#This took roughly 7 hours without having to build the engines

[s17s17]

Resurrected the Y-wing kit, it's one of my oldest so a handful of parts "didn't make it", so this is a scrapyard edition, ft paint and mechanical issues

[dudeandduchess]

Prompts no 8 plss. With uzui or nemi or kyo please. And thank you for your hardwork🥰🥰

Hey hey, bby! Hope you like it. I think I got a bit too carried away bc I liked the prompt so much with Nemi. Lmao. 💜✨

***

Sanemi x F!Reader: No more seats in the car, guess I’ll have to sit on your lap (Modern AU, Slight NSFW Scenario):

Warnings: Drunkenness, Language, Adult Themes

The party had been long and arduous, and to say that it had been fun would be the understatement of the century. That was, until (Y/n) had exited the club with Sanemi and some of their friends in tow.

It was already two AM; well past the hours for trains and buses, which presented the group of six with a small dilemma: how they’d be able to fit in Uzui’s five-seater sedan.

(Y/n) would have volunteered to take an Uber home, had her friends been not very protective of her. With the rise of perverts in the world, they didn’t want to take the chance of getting her kidnapped.

And to add to that, all of them— save for Uzui— were well on their way to being fully drunk. She was teetering between the line of tipsy and completely drunk, which made her legs unsteady, and had her eyes getting heavy.

But, other than those two things, she didn’t feel like she was inebriated at all. In fact, she felt like she could do with some onigiri from 7-11 on the way home— or maybe a ready-made bento.

She still had her wits about her, but she felt... braver. Bolder, even. Enough to put the plan she’d discussed with Mitsuri into action.

“Nemi, I want some onigiri,” She cried to the man standing next to her. He had his hand on the small of her back, guiding her towards the car as best as he could without making both of them topple to the ground.

He was just as tipsy as she was, but he had more control over his own body than she did— with the reason being that she never drank much. That night had been a special occasion to celebrate Iguro getting into his preferred university, so she had opted to go out with him, Uzui, Rengoku, Obanai, and Kanroji.

“We’ll get some when Uzui drops us off.” It really helped that they also lived in the same building, so he had managed to spring that on her at the last minute.

Had she been anyone else, he wouldn’t have bothered; but she wasn’t just anyone else... she was the woman he’d had feelings for ever since they were freshmen in high school. And seeing her lock herself up in her apartment, only to go over her notes was not how he wanted her to spend her days.

Sanemi wanted her to have fun, even if she wasn’t going to like it at first. But he knew her well; she always did have fun whenever he dragged her outside to spend time together.

And she always ended up being grateful to him for being her voice of reason; balancing out her work and play schedule, just so she wouldn’t waste away as a slave to her studies.

“One of you has to sit on someone’s lap, alright?” Uzui stated coolly, as he eyed Sanemi, (Y/n), Iguro, and Kanroji. He didn’t even consider Rengoku, as him and the other man were roommates and would be the ones to get off last— so it stood to reason that Kyōjurō had dibs on shotgun.

“Oh, I’ll do it. I can sit on Nemi’s lap,” (Y/n) answered with a smile, not really thinking anything of it as she hugged Sanemi’s arm and pressed her cheek to his bicep. “We’ll be the first to get off anyway.”

At that, the young man’s eyes widened, and his cheeks turned even redder with a blush. He couldn’t even risk looking down at her, because doing so would prove to him just how real the situation was.

He didn’t think that his heart could take anymore exercise. His hands had been itching all night to touch her, but he held himself back— even stayed in the booth and drank with Rengoku just so he wouldn’t go on the dance floor and run his hands all over (Y/n)’s body.

“Okay, that’s settled then,” Rengoku answered in his usual jovial tone. Aside from the drunken flush across his cheeks, he didn’t look like he was drunk at all— a fact which puzzled and amazed (Y/n) at the same time.

Uzui then unlocked his car with his key fob, and sent the blushing Sanemi a sly smirk. “Lucky bastard.”

Sanemi glared at the other man for that, before opening the door to the right side of the car and sliding in with very little difficulty. He kept his legs slightly closed, to make it easier for (Y/n) to sit on— but he would be lying if he didn’t say just how badly it made him nervous.

“Alright, excuse me,” She whispered under her breath, and cast one last look at the only other girl in their group as if to say ‘wish me luck’.

With that, she got into the car— not facing away from Sanemi, or sideways like he had anticipated— but full-on facing him. She straddled his lap gingerly, taking note of the way his body stiffened at her bold actions, before she wrapped her arms around his neck to steady herself.

Uzui whistled softly, while looking at his friends through the rearview mirror. “Let’s keep it in our pants until I drop you two off. It won’t be flamboyant if I have to clean up Sanemi’s cum in the morning.”

“Shut up, damn fucker.”

“Language, Shinazugawa. You have a lady on your lap,” Rengoku teased with a chuckle, as he got in the front seat and closed his own door.

That made (Y/n) giggle and bury her face against the side of Sanemi’s neck. Her heart had already been hammering wildly inside her chest before getting in the car, and at that moment it felt like it was going to jump out anytime within the next ten minutes.

She heard the door close next to her, and she scooted her legs tighter together when she felt— rather than saw— Mitsuri get in next to her and Sanemi.

When the other door closed, signaling that everyone was already inside the car, Uzui turned the engine on and slowly pulled out of the parking lot.

Every bump and pothole on the road had never felt more like a blessing to (Y/n), while it was torture for Sanemi. Because, as the car hit possibly every single uneven patch of asphalt, it made (Y/n)’s lips and nose brush against the side of Sanemi’s neck.

The young man felt so hard in his pants, and he prayed to all the gods that she wouldn’t feel it— but, unbeknownst to him, she already felt his erection pressing against her crotch... and she liked it very much.

Just the thought of having him pressed against her made her panties slick with her wetness. And she took her actions further when she flipped her hands up and used her nails to scratch at the base of Sanemi’s head.

It immediately made his breath hitch, as his hands clenched into fists at his sides. He wanted nothing more than to grab her ass and squeeze those cheeks, but he held himself back— because that was (Y/n) in his lap, and she was as tipsy as he was.

But damn if she didn’t make things even more difficult for him.

Slowly, (Y/n) pressed light and fleeting kisses up the side of Sanemi’s neck— trailing up the side of his jaw, before settling for nipping at his ear.

“I want you, Nemi.”

The aforementioned man’s world seemed to stop at that. His breathing had become ragged, and his shoulders had become so stiff with the effort to keep his hands off of her. He felt that he should have been given an award for holding out as long as he had.

“Please,” She breathed against the shell of his ear, then playfully nipped at it with her teeth once more. “I want you to fuck me.”

From beside them, Kanroji roughly bit down on her bottom lip as she tried to keep her giggles in. She was so happy for her friends because, finally, they were going to get together. But she would be lying if she didn’t say that the awkward situation she had landed herself in made her laugh.

Sanemi looked out the window, checking to see where they were and how close they were to their apartment building. They were still an hour away, but his eyes almost lit up when he saw a nice hotel coming up ahead.

“Pull over at the next street. In front of the hotel,” He almost barked at Uzui, which earned him a chuckle from all the occupants of the car— save for (Y/n) who was beginning to leave a love bite on his neck.

Without any sort of protest, Tengen pulled up in front of the hotel— putting on his hazard lights as they waited for what was going to happen.

And without any other words— not even a goodbye— Sanemi opened the car door and alighted with (Y/n) still clinging to him tightly.

He then closed the door with his foot, before grabbing hold of the ass that he’d been dying to hold since earlier. “If we go in there, princess, there’s no turning back.”

A sly smirk plastered itself onto the young woman’s face, before she locked her ankles behind her lover’s back. “Please fuck me until I can’t walk, Nemi.”

[b0blegum]

Friends With Benefit [Part 4]

Author: b0blegum

Pairing: College Student Lim Changkyun x Reader

Rating: NC-17

Genre: Smutty-Fluff

Status: On Going

Part: Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - …

"Okay, everyone. I think that's all for today's lecture. Don't forget that exam is in four days, so you better be ready." The professor closed his thick book and shoved it in his messenger bag before leaving the lecture hall as fast as he can. Students were getting ready to go home when you heard couple of girls vaguely whispering one familiar name. "Oh my God, he really is a hot stuff!" Said one who was standing right behind you. "I know right! No wonder lots of girls are after him. Even some are willing to do crazy stuffs for him. You remember the science girl right?" Said another. "But who is he here for, though? I don't think he has bestfriend in our clas— oh my God, he's coming our way!"

