#Still no answer on why lr even a solution

[inked-up-gentleman]

Mental health matters

[doublethetheories]

Show vs. Science: Exploding Hands?

Hey everyone, welcome to the (long awaited) Bakugou Science Bust!! In this post it’s less about theories and more about finding the scientific inconsistencies in Bakugou’s quirk and finding solutions in the form of mini-theories. The formatting is going along the top questions I had and the results I got. Also warning this ended up being ~1900 words long (before editing) so... yea. 

The conclusion is basically a compare and contrast of the Canon vs. Scientific Bakugou and what differences we end up with. Feel free to reblog with your own theories or reaction to this, since I really enjoy seeing your feedback.

Before getting into the science of it, let’s just recap what we know about Bakugou Katsuki. As explained in season 1, episode 7, his ‘exploding hands’ quirk stems from him sweating nitroglycerin and (somehow) being able to channel that into his explosions. Right off the bat, we already know the science will not allow him to use his quirk the way he does in the show where he uses mere ‘concentration’(?) to set off his explosions. So let’s get into the specifics of his limitations.

Could he actually control the explosions?

Seems like a pretty easy place to start right? It’s a valid question; just because he has nitroglycerin in his system doesn’t mean he can actually control when or if he explodes. (Which is a bit worrying.)

The answer to this one already gives us a few inconsistencies between canon and science compliant versions of this character. Yes, he can control the explosions. If Bakugou is able to sweat nitroglycerin, he would almost always have a thin layer of explosive liquid covering his body. (It can also be assumed that, with this as his power and with puberty having already hit, he sweats a lot.) 

From there, the nitroglycerin in its liquid form can be exploded in one of two ways; heat or shock/impact. And since Bakugou obviously isn’t going to rely on a lighter or Todoroki to help him out every time he needs to use his power, it can be deduced that he’s using impact to create those explosions. Which leads us into our next section,

How would he control his power?

Going with ‘impact’ as the match to the gasoline raises two problems for Bakugou, though. One, he canonically has way more control over his power than scientifically possible, and Two, this boy is a very short-tempered one. Adding his easy-to-anger personality to this (very literally) explosive quirk would be a huge safety issue to both him and everyone around him. Having control over the blasts is possible, but it’d take effort.

So, first off, he would have to fix his anger issues and learn to not hit or slam his hands on the nearest item when something goes wrong. Along with this, he would have to avoid getting in the middle of fights as well (unless he means to use his quirk in it). He might be the most peaceful Bakugou possible, but that won’t stop an explosion from getting slapped.

He’d also need to wear thin but tight long sleeves and pants in order to absorb and dilute the nitroglycerin, making it less likely to explode on unavoidable impacts. 

Now, to address the few options he has that provide at least some for of control over the explosions. 

Initially, snapping seemed like the obvious solution. Not to say that it isn’t an option, since it would work to activate the nitroglycerin in his hand, and if he was snapping while flicking his wrist for more control, then it’d be a totally viable option. The problem comes up when looking for actual damage to be done to the opponent. Snapping his fingers close to them would be enough to stun an enemy, but the power of the explosions he could potentially make measures around the strength of the first two firecrackers from this video.

The next step I took in researching this was finding a directional way for him to clap, in order to exhibit some stronger results than the snap. (Though heads up, even at maximum power, he would not be able to naturally make the huge explosions he does in the show. The gauntlets he has though might be able to help him do that.)

There were many ways for him to, essentially, clap in order to get his blast in the intended direction, but almost all of them require at least a paragraph of explanation in order to get the idea across sans imagery. There is one that came to me almost immediately; it’s from a theater game called Zip Zap Zop. This video demonstrates the clap pretty well. 

With the impact of his fingers on his palm, the majority of the nitroglycerin would be on the palm, therefore igniting it and allowing it to go in a specific direction as he slides his exploding hand forward. 

Sweating Nitroglycerin???

So this part of the research was a lot harder than literally any of the rest of it because in every diagram I found, the sweat glands weren’t connected to anything. Literally no website I went to explained where specifically the sweat glands got their ingredients. This resulted in me taking an alternate route. 

Sweat is the body’s way of disposing of waste and maintaining a steady temperature (woop woop homeostasis), and it consists mostly of water and salt. Sweat glands are also found all throughout the body, hence Bakugou needing to dilute all the sweat with fabric before the excess sweat becomes a real problem. 

Since the “research” was a lot of roughly-averaged math based on conflicting information, the answer is tentative, but generally, yes, it is possible for him to sweat nitroglycerin. The natural implication of it into his body is a separate thing, but if you replace all the water in his body with a 2 parts water 1 part nitroglycerin mixture, his body should hold up along with the nitroglycerin. Surprisingly, it holds it’s chemical make-up holds its own pretty well in the face of water.

Bonus science fact that came out of this section: if the 2/1 water/nitroglycerin mixture was what was flowing through his veins, along with his sweat, his pee and spit would also be explosive. So would the water from his showers or baths since the nitroglycerin would be mixed into it. 

Would he be deaf?

Just going to preface this by saying I am obsessed with Deaf!Bakugou headcanons, oneshots, fics, and art because A, I love deaf representation so much, and B, it’s freaking accurate the show is lying to us he would 100% be deaf and here is why-

According to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, hearing loss due to exposure to sounds can begin at 85 decibels or higher. To put this in perspective, the NIDCD says that heavy traffic averages at 85 decibels and firearms average around 150 decibels. 150 decibels is also the estimated bursting point for eardrums.

It’s difficult to estimate how powerful his explosions are, but I’m going to use an ‘average pistol’ for this research. I am doing this because firearms use mini explosions in order to fire the bullet, and an average pistol is just an average place to start. A .22 LR pistol falls around 152 decibels. 

Next, instead of going through all the calculations to see how large this explosion is in comparison to his would-be hand explosions, I decided to convert the mass of the bullet to liters (which is what I have his sweat measured in) and see how the two numbers compare. The bigger the number, the more explosive matter there is and the larger the explosion. 

Bakugou sweats roughly .21 liters per hour, based on research on how much people sweat averagely during exercise and having him be on the upper end since he’d be working out hard in order to use his quirk and have actual impact. When speaking of a .22 caliber bullet, the measurements fall around 3.1 grams. Converting that, we get .0031 liters. This number is obviously too small to compare with the caliber of explosions Bakugou is letting off. In fact, bakugou’s explosions are more than 70 times that. 

The (insane) difference between the two number shows us that Bakugou’s explosions will produce a lot more sound than that of a simple pistol. Instead of being just deaf, his eardrums would be nonexistent. HIs explosions’ sound might not be to the same ratio as the intensity but still.. hopefully he looses his hearing gradually over time as his explosions get more powerful, because otherwise, that’d be extremely painful.

(Please note that this section was written before I found these blueprints showing his headpiece as having earplugs, though he would still have significant hearing loss from the explosions he does even when he’s not wearing those.)

Could his skin take the constant damage?

The explanation for this section is less scientific and more of a theoretical hypothesis. There is also a second theory I have that helps defend this question, but I’m probably going to make that its own post. (If I do I’ll come back and link it here.)

Anyways, I think he just used simple endurance training.

It might seem random but the chances that his skin just built up strength over the years of constant, slowly growing damage being done to them. We already know his power grows as he does, and we know that he did use it as a child, so it just got used to it. Sort of like calluses from monkey bars. 

Going off of that assumption, it’s reasonable to think that at first, with his small pops, his hands’ skin was hurt but quickly grew back thicker and stronger. Because that’s how the body works when it’s hurt. When you burn your skin, it grows back with a different texture because it has been burned and it trying to prevent that damage from happening again. So if he’s been slowly building up his skins’ resistance to the explosions, he should be generally alright at this point.

Please remember this is just a theory written without much knowledge f burning skin and not a recommendation. Do not try this at home. :)

Conclusion

Scientific Bakugou:

Whenever he needs to use his quirk, he either claps, snaps, or hits the object he’s aiming for.

In order to avoid accidental explosions, he avoids sharp, impactful movements (smacking, hitting, or slamming things.)

He normally wears thin, lightweight long sleeves along with generally snug pants in order to absorb the excess sweat on his body for his safety and others.

When he sweats, he’s sweating a mixture of nitroglycerin and water. 

His spit and pee are also explosive. 

His hearing is gone completely once he hits highschool, as his explosions reach well over 150 decibels on a regular basis.

The skin on his hands has (possibly) built up burn-calluses from the explosions over the years, growing in strength as the explosions do. It still hurts but the nerve damage is enough to prevent it from being too painful.

Canon Bakugou:*

Whenever he needs to use his quirk, he somehow charges the nitroglycerin in his hand via concentration. ?

In order to avoid accidental explosions, he tries to keep control over his nerves, since that seems to be what causes him to loose control and accidentally release some pops.

He normally wears loose fitting pants and a tank top because apparently he does not fear science.

When he sweats, he's sweating nitroglycerin.

His spit and pee might be explosive but are probably not.

His hearing is just fine with barely any noticeable damage at all, despite the decibels he is constantly being exposed to.

The skin on his hands is normal and undamaged. (Bonus science inconsistency is that he wears gloves in his hero costume, which would mute his power completely. If he even managed to make an explosion in those things, they seem to be explosion resistant, so it'd do more damage to him than anything/one else.)

*I think it should be noted that canon Bakugou's power seems to be tied to his emotions, which I only noticed as I was writing this.

Outro

Despite how long it took, I really had a lot of fun with this project. I’m tempted to make this into a series, possibly doing Creati / Yao-Momo next. I also have a few things I mentioned in the post above that might be part two, three, four, etc.s to this post, but going in the direction of further exploring Bakugou’s abilities. Still need help on deciding which part two option to focus on first though. 

Possible part two’s include: 

another post like this but shorter and about his gauntlets (and hero costume in general, this would probably go more in depth on what he wears in general as well)

a post like this that follows up on my rising question of ‘could he actually control the explosions with neither of the triggers of nitroglycerin’ and going into what other explosive he’d have to use in order to have that chemical interact with the ones flowing through his system (i.e. hormones and nerves-)

a follow up on the fact that I didn’t actually complete the research on his hands being able to / not able to withstand all the explosions over the years

a post dedicated to my mini-theory about bnha having one consistent mutation over everyone who has a quirk

Also the art in the deaf!bakugou section doesn’t have a signature on it and when I reverse image searched it the only account I could find that possibly made it was @maelstrom-prince. So much freaking respect to whoever made it though, I freaking love blueprints for fictional things. 

[blogpr940]

Capture One 20 Slow

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Anyone else experience C1 catalogs taking forever to load? Once the app is open, then I can load/change catalogs with ease. But the first time I open the app and the catalog size is at least 40GB, it just takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r. Reminds me of Aperture 2. Just painful and my number one complaint. I’m still using the test version… but maybe things are better once I purchase???

Not noticing that here, and my machine is not overpowered.

