#Marketing Industry

[onlykdrama-com]

Cinderella at 2 AM EP 1

Ha Yun Seo is single and works as a team leader at a large company. She is attractive, has a nice personality, and is respected at her company. When she was younger, she took her younger brother and left her family because of domestic violence. She has now matured into a confident and pragmatic person. Her boyfriend is Seo Ju Won, who is younger than her. He works as a staff member at the same…

[lokesh-infinium]

Innovation Leads the Way: Referral Marketing Industry Values Soar in 2030

The dynamic referral marketing sector strategically harnesses customer recommendations and endorsements to drive business growth. At its essence, referral marketing taps into the influence of word-of-mouth advertising, utilizing satisfied customers as advocates to attract new clientele. This industry encompasses diverse target customer segments, each with unique characteristics and objectives. Consumer referral programs are integral to the referral marketing landscape, encouraging existing customers to refer friends, family, or acquaintances to the business. This method relies on the strong relationships customers have within their networks, capitalizing on the inherent trust and credibility in personal recommendations.

On a broader scale, enterprise referral programs target businesses and institutions, cultivating B2B relationships that can result in mutually beneficial collaborations. In this context, businesses leverage existing networks and partnerships to generate referrals, often within industry-specific ecosystems. Influencer marketing represents another dimension of the referral marketing industry, where individuals with substantial online influence are enlisted to endorse products or services to their followers. Influencer endorsements add a layer of credibility and reach, as their recommendations carry weight within their respective communities.

To Know More Request Sample of this Report@ https://www.infiniumglobalresearch.com/market-reports/sample-request/1484

Partner programs extend the reach of referral marketing by forming alliances with other businesses, affiliates, or resellers. Through collaborative efforts, businesses can tap into new audiences and markets, expanding their customer base and driving revenue growth.

The referral marketing industry is experiencing rapid growth due to its cost-effective approach to acquiring new customers through recommendations from existing ones. This economical avenue leverages endorsements and recommendations from the existing customer base, driving market expansion. Businesses recognize the impact of social media and the increasing adoption of influencer marketing in amplifying reach, enhancing brand visibility, and fostering customer engagement.

However, challenges such as incentive fatigue and fraud can impede market growth. Overreliance on discounts or rewards may lead to customer fatigue and potential fraud risks. The saturation of incentive programs or misuse of referral systems can undermine marketing campaign effectiveness, requiring careful management and oversight to mitigate these risks.

Nevertheless, technological advances, including social media platforms and referral software, offer opportunities for market growth. The integration of social media platforms and sophisticated referral software provides opportunities to streamline processes, enhance user experiences, and optimize the overall efficacy of referral marketing programs. This convergence of technology and marketing strategies opens new opportunities for businesses to adapt and thrive in an evolving landscape.

Enquire Here Get Customization & Check Discount for Report @ https://www.infiniumglobalresearch.com/market-reports/customization/1484

The global referral marketing industry is divided into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the rest of the world. Throughout the forecast period, North America is poised to secure a substantial share of revenue, primarily attributable to its well-established and highly developed markets. The region boasts a diverse range of industries, such as technology, finance, healthcare, and retail, which have traditionally been early adopters of innovative business practices. This economic diversity positions North American businesses to effectively employ referral marketing strategies across various sectors, contributing to the expected growth in revenue share.

Furthermore, the Asia Pacific region is anticipated to experience significant Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) during the forecasted period due to rapid economic development and the emergence of a growing middle class. The region's countries are undergoing swift economic growth and urbanization, resulting in increased consumer spending and disposable income. This economic dynamism creates an opportune environment for businesses to invest in and implement referral marketing strategies, taking advantage of the expanding consumer base.

Moreover, the rising prevalence of digital technology and internet connectivity in the Asia Pacific region is another key driver of the projected growth. With more individuals gaining access to smartphones and online platforms, the potential reach and effectiveness of referral marketing campaigns see substantial amplification. This digital transformation not only enable businesses to tap into diverse and geographically dispersed markets but also facilitates the seamless integration of referral programs across various online channels.

Key Market Players:

Impartner Inc.

ReferralCandy

Tapfiliate

Extole, Inc.