Curious, you looked at the direction the girls were talking about. There you saw Kihyun, confidently walked up every stairs. His expensive pair of boots were making a thudding noise as he took a step up and he gave smiles to whoever gave him first. Until he stopped right on your row, couple of seats from yours. "What are you doing here?" You stood up and mouthed him. The guy only smiled and gestured you to follow him out. "Kihyun seriously? Those girls are talking about me walking with you now." You whispered as both of you walked out. "Why? I don't mind at all. Do you?" He looked at you from his side. "It's a bit uncomfortable to be completely honest." You walked faster, following his pace. "You'll get used to it, soon. Don't worry." He gave you a sly smile. "What do you mean?" "You'll know." He winked. "Now follow me. I'm taking you to somewhere exciting!" He jumped a bit excitedly. You didn't question him much and only talked about random things in the car as you both made your way to the place Kihyun referring to. It was a three-story building with a big neon writing that said 'Escape Room'. You looked at Kihyun who's currently parking his Chevrolet. "Have you been here before?" You asked. "This is the first time for me, don't worry. Thay makes me can't spoil the way out." He replied with fading voice as he pulled the handbrake and stop the engine. You followed him out and entered the building. Kihyun lead you by filling the form and stuffs you weren't interested in. "So, we will give you thirty minutes to finished the game, to went through all five rooms and that would be at 7pm sharp. If you don't get out at 7, it means you failed to escape." The intern at that place briefed the two of you as you both were standing before a wooden door with 'DANGER' written on it. After the intern asked 'are you ready?' And Kihyun excitedly replied with a yes, the door swung opened, letting you in to a dark room with only one neon light at the corner. There were riddles in the first room and you managed to solve three while Kihyun solved slightly more than you, four. The second room was the mirror room, where there were a lot of mirrors facing each other, confused you to find the exit. It took both of you quite a lot of time to finally got out and entered the next room, the one filled with giant gym balls. It was so much fun coming to a place like this. The last time you played such games was when you were in junior high. You always love playing this kind of games, the fun but you still have to use your brain kind of game. "(Y/n), this is the last room. Finally." He tip toed, walked avoiding the lasers shooting randomly from one wall to the other. "We... have only seven minutes left, Kihyun!" "Don't worry. Wait, look. You pull that rope and i'll push this button. I think this is what it said at the first room, remember?" You did as he told and it worked! The door slid open and smoke were blown. "We made it!" You and Kihyun jumped and gave each other a high five. Happily, both of you marched out to a room where there was a giant cardboard frame with 'WE ESCAPED!' On it and some other stuffs decorating the frame. "Congratulations! Both of you managed to escape on time!" The same intern guy congratulated you and gestured both of you to stand behind the frame, to take a picture of you both. "(Y/n), wait. I should post something to my sns." He grabbed your wrist and pulled you to his side. "A selfie?" Smiling, you nodded and posed for him. After four photos, he finally decided which one to post and went straight away on his instagram. 'Had a really great time escaping the rooms with @(y/n's username)! WE ESCAPED!' "Done." He pushed back his phone to his pocket. "(Y/n), you up for round two? Dinner in a great crab place i know?" Your eyes quickly widened in shock after he said the word 'dinner'. "Kihyun, what time is it?" Your eyes wandered around the room, looking for a clock or anything that tells time. "Ten past seven, why?" "Shit, i'm dead."

Changkyun's POV Why was her apartment's lights off? The one in the balcony should actually turned on when she's at home. Her phone was off and i don't even knew any of her friends' number to know where she was now. I'm checking my look once again on the rearview mirror as i was thinking a positive thought, maybe she was already down on the elevator. Ten minutes passed and she was nowhere to be seen at the entrance door. Maybe i should better go up there and check her for myself. I turned off the engine and swung the door opened when my phone vibrated like crazy. It was my class' chat groups. I took a quick look at the message previews and scrolled them fast, almost locked my phone back before i found two names that was too familiar for me to not noticed. 'Are Kihyun and (y/n) dating?' I froze, standing next to my car with the door hadn't even closed yet. Above that preview, another girl from my class sent the link to Kihyun's instagram. Without thinking twice, i clicked on the link. Then there it was, The photo of the two of them. Kihyun's arm hanged over (y/n)'s shoulder and cheeks were touched Well, everyone would've thought they were dating at this rate. I exhaled and messed my perfectly styled hair and almost threw my phone. "Hyung, seriously." I threw myself inside the car and drove back home.

The room is still dark. Kihyun wasn’t at home yet. Maybe he’s still hanging out with (y/n). Changkyun chuckled sarcastically, pitying himself as he turned off his phone and threw it away on the bed. “Fuck you, Hyung. You always got what you wanted.” He hissed. “You stole my mom, my room, my car and now the girl i love?” He rubbed his face roughly before he unconsciously kicking the leg of my bed. The door suddenly slammed open. A guy with a big smile plastered on his face came in whistling a random tune. “Hey, bro! How’s your night?” He waltzed to Changkyun who was glaring at him. “Whoa, whoa. What’s with the face?” “Cut the bullshit.” “Who-hoa. Words, bro. I am older.” Kihyun felt tensed. He licked his lower lip and stretched his arms as he was ready for a fight. “You got problem with me?” “Problem my ass.” Changkyun scoffed. “Where is (y/n)?” Kihyun suddenly laughed. “I now have figured out! You knew i was with her!” “Where is she?” “See, i won’t go easy on you because you’re my broth– half brother.” Kihyun patted Changkyun’s chest. “She’s safe.” Kihyun turned around to undress himself and changed into sleeping attire. “We had dinner together and have couple glass of Soju and—“ “Soju?” “Yeah. She looked so cute when she’s drunk! You know, she said lots of—“ “She can’t drink!” Changkyun shouted. “What do you mean?” Kihyun turned around. His chuckles were all gone. “She is allergic to alcohol. Fuck. How many glass did she drink?” “Four, fiv—“ Without Kihyun could even finished his sentence, Changkyun already sprinted outside. He started the engine of his motorcycle in a rush and pushed the gas pedal immediately. In a second he was already riding on the quiet road. His mind was now focused on you. He knew too well you can’t take any alcoholic food or beverages, because an hour after it spread in your system, you’d start having seizure. He never seen you in that condition, though, but you told him multiple times already. “Wait, (y/n). Please, just wait a bit.” Changkyun whispered. He pushed the pedal deeper and went straight through the intersection without seeing the traffic light. It was red for him. He felt something bright hit the edge of his eye as he rode right at the intersection. Instinctively, he looked to his side. His pupils dilated as his eyes met a gigantic truck coming his way with its horn screamed loudly.

“Oh my God. I am so sorry! Please, wake up!” He panicked as he run along with other nurses and doctor as they pushed the bed into the emergency room. He looked at a body who was already unconscious. The face fell to the side with white substance coming out from the edge of the lips. “I’m sorry, sir. But you’re not allowed to go in.” Said one nurse as they stood up in front of the room. “What?” He gasped. “But i need to be with her! Please!” “I’m sorry, Sir. You have to wait here. It won’t take long and we will tell you as soon as we’re done.” She added. “Fuck.” Kihyun kicked the nearest wall and messed his hair. It took almost a minute for him to finally sit and just hoping you’d wake up immediately. “We need two more in the ER!” Someone shouted, making Kihyun turned his his worried head a bit before he looked back to the cleaned floor. From the reflection he could see another bed– the identical bed with the one where you laid just now, was pushed in the alley where Kihyun was seating. A blood dripped to the floor, forcing him to pulled his head up and gave a bit of his attention to the patient that just brought up to the room next to yours. Almost thirty minutes passed. Finally the doctor came out from the room you was in and searched immediately for Kihyun. “You are...?” “Her boyfriend.” He answered quickly as he stood up. “Boyfriend. Well, good news for her boyfriend,” the doctor smiled as he patted Kihyun’s shoulder. “She’s fine now. You may visit her once she’s moved and...” he smiled again, “Just, never let her near alcohol ever again. Understood?” The sweat on Kihyun’s skin suddenly dried up. “Yes. Yes, doctor. I won’t let her touch that evil thing ever again. I’m sorry.” “Good. Now, i’ll get going. Take care of her, will you?” The doctor smiled before he left. Just when Kihyun bowed a thank you to the doctor, a nurse came out from the room next to yours and ran pass him, shouting about a critical moment of the patient.

to be continued...