Behind the scenes videos with our favourite photographers, tutorials, tips and guides to Capture One. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, prepare yourself for a dose of tips, tricks. This indicates what speed the camera is connected: 12Mb/s: USB 1.1. If the camera is connecting slower than it should be, reconnect it and refresh System Profiler (via cmd+R). If it persists, try a different port on the machine, preferably on a different USB bus. For our Capture One 21 launch, we challenged Polish food and still life photographer Maciek Miloch to tell us about his experience of the pandemic – using just one color. In this blog, he shares the inspiration behind his shoot. Customizing the Interface. Capture One is a popular RAW photo editor that caters to the professional photographer looking for full control over their craft. In a land of competing products, CO stands out as being one of the few to take the GPU seriously, which is exactly why we decided to take the application for a. Length: 60:00 minutes New Heal and Clone tools in Capture One's latest update are both easier and faster to work with, while providing the high image quality that Capture One is known for. Webinars Shooting and Editing with the Fujifilm X-T4 and Capture One.

“but maybe things are better once I purchase???”

That is never a good thing to assume. It’s rarely right. :-)

Apparently, it is a known issue. Received this from their tech support (which was pretty cool that they’d reply to a non-customer using their time-bombed app):

Hi

If you are on “All images” in the catalog, then CaptureOne is strating threads to open all images. If you instead highlight a low count folder before closing, it will only start opening that folder and it will be much quicker. We are looking in to things to improve this.

Kind Regards Phase One support

Could also be linked to the size of the preview images?

I have a fast iMac, with a very fast thunderbolt drobo. My library contains 40k images. C1 opens in 2mins- 10sec. Holy Cow. I will try pre-selecting a low count folder as described above. Hope this works. So far C1 is the best alternative to Aperture. I tried LR… Really not happy with that program. It’s kindof a disorganized mess.

(Reply to #5)#6

Like I wrote in the other thread, try to relocate your masters out of the Aperture library. I think reading an Aperture managed library may slow C1 down (just an idea).

My catalog also opens quite slowly, taking about a minute with 63K images. This is with the catalog on an SSD and the referenced images on a Thunderbolt drive.

It was worse when I first created the catalog from my Aperture library (over 2 minutes, like you are seeing) but I used the command “File > Verify Catalog or Session…” and it found some problems which it was able to repair. That improved the file opening time from over two minutes to about a minute.

Also, selecting either a small folder of images to open at startup or the full “All Images” collection doesn’t make any difference in the performance.

Look at what part of your catalog you have selected in the left sidebar when closing C1. I've noticed that if I select All Images, then loading of the catalog upon next startup can be slow. Selecting an individual Album or Folder that has fewer images speeds up loading on next startup. I've given this feedback to PhaseOne. Don't know if they will find a way to improve that in a future update, but they do seem to be very interested in user feedback so tell them all of the quirks you experience using their Support Case system.

I am experiencing this very slow startup as well. When the catalog and referenced files are both on external HDD, I have extremely slow startup. I made a screen recording and provided it to PhaseOne. It is an 8 minute video. I have under 40,000 images and the catalog is about 64GB. I copied the catalog to an internal SSD and left the referenced files on external HDD. Startup was extremely fast by comparison (under 30 seconds vs 5-8 minutes).

I have a running case open with PhaseOne (case #215211 if anyone else wants to reference it in their own case).

I’m using Apple Photos to be my reference catalog because C1 was so slow. C1 is too good and I don’t waste my time editing with any other software. Then Photos is too good at cataloging. jpegs and raw files show as 1 file and the viewing modes are perfect. No need to catalog every single photo with C1.

(Reply to #10)#11

Milo, this seems like a brilliant idea. I would like to reference my growing iPhone images from C1. Are you able to comment on the following:

1) Did you create a new C1 catalog for the images in Photos?

2) By default, Photos does not download images to your computer. The pictures reside in the iCloud, unless you download them into the Photos application. Are you only referencing the downloaded images in Photos?

3) How are you organizing your images in Photos and how does that structure appear in C1?

Capture One 20 Slow Start

4) Is the metadata, favorites, tags, etc. recognized when referenced by C1?

Your idea of referencing your Photos library in C1 could be a great solution for those of us who increasingly use iPhone 7 Plus pictures from our travels, etc.

Sincerely, Alex

I haven’t seen the slow starting many have. My catalog is 82G, and opens in approx. 9.5 seconds either on the internal HD on my laptop, or the backup copy on an external raid 5 thunderbolt DAS. All files are referenced, there aren’t any stored in the catalog. Thats opening on a root folder with not thumbnails showing on start up. The time measurement is the best I can do with a stop watch.

absolutely. a pain in the butt

I had. a catalogue. at 70gb

it took 12 hours

it seems. that with Mac there is. a huge problem.

I have been. writing with them , they know there is a problem but will not. admit

and so far nothing has really changed.

I don’t think they know what the problem is

(Reply to #13)#14

What is your configuration? Memory? HDD or SSD? Catalog on internal or external disk? I get the best performance from placing the catalog itself on internal SSD and leaving images on external disk. I have a late 2013 MacBook Pro Retina, 2.6 GHz Intel Core i7, 16GB of RAM, 1TB internal SSD, 2TB external portable HDD. My catalog has 56,000 images now.

If I select “All Images”, it sends Capture One into a tailspin where it consumes all 16GB of RAM and then some (so says Activity Monitor). The app locks up for 5-10 minutes, but eventually the memory goes back down and the app becomes responsive again. I opened several cases with Capture One and provided them a lot of evidence of the issue. They agree there is an issue. I believe an update will addresses this. I can't say when that update will be released.

If I select any other folder or album with fewer images with under 1000 image, for example, Capture One is much faster.

With a few tweaks, Capture One is a fantastic Lightroom alternative.

…and shrink that enormous Capture One catalog file

» Scroll to step-by-step instructions

One of the most pleasant surprises of going 100% Adobe-free has been the switch to Phase One’s Capture One. It has long been a favorite among pros, but I have to admit that I overlooked it at first after being seduced by the slicker marketing and shinier interfaces of some other self-described Lightroom alternatives. None of those proved to be — or show any real progress towards ever being — a complete replacement for Adobe Lightroom, at least not for many professional photographers.

Capture One Pro 11, on the other hand, is an excellent Adobe Lightroom alternative. Capture One is faster, has more powerful tools (including layers), and does not require a subscription! If only Phase One’s marketing reach matched that of Adobe’s (or Luminar’s for that matter), more photographers might learn that they’ve had a wonderful Lightroom alternative just waiting for them all along.

Update November 29, 2018

Capture One 12 is here and it’s the best pro-level Lightroom alternative on the market.

I do have one issue, however, with the configuration options of Capture One. Although it is simple enough to import images into Capture One while keeping those big RAW files on my external RAID, the preview and thumbnail images that Capture One creates can only be stored in the catalog file itself, which is actually a macOS package. This is not unlike Apple’s Photos app, and it makes sense for smaller catalogs.

However, the size of the preview files is not trivial. For a large library, the catalog file can reach many gigabytes, even while the database file itself is only a few hundred megabytes. I would much rather store those preview files on the external SSD that I reserve specifically for caches. That way I don’t waste precious space on my internal SSD, and I can exclude that drive from my various backup services. There’s not much point wasting bandwidth and storage space by constantly backing up new preview files that can always be recreated if lost, and, in my particular case, the catalog file size had surpassed the single file size limit for syncing with iCloud Drive, which is a critical part of my workflow.

I was unable to find an answer in the Capture One user forum, but I eventually, and accidentally, stumbled on a solution while testing the Backup Catalog… command. For whatever reason, Capture One creates a standalone database file when exporting a backup and separates out the preview image cache into its own directory.

It occurred to me that this database file was the same type as that found within the contents of the default catalog package, which led to the following 10-step procedure to move the cache to an external drive.

Step-by-step tutorial:

1 Find the location of the Capture One catalog file in the Finder. The default path is Pictures ▸ Capture One Catalog ▸ Capture One Catalog.cocatalog.

2 Right click on the catalog file (extension .cocatalog), which is actually a package.

3 Select Show Package Contents. This will reveal a .cocatalogdb file, along with various directories, including Cache and possibly Adjustments. You may also see Originals if you have opted to store photos inside the catalog, although that would negate the space savings of storing the preview files in a separate location!

Capture One 20 Slow Cooker

4 Copy the .cocatalogdb file (along with the Adjustments and Originals folders, if they exist) to the directory where you would like to keep your new database file. An easy way to do this is to select the files/directories and press Command-C. Click the back arrow in the top left corner of the Finder window to exit the package. If you want to keep your new catalog database file in the same directory as the original catalog package, just press Command-V to paste right there, or navigate to another location and paste the files there. Personally, I choose to store my Capture One Catalog in a directory that syncs with iCloud.

Capture One 20 Sony

5 Copy just the Cache directory to the drive where you want to store all of your preview images. In my case, I keep the cache in a folder named Capture One on an external SSD.

6 Delete the Cache directory that you just copied (the one in the same folder as the .cocatalogdb file).

7 Here’s where the magic happens. Use the Terminal to create a symbolic link, also known as a symlink or soft link, in the location of the Cache folder you just deleted. This symlink will point to your external cache in a way that is transparent to Capture One. To do this, enter the following at the command line prompt, replacing the first path with the location of your external cache directory and the second path with the original location. Note the backslash escape characters before the spaces.

ln -s /Volumes/My External Drive/Capture One/Cache /Users/username/Pictures/Capture One Catalog/Cache

Hint: You can drag a directory from the Finder into the Terminal window to paste in the path.

8 Double-click your new, nice and slim .cocatalogdb file to launch Capture One. Et voila! Your catalog should load exactly as before.

9 If everything is cool (and all photos are backed up as always!), you can delete the original, bulky .cocatalog file.

10 I can’t end at step 9! So go take some pictures!

[atrocitycl]

VIXX LR - “Whisper” Review

(Music Video) / (Dance Practice)

VIXX LR – Whisper

Reviewed on October 28, 2017

So, unlike the many fans and listeners who praise VIXX LR’s latest song, I argue the opposite: that, if we move beyond stylistic preferences, we will find that “Whisper” is an incredibly incoherent song. That lack of organization is why I struggle to critically enjoy the song—even if, as many have said, the vocals and the like are rather appealing.

Personal Message: It has been an entire month without any reviews, and I greatly apologize for this. While better time management would have prevented this situation, I had to pause writing reviews and subtitling videos for the sake of keeping up with my studies. However, all is going well in my life and I hope to better allocate my time so that I can maintain a consistent schedule with reviews. After all, my university life is only going to get busier in the future—not less. So, I hope and plan to develop a schedule that will allow reviews to carry on, and of course, to be more concise with reviews.

Regarding this review, it finally addresses a one-month-old (if not more) request. To the requester, I apologize for the massive delay (and likewise to the reader who also requested Sunmi’s “Gashina”). As of now, I believe I might have to temporarily stop accepting requests—or at least, I will have to put a disclaimer on their finished dates. That said, if reviews become far shorter to write, this dilemma toward requests might be unnecessary.

On topic, however, VIXX LR—a sub-unit of VIXX—will be the artist we focus on. “Whisper,” while no longer quite a newer song, is at least still VIXX LR’s latest song. Many fans and listeners cherish the song: comments from various sources appear to praise the duo’s vocals, and regarding the song’s composition and production, many also favor the song’s “chill” stylistic approach. Although stylistic preferences are certainly acceptable and are by no means wrong to have, I personally question—challenge, even—many listeners’ and fans’ take to “Whisper.” A song’s style is not sufficient for determining whether a song is excellent in quality or not; we need to go deeper and account for the composition at play. Unfortunately, though, analyzing “Whisper” in this aspect brings many concerns. So, unlike the many fans and listeners who praise VIXX LR’s latest song, I argue the opposite: that, if we move beyond stylistic preferences, we will find that “Whisper” is an incredibly incoherent song. That lack of organization is why I struggle to critically enjoy the song—even if, as many have said, the vocals and the like are rather appealing.

_______________________________________________________

Song Score: 5/10 (5.25/10 raw score) - “Average”

- Vocals: 6/10

- Sections: 5/10 (4.86/10 raw score)

Introduction, Rap, Pre-Chorus, Chorus, Rap, Pre-Chorus, Chorus, Post-Chorus, Bridge, Chorus, Conclusion (Post-Chorus)

1.     Introduction: 6/10

2.     Rap: 6/10

3.     Pre-Chorus: 4/10

4.     Chorus: 3/10

5.     Post-Chorus: 4/10

6.     Bridge: 5/10

7.     Conclusion (Post-Chorus): 6/10

- Instrumental: 4/10

- Lyrics: 6/10

Tell me your love to the point where I melt Tickle my heart Show me your love Yeah we’re burnin’ up, baby Whisper yourself into my heart

Especially more so today Time seems to freeze when I see you I can’t handle you, it transcends narcissism My instincts have already gone up I try to calm down my excited heart but it breaks down Calm down, down, down My body is slowing down right now, now No limit, limit, what is your limit? Tell me ahead of time Everything has levels But you’ve erased that process You are my song, yeah baby I’m different from the other wolves who only look for you at night I look for you every moment of every day, girl

You can have all of me, it’s alright Do you know what I want? Carefully, right now

Softly, whisper to me, girl Whisper to me It’s quiet but it feels dangerous You have me specifically flexin’ It’s a secret sign Our own party without anyone knowing Whisper language

I can use both arms and legs but I can’t fully express everything I don’t care about a party filled with losers My focus is on you Chillin’-chillin’ we need a secret This is something that happens on a screen I’m feelin’ like a Gosling I’m sure of this feeling Love you, love you, love you, love you, love you Really love you I can’t figure you out but my head is already there I hope at least half of my predictions will be the answer I hope this night connects us We can be quiet Because I think this is strangely more fun

You can have all of me, it’s alright Do you know what I want? Carefully, right now

Softly, whisper to me, girl Whisper to me It’s quiet but it feels dangerous You have me specifically flexin’ It’s a secret sign Our own party without anyone knowing Whisper language

Whisper Yeah tell me, tell me your love Whisper Yeah I can even hear your breath, love Whisper Yeah tell me, tell me your love Whisper Yeah I can even touch your voice, real love

Don’t hesitate anymore, feel your vibe However you feel, movin’ Falling into the black hole, my black hole You don’t care about the meaning of beauty But you just show yourself to me I’ve already gone crazy but you drive me crazy again You make me fly until the end

Once again, whisper to me, girl Whisper to me Burn me up, like you’re testing me You analyze me like you’re flexin’ It’s a secret sign Our own party without anyone knowing Whisper language

Whisper Yeah tell me, tell me your love Whisper Yeah I can even hear your breath, love Whisper Yeah tell me, tell me your love Whisper Yeah I can even touch your voice, real love

_______________________________________________________

Analysis: Before boldly critiquing the composers’ work, I find that we still need to acknowledge what many fans and listeners have established: sonically, “Whisper” pleases our ears. We find this sentiment supported by individually focusing on each section. For example, the rapping sections are rather developed. If we listen to the first rap section that occurs, we should notice that Ravi’s part is more than just a straightforward, typical, rhythm-based rap. The composers also introduced moments where the rap drastically slows down and instead adds in tune versus rhythm—this being clearly heard with the pitch-enhanced (or pitch-edited) bits that are dispersed throughout. This all works in favor, though, of creating rap sections that function more than as a song’s break. After all, notice how in many K-Pop songs the rap sections tend to provide a mere change of pace in a song. But, in “Whisper,” with the rapping being rather flexible and complex—and later in the song, also being mixed in with Leo’s singing—this allows listeners to interpret the rapping as a main core of the song’s aural appeal.

But, all of that said, “Whisper” as an entire song is incoherent—and sadly, no amount of individual, aural appeal can compensate for the song’s lack of organization. Consider the song in this manner: as if it was an essay. Yes, I can already hear the skepticism with this analogy: “This makes no sense; the only thing we see is your teacher-side showing.” But, bear with it for a few more moments. Imagining that “Whisper” is an essay, we can understand that its individual aspects—its individual paragraphs—are beautifully and thoughtfully written. However, we notice a problem with this essay: Although each paragraph is strong individually, none of the paragraphs make sense when we put them together to form an actual essay. One paragraph focuses on a certain topic, but the next paragraph switches to an entirely new topic—and again, individually we acknowledge that those single paragraphs are perfect. The same applies to “Whisper.” While its individual aspects are solid—such as the singing or the rapping—none of these aspects easily connects to the other. As individual chunks of a song, “Whisper” is great; as a unified, single song, “Whisper” is not great.

Diving into examples of this incoherence, let us focus specifically on the conflict that occurs between the rapping and singing. Again, both on an individual level are excellent but the song lacks in relating the two together. This is why the choruses are structurally jarring despite how Leo’s singing soothes us. When the choruses arrive, listeners are disorientated by the sudden changes: despite a rap section building up to the choruses, rather than a chorus that builds off that hyping, it instead begins from a new beginning. In other words, given that the rapping and even the pre-choruses seem to be working together toward a climactic point, it is odd that the choruses fail to follow through. Instead of the choruses being a notable, climaxing point where the rap sections and pre-choruses come together, it appears as if the choruses completely begin its own song. The instrumental at the choruses, for example, are not similar to the rap or pre-chorus sections and instead take a sudden calm approach. Furthermore, Leo’s singing style—while definitely serene and beautiful—does not complement Ravi’s rougher rap lines.

What would have been preferable, I argue, is if the duo’s vocals were similar in style or perhaps even alternating in a dynamic fashion. Towards the latter half of the song, post-choruses are introduced and these sections take on an interesting form: a blend of both Leo and Ravi—a blend of singing and rapping. If this was established sooner in the song, I foresee this incoherence problem being prevented. Or, as mentioned as well, if the two vocal styles were able to relate directly this would be another potential solution. If Leo’s singing at the chorus, for example, was slightly rougher and focused on intensity so that it would match Ravi’s rapping style, there could have been a clear connection there. The opposite holds as well: if Leo’s softer, graceful singing is to be kept, then Ravi’s rapping could have followed a softer demeanor to match. Overall, without having an aspect that relates the two’s rapping and singing, it leaves “Whisper” sounding divided. In these duo situations of blending in rapping and singing, I find that Mad Clown’s and Soyou’s duo song of “Stupid in Love” provides a strong example of balancing the two different vocal performances. In “Stupid in Love,” Mad Clown’s rapping is definitely of a faster and more intense style. However, Soyou’s singing style still matches due to an instrumental that remained consistent and how, even if her pacing is slower, her own vocals were kept in a more direct, rough manner versus being airy and soft.

All in all, if not for this lack of cohesion in the song, I would predict “Whisper” excelling due to not only having solid rapping and singing, but also due to a powerful chemistry between those two aspects. As it stands, though, that is not the case. Without that cohesion—that sense of connecting the song into smooth, single piece—it does not matter how brilliant the rapping or singing are. Fans should definitely still enjoy the song for its “chill” style, but in terms of discussing the composers’ decisions and analyzing the song in this critical manner, I argue “Whisper” is a relatively weaker song—or at least, it lost a lot of its potential. Of course, however, disagreements can and should occur—this is why I write reviews, after all. For discussions. For creating a space where fans can critically and maturely discuss why they believe a song is strong or weak. And, in the end, “Whisper” still manages to hold onto a five—a rating that indicates that, overall, the song is not exactly bad, but neither is it necessarily good.

_______________________________________________________

Whether this was a smart decision or not, I decided to use some of my usual “homework time” to instead write this review—but, I find that this was a worthy decision. Sunmi’s “Gashina” should be finished soon, and afterwards, I will see if I can realistically end October with two more reviews. Six posts has been my goal and I intend to keep it that way, but perhaps four might be more plausible for the next few months.

Once again I apologize to requesters and readers for the lack of content, but I do greatly appreciate any time given towards this blog. Until then, look forward to—hopefully—October ending with Sunmi’s “Gashina” and “[w]hisper to me” that I need to fix my work habits.

[cecillewhite]

Software Demo Success: How to Present Your LMS In Its Best Light

If you’re a learning systems vendor, this scenario should sound familiar. Your sales team recently crafted a strong proposal in response to an LMS RFP, and the buyer has given your company a thumbs up. Congratulations! However, a full-scale celebration will have to wait. That’s because you’ve been asked to compete with other vendors in a software demo “bake-off.”

This is when the rubber really hits the road. It’s one thing to write a proposal that talks conceptually about use cases, requirements and functionality. But walking through a live product tour can make or break your solution in the minds of prospective buyers.

So, what happens when your solution steps into that white-hot spotlight? How exactly does your software demo make your product shine?

Of course, there’s no guarantee that even the most stellar presentation will seal the deal. But after years as a software sales consultant, and now as an LMS selection advisor, I’ve learned how you can significantly improve your chances. Here are some of are my best suggestions…

9 Ways to Make a Great Impression with Every Software Demo You Deliver

1) Sweat the logistical details

Some factors are complex and beyond your control. Others are easy to implement and entirely within your reach, including these basics:

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Watch the clock – It’s your responsibility to manage every minute from start to finish. Structure the agenda with top-down logic and prepare for questions that could derail the discussion.

Begin (and end) with a bang – Why save all the good stuff for last? If you don’t hook your audience within the first few minutes, you could lose them entirely. Besides, you may run out of time. So instead of building to a big finale, lead with a “wow” moment. Introduce a central business issue and illustrate how your solution adds value. Then shift less important details downstream. Also, plan to conclude with a bit of flair. Even if time is tight, those closing comments can be just as powerful as a strong opening.

Keep it moving (literally) – You want your audience to feel energized, right? Try getting out of your chair and slowly walking around. You can even tag-team with a colleague, so someone is always roaming. For online demos, you can simulate this by periodically shifting from screen sharing mode to facial display when answering questions.

Check yourself – What if your mother were in the audience? Would she want to hear keys or loose change jingling in your pocket? Would she remind you to stand up straight and smile? Always maintain a positive attitude, even when challenged. Pace yourself and “never let them see you sweat.”

Use a cheat sheet – Even after 20+ years of delivering demos, I always create a script. I might wander off-track, but that’s when a script is even more critical. This quick reference tool helps me stay focused and reminds me which keystrokes fit each scenario.

2) Do your research

I know a rep who generated excitement with prospects with “intro demos” but he refused to prep with a sales consultant. He thought a brief pre-demo huddle in the prospect’s lobby was sufficient. Trust me, you’ll get better results when you plan ahead. For example:

Update discovery findings – One of the biggest mistakes you can make is assuming that research from the RFP phase is still accurate in the demo phase. To avoid surprises, contact the prospect in advance to review and refresh use cases. You’ll also want to confirm demo audience information, logistics and other details.

Involve and educate your team – This story explains what’s at stake. Recently, I witnessed the leading vendor in an LMS selection project rely on a remote Professional Services resource to outline implementation plans. But because this resource had very little knowledge of the prospect or the project, the presentation was very generic. In a matter of minutes, that vendor lost the bid.

3) Wrap your demo in a “theme”

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My go-to theme was the “1-click” software demo. This is about giving participants multiple reasons to think, “Wow. That was easy!” You can do this by emphasizing 1-click functionality throughout the session. For example, say “…in only 1 click, you can launch the content.” Or, “…just 1 click updates all the course records.”

You can further reinforce the point by encouraging participants to join your 1-click chorus. Just set-up a sentence and wait for them to fill-in the blank. For example, “…this means you can assign content to any group of users with only ____.”

They may not remember everything they see, but I promise you, they will remember the “1-click” demo.

4) Invest in demo data

Of all the factors that can damage a demo, weak data ranks at or near the top. Countless times, I’ve seen how data brings a solution to life. That’s why I developed an extensive demo database and became deeply familiar with every aspect of it, including:

Completeness – Have you ever run a report that produced zero records? Have you searched a catalog, only to find mismatched results? That should never happen in a demo. Every field, every tab, every report should be populated with appropriate data. And it’s your job to fill all the gaps.

Relevance – When you’re presenting a software demo to a healthcare company, imagine how compelling it is to display industry-specific data. This is where relationships with content providers can give you an edge. They’re usually happy to share data with you in exchange for a shout-out during a demo. At the same time, prospects will view your product as more than just a learning platform. It’s a solution!

First-hand knowledge – Remember the demo “cheat sheet” I mentioned earlier? You can include dozens of key feature examples. If a prospect asks to see something specific, this helps you find it quickly and easily. Want to see the waitlist for an instructor-led training event? Found in 1 click! How about coupon code creation tools? Again, just 1 click away!

5) Setup–Show–Recap (SSR)

Have you ever seen a software demo that seems more like a giant run-on sentence? It’s hard to know if the presenter even bothered to take a breath!

While the “setup–show–recap” method requires more effort than the “spray and pray” approach, prospects should recognize that you’ve mapped their pain points to relevant use cases. Here’s how to make it work:

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Setup – Depending on your audience and logistics, you can use PowerPoint slides, a whiteboard or flip chart to present a preview. This introduction is important because it lets the audience know what to expect and gives you an opportunity to verify the use case.

Show – If you deconstruct the demo into bite-sized scenario “nuggets,” your audience is less likely to become overwhelmed. Think of teaching teenagers how to drive. If you cover 3-point turns, parallel parking, backing up and changing a tire all in one session, don’t expect them to remember anything. Instead, focus on one scenario at a time.

Recap – After participating in multiple demos with a series of vendors, your audience won’t remember many specifics. However, they will remember which vendors “get it.” And what presenter doesn’t like to see smiles and nodding heads in the audience? So why wait until the end of your demo to recap? Instead, summarize each scenario, so you see smiles and nods throughout your session – not just at the end.

6) Shift your emphasis

The demo isn’t about the product. It’s about what the product can do for your prospect. This can be particularly challenging, especially for product managers and other non-sales professionals, or for presenters with a service or training background. Remember these points:

“Sell. Don’t tell” – This is not the time to discuss every button, tab and menu in your system. Dwelling on your features checklist usually leaves prospects bored and frustrated.

Put “you” before “me” – As a potential client, which sentence would draw you into a software demo? “I’ll run the compliance report now,” or “Here’s how you can run the compliance report.” With “you” as the subject, the demo stays focused on audience interests. It also engages prospects and helps them take ownership of the solution.

7) Tap into your whole team

Let me clarify a common misunderstanding. The term “software demo” does not mean, “It’s time for account executives to check email messages.”

All too often, reps briefly introduce the company, the product and the sales consultant. Then they check-out mentally until the Q&A. This causes multiple issues:

Your audience can get tired of hearing one person throughout the demo

They may wonder if the system is too difficult for anyone other than an expert to use

They may wonder if a disjointed demo effort reflects your organization’s broader culture

While multitasking, your rep may miss key comments and questions.

Bottom line: Reps and solutions consultants should work together to prepare and deliver every software demo as a coordinated team.

8) Keep it simple

Your audience will include people of various ages, experience levels and interests. So, think about how you’ll appeal to a common denominator. For example:

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Use acronyms wisely – LRS, LXP, B2B, CRM – our industry is brimming with alphabet soup. But these terms aren’t universally understood. When you introduce an acronym, briefly define it.

Speak in simple terms – Words like “bifurcate”, “ubiquitous” or “juxtaposition” may seem impressive. But unusual terms can distract, confuse and frustrate your audience. Why run that risk?

Trim your clicks – Do you have too many “screen kung fu” moves? That’s what one of my industry colleagues calls demos with an overabundance of clicks and screens. Instead, showcase your knowledge of a use case by performing each action in the fastest and simplest way.

Command your time – You’ll be tempted to rush when adrenaline is pumping and you need to cram 30 more minutes of material into the remaining 10-minutes of a demo. Here’s a better approach. Ask audience members how they prefer to use the remaining time. Then offer to cover additional items in a live or recorded follow-up session.

9) Stand out from the crowd

Wondering why I’ve listed 9 tips instead of 10? It’s a small way to differentiate this post from standard “top 10” lists. You can do the same thing to make a software demo more memorable. For example:

Respond to questions as they arise throughout the session – This is a great way to involve your team and make the demo experience more dynamic. If you don’t have a real-time answer, ask your sales rep to text or email others for clarification, so you can respond before the demo ends. Prospects will appreciate your resourcefulness and responsiveness.

Include external voices in the conversation – Adding third-party participants can be a highly persuasive tactic. For example, if you know that a prospect is very concerned about implementation services, invite a client to speak during the demo about your ability to deliver on time, on spec and on budget.

Follow up – Obviously, if you promise to follow-up on a specific question or issue, it’s essential to close that loop. But if you really want to leave a strong impression, try this:  Record a 5-15-minute summary of demo highlights and discussion points. Then add a brief video introduction and a thank you. It’s a memorable way to address remaining demo gaps and reinforce your value proposition.

Closing Notes

Some of these software demo ideas are easy to implement. Others require research, practice and determination. They may even require some outside help.

But after years of experience, I know that many of these practices are overlooked by a surprising number of LMS vendors. That means, with a bit of extra effort, you can separate yourself from the competition and improve your chances of landing new business.

I’ll explore more ideas in future posts. In the meantime, if you’d like more detailed advice about how our LMS vendor services can help you sharpen your demo script, strengthen your demo database or improve your win rate, feel free to contact us anytime!

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Software Demo Success: How to Present Your LMS In Its Best Light original post at Talented Learning

[trentteti]

What Does This Answer Choice Even Mean?

Because sometimes it’s true that LSAT instructors cannot see outside their LSAT bubbles, watching the Oscars last night I was struck how Academy voters selecting a Best Picture winner from a list of nominees isn’t all that different from an LSAT taker selecting a winner from a set of answer choices. In both cases, there are only a few choices to pick from. In both cases, it’s a hard choice. And in both cases, it’s pretty clear that a large percentage of people don’t quite understand every choice available to them.

But there are a few important and obvious differences, too. One, obviously: there’s no right answer for Academy voters; there is definitely a right answer on the LSAT. Academy voters get to live in this fun world of “maybe.” Maybe Green Book really is the feel-good movie our torn country needs. Or, maybe it’s a reductive take on a systemic and ongoing issue, made by at least one problematic screenwriter and at least one problematic director and at least one problematic actor all undergoing a problematic process. Who can say which is right? Not the case on the LSAT; the test writers, not to mention core tenets of logic, get to say which is right.

Another difference, no duh: with the Oscars, voters get to take months to watch the movies, discuss them with fellow Academy members, track the prognostications, and cetera. On the LSAT, you have no more than a couple minutes to make a selection, on your own.

A final distinction that will surprise no one: Even though it’s clear that both Oscar voters and LSAT takers don’t understand a few choices at their disposal, Oscar voters don’t get penalized for not understanding a film’s meaning or why certain films offend people. Oscar voters get to blithely ignore some movies’ problems. As an LSAT taker, you can’t really ignore the answer choices you don’t understand.

So, LSAT taker: how are you going to handle the fact that you have to select the one correct answer, quickly, despite not fully understanding some of your choices? How are you going to unhesitatingly choose the correct answer, and not end up selecting — as the Oscar voters did — the equivalent of, like, Driving Ms. Daisy 2: This Time, Daisy’s in the Drivers Seat? Well, this is where the LSAT instructors, living in our LSAT bubbles, can help. Let’s discuss some of the most commonly confusing answer choices, and how to assess them.

Really Confusingly Worded Answer Choices

The Problem: One of the LSAT’s favorite tricks — some would say its only trick — is to take a simple idea and express it in the most incomprehensible way possible (shouts to all my fellow English majors and law review peoples who learned to do the same thing). The LSAT does this all the time in the answer choices to Logical Reasoning and Reading Comp questions. Looking over a Weaken question from LR recently, I was struck by this answer choice: “There’s no reason to suppose that most of the ingredients in laundry detergents not advertised as ecologically friendly harm the environment significantly.” It’s like you’re Frances McDormand searching for her daughter’s murderer — to take another recent Oscar winner — with the crazy path you have to take trying figure out what the heck that answer choice is saying. (Spoiler alert) This answer choice is wrong, but many select it simply because it’s confusing.

Let’s break down all the tricks the LSAT used here. First, it used this sort of unclear introductory phrase “there’s no reason to suppose.” That phrase negates the verb in this technically simple (but nonetheless confounding) subject-verb-object sentence. Except the verb — “harm” — doesn’t appear until like a million words later in the sentence, at which point you maybe forgot the whole “no reason to suppose” part. Second, it made the subject of the sentence, “most ingredients,” as hard to decipher as humanly possible. It’s like playing a game of 20 questions trying to figure out what kind of ingredients they’re talking about. So they’re ingredients? “Yes.” Are we talking about all the ingredients? “No.” Most of them? “Yes.” Are these the ingredients in a sandwich? “No.” The ingredients in a soup? “No.” The ingredients in a healthy elixir that will cause the symptoms of a hangover to abate? “No.” The ingredients in … idk … [looks in laundry room, says the first thing she sees] … laundry detergent? “Yes, actually.” Ooh. Are they most of the ingredients in laundry detergent that’s good for the environment? “No.” In laundry detergent that’s not good for the environment? “Well, technically no.” Most of the ingredients in laundry detergent that’s not advertised as being ecologically friendly? “Bingo.” Third, it splits the verb and adverb. It almost sneaks in at the last second that we’re not just talking about any kind of harm, but significant harm.

But, despite these tricks, this answer choice expresses a simple idea. So how do get from “no reason to suppose that most of the ingredients in laundry detergents not advertised as ecologically friendly harm the environment significantly” to the simple idea? Let’s talk solutions.

The Solution: You have to rephrase these answer choices into words you would actually use. This takes time and energy — two things in short supply on the LSAT, to be sure — but it’s an important skill to develop over the course of your LSAT studies.

So first, get rid of all the fluff words. The words that you’d use to pad the word count on college essays. So, unless you’re the fanciest little twit in the world and would actually use the phrase “there’s no reason to suppose” in your day-to-day conversations, get rid of that phrase. Remember, that phrase negates the verb. So delete “there’s no reason to suppose” and just change “harm” into “don’t harm.” Then, simplify that confusing noun “most of the ingredients in laundry detergents not advertised as ecologically friendly.” OK, so there’s the special kind of laundry detergent that costs a few dollars more that promises to not destroy the environment, and there’s the cheaper, I guess, normal laundry detergent? OK, cool, let’s just call the latter “normal laundry detergent.” Finally, let’s pair up the verb and adverb, so now it’s “don’t significantly harm.” Or, simpler still: “don’t really harm.”

Our simplified sentence: “Most of the ingredients in normal laundry detergents don’t really harm the environment.” That’s a lot easier to understand. And once you understand that answer choice, there’s no reason to suppose that you’ll get the question wrong by selecting it.

And, by the way, you can and should simply other things on the LSAT, too. You can rephrase the conclusions and premises in arguments, too. For instance, the conclusion to the argument on this question was, “Therefore, there is no reason to suppose that laundry detergents advertised as ecologically friendly are less damaging to the environment than other laundry detergents are.” That’s confusing, but using the same tricks we discussed, we can simplify that to: “Eco-friendly laundry detergents damage the environment as much as normal laundry detergents.”

Another Solution: If you’re really well versed on what distinguishes right answers from wrong answers, you can eliminate the above answer choice even more quickly.

Remember how the conclusion was: “Eco-friendly laundry detergents damage the environment as much as normal laundry detergents”? Just noting that this conclusion made a comparison between eco-friendly laundry detergents and normal laundry detergents is enough to eliminate the confusing answer choice.

When a conclusion makes a comparison, you can bet that it’s a bad comparison — that we don’t have enough information to conclude that eco-friendly laundry detergents damage the environment as much as normal detergents. If we’re weakening that comparison, the right answer will provide some facts that make eco-friendly detergents less damaging than normal detergents. In other words, the right answer has to also compare eco-friendly detergents and normal detergents.

The confusing answer choice is almost certainly wrong because it’s not making a comparison — it only states a fact about normal detergents, but doesn’t compare those normal detergents to other detergents. Sure, most ingredients in normal detergents don’t really harm the environment. But doesn’t tell us anything about whether most ingredients in eco-friendly detergents harm the environment any more or less.

So anticipating what you’re looking for can help you quickly eliminate certain answer choices, even if you don’t fully understand them.

“Fails to Consider” Answer Choices

The Problem: Flaw questions are among the most common questions on the LSAT, and they have a sizable impact on your LR score. So it’s quite annoying that the incorrect answer choices on these questions are among the hardest to eliminate. There are a number of confusing answer choices on Flaw questions, but I want to focus on one vexing kind in particular: the ones that state the argument is flawed because the author “fails to consider” or “overlooks” some odd thing or another.

These answer choices are tough to assess, because they’re almost always true, technically. They almost always bring up something that the author doesn’t consider or look into or discuss. So why are some of these answer choices right and others wrong?

Well, let’s start with a flawed argument that’s not at all inspired by my current anxiety levels regarding the 2020 election:

Essayist: Democratic primary voters in the upcoming election are considering between many candidates in a crowded field. Since these voters shouldn’t vote for Tammy Globuchar, who has been shown to be a domineering and cruel boss to her staff, and since these voters shouldn’t vote for Tory Cooker, who is a bit too beholden to corporate interests, and since these voters shouldn’t vote for Vernie Flanders, whose candidacy led to a schism in the Democratic base four years ago, voters who want the strongest candidate for the Democratic Party must cast their vote for Pamela Parris, the charismatic Californian Senator.

And let’s lay out three “fails to consider” answer choices:

(A) The essayist fails to consider that voters who would prefer a weak and feckless candidate for the Democratic Party should vote for another candidate.

(B) The essayist fails to consider that the reports on Tammy Globuchar’s behavior may be inaccurate.

(C) The essayist fails to consider that there may be additional candidates in the crowded Democatic primary field.

These are all true statements. The essayist did fail to mention any of these potential issues. So why is one right and the other two wrong? Let’s turn to the solution.

The Solution: If one of these “fails to consider” answer choices is going to be the right answer, whatever the author fails to consider must, if true, weaken the conclusion of argument. That’s the solution to this conundrum.

A lot of these “fails to consider” answer choices are wrong because they don’t weaken anything in the argument. They bring up an issue that’s simply irrelevant to the argument. Take (A) — that the essayist “fails to consider that voters who would prefer a weak and feckless candidate for the Democratic Party should vote for another candidate.” This wasn’t an argument about people who want the Democratic candidate to be bad. As the conclusion makes clear, this is an argument about the people who “want the strongest candidate for the Democratic Party.” The beliefs and desires of a totally different group of people have no impact on what these people should do. To make a good argument, it’s not a requirement that you mention totally irrelevant information. So it doesn’t matter that the author “fails to consider” that irrelevant issue.

A lot of these sorts of answer choices are wrong because they would weaken a premise of the argument, not the conclusion of that argument. Take (B) — that the essayist “fails to consider that the reports on Tammy Globuchar’s behavior may be inaccurate.” Tammy’s bad behavior was a premise to the argument. Notice how it follows the classic premise word “since.” When assessing the validity of an argument, we have to take the premises “for granted”; in other words, we have to assume that they are true. So on a Flaw question, we have to assume that Tammy is actually mean to her staff. Any answer choice that says the author “fails to consider” that a premise could be false is wrong, full stop.

That leaves us with (C) — that the essayist “fails to consider that there may be additional candidates in the crowded Democatic primary field.” This is the only one that, if true, would weaken the argument’s conclusion. If it were true that there are other candidates in the Democratic primary field — like, I don’t know, Pat Luttigieg, Julio Mastro, Jim Mulaney, Belizabeth Warren, Kristen Billabong — that would weaken the claim that Democratic voters have to elect Pamela Parris. There might be others who would be a stronger candidate than her. Since it would substantially weaken the argument’s conclusion, it’s the correct answer.

————

Over the course of studying for the LSAT, you will encounter many things that you don’t quite understand, answer choices very much included. But unlike Oscar voters, don’t simply ignore things that confuse you. Engage with them. Try to untangle their knotty syntax and to parse any unfamiliar words. Remember the characteristics that right answers should have, and eliminate any answer choice that lacks those characteristics. If you do that, you’ll — in the words of one jilted Oscar nominee — do the right thing.

What Does This Answer Choice Even Mean? was originally published on LSAT Blog

[oselatra]

Loaves and fishes

A proposed ordinance would limit the ability of charities to feed the homeless in LR city parks. Opponents say it's about keeping the poor out of sight, out of mind.

From a purely civic standpoint — from a keeping-your-constituency-from-hating-your-guts standpoint — the issue of homelessness is so thorny for a politician it almost makes you pity them. Almost. There is no right answer to be had, no one-size-fits-all solution big enough to stretch over the issue, bristling as it is with handy petards ready to hoist both those deemed insufficiently business-oriented and those seen as insufficiently compassionate. No matter what decision a city official makes with regard to homelessness, somebody, somewhere, is going to think that person either a bleeding-heart dope or a heartless bastard for making it.

Still, there are insufficient answers, and then there are the willfully tone-deaf ones. That seems to be the case with Little Rock's recent attempt to regulate mass feedings of the homeless in city parks, via a surprise ordinance that seemed so punitive and downright mean that it gave even some reliable business-first folks around town pause for thought. Dropped on city directors at the tail end of a City Board agenda meeting May 9, the ordinance as originally written would have prohibited feeding meals to more than 25 people in a city park without securing a "Large Group Feeding Permit" from the city at least 30 days before the event, with groups not allowed to serve meals in the same park more than twice a year. Though certain restrictions in the ordinance have been softened after public outcry, the original draft required each group to put down a $500 refundable security deposit "to cover the cost of repairing any damage to the hardscape, furnishings and landscape" in the park where the feeding occurred, with the deposit potentially forfeited if the group failed to pick up trash following their event. If the group wanted police protection for the event, the draft ordinance stated, it had to hire off-duty police officers at its own cost. In addition, the ordinance gave the city manager's office the ability to summarily cancel a feeding event in a city park at any time, postponing it for up to 15 days if City Hall determined the event should not proceed because of "weather, public health conditions, public safety conditions, or because of an intervening event that was not foreseen at the time the large group feeding application was filed."

Attempts to reach City Manager Bruce Moore, who brought up the ordinance, were unsuccessful before press time.

Groups serving the homeless fed large groups under the Broadway Bridge on a monthly basis for over a decade until the bridge was closed for construction in September 2016. It appears the ordinance was tailored to preserve the aesthetics of Riverfront Park and has outraged those who work with the homeless. In the process, it has managed to shove one of Little Rock's most enduring elephants in the room back into the rotunda of City Hall.

At a May 16 City Board meeting — one packed with homeless people and their supporters, who streamed in directly from a protest picnic hosted by homeless advocacy groups at the front of City Hall — Vice Mayor Kathy Webb and City Director Dean Kumpuris moved to table the ordinance (by then somewhat defanged, with the required security deposit dropped from $500 to $100 and other concessions) for 45 days and empanel a commission of city employees, homeless advocates and business leaders to study the issue and look for solutions. Members of the committee include representatives from River Market district businesses, the Arkansas Homeless Coalition, the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, area faith leaders, the Little Rock Police Department, the Clinton Presidential Center, two representatives who are homeless and others. The move to table and study passed by a vote of 9-1, with Director Ken Richardson voting against.

While the talking cure hasn't managed to budge the issue of homelessness in Little Rock much in the past, as some on the City Board pointed out, at least people are discussing it again. Given that homelessness is so easy for city leaders and workaday folks to ignore, maybe that's progress.

oddest things about the draft feeding ordinance was that nobody, even city directors, who will vote to kill or pass an amended version in mid-July once the committee's recommendations are made, seems to have known that it was coming.

"I don't know of any director that knew that was coming down," Capi Peck, Ward 4 city director, said. "Bruce Moore passed that ordinance out to us at the very end of the agenda meeting. We normally get a packet of information with what's going to be in the agenda meeting. That was not included. It was passed out literally five minutes before we recessed. We were all taken aback. I did later find out that this was something that the city attorney had been working on and researching for a couple of years."

Peck said her initial reaction to the ordinance was that it was "awful," and not something she or any board member could get behind. While Peck said she believes the city does more for the homeless than it gets credit for — she points to the Jericho Way homeless day resource center at 33rd Street and Springer Boulevard, noting that Jericho served over 10,000 meals to the homeless and provided over 10,000 shuttle rides to the facility last year — she believes the attempt to float an ordinance restricting compassionate feeding of the poor gave the city an unneeded black eye.

While Peck said she was initially in favor of voting down the ordinance as it was originally presented, she said the establishment of a committee to study the issue was a step in the right direction.

"I was appalled, and I think most of us [on the City Board] were absolutely appalled," she said. "With that being said, we do have a lot of work to do in that respect. Maybe this wasn't a bad thing that it came out this way. It brings it out into the public arena. Let's not react, let's do something positive about it."

Ward 2 Director Richardson, the lone board member to vote against tabling the ordinance and forming a committee to discuss it, said he is still questioning why city leaders thought the ordinance was necessary. "Nobody has presented to me a rationale for us doing this," he said. "The notion of us trying to penalize or criminalize people trying to help the least of us doesn't make any sense at all. I don't think it's a good or fair representation of the city I represent and the city I grew up in. It's just not the image that we want to have."

Like Peck, Richardson said the ordinance seemed to have "dropped out of the blue" at the end of the May 9 agenda meeting. Also like Peck, Richardson was taken aback by the seeming mean-spiritedness of the proposed ordinance. He believes the city has bigger fish to fry than trying to curtail compassionate feedings. "I thought the ordinance and the idea — let's say this so I don't hurt anybody's feelings — I thought both of those didn't make sense," he said. "I won't say it was idiotic, but it was crazy to me in terms of the issues that are pressing before us right now. ... It just came out of the blue. It's crazy, at best, if I had to have a word to describe it. That's at best."

Webb, who represents Ward 3, said she was surprised when she saw the language of the ordinance, which she has heard came in response to "numerous complaints" about the downtown homeless, including reports of panhandling. She said she wished the city had handled the issue differently, including giving the board advance notice that an anti-feeding ordinance was being considered.

"I wish somebody would have said, 'Look, we're getting all these complaints. This is something we need to talk about.' " Webb said. "We could have gotten some folks together to talk about it so we could have done what we're doing now, rather than have this ordinance, which — I don't think people are really mean — but I think the ordinance sounds very mean-spirited, even though other cities have done this. I don't like surprises, and to a lot of people this was a surprise."

While Webb said she understands the call to have simply voted the original ordinance down, she believes forming the committee to study the problem, look at solutions found by other cities, and make suggestions is a better approach to an issue that isn't going away.

"We don't talk much anymore," she said. "We've got people who get their news from one source, and people who get their news from another, and whatever either one of them says is true. We don't discuss. ... I think we have to talk about hard issues and give folks a chance to say, 'I know this is what you think, but this is the reality.' "

Webb said that while the time for the committee to make recommendations is tight — it will present its report at the agenda meeting July 11, with a vote on the possibly amended ordinance on July 18 — she believes its members can move the ball on the issue. She said her ultimate goal is reaching voluntary agreements between advocates, business owners and the city so the board doesn't have to put in place an ordinance to regulate feedings. She would like to see the committee stay on for the foreseeable future, to try to find long-term solutions.

"One of the things that's exciting about [the committee] is that we have people at the table with differences of opinion," she said. "It gives us an opportunity. ... We've got a starting point here. ... In my mind, if we can work together and have more collaboration on this, we can talk about, 'OK, we can work together on tiny houses, we can work together on mental health services, we can work together on more effective job training.' When we talk about homelessness, there's not one solution for everything. But when we can provide these additional services that can get at the core of what's an underlying issue for many people, we can drastically reduce the number of people who are homeless, and help people."

asked by the Arkansas Homeless Coalition to serve as one of their representatives on the committee to study the ordinance and the issue, Aaron Reddin, founder of the mobile homeless outreach charity The Van, declined. He's got better things to do with his time than talk, he said, including — until the crankcase seal on his tractor blew a few days back — bush-hogging an overgrown, 5-acre plot he recently secured behind The Van's headquarters on Faulkner Lake Road in North Little Rock. When it's cleared and the stumps pulled, Reddin plans to plow the acreage into turn rows and plant the whole thing in vegetables — beans, potatoes, corn and tomatoes — which he said he will then give away to whomever the hell he pleases, preferably in a Little Rock city park.

Lean and bearded, a former Marine who carries a megaphone around in his cluttered and mud-splattered 4-wheel-drive truck, Reddin has been helping the homeless all over the state for 12 years now, working 80-hour weeks at times to fulfill a near-monastic calling to bring help, food, clothing and services directly to those who need it most. Like many local homeless advocates, Reddin was incensed by the anti-feeding ordinance, and incensed again when the City Board voted to table and study the issue instead of voting to kill it altogether. Reddin said he has yet to hear a rationale that justifies hindering the feeding of hungry people in city parks.

"These city parks are maintained by city sales tax dollars," he said. "Every homeless person in this town spends money in this town. They pay tax. They don't have the luxury of going on Amazon and ordering shit. Everything they buy, they pay taxes on. So they have just as much right to be there as anyone else. Food is life. To tell folks they can't share food one with another, it's just absurd."

Reddin said he sees the homeless feeding ordinance as the latest move in a longstanding effort by the city to push the homeless out of sight, out of mind — and away from the downtown areas where tourists and visitors congregate. He sees the location of Jericho Way — which is miles from the downtown core, closes at 4:30 p.m., and isn't open on weekends — as indicative of that effort, along with a series of recent evictions of homeless camps, which Reddin said have stepped up drastically since the first of the year.

Several city leaders have disagreed that the placement of Jericho Way was part of a calculated effort to draw the homeless out of downtown. But, Reddin said, "You take Jericho Way and you put it three miles from downtown? And then your argument against feeding in the parks is 'well, we've got Jericho Way'? They don't serve supper. That's not a bash on Jericho Way. They're doing a great job, and I'm glad that it's there. But we've got folks all over. Southwest, West Little Rock. You don't want them all in one place, why have one resource center? Do multiple small ones around town."

Reddin is skeptical that the committee studying the issue can find real solutions in only 45 days. He said if the ordinance is approved in any form, it will undoubtedly curtail the advocacy and outreach work by his group and others. "We try and make sure we have food in the van when we're out," he said. "We may have two or three people walk up when we pull up, or we may have 15 or 20. ... Say I pull into MacArthur Park to help one person who has called in distress, and the next thing I know, 26 people show up. You're going to write me a ticket for giving out some food?"

The ACLU of Arkansas has come out in opposition to the feeding ordinance, saying it would lead to litigation, and Reddin said he'll be meeting shortly with a lawyer who has offered to help Reddin's group fight the ordinance in court for free if need be. Whatever the case, he plans on pushing back against the idea that he can't distribute food to friends who happen to be homeless.

"There's enough of us that we're going to keep sharing food," Reddin said. "They can write all the tickets they want, they can pass all the ordinances they want. It's unconstitutional and blatantly discriminatory. If that's the Little Rock they want to have, then they can have that at City Hall. The rest of us are going to fight for the people that really make this city what it is, which is a great city that cares about people."

Clark Gray, who said he has been homeless on the streets of Little Rock for over three years, agrees that many in Little Rock care about the homeless. Standing in front of City Hall, eating a dripping ice cream cone at the protest picnic the night the City Board voted to table the homeless feeding ordinance, Gray said there are numerous groups, including Reddin's The Van, that work hard to better the lives of homeless people. But, he said, there are other people who seem to see right through him.

"There's a lot of people who will shrug their shoulders at us, stick their noses up at us," he said. "All we're trying to do is survive. There's a lot of people out here with health problems, like me. I'll probably end up dying in these streets because I don't have a way to get to the shelters or the churches that have food. There's people who would starve to death if it wasn't for the kindness of the folks at the mission down here and The Van."

Usually confined to a wheelchair by painful blood clots in his legs, Gray said he believes the city's recent efforts to evict people from homeless camps and the proposed ordinance to limit group feeding in the city parks are part of a conscious effort to push the homeless away from the River Market area where tourists congregate.

"The old saying is, 'out of sight, out of mind,' " Gray said. "They just don't want to have to look at us. I don't think that's right. I'm trying to figure out a way to get the public to realize we're human, too. Ya'll got your fancy houses and cars and all this. But we just want to survive. There's a lot of times that people aren't able to go way across town to these homeless shelters or to a place where we can eat."

to study the homeless feeding ordinance held its first meeting at 7:30 a.m. May 23 at the Willie L. Hinton Neighborhood Resource Center on 12th Street. Fifteen coffee-stoked and fresh-scrubbed people met in a sparse, high-ceilinged room, untouched boxes of bagels and pastries growing stale on a nearby table. Though it was mostly a getting-to-know-you session with introductions all around, the conversation did eventually plunge into the red meat of the issue, with crosstalk often veering away from feeding to adjacent concerns about homelessness, from panhandling to mental illness to addiction. At one point, assistant City Manager James Jones, who serves as the facilitator of the committee, spoke up to say that the city Parks and Recreation Department has employees who sweep through Riverfront Park every morning before dawn, "collecting numerous syringes [and] needles," including from the playground area. At that, committee member Father Fred Ball, the pastor of San Damiano Ecumenical Catholic Church, asked the obvious. "That's important, safety," Ball said. "But I wonder how syringes found in the wee hours of the night tie to the feedings?"

Jim Garrett, an advocate for the homeless from St. James United Methodist Church who leads one of the groups that used to feed under the Broadway Bridge and serves dinner to the homeless and working poor twice a month at churches near Little Rock's Union Station and in Southwest Little Rock, asked much the same thing: Why was the connection being made between feeding people and drug abuse?

"Well," Jones said, "there's the perception. Real or not, the perception is there, whether it's true or not."

"We're there one hour, two times a month," Garrett said. "We're being considerate. We don't allow drug dealers or drug users. I'm insulted by that. We're not responsible for those parks the other 23 hours a day. If you're going to take that kind of stance, I don't see where we can possibly go with this."

While all present agreed they wanted to find a solution so that feeding the needy could continue, the meeting often spun away from the topic of filling hungry bellies and toward the negative effects of homelessness. One issue that came up was the urge to move the homeless away from tourist-heavy areas around Riverfront Park and the Broadway Bridge.

"A basic human need is survival and food," said Alan Sims, Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau vice president for sales and services. "So if you're feeding, it's an attractant. They're going to be attracted there. Why can't we balance? Why can't we attract them? It doesn't have to be in a park. It doesn't have to be where our children are. It doesn't have to be where there are safety issues and visitor issues. Why can't we attract them someplace else? I hope this group can find that. We want to feed and we want a great city. We can have both."

Parks and Recreation Director Truman Tolefree said the ordinance is about providing structure so that feeding in city parks doesn't become what he termed a "free-for-all."

"We have employees who are out there in cars at all times of the day," Tolefree said. "They work structured hours. If we don't know when groups are showing up, if we don't know when they're feeding or where they're feeding, or that kind of thing, we may have another activity planned. So we need to be able to have some kind of structure when people are coming to feed in the park."

After the meeting, Garrett, whose church has been holding large group feedings of the homeless in Little Rock for almost 10 years, said he felt a little more hopeful that the committee might be able to provide some solutions to the issue. He saw room for compromise, he said.

"In talking to [Vice Mayor] Webb," Garrett said, "I think there's some light at the end of the tunnel. I don't have the answer, but I feel that somewhere there's room to compromise. But it's got to be a pretty limited compromise. If we're talking about feeding, it's going to have to be in the downtown area somewhere. That's where the homeless people are. They're on foot. They can't come to us. They can traverse maybe a mile or so, but that's their area."

Father Ball and Garrett said they fail to see a direct correlation between problems like panhandling and drug abuse downtown and feedings in city parks. Both said they see it as their duty to continue to help find ways to get food to Little Rock's homeless.

"We weren't asked to do this. We were told to do this," Garrett said. "It's not one of the Ten Commandments, but maybe it's No. 11: to take care of the least and the widows and the poor."

Reached after the meeting, Jones said the committee is off to a productive start and will work toward consensus and a recommendation that everyone on the committee can support. "Working together, we can come to some kind of consensus and agree that there is a solution that everybody can be a part of and accept," he said. Asked whether he believes there is a direct correlation between feeding in Riverfront Park and needles found in the park, Jones repeated that the perception of a link is there.

"Are there facts to support that? I don't know. There's a perception that there is," he said. "There are a lot of homeless people who do sleep in the park. ... There are some people who think that when the feedings take place, they're going to stay where they're fed, and they'll stay there until the next day. That is a perception of citizens that call us all the time. They believe that. Is it a fact? I can't say that I have actual documentation to back that up."

The LRCVB's Sims said he is also optimistic that the committee can reach a solution. He said everybody on the committee agrees the feedings are a good thing, but a balance must be struck between what's good for the homeless and what's good for the city. Visitors to Little Rock, he said, serve as temporary taxpayers, spending money in local businesses. Because of that, he said, visitor perception of the city is a big concern.

"We want visitors to leave here and talk about how clean and great our city is and what wonderful generous and friendly people we have here," he said. "The old cliché 'perception is reality' very much applies. It goes back to what we started with: There's got to be a way that we can all do what we need to."

Sims said he's heard the arguments that every city has an issue with the homeless, but "that doesn't justify having an issue. We've got to be able to provide services for the homeless, be compassionate to the homeless, but also do that in consideration of the experience that our visitors have coming to the city. We need to balance all those."

Sims said he and the LRCVB are convinced that feeding the homeless needs to continue (his comments at the committee meeting about food possibly being used as an "attractant," he said, were misunderstood), and he added that the area near Riverfront Park is "very much part of a visitor zone for Little Rock" and probably shouldn't be used for mass feedings for that reason.

"Our convention center is right downtown, our primary hotels are right downtown, and they're all adjacent to the park," he said. "To be a guest in the hotel and look out the window and there's a large mass feeding going on right outside your hotel room, I'm questioning whether that's the image or the perception that we want. Would there not be a better place that might be more conducive to the feeding?"

Loaves and fishes

[oblivionspeakk]

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Your goal — in case you want to be great at SEO — is in order to appear on the very greatest of the search engine outcomes pages for the keywords that will are important for your company. This review roundup covers 10 SEO tools: Ahrefs, AWR Cloud, DeepCrawl,, LinkResearchTools, Regal, Moz Pro, Searchmetrics Essentials, SEMrush, and SpyFu. However in the drive in order to more closely align search outcomes to actual human experiences, wishes and intentions, Google's engineers plus algorithms are pivoting to research quality as the next excellent transformation in SEO. The particular agency is led by the digital marketing expert who retains more than a decade-long encounter in the SEO field. The particular main reason for this article is to offer ideas plus open a constructive discussion across the future of SEO and electronic marketing over the next twelve months. Almost all capable SEOs understand that the number of customers within the mobile platform will just increase because the years go simply by. So, with that in thoughts, among the top SEO techniques for 2018 is optimizing the mobile-friendly website. With Google analyzing sites based on hundreds associated with ranking factors, knowing where in order to aim your SEO strategy within 2018 for your biggest bang may seem impossible. SEO, in an ever-changing technical landscape, means an ongoing procedure of re-imagining how we look at search and what we are usually able to learn from this. It's not just seeing ranks as an end, but since a way of studying exactly how search engines use our articles to serve their users. Knowing that, smart SEOs are starting to optimize a few of their content for tone of voice search. We have some excellent rankings, but we have already been always looking to improve plus see the actual future keeps for SEO. Rather not surprisingly, Google recently stated that content material and links remain the best two ranking factors — RankBrain is #3 — when you aren't overlooking quality content and hyperlinks — the foundation of effective SEO since the dawn associated with time — you may not really get the rankings you wish. While links are usually still important and it is incredibly tough to rank well without hyperlinks from other websites, content plus on-page SEO is becoming progressively important.

SEO has been enjoying a significant role in rating up your website, and this has been even misused simply by many to get the unimportant content on top of the particular search engines. Considering simply how much effort it will take to have a quality SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION campaign, many people choose in order to outsource any part of this. To stay afloat with SEO in 2018, create sure that you're optimizing for that user, not the search motor. In this fast developing world, SEO techniques always maintain changes time to time plus the worst part is that will you simply might not also know it. That's why a person always need to stay up-to-date using the latest trends and strategies in SEO. From the particular basics of how search motors work and how they position the websites to the sophisticated understanding of SEO tools plus techniques, a training course will certainly cover the entire spectrum associated with Online marketing skills. If RankBrain will turn out to be more and more influential within rankings, which is very probably, that means that SEO's can start optimizing more and a lot more for user experience instead associated with other factors. These are called SEO ranking factors. In order to help you stay on best of those changes, this post will cover SEO trends that will are already noticeable as properly as the best practices in order to improve digital marketing strategy with regard to the business. Topics include; Perform you know the best methods for Local SEO? ”, Search engines My Business optimisation”, Local SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION Keyword Research”, and other sophisticated tactics that will help your own business get more exposure, visitors, and customers. SEO offers become a crucial piece in order to this shift, as people lookup for information or products through Google around 5 billion occasions every single day. All of us article will focus on on-page optimization, and am will become sharing lots of good on-page SEO techniques you should apply while working on optimizing your blog page posts. This is why appropriate SEO seo is so essential. If you have got an old site in inclusion to just started to determine out SEO plus it just hit you that OMG, none associated with the keywords I've researched are usually in any of my URLs”, you need to skip the particular whole URL changing process. Here I'll show a person using the two main equipment within the Google Keyword Adviser that will land you an excellent list of keywords for your own SEO campaigns. Serpstat is an multiple digital growth hacking tool in order to help you optimize your SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, PPC and content marketing promotions. SEO, or even search engine optimisation, is 1 of the most significant aspects of running a successful web site. So, direct advertising of your website is a good indirect but one of the particular best SEO technique you may use to rank on the particular first page searching results. So how are a person able to make sure in order to stay on top of the particular SEO trends for 2018? The keywords and Linking SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION strategies will take the backcourt. The field of lookup SEO 2019 Slide engine optimization (SEO) is certainly ever-changing. A person are not completely wrong, yet the latest SEO Trends plus Techniques in 2018 is very complicated. With search motor optimization (SEO) applications, you are usually able to "optimize" your cyberspace position, which roundup provides exactly what you need to choose the particular right tool.

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Think xAPI is Next-Generation SCORM? Think Again

EDITOR’S NOTE:  Occasionally, we invite learning community experts to share their advice with our readers. Today we feature a post by Anthony Altieri Founder of Omnes Solutions. Anthony is an independent xAPI evangelist and Instructional Developer for the Internet of Things.

  If you’re an elearning professional, you’ve probably seen or heard the term xAPI countless times. But are you still fuzzy about where SCORM ends and xAPI begins? And why you should care, anyway?

After years of educating people about xAPI (aka Experience Application Programming Interface), I find that it is still one of the least-understood concepts in the digital learning world. So I’m on a mission to clear the air.

I want everyone to recognize xAPI as a solid and surprisingly simple foundation for next-generation learning experience measurement. But that does not mean xAPI is a next-generation version of SCORM (aka Sharable Content Object Reference Model). It is not. And that’s a good thing. Let me explain.

How Did the SCORM/xAPI Confusion Begin?

To understand why these two data specifications are different, it helps to know a little bit about the origin of xAPI.

Rewind briefly to a day in 2010, when the dew was still fresh and early morning sun filled the meeting room at Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL). A research team gathered to start work on an update to the SCORM specification. By that time, SCORM was a decade old, and the only serious update had been delivered six years earlier, in 2004.

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However, it didn’t take long for the team to realize that another SCORM update simply couldn’t meet the needs that existed at that time, let alone evolve to support whatever forms training might take in the future.

The Trouble With SCORM

The primary problem with SCORM is its core philosophy. It relies on a “state”-based reporting methodology. In other words, because SCORM reports only the current state of an individual’s enrollment, it doesn’t specify when that individual completed a course or other details about that experience.

Can you extrapolate completion activity from SCORM data? Absolutely. But there’s a difference. And although that difference may seem like subtle semantics, it can have a huge effect on reporting.

With SCORM, when learners enroll in an online course, the state of the enrollment/course is recorded as “not attempted.” When they launch the course, the state is recorded as “incomplete.” If all goes well, they eventually finish the course. At that point, the status changes to “completed” or “passed” or “failed” depending on how learners perform and how the course is configured to report outcomes.

Along the way, you could collect other data, but few training providers actually apply that function to anything other than the score, because it is difficult to use and has very limited support for meaningful reporting.

For example, you could collect test questions and answers. But in 2010, many learning management systems (LMS) didn’t provide a way to report on all the answers every student submitted for a given question. Even if they did, the level of reporting detail was inconsistent.

Another Problem With SCORM

There was also a rather large elephant in the elearning room:  For SCORM to work fully, everyone pretty much had to log-in to an LMS. Yes, some methods divorced training content from the LMS, proper. But more often than not, this was accomplished through the digital equivalent of smoke and mirrors. It wasn’t a particularly stable practice.

And Don’t Forget These Issues…

This led to yet another digital elephant in the room:  SCORM’s reliance on JavaScript. Back in 2000, JavaScript was the only programming language used to create training content in web page format. Unfortunately, JavaScript suffered from many issues.

One was cross-domain requests. For obvious security reasons, browsers generally blocked JavaScript requests made from one domain (such as Example.com) to another (such as AnotherExample.com) unless it was done in a very specific manner. And most LMSs did not support that without more smoke-and-mirrors trickery. Oh, and as mobile devices became widely used, even more challenges emerged.

The Need, In a Nutshell

To summarize, the “next generation of SCORM” needed to solve multiple problems:

1) Change from a “state-driven” reporting system to a system that let administrators collect more accurate, detailed information about training participants.

2) Provide a more detailed way to report training progress, apart from the completion state.

3) Provide a way to launch content from outside an LMS – potentially divorcing it entirely from the LMS, and possibly even removing the need for an LMS entirely.

4) Allow content to use programming languages other than JavaScript.

The Solution (Sort Of)

Did this framework lead to the next-generation of SCORM? Well, not exactly. Instead, the team at ADL actually paved the way for the Actively Narrating Technical Interface-Sharable Content Object Reference Model – otherwise known as the ANTI-SCORM.

OK, they didn’t call it ANTI-SCORM. But they could have. And with that, they gave SCORM a silent, respectful nod and simply walked away.

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The Alternative

Fortunately, the ADL effort wasn’t a total loss. In fact, from the ashes of this original process rose the xAPI – a new and somewhat radical way to track and record what a learner does and when the action occurs, along with virtually any other data describing the learner’s actions.

In short, xAPI is “event”-driven. This represents a massive departure from the ways of “state”-based SCORM. Here’s how it works:

Let’s say an individual initiates an action, such as clicking a button, launching a course, or playing a video. The content immediately notifies the server (a Learning Record Store aka LRS) about this event in a statement that reads like normal speech. The statement structure includes three common elements:  actor-verb-object. For example, “Sally clicked the button.” “Anthony launched the course.” “John played the video.”

The content can be designed to include details in this statement, such as how long John played the video, or which parts of the video he played, or which operating system and browser John used, the date and time when the video was played, and so on. Content authors have nearly unlimited ability to collect related information.

Better Data = Better Insights

These statements can also be stitched together to see all the steps in a series of related interactions, the total time required to complete the sequence, how many steps were repeated and more. This provides a much better understanding of an individual’s experience than SCORM can provide.

As a result, learning administrators and course creators can easily review reports and isolate problems, so they can quickly adjust, clarify or correct the content. This helps ensure that learning initiatives are supported with the best-quality content. It also provides the kind of data that illustrates the business impact of learning initiatives.

Other Issues Resolved

xAPI also removes the SCORM JavaScript requirement I mentioned previously, so content doesn’t have to be limited to a web page. It can be a computer program, a mobile app or even an IoT device like a car, appliance or voice-controlled speaker. Essentially, it can be any connected thing that lets content send statements to the LRS.

This also means that content no longer needs to be launched from an LMS, so you might not need an LMS at all. (However, for reasons I’ll discuss at another time, many organizations will still need an LMS.) Regardless, in every way, xAPI has become the ANTI-SCORM. And that’s not a bad thing.

Putting xAPI Into Perspective

xAPI is not meant to replace SCORM directly. It is meant to respond to a rapidly evolving digital world. It is meant to support diverse needs in dynamic business environments. It is meant to take learning insights into the future, rather than concerning us with standards from the past. It is meant to be everything that “state”-based SCORM is not.

xAPI is flexible, granular, flexible, portable, flexible, consumer-friendly – and most importantly, flexible! And given its “event”-driven foundation, xAPI is more than SCORM could ever be.

In the new world order, we have options. We can choose to use SCORM or xAPI. And if you prefer the familiarity of SCORM services, you can rest assured that it won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

So don’t think of xAPI as the next generation of SCORM. It’s something new. It’s something different. xAPI and SCORM will co-exist for years to come. And we’ll all be better for it.

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LMS Trends: 2018 Mid-Year Learning Systems Market Update

In January, I outlined “18 LMS trends to watch in 2018.”  That’s a lot of moving pieces, but it’s also a fair indicator of today’s complex and fluid learning technology landscape.

Recently a client asked which trends are gaining the most traction.  It prompted me to step back and review those 18 items with a fresh eye.  First I sliced the list in half.  Then I updated the comments with my current perspectives as an independent analyst.  Finally, I reordered the list to reflect the priorities of today’s extended enterprise market.  Now I’m sharing it with you.

Although the list isn’t exhaustive, it is based on my experience with hundreds of LMS solutions I track and dozens of recent purchasing opportunities I’ve managed.  Here’s my latest snapshot from the front lines of the learning technology space:

LMS Trends Update

1) Specialists Steal Even More Spotlight

UPDATE:  Some people say the LMS is dead.  Others say it’s become nothing more than a back-office administrative tool.  I say the LMS is not just alive but thriving.  That’s because yesterday’s generic, one-size-fits-all employee LMS has evolved into a diverse spectrum of specialized solutions.  This new “specialist” technology landscape benefits LMS customers and vendors, alike.  And it continues to advance at a dizzying pace.

Actually, this move toward specialization isn’t new – nor is it about learning technology, alone.  In fact, for nearly a decade, LMS trends have been shaped by market demand for robust business solutions that extend beyond traditional talent management functions.

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And here’s what is new.  LMS vendors aren’t just talking about what’s possible.  Instead, organizations are making purchasing decisions based on boldly redefined expectations.  And LMS are vendors rising to those expectations and beyond.  Their solutions work and they’re making a measurable difference in every kind of extended enterprise scenario you can imagine.

Specialists now rule the LMS world.  This market characteristic is so fundamental that it influences all other LMS trends, in one way or another.

2) Market Expansion and Consolidation Roll On

UPDATE:  The recent wave of investment activity is fascinating.  It’s also predictable and simultaneously unpredictable.  Over the past decade, as the LMS market ballooned from 12 to 700+ vendors, consolidation became inevitable.  Now we see it playing out in multiple market segments.  For example:

CORPORATE LEARNING Learning Technologies Group (LTG) recently acquired PeopleFluent, NetDimensions, LEO Learning, Rustici Software, Watershed LRS, Gomo Learning and others to offer a robust talent suite based on standalone solutions.

ASSOCIATION LEARNING Community Brands has acquired YourMembership, Abila, Crowd Wisdom, Peach New Media, Aptify, NimbleUser and others to create a comprehensive solution set for member-based organizations, non-profits and academia.

These acquired companies are all innovation leaders in their particular specialty.  However, unlike past M&A strategies, LTG and Community Brands don’t want to obliterate acquired companies.  Instead, they want to add complementary functionality that provides more breadth, depth and flexibility.

Bottom line:  Although acquisitions can create temporary uncertainty and disruption for customers, true “value-added” strategies should stabilize and strengthen the market in the long run.

3) The Augmented LMS Gains Wider Appeal

UPDATE:  Thanks to APIs that dramatically simplify technology integration, almost anyone can “snap together” compelling, customized learning ecosystems.  Through enterprise-class RESTful APIs or microservices provided by Zapier and Mulesoft, it’s much easier and more affordable to integrate robust point solutions such as customer relationship management, marketing automation, customer support and content management, as well as tools for single sign-on, ecommerce, analytics and more.

The most promising LMS augmentation examples are learning experience platforms (LXPs) such as Degreed and EdCast. Although LXPs can coexist with talent management systems, talent management vendors are becoming wary of being eclipsed by LXP upstarts, so they’re starting to enhance their user experience with native functionality that is more mobile, social, collaborative and useful.  Time will tell if this is enough to block LXP providers who seem to be adding more LMS-type functionality.

In the mid-small LMS market, learning experience capabilities are being built into LMS solutions from the ground up.  This makes it tough for LXPs to win business if they don’t beat the SMB LMS specialists in the door.  Keep watching this space.

4) Customer-Focused Learning Systems Are on Fire

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UPDATE:  In a world where customer success increasingly determines overall business success, customer education has become an imperative.  That’s the primary reason why specialized customer training platforms are becoming wildly popular.

If you doubt that statement, just consider how quickly Salesforce.com has grown.  In less than 20 years, this cloud-based customer experience suite has become the 4th largest software company in the world, trailing only massive long-time leaders Microsoft, Oracle and SAP.

As product and service companies of all sizes turn to customer success as a source of competitive advantage, the need for training solutions that support customer acquisition, onboarding, retention and profitability will continue to expand.  That’s what vendors like Skilljar, Thought Industries, Northpass, Learndot and LearnUpon are counting on.

5) Effective eCommerce Pays, Bigtime

UPDATE:  Online training content companies continue to grow faster than other learning technology businesses.  Originally, these organizations attracted individuals who wanted an Amazon-like shopping environment where they could easily find relevant content, compare pricing, add it to a shopping cart, purchase, consume and track their progress.

Now business buyers also purchase and manage digital training content in bulk on behalf of their organization’s learners.  Multiple LMS vendors see this as a lucrative opportunity to boost content sales, so they’re leading the pack with sophisticated volume purchasing capabilities that fully support B2B workflows.  Examples include eLogic Learning, WBT Systems, WebCourseworks, Community Brands and NetExam.

6) Integrated Content Authoring Joins the Modern LMS

UPDATE:  Intra-LMS authoring continues to improve. This approach is often criticized for lack of content portability for those who change LMS vendors.  However, transferring content has become much easier and automated minimizing this traditional risk.

Many organizations continue to use standalone content authoring tools like Articulate, GomoLearning, iSpring and Lectora.  But organizations that sell specialized content, such as associations and continuing education providers, are migrating to tightly integrated content/LMS applications.

7) Virtual and Augmented Reality Get Real

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UPDATE:  Virtual reality is very real as a learning technology option.  Nevertheless, it is still expensive to implement.  I see organizations developing scenario-based immersive learning experiences, but they’re keeping the technology simple.

For example, the American College of Cardiology uses mobile apps to deliver a “case of the week” description to doctors.  They earn CME credit by answering questions and reviewing feedback.  Similarly, at the Practising Law Institute’s Interactive Learning Center, attorneys review high-quality video vignettes with questions tied to multiple feedback paths. Instructors track learner progress and record video feedback based on learners’ actual comments.

8) GDPR Sweeps the E.U.

UPDATE:  When the new General Data Privacy Regulation took effect in May, it proved that procrastination is as predictable as the day is long.  As I expected, a flurry of last-minute compliance activity sidetracked all sorts of extended enterprise training programs.

Meanwhile, the glut of recent privacy policy notifications in my inbox confirmed that many companies have been struggling to catch up.  No matter what side of the GDPR changes you’re on, this process hasn’t been easy to manage.  I’m sure some LMS vendors are getting caught in the crossfire.

But here’s the good news, going forward. Because LMS buyers now include GDPR compliance in their RFP requirements, learning systems vendors can no longer ignore it.

Lesson:  The GDPR rollout is a prime example of what it takes to retain customers, in a world where SaaS models make LMS switching less painful.  When vendors proactively help customers manage business and technology change, loyalty follows.

9) Good Sales Help Wanted!

UPDATE:  I should have started a recruiting business.  Maybe I will right now!  I constantly get calls from people asking me to recommend a great learning technology salesperson or solution architect.  Here’s the catch:  Great salespeople usually aren’t job hoppers.  They build their opportunity pipeline with a multi-year focus, and enjoy the easy sales that come with longevity.  Convincing them to switch takes a lot of money, unless their company is tanking for some reason.

Ironically however, cloud LMS vendors don’t want to pay a premium for salespeople.  Instead, they often look for a diamond in the rough – and ultimately waste much more money than they would have invested in hiring a seasoned pro.  Smart vendors have done the math and they know better.

Are you a solution architect or salesperson with a proven pedigree?  Looking for a new challenge?  My door is always open!

Conclusion

One thing I know for sure.  There’s never a dull moment for those of us who care about where learning technology is headed and how it can help organizations accomplish their goals more effectively and efficiently.

Now it’s your turn to step back and think about how learning innovation is shaping your world.  Which of these LMS trends matter most to you?  Are you prepared for what’s next?

If you found this update useful, stay tuned.  In the coming weeks I’ll share more observations about how these trends are influencing learning systems selection, purchasing, implementation and business impact.

Thanks for reading!

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The Economics of LMS Replacement

Stuck with a learning management system that no longer meets your needs? Paying for annual maintenance and hosting, but haven’t upgraded in years, and rarely use tech support? Want to expand your learning program reach to customers, channel partners or others, but can’t afford the incremental licenses? Ready to move up to a new solution, but unsure about what it should cost? If any of these scenarios are familiar, this webinar is for you.

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– Analyze what you’re currently spending (and why) – Define what you need in a new LMS – Outline the best license model for your intended use – Develop realistic budget expectations – Create a business case your stakeholders can support – Find vendor intelligence you can trust

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