#Result Effective Marketing Solutions

[inventopasay]

The Top Branding Agency in Pune

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[cinnamonest]

With this whole 'rape fantasies are a result of misogyny as they allow women a guilt free sexuality cos they have no autonomy'

Surely that means your writing and fantasies are contributing to misogyny? Adding to it and normalising it?

Like isnt the answer to write and encourage fantasies of empowerment? Not abuse and rape?

Just seems crazy to me like 'we do this because of misogyny. And we'll keep doing it'

Obviously some behaviour come from misogyny and exist to combat it. This... really doesn't

I just don't think it's a feminist win when your writing is indistinguishable from that of a misogynistic man's.

This isnt an attack on you it just really seems like common sense that if something exists because of misogyny the last thing we should do is feed into those ideas

(I assume this is coming from this post, so I might reference that a bit here)

No worries, I fully understand how this can come across negative to those who do not have the same experiences and I appreciate you approaching the matter in a non-attacking way with genuine desire to have dialogue on the subject. I'll do my best to address these points individually.

>Surely that means your writing and fantasies are contributing to misogyny? Adding to it and normalising it?

In the past few years fandom culture has become a bit obsessed with the idea of "normalization" to the point that the definition of the term has been a bit skewed, which creates issues with these discussions.

There is no concept of which existence of content containing it alone constitutes normalization, by the actual definition of the word. Normalization is the process by which it is distributed and way in which it is presented, and intent of its creation.

Normalization via fiction is a process in which a creator, generally intentionally, creates content that presents a concept as, well, normal. That is, not reprehensible or problematic to replicate, and presents this to a population with the intent of them accepting the idea as something acceptable in reality. Generally it also necessitates that the creator will try to ensure the media is viewed by mainstream general audiences who would not normally seek the content out, since the purpose of normalization is to make an idea acceptable amongst a population.

That is the opposite of what I am doing, which is creating a private space filled with warnings. I am going out of my way to ensure that people who do not want to see this content, have the foreknowledge to opt to avoid it.

By definition, if you’re creating content and ensuring that it is heavily warned, and marketing it as such that only a niche group who likes such content seeks it out, that’s not normalization by any reasonable metric.

>Like isnt the answer to write and encourage fantasies of empowerment? Not abuse and rape?

For some people, I’m sure that would help them, and in that case, that is a great solution for them.

But people are different, and certain things that help some, don’t help others. The types of fantasies that would probably be called “empowering,” personally do nothing for me but make me uncomfortable, in the same way that the sort of content I write makes some people uncomfortable. It does not have the same positive effects on my mental health that this form of content does.

>Obviously some behaviour come from misogyny and exist to combat it. This... really doesn't

That's fair — but it doesn't have to.

It is not intended to directly combat misogyny in any way, there are other ways to do that, and this does not have to be one. It's primary purpose is catharsis and the ways in which it benefits me and, as is my hope, those who choose to consume it.

>I just don't think it's a feminist win when your writing is indistinguishable from that of a misogynistic man's.

Again, I never had any intention for it to be a "win" — misogyny is the reason for why I have these desires, but in making what I make, my purpose is to provide catharsis for myself and others.

But also, I would heavily contest that it is indistinguishable from male fantasies. As someone who has seen actual men's misogynist fetishization fantasies, they are very different.

Female disposability and the complete worthlessness of women’s very being — that is, women being non-human objects that are interchangeable, and made to be used temporarily and replaced — is the core defining characteristic of male fantasy/sexuality. Male fantasies almost always involve multiple women to one man, largely because he does not have any actual bond with women, they are items to be collected, no interpersonal relationship actually exists.

The lack of interpersonal connection and lack of personableness itself is fetishized by men, what men get off to is the power they feel from completely disregarding the woman as a person in any way. The very act of the woman being thrown away after being used is fetishized.

In male fantasy, there is no interpersonal connection or affection of any kind, whereas that is one of the defining themes of content like mine.

Tl;dr — while misogyny impacts all women, the severity and form of it in different upbringings, environments and cultures can create misunderstandings and strong reactions when different people react so differently to the same content and thus form misconceptions about each other's perceptions and intentions, but I believe both sides of this argument are usually coming from a place of good intent.

While I fully understand how it would be difficult for those who do not have the same experience to grasp mine, I just ask for mutual understanding that some forms of content help some people, in the same way entirely different forms of content help other people.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this Op-Ed from the New York Times:

At first glance, Xi Jinping seems to have lost the plot.

China’s president appears to be smothering the entrepreneurial dynamism that allowed his country to crawl out of poverty and become the factory of the world. He has brushed aside Deng Xiaoping’s maxim “To get rich is glorious” in favor of centralized planning and Communist-sounding slogans like “ecological civilization” and “new, quality productive forces,” which have prompted predictions of the end of China’s economic miracle.

But Mr. Xi is, in fact, making a decades-long bet that China can dominate the global transition to green energy, with his one-party state acting as the driving force in a way that free markets cannot or will not. His ultimate goal is not just to address one of humanity’s most urgent problems — climate change — but also to position China as the global savior in the process.

It has already begun. In recent years, the transition away from fossil fuels has become Mr. Xi’s mantra and the common thread in China’s industrial policies. It’s yielding results: China is now the world’s leading manufacturer of climate-friendly technologies, such as solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles. Last year the energy transition was China’s single biggest driver of overall investment and economic growth, making it the first large economy to achieve that.

This raises an important question for the United States and all of humanity: Is Mr. Xi right? Is a state-directed system like China’s better positioned to solve a generational crisis like climate change, or is a decentralized market approach — i.e., the American way — the answer?

How this plays out could have serious implications for American power and influence.

Look at what happened in the early 20th century, when fascism posed a global threat. America entered the fight late, but with its industrial power — the arsenal of democracy — it emerged on top. Whoever unlocks the door inherits the kingdom, and the United States set about building a new architecture of trade and international relations. The era of American dominance began.

Climate change is, similarly, a global problem, one that threatens our species and the world’s biodiversity. Where do Brazil, Pakistan, Indonesia and other large developing nations that are already grappling with the effects of climate change find their solutions? It will be in technologies that offer an affordable path to decarbonization, and so far, it’s China that is providing most of the solar panels, electric cars and more. China’s exports, increasingly led by green technology, are booming, and much of the growth involves exports to developing countries.

From the American neoliberal economic viewpoint, a state-led push like this might seem illegitimate or even unfair. The state, with its subsidies and political directives, is making decisions that are better left to the markets, the thinking goes.

But China’s leaders have their own calculations, which prioritize stability decades from now over shareholder returns today. Chinese history is littered with dynasties that fell because of famines, floods or failures to adapt to new realities. The Chinese Communist Party’s centrally planned system values constant struggle for its own sake, and today’s struggle is against climate change. China received a frightening reminder of this in 2022, when vast areas of the country baked for weeks under a record heat wave that dried up rivers, withered crops and was blamed for several heatstroke deaths.

[marxistlesbianist]

How do I stop getting more and more terrified of the upcoming Trump administration. I know on a material level Harris would not be much better but every new cabinet pick and headline makes the liberal in me scream and cry, I'm a trans woman just starting her transition and I'm scared I will never become the person I want to be. I'm scared it's too late for me. I need a Marxist perspective, what do I do?

Unfortunately marxism cannot provide you with any way to avoid fear as such, but this does not mean it is useless here. Marxism as an analytical method helps us to see the social/economic mechanisms affecting our lives as they really are, rather than as the quasi-divine forces which liberalism supposes them to be. I and many others have found that looking at the world in this more grounded manner has the effect of lessening our anxiety, but how you react to this vision of material reality is still up to you.

That being said, here is a rough outline of a marxist outlook on the US political economy to–day, which might help you to ground through the anxiety of the election results:

The US empire is an empire in decline. This is not the fault of any single politician, but of the inherently unstable ground on which capitalist economies are built. Capitalism necessitates constant market growth, and with nearly the whole world already captured by the US economic order, this is an increasingly impossible demand to meet. As climate change worsens the third world countries exploited by the US are pushed to either drown under ceaseless natural disasters, or revolt against the economic system distroying their ecology—in both cases the US hegemony is weakened and our great empire dies by a thousand cuts. The only way to avoid economic crisis is to move away from the capitalist mode of production all together, but bourgeois politicians will only ever offer us incomplete solutions to the problems they have created.