[ledenews]

St. C. Water Plan: Best Option to Buy in Bulk

During the more than three-hour conference call that was Monday night’s St. Clairsville City Council meeting, a number of topics were discussed as they relate to the city’s water woes. Council members heard from officials with Aqua Ohio, they heard from engineer Jeff Vaughn, they talked about potential privatization, EPA mandates, problems fixed, and about problems waiting to be fixed. Through all the presentations and questions, though, one simple question, and its response, stood out from the others.  “One way or another, we’ll be using Belmont County or Martins Ferry water, whether we do it on our own, or go with Aqua Ohio?” Councilman John Bukmir asked Vaughn after his presentation on how the city has worked to take care of the list of 17 items listed by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Vaughn’s response? In short, yes. “That would be my opinion,” Vaughn said. “In the long term, I just don’t see, and many others would also agree, that the reservoir is not a good, long-term source for the city. And I don’t believe it’s a good idea to blend the groundwater with the surface water because of the different water chemistry.” So, there you have Point A, present day, along with Point B, where the city is headed in all likelihood. How it gets to that point is what’s up for debate.

The City's water towers are pictured next to the municipal building in downtown.

Aqua Ohio Presents First

Aqua Ohio had two representatives call in to speak on its behalf: President and Chief Operations Officer Ed Kolodziej and Tony Mancari, Aqua’s director of municipal services. The pair had a PowerPoint presentation prepared and spent the first few minutes recapping the timeline of all the steps taken from when Aqua first contacted the city in 2017 and through the tabled third reading of an ordinance to sell to Aqua in late fall 2019. While Kolodziej said nothing had changed with the company’s proposal from what was submitted to be voted on last fall, he and Mancari did want to touch on some of the highlights of what would be done in the event Aqua takes ownership. “The interesting challenge revolves around the treatment facility for the water plant,” Kolodziej said. “The other big issue to deal with is the is the overall water distribution system, the quality and integrity of the pipes and ensuring the water is safe when it comes to residents’ homes. Then with wastewater, there are issues with the gathering system.” He also mentioned the need to find the unaccounted-for water that amounts to roughly 50 percent of what the city pumps per day. Some of that is unmetered usage, but the rest is from leakage throughout the town’s aging lines. “Our first priority would be getting the water plant compliant,” Mancari said. “Then the first few years, focus our efforts on distribution system; one, to improve fire protection; and two, to improve water quality. There are old pipes with pressure issues, quality issues. And third, we want to get a better handle on the distribution system; find out where the water is going.” Kolodziej also mentioned the city’s current employees would be retained by Aqua and would have the option to work at one pay rate and retain their current pensions; or two, switch to Aqua’s pay scale and utilize its 401k offerings. Councilman Frank Sabatino had first opportunity to ask questions following the presentation and, after confirming that the financials and proposed work orders remained the same from the fall, got the elephant in the room question out of the way. “You mentioned partnerships, relationships and being active in the community,” Sabatino began. “As you know, there was a lot of negativism, backlash and protests with the city, even amongst council. How would Aqua form a working relationship in this kind of environment.” Kolodziej thanked Sabatino for bringing things right to the floor before answering. “We met with a subgroup of this group in preparing for this meeting,” Kolodziej said. “It was said that it was more what was going on between the parties of the prior administration and how things had been handled and, in a matter of speaking, Aqua got caught up in that level of political turmoil. We maintained a neutral position on how things were being handled. We were asked to provide a proposal and I believe we did so. I think you already have some evidence of our willingness to partner.” Councilman Perry Basile then questioned one aspect of Aqua’s plan when he asked about the thinking behind spending $3.5 million on the water plant when the city’s likely is going away from surface water in the future anyway. “This plan was developed almost a year ago, before some of the consent orders came out from the EPA, and other mitigating factors,” Mancari said. “As I mentioned before, we don’t anticipate the EPA saying you can’t use (the reservoir) as a source, but what they will say is if you use it, it has to comply with all these requirements. When we made the plan, we took that into consideration. But if there is a more efficient option, either augmented the system with a different source, or purchasing off the county or elsewhere, we would go with the most cost-effective solution.”

Should the city opt to buy in bulk from either the county or Martins Ferry, the water treatment plant would be retired

Vaughn Talks EPA Compliance

Vaugh of Vaughn, Coast and Vaughn, who had helped the city in its response to a list of 17 proposed orders handed down from the EPA, briefly touched on each one and gave a status report. Many were minor and most of those have been taken care of, but there were a couple that stood out. One was to repair the intake structure at the water plant, the lowest of the three gates used to take water into the plant. The top two are operational, the lowest is not. The city didn’t want to repair that because of cost and scope, along with the fact that eventually the plant would be retired in favor of bulk water purchase. The other major repair was a clarifier-turning mechanism that has been leaking oil that, while not harmful to the water, the EPA still wanted it either replaced or a way to collect the leakage found and implemented. But the big one was the fact the EPA still awaits the city’s long-term plans for its water supply. “They never heard from the city about the plan; there was never a response,” Vaughn said. “They looked at the plant and reservoir condition and didn’t see it as a long-term source of water for the city without major upgrades to the infrastructure. The city asked for more time for the overall plan.” That time was granted, and city leaders, administrators, and Vaughn are set to come up with a solution to placate the EPA. That solution is bulk water purchase.

There is an in-ground booster station in this ditch line on U.S. 40 across from the Eagles building that could be replaced and help the county in providing the city with the water it needs.

Where to Buy and How Much

Vaughn talked how the city met with Martins Ferry officials on the prospects of purchasing groundwater from Ferry, and also talked with the county. He noted it was decided that Belmont County was the logical choice for a long-term solution to the water supply. However, that supply would not be available as a 100-percent backup of the city’s demands for another five years as the county is currently upgrading its system, replacing its plant and other key upgrades. Given last summer’s drought, the EPA doesn’t want the city to wait five years to find a 100-percent backup “The City has a current booster station installed in 2004 as a joint project with the county that could be a partial backup,” Vaughn said. “It could provide up to 325,000 gallons per day. The pump station could pump more, but that’s all the county’s system can provide. The city needs up to 600,000 (gallons) per day.” Vaughn noted that number will fall once the city gets meters installed to track the unmetered usage and then sets to work, with the help of offered assistance from the city of Martins Ferry’s water employees, to locate and repair the major leaks around town. That, coupled with a water audit, would give city leaders a better idea of how much water it actually needs. Another boost could come in getting an old county connection back online. Vaugh said there is an in-ground booster station the county used to use on U.S. 40 across from the Eagles building. That station could provide a max of 250 thousand gallons a day, adding up to 575 thousand. Vaugh did say there might be a grant available for that booster station and the price tag could come in less than $50,000. Councilwoman Linda Jordan inquired about the future of the water plant should the city opt to purchase bulk water. “In the long run the plant would be retired,” Vaughn said. “In its present form, it can’t continue much longer.” Council again meets Monday at 7:30 p.m. via teleconference. The city’s website will have the dial-in number and access code available so residents can call and listen in. Read the full article

[marketingcomcaio]

Is SEO Dead? (A Data-Driven Answer)

SEO has been changing drastically over the years.

In 2010, Google made 516 algorithm changes. That number increased to 1,653 in 2016 and to 3,234 in 2018. We don’t have data for the last couple of years, but still, you can bet that the number is continually going up.

With over 9 algorithm changes a day, it’s safe to say that it is no longer easy to manipulate or game Google.

So, is SEO dead?

Well, let’s look at the data and from there I’ll show you what you should do.

Is SEO dead?

Do you know how many searches take place on Google each day?

Roughly 5.6 billion searches per day.

That’s roughly 2 trillion searches each year.

Although that’s a lot of searches, there is also a lot of content being created.

There are roughly a billion blogs on the web.

There are so many blogs that you can find an excessive amount of content on most topics out there.

For example, if you look at the long-tail phrase, “what is digital marketing”, there are only 11,300 global searches a month but a whopping 665,000 pieces of content trying to answer that question.

In other words, the supply is much greater than the demand.

You’ll see even more of this for head terms. Just look at the phrase “banana”:

640,300 global searches seem like a high number but there are 880,000,000 million results. Sure, some of those results may not be on the food, banana, but still, that’s a lot of content compared to the search volume.

You can still find search phrases where there is more search volume than content but the trend is continually increasing in which content production is exceeding search demand.

On top of that, Google is turning into an answer engine in which they are answering people’s questions without them having to go to a website.

According to Dejan SEO, they saw CTRs drastically decrease once Google started answering questions. Just look at this weather search query:

Their clicks from weather-related queries went from 46% all the way down to 7%.

This trend has become so common that the percentage of traffic that Google drives to organic listings (SEO results) has been decreasing over time.

So, does this mean SEO is dead?

It’s actually the opposite.

SEO is not dead

With all of the data, how can that be the case?

