffer’s gender identity, don’t guess. In this case, use the individual’s first and last name, or begin with a simple “Hello.”

Streamline Your Process

While each application is different, many opportunities will require you to submit some version of the following components:

Cover Letter

CV and/or Artist Bio

Work Sample

Project Description

Artist Statement

Budget

Do yourself a favor and prep a ready-to-go version, or versions, of these in advance. When a last-minute opportunity comes along, you’ll be grateful that your CV is complete, up-to-date, and typo-free.

Guber recognizes that many multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary artists struggle to describe their practices succinctly and concretely. If this sounds like you, create a few different versions of your Artist Statement in particular, of differing lengths (between 250-500 words), that focus on the different central aspects of your work. When you do need to bring these elements together in an application or Artist Statement, avoid writing a laundry list of the disciplines you work in. Instead, focus on your process, or themes, to create coherence.

Each application should feel tailored to a specific opportunity. But always remember to ask, “What can I steal from myself?” When possible, try to rework, rather than rewrite.

Make Your Application Pop

Panelists for an opportunity usually will need to review a large number of applications in a small amount of time. So you need to ensure that your application stands out from all the others. With a Project Description, for example, answer the “Who? What? When? Where?” in your first sentence. Then, get more specific and include memorable, unique details. Guber jokes that panelists will give your application a nickname for easy reference, so you want your application to be unique and clear enough so that it will stay front-of-mind for your panelists, even as they look at scores of other proposals.

A few additional tips:

Use simple sentences and avoid jargon. “Jargon slows people’s brains down,” says Guber.

Put your best work first in your Work Sample. If possible, find out what viewing system the panel will use.

If a panelist really likes your work, they might look up your website even if it’s not part of the application. At least a few aspects of your website should correspond with your application. There should be some cohesion between your online presence and the way you present yourself in your application.

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

Your application needs to present itself as a focused, cohesive package that will pique panelist interest from the outset. If your Work Sample includes video, make sure the first 30 seconds are attention-grabbing and to-the-point. Whatever media you work in, do your best to give the panelists a feel for the work.

If you push boundaries with your art and engage with themes of politics or sexuality, for example, Guber advises that you prepare your audience—in this case, the panelists. You never need to censure your work or water it down, but you can provide helpful context for it via your written materials or the title of your application. Guber suggests thinking, “How will this land on a human being?” and avoid assuming that everyone on a panel is on the same page as you. If you communicate clearly about your work, a difference of opinion shouldn’t get in the way.

In any application, you’re the authority on how you present yourself. With practice, strategic thinking, and feedback from trusted peers, you’ll be able to bring your work to life for a room full of panelists.

- Mirielle Clifford, Program Officer, Online Resources

The “Fundraising and Strategy: How to Work Smarter, Not Harder, on Grant Applications” panel was presented through NYFA Learning, which includes professional development for artists and arts administrators. Sign up for NYFA’s free bi-weekly newsletter to receive updates on future programs.

Images, from top: Tiffany Smith (Fellow in Interdisciplinary Work ’18), Sariah, Throned; Adam Smith (Fellow in Painting ’15)

[hindi-newz]

How to make money with a blog for Beginners in 2020

Ever thought about launching your own blog? Ever wondered what it is, not only to start that blog but to successfully build it over time to make money online or generate a passive income? Frankly, you are not alone. Millions of people try their hand at blogging, but never really earn enough from their efforts. However, if you are starting a blog for the purposes of making money, and you are not really passionate about writing at first, then you are wasting your time to a great extent. The art of blogging is not just scientific or formulaic. Without a deep-seated passion for your craft, you will face disappointment and upset. Why? While it is relatively simple to start a blog, it is a monumental undertaking to generate any share of traffic and profit from your hard efforts. You need laser-focus and persistence to build an audience or reach mass saturation with your prose. It takes time and a long and drawn evening to burn the cosmic midnight oil. take it from me. As a blogger who has created a substantial platform with thousands of monthly visitors, I can bask in the hot flashes of success. However, I cannot enjoy the freedom and passive income that my blog has created for so long. Without continuously adding unsaturated content, any blog can be closed. So, what does it take to start a successful blog and actually make money online? I think it depends on what you believe to be successful and whether you consider making money. If millions of other potential bloggers get out there, you want to rake it, you'll have a long road ahead. But if you are willing to put in the time and effort, and you can be consistent for years (and yes, I have said years), you can certainly generate substantial income online. In fact, your blog is probably the best center for passive income generation, and if done properly, it can attract the right customers and customers, whether you're in any industry or niche. How to start a blog: step by step Okay, if I haven't forbidden you yet, and you're serious about launching the next Mashable or TechCrunch or whatever another blog you think might be wildly successful in your vision, here's a step to you Need to do in -Step fashion. The more you prepare and plan, the longer you are likely to succeed. 1. Pick a topic Be clear on what you will write about. Define a topic or niche, and design all your content around those things. This will help you not only to focus on your writing but also to create digital products and services that compliment your content. This allows you to entice customers with your highly informative posts, then entice them with a lead magnet before dropping them into your sales funnel (more on that shortly). 2. Choose a platform While Wordpress is by far the most popular platform for blogging, there are some out there that can be leveraged to micro-blogging platforms such as Tumblr, Blogger.com, and even Medium. However, if you are serious about your blogging efforts, you might want to go with a self-hosted WordPress installation on a custom domain. When you can set up a blog on Wordpress.com with a subdomain like myblog.wordpress.com, you'll get more traction with a self-hosted solution, and then use subdomains on popular platforms for your content-marketing efforts. -The domain will be able to use it. 3. Choose a domain name Custom domain names are important if you are serious about making money from a blog, to begin with. Instead of relying on third-party-hosted subdomains, find a small but relevant keyword-rich (if possible) domain name that is descriptive of your intended topic, industry, or niche. Use BlueHost, HostGator, 1 & 1 Hosting or any other domain name provider to source your domain. If you are concerned about things like SEO while choosing your domain name, then you should follow the following suggestions: Use a known top-level domain (TLD) such as .com or .net Keep domain short, not more than 15 characters or more Do not try to buy a domain name with a hyphen, as they are more often associated with spammers Avoid using self-hosted subdomains to rank or rank posts 4. Find a good web hosting company There are loads of good hosting companies out there. If you are starting a Wordpress, self-hosted blog, there are a near-endless amount of options. The important thing is to do your due diligence and choose the one suitable for your budget and ensure that the service-level and punctuality are guaranteed. In the beginning, you might want to start with a managed Wordpress solution or a virtual private server (VPS), and scale from there. Eventually, you will need a dedicated-hosting solution with CDN (below) after a few thousand visitors arrive daily. 5. Caching and Content-Delivery Network (CDN) Use a system such as W3 Total Cache or WP Super Cache and turn on browser caching to ensure that you speed up the delivery of your webpages. In the beginning, it may not seem as important. But as you grow and your traffic increases to thousands of visitors per day, this will be important. Use Google's Page Speed ​​Insights to test things before and after installation. It is also important that you set up a CDN, which will speed up the global distribution of your content. For example, your page may load relatively quickly in the United States, but what happens when someone in Australia tries to load your content? CDNs replicate data in many repositories around the world and make content delivery ultra-fast. This is important to the user experience because most people who are focused on waiting a few seconds to load a page often leave the website and move on to the next one in the search results. The W3 Total Cache integrates with Amazon's AWS and MaxCDN, two very good options when it comes to CDN. 6. Enable Permalinks In Wordpress, you should enable permalinks before getting things off the ground, which will give you good canonical URLs that are SEO friendly. Permalinks are located within the Settings> Permalinks section of your Wordpress admin and select the Post Name option. 7. Install the AMP plugin The Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) project is an initiative by Google to accelerate mobile access to a greater level of its content. The AMP specification, which you can read more about here, helps thin a webpage for its basic structural components with scaled-back JS and minimized CSS code, making for lightning-fast speeds. 8. Install Google Analytics Install Google Analytics so that you can monitor your efforts while building your blog. Leaving links in social media and other places is a great way to track your results when using the URL Campaign Builder so that you can effectively determine where your traffic is coming from. 9. Setup Google's Webmaster Tools Anyone who is serious about building a blog and making money needs to take advantage of Google's webmaster tools to see which keywords they are ranking and any messages that will improve their ability to rank Will affect It will also allow you to submit XML sitemaps and track keyword impressions with click-through rates. It is one of the most useful tools to enhance your site or blog through continuous analysis of your efforts. 10. Learn SEO the right way Although you should not start with the intention of obliterating the blog, you should definitely understand the basic principles of search engine optimization so that you pay attention to the key aspects that will affect your ability to rank on search engines like Google . . Start with Google's Webmaster Guidelines, and digest and implement that information. Learning SEO is a long and drawn journey. You should always increase your knowledge and expand your skillset. 11. Regulatory Build Useful Content If you are serious about being successful with your blog, then you need to create useful anchor content. It should be engaging, keyword-focused, practical, unique, and well written. Do not write your content for search engines. Rather, write your content for humans as well as paying homage to search engines for what they want. Simply put, it is a skill that develops over time. It is also important to publish your content on a regular weekly basis. 12. Sign up on an email marketing platform The best avenue to earn money from your blog is email marketing, plain and simple. Hands down, it provides one of the fastest and surest strategies to earn income through your blog. But before you get there, you have to sign up on email marketing platforms such as Auber, ConvertKit, MailChimp, Constant Contact, InfusionSoft, or any other platforms that are out there. 13. Create Lead Magnets If you're serious about doing anything online, rather than running ads on your blog (which won't give you real money, unless you have at least hundreds of thousands of visitors per day) or by engaging in affiliate marketing, You should manufacture an occasional lead magnet that will sell a digital product or be made by you in the back-end. The lead magnet will entice people to sign up to your list and provide you with their email address. 14. Creating a Digital Product and Positioning Your Proposals Email marketing and lead magnets are all designed to help create an automated sales machine. However, to do this you need a digital product, service, or other types of offer in the back-end. You can create many offers or products that can take people up a value chain for your high-ticket sales. 15. Create a Sales Funnel Take time to build your automated sales funnel. There is a lot involved with the sales funnel, but the basic premise is that your visitors will discover your content and show it to your site, fall into your sales funnel through offers through your lead magnet or any other tripwire, and then they will Be led through a journey with some periodically drip-fed messages that will allow you to sell your products and services on autopilot. 16. Get Social Creating a blog is not easy by any means. To help you move towards success, you have to be social. Not only by engaging with other like-minded bloggers interested in online marketing but by sharing and engaging with others on social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms. 17. Market Your Content One of the most important strategies you'll find to build a blog and increase your visibility on search engines like Google, and my all-time strategy to increase search rankings on Google's SERPs, is content marketing. Marketing your content is a complex process that involves creating long, never-ending hours in the creation of more useful off-site content that connects to your primary anchor content, but it is worth it. If you do things correctly, you can use this single strategy to rank number one on Google's searches for any keyword. It definitely has art as well as a technical framework and the art of doing it properly. Do not try to spam or overstuff keywords in an attempt to market your content in any way. Content marketing can be done on sites like Medium.com or Scripped.com, it can be done by answering Reddit or Quora questions, and it can be done on YouTube or Vimeo in various other ways, along with videos is. The point is that all content needs to be useful, period. Try not to do the least amount of work for the greatest return. If you want to succeed then you have to do the opposite. 18. Monetize your content Let's face it, starting and running a blog can be expensive. Do not expect to get rich overnight. However, you can take some measures to get some of your content out of the way. Make sure you stay topical with your content and help your lead magnates leave people in a sales funnel that will eventually sell your high-ticket items. However, aside from this, you can always opt to generate cash flow by doing other things such as creating articles that will lead people to courses or audiobooks you have developed or creating video tutorials that will eventually lead to something bigger. Will sell Package or system that will help teach people that whatever it is is really good. There are many ways to monetize your content and earn money from your blog, but don't try to take shortcuts along the way. If you are serious about your long term results, do not look for a fast buck. If you want to succeed and achieve your goals then take action and be persistent. Read the full article