Fascism is the liberal response to economic crisis. Throughout the history of the 20th century, we have seen that even the most socially progressive liberal “democracies” have morphed into fascist monstrocities when the capitalist economy is threatened. Voting in ostensibly progressive candidates without seriously challenging the political economy won't save us--as the people of Germany learned when the liberal chancellor Hindenburg appointed Hitler as the head of state after beating him in the election. This happens because fascism is at its heart the imperialist system turned inwards; when the German bourgeoisie were no longer able to sustain their economy by exploiting colonized countries like Namibia, they revitalized their economy by building a more advanced version of the Namibian colonial state at home.

Because the system is already collapsing in on itself, the primary task for us to organize toward is not challenging the system as it is, but building something better in its place. Of course, the task of defending our movement will necessarily bring us into conflict with the current bourgeois state, but we must remember that the point is not to oppose our enemies but to defend our friends. Even if a socialist president were elected to the white house, their dictates would only mean anything if there existed an organized body of workers prepared to exicute the plan inspite of bourgeois sabatage. Conversely, a sufficiantly large and well organized body of workers would be capable of building socialism in the US no matter what Washington says.

For trans women, the state of affairs following Trump's election is fundamentally no different than it was before November 6th. For 250 years the US government has been hostile to our existence, and yet there are more of us living out of the closet now than there ever have been in this country's history. The liberties which the republican party now threatens to deprive us of were not given to us by liberal politicians, but won inspite of them by the masses of our trans elders fighting tirelessly for themselves and their children—and for so long as we continue the struggle we have inherited, the bourgeois state will never be able to defeat us. Of course, much of this history of struggle has been obscured by the liberal order trying to co-opt our movement, but it is still there to be discovered. (If you only know about Stonewall, I highly recommend you read about the history of STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries), an organization founded by some of the trans women who lead that riot.)

Of course, none of this is to say that the situation isn’t terrifying; just that it is also manageable. You may not be able to live the life you wanted, but that doesn't mean you can't still lead a life worth living! The liberal in you screams and cries because she sees that things are bad, but doesn't see how you as an individual can make it right. Adopting a marxist perspective to see not just that things are bad but also how and why, and organizing with your class allies instead of working on your own will silence your inner liberal’s tears as she becomes obsolete. Individual Trump staff picks don’t mean much for us in our project of building a socialist movement. Regardless of who sits in office, the work before us is the same. So let’s get to work—for the revolution of the world!

Lastly, because I always found it annoying when people would tell me to "join an org" without elaborating, here is a brief rundown of some organizations you could look into:

PSL (Party for Socialism and Liberation) has the widest reach of any nominally communist party in the US. Their top leadership are largely opportunists insofar as I can tell, but the local chapters vary enough that some of them are involved in genuinely productive work.

FRSO (Freedom Road Socialist Organization) is a lot smaller, but with more genuine leadership and a strong ideological line. They are growing, and tend to be much more active in the few areas where they are organized.

DSA and CPUSA (Democratic Socialists of America, and Communist Party of the USA) are both useless as organizations, but you might still find some people there you can organize with—especially of there aren’t any better orgs in your area.

SALT (Socialist ALTernative) basically encompass the worst of all worlds in my experience, but individual experience may vary.

Even if there are no active organizations in your area, joining one and sitting in on zoom meetings is still a worthwhile step forward!

[dronebiscuitbat]

Oil is Thicker Then Blood (Part 58)

When N went in to work that Monday morning, his nerves were barely contained underneath his casing. Containing his excitement was difficult, he wanted to tell everyone. He was so ecstatic, Uzi was carrying living proof of how much he loved her. Something that should have been impossible made somehow possible.

Their coding shouldn't have been compatible… but it was, somehow.

His smile was unbreakable, not when he got sent to deal with a brawl in the market, not when he chased a thief and had to tackle them to the ground. And not when he spent three hours doing paperwork at his desk, even as some of the words blended together in his head.

“What's got ya so smiley? Thought you'd be worried after what happened.” Hal had been walking by, a steaming mug of gasoline clenched in his fist as he leaned on N's desk.

Right, Doll. Uzi had explained what happened to him, being cornered, fighting to the best of her ability and Tera, his brave, firecracker of a daughter confronted her and made her stop. Knowing that V killed her parents… maybe attacking Uzi when she had their daughter was too much of a hypocrisy.

That worry was in the back of his head… but for now eclipsed by the unfettered joy that came with knowing that his family was expanding.

“Uh- Just, something at home Hal.” Not telling anyone was rough on him. But Uzi had wanted to keep it between them for now, at least until she did more research and knew a bit more.

“And ya aren't going to share? That's not like you.” Hal pointed out, a half smirk on his face. N gave him a sheepish smile in return.

“Sorry, not this time.”

Uzi meanwhile was sitting on the couch with her laptop in her lap, jotting down notes in a little notebook with Tera playing with her bat toy next to her, making squeaks and chirps.

She was researching, scouring internet forums, medical websites, old video hosting webpages. Anything that held any relevant information for her. She was familiar with typical drone pregnancies, 5 months was the typical length, enough time for the babies code to become independent enough to be separated, then transfered to a pillbaby body. Aside from minor side effects, there were no physical changes in the host drone during the pregnancy, and the ‘birth’ relatively painless.

She wasn't quite so familiar with organic pregnancies, and figured her limited, horror movie taught experience was likely to be inaccurate or exaggerated.

She was both happy, and unhappy, that she did.

She started with a video describing first month symptoms, how to deal with them, and any complications that would arise. She was still hoping that her body was mearly reacting as if she was going through physical changes, and that hers would be a normal, painless process.

She was never one to hope for the best and not prepare for the worst however. And this information would be helpful going forward, just in case.

Morning sickness was the first symptom listed, something she was definitely familiar with. She still felt woosy from waking up that morning, and had thrown up twice. Unfortunately, the best answer she'd gotten for a fix was ‘wait it out, it'll subside later in the pregnancy’. Which was something she didn't want to hear honestly.

The next, mood swings. Which hadn't hit her too hard at the moment, but may have contributed to her recent fascination with rom-coms and other sappy shit. Nothing she could do about that either, humans had hormones that dictated that, and unfortunately her dumbass programing had simulated ones.

Cravings and weight gain were the next two, which was something that actually had a solution to, ‘Cravings are usually a result of the bodies lack of a certain nutrient required for the development of the baby. Listen to your body.’ Was the advice the article had given.

She'd love to listen to her body, but she didn't have a clue on what it wanted, She'd tried every snack known to drone and even ones she previously didn't like, but nothing was killing the hunger that had only grown stronger. The only two things that even helped a little bit was oil, and the silicone chips N had bought her the night before.

Her mouth watered a little bit at the thought of that, the hardened silicone breaking between her fangs, mixed with the thick sweetness of the oil she'd drunk, it had been the perfect combo, enough to calm down the hunger pains in her stomach. Almost.

“Ow!��� She winced as she realized she'd stuck a finger in her mouth and bitten down, her fang peircing a hole through the white silicon pad on her finger, a small amount of oil seeped out, so she just stuck it back into her mouth until it stopped bleeding.

That was odd…

She shook it off and kept researching, skipping to how birth was, just to calm her nerves on how that was like, surely it was ar least somewhat similar to drones. Right?

She clicked on a video, the scene set in a hospital setting as a narrator drabbled on with how human babies were made, it was… interesting in it's own right. And made her realize just how similar DNA and code really was. Just 1s and 0s written and read in different ways.

It wasn't until the human woman laying on the table screamed like she was being murdered that her concerns returned. She was drenched in sweat, a man at her side holding her hand that she could only assume was her partner.

Her mind provided her an image of her lying there, N holding her hand, wiping the sweat from her brow. And she smiled a little bit before it fell off her face entirely within the next few minutes.

The woman's stomach was distended, and with every scream Uzi's disgust grew, doctors flurried around her so quickly that even she was starting to feel dizzy.

Oh

Oh…

Fear prickled on the back of her neck, this wasn't painless. This wasn't painless at all. Humans had to endure hours of agonizing pain as they pushed out a baby the size of a watermelon out of a hole the size of a pea.

And their bodies were made for that, albeit, evolution had fucked them over, giving them a reproductive system designed to be agonizing, but their bodies were made to be that way, to stretch and accommodate despite the pain.

She was made out of metal and silicone, and while some area's of the silicone were malleable, like her face and her fingers, most of it was hard and stiff, no room to give, no room to accommodate.

She wasn't made for… that.