First off, all marketing channels become statured over time. It’s just a question of when.

You can say the same thing about Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even email marketing.

Heck, just look at the image below. It was the first banner ad on the Internet.

Can you guess what company created that banner ad? It was ATT.

Of the people who saw it, 44% of them clicked on it. Now banner ads generate an average click-through rate of 0.5%.

That’s an enormous drop.

And, as I mentioned above, it’s with all channels. Just look at Instagram engagement rates:

It doesn’t matter if it is a sponsored post or an organic post, the trend on Instagram is that engagement is going down.

That’s why you are seeing people like Gary Vaynerchuk and Grant Cardone promoting their phone numbers all over Instagram.

That way they can communicate with their fans directly without having to deal with algorithms or platforms decreasing their engagement.

But even with those decreasing numbers, you are seeing sponsored posts on Instagram surging by 150%.

In other words, people are still spending money because they are seeing an ROI or generating enough value in their eyes.

And the same is happening with digital ad spending.

The numbers are on the rise because companies are generating an ROI.

So, how is SEO still not dead?

As I explained above, just because the metrics aren’t going in your favor doesn’t mean that a channel is dead.

Just look at my search traffic on NeilPatel.com.

Not only do I have to deal with Google’s algorithm like you, but my competition includes other marketers who know what I know… yet I am still able to grow my search traffic even with Google’s decreasing CTRs.

When you look at search as a whole (and I am not only talking about on Bing and Google as people also search on other sites and platforms as well) Google still dominates market share with a whopping 94%.

People still use Google and prefer them as their method of search. But what’s changed is how Google is being used.

It used to be where you would use platforms like Instagram for discovery and Google for commerce (purchasing).

The trend has switched over the years in which Instagram is being heavily used for commerce and Google is mainly used as a discovery engine.

Just look at this case study by Olay.

Olay sells products related to skincare. One of their products happens to reduce darkness under your eyes.

So, they used to push heavily on ads that sold their products directly.

But the moment they changed their ads to focus on education by teaching people how to reduce dark circles under their eyes instead of forcing people to buy their products, their ROI went through the roof.

By sending people to educational-based content first (and then selling through the content), they were able to increase click-throughs by 87%, decrease their cost per click by 30%, and increase conversions by 100%.

This is a prime example of how more people are using Google as a discovery engine first instead of a commerce engine.

SEO isn’t dying it is just changing

Now that you know that Google is shifting to a discovery engine (for both paid and organic listings), there are a few other things you need to know if you want to dominate the organic listings.

1: Google wants to rank sites you want to see

Their algorithm core focus isn’t backlinks or keyword density, or a specific SEO metric… the focus is on the user experience.

If a site has millions of backlinks but users hate it, the site won’t rank well in the long run.

Look at this case study of the “best grilled steaks.”

Rand Fishkin had all of his social followers do the following:

Within 70 minutes, the listing jumped to the top spot.

This is what I mean by user signals. You, the end-user, control how Google adjusts rankings.

2. People don’t just use Google. Google gathers data from everywhere.

Google knows you spend hours a day on your mobile device and hours on other sites and applications that aren’t controlled or owned by Google.

So, when they are figuring out what to rank and where to rank it, they aren’t just looking at their own dataset.

They crawl things like social media and use social signals to help them better improve their results.

For example, here is a case study on how Google is using social media for search discovery.

Even if you hate the social web, you need to use it more. Not only can it help with your site’s indexing but it can also help with brand building, which indirectly will help boost your rankings as well.

Here are some articles to follow to help boost your social media presence:

How to Gain 1,260 Instagram Followers per Week

16 Powerful Facebook Marketing Tips That Actually Work

The Complete Guide to Using Twitter to Grow Your Business

9 LinkedIn Marketing Tips

How to Hack YouTube

The Ultimate Guide to Pinterest Marketing

4 Principles of Successful Snapchat Marketing

3. Google loves brands

If you don’t believe me, just look at these quotes from Google’s ex-CEO and ex-head of webspam.

They both believe in brands.

As your brand grows, you’ll find that your rankings will climb as well.

You saw my search traffic stats earlier in the post, but here’s a breakdown of how many people found my site by searching for my name in the last 7 days.

And that number doesn’t even include the misspellings. You would be shocked at how many people spell my name as “niel” instead of “neil.”

Google loves brands. Heck, when you type in “men’s running shoes,” they even have Nike, Adidas, and Asics there.

Branded search volume is more correlated with rankings than links or domain authority.

If you want to build a brand, focus on the social media articles I linked to above and follow the brand building articles below:

How to Dominate Google

How to Increase Rankings Through Brand Mentions

How to Use SEO to Build Your Brand

The Future of SEO

If you are still struggling to build a brand, talk to one of my team members about our Digital PR.

4. Focus on a niche

Do you remember the old-school site About.com?

Over time, About.com tanked in terms of their Google rankings and the business was dying. There were a few reasons why:

The site didn’t focus on a single niche… it was about everything

The content was mediocre. They didn’t go in-depth but instead just kept things surface level.

They had too much content that no one cared to read.

They decided to rebrand as Dotdash and start niching down. So they took the content on About.com and split it into six specific vertical sites.

When doing this they found that a lot of the content didn’t fit into those 6 verticals or wasn’t up to their new quality standard. This caused them them delete roughly 900,000 articles.

From the data, you can see that they got much more traffic by splitting up their content into niched-down sites.

It was so successful that they took one of their new vertical sites and broke it down further into three niche sites. Here were the results:

This helped them grow their revenue by 140%.

If you want to do well in today’s world of SEO, focus on one niche. Google prefers topic-specific sites because that’s what you and everyone else loves.

Just think of it this way… would you rather read medical advice from About.com or WebMD?

WebMD of course.

Another thing they did

5. Future is personalization

Have you noticed that when you search on Google the results you see are different than the results of your friends?

It’s because Google is trying to personalize the results to you.

Not just on Google search but anywhere you use a Google device… from a smartphone to Google Home to even their autonomous cars.

With all of the data they are gathering, they are better suited to understand your preferences and then modify the results to that.

Just think of it this way: Every time you visit a place and you are carrying your mobile phone (especially if it is an Android device), Google may be able to potentially use that information to tailor results to you.

With your website, don’t try and show everyone the same message. If you personalize your experience to each and every user, you will be able to rank better in the long run as it will improve your user metrics.

A good example of this is on my blog.

Right when you land there, I let you pick the type of content you want to see and then the page adapts to your interest.

It’s actually the most clicked area on the blog, believe it or not.

Conclusion

SEO is not dead, it’s just changing.

Sure, click-through rates are going down and Google keeps adjusting its algorithm but that’s to be expected.

Google has made it so you can easily target your ideal customer through SEO or paid ads.

It used to be much more difficult before they came along. That’s why they are able to generate over 100 billion dollars a year in advertising revenue.

Don’t worry about things that aren’t in your control. Instead, start adapting or your traffic and business will be dead.

What do you think about the changing SEO landscape?

The post Is SEO Dead? (A Data-Driven Answer) appeared first on Neil Patel.

Is SEO Dead? (A Data-Driven Answer) Publicado primeiro em https://neilpatel.com

[jjpocketbook]

Is SEO Dead? (A Data-Driven Answer)

SEO has been changing drastically over the years.

In 2010, Google made 516 algorithm changes. That number increased to 1,653 in 2016 and to 3,234 in 2018. We don’t have data for the last couple of years, but still, you can bet that the number is continually going up.

With over 9 algorithm changes a day, it’s safe to say that it is no longer easy to manipulate or game Google.

So, is SEO dead?

Well, let’s look at the data and from there I’ll show you what you should do.

Is SEO dead?

Do you know how many searches take place on Google each day?

Roughly 5.6 billion searches per day.

That’s roughly 2 trillion searches each year.

Although that’s a lot of searches, there is also a lot of content being created.

There are roughly a billion blogs on the web.

There are so many blogs that you can find an excessive amount of content on most topics out there.

For example, if you look at the long-tail phrase, “what is digital marketing”, there are only 11,300 global searches a month but a whopping 665,000 pieces of content trying to answer that question.

In other words, the supply is much greater than the demand.

You’ll see even more of this for head terms. Just look at the phrase “banana”:

640,300 global searches seem like a high number but there are 880,000,000 million results. Sure, some of those results may not be on the food, banana, but still, that’s a lot of content compared to the search volume.

You can still find search phrases where there is more search volume than content but the trend is continually increasing in which content production is exceeding search demand.

On top of that, Google is turning into an answer engine in which they are answering people’s questions without them having to go to a website.