[theindustryaintsafe]

Submitted Via Email

Thank you thank you thank you for creating this tumblr. I had no idea where I could share my story. Here it is. I have attached screenshots of the text messages I received from my attacker, as mentioned in the story. Please publish my story anonymously. If you have any questions, etc. please feel free to get in touch with me via this email address.

THANK YOU, again. Though recalling this incident is very difficult, it is time to share this.

On July 14, 2013, I attended a small, casual, back patio barbeque hosted by a trusted friend. I met a seemingly harmless, even nerdy, man there and we struck up a friendly conversation. He asked for my phone number and I willingly gave it to him, thinking to myself that even though he didn’t really seem like my type, that he was interesting and sweet; I ought to give him a chance. Later that evening, this man followed me into the bathroom at the party and proceeded to sexually force himself onto me. He could not be reasoned with and did not stop, despite my many pleas for him to do so. He was incredibly aggressive, a complete 180 from the man I met earlier in the night, and forced me to perform sexual acts on him. He physically blocked me from exiting through the door. I was eventually able to get the door open and exit the bathroom, but he was right behind me and forced me onto a nearby couch in a dark room in the front of the house (away from the party out back). He restrained me by the wrists and pulled me on top of him. After a few minutes (which felt like an eternity) of struggle, he became startled when another party-goer opened the back door, and I took this opportunity to break free and run to the party on the patio. I begged my friends to take me home immediately, as I was terrified about what had just happened and was in fear that it was not over. I went home, stunned about what transpired, and showered for a very long time. This was something that I had always seen in movies or in Law and Order, and never really understood why sexual assault and rape victims did it. Now I understand. Another human being makes you feel so violated, so ashamed, and so disgusted to be in your own skin, that you stand under boiling hot water in an attempt to sterilize any place he may have touched.

I received two text messages from him in the following days, in which he apologized for how he “acted last night” and that he wanted to show me in the future that he will make me “smile and laugh” and even encouraged me to “have a good day”. He signed this message with a goddamn smiley emoticon.

With the support of some amazing friends, I filed a sexual assault police report but ultimately dropped the case when I was told it would take at least 6 months for this ordeal to be investigated by the District Attorney. I just wanted to put it behind me and move forward. I suffered from acute stress disorder for the next few months. I have seen him in public 3 times since and my heart stops and stomach drops every time. I have had to leave social gatherings and public spaces when I have spotted him, or even when I think I have seen him. I cannot attend any event his company sponsors, and have had to leave events and shows when, after having purchased a ticket and arrived at the venue, see that it is co-promoted by his company.

Even as I write this now, my heart is pounding and I feel nauseous recalling this event, but if reading this helps one person avoid getting into a similar situation with him, it is worth it. In retrospect, his actions seemed so calculated and premeditated, I was certain that I was not the first person this has happened to. This blog corroborates my assumptions.

He is a successful music festival and show promoter. His name is Sean Carlson. He created FYF Fest.

People need to know his name, his face, and know that it is not safe to be alone with him.

[trentteti]

Was your law school application waitlisted? With the right plan, you can be cautiously optimistic

It’s tough to remain optimistic right now. It’s the doldrums of winter, everyone is sick, the Midwest is still mostly a solid block of ice, and we all just watched a successful band of cheaters (who somehow convinced everyone they were the underdogs, despite that designation being definitionally untrue) win a joyless slog of a professional sports game for what felt like twenty interminable hours.

If you’re dealing with all that on top of getting placed on hold or waitlisted from the law school you dreamt of attending — well, in the words of characters in hacky TV shows, “That’s gotta hurt.” But more than flu season, polar vortexes, or [insert the fumingly angry face emoji here] the New England Patriots being fêted yet again, being placed on the waitlist or on hold can be reason for hope. It’ll be hope of the cautious and provisional sort, and you should probably do some things to help your chances of being moved from the hold or waitlist piles to the accepted piles (more on that in a minute), but it’s hope nonetheless.

So let’s start with the positives. For one, you weren’t rejected! Your chances of getting accepted after being rejected are very low. In fact, they are among the lowest chances there are. Your chances of getting accepted after being placed on hold or on the waitlist are definitely higher than that.

Second, a decision has been rendered, and now you can develop a plan. Gone are the days of endless waiting for the law school’s admissions office to give you any kind of response or acknowledgement or proof of life. The admissions office has finally responded, and now you can formulate a plan. And you — a motivated, type-A sort impelled to a life of the law by your hard word and attention to detail — are surely great at planning.

Finally, given the current data on the 2018-19 application cycle, it’s entirely likely that law schools will start plucking many applicants from the on hold and waitlist piles. As of now, there are fewer overall applicants this cycle than there were at this point in the last cycle. And there has been a sharp decline in the number of applicants with LSAT scores above 165. Law schools likely operated under the assumption that last cycle’s uptick in applicants with high LSAT scores would continue this cycle. They probably placed many applications on hold or on the waitlist pile under the belief that there would be an influx of applicants with super-high LSAT scores. Since that influx apparently hasn’t happened, these law schools might start making offers to applicants on hold or on the waitlist pile. Which is more reason for cautious optimism.

But, even with a favorable application cycle, there are things you can do to improve the likelihood that your application will be moved from the on hold or waitlist piles to the acceptance piles. We’ll go through each potential course of action in this blog post. But first, a quick aside on the difference between being placed on hold or being placed on the waitlist.