So that fear was back in full force, if she was pregnant, like… the human way and not the vastly superior drone way. Then how was this going to work at all? She touched her midsection gently, as if she'd hurt herself if she pushed too hard.

She tried to think back to what N said, while having the solver was a pain and scary more often then not, it hadn't straight up tried to kill her, if anything it was doing it's best to keep her alive. So… would her body figure something out? It would have to, wouldn't it?

She sighed, stopping her spiral.

They knew nothing yet, no need to get hung up on something she may not have to worry about. So she moved on, heading into the next part of her research and scribbling down everything she'd learned, just in case.

She was focused on her research, looking up symptoms, how to deal with them, and what she should expect going forward. Knowing was far less scary then not knowing.

Then she heard a noise and looked over, Tera was hunched over the side of the couch, coughing. Uzi put her laptop to the side, hand on her daughters back.

“Tera?” She asked gently, and it only took another second for the toddler to heave. And then completely upchuck her recent feeding all over the floor, covering it with black.

“Tera!” Uzi lifted her head up, worried. Tera looked… fine. If slightly upset. She held herself as if she was in discomfort, and her eyelights were strained.

Toddlers getting sick out of nowhere was admiditly pretty normal, though a little unexpected, Uzi still picked her up and held her.

“Aw… Tera, let's clean this up, you're okay.” She wasn't mad, well… maybe a little upset that there was now oil everywhere, but if she could relate to anything it would be feeling nauseous. Still, chances were Tera was just overfed, nothing to freak out over.

Tera made a grumbling noise and curled into her mom, and Uzi sighed. Soon, no matter how it happened, she would be dealing with double trouble.

Next ->

[themoonweaversden]

Messeges that were found so far: LIES (spoilers)

This is just to collect all the codes that you can type in in thisisnotawebsitedotcom.com and their effects only (please click images for better quality)

Masterpost with all messeges / codes

Transcript:

"In ancient times, “Truth” was whatever most recently came out of a king or priest’s mouth, and if you disagreed, your neck had a date with the guillotine. (DID U KNOW? Your head stays conscious 3 seconds after decapitation. FUN GAME: Try to lick the basket!)

Then a new type of person was invented: The Nerd, and they invented a new kind of method: Scientific.

As annoying as the nerds were, their methods got results. Flame throwers, roller coasters, space travel and saturated fat were all created by the overdeveloped frontal lobes of these socially challenged dweebs. For a while, it seemed like the nerds of Earth had won the right to decide what truth was.

But that didn’t last too long. Non-nerds started getting sick of hearing unflattering truths. They longed for a way to shove truth back in the locker and take its lunch money. And they figured out a way to do it! The solution? The free market!

Turns out, human beings dont really care what’s true or not, they care about what makes them feel good, and they’ll take a lollypop over a depressing essay about global warming any day!

Now truth is just another part of the supply/demand market. Whatever truth you want, you can find someone who will sell it to you. Neither kings nor nerds can tell you what reality is- you can climb inside your own reality and die in there with a smile on your face, like a rat happily drowning in high fructose corn syrup! Everyone thought I was a “psychopath” for trapping Mabel in a reality bubble, but you geniuses have created reality bubbles for yourselves. Which is frankly great, because your inability to share any kind of consensus on reality makes you easier to conquer and only brings the downfall of your entire civilization closer!

Since truth is up-for-grabs, the world belongs to whoever can master the art of “reality-bending,” also known as LYING.

TAKE IT FROM SOMEONE WHO’S BEEN AROUND THE BLOCK, KID!

LIE UNTIL WHAT YOU WANT TO BE TRUE BECOMES TRUE.

LIE UNTIL YOU CANT REMEMBER WHATS A LIE AND WHAT ISNT.

LIE UNTIL YOU ARENT LYING ANYMORE"

[quietus-system]

Vanadyl(IV) sulfate describes a collection of inorganic compounds of vanadium with the formula, VOSO4(H2O)x where 0 ≤ x ≤ 6. The pentahydrate is common. This hygroscopic blue solid is one of the most common sources of vanadium in the laboratory, reflecting its high stability. It features the vanadyl ion, VO2+, which has been called the "most stable diatomic ion".[1]

Vanadyl sulfate is an intermediate in the extraction of vanadium from petroleum residues, one commercial source of vanadium.[2] Synthesis, structure, and reactions

Vanadyl sulfate is most commonly obtained by reduction of vanadium pentoxide with sulfur dioxide:V2O5 + 7 H2O + SO2 + H2SO4 → 2 [V(O)(H2O)4]SO4

From aqueous solution, the salt crystallizes as the pentahydrate, the fifth water is not bound to the metal in the solid. Viewed as a coordination complex, the ion is octahedral, with oxo, four equatorial water ligands, and a monodentate sulfate.[1][3] The trihydrate has also been examined by crystallography.[4] A hexahydrate exists below 13.6 °C (286.8 K).[5] Two polymorphs of anhydrous VOSO4 are known.[6]

The V=O bond distance is 160 pm, about 50 pm shorter than the V–OH2 bonds. In solution, the sulfate ion dissociates rapidly.

Being widely available, vanadyl sulfate is a common precursor to other vanadyl derivatives, such as vanadyl acetylacetonate:[7][V(O)(H2O)4]SO4 + 2 C5H8O2 + Na2CO3 → [V(O)(C5H7O2)2] + Na2SO4 + 5 H2O + CO2

In acidic solution, oxidation of vanadyl sulfate gives yellow-coloured vanadyl(V) derivatives. Reduction, e.g. by zinc, gives vanadium(III) and vanadium(II) derivatives, which are characteristically green and violet, respectively. Occurrence in nature

Like most water-soluble sulfates, vanadyl sulfate is only rarely found in nature. Anhydrous form is pauflerite,[8] a mineral of fumarolic origin. Hydrated forms, also rare, include hexahydrate (stanleyite), pentahydrates (minasragrite, orthominasragrite,[9] and anorthominasragrite) and trihydrate - bobjonesite.[10] Medical research

Vanadyl sulfate is a component of food supplements and experimental drugs. Vanadyl sulfate exhibits insulin-like effects.[11]

Vanadyl sulfate has been extensively studied in the field of diabetes research as a potential means of increasing insulin sensitivity. No evidence indicates that oral vanadium supplementation improves glycaemic control.[12][13] Treatment with vanadium often results in gastrointestinal side-effects, primarily diarrhea.

Vanadyl sulfate is also marketed as a health supplement, often for bodybuilding. Deficiencies in vanadium result in reduced growth in rats.[14] Its effectiveness for bodybuilding has not been proven; some evidence suggests that athletes who take it are merely experiencing a placebo effect.[15]

Are you telling me these ions have a dissociative disorder

[tanadrin]

Given how fast things are getting worse, forget moral worries about air travel: is it acceptable for me to drive anywhere, including work? Is it morally acceptable for me to continue to live at all, and thus keep putting carbon into the environment?

I just listened to an old livestream by the Unlearning Economics guy about the carbon taxes vs renewable subsidy issue. He was more skeptical of carbon taxes than I expected, given that they're, like, the Standard Prescription among economists for climate change, being putatively politically neutral and in the right circumstances (i.e., in conjunction with rebates) not necessarily super regressive.

But they're politically toxic, and he pointed out, this isn't just because people don't want to do anything about climate change. It's because the costs them impose on most people, like on transport, are on the parts of their lifestyle that it's most difficult for them to change. You by yourself cannot change the structure of the housing market where you live; and if you live in a wasteland of Euclidean zoning, then short of upending your life and moving to a city designed on completely different lines (which in North America is likely to be a very high cost of living area) there's not a lot you can do about it. There are things on a longer time horizon that carbon taxes might incentivize, like more mass transit, that would help with this, but to voters the most transparent effect of a carbon tax is likely to be a big price spike at the fuel pump, and the cost of their electricity going up. That sucks ass!

In those circumstances, there are some taxes that make sense (like taxes on air travel, which emits a lot of carbon and which people use much less, and in a way much more weighted to their income [except among first-generation immigrants, so you might want to account for that also]), and you might consider smaller carbon taxes in conjunction with other policies, but it also makes sense to do a lot of direct investment in renewables, i.e., subsidies, which do seem to be pretty effective. And of course making it easier to build nuclear power wouldn't hurt either!

All of which is also to illustrate that individual choice is kind of a red herring, bc climate issues are a large-scale coordination problem. "If everyone would just--" is a useless line of thinking, especially when it gets turned around to "I'm a bad person if I don't--." Because when it comes to this kind of coordination problem, there are active incentives pushing people away from doing the thing that you think they "should," and no amount of haranguing others (or yourself) will make it any easier to, say, live a car-independent lifestyle in a region with poor mass transit that's designed around single-family homes.