Genius Referrals

ClientCircle

AnnexCloud

Viral Loops Technologies Inc.

Mention Me Ltd

HelloReferrals

More Insights on this report, Speak to Our Analyst @ https://www.infiniumglobalresearch.com/market-reports/enquiry/1484

The report provides deep insights into demand forecasts, market trends, and micro and macro indicators. In addition, this report provides insights into the factors that are driving and restraining the growth in this market. Moreover, The IGR-Growth Matrix analysis given in the report brings an insight into the investment areas that existing or new market players can consider. The report provides insights into the market using analytical tools such as Porter's five forces analysis and DRO analysis of the referral marketing industry. Moreover, the study highlights current market trends and provides forecasts from 2023-2030. We also have highlighted future trends in the market that will affect the demand during the forecast period. Moreover, the competitive analysis given in each regional market brings an insight into the market share of the leading players.

About Us:

Today, the business organizations are going through transformation with competition getting fiercer and business practices becoming more aggressive. Companies that have abilities to fine tune their internal environment and amend themselves to be more competitive only survive, img/abouts have a risk of failure or being acquired. Some business organizations are vigorously working on their business strategies to make the most of the competition, while img/abouts are striving to survive in the competition and get along.

Infinium Global Research LLP is started with a single motto of being business partner of first choice. We at Infinium work on the strengths of our clients to ensure we help them consolidate their market position. We firmly believe in the fact that ‘if you are able to develop newer opportunities then you find there is no dearth of opportunities for you. With our strategic research approaches and deep dive in the market segments, we try to find out new opportunities that our clients can encash with their existing resources. Our experts with over 100 years of cumulative experience in research offer the best in the industry services to our clients to ensure that they achieve their business goals.

Contact Us:

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+91 99239 50043

info@infiniumglobalresearch.com

[mythalism]

has anyone told bioware that individual strand hair physics was not worth the bad writing

[tootinpatoonite]

I wonder how their interaction would go

[twnenglish]

How Marketing Agency Services can Grow Your Business

The marketing environment has changed dramatically in recent years. More companies than ever are trying to generate attention and awareness for their products and services. With the increased competition, it has become more difficult to grow a business by marketing using traditional methods.

That's why it's important to take advantage of all the options that exist in today's marketing world. That's where a marketing agency can help you - and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg! Marketing agencies offer a wide range of services, from branding to graphic design to social media management.

Find out how they can help you reach your marketing goals with this guide. The guide will provide information on how to find the right agency for your business, what kind of services they provide, and how pricing works.

How Marketing Agency Services can Grow Your Business

1. Strategic Planning for Business Success:

Strategic planning lies at the heart of any successful marketing campaign. Marketing agencies work closely with businesses to understand their goals, target audience, and competitive landscape. They conduct comprehensive market research, analyze industry trends, and develop strategies that align with the business objectives. This strategic planning process helps businesses identify unique selling propositions, position their brand effectively, and create a roadmap for achieving growth.

2. Effective Implementation of Marketing Strategies:

\Implementing marketing strategies requires expertise in various channels and platforms. Marketing agencies bring a wealth of experience in executing campaigns across traditional and digital channels, including advertising, social media, content marketing, email marketing, and more. By leveraging their knowledge and resources, agencies ensure that marketing initiatives are deployed efficiently, reaching the right audience at the right time. They optimize campaigns based on data analysis, monitor performance, and make necessary adjustments to maximize results.

3. Brand Development and Positioning:

Building a strong brand is essential for long-term success. Marketing agencies help businesses develop a compelling brand identity, including logo design, brand messaging, and visual elements. They craft cohesive brand narratives that resonate with the target audience and differentiate the business from competitors. By consistently communicating the brand's values and unique offerings, agencies enhance brand recognition, trust, and loyalty among consumers.

4. Digital Marketing for Online Success:

In today's digital age, an effective online presence is critical for business growth. Marketing agencies excel in digital marketing strategies that boost online visibility, drive website traffic, and generate leads. They employ search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, social media marketing, and other digital tactics to increase brand exposure and engage with the target audience. Through compelling content, interactive campaigns, and data-driven insights, agencies help businesses thrive in the digital realm.