In brief: it’s (slightly) better to be placed on hold.

In less-brief: Being put on the waitlist is the admission’s office’s way of saying that your application didn’t quite impress them enough to admit you, and that they’ll only revisit your application if they need to fill up spots later in the cycle. On hold just means they haven’t made a decision one way or another — they want to see how the rest of the application cycle shakes out.

Think about your Saturday plans. You know the kind of weird guy — the one with an affinity for cargo shorts and a propensity towards loud chewing, who was a little bit too evasive when you asked him what did for work? When he asked you what you were up to this weekend, and you curtly told him, “sorry, I have plans” — you just rejected him. And then you had your kind-of-cool co-worker tell you should totally stop by this one random bar he’s DJing at Saturday night, and you said that you think you have plans Saturday night, but that you might drop by if they fell through? You placed him on the waitlist. And then there’s your good friend who is throwing a dinner party that sounds like it could be fun, provided she doesn’t try making that vegan lasagna again, and you told her you’d get back to her, because you’re still waiting to see if your other friend is able to secure you a ticket for that exclusive event that you really want to go to, but that, if you’re unable to secure that ticket you’ll totally come by? You just placed your plant-based baked pasta-loving friend on hold.

Got it? Good. Now the twist: late in the application cycle, the distinction between being placed on hold and the waitlist sort of disappears. Most law schools will only start admitting applicants from the hold or waitlist piles after the school receives the initial deposits from those who have already been admitted. The deadline for accepted students to submit their initial deposit varies based on the school, but most deadlines are in April and May. So, whichever pile you’re placed in, you have a few tough months of waiting ahead of you. If the school receives all those deposits, and still hasn’t filled its class, they’ll start looking at all the applications they haven’t outright rejected, regardless of whether that application was technically placed “on hold” or technically “waitlisted.”

So, given this uncertainty, you’ll want to do whatever you can to get moved from the not-accepted piles to the accepted pile. Here is what you can do, ranked from least helpful to most helpful.

1. Follow the Law School’s Official Instagram Feed, and Like and Comment on Every Post — Even the Really Old Ones

This technique has the same success rate in impressing law schools as it does impressing actual human beings. Which is to say, none.

2. To Show Your Enthusiasm, Launch a Hundred Sky Lanterns Brandished with the Law School’s Name into the Night Sky

We at Blueprint have no official position on whether this symbolic gesture would help you get moved from the waitlist. But we do know that unleashing hundreds of airborne flames surrounded by flammable material creates a potential fire hazard, poses a risk to wild animals, and could even interfere with aircraft navigation. So don’t do this.

3. Write a Letter of Continued Interest, But Only After the Initial Deposits Deadline

We do recommend writing a letter of continued interest. It lets the admissions officers know you haven’t accepted some other school’s offer, and that you’ll probably accept their offer if tendered (which makes their job easier). We have some recommendations on how to write a letter of continued interest (or LOCI, for short) here.

But it’s important to remember that admissions officers are about as enthused by the prospect of reading a formal letter as you or I would be. If you were placed on the waitlist, and you accepted their invitation to remain on the waitlist, then that acceptance will suffice to show your continued interest in attending that school. Anything on top of that is just a little — in the parlance of the youths — thirsty and extra.

It’s a much better idea to wait until the initial deposits deadline for that school has passed. Remember, that’s the point at which the school will start to look at students on the waitlist. If you send your LOCI at that point, you’ll remind those admissions officers of your application, giving you a slight leg up on the competition. But make sure to only send one letter, and keep it brief. Anything else will — again in the parlance of the youths — LOCI annoy the admissions officer.

4. Schedule a Campus Visit

Finding a time to visit a campus can be a more fun and informative way to express your interest in the school, if it’s practicable for you to do so. Bonus points if you can somehow finesse your way into speaking with a dean, admissions officer, or some other administrative official. Ask them about the waitlist and what you can do to stay in touch with them, and then follow their advice.

5. Update the Admissions Office with All Your Amazing Accomplishments

Since you applied, did you get a new job? Or a promotion at your current job? Log some volunteer hours? Receive a sterling report card? Win some sort of award? Email the admissions office with the good news. But only once (maybe twice if the process is dragging into June), and be brief.

6. Consider Improving Your Application

If your LSAT score is just a bit below the school’s median, and you feel like that’s the reason you’ve been placed on hold or on the waitlist, you can always consider taking the LSAT again. You have more opportunities to take the LSAT in 2019 than in any previous year, so the new LSAT schedule is a boon to current applicants. Law schools really care about maintaining or improving the median LSAT score of incoming classes (mostly because law school ranking services really care about this, too). So if can change your LSAT score from a 165 to a 168, admissions offices will look at your application much more favorably.

7. Follow Directions

Finally, the most important course of action: just do what the school tells you to do. When you got your notification that your application was placed on hold or on the waitlist, the school probably gave you some direction on how to stay in touch. Follow those. To the T. If they said they didn’t want any more documents, they meant that they didn’t want more documents. This isn’t like when your boo said, “I don’t really want to do anything this Valentine’s Day,” when your boo really meant, “I expect you to plan something elaborate this Valentine’s Day.” This is the law school being forthright and direct.

So if they invite you to remain on the waitlist, immediately respond that you accept their invitation to remain on the waitlist. If tell you they do not want any more documents or updates, don’t send them a LOCI or updates on the last semester or anything like that. If they ask for more information or documents, provide them said information and/or documents.

Even if they do mention that they are open to receiving such vaguely defined articles as “supplemental materials” that “may be helpful to the admissions office” — don’t send them a million things. Again, wait until the initial deposits deadline has passed, and send them an update. Be brief, be enthusiastic, and be positive.

————

So take some of the above actions, if any of them are relevant to your situation. Even taking some affirmative steps can help you maintain some optimism during a stressful and uncertain time.

Because, the one thing that everyone who has been placed on hold or on the waitlist must do is wait. You will have to wait, and wait, and then finally wait some more. But if you could make it through this flu season, or the polar vortex, or another godforsaken Patriots Super Bowl victory, you’ll be able to make it through these next few months, too.

Was your law school application waitlisted? With the right plan, you can be cautiously optimistic was originally published on LSAT Blog

[miscolliding-planets]

Chapter 2: The Beginning

|| Message #1 ||

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️

Hi!

I know this can seem creepy to you or something. But, I swear I'm not creepy at all. I'm not a stalker, just someone who admires you from afar. I can't even say that I'm a fan.

I'm pretty sure that millions of other girls have already sent you some kind of message; telling you how much they love you as their favourite actor, how they love your work, your acting and everything else there is to love about you. I'm also pretty sure that you won't even notice this as it gets smothered by the other million more messages that you receive.

However, let me just take this time to tell you how much I appreciate you for being such a genuine and humble human being. I love how much you love your fans. You always keep your feet on the ground, not looking down on the people that show up to give you support. I appreciate how you come and interact with them/us, approaching us like we're your friends that you have not seen for a long time.

I know I may seem like an obsessed fan, I'm not. This is all I know I can do. I don't really expect anything from this. I don't expect you to even notice this. All I know is that I want to send you some kind of message that can express how much I admire you. Anyway! I cannot wait for your newest projects! I'll be here supporting you. Keep up your good work!

My name is Alejandra, btw. But, everyone calls me Andy. I hope you're doing fine!

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️

I dashed to my bedroom and opened my side table and scrambled through a variety of messes before finding my passport at the bottom of the drawer. I immediately went back to my laptop and started to book a flight. I was about to finalize the details when I remember that I also need to arrange for Apollo to be transported to Bangkok with me.

I started researching how I can transport Apollo and be able to stay with me in the cabin. Most airlines only allow dogs that weigh up to 20lbs inside, but Apollo is well way over that size. Luckily, I found an airline that has a specialized cabin for them and decided to book a flight with them. I researched their requirements and listed down everything according to urgency. I booked Apollo his vet appointment for the next day so I can get his health certificate ASAP. I need to submit it to the airlines. I also planned a trip to the nearest pet store to buy Apollo a travel crate. I also called the airlines to start with the negotiations and as I make sure that I clearly understood everything that I needed to acquire.

I finished booking my ticket with the airline agent. I waited for the confirmation email that contains my travel itinerary. I forwarded it to Palm. I closed my laptop and smiled at Apollo who is happily resting by my feet. I picked up my phone and started dialling Caiden's number. The line rang a few times before he picked up.

"Hello..?" came a female voice. This made me stop on my tracks.

"Cami, is that you?" I asked. Cami is Caiden's sister, Camille's, nickname. She usually jokingly answers her brother's phone to piss him off.

"No, it's Steffanie," was the answer I received.

"Where's Caiden?" I asked as I proceeded to the fridge to see what ingredients I have and plan what to cook. I put the phone down and turned on the speaker.