Expecting people to live the lives of ascetics, actively suffering for a nebulous good whose results they cannot hope to perceive in their lifetime, is not just foolish but kinda mean-spirited. Much better to do what you can to help coordinate solutions--to vote for people who are reform-minded on climate issues; maybe to donate your time or skills if you have something specific to contribute--and not to beat yourself up over it.

I really think this framing of your personal carbon footprint as a kind of sin you have to expiate is deeply counterproductive. It's just scrupulosity updated for the modern day. Unless you are the CEO of British Petroleum, or you set forests fires for sport or something, you can relax about this a little bit.

[beardedmrbean]

New Zealand has serious problems with its power supply. There are three underlying reasons: the weather, a flawed electricity market and a drive for ‘net zero’.

Sixty-five per cent of New Zealand’s electricity is provided by hydropower, and the remainder by geothermal, gas, coal, wind and some solar. Though hydropower is often seen as the one form of renewable energy which is not plagued by intermittency of supply, it sadly isn’t true. In a dry year, hydro’s ability to deliver falls away, and we lose about 10 per cent of our generation. In the past, we always tried to have the hydro reservoirs and coal stockpile full by the end of summer to guard against this possibility. When we switched to an electricity market, this was forgotten.

This year, we failed to refill the reservoirs, and levels are now unusually low. We are muddling along for the moment, but this is a difficult position from which to recover and there are likely to be blackouts at some point in the future.

The ability of our fossil fuel power stations to step into the gap has been severely restricted. We used to get 20 per cent of our electricity from gas-fired power stations, but six years ago, as part of their decarbonisation policy, the previous government banned further gas exploration, and we are now desperately short of gas. The new government is encouraging new exploration but we won’t see the results for several years.

We also have a single coal fired station with insufficient coal in its stockpile because our electricity market does not pay for the cost of maintaining an adequate stockpile.

The situation has been made worse by poor market design. New Zealand was one of the pioneers of electricity markets, and chose a risky model which has proved to be seriously flawed.

As a result, the problems this year have led to wholesale market prices rising to ridiculous levels of as much as £1/kWh. This has already caused some factories to shut down; others are under threat. The politicians are beginning to realise that the energy crisis could have serious effects on consumers, and there is speculation that they will be forced to intervene. This could mean instructing our gas and coal-fired power stations to run flat out day and night – which won’t make much difference because of the lack of fuel. Failing this, the only solution in the short term is rolling blackouts. and a public conservation campaign.

How did we get to this situation?

Firstly, the electricity market is simply not fit for purpose. The underlying propositions are that ‘electricity is a commodity like any other’ and that ‘when the price goes up, the demand goes down’. But electricity is not a commodity like any other, because it does not have an alternative or significant price elasticity. It isn’t a market that Adam Smith would recognise. As two departing CEOs said, the way to make money is to keep the system on the edge of a shortage. Which means that disaster is inevitable if a dry year occurs. And that is exactly what has happened.

The blind pursuit of ‘Net Zero’, has driven the closing down of gas exploration and the desire to shut down our coal fired station, even though it is doing a vital job in keeping the lights on.

The long-term problem

There has now been some rain on the hydro lakes and we are temporarily out of danger – assisted by the fact that the power companies have paid a stiff price to a major industrial gas user to shut down so that they can have its supplies.

But the long-term problem is still there: empty storage lakes that need to be refilled, not a lot of snow pack to melt in the springtime, declining supplies of gas, and the need to import 30 shiploads of coal and truck it to the power station. None can be achieved in the time available. The imminent shutdown of a 380 MW combined cycle power station, because it cannot find a secure gas supply for the next 20 years or so, adds to the problem. 

Instead we are placing our faith in more wind and solar power. The price will skyrocket when it is in short supply, but that will not help the wind and solar farms’ accounts as that is when they have very little to sell. When wind and sun are abundant, prices will crash. This means that the wind and solar farms under construction and planned will not make enough money to pay for their construction and operation. New Zealand does not directly subsidise wind and solar power so we can’t even be sure that the generators will continue building them. 

To be economic, wind and solar must be supported by low-cost long-term storage for days, weeks and months.There is no technology that can deliver this right now. New Zealand’s hydro reservoirs have huge capacity – approaching 10 per cent of a year’s electricity supply – but this storage capacity is already fully required to deal with the annual variations in hydro output. It cannot be used to back up solar and wind. Batteries simply can’t be used at national grid scales: they are too expensive by a factor of 50 or so.

Worse still the expectation is that electricity demand is going to increase rapidly, driven by domestic and industrial heat and road transport being electrified (although the extent to which this will actually happen in the face of rising power prices is debatable). Whether electric heating and transport arrive or not, we are already getting more and more data centres, which are a 24-hour per day load and need a reliable supply.

So the load will go up but we will be less able to keep the lights on when wind and solar are not delivering. Australia is 2000 km away, so there is no chance of importing from there, even if they did have power to spare, which they don’t.

We could build more geothermal stations, but that takes time, especially as the oil rigs they need to drill production wells have all departed overseas. There is probably 1000 MW so of identified geothermal potential, and there is the possibility that more could be found with exploration. But this is not a quick solution.

The only quick solution is to buy gas turbines and run them on diesel: not a nice prospect.

In the long-term we could consider more hydro generation, but that is blocked by many environmentalists, even though there is probably 2000 MW of potential left in the South Island. For those who do not believe in dangerous carbon-driven climate change – or who consider that atmospheric carbon levels will rise beyond desirable levels anyway due to China and India and that it is therefore pointless for Western nations to spend huge sums reducing their emissions – more coal and gas generation are an obvious solution but they are not quick.

For those who believe that man-made global warming is real and dangerous, and that it is worthwhile for the Western nations to cut emissions alone, we could be urgently considering nuclear power. This is the only practical and economic way of having reliable electric power with low carbon emissions. I suspect that in spite of a long-held opposition to nuclear armed and propelled ships, the New Zealand public are more sympathetic to nuclear power than they are believed to be.

Whatever happens, New Zealand faces a very uncertain situation in the next few years with an increasing risk of major shortages and a major increase in domestic electricity prices.

The implications for other countries

I suspect that this is the writing on the wall for all countries that have pursued net zero and ignored the importance of keeping the lights on at a reasonable price. The UK is already relying on interconnectors for about 10 per cent of its electricity and would be in serious trouble if Europe was unable to provide backup power when UK wind and solar are not delivering. 

For as long as Europe and other countries have net zero as a prime objective, electricity blackouts and high prices are inevitable. As we are planning to make our entire society electrically powered, this is a bleak prospect.

[mohammedrinshad]

How the Best Digital Marketer in Malappuram Can Boost Your Business

In today’s digital age, the success of any business depends on how well it can leverage digital marketing strategies. Whether you’re running a small local business or a growing enterprise, having a solid digital marketing strategy is crucial. But how do you ensure your business stands out from the competition? The answer lies in working with a skilled digital marketer – someone who can tailor strategies that align with your goals, audience, and market trends.

As the best digital marketer in Malappuram, I’ve helped numerous businesses achieve remarkable success through a combination of creativity, strategic planning, and the latest marketing techniques. Here’s how partnering with me can give your business the boost it needs to thrive:

1. Tailored Digital Marketing Strategies

Every business is unique, and a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work when it comes to marketing. By working with the best digital marketer in Malappuram, you’ll get a strategy customized to your specific needs. I will analyze your business, identify your target audience, and determine the most effective digital channels to reach them. Whether it’s through SEO, social media marketing, email campaigns, or paid ads, I’ll design a roadmap that ensures maximum results.

2. Boosting Online Visibility

A strong online presence is essential for any business looking to expand. By implementing SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques, I’ll improve your website’s ranking on search engines like Google. With the right SEO strategy, your business will be more visible to potential customers who are searching for products or services like yours. This increased visibility can lead to more website traffic, higher conversions, and greater brand recognition.

3. Social Media Expertise

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter are powerful tools for engaging with customers. As the best digital marketer in Malappuram, I use these platforms to create compelling content that resonates with your audience. Whether it’s organic posts or paid ads, I will help you build a loyal online community and foster deeper relationships with your customers. Social media marketing is not just about posting; it’s about creating a conversation that drives action.

4. Targeted Advertising for Higher ROI

With the right paid advertising strategy, you can drive quality leads and increase your sales. As an expert in Google Ads and Facebook Ads, I specialize in running targeted ad campaigns that deliver results. I use data-driven insights to optimize your ads, ensuring that every penny spent yields the best possible return on investment. Through careful audience targeting, compelling ad copy, and A/B testing, I’ll help you generate leads that convert into loyal customers.

5. Content Marketing to Build Trust

Content is king in the world of digital marketing. From blog posts to videos, infographics, and email newsletters, content is a powerful tool for building trust with your audience. As your digital marketing partner, I will help you create valuable, informative, and engaging content that educates your customers while promoting your products or services. Content marketing not only boosts your SEO efforts but also positions your brand as an authority in your industry.

6. Real-Time Analytics and Continuous Improvement

One of the key advantages of digital marketing is the ability to track and measure results in real time. With the help of analytics tools, I’ll monitor the performance of your campaigns and adjust strategies as needed. From website traffic and engagement rates to conversion metrics, I’ll ensure that your digital marketing efforts are continually optimized for success.

7. Cost-Effective Marketing Solutions

Compared to traditional marketing methods like TV or print ads, digital marketing is highly cost-effective. By focusing on online platforms, I can help your business reach a larger audience without breaking the bank. Whether you’re a small startup or an established business, digital marketing provides opportunities for all to achieve growth on a budget.

8. Competitive Advantage in Malappuram’s Growing Market

Malappuram, known for its vibrant local businesses, is also a rapidly growing market for digital opportunities. By working with the best digital marketer in the region, you’ll have the edge over your competitors. I keep up with the latest trends, tools, and techniques in the ever-changing digital landscape, ensuring that your business stays ahead of the curve.

9. Building Strong Brand Identity

A well-executed digital marketing strategy can help define and solidify your brand identity. From your website design to your social media voice, I ensure that your brand stands out and communicates its unique value proposition. By fostering a strong brand presence, you’ll attract more customers, build loyalty, and increase your overall market share.

Conclusion

Digital marketing isn’t just about advertising; it’s about creating long-term strategies that drive results and connect with your audience on a deeper level. As the best digital marketer in Malappuram, I am committed to helping businesses unlock their full potential through smart, data-driven marketing strategies. By partnering with me, you’ll gain access to a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and resources that will take your business to new heights.

Ready to boost your business? Let’s work together to create a digital marketing strategy that works for you!

[dailyanarchistposts]

B.6 But won’t decisions made by individuals with their own money be the best?

This question refers to an argument commonly used by capitalists to justify the fact that investment decisions are removed from public control under capitalism, with private investors making all the decisions. Clearly the assumption behind this argument is that individuals suddenly lose their intelligence when they get together and discuss their common interests. But surely, through debate, we can enrich our ideas by social interaction. In the marketplace we do not discuss but instead act as atomised individuals.

This issue involves the “Isolation Paradox,” according to which the very logic of individual decision-making is different from that of collective decision-making. An example is the “tyranny of small decisions.” Let us assume that in the soft drink industry some companies start to produce (cheaper) non-returnable bottles. The end result of this is that most, if not all, the companies making returnable bottles lose business and switch to non-returnables. Result? Increased waste and environmental destruction.

This is because market price fails to take into account social costs and benefits, indeed it mis-estimates them for both buyer/seller and to others not involved in the transaction. This is because, as Schumacher points out, the “strength of the idea of private enterprise lies in its terrifying simplicity. It suggests that the totality of life can be reduced to one aspect — profits...” [Small is Beautiful, p. 215] But life cannot be reduced to one aspect without impoverishing it and so capitalism “knows the price of everything but the value of nothing.”

Therefore the market promotes “the tyranny of small decisions” and this can have negative outcomes for those involved. The capitalist “solution” to this problem is no solution, namely to act after the event. Only after the decisions have been made and their effects felt can action be taken. But by then the damage has been done. Can suing a company really replace a fragile eco-system? In addition, the economic context has been significantly altered, because investment decisions are often difficult to unmake.

In other words, the operations of the market provide an unending source of examples for the argument that the aggregate results of the pursuit of private interest may well be collectively damaging. And as collectives are made up of individuals, that means damaging to the individuals involved. The remarkable ideological success of “free market” capitalism is to identify the anti-social choice with self-interest, so that any choice in the favour of the interests which we share collectively is treated as a piece of self-sacrifice. However, by atomising decision making, the market often actively works against the self-interest of the individuals that make it up.

Game theory is aware that the sum of rational choices do not automatically yield a rational group outcome. Indeed, it terms such situations as “collective action” problems. By not agreeing common standards, a “race to the bottom” can ensue in which a given society reaps choices that we as individuals really don’t want. The rational pursuit of individual self-interest leaves the group, and so most individuals, worse off. The problem is not bad individual judgement (far from it, the individual is the only person able to know what is best for them in a given situation). It is the absence of social discussion and remedies that compels people to make unbearable choices because the available menu presents no good options.

By not discussing the impact of their decisions with everyone who will be affected, the individuals in question have not made a better decision. Of course, under our present highly centralised statist and capitalist system, such a discussion would be impossible to implement, and its closest approximation — the election process — is too vast, bureaucratic and dominated by wealth to do much beyond passing a few toothless laws which are generally ignored when they hinder profits.

However, let’s consider what the situation would be like under libertarian socialism, where the local community assemblies discuss the question of returnable bottles along with the workforce. Here the function of specific interest groups (such as consumer co-operatives, ecology groups, workplace Research and Development action committees and so on) would play a critical role in producing information. Knowledge, as Bakunin, Kropotkin, etc. knew, is widely dispersed throughout society and the role of interested parties is essential in making it available to others. Based upon this information and the debate it provokes, the collective decision reached would most probably favour returnables over waste. This would be a better decision from a social and ecological point of view, and one that would benefit the individuals who discussed and agreed upon its effects on themselves and their society.

In other words, anarchists think we have to take an active part in creating the menu as well as picking options from it which reflect our individual tastes and interests.

It needs to be emphasised that such a system does not involve discussing and voting on everything under the sun, which would paralyse all activity. To the contrary, most decisions would be left to those interested (e.g. workers decide on administration and day-to-day decisions within the factory), the community decides upon policy (e.g. returnables over waste). Neither is it a case of electing people to decide for us, as the decentralised nature of the confederation of communities ensures that power lies in the hands of local people.

This process in no way implies that “society” decides what an individual is to consume. That, like all decisions affecting the individual only, is left entirely up to the person involved. Communal decision-making is for decisions that impact both the individual and society, allowing those affected by it to discuss it among themselves as equals, thus creating a rich social context within which individuals can act. This is an obvious improvement over the current system, where decisions that often profoundly alter people’s lives are left to the discretion of an elite class of managers and owners, who are supposed to “know best.”

There is, of course, the danger of “tyranny of the majority” in any democratic system, but in a direct libertarian democracy, this danger would be greatly reduced, for reasons discussed in section I.5.6 ( Won’t there be a danger of a “tyranny of the majority” under libertarian socialism?).

[pinkiexneomorph277]

Results of a Roleplay has me making a new varient for the Sneasel Line mostly the Hisuian .

Basically some shady scientist got a Hisuian Sneasel feather through the black market and tried to restore the pokemon but it was missing some DNA so they mixed in Johtotian Sneasels in the blood but also added some steel dust/shavings /solution to make the samples stick or some mumbo jumbo like that accidentally creating a steel type variant.

Ability: Sturdy , Poison coat , Steely resolve

Sneasels have poison tipped claws like their ancestors.

Sneaslers have thin shine of poison coating their head feathers, claws and tail feathers that can cause poison effect if touched or hit.

[isabellaseraphinabloger]

Exploring AI's Benefits in Fintech

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in the financial technology (fintech) sector is bringing about significant changes. From enhancing customer service to optimizing financial operations, AI is revolutionizing the industry. Chatbots, a prominent AI application in fintech, offer personalized and efficient customer interactions. This article explores the various benefits AI brings to fintech.

Enhanced Customer Experience

AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants are revolutionizing customer service in fintech. These tools provide 24/7 support, handle multiple queries simultaneously, and deliver instant responses, ensuring customers receive timely assistance. AI systems continually learn from interactions, improving their efficiency and effectiveness over time.

Superior Fraud Detection

Fraud detection is crucial in the financial sector, and AI excels in this area. AI systems analyze vast amounts of transaction data in real time, identifying unusual patterns and potential fraud more accurately than traditional methods. Machine learning algorithms effectively recognize subtle signs of fraudulent activity, mitigating risks and protecting customers.

Personalized Financial Services

AI enables fintech companies to offer highly personalized services. By analyzing customer data, AI provides tailored financial advice, recommends suitable investment opportunities, and creates customized financial plans. This level of personalization helps build stronger customer relationships and enhances satisfaction.

Enhanced Risk Management

AI-driven analytics significantly enhance risk management. By processing large datasets and identifying trends, AI can predict and assess risks more accurately than human analysts. This enables financial institutions to make informed decisions and manage risks more effectively.

Automation of Routine Tasks

AI automates many routine and repetitive tasks in fintech, such as data entry, account reconciliation, and compliance checks. This reduces the workload for employees and minimizes the risk of human errors. Automation leads to greater operational efficiency and allows staff to focus on strategic activities.

Advanced Investment Strategies

AI revolutionizes investment strategies by providing precise, data-driven insights. Algorithmic trading, powered by AI, analyzes market conditions and executes trades at optimal times. Additionally, AI tools assist investors in making better decisions by forecasting market trends and identifying lucrative opportunities.

In-Depth Customer Insights

AI provides fintech companies with deeper insights into customer behavior and preferences. By analyzing transaction history, spending patterns, and other relevant data, AI predicts customer needs and offers proactive solutions. This level of insight is invaluable for targeted marketing strategies and improving customer retention.

Streamlined Loan and Credit Processes

AI streamlines loan and credit approval processes by automating credit scoring and underwriting. AI algorithms quickly assess an applicant’s creditworthiness by analyzing various factors, such as income, credit history, and spending habits. This results in faster loan approvals and a more efficient lending process.

Conclusion

AI is transforming the fintech industry by improving efficiency, enhancing customer experiences, and providing valuable insights. As technology advances, the role of AI in fintech will grow, driving further innovation and growth. Embracing AI solutions is essential for financial institutions to stay competitive in this rapidly changing landscape.

[digi-0158]

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[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Christina Buttons

Published: Dec 11, 2024

In interviews, I’ve often shared how I became a journalist after discovering the stories of detransitioners—stories that deeply resonated with my own struggles with mental health and identity. I’ve been very open about the severe mental health crises I faced in my youth and have frequently alluded to the "bad decisions" I made as a young adult. As my public profile grew, I was prepared for the inevitability that those bad decisions would become known. Now that they have, I want to use this moment to share my story in the hope that it can be instructive and bring attention to an issue I believe is preventing many from recovering from mental illness.

There’s been much speculation about the ongoing youth mental health crisis, particularly about why liberals—especially liberal girls—report the highest rates of mental illness. Some have suggested that locus of control plays a contributing role. Those with an external locus of control, who believe their lives are shaped by forces beyond their control, tend to be less mentally well and lean more liberal. In contrast, those with an internal locus of control, who believe they have agency over their lives, are generally mentally healthier and more likely to align with conservative values.

This idea resonates deeply with me and my own experiences, and I want to expand on it. I believe young people, especially liberals, are constantly bombarded with messages that reinforce an external locus of control. This concept is central to the book I am writing, where I lay out the origins of this mindset and the effect it has on people. A significant contributor is the brain disease model of mental illness. This biomedical model, which portrays mental illness as a medical condition, profoundly shaped my sense of self growing up and, I believe, continues to influence how many young people perceive themselves and their struggles.

The Brain Disease Model of Mental Illness

In the 1980s, psychiatry sought to establish itself as a legitimate branch of scientific medicine by adopting a biomedical model, which framed mental disorders as brain diseases. This approach offered a straightforward explanation: mental illnesses result from biological dysfunctions, such as chemical imbalances, and require medical treatment. One of the most influential narratives born from this model was the serotonin theory of depression, which claimed that depression was caused by low levels of serotonin in the brain.

Endorsed by professional organizations like the American Psychiatric Association (APA), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), textbooks, and influential research papers, the brain disease model of mental disorders became a cornerstone of psychiatric practice and public understanding for 40 years. Pharmaceutical companies spent billions on advertising campaigns promoting psychotropic drugs as solutions to chemical imbalances. Public awareness initiatives claimed it would reduce stigma surrounding mental illness. As a result, surveys find that 80–90% of people believe depression is caused by a chemical imbalance.

However, this narrative was built more on marketing than science. Billions of dollars in neuroscience research over decades have failed to uncover clear and convincing evidence for a biological basis for mental disorders. The serotonin theory of depression, in particular, lacked substantial evidence and was debunked in 2022 by a systematic umbrella review. Despite this, there has been no major effort to correct public misconceptions or hold accountable those who promoted this idea without evidence.

The chemical imbalance theory remains the dominant cultural narrative about depression in the United States. Many states are now incorporating mental health education into K-12 curricula, but depending on how this education is conducted, it could cause more harm than good. For example, a Minnesota curriculum for middle and high school students, developed by the pharma-funded advocacy group National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), teaches that mental illnesses are "brain disorders," emphasizing that "Biology, not a character flaw, causes mental illness."

This is a vast oversimplification. While hereditary components and traits like neuroticism may predispose individuals to negative thinking or mental health challenges, they do not determine their fate. Yet, in my recent interviews with young adults in treatment for mental health crises, every one of them described their mental disorder as a chemical imbalance or brain condition. They attributed the actions that led them into treatment to their disorder, viewing it as a lifelong condition, which they lacked control over.

Given the ubiquity of the biomedical model, it should come as no surprise that mental disorders are among the leading causes of disability—costing the U.S. economy upwards of $280 billion annually. As of 2022, over one in five adults in the U.S.—59.3 million people—report a mental illness diagnosis. For adolescents aged 13–18, the rate is even higher, with an estimated 49.5%—nearly one in two—diagnosed.

The lead author of the 2022 systematic umbrella review, Joanna Moncrieff, stated that "telling people they have a brain abnormality, or some physical medical problem, is profoundly disempowering." She is absolutely right. Such messaging undermines a person’s sense of agency and is particularly harmful to young, developing minds.

As a teenager immersed in a mental health system rooted in the biomedical model, I internalized the belief that something was fundamentally wrong with my brain and that I lacked control over my behavior. My story is one of breaking free from the constraints of this medical framework, overcoming the mental health challenges it reinforced, and reclaiming a sense of personal agency over my life.

Tumultuous Teen Years

I received many diagnoses throughout my life, the most recent being Asperger's syndrome at age 30. While I remain skeptical of behaviorally-diagnosed conditions and mindful of confirmation bias, I can see, in hindsight, early signs from childhood that align with the traits ascribed to Asperger's. From a young age, my life was continually punctuated by one all-consuming interest after another. I struggled to make and maintain friendships, and spent most of my time alone and engaging in solitary activities like staring into puddles and overturning rocks to observe small life forms, catching tadpoles, arranging my toys in elaborate setups, and drawing.

I was rigid and found comfort in routines, rewatching the same VHS tapes or listening to the same cassettes on repeat. My eating habits were similarly fixed—I was a very picky eater, choosing the same plain foods every day. I was also particular about textures, always preferring soft, stretchy fabrics. Physically, I was clumsy and uncoordinated, and I was highly sensitive to my environment.

But the real trouble didn't begin until early adolescence, when my family moved to a new city and I started middle school. I was not socially successful and was teased by other kids. The rejection felt monumental, leading me to become increasingly self-critical and withdrawn. The noisy, chaotic areas where kids gathered were overwhelming, so I often sought refuge in teachers’ classrooms during breaks and lunch or found quiet, secluded spots to be alone. 

I began experiencing feelings of body dysmorphia, becoming hyperfocused on my flaws. I wore the same baggy black sweatshirt and stretchy blue jeans every day. I thought I was hideous and hid my face behind a wall of hair. I developed dermatillomania, compulsively picking at my scalp, as a way to self-comfort.

In class, I would repetitively draw the same figures and faces, retreating into a fantasy world—first Sailor Moon, then The Legend of Zelda, then Lord of the Rings—to escape from reality. Sometimes, I became so overwhelmed that I would get up and walk out of class, only to be sent to the counselor’s office. They recommended to my parents that I see a therapist. After school, I would go straight to my room and draw the curtains. I spent countless hours on the computer, teaching myself to code and designing websites dedicated to whatever my current interest was.

In 2002, when I was 13, my 7-year-old neighbor Danielle van Dam was raped and killed by our 49-year-old neighbor, David Westerfield. It was a big event in our community, and it deeply affected me. I followed the trial closely and collected the newspaper clippings about the case. I developed insomnia and obsessive-compulsive habits: walking around the house at night, checking the locks over and over, and washing my hands until they were raw. 

Entering highschool, my mental health further plummeted and my relationship with my parents deteriorated. I was 14 when I started carving up my body with knives and razor blades. My outward appearance started to reflect my darker inner world; I dyed my hair red and wore heavy eyeliner. I became anorexic, and at 5’8”, my lowest weight was under 100 pounds. My biceps showed brown discoloration from muscle wasting. I began feeling like it would be better if I died.

It was during a visit to the psychiatrist in 2003 that I received a diagnosis of major depressive disorder after a brief meeting reviewing a checklist of symptoms. This was the first time I heard depression described as a "chemical imbalance" in my brain. This explanation made me feel hopeless, as it implied that my brain was somehow defective—I was born with this condition, and had no power to change it. During that appointment, I made a long slice down my arm in the bathroom with a razor blade, resulting in an emergency room visit and my first stay in a psychiatric hospital.

In 2004, I was caught in a cycle of crises, repeatedly accessing emergency rooms, psychiatric hospitals, outpatient programs, and group homes. I received numerous diagnoses from different psychiatrists and was prescribed a range of high-dose psychotropic medications—including one that caused a life-threatening rash and another that required regular EKGs.

At every step, the idea that mental illness was a brain disease I suffered from, and would have for the rest of my life, was reinforced. The lexicon of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) shaped my worldview, and I became preoccupied with finding the "correct" diagnosis so that I could better understand myself. The way the adults in my life referred to me as "sick" and "mentally ill" and described my behavior as "out of control" influenced my self-perception, and I took on the role of a sick person. 

Due to my extensive absences from high school, I had an Individualized Education Program (IEP). As part of the evaluation process, they conducted psychological testing and classroom observations. The evaluator’s notes documented my monotone voice, "limited eye contact," "flat affect," instances of "stumbling while walking and almost falling," and that “test results indicate a large number of atypical perceptual experiences.” They also noted "social immaturity," "significant inflexibility in her thinking," "difficulty identifying feelings," "tendency to express emotions indirectly and impulsively," and that “when the teacher used humor in the classroom, Christina did not smile or appear to respond in the same manner as her peers.” 

I also received a near-perfect score on Raven’s Progressive Matrices, a nonverbal intelligence test that measures an individual’s ability to identify patterns—a result I later learned is common among individuals with Asperger’s. However, Asperger’s was largely viewed as a "boys' disorder" at the time and was not considered in my case. Instead, my IEP labeled my disability as “Emotionally Disturbed.”

As my behavior escalated and became increasingly risky, I began seeking out drugs and alcohol. Things took a drastic turn for the worse when an internet predator found me on Myspace and began grooming me. He was 47, and I was only 15. He had deceived me, and when I met him in person, he raped me. The emotional pain was so unbearable afterwards that I tried to hang myself.

From the emergency room, I was placed in another psychiatric hospital—but this time there was no going home afterward. It became clear to my parents that I needed a higher level of care than they could provide. After running away from two lower-security residential treatment facilities, flunking out of a wilderness program in Idaho, and several more psychiatric hospital stays, I arrived at my final destination: a lockdown psychiatric residential treatment center in Utah called Provo Canyon School, where I would live for a year.

While other kids were getting their learner’s permits, celebrating their sweet sixteens, and attending school dances, I was in treatment. It was an intense, highly structured behavior modification program with a level system I had to work through to achieve a high status. It wasn’t easy or enjoyable, but it was effective in helping me break free from the cycle of crisis so that I could safely return home. (This type of treatment is in decline—a topic I’m passionate about and have several upcoming articles addressing.)

As for my rapist, he served less than six months in jail. This type of crime carried lighter penalties 20 years ago. I later learned that he reoffended four years later with another underage girl. He's still on the sex offender registry.

Young Adulthood

Things were stable at home for a while, and I managed to complete my GED at 17, but my relationship with my parents remained strained. By 19, living at home was no longer an option, and I found myself on my own. A friend’s family offered me a temporary place to stay, but I didn't want to be a burden on them, so I quickly moved in with a boyfriend I had just met.

We had a roommate who eventually moved out, leaving me needing additional income to cover expenses. I began doing photoshoots, which were initially clothed. However, after I was let go from my job as a nanny, the shoots progressed to unclothed. My boyfriend at the time, who had stopped working, either encouraged it or didn’t discourage it. This period is difficult to recall, as I’ve tried hard to forget it.

When the relationship ended, he left the country, abandoning me with significant debt, unpaid rent, and lease-breaking fees from our apartment. Our former roommate, who was also on the lease, was forced to cover the apartment fees to protect her credit and threatened legal action against me, leaving me desperate to find money quickly.

I eventually agreed to meet with a representative from an agency that had been hounding me, which led to my decision to make adult films to pay off my debt. At the time, and for several months thereafter, I believed I had bipolar disorder. However, I later realized that the instability I felt stemmed from other factors, including heavy drinking. My behavior mirrored my sense of self-worth—I saw myself as a mentally ill, degenerate loser, and I acted accordingly.

I was purely in survival mode, with no one to call for help and without the kind of stability one typically needs to think about the future and consider how my choices would impact me later in life. I was also very naive, believing that the content would remain on obscure, paywalled websites, unaware that free porn sites were beginning to dominate the internet.

While I don’t judge others who have chosen to do sex work, I would strongly discourage anyone considering it, as my own experience was traumatic and soul-crushing. I decided to work with an agency because I thought it would be safer, but my last assignment proved otherwise. They sent me to a hotel room with a man with a camera who choked me, hurt me, and ignored my cries and pleas to stop. Even after that, the agency relentlessly pressured me to continue, but I was done. In three and a half weeks, I had made enough to pay off my debt. How the owners chose to distribute, repackage, and republish the content at later dates and under multiple titles was entirely beyond my control.

Getting Better

Afterwards, I worked as a freelance graphic artist, but I was still directionless, turning to dangerous combinations of drugs and alcohol. That changed when I was 22 and began working for an employer whose family became a surrogate family to me. He believed in me, saw potential I couldn’t see in myself, and encouraged me to go back to school. For the first time, someone expected more from me—he didn’t treat me like I was a sick person or try to take advantage of me.

He introduced me to science, which quickly became my all-consuming passion. He gave me books on skepticism and debunking pseudoscience, which I devoured, and we watched debates on atheism that taught me about argumentation and logical fallacies.

I used to feel like a passive witness to my own life, watching myself make one bad decision after another, driven by emotions and impulses I couldn’t control due to my underlying mental illness. I had never been taught to think critically or base my beliefs on evidence, like a scientist. Learning how to think critically—and applying those techniques to myself—was the turning point when everything began to change.

There’s a meme I like that says, “Anxiety is just conspiracy theories about yourself.” The key is learning to debunk those conspiracy theories and spot the logical fallacies in your own thinking. This mindset shift helped me immensely. I also discovered Stoic philosophy, which taught me that I could choose not to react to emotional triggers and that no one could disturb my inner peace unless I allowed it—something I wasn't even aware was possible.

I believe many mental health challenges stem from the belief that we lack control over our thoughts and emotions. The truth is, you can train your brain. The mind is like a muscle; just as you wouldn’t expect to transform your body in a single day at the gym, strengthening your mind takes consistent effort and hard work. If you stick with it, you get stronger every day.

Challenging my negative self-talk was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. After over a decade of habitual self-criticism, catastrophizing, and black-and-white thinking, breaking those thought patterns felt almost insurmountable. But this process—essentially cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in practice—was transformative. While a therapist trained in CBT can offer valuable guidance, real progress comes from consistently applying these strategies in your everyday life.

Through this work, I developed an internal locus of control and a sense of agency that had been missing for most of my life. For the first time, I no longer saw myself as mentally ill and destined for a life of failure: I felt like I was truly in charge of my thoughts, my actions, and my future.

Aftermath

I eventually reconnected with my family, and we’re very close now. While making friends became somewhat easier as I got older, maintaining those friendships remained a challenge. Throughout my twenties and early thirties, I still struggled with identity issues, which led to a somewhat unconventional life as I searched for direction. I moved frequently, even living in Switzerland at one point, changed my college major several times, changed my appearance often, worked as a caregiver for special needs children and adults, tagged along on tour with Alice Cooper, illustrated children’s books, and became a social justice meme-maker for a short time before undergoing a political realignment.

Clarity came at age 30, when I was assessed for and diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. This often presents differently in girls and can go undetected, as comorbidities tend to emerge around puberty, shifting the focus away from the underlying condition.

Hypersensitivity to light and sound, social difficulties, obsessive interests, repetitive behaviors, struggles with abstract thinking and executive functioning, auditory processing challenges, food intolerances, motor-balance issues, and possibly even the cerebellum abnormalities revealed in my MRI all finally seemed to fit into a cohesive narrative. However, I am now cautious not to let any diagnosis define my identity. Instead, I focus on accommodating myself to better manage the associated symptoms so that they don't interfere with the life I want.

Even after this revelation, my life still lacked purpose. It was only in recent years, after becoming a journalist, that I truly felt like I had found my calling. Journalism has given me a sense of accomplishment and self-worth. It’s an exciting career that allows me to leverage my strengths in research and writing, along with traits like hyper-focus, an obsessive drive to deeply understand topics, attention to detail, and the ability to work long hours without fatigue. It’s a profession where I can pursue my love of learning while helping others stay informed.

In my work with detransitioners, I conducted a survey revealing 85.7% reported that their healthcare providers, including doctors and therapists, described being transgender as a biological characteristic beyond their control—a medical condition necessitating treatment. Additionally, 49.2% recalled providers framing their transgender identity as a brain condition, using the phrase "male brain in a female body" and vice versa. This framing drew striking parallels to my own experience with the brain disease model of mental illness. Both present psychiatric conditions as innate and immutable traits, profoundly shaping young people's self-perception and undermining their sense of personal agency.

Learning about the history of psychiatry, combined with my personal experience, and the experiences of detransitioners, has really shaken my faith in the field, leading me to wonder if it deserves the outsized trust we place in it.

Diagnostic categories within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) reflect the opinions of appointed experts rather than being grounded in consistently replicated scientific research. Psychiatric diagnoses are often unreliable because they are based on subjective criteria, such as self-reports from patients, behavioral observations, and clinician interpretation, all of which are susceptible to bias and error. Recent research has highlighted a significant amount of overlap within DSM-defined disorder categories, leading some researchers to conclude that psychiatric diagnosis is "scientifically meaningless." 

And yet, the DSM has become a globalizing force, spreading predominantly Western concepts of mental health to other cultures, often driven by the interests of pharmaceutical companies and professional organizations. This has contributed to the rise of diagnostic fads and diagnostic inflation, where increasingly broad criteria pathologize human behavior, labeling it as mental disorders. 

We have to consider how the DSM serves as a powerful cultural script, and influences how we express and communicate our distress. While there is some utility in classifying mental and emotional distress, diagnoses are often misunderstood as the cause of a person’s struggles, leading many to define themselves by these labels. This can create a self-fulfilling prophecy, where belief in a diagnosis influences the manifestation of symptoms—even when the diagnosis is incorrect.

We need to step back from the brain disease model of mental illness and rethink how we understand life’s difficulties. Unwanted thoughts and emotions are not simply the result of abnormal brain chemistry requiring chemical correction. In many cases, they can be changed with effort and persistence—but that process begins by rejecting the idea that you lack the power to make those changes.

Mental illness should not be viewed as a permanent condition or a defining aspect of one's identity. Instead, it should be seen as something to work toward overcoming—to the extent it is possible. This perspective may not apply uniformly to all conditions, such as psychotic disorders, but in most cases, recovery even from serious mental illness is attainable. Believe you are sick, and you will be sick; believe you can get better, and you can.

[marketing-agency-b2b]

Why Your B2B Business Needs Brand Storytelling & How to Make It Happen

Your brand may be built around your solutions, but it’s not just a product or a service.

It’s part of a story you share with your prospects and customers.

Your prospects might be interested in your products and services, but what they’re really want is a solution to their problems and whatever else prevents them from achieving their business goals.

And while you might have terrific solutions, the most effective story you can tell prospects is not the story of how great you are. It’s their story – the story of how they will overcome the obstacles standing between them and their goals, with you as their trusted guide. Anyone can try to sell them something. You want the opportunity to serve them as a trusted guide and partner.

That is the essence of brand storytelling, as well as the essence of every good story.

There’s a hero (your prospect), a guide (that’s you), and a daunting problem that must be solved before the hero can reach their goal.

Brand storytelling works because of a simple but often overlooked principle of effective B2B marketing: prospects need to know that you understand their needs and challenges and can connect the dots between their problems and your solutions.

Here’s what you need to know to make your B2B brand story resonate powerfully with your audience, generate leads, and fuel your growth.

Avoid Traditional Marketing Traps

Start by leading with the problems you solve and the opportunity created as a result.

Traditional marketing leads with products, services, features, and benefits. When you speak too soon or too much about the features of your products or services, it comes across as pushy self-promotion because you have not yet established your credibility or earned their trust.

When your content demonstrates your understanding of their problems and your ability to solve them, you build credibility. Case studies, reviews and testimonials are a good example of content that provides the “social proof” of your problem-solving capabilities.

Traditional, promotional marketing can feel like sitting across from a date who spends the entire evening talking about themself.

Self-congratulatory content in particular—being the “top” or “leading” provider, whatever Gartner quadrant you fall into, and all the awards you’ve won—doesn’t generate leads because it doesn’t resonate, but effective brand storytelling does.

Identifying Pain Points

Brand storytelling should demonstrate your understanding of prospect problems.

To identify their pain points, here is what you can do:

Survey your current customers to understand what led them to you and what impact your solutions have had on their business

Conduct secondary market research by reviewing the web where people are discussing their problems: reviews of competitors, discussion boards (e.g. Reddit, Vistage community boards, and industry websites)

Spend more time asking prospects about the effects of their biggest problems and what they want to achieve

Conduct primary market research by interviewing pre-qualified prospects to see if they have the problems that you solve and what they think of your solutions

Note: no market is homogenous – it’s important to segment your target markets by their unique requirements. Many may have the same type of problem but each segment may value aspects of your solutions differently (e.g. specific compliance requirements, how much they are impacted by the problem, price sensitivity, whether they are end-users or resellers, etc.)

Once you’ve identified the common problems that your brand solves, storytelling gets a lot easier because that is center of your brand story.

3 Steps to Telling the Story of Your B2B Brand

Now that you know the pain points you want to incorporate into your storytelling, it’s time to incorporate them.

No two brands are exactly alike, so no two stories are exactly alike but there are commonalities in the storytelling process for B2B brands.

Step 1: Lay the Foundation

Revisit your foundational messaging by going through the brand story process. There’s no better place to start implementing it than on your home page – it’s recommended that you keep your design language in place (it doesn't need to be a web redesign project) but it’s critically important to recreate the content, which is often overly focused on self-promotion and features/benefits.

Rework your About page and main solution pages. Then create a company boilerplate of 100 words, an elevator pitch of 100 characters, and a tagline of just a few words, incorporating the essence of your brand story in each.

Step 2: Develop Educational Thought Leadership

Develop interesting and educational thought leadership that helps prospects understand what will solve their problem and who is best to solve it. You will have more credibility if you acknowledge that your solutions aren’t the best fit for every prospect and circumstance. This will also help you appeal to those who are the right fit for your services.

Foundational web pages, blogs, case studies, guides, and ebooks that educate prospects on how your solutions solve their problems all help generate leads. Promotional content like company news and awards is fine, as long as it’s surrounded by thought leadership.

Step 3: Spread the Word

In virtually any market, the number of prospects actively searching for your solutions will be outnumbered by those who aren’t, so it’s important to send some thought leadership out into the world: email campaigns, direct mail, events, content syndication, and earned PR (published articles and speaking opportunities that can’t be purchased – you have to earn them with a successful pitch to publication editors or industry associations).

B2B Brand Storytelling Implementation Example

Below is an example of a professionally designed website that looked good but didn’t resonate well with prospects because of its focus on making bold claims without explaining how problems would be solved or how its solutions would work. Today, a brand story-focused website generates more leads and is the result of a successful storytelling approach.

Before

After

Ready to Improve Your B2B Storytelling & Grow Your Business?

While there is some art to storytelling, it’s a repeatable process that you can do yourself.

However, it’s hard to be effective at something if you haven’t done it before or don’t have the time or resources to commit to it. Agencies like Innovaxis specialize in B2B storytelling. In fact, Innovaxis offers a B2B Brand Storytelling Workshop to help you get started.