According to Dejan SEO, they saw CTRs drastically decrease once Google started answering questions. Just look at this weather search query:

Their clicks from weather-related queries went from 46% all the way down to 7%.

This trend has become so common that the percentage of traffic that Google drives to organic listings (SEO results) has been decreasing over time.

So, does this mean SEO is dead?

It’s actually the opposite.

SEO is not dead

With all of the data, how can that be the case?

First off, all marketing channels become statured over time. It’s just a question of when.

You can say the same thing about Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even email marketing.

Heck, just look at the image below. It was the first banner ad on the Internet.

Can you guess what company created that banner ad? It was ATT.

Of the people who saw it, 44% of them clicked on it. Now banner ads generate an average click-through rate of 0.5%.

That’s an enormous drop.

And, as I mentioned above, it’s with all channels. Just look at Instagram engagement rates:

It doesn’t matter if it is a sponsored post or an organic post, the trend on Instagram is that engagement is going down.

That’s why you are seeing people like Gary Vaynerchuk and Grant Cardone promoting their phone numbers all over Instagram.

That way they can communicate with their fans directly without having to deal with algorithms or platforms decreasing their engagement.

But even with those decreasing numbers, you are seeing sponsored posts on Instagram surging by 150%.

In other words, people are still spending money because they are seeing an ROI or generating enough value in their eyes.

And the same is happening with digital ad spending.

The numbers are on the rise because companies are generating an ROI.

So, how is SEO still not dead?

As I explained above, just because the metrics aren’t going in your favor doesn’t mean that a channel is dead.

Just look at my search traffic on NeilPatel.com.

Not only do I have to deal with Google’s algorithm like you, but my competition includes other marketers who know what I know… yet I am still able to grow my search traffic even with Google’s decreasing CTRs.

When you look at search as a whole (and I am not only talking about on Bing and Google as people also search on other sites and platforms as well) Google still dominates market share with a whopping 94%.

People still use Google and prefer them as their method of search. But what’s changed is how Google is being used.

It used to be where you would use platforms like Instagram for discovery and Google for commerce (purchasing).

The trend has switched over the years in which Instagram is being heavily used for commerce and Google is mainly used as a discovery engine.

Just look at this case study by Olay.

Olay sells products related to skincare. One of their products happens to reduce darkness under your eyes.

So, they used to push heavily on ads that sold their products directly.

But the moment they changed their ads to focus on education by teaching people how to reduce dark circles under their eyes instead of forcing people to buy their products, their ROI went through the roof.

By sending people to educational-based content first (and then selling through the content), they were able to increase click-throughs by 87%, decrease their cost per click by 30%, and increase conversions by 100%.

This is a prime example of how more people are using Google as a discovery engine first instead of a commerce engine.

SEO isn’t dying it is just changing

Now that you know that Google is shifting to a discovery engine (for both paid and organic listings), there are a few other things you need to know if you want to dominate the organic listings.

1: Google wants to rank sites you want to see

Their algorithm core focus isn’t backlinks or keyword density, or a specific SEO metric… the focus is on the user experience.

If a site has millions of backlinks but users hate it, the site won’t rank well in the long run.

Look at this case study of the “best grilled steaks.”

Rand Fishkin had all of his social followers do the following:

Within 70 minutes, the listing jumped to the top spot.

This is what I mean by user signals. You, the end-user, control how Google adjusts rankings.

2. People don’t just use Google. Google gathers data from everywhere.

Google knows you spend hours a day on your mobile device and hours on other sites and applications that aren’t controlled or owned by Google.

So, when they are figuring out what to rank and where to rank it, they aren’t just looking at their own dataset.

They crawl things like social media and use social signals to help them better improve their results.

For example, here is a case study on how Google is using social media for search discovery.

Even if you hate the social web, you need to use it more. Not only can it help with your site’s indexing but it can also help with brand building, which indirectly will help boost your rankings as well.

Here are some articles to follow to help boost your social media presence:

How to Gain 1,260 Instagram Followers per Week

16 Powerful Facebook Marketing Tips That Actually Work

The Complete Guide to Using Twitter to Grow Your Business

9 LinkedIn Marketing Tips

How to Hack YouTube

The Ultimate Guide to Pinterest Marketing

4 Principles of Successful Snapchat Marketing

3. Google loves brands

If you don’t believe me, just look at these quotes from Google’s ex-CEO and ex-head of webspam.

They both believe in brands.

As your brand grows, you’ll find that your rankings will climb as well.

You saw my search traffic stats earlier in the post, but here’s a breakdown of how many people found my site by searching for my name in the last 7 days.

And that number doesn’t even include the misspellings. You would be shocked at how many people spell my name as “niel” instead of “neil.”

Google loves brands. Heck, when you type in “men’s running shoes,” they even have Nike, Adidas, and Asics there.

Branded search volume is more correlated with rankings than links or domain authority.

If you want to build a brand, focus on the social media articles I linked to above and follow the brand building articles below:

How to Dominate Google

How to Increase Rankings Through Brand Mentions

How to Use SEO to Build Your Brand

The Future of SEO

If you are still struggling to build a brand, talk to one of my team members about our Digital PR.

4. Focus on a niche

Do you remember the old-school site About.com?

Over time, About.com tanked in terms of their Google rankings and the business was dying. There were a few reasons why:

The site didn’t focus on a single niche… it was about everything

The content was mediocre. They didn’t go in-depth but instead just kept things surface level.

They had too much content that no one cared to read.

They decided to rebrand as Dotdash and start niching down. So they took the content on About.com and split it into six specific vertical sites.

When doing this they found that a lot of the content didn’t fit into those 6 verticals or wasn’t up to their new quality standard. This caused them them delete roughly 900,000 articles.

From the data, you can see that they got much more traffic by splitting up their content into niched-down sites.

It was so successful that they took one of their new vertical sites and broke it down further into three niche sites. Here were the results:

This helped them grow their revenue by 140%.

If you want to do well in today’s world of SEO, focus on one niche. Google prefers topic-specific sites because that’s what you and everyone else loves.

Just think of it this way… would you rather read medical advice from About.com or WebMD?

WebMD of course.

Another thing they did

5. Future is personalization

Have you noticed that when you search on Google the results you see are different than the results of your friends?

It’s because Google is trying to personalize the results to you.

Not just on Google search but anywhere you use a Google device… from a smartphone to Google Home to even their autonomous cars.

With all of the data they are gathering, they are better suited to understand your preferences and then modify the results to that.

Just think of it this way: Every time you visit a place and you are carrying your mobile phone (especially if it is an Android device), Google may be able to potentially use that information to tailor results to you.

With your website, don’t try and show everyone the same message. If you personalize your experience to each and every user, you will be able to rank better in the long run as it will improve your user metrics.

A good example of this is on my blog.

Right when you land there, I let you pick the type of content you want to see and then the page adapts to your interest.

It’s actually the most clicked area on the blog, believe it or not.

Conclusion

SEO is not dead, it’s just changing.

Sure, click-through rates are going down and Google keeps adjusting its algorithm but that’s to be expected.

Google has made it so you can easily target your ideal customer through SEO or paid ads.

It used to be much more difficult before they came along. That’s why they are able to generate over 100 billion dollars a year in advertising revenue.

Don’t worry about things that aren’t in your control. Instead, start adapting or your traffic and business will be dead.

What do you think about the changing SEO landscape?

The post Is SEO Dead? (A Data-Driven Answer) appeared first on Neil Patel.

Original content source: https://neilpatel.com/blog/seo-dead/ via https://neilpatel.com

The original post, Is SEO Dead? (A Data-Driven Answer), has been shared from https://imtrainingparadise.wordpress.com/2020/01/21/is-seo-dead-a-data-driven-answer/ via https://imtrainingparadise.wordpress.com

[jimmyjohnsmnm]

Is SEO Dead? (A Data-Driven Answer)

SEO has been changing drastically over the years.

In 2010, Google made 516 algorithm changes. That number increased to 1,653 in 2016 and to 3,234 in 2018. We don’t have data for the last couple of years, but still, you can bet that the number is continually going up.

With over 9 algorithm changes a day, it’s safe to say that it is no longer easy to manipulate or game Google.

So, is SEO dead?

Well, let’s look at the data and from there I’ll show you what you should do.

Is SEO dead?

Do you know how many searches take place on Google each day?

Roughly 5.6 billion searches per day.

That’s roughly 2 trillion searches each year.

Although that’s a lot of searches, there is also a lot of content being created.

There are roughly a billion blogs on the web.

There are so many blogs that you can find an excessive amount of content on most topics out there.