"He's in the shower," she bit at me. " What do you need from my boyfriend?" she asked snarkily.

Her answer made me roll my eyes and scoff in incredulity. "Give him the phone then, I've heard him do worse," I bit her back.

"Who's that on the phone," I heard Caiden's voice.

"Andie," Steffanie answered.

I heard some scuffling sounds and his roof deck door opening before I heard his voice. "Your girlfriend sure is obnoxious, jerk-face," I remarked as I heard the door close.

"I heard that, bish," he retorted. I laughed as I took out fresh mushrooms and bell peppers. "So, what do you need that you're calling me this early?" he asked.

"Huh?" I looked at my phone, puzzled by his question. "What's the connection between my call and what time it is?" I questioned back as I took out the milk from the fridge door.

"We usually talk at night, Andie," he retorted in his "duh" voice. I rolled my eyes. "So? Why are you calling?" he questioned again.

"Guess I'll be flying to Bangkok in two weeks," I casually shared.

"Wait..! What???!!" I can hear his smile from his voice. "I told you you'll get it!" he added. "Congratulations, Alejandra! You really deserve that offer!" I can hear genuine pride and delight from his tone.

"Thanks, Cai. I just didn't want to get my hopes up and be disappointed in the end," I explained as I took out the chopping board and a knife.

"How long do you plan to stay, this time?" he asked. I started chopping all of the ingredients I took out beginning with the mushrooms.

"I don't know. Let's see if it would last a year. But, if nothing major happens at the end, I just might extend my stay," I answered honestly.

Caiden was silent for a moment. "Take as many projects as you can. Prolong your stay there as much as possible. I can visit you anytime, so don't even bother thinking about us here," he advised. This made me smile.

"I know that you'll be following me even if I don't say it," I joked.

"Damn right I will be!" he proudly announced. "So, when will your flight leave?" he finally asked.

"The Saturday two weeks from now. I think I will be finished with all the paperwork and needed preparations by then," I answered.

"What about your apartment?"

"That's also one of the reasons why I called. Can you handle selling it for me?" I asked.

"Are you sure?" he worriedly asked.

I gave it more thought, "Yeah, I'm sure. Besides, I have your place to crash at if I want to go back here," I joked.

"Well, my mom does welcome your company at any time," he laughed.

"Your mom loves me more than she loves you," I teased him.

"We both know that's a fact," he chuckled. "Do you need my help packing up?" he asked.

"No. But, you can help me by taking me to the airport," I tested the waters. He chuckled, "I need your truck for Apollo and his travel crate," I explained with a laugh.

"I would have driven you to the airport even if you never asked," he shot back with a laugh.

"Thanks, Cai. Get back to your Steffanie and I'll get to my cooking," I said goodbye.

"Just tell me if there's something you need and I'll run to you ASAP," he bid before ending the call. I shook my head at my phone realizing that he did not even wait for my answer before he cut the call.

I proceeded on cooking my meal. I also prepared a meal for Apollo after cooking mine. I placed his food bowl on it holder-slash-stand before I proceeded to eat my meal. Apollo immediately started devouring his meal, which made me laugh as I ate a forkful of mine. Watching Apollo finish his huge bowl of food made me reminisce the times when I first got him. I had just moved into my previous apartment when I came across him on the streets. He did not look like other strays which does not have distinguishable traits right at the bat. You can definitely tell that he's a pure bred puppy. I immediately took him and rushed to the nearest veterinary clinic. Luckily, he was super friendly and trusting when I picked him up from the streets that I did not have any problem with taking him with me.

The veterinarian told me that he, fortunately, has a clean bill of health. He would only need deworming shots and vaccines just to make sure that he'll stay that way.  I took him home from the clinic and was surprised at how well-mannered he is for a puppy. He did not cry the whole night, he slept with me on my bed and was patient when I give him his food. I looked for a new apartment to rent as soon as the morning came since the landlord of where I was staying does not allow large-sized pets. I was lucky that I got ahold of my current unit and have stayed ever since. Apollo is my lucky charm. He brings me luck, peace and, most importantly, pure love. I will never exchange Apollo for anything else in this world.

The two weeks that I had to prepare for my move passed by so quickly that it's now the eve of my flight. I received the information regarding my accomodation about a week after the initial call. I also brought Apollo to his vet for the necessary check-up and paper work for the flight. Because I have way too many clothes that I can't possibly bring them all, I decided to divide it between those that I can give away, those I will donate and the ones that I will be bringing with me. I also spent half of the time organizing the things in my little apartment and packing away everything that will be placed in storage.

I checked my luggage one last time, to make sure that I have packed everything and that none of the clothes I decided to bring were mixed with the ones I decided to give away. I had already set aside the clothes I will be wearing for the flight. I looked around my room, seeing the empty surfaces that once held proofs of my existence. I can't help but feel anxious though the feelings of happiness and excitement are overpowering it. Apollo jumped up on my bed and laid his head on my lap.

"I know, big guy. I'm gonna miss this place, too," I smiled down at him as I stroke his huge, fluffy head. "Why don't we go sleep? We've got a big day ahead for us?" I asked him as I reached out to turn off the lights. He snuggled deeper into my side, I gave him one more stroke in the head before I closed my eyes. I can't wait for the new challenges and adventures that await me when dawn breaks.

[findanattorney]

Steps To Take If You’re Injured During A Protest

You have the constitutional right to participate in a peaceful protest. But unfortunately, there are times when a peaceful demonstration turns rowdy and results in casualty usually as a result of the violent conduct of vandals or excessive use of force by the police. 

If you or your loved one ever got injured during a protest, then you want to read this article to the end to know what you can do to seek redress and pursue compensation from the perpetrators to recover your injuries and damages. 

The legal route to take if you can prove that someone was responsible for your injuries is to file a lawsuit against the responsible party. Filing a personal injury lawsuit or human right violation claim, depending on the nature of your case, is necessary to ensure that you don’t have to bear the cost of treating the injuries you never caused. 

Who Can You Hold Responsible for Injuries During a Protest? 

Depending on the circumstances surrounding your case, you can possibly hold someone or a group responsible for injuries you sustained during a protest. The following are common causes of injuries during a protested and the right action you can take to pursue compensation: 

Premises Liability 

If you fell and broke your legs or arms due to a wet floor or broken rail, you might be able to file a premises liability claim against the owner or manager of the property. There’s a just ground for filing this type of lawsuit especially if you can prove that the owner failed to take necessary safety measures to prevent this injury. 

Although the injury occurred during a protest, the standard criteria for premises liability could still apply. To recover a fair compensation to cover your medical bills and other losses, you need to engage the service of an experienced personal injury lawyer. Different states have different rules and time limits for victims of personal injuries to seek redress. Get in touch with a lawyer in your area to know your options, and best way to maximize compensation. 

Find a Personal Injury Attorney Near You

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Police Brutality 

Law enforcement agents like police are meant to protect people and their property. But things can get really messy during protests. On several occasions, police use of excessive force or violent acts have led to injuries, deaths, and civil rights violations that shouldn’t have happened if caution was observed. 

Injuries may occur in the process of the police trying to break up or disperse the demonstrators. Recent protests in the United States featured some horrible scenes where police were using what they term “nonlethal” or “less-lethal” weapons such as batons, pepper balls and sprays, tear gas, rubber bullets or bean bag rounds. 

Common injuries arising from police brutality include broken bones, internal bleeding, head injuries, concussions, traumatic brain injuries, shortness of breath, bruising and spike in blood pressure from tear gas. 

If you ever get injured in the process of police’s use of force to restrict your right to protest, then you may file a lawsuit against the responsible party. However, taking on the police in a lawsuit is never a walk in the park. This is because law enforcement agents are government employees who enjoy some level of “qualified immunity” from certain lawsuits. Meanwhile, this doesn’t mean that they cannot be held liable. To get justice, you need an experienced police brutality attorney on your side. 

Assault by Another Person 

Sometimes, a protest can become rowdy as a result of misunderstanding among demonstrators. The rowdiness could also arise from disagreement with a counter-protester. In the event that you’re assaulted by another person, it is a criminal matter which you can file a lawsuit to address. However, if your injuries were as a result of the negligent or carefree conduct of another individual, then you might have grounds for a personal injury case. 

Either way, the important thing is to hold the responsible person liable and get the fair compensation to cover your medical bills and other damages such as lost wages. In some cases, you can hold more than one person liable for your injury. For example, if you were assaulted by someone during a protest, and there were no security personnel on ground to rescue you, you can pursue a claim against the responsible person as well as the organizer of the protest for their failure to maintain a safe environment. 

Likewise, it is possible to file a claim against the city or state authorities if you were assaulted on public property. However, you must be able to prove that the city or state was negligent and failed to provide adequate security. 