5. Customer Engagement and Relationship Building:

Effective marketing goes beyond attracting new customers; it also focuses on nurturing existing relationships. Marketing agencies employ customer engagement strategies to foster loyalty, increase customer retention, and drive repeat business. They utilize email marketing, personalized messaging, loyalty programs, and customer relationship management (CRM) tools to maintain meaningful connections with customers. By understanding customer preferences and behavior, agencies help businesses deliver exceptional experiences that keep customers coming back.

6. Measuring ROI and Analyzing Performance:

Marketing agencies employ advanced analytics tools to measure the return on investment (ROI) of marketing efforts. They track key performance indicators (KPIs), such as website traffic, conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, and revenue generation. By analyzing these metrics, agencies provide businesses with actionable insights to optimize campaigns, allocate resources effectively, and make informed marketing decisions. This data-driven approach ensures that marketing investments deliver tangible results and contribute to business growth.

Marketing Agency Services Explained

A marketing agency provides a wide range of services, including branding, graphic design, and social media management. If you're looking for help with your marketing strategies, read on to learn how to find the right agency for your business. The first thing you need to do is identify what type of services your company needs.

Different agencies offer different services, so you must know what you are looking for before you start searching. Once you know what kind of service you want to use, it's time to find the right agency for your needs! A few things to keep in mind while looking are pricing, turnaround time, and resources available.

You should also make sure the agency has experience working with businesses like yours. When comparing agencies, make sure their offerings match up with what you're interested in getting done—they should be able to provide enough information about their capabilities before signing on.

Read This Full ARTICLE, Click Here

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Keir Starmer appoints Jeff Bezos as his “first buddy”

Picks and Shovels is a new, standalone technothriller starring Marty Hench, my two-fisted, hard-fighting, tech-scam-busting forensic accountant. You can pre-order it on my latest Kickstarter, which features a brilliant audiobook read by Wil Wheaton.

Turns out Donald Trump isn't the only world leader with a tech billionaire "first buddy" who gets to serve as an unaccountable, self-interested de facto business regulator. UK PM Keir Starmer has just handed the keys to the British economy over to Jeff Bezos.

Oh, not literally. But here's what's happened: the UK's Competitions and Markets Authority, an organisation charged with investigating and punishing tech monopolists (like Amazon) has just been turned over to Doug Gurr, the guy who used to run Amazon UK.

This is – incredibly – even worse than it sounds. Marcus Bokkerink, the outgoing head of the CMA, was amazing, and he had charge over the CMA's Digital Markets Unit, the largest, best-staffed technical body of any competition regulator, anywhere in the world. The DMU uses its investigatory powers to dig deep into complex monopolistic businesses like Amazon, and just last year, the DMU was given new enforcement powers that would let it custom-craft regulations to address tech monopolization (again, like Amazon's).

But it's even worse. The CMA and DMU are the headwaters of a global system of super-effective Big Tech regulation. The CMA's deeply investigated reports on tech monopolists are used as the basis for EU regulations and enforcement actions, and these actions are then re-run by other world governments, like South Korea and Japan:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/10/an-injury-to-one/#is-an-injury-to-all

The CMA is the global convener and ringleader in tech antitrust, in other words. Smaller and/or poorer countries that lack the resources to investigate and build a case against US Big Tech companies have been able to copy-paste the work of the CMA and hold these companies to account. The CMA invites (or used to invite) all of these competition regulators to its HQ in Canary Wharf for conferences where they plan global strategy against these monopolists:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cma-data-technology-and-analytics-conference-2022-registration-308678625077

Firing the guy who is making all this happening and replacing him with Amazon's UK boss is a breathtaking display of regulatory capture by Starmer, his business secretary Jonathan Reynolds, and his exchequer, Rachel Reeves.

But it gets even worse, because Amazon isn't just any tech monopolist. Amazon is a many-tentacled kraken built around an e-commerce empire. Antitrust regulators elsewhere have laid bare how Amazon uses that retail monopoly to take control over whole economies, while raising prices and crushing small businesses.