For example, if you look at the long-tail phrase, “what is digital marketing”, there are only 11,300 global searches a month but a whopping 665,000 pieces of content trying to answer that question.

In other words, the supply is much greater than the demand.

You’ll see even more of this for head terms. Just look at the phrase “banana”:

640,300 global searches seem like a high number but there are 880,000,000 million results. Sure, some of those results may not be on the food, banana, but still, that’s a lot of content compared to the search volume.

You can still find search phrases where there is more search volume than content but the trend is continually increasing in which content production is exceeding search demand.

On top of that, Google is turning into an answer engine in which they are answering people’s questions without them having to go to a website.

According to Dejan SEO, they saw CTRs drastically decrease once Google started answering questions. Just look at this weather search query:

Their clicks from weather-related queries went from 46% all the way down to 7%.

This trend has become so common that the percentage of traffic that Google drives to organic listings (SEO results) has been decreasing over time.

So, does this mean SEO is dead?

It’s actually the opposite.

SEO is not dead

With all of the data, how can that be the case?

First off, all marketing channels become statured over time. It’s just a question of when.

You can say the same thing about Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even email marketing.

Heck, just look at the image below. It was the first banner ad on the Internet.

Can you guess what company created that banner ad? It was ATT.

Of the people who saw it, 44% of them clicked on it. Now banner ads generate an average click-through rate of 0.5%.

That’s an enormous drop.

And, as I mentioned above, it’s with all channels. Just look at Instagram engagement rates:

It doesn’t matter if it is a sponsored post or an organic post, the trend on Instagram is that engagement is going down.

That’s why you are seeing people like Gary Vaynerchuk and Grant Cardone promoting their phone numbers all over Instagram.

That way they can communicate with their fans directly without having to deal with algorithms or platforms decreasing their engagement.

But even with those decreasing numbers, you are seeing sponsored posts on Instagram surging by 150%.

In other words, people are still spending money because they are seeing an ROI or generating enough value in their eyes.

And the same is happening with digital ad spending.

The numbers are on the rise because companies are generating an ROI.

So, how is SEO still not dead?

As I explained above, just because the metrics aren’t going in your favor doesn’t mean that a channel is dead.

Just look at my search traffic on NeilPatel.com.

Not only do I have to deal with Google’s algorithm like you, but my competition includes other marketers who know what I know… yet I am still able to grow my search traffic even with Google’s decreasing CTRs.

When you look at search as a whole (and I am not only talking about on Bing and Google as people also search on other sites and platforms as well) Google still dominates market share with a whopping 94%.

People still use Google and prefer them as their method of search. But what’s changed is how Google is being used.

It used to be where you would use platforms like Instagram for discovery and Google for commerce (purchasing).

The trend has switched over the years in which Instagram is being heavily used for commerce and Google is mainly used as a discovery engine.

Just look at this case study by Olay.

Olay sells products related to skincare. One of their products happens to reduce darkness under your eyes.

So, they used to push heavily on ads that sold their products directly.

But the moment they changed their ads to focus on education by teaching people how to reduce dark circles under their eyes instead of forcing people to buy their products, their ROI went through the roof.

By sending people to educational-based content first (and then selling through the content), they were able to increase click-throughs by 87%, decrease their cost per click by 30%, and increase conversions by 100%.

This is a prime example of how more people are using Google as a discovery engine first instead of a commerce engine.

SEO isn’t dying it is just changing

Now that you know that Google is shifting to a discovery engine (for both paid and organic listings), there are a few other things you need to know if you want to dominate the organic listings.

1: Google wants to rank sites you want to see

Their algorithm core focus isn’t backlinks or keyword density, or a specific SEO metric… the focus is on the user experience.

If a site has millions of backlinks but users hate it, the site won’t rank well in the long run.

Look at this case study of the “best grilled steaks.”

Rand Fishkin had all of his social followers do the following:

Within 70 minutes, the listing jumped to the top spot.

This is what I mean by user signals. You, the end-user, control how Google adjusts rankings.

2. People don’t just use Google. Google gathers data from everywhere.

Google knows you spend hours a day on your mobile device and hours on other sites and applications that aren’t controlled or owned by Google.

So, when they are figuring out what to rank and where to rank it, they aren’t just looking at their own dataset.

They crawl things like social media and use social signals to help them better improve their results.

For example, here is a case study on how Google is using social media for search discovery.

Even if you hate the social web, you need to use it more. Not only can it help with your site’s indexing but it can also help with brand building, which indirectly will help boost your rankings as well.

Here are some articles to follow to help boost your social media presence:

How to Gain 1,260 Instagram Followers per Week

16 Powerful Facebook Marketing Tips That Actually Work

The Complete Guide to Using Twitter to Grow Your Business

9 LinkedIn Marketing Tips

How to Hack YouTube

The Ultimate Guide to Pinterest Marketing

4 Principles of Successful Snapchat Marketing

3. Google loves brands

If you don’t believe me, just look at these quotes from Google’s ex-CEO and ex-head of webspam.

They both believe in brands.

As your brand grows, you’ll find that your rankings will climb as well.

You saw my search traffic stats earlier in the post, but here’s a breakdown of how many people found my site by searching for my name in the last 7 days.

And that number doesn’t even include the misspellings. You would be shocked at how many people spell my name as “niel” instead of “neil.”

Google loves brands. Heck, when you type in “men’s running shoes,” they even have Nike, Adidas, and Asics there.

Branded search volume is more correlated with rankings than links or domain authority.

If you want to build a brand, focus on the social media articles I linked to above and follow the brand building articles below:

How to Dominate Google

How to Increase Rankings Through Brand Mentions

How to Use SEO to Build Your Brand

The Future of SEO

If you are still struggling to build a brand, talk to one of my team members about our Digital PR.

4. Focus on a niche

Do you remember the old-school site About.com?

Over time, About.com tanked in terms of their Google rankings and the business was dying. There were a few reasons why:

The site didn’t focus on a single niche… it was about everything

The content was mediocre. They didn’t go in-depth but instead just kept things surface level.

They had too much content that no one cared to read.

They decided to rebrand as Dotdash and start niching down. So they took the content on About.com and split it into six specific vertical sites.

When doing this they found that a lot of the content didn’t fit into those 6 verticals or wasn’t up to their new quality standard. This caused them them delete roughly 900,000 articles.

From the data, you can see that they got much more traffic by splitting up their content into niched-down sites.

It was so successful that they took one of their new vertical sites and broke it down further into three niche sites. Here were the results:

This helped them grow their revenue by 140%.

If you want to do well in today’s world of SEO, focus on one niche. Google prefers topic-specific sites because that’s what you and everyone else loves.

Just think of it this way… would you rather read medical advice from About.com or WebMD?

WebMD of course.

Another thing they did

5. Future is personalization

Have you noticed that when you search on Google the results you see are different than the results of your friends?

It’s because Google is trying to personalize the results to you.

Not just on Google search but anywhere you use a Google device… from a smartphone to Google Home to even their autonomous cars.

With all of the data they are gathering, they are better suited to understand your preferences and then modify the results to that.

Just think of it this way: Every time you visit a place and you are carrying your mobile phone (especially if it is an Android device), Google may be able to potentially use that information to tailor results to you.

With your website, don’t try and show everyone the same message. If you personalize your experience to each and every user, you will be able to rank better in the long run as it will improve your user metrics.

A good example of this is on my blog.

Right when you land there, I let you pick the type of content you want to see and then the page adapts to your interest.

It’s actually the most clicked area on the blog, believe it or not.

Conclusion

SEO is not dead, it’s just changing.

Sure, click-through rates are going down and Google keeps adjusting its algorithm but that’s to be expected.

Google has made it so you can easily target your ideal customer through SEO or paid ads.

It used to be much more difficult before they came along. That’s why they are able to generate over 100 billion dollars a year in advertising revenue.

Don’t worry about things that aren’t in your control. Instead, start adapting or your traffic and business will be dead.

What do you think about the changing SEO landscape?

The post Is SEO Dead? (A Data-Driven Answer) appeared first on Neil Patel.

Original content source: https://ift.tt/2qdL8ni via https://neilpatel.com The post, Is SEO Dead? (A Data-Driven Answer), has been shared from https://ift.tt/2G8TKBz via https://ift.tt/2r0Go64

[maisie445credits-blog]

How to get unlimited imvu credits no survey visit now

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[lettersfromtaiwan]

Five Days in Taipingshan, Sanxing / Dongshan, Dong’Ao, And Mingchi

In mid-July, EVA and I took some time off work for a long overdue summer holiday away from the seat and humidity of Taipei. Our destination was one of our favourite places in Taiwan: the Yilan delta, known up north as ‘Taipei’s backyard’. Our goal was to spend a few days in the Taipingshan area up in the mountains amongst the ferns, firs, sea of clouds, and cool breezes.  This is a long post so i’ve broken it down by day so readers can return to complete each section at their leisure.