Should You Rely on Your Health Insurance Provider for Compensation? 

You’re likely going to face issues with your health insurers if you try to file a claim for your injuries. For one, most insurance policies do not cover injuries sustained during a riot. In cases where your insurance policy covers it, insurance companies can be dubious and you cannot trust them to provide just and fair compensation. 

Insurance companies are for-profit organizations that mainly care about their bottom lines. They will use various tactics to minimize your compensation. The only person you can trust to fight for you is your lawyer. 

Conclusion 

Take the following steps if you ever got injured in a protest: 

Take a proper note of how the incident transpired 

Involve the authority, i.e. the police 

Get the identity and contact information of the responsible person, including their insurance information 

Exchange contacts with eyewitnesses at the scene of the incident 

Get immediate medical treatment 

Contact a lawyer to commence the process of pursuing compensation 

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from Find an attorney https://findanattorney.net/steps-to-take-if-youre-injured-during-a-protest/

[webdesignersolutions]

This is probably a story that’s familiar to many of you. I was involuntarily migrated when Site5 acquired IXwebhosting, which I’d used since 2004. To be more precise, it looks like EIG acquired IXwebhosting in 2015, drove it into the ground, and then merged it with another one of its holdings (Site5). I didn’t know what EIG was until I read these forums, but now it all makes sense. IX had issues from time to time, but my support tickets were answered and my issues always got resolved. The move to Site5 left me with crippled cpanel access, and no more support for catchall emails. It cost twice as much, and didn’t offer anything resembling support.

Before I realized the severity of the situation, I actually used Site5 to register a domain name that I intended to use for a business (protip: don’t). They marked the domain as “pending” for three months, and deflected my questions about the progress of the registration. During this time, another company (TPP Wholesale) sniped it out from under me. (I had taken care to check for domain ownership status via commandline/whois, rather than type it into online forms.) To add insult to injury, Site5 tried to continue to bill me for this domain I didn’t (and now, couldn’t) own. We had a good method of dialogue about the issue, though: I’d open a support ticket, and they’d mark it as “closed” by saying the problem was out of their hands since the domain was now owned by someone else. I’d re-open the ticket. Finally I did get them to cough up the $12 I spent on registry, but my business idea is still adrift without a name.

“The domain was available when I bought it. It was not registered by TPP Wholesale until just last month. When I registered the domain, I checked whois first, and it was available. The domain was offered as available through the site5 website, also indicating that it was available. After I bought it, the registration was marked “Pending.” Why was the site not registered? Why did you wait for three months before TPP Wholesale Pty Ltd. stole it? How can I trust site5 in the future?”

“I checked into the issue and could see that the domain registration was not successful from back end and hence it was in pending state, Usually domain registration will not take so long time, Unfortunately the domain is now taken by TPP Wholesale Pty Ltd. Please let us know if you would like to get the refund or register another domain with us.”

Oh good, I can register another domain name! No thanks. Finally, as other users here have noted, it’s been a year since I was able to email someone with a Yahoo or AOL email address.

Site5’s response to my complaint about this was a masterful piece of nothing-speak:

“The issue with yahoo is being investigated by our senior admins, however this appears to not be simply an issue with your domain or email, but the internet/network itself in relations to where email is being sent (in this case, servers of Yahoo.com when sending to a ‘@yahoo’ email address). We are doing everything possible from our end, keep in mind, we do not have any control over Yahoo servers, and though our efforts and steps we take, there is potentially updates required of Yahoo and their email network and server may be needed. There is still further research being conducted.”

This was the last straw. I knew I’d need to migrate everything, but was dragging my heels at the thought of potentially winding up in another similar situation. I found this subreddit the other day, and checked out the recommended hosts in the sidebar. iWebFusion has been stellar so far. I was able to speak to a live human within minutes, get reasonable answers to my questions, and find a “Micro” reseller plan that appears to have been custom-designed for someone like me: a reluctant web dev who happens to host a few websites for friends and family, mostly artists and musicians.

They’ve handled the cpanel migration like champs, and answered all of my questions along the way. It feels like the prgmr of webhosting (prgmr won me over years ago with their dead-simple offerings and their motto “we don’t assume you are stupid.”) No animated animals trying to sell me predesigned websites, no promotional prices that expire, no crap at all. Lovely.

I just wanted to say thanks to this community for helping me take the red pill and wake up from the EIG nightmare.

Submitted July 16, 2020 at 07:55PM by lotrng https://www.reddit.com/r/webhosting/comments/hsnzcd/more_reasons_to_avoid_eig_and_thank_you/?utm_source=ifttt

from Blogger http://webdesignersolutions1.blogspot.com/2020/07/more-reasons-to-avoid-eig-and-thank-you.html via IFTTT

[maritzaerwin]

10 Reasons You’re Not Getting Job Interviews — And How to Turn It Around

The job market is more competitive than ever. If you’re one of the many seekers, you might feel discouraged right now. You send out scores of resumes and monitor your inbox like a kid awaiting holiday gifts, and — nothing. Or, worse, you had an interview and you didn’t get the job. Why?

If you’re asking, “Why can’t I get an interview or a job after one?” then you need to take a step back and a deep breath. Issues with your resume, approach, attitude, or all of the above can hinder your opportunities. In a competitive market, you need every edge you can get. Read on to discover how to improve your chances of success.

The Great Resume Ghostland

You find a position that’s ideally suited to your experience and abilities. You know that you’d be the perfect fit — but days pass and you don’t hear anything. It’s enough to make anyone throw up their hands.

You might feel tempted to yield to catastrophic thinking. If you are a recent graduate, you might feel like the deck is stacked against you and the situation is hopeless. If you had a solid career track, you might think, “I’m too old, and I’ll never find anything that pays near the salary and benefits I deserve.” These concerns are valid. It’s a tight market and ageism does exist.

However, giving in to despair will only hinder your progress and potentially lead you to make unwise decisions. Do a mindfulness meditation to center yourself and realize that employers ghost applicants for reasons that have nothing to do with you, your skills, or bias.

When you submit your resume online, crawlers scan your resume for specific keywords. If your document lacks them, no humans may ever know you applied. The best way to avoid this black hole is to carefully read all job descriptions and sprinkle the same language they use throughout your CV.  You should customize each application, anyway.

Sometimes you don’t get a response because there’s simply no time. Hiring managers have the same 24-hour day as everyone else, and with the glut of recent applicants, their desks are overflowing. If you find a position that’s to-die-for, follow up after five days if you haven’t heard anything. Doing so might not work, but making a phone call to ensure the organization received your application will get your name on their radar. Familiarity matters, and even if you don’t land that role, you could remain on their minds when other opportunities arise.

Why Can’t I Get a Job Interview?

However, sometimes you don’t get called because you made a mistake. If you notice an error, don’t beat yourself up. However, do check the following factors so that you’re not stuck asking, “Why can’t I get a job interview?”

1. You Don’t Follow Instructions

Job applications can include a host of demands. Jobs in the education sector, for example, often require you to write essays about your teaching philosophy. Other roles may require you to complete various aptitude tests. Some applicants go so far as to skip the online application entirely and email their resume directly. This behavior doesn’t do anything to ensure a potential employer that you’re the type of individual they can trust to follow company rules and policies.

2. You Don’t Highlight Your Soft Skills

Your future employer wants to know about the degrees, certificates, and licenses you carry. However, if you neglect to add things like your ability to work well with others and to remain calm in a crisis, hiring managers can pass your application over even if you meet the qualifications listed in the posting. Some 89% of talented professionals say that bad hires typically lack soft skills like the organizational ability.

When you do list things like “excellent time management” on your resume, back it up with concrete examples. Did you never miss a deadline at your former employer? Make sure to mention it — and back up your assertion with a reference from someone in your company who can attest to your promptness.

3. You List Responsibilities, Not Accomplishments

If you are just starting, you might not have many things to list. Likewise, if you haven’t had to search for some time, you might forget the resume skill of highlighting your accomplishments. Consider these two examples:

Stocked shelves — If your only job to date was in a grocery store, you might scratch your head at how to describe your achievements. This statement tells the hiring manager what you did — but not much else.

 Increased revenue by 10% by improving facing procedures — Now you’re cooking with gas. Anyone who has ever worked in a market has probably stocked shelves. How did you do your job differently and better than others to improve your employer’s bottom line?

What if you are fresh out of high school and have never held a job before? Don’t worry! When listing your accomplishments, look to the following examples for inspiration:

 Maintained an X.X GPA for three years — Do you hit the books? This statement is the ideal way to prove it.

Ran a babysitting service while balancing perfect attendance — Remember how crucial soft skills are? This accomplishment shows a potential employer that you take initiative and possess impressive time-management skills.

Remember, being specific about your skills and accomplishments can make all the difference.

4. You Don’t Tailor Your Resume

You’re applying to a list of jobs longer than a CVS receipt. Do you have to tweak your resume for each one? If you hope to obtain any of the positions you apply for, the answer is “yes.”

Fortunately, you don’t have to write a new document for each listing. You can use techniques like reordering and removing components to make your resume customized to the advertised role. Instead of looking at this exercise as futile when you feel discouraged, think of it as preparation for the interview that you’re sure to score. You’ll want to take copies with you when you get the call, and reviewing the version you prepared will remind you what this employer values.

5. You Don’t Meet the Minimum Requirements

You want to pursue your ambitions, but applying for jobs that you know you lack the qualifications for is a sure ticket to the disappointment train. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t investigate other opportunities at the same organization. Your ambition could come in handy.

There are no guarantees in the job market, but you could try the following approach.

Write an email to the individual listed as the point of contact and express your interest in working with them. You could say, “I recently saw your listing for X position. While I lack the minimum experience required for this role, I’m impressed by your organization’s structure and values. I’d welcome an opportunity to learn while providing value. Do you know of any open positions that match my qualifications?”

The answer is always “no” if you don’t ask.

6. You Don’t Explain Employment Gaps

If you are a seasoned career professional, you may have years when you didn’t work. Perhaps you had an automobile accident that temporarily impeded your ability to work, or maybe you took time off to raise a family. You need to remember that potential employers don’t keep crystal balls on their desks. Unless you explain the discrepancy, they may interpret it as a red flag that you’re not hireable.

You can explain your circumstances in your cover letter. When you do, stick to the facts and be brief. Do mention that the situation was temporary and will not impact your performance if selected.

7. You List Your Job-Hopping History

Does your resume resemble so much Swiss cheese? If so, you have some explaining to do, but you might not make it to the interview stage. You might have valid reasons, but to a hiring manager, a string of jobs lasting less than a year makes you look flighty and unreliable.

Consider highlighting only those positions that pertain most closely to the position for which you’re applying and where you have references. Doing so may mean you give up experience points if you don’t have much relevant work history, but it’s better than looking like you jump ship the second things get hectic in the office.

8. You Missed a Critical Deadline

When you read the job description, pay careful attention to the deadlines. Treat your search like a small business. Make a detailed spreadsheet that tracks all pertinent information, including application due dates, follow-up dates, and names and contact information of critical individuals. You can refer to this document when you create your daily to-do list to stay organized.

9. You Use the Wrong File Format

This advice could fall under following directions, but it could have a long-term impact on your future job prospects. If the advertisement requires you to email your resume in a specific file format, make sure you do so. Otherwise, your recruiter won’t be able to open your documents and they won’t waste their limited time trying to figure out the conversion.

There are ample free tools available online, so make use of them to perfect your materials before sending them.

10. You Make Careless Errors

You’ve heard the advice a million times and you still didn’t run a spelling and grammar check before submitting your resume. That careless mistake could cost you your future dream job.

When it comes to getting interviews, check and recheck your application for any careless mistakes. Since spell-check alone won’t catch every error, use a free browser extension like Grammarly as a secondary measure. Finally, have someone you trust to proofread your submission before saying your good-luck mantra and hitting send.

Why You Didn’t Get a Job After the Interview and How to Fix It

You finally got the phone call you’ve been waiting for, and you think you aced the interview. However, a week passes and you don’t hear back from the organization. When you reach out to them, they inform you that they have decided to move forward with other candidates.

Why are you not getting the job after your interview? Sometimes, companies go through the process even when they know they have an internal candidate whom they intend to promote to the position to fulfill legal requirements. In that instance, there’s little that you can do. However, sometimes, your behavior during the process needs some tweaking.

Arrive Promptly and Dress Appropriately

Few things raise a hiring manager’s ire more quickly than looking at their watch and wondering if you will show. Strive to arrive approximately 10 minutes ahead of your scheduled appointment, but don’t go earlier than that. If you have to drive a considerable distance, stop at a nearby coffee shop for a latte if you have extra time. Just be careful not to spill it on your interview clothes!

The same rule applies, albeit slightly differently, for online interviews. At least 10 minutes before your scheduled meeting, check to ensure all audio and visual equipment is working correctly. Technical difficulties do occur in the workplace, but one of the aspects your recruiter analyzes is your degree of tech-savviness. They might think, “If she can’t get her webcam working for our meeting, will she make a similar foible with a client?”

Remember to review the company’s or interviewers’ dress policies before preparing your outfit for interview day — if they haven’t provided you with guidelines, always err on the side of professional, modest dress. 

Smile and Appear Confident

There is one upside to the COVID-19 pandemic — you have a ready excuse for not shaking your interviewer’s hand. If you tend to get sweaty paws when you’re nervous, you can breathe a sigh of relief. However, you still need to smile and exude confidence.

When you have an online interview, it’s more challenging because you can see yourself on the screen. Try to ignore the sidebar where your picture appears. Instead, act as if you are face-to-face with the hiring manager and strive to be as natural as possible. Remember to be positive and polite, but don’t get too friendly or become inappropriate.

Turn Off Your Devices

Few things are ruder than having your cell phone beep in the middle of your interview — except, of course, for answering it. If you can’t resist the urge to check notifications, you don’t need to ask why you didn’t get the job after your appointment. Leave it in your car if you have to sneak a peek when it vibrates.

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

Finally, take the time to research the organization thoroughly before you arrive for your appointment. Check them out on social media and read the company blog to get insight into their culture and practices. Click on the “investor relations” tab on their website to get an idea of their financial health. The last thing you want is to take a position only to undergo a round of layoffs a month later.

Get the Interview — and Land the Job — With These Tips

If you’re wondering why you can’t get an interview, or land the job afterward, take time to evaluate your approach. Above all, remain persistent and positive, and keep climbing the career ladder.

The post 10 Reasons You’re Not Getting Job Interviews — And How to Turn It Around appeared first on CareerMetis.com.

10 Reasons You’re Not Getting Job Interviews — And How to Turn It Around published first on https://skillsireweb.tumblr.com/

[dinafbrownil]

Nothing To Sneeze At: The $2,659 Bill To Pluck Doll’s Shoe From Child’s Nostril

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Do you have an exorbitant or baffling medical bill? Join the KHN and NPR ‘Bill of the Month’ Club and tell us about your experience. We’ll feature a new one each month.

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It was supposed to be a fun evening out for Katy and Michael Branson. But their 3-year-old daughter, Lucy, apparently had other ideas.

The couple had tickets for a Saturday night show in April in their hometown of Las Vegas, and had arranged for a sitter to watch their two girls. But as Mom and Dad were getting dressed, Lucy came upstairs to their bedroom coughing and looking rather uncomfortable.

“I think she has something up her nose,” Michael said.

For reasons she couldn’t quite explain, Lucy had shoved a matching pair of pink Polly Pocket doll shoes up her nose — one in each nostril.

Her parents tried to get her to blow her nose to dislodge the plastic footwear, but Lucy could do no better than a few sniffs. Katy found a pair of tweezers and was able to remove one shoe, but the second was too far up Lucy’s tiny nose for them to reach.

Michael took Lucy to a nearby urgent care center, where the doctors had no more luck with the tweezers — called forceps in medical parlance — they had on hand and suggested he take her to the emergency room. There, a doctor was able to remove the shoe in less than a second, as Michael recalled it, with a longer set of forceps. The doctor typically finds Tic Tac mints up there, he told them. This was his first doll shoe extraction.

“All in all, it was an eventful evening,” Katy said. “My husband makes it back, we go to the show, my daughter’s fine.”

The Bransons figured they had weathered another typical night of parenting and didn’t give it much more thought. Then the bill came.

Lucy holds a pair of Polly Pocket doll shoes similar to the ones she stuck up her nose.(Heidi de Marco/KHN)

The Patient: Lucy Branson, now 4, a precocious preschooler with a fondness for any sort of doll. She’s insured through her father’s high-deductible plan with UnitedHealthcare.

Total Bill: $2,658.98, consisting of a $1,732 hospital bill and a $926.98 physician bill.

Service Provider: St. Rose Dominican, Siena Campus, in Henderson, Nev., part of the not-for-profit Dignity Health hospital system.

Medical Procedure: Removal of a foreign body in the nose, using forceps.

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What Gives: The Bransons negotiated a reduction of the physician’s bill by half by agreeing to pay within 20 days. But Dignity Health declined multiple requests for an interview or to explain how it arrived at the $1,732 total for the ER visit.

“Not every urgent situation is an emergency,” the hospital said in an emailed statement. “It is important for patients to understand the terms of their health insurance before seeking treatment. For example, those with high-deductible plans may want to consider urgent care centers in nonemergency situations.”

The hospital billed the Bransons $1,143 for the emergency room visit and $589 for removing the shoe. The entire $1,732 hospital bill was applied against their deductible.

For public health plans like Medicare or Medicaid, the hospital generally bills an average of $526 for removing a foreign body from the nose and gets an average payment of $101, according to WellRithms, a medical billing review firm.

According to cost reports submitted to Medicare, the hospital’s average cost for the procedure comes to less than $48. That’s less than a quarter of the $222 fee WellRithms recommended and well below the $589 St. Rose charged the Bransons.

The Bransons had options as they chose their employer-sponsored health plan. They picked one with a high deductible of $6,000 per year. So instead of paying $500 more a month in premiums, the family could pocket that difference if they avoided any major health problems.

“I’d rather gamble that I might have to pay it, versus commit to paying it every month,” Katy said.

Dignity Health billed the Bransons $1,143 for Lucy’s emergency room visit and $589 for removing the doll shoe from her nostril.(Heidi de Marco/KHN)

The Bransons were ready to cover the full deductible for any emergency that might arise. They just never thought something as simple as extracting a plastic shoe with tweezers would garner such a big bill.

More From Our Bill Of The Month Series

Grief Grew Into A Mental Health Crisis And A $21,634 Hospital Bill Oct 31

Her Biopsy Report Was Benign. But The Bill Is A Spot Of Contention. Sep 30

They Got Estimates Before Surgery — And A Bill After That Was 50% More Aug 30

First Kidney Failure, Then A $540,842 Bill For Dialysis Jul 25

A Year After Spinal Surgery, A $94,031 Bill Feels Like A Back-Breaker Jun 17

Removing a foreign body from a child’s nose or ear is a fairly common procedure in emergency rooms, with the variety of objects removed from noses limited only by the size of the nostrils.

“Kids like to put things in their nose or their ears, for whatever reason,” said Dr. Melissa Scholes, an ear, nose and throat specialist with the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Scholes recently reviewed records from 102 children who came to Children’s Hospital Colorado from 2007 to 2012 with objects stuck in their noses. About a third of those patients were referred to an ear, nose and throat clinic, and about half of those required surgery to remove the object. Doctors were able to remove the object in the emergency room in the remaining two-thirds of cases.

Scholes said pediatricians don’t often have the necessary tools to remove the object. Those can include extra-long tweezers or a catheter with a balloon on the end. The tip of the catheter is snaked past the object then the balloon is inflated and the catheter is pulled out, dislodging the foreign body.

“People don’t really have a good grasp of the anatomy of the nose, because a lot of people think it’s just like a tube,” Scholes said. “It’s a big cave once you get past the nostrils. So once things get back far enough, you kind of lose them.”

Resolution: The Bransons are still fighting to get a detailed explanation of how Dignity Health calculated its bill.

“It’s not even so much that we can’t pay that if we absolutely have to,” Katy Branson said. “It doesn’t make sense that it costs that much. A human being needs to look at this and say, ‘WTF? Why are we charging $3,000 to take a Barbie shoe out of the kid’s nose?’” (WTF, in this case, stands for “Why the fee?”)

After all, Katy doesn’t own a single pair of shoes worth anywhere close to $3,000 herself.

“Well, apparently, now I have one,” she said. “But they’re not in my closet; they’re in the playroom.”

The Takeaway: Check with your doctor if you can about whether a medical issue constitutes an emergency or if it can wait until morning.

Sometimes your pediatrician’s office can recommend a do-it-yourself method for removing an object in the nose to avoid a costly emergency room visit.

The Bransons never thought something as simple as extracting a plastic shoe with tweezers would garner such a big bill.(Heidi de Marco/KHN)

In what’s known as the “mother’s kiss,” Mom covers the child’s mouth with her mouth to form a seal, blocks the clear nostril with her finger then blows into the mouth. The pressure from the breath may then expel the object. (The technique works equally well when performed by dads.)

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For parents whose children have put things up their noses: Scholes said such objects rarely move much and can generally wait until an appointment the next morning. Having the object removed without the ER facility fee will be cheaper.

In terms of the bill, the Bransons were smart to negotiate right away, and they succeeded in getting a significant discount from the original. Many hospitals offer what they like to call “prompt-pay discounts” (often 10% to 25%). For hospitals, getting the cash quickly is valuable, and even billing clerks may be able to approve the discount on the spot.

But don’t jump at the first discount they offer. And don’t let an outrageous bill sit on the kitchen table as you get angrier and angrier. Start haggling and hassling ― and keep it up. After all, a 25% discount off a highly inflated bill results in one that is only slightly less outrageous, as the Bransons found out the hard way.

NPR produced and edited the interview with KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal for broadcast. Stephanie O’Neill provided audio reporting.

Bill of the Month is a crowdsourced investigation by Kaiser Health News and NPR that dissects and explains medical bills. Do you have an interesting medical bill you want to share with us? Tell us about it!

from Updates By Dina https://khn.org/news/nothing-to-sneeze-at-the-2659-bill-to-pluck-dolls-shoe-from-childs-nostril/

[josephkchoi]

The Simple Reason Why Your B2B Lead Gen Conversion Rates Are Completely Wrong

If you spend $1,000 on a lead gen campaign and get 250 leads, that’s a cost per lead of $4, right?

So wrong.

And, yeah, I know what you’re thinking: “That’s a bullshit clickbait title, Oli.” Thing is, not only is it completely true, but the impact of this mistake is countless ROI calculations that are totally incorrect. A quick LinkedIn search for roles in marketing and advertising produced 2,282,979 results in the US and Canada alone. How many of those people are presenting the wrong numbers to their bosses and clients?

To understand what’s happening, we first need to consider how it’s happening—and why.

The Three Levels of Marketing IQ

The theme of this year’s CTAConf in September is Marketing IQ, and one of the concepts I’ll be talking about in my keynote is the three levels of marketing intelligence—each of which manifests its own version of how lead generation is done and measured.

Low IQ Marketing

This is spammy marketing that chases leads at all cost—”hacks” and “tricks” that deliver a really poor experience and produce results that aren’t useful. These are techniques that have no business in the operations of a respectable marketing team or an organization with strong core values.

Fixed IQ Marketing

This is marketing that’s good, but doesn’t go deep enough. You might have a great landing page, but you’re only measuring success by the conversion rate or the number of conversions—both of which are great metrics that are unfortunately incorrect. This leads to the inaccurate ROI calculations I mentioned earlier.

High IQ Marketing

This is marketing that takes things to a new level, going past surface-level findings to understand the true value of your generated leads. High IQ marketers apply a more intelligent method to calculating their ROI, which I’ll get to in a moment.

Get 15% off your tickets to CTAConf 2019. Want to raise your marketing IQ with insights from some of the top minds in the industry? Use the code MarketingIQ during checkout and save a bundle.

What Does Marketing IQ Look Like?

Here’s what I mean. All B2B lead gen campaigns will produce two types of leads that aren’t actually leads.

Spam email addresses from form-filling bots.

Fake email addresses from people who don’t want to be put on a list.

With this in mind, if you don’t go through your leads list and clean out the bad data, your conversion rate calculations (and hence your ROI calculations) are incorrect. You may have software to do this, which is great—but often you’ll just be working with a spreadsheet. That means you would need to manually go through to calculate how many of your leads aren’t real.

For instance, I recently ran a campaign (let’s call it Campaign X) in which 3% of the leads were spam and 8% were fake. Worse, another 36% were personal Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo! email addresses, which don’t represent the ideal type of leads for marketing B2B products.

In this scenario, a low IQ marketer wouldn’t even notice (or care, frankly) that a third of their leads are junk. A fixed IQ marketer might remove the 11% (3% and 8%) of bad form fills and recalculate their conversion rate—a step in the right direction, but we can do better.

We need to think like high IQ marketers. We can improve the way we optimize our campaigns by going beyond conversion rates and considering micro metrics.

High IQ Marketing: Using Micro Metrics to Optimize Smarter

Micro metrics are a more nuanced look at what’s happening in the campaign experience. They provide us with alternative ways to measure performance—beyond the top-level conversion rate.

In Campaign X, we can consider the following three values as micro metrics that can be individually optimized:

The percentage of spam email addresses entered by bots.

The percentage of fake email addresses entered by humans.

The percentage of professional or branded email addresses.

In regard to the metric #3, a branded email address is one that includes the company you work for (like oli@unbounce.com), as opposed to your personal email address (such as london_oli@hotmail.com, my first and long inactive email address). This is important, because having someone’s branded email address means that you get to see which companies are signing up. Plus, when you do your follow-up email marketing, you know you’re contacting someone when they’re thinking about business (rather than sitting on the toilet checking their personal email).

If you wanted to optimize the landing page in Campaign X, you’d go through some of the normal steps of doing research coupled with ideation around possible improvements—but you might not have a strong starting position in terms of focus. By zeroing in on the micro metrics, we know exactly which aspects of behavior we’re trying to influence.

High IQ Marketing: Micro Metrics in Practice

Using micro metrics, I’ll walk through some of the optimization ideas that I implemented in Campaign X (and how they performed in an A/B test).

Optimizing Micro Metric #1: Spam Emails

In this instance, you could add a CAPTCHA or honeypot to try to prevent the spam bots getting through, but I decided to focus on optimizing metrics #2 and #3 as they presented larger opportunities.

Optimizing Micro Metric #2: Fake Emails

The goal of Campaign X was to gain access to a free landing page course, but people were entering fake emails hoping that they would get access regardless. (They did—it redirected them to the course after the form was submitted.) To fix this problem, I added a simple statement beside the email field that stated: “Enter the email address you’d like us to send the course link to.” People felt that they had to add a real email address in order to continue.

Impact: The number of fake emails dropped from 7.9% to 5%—an improvement of 35%.

Optimizing Micro Metric #3: Branded Emails

For this one, I leaned on some experimentation I did a few years ago where I tested changing the label on the email address field. In my research, I found that by rewriting “Email Address” to say “Business Email Address,” the number of branded emails went up by almost 60%. (I guess you get what you ask for.)

Impact: When I leveraged this research and applied it to Campaign X, it helped increase the number of branded emails from 66.4% to 80.8%—an increase of 21.7%.

What Can We Learn from Micro Metrics?

Earlier in my career, I’d look at a page and try to find things I could make “better” (which was largely subjective, even though it was based on 20 years of web experience) and it limited my number of successful A/B tests. By following a micro-metric approach instead, I’ve been able to learn faster and win more because I’m focused on behavior rather than perceived motivation.

If you want to improve your marketing through a better understanding of your true lead gen conversion rates, I’d suggest the following:

Do the manual labor of clicking through every lead you have—then count the percentage that are spam, fake, or personal (rather than branded).

Adjust your conversion rates and conversion counts accordingly.

Compare your new results to what you were previously reporting and communicate the correct numbers to your stakeholders.

Set up some micro metrics based on your observations and try to optimize specifically for them (rather than making the whole page “better”).

The simple but arduous task of manually inspecting your leads can provide a ton of insight that will inspire (or depress) you, depending on what you find.

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

The Simple Reason Why Your B2B Lead Gen Conversion Rates Are Completely Wrong published first on https://nickpontemrktg.wordpress.com/

[itsjessicaisreal]

The Simple Reason Why Your B2B Lead Gen Conversion Rates Are Completely Wrong

If you spend $1,000 on a lead gen campaign and get 250 leads, that’s a cost per lead of $4, right?

So wrong.

And, yeah, I know what you’re thinking: “That’s a bullshit clickbait title, Oli.” Thing is, not only is it completely true, but the impact of this mistake is countless ROI calculations that are totally incorrect. A quick LinkedIn search for roles in marketing and advertising produced 2,282,979 results in the US and Canada alone. How many of those people are presenting the wrong numbers to their bosses and clients?

To understand what’s happening, we first need to consider how it’s happening—and why.

The Three Levels of Marketing IQ

The theme of this year’s CTAConf in September is Marketing IQ, and one of the concepts I’ll be talking about in my keynote is the three levels of marketing intelligence—each of which manifests its own version of how lead generation is done and measured.

Low IQ Marketing

This is spammy marketing that chases leads at all cost—”hacks” and “tricks” that deliver a really poor experience and produce results that aren’t useful. These are techniques that have no business in the operations of a respectable marketing team or an organization with strong core values.

Fixed IQ Marketing

This is marketing that’s good, but doesn’t go deep enough. You might have a great landing page, but you’re only measuring success by the conversion rate or the number of conversions—both of which are great metrics that are unfortunately incorrect. This leads to the inaccurate ROI calculations I mentioned earlier.

High IQ Marketing

This is marketing that takes things to a new level, going past surface-level findings to understand the true value of your generated leads. High IQ marketers apply a more intelligent method to calculating their ROI, which I’ll get to in a moment.

Get 15% off your tickets to CTAConf 2019. Want to raise your marketing IQ with insights from some of the top minds in the industry? Use the code MarketingIQ during checkout and save a bundle.

What Does Marketing IQ Look Like?

Here’s what I mean. All B2B lead gen campaigns will produce two types of leads that aren’t actually leads.

Spam email addresses from form-filling bots.

Fake email addresses from people who don’t want to be put on a list.

With this in mind, if you don’t go through your leads list and clean out the bad data, your conversion rate calculations (and hence your ROI calculations) are incorrect. You may have software to do this, which is great—but often you’ll just be working with a spreadsheet. That means you would need to manually go through to calculate how many of your leads aren’t real.

For instance, I recently ran a campaign (let’s call it Campaign X) in which 3% of the leads were spam and 8% were fake. Worse, another 36% were personal Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo! email addresses, which don’t represent the ideal type of leads for marketing B2B products.

In this scenario, a low IQ marketer wouldn’t even notice (or care, frankly) that a third of their leads are junk. A fixed IQ marketer might remove the 11% (3% and 8%) of bad form fills and recalculate their conversion rate—a step in the right direction, but we can do better.

We need to think like high IQ marketers. We can improve the way we optimize our campaigns by going beyond conversion rates and considering micro metrics.

High IQ Marketing: Using Micro Metrics to Optimize Smarter

Micro metrics are a more nuanced look at what’s happening in the campaign experience. They provide us with alternative ways to measure performance—beyond the top-level conversion rate.

In Campaign X, we can consider the following three values as micro metrics that can be individually optimized:

The percentage of spam email addresses entered by bots.

The percentage of fake email addresses entered by humans.

The percentage of professional or branded email addresses.

In regard to the metric #3, a branded email address is one that includes the company you work for (like oli@unbounce.com), as opposed to your personal email address (such as london_oli@hotmail.com, my first and long inactive email address). This is important, because having someone’s branded email address means that you get to see which companies are signing up. Plus, when you do your follow-up email marketing, you know you’re contacting someone when they’re thinking about business (rather than sitting on the toilet checking their personal email).

If you wanted to optimize the landing page in Campaign X, you’d go through some of the normal steps of doing research coupled with ideation around possible improvements—but you might not have a strong starting position in terms of focus. By zeroing in on the micro metrics, we know exactly which aspects of behavior we’re trying to influence.

High IQ Marketing: Micro Metrics in Practice

Using micro metrics, I’ll walk through some of the optimization ideas that I implemented in Campaign X (and how they performed in an A/B test).

Optimizing Micro Metric #1: Spam Emails

In this instance, you could add a CAPTCHA or honeypot to try to prevent the spam bots getting through, but I decided to focus on optimizing metrics #2 and #3 as they presented larger opportunities.

Optimizing Micro Metric #2: Fake Emails

The goal of Campaign X was to gain access to a free landing page course, but people were entering fake emails hoping that they would get access regardless. (They did—it redirected them to the course after the form was submitted.) To fix this problem, I added a simple statement beside the email field that stated: “Enter the email address you’d like us to send the course link to.” People felt that they had to add a real email address in order to continue.

Impact: The number of fake emails dropped from 7.9% to 5%—an improvement of 35%.

Optimizing Micro Metric #3: Branded Emails

For this one, I leaned on some experimentation I did a few years ago where I tested changing the label on the email address field. In my research, I found that by rewriting “Email Address” to say “Business Email Address,” the number of branded emails went up by almost 60%. (I guess you get what you ask for.)

Impact: When I leveraged this research and applied it to Campaign X, it helped increase the number of branded emails from 66.4% to 80.8%—an increase of 21.7%.

What Can We Learn from Micro Metrics?

Earlier in my career, I’d look at a page and try to find things I could make “better” (which was largely subjective, even though it was based on 20 years of web experience) and it limited my number of successful A/B tests. By following a micro-metric approach instead, I’ve been able to learn faster and win more because I’m focused on behavior rather than perceived motivation.

If you want to improve your marketing through a better understanding of your true lead gen conversion rates, I’d suggest the following:

Do the manual labor of clicking through every lead you have—then count the percentage that are spam, fake, or personal (rather than branded).

Adjust your conversion rates and conversion counts accordingly.

Compare your new results to what you were previously reporting and communicate the correct numbers to your stakeholders.

Set up some micro metrics based on your observations and try to optimize specifically for them (rather than making the whole page “better”).

The simple but arduous task of manually inspecting your leads can provide a ton of insight that will inspire (or depress) you, depending on what you find.

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

from Marketing https://unbounce.com/lead-generation/conversion-rate-b2b/ via http://www.rssmix.com/