To understand Amazon's market power, first you have to understand "monopsonies" – markets dominated by buyers (monopolies are markets dominated by sellers – Amazon is both a monopolist and a monopsonist). Monopsonies are far more dangerous than monopolies, because they are easier to establish and easier to defend against competitors. Say a single retailer accounts for 30% of your sales: there isn't a business in the world that can survive an overnight 30% drop in sales, so that 30% market share might as well be 100%. Once your order is big enough that canceling it would bankrupt your supplier, you have near-total control over that supplier.

Amazon boasts about this. They call it "the flywheel": Amazon locks in shoppers (by getting them to prepay for a year's worth of shipping in advance, via Prime). The fact that a business can't sell to a large proportion of households if it's not on Amazon gives Amazon near-total power over that business. Amazon uses that power to demand discounts and charge junk fees to the businesses that rely on it. This allows it to lower prices, which brings in more customers, which means that even more businesses have to do business with Amazon to stay afloat:

https://vimeo.com/739486256/00a0a7379a

That's Amazon's version, anyway. In reality, it's a lot scuzzier. Amazon doesn't just demand deep discounts from its suppliers – it demand unsustainable discounts from them. For example, Amazon targeted small publishers with a program called the "Gazelle Project." Jeff Bezos told his negotiators to bring down these publishers "the way a cheetah would pursue a sickly gazelle":

https://archive.nytimes.com/bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/22/a-new-book-portrays-amazon-as-bully/

The idea was to get a bunch of cheap books for the Kindle to help it achieve critical mass, at the expense of driving these publishers out of business. They were a kind of disposable rocket stage for Amazon.

Deep discounts aren't the only way that Amazon feeds off its suppliers: it also lards junk-fee atop junk-fee. For every pound Amazon makes from its customers, it rakes in 45-51p in fees:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/29/aethelred-the-unready/#not-one-penny-for-tribute

Now, just like there's no business that can survive losing 30% of its sales overnight, there's also no business that can afford to hand 45-51% of its gross margin to a retailer. For businesses to survive at all on Amazon, they have to jack their prices up – way up. However, Amazon has an anticompetitive deal called "most favoured nation status" that forces suppliers to sell their goods on Amazon at the same price as they sell them elsewhere (even from their own stores). So when companies raise their prices in order to pay ransom to Amazon, they have to raise their prices everywhere. Far from being a force for low prices, Amazon makes prices go up everywhere, from the big Tesco's to the corner shop:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/25/greedflation/#commissar-bezos

Amazon makes so much money off of this scam that it doesn't have to pay anything to ship its own goods – the profits from overcharging merchants for "fulfillment by Amazon" pay for all the shipping, on everything Amazon sells:

https://cdn.ilsr.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/AmazonMonopolyTollbooth-2023.pdf

Amazon competes with its own sellers, but unlike those sellers, it doesn't have to pay a 45-51% rake – and it can make its competitor-customers cover the full cost of its own shipping! On top of that, Amazon maintains the pretense that its headquarters are in Luxembourg, the tax- and crime-haven, and pays a fraction of the taxes that British businesses pay to HMRC (and that's not counting the 45-51% tax they pay to Jeff Bezos's monoposony).

That's not the only way that Amazon unfairly competes with British businesses, though: Amazon uses its position as a middleman between buyers and sellers to identify the most successful products sold by its own customers. Then it copies those products and sells them below the original inventor's costs (because it gets free shipping, pays no tax, and doesn't have to pay its own junk fees), and drives those businesses into the ground. Even Jeff "Project Gazelle" Bezos seems to understand that this is a bad look, which is why he perjured himself to the American Congress when he was questioned under oath about it:

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58961836

Amazon then places its knockoff products above the original goods on its search results page. Amazon makes $38b selling off placement on these search pages, and the top results for an Amazon search aren't the best matches for your query – they're the ones that pay the most. On average, Amazon's top result for a search is 29% more expensive than the best match on the site. On average, the top row of results is 25% more expensive than the best match on the site. On average, Amazon buries the best result for your search 17 places down the results page:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/03/subprime-attention-rent-crisis/#euthanize-rentiers

Amazon, in other words, acts like the business regulator for the economies it dominates. It decides what can be sold, and at what prices. It decides whose products come up when you search, and thus which businesses deserve to live and which ones deserve to die. An economy dominated by Amazon isn't a market economy – it's a planned economy, run by Party Secretary Bezos for the benefit of Amazon's shareholders.

Now, there is a role for a business regulator, because some businesses really don't deserve to live (because they sell harmful products, engage in deceptive practices, etc). The UK has a regulator that's in charge of this stuff: the Competition and Markets Authority, which is now going to be run by Jeff Bezos's hand-picked UK Amazon boss. That means that Amazon is now both the official and the unofficial central planner of the UK economy, with a free hand to raise prices, lower quality, and destroy British businesses, while hiding its profits in Luxemourg and starving the exchequer of taxes.

The "first buddy" role that Keir Starmer just handed over to Jeff Bezos is, in every way, more generous than the first buddy deal Trump gave Elon Musk.

Starmer's government claims they're doing this for "growth" but Amazon isn't a force for growth, it's force for extraction. It is a notorious underpayer of its labour force, a notorious tax-cheat, and a world-beating destroyer of local economies, local jobs, and local tax bases. Contrary to Amazon's own self-mythologizing, it doesn't deliver lower prices – it raises prices throughout the economy. It doesn't improve quality – this is a company whose algorithmic recommendation system failed to recognize that an "energy drink" was actually its own drivers' bottled piss, which it then promoted until it was the best-selling energy drink on the platform:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/20/release-energy/#the-bitterest-lemon

There's a reason that the UK, the EU, Japan and South Korea found it so easy to collaborate on antitrust cases against American companies: these are all countries whose competition law was rewritten by American technocrats during the Marshall Plan, modeled on the US's own laws. The bedrock of US competition law is 1890's Sherman Act, whose author, Senator John Sherman, declared that:

If we will not endure a King as a political power we should not endure a King over the production, transportation, and sale of the necessaries of life. If we would not submit to an emperor we should not submit to an autocrat of trade with power to prevent competition and to fix the price of any commodity.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/20/we-should-not-endure-a-king/

Jeff Bezos is the autocrat of trade that John Sherman warned us about, 135 years ago. And Keir Starmer just abdicated in his favour.

Check out my Kickstarter to pre-order copies of my next novel, Picks and Shovels!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/01/22/autocrats-of-trade/#dingo-babysitter

Image: UK Parliament/Maria Unger (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Keir_Starmer_2024.jpg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

--

Steve Jurvetson (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jeff_Bezos%27_iconic_laugh.jpg

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

[fantastic-nonsense]

comic sales are down because the industry is inaccessible and expensive, not because piracy exists

Higher piracy rates are what happens when you make buying comics expensive, difficult, platform-dependent, and inherently exclusionary while pretending trades and digital don't count as sales.

if any single comic book company decided to be a competent publishing company for even a year comic piracy rates would plummet

[dollette-whispers]

born to be in the fashion industry, forced to go into law ♡⋆｡˚

[destiel-news-channel]

THE STOCK MARKET IS CRASHING

[Image ID: The Destiel confession meme edited so that Dean answers 'The stock market is crashing.' to Cas' 'I love you'. /End ID]

Japan's Nikkei Index fell 12 percent and the Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 1,000 points.

[fookinhellcurlyy]

Louis Tomlinson's Career History Pt. 3 and 4 [Post-1D] by notastrwbrysng2

Full credits to notastrwbrysng2 from X/Twitter. Reposting screenshots and texts for archiving purposes.

Please check the full disclaimer stated in Part 1 & 2.

Note: I will copy-paste the exact texts from the tweets. The words after the cut below are from the linked thread (source). The cited articles per tweet are hyperlinked ('x'). I might replace/combine some screenshots due to Tumblr's limitations, as well as add the links from where they were originally taken.

Again, thank you so much notastrwbrysng2 (Megs) for creating this.

———

Part 3: Why Louis Tomlinson is getting screwed over as an artist

I will fill in the connections and details. Main players are: SC, R.ob Str.inger, Ho.ward Stri.nger

We identified SC and Rob plenty of times but never made the connection of WHO ELSE is managing the UK side. We left off at R.ob wanting a songwriting career from Louis. In AOTV, Louis mentions talking to his mom about next steps. He said he wanted to sing. I believe that refers to this time period when he was being led astray and shuffled into behind the scenes activities.

During this 2016 period, Louis was trying (unsuccessful, going back to his tweet) to get his girl band going. The baby, Rob aiming for songwriting negotiations, and the girl band ate up 2016, along with the debut of Just Hold On and mom's health declining. | x

Louis contributed a couple songs (Blackbeard, EXO) but wrote for himself or was not credited/alias.

He eventually was signed UNDER Sony to RCA, as mentioned earlier, a month later to Epic, and sat dormant until Rob's very close friend David Massey took over.

Before Louis could leave Epic, it looks as though Louis had to put in some grunt work during "the lost years." Narnia blog highlighted this beautifully with this summary of events in 2018, ALL focused on Simon or Rob. Sounds interesting. Did they string along Louis with no intention of letting him have that solo career that he chose over songwriting for Rob? We will never know...

Louis was tapped for some VERY public events, forced to look excited and supportive. Oh look, the timing...

He FINALLY signed once xfactor was over in February 2019. He was made to hold off until then. I went over the single released and the album not until January 2020. Which leads us to: Airplay.

Airplay has lacked for both the Walls and FITF albums, going as far as being blacklisted/shadowbanned from B.BC radio. In the report out from BMG, Louis was not played until he was the #1 album (again, with NO AIRPLAY) and they very much begrudgingly played it to stop the calls.

BBC loved it but .. it was stopped during discussions with higher ups? Too indie? Something was a miss. It was being stopped as other artists have before (Madonna was listed because "She was too old to play," other bands just completely halted for no reason at all.)

Going back...Remember the person who was the head of Sony, who wanted a boyband, that partnered with SC and X.factor? That was HOW.ARD STR.INGER. Rob's brother. And what has he done for his career? Head of CBS, then Head of Sony Music, then a BOARD MEMBER AT BBC. —Who did Louis reject not once, but possibly twice, to come on as songwriting? Rob. —And who caused a lot of issues while in 1D, pursuing a new direction, taking control of the band? Louis. —Who was the head during that time? Rob. —Who does Louis have connections to as well that could make Rob sweat? HARRY.

Harry sits as So.ny and Colum.bias #1 earner. Louis has bucked Ro.b many times over the years and Ro.b wanted Louis behind the scenes, not a solo career. —Who said no to R.ob? Louis. —Who could that influence? Their biggest earner.

If you take H out of the equation, it's still the same result. Louis has defied SC, he has defied R.ob, and the last way to shut him down was a link to UK radio. As a non executive board member, that solely means brother Ho.ward doesn't work for BBC, but is on the board. "Dont play this kid" is all that needed to be said.

As a recap: —HS made a deal with SC for TXF to be under S.ony. —SC tries to shuffle LT into management. —RS tried to get LT on a songwriting roster, less trouble keeping him closer. —LT refused, albums delayed. —Jumps hoops, album out '20, '22. —RS BBC member BMG told NO, we can't play him.

LTs ENTIRE CAREER from 2010-2023 has been under Ho.ward, SC, and Rob's control some way or another, not even mentioning any OTHER issues on top of music (media portrayal, etc.).

Louis on attempting to get radio play and realizing it is all talk versus having shows that are transactional, black and white. | x (vid down atm)

—

Part 4: Supplemental article from BMGs Lisa Wilkinson

Behind The Campaign, Louis Tomlinson | April 19, 2023

ADDITIONAL BACKUP REFERENCE (full article in text format): louisupdates

This breakdown was provided by BMGs Dir of UK Marketing (New Recordings) Lisa Wilkinson.

There are areas that appear to be excuses without revealing truths (see: Unable to play BTM w/no reason)

This was removed from online. (Screenshots below were from the actual article.

Topics of discussion could easily be put up for debate as marketing via BMG was lackluster at best and more fan-driven and financed than what should have been, but this is what we were given:

Part 1 & 2 here.

[elbiotipo]

The most absurd thing about all this bullshit is that all my data is going towards selling me things I don't want or I can't buy. Tech companies have built the world's most sophisticated and complex surveillance system, effectively trapping billions of people into a panopticon and consuming wasteful amounts of resources, technology and human work and talent, all just to sell ads. It's incredibly absurd.

[baldwinheights]

[letterful]

Jean Madar, chairman and CEO of InterParfums Inc, recently told Bloomberg that fragrance is part of a person’s “core identity”. And while cosmetic companies can face criticism for conflating external products with existential outcomes [...] perfume conveniently sidesteps the problems of the flesh. It’s not trying to change how you look, but how you feel, and, for the span of a spritz at least, it does. In the age of wellness-as-beauty and neurocosmetics, the science of scent is marketing gold.

[...] I wonder if what we’re after here is not a sense of self but a (related) sense of life.

I say “we” because – despite my documented skepticism of beauty brands – I, too, am powerless against a good perfume ad.

Last month, casually depressed and subconsciously seeking comfort and some sort of release, I spent $240 on a scent called Tears by Régime de Fleurs. “What a luxury to weep,” the website read. It described the perfume as “emotion in liquid form, the romance and the sadness”. It promised “nostalgia” too, with notes of lilac to remind me of my grandmother’s front yard and frankincense to call up childhood Sundays spent in incense-blessed church pews. I suppose I wanted Tears to take me back to a time when someone who loved me baked me cookies every week, when I believed in God and goodness, and life stretched ahead of me in an endless expanse of hope and potential.

Of course, it didn’t do that. It smelled fine. I felt something, for a second. But I was still me, and I was still mostly numb.

I thought of that perfume the other day while reading the preface to Henry James’s 1902 novel The Wings of the Dove. James summarized it as the story “of a young person conscious of a great capacity for life” – someone “passionately desiring” to “achieve, however briefly and brokenly, the sense of having lived”.

Something clicked: how to explain Tears if not a brief and broken sense of having cried?

[twopoppies]

Hi, for someone who has been working from the industry, it is quite clear that Harry has to change his “womanizer” image sooner rather than later.

HS4 is almost ready, at least there has been quite some rumours and talks about it already, and it for sure is going to be a hit instantly. But the womanizer image should be let go, especially with how Harry actually is in real life. I don’t know what HSHQ’s plan is, but knowing their stubbornness and sometimes blatant ignorance they will just go with their usual PR and Harry will be linked with some dubious woman again in 2025.

However, the entertainment industry is leaning towards a more open and honest image from artists, sharing their personal opinions and values with their fanbase. This “womanizer” image is so clearly abstract from Harry’s real persona that it’s just not something they can keep up any longer, especially with Harry’s clear preference to dressing (gender)queer and proclaiming that love is love in a not so heteronormative way. It just doesn’t add up and we all know that the GP isn’t buying it either.

Just wanted to add my own view and what I have seen behind the screens to this discussion. Not that I’m saying a lot of new things, just confirming that what I have heard within the industry resonates with the fandom. From what I heard, HS4 is either going to make or break it, depending on how Harry is going to be portrayed over social media and news outlets. Not saying that Harry should come out, but they should stick to an image that is closer to Harry’s own personality and stop with the PR stunts with women. HSHQ, keep up with the trends!

100% agree with you.

I truly hope they change course with his image because it’s been nearly 15 years of this nonsense and the only people buying it are the girls who want to sleep with him, or people who hate him.

His team changes gears like the Titanic changes course, but I hope they’ve been paying attention to the direction trends are moving in. He’s been “single” for a while now. I’m cautiously optimistic. He’s let me down before… don’t do it again, Harry!

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Best Day since 2022: Stocks rallied sharply on Wednesday, with major benchmarks hitting record highs, as Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election.

"more stimulus to the U.S. economy and benefit risk assets. … During the 2016 election, the S&P 500 Index gained nearly 5% from the day before the presidential election through the end of the year in what became known as the Trump rally. We expect a similar trend could play out this time around, too,” Marc Pinto, head of Americas equities at Janus Henderson Investors, said in a note.

Stock market news for Nov. 6, 2024

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1,508.05 points, or 3.57%, to a record close of 43,729.93. The last time the blue-chip Dow jumped more than 1,000 points in a single day was in November 2022.

The S&P 500 also hit an all-time high, popping 2.53% to 5,929.04. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.95% to a record of its own of 18,983.47.

Bitcoin, which could benefit from relaxed regulation, soared to an all-time high and topped $76,000. The dollar index climbed to its highest level since July on the belief that Trump’s proposed tariffs against major U.S. trading partners would boost the greenback.