DAY 1 - LUODONG TO CHILAN

Setting off from Nanggang Station amidst a pretty terrifying thunderstorm hammering the neighbourhood, we caught the Taroko Express to Luodong and arrived promptly about an hour later in the searing afternoon heat.  We hired a scooter and set off on 7丙 to the Ch’i-lan Forest Amusement Field (棲蘭森林遊樂區停車場) which sits roughly at the entrance to the Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area (太平山國家森林遊樂區).  The header image to this post was taken up the hill from Tiansongpi Train Station (天送埤火車站) looking back towards Sanxing (三星鄉).

Our bike for the trip, a Yamaha 125 cc which is basically the newer version of my own trusty steed back home ...

A little side story here and a note of caution. As we were riding up Highway 7 and we had noticed that watermelons seemed to be a local speciality, I casually remarked that “I don’t like watermelons” and that instant I was smacked harshly in the face by some hard bodied fly. My lesson learned, from that moment, like the Ancient Mariner, I made sure not to slander the local produce or wildlife anymore!

When we arrived at Ch’i-lan we checked in, walked a small trail up around the back of the resort for an hour (those interested can also visit one of CKS’ summer houses (蔣公行館) that sits in the resort behind the main building), and then set off to Tuchang Railway Museum. According to the Government website Tuchang was the unloading point for the Taipingshan logging industry ...

The gate of Taipingshan. Its name「Tuchang」-is a jargon in forestry which means the place where timber were unloaded and piled up. It used to be the starting point of forest railway. The parking lot next to it used to be the site for unloading timber. The old Tuchang Station is renovated and transformed into a memorial park of forest railway station including surrounding areas. A vintage locomotive carrying timber and a railway carriage are displayed here. Visitors can imagine their good old days from their well-kept appearances.

Not sure about that ‘good old days though given the extremely harsh and dangerous working conditions and the fact that the industry was based around despoiling the environment by stripping it of its oldest and largest trees. Nevertheless, as a train fan, it was nice to walk around the old engines and carriages ... 

Note the badge on the front of this passenger locomotive ... it’s marked as the Zhonghua Hao (中華號) type of train which probably was an early trendsetter in the fashion of Taiwanese trains having political and motivational names ...

The Tzu-Chiang Limited Express was so-named from a phrase in an address that Chiang Kai-shek, the former President of Republic of China (Taiwan), delivered to his countrymen on 26 October 1971 in response to United Nations Resolution 2758, in which he urged the country to "Respect the Homeland, Strengthen Self ("Tzu-Chiang"); Respond to Change without Fear." U.N. Resolution 2758 formally recognized Beijing as the government of "China" and de-recognized Taipei, at the same time revoking Taipei's U.N. membership. For this reason, the Tzu-Chiang is also sometimes referred to as the "Self-Strengthening Express".

The inclusion of all of China and Mongolia on the map likely dates the train back to the 1950s before Outer Mongolia regained its independence.

Nearby, tourists are advised about prohibited behaviour ...

... some of which were a little unclear so they provided a written explanation ...

Next to the station lies one of the tributaries which feeds the immense Langyan River basin that eventually empties out to the Pacific at Qīngshuǐ Gǎng Wěi (清水港尾). As you can see, a lot of work has been done to build a flood wall here, probably mainly because of the immense damage Typhoon Soudelor did in 2015 when over 1000mm of rainfall fell in the area, almost submerging the railway station building entirely.

That such power can emerge to turn a steadily flowing but small stream below into a raging destructive torrent should be of no surprise given that the entire Lanyang River valley was carved by such forces over several millennia. 

As the sun went down, we were bidden goodnight by these rather beautiful rays of light. In the Taiwanese mountains it gets dark (and cold) quickly so we popped back over the bridge and got to bed for an early start the next day...

DAY 2 - WANGYANGSHAN, CUIFENGHU, TAIPINGSHAN, JIANQING BUDAO, AND JIUZHIZE

Our plan for the day was to get up at 3:30am and ride up to Taipingshan, take a short break, then ride on to Cuifenghu (翠峰湖) and from there hike up to the Wangyangshan observation deck (望洋山觀日亭) for the sunrise.  We would then have all day to explore the area and get a fair amount of hiking in.

My first mistake was setting off at 4:10am. I actually hadn’t figured in the extra time it would take to get from Taipingshan to Wangyangshan. My second mistake was not bringing a heavy jacket and gloves. About thirty minutes up Taipinglin Road (太平林道) my hands were numb and EVA heroically loaned me her woollen hiking jacket on the logic that if she held on tightly behind me I would act as a wind buffer and we would both remain warm enough so that we wouldn’t fall off the edge of the mountain. I must admit, although I love mountain biking, doing a completely unfamiliar road in the cold, pitch black and with deer jumping out at me was not the most enjoyable part of the journey, and extremely tiring. Normally I would enjoy ascents because I could power up and around lots of hairpins but in this case it meant crawling along at 30~40 kph eyes fixed on the centre line and thanking the deities that we were the only ones on the road.  I was more than relieved when we got to Taipingshan at 5:15am and could stop for bathroom and rewarming.  This was the sight looking roughly south east ...

Sometimes the flash comes in handy ...

Literally a few minutes later dawn was breaking, and our hopes of seeing the sun rise over Wangyangshan dashed, especially when a local informed us it would take 40 minutes to get there ...

The main building at the base of the settlement, closed until normal people get up at a normal hour ...

After a break, and with the sun now rising steadily, we made our way along the road to Cuifenghu and Wangyangshan, taking only 30 minutes to get to our destination, followed by an easy 45 minute hike up to the Wangyangshan viewing platform, where this was the view (left to right) at about 7am ...

EVA takes some snaps too ...

Not sure what this is but my guess is a solar powered meteorological station ...

Sunlight glistens, reflecting on the morning dew ...

... and the green foliage contrasted nicely with the clear blue skies ...

... from the deck looking back at the trail ...

The following shots were taken on the path down from the Wangyangshan viewing platform. This has been a habit of mine recently as I’ve found not being distracted with photos is a better way to stay focused on a hike up a trail, conserving energy by keeping a steady pace rather than stopping all the time.

I really liked the combination of colours seen in these flowers growing amongst moss on bark ...

It’s a nice easy trail with great views along the way ...

“When wet this path is very slippery. Please be careful walking”

At the base of the WangYangShan Trail is a carpark that I only realised after I got back also doubled up as a helipad ...

Just around the corner from here is Cuifeng Lodge翠峰山屋, marking the end of the road and from whose raised platform the views are expansive ...

At the base of the lodge is the start of the 3 hour, 3.9 km National Beech Trail ...

Flora and fauna alike ...

Looking back at the lodge ...

Lots of these path steps with reinforced metal grate indicate how muddy and wet the path can get ...

Unfortunately, at about the 3.1km mark the sea of clouds was all around us and we decided to abandon the goal of completing the remaining 0.8 km, deciding instead to return to the lodge for a much needed lunch of fried rice, boiled vegetables, and fresh cold oranges ...

Next up, and very close by was a walk around part of Cuifenghu (翠峰湖) on one of the two Cuifeng Lake Circle Trails (翠峰湖環山步道). The lake is the highest situated in Taiwan and is entirely fed by rainwater, meaning that much of it drains to low levels outside of the rain season or absent any recent typhoons. We enjoined the trail up the side of the lake and walked to and from viewing platforms, the path again having originally been carved out for the logging industry.

It’s a well tended and solidly paved trail designed for a lot of foot traffic ...

Landslides and the bridges constructed over them bear witness to the ever active geology of the area ...

There’s even a short section where someone has planted flowers on either side ...

You can spy the lake through the trees along the way ...

And visit this cement and wood oil storage hut converted to an information centre about the lake. It had to be a cement hut on the inside to prevent freak fires from igniting the oil stored there ...

And then there’s three viewing platforms which give a full view of the lake ...

That took us about 1 hour there and back, meaning we had chalked up about 4.25 hours hiking in the day thus far. With a warming afternoon sun shining down through fluffy white clouds and blue skies, we rode back to Taipingshan to visit the settlement there. Remember the first picture I took at dusk? Here’s more or less the same view at about 2pm in the afternoon ...

Taipingshan Village is now one of Taiwan’s premier tourist attractions but it was once one of the main logging stations on the East coast. This government website gives a brief overview of how the site was established for the industry. The village consists of one tree lined street rising sharply up the mountain to a temple at the end, with former logging buildings placed on either side, some now converted to shops an cafes. There was also a tourist railway but that was not open when we visited.

The view looking down from the temple ...

This sign shows that we only briefly glimpsed the area, with numerous trails yet to explore ...

Having rested up, it was getting late in the afternoon so we decided on two more stops before heading back to the Chi’lan resort for the night. First up was Jianqing Historic Trail (見晴步道):

At Jancing, you can see the gorgeous views of Yilan Plain in the east and Holy Ridgeline in the west at the same time in good weather condition. As to Jancing Historic Trail, it was built on part of the old「Forest Railway- Jancing Line」 and the total length is 2.35 km. However, due to the landslide, only 0.9 km is accessible to visitors.  The old「Forest Railway- Jancing Line」is about 5.5 km, it still retains the natural beauty and historical heritages along the railway as decades ago. Nowadays, you will see the railway tracks, wooden log cart and bogies on the trail, which can invoke the memory of old logging business.

Sadly, the sea of clouds had once again stymied any chance of amazing panoramic views but the trail itself was very atmospheric in the fog and an interesting walk ...

The entrance to the 900m trail ...

... and then you simply follow the path of the railway tracks ...

In places, you can see room has been made for two parallel tracks to allow switching of engines ...

Probably what Jianqing is most famous for are the three sections of still roughly preserved railway that span across edges of the mountainside ...

... and the bridges ...

And then, rather abruptly, the trail comes to an end. As the sign below explains, the original line was an incredible 5.5km long and from this a 2.35km trail was repurposed but a typhoon in 2013 resulted in damage too costly to repair so we were agonisingly left with only 900m. 

Since it was getting late, we headed off back down Taipinglin Road (太平林道) stopping off briefly at Zhongjian Visitor Centre (中間遊客中心) ...

It may seem counterintuitive but going down is always a more tiring process than going up, whether it is hiking, motorbiking, or flying. The reason is that gravity is a harsh and unrelenting mistress who instantly punishes any disrespect shown to her.  After forty minutes of constant hairpins on a slope that varied wildly between 1:20 and 1:10 and sore from constant braking (whilst praying the big bike and SUV racers didn’t slam into us from behind) I’d had about enough mountains for the entire day, if not the holiday. I was quite relieved then when we finally rolled into Jioujhihze Hot Spring for our last stop of the day. I don’t have any pictures here because I was too busy lying in the hot and cold pools to take any but I will say it now ranks in my top 3 of Taiwan’s natural outdoor hot spring spa resorts because it featured a) clean changing rooms with free spin drying machine b) properly paved pool area with gentle slope so no stubbing toes on jagged rocks c) reasonably and sufficiently cold cool pool and likewise the hot pool was entirely refreshing d) a nice view in the evening, and e) cheap. I will also say that it looked like Fred Flintstone had been called into life and consulted on the design. If anything you should visit just to try out the rock pools, by which I mean pools carved into single standing rocks. It was all in all just what we needed after an exceptionally long day that featured hours of mountain driving and well over 6 hours of hiking. 

Below - Information boards at the hot spring spa resort highlight the attractions in the area (apologies: photos taken at sunset).

DAY 3 - SANXING / DONGSHAN

The next day we were up early-ish again with a mission to do a 3~4 hour easy gradient hike up to the Geba Waterfall, followed by exploring the farmlands of Sanxing ...

After breakfast at Chi’lan, as we sauntered back to our bike there was a brief commotion outside the main entrance. Turns out some of the local residents had sniffed out the day’s delivery of fresh fruit ...

I took the opportunity of the clear morning light to get some shots of the (mock Tudor - why?) resort and the surrounding valley ...

Those rows of green on the river bed floor? They’re watermelon farms, a speciality of the area. With a typhoon bearing down on us as I type I wonder if the farmers have harvested all that (weighty) fruit and how much will be lost if and when the river swells to a flooding torrent. The truck you see crossing the bridge in the bottom picture is carrying vegetables and fruit from the farming valleys in Lishan high in the mountains. The trucks thunder along the road daily. Here’s one resting up across from the indigenous village that sits at the base of the trail to the waterfall ...

It’s a charming little village with very friendly people and their even more affectionate pets (one small cute puppy adopted EVA as his new mother on sight) ...

Before you get to the trail head, you walk along Ecological Park (九寮溪生態園區) which itself is very nicely maintained ...

Alas ... as can be seen above the trail was gated off and closed for repairs. Only later, after we had given up and were taking a break with drinks and nibbles in a restaurant at the village were we told that the repairs didn’t mean the trial is impassable. We plan to return to complete this trail in November (and at the same time check out the Fushan Botanical Garden (福山植物園) which requires booking one month in advance). Despite this blow, we enjoyed the walk through the ecological park around the river, although the bright sun and heat, even in the morning was relentlessly intense ...

With our plan for the day up in the air, we quickly decided to check out another waterfall on the south east side of the Yilan delta, the Xinliao Falls (新寮瀑布) near Dongshan Township ...

The trail up to the falls is an easy 900m walk along the river and it’s a popular tourist location so it was quite busy despite the heat ...

There’s a viewing platform from which to see the entire fall and the pool below it ...

Although the path down to the water is ‘closed’, this did not prevent many people, us included, from jumping in and the clear waters were cold but intensely relieving to sit in after a hot, dusty hour riding the farmland roads ...

A group of school kids wade in the water alongside us ...

Refreshed, we briefly checked out the nearby Ren Shan Botanical Garden (仁山植物園) but since we were tired we declined the effort to walk up around it (it’s on the side of the mountain) ...

I never realised when I came to Taiwan that it had such an abundance of endemic species including monkeys, bears, leopard cats, pangolins, dolphins, and butterflies. 

By now it was getting to be late afternoon so we decided to head back to Sanxing and check out a museum dedicated to its most famous agricultural product: the scallion ...

It’s amazing the variety of products in the museum shop that the scallion was adapted into. We bought scallion pepper and rode off for dinner in Luodong through the sun setting on the rice and scallion fields ...

Below is where we booked our stay for the night, a delightful old Qing style three-sided farm house converted to a B&B ...

DAY 4 - KAYAKING IN DONG’AO

Having oriented ourselves the night before, we set off at about 7:30am for the small cove town of Dong’ao where we had booked a sea kayaking excursion. The road to Su’ao (over 2/3rds of the total distance) was flat and took about half an hour and then the rest of the time was spent on the visually dramatic, intensely overly used, and poorly paved, Up-N-Over the mountains on Highway 2 to our meeting point at Dong’ao Train Station (it took us exactly 1 hr 5 mins)...

We had chosen the 9am start time which in retrospect was a bit of a mistake since that was probably the busiest time as there were about forty to fifty people in our group. Thankfully the weather was clear and the seas fairly calm. 

Here’s the beach, from left to right looking East at the gleaming Pacific Ocean ...

As is the case with many of the beaches on the East Coast of Taiwan, some parts are sandy but the default tends to be small stones which turn into burning rocks under the midday sun ...

Unfortunately, it turns out that an earlier group had gone out and been battered by winds and were unable to return in time and thus we were short on kit, thereby necessitating a motor boat to go out and tow them back up the coast, and so we had to wait on the beach in the burning sun for over an hour watching other groups take to the water and leave us behind (we were split into four groups).  Finally, the company decided to put us on the back of the truck and drive us up the bay for a starting point closer to where we would be kayaking, thereby reducing our time paddling out there (and the time we had rightly paid for!). Here EVA gets ready to board our inflatable speedy kayak ...

And then, finally, we were off! ...

The view of the bay and the mountains behind it from the water was spectacular ...

There’s a little shallow cove that we paddled too which features a small cave ... 

Some people swam into the refreshing, clear waters, and we took group photos of all the kayaks strung together whilst we played around trying to stand up and balance each other.

One of our two guides. The clever people cover themselves from head to toe because it takes about 10 minutes on the water to start burning ...

This prominent solitary rock at the entrance to the cove struck me as having curiously anthropomorphic features ...

And then, it was time to go back to the shore. Good fun but limited in variation. The company do offer trips out to more dramatic coves further away and dawn and dusk trips. maybe we’ll try that next time or kayak somewhere else. It certainly seems to be a holiday activity that rising in popularity in Taiwan recently.

Back on the hot beach and soaked in sea water having failed to make a competent shore landing without falling in the surf, we decided that the next destination should be Dong’ao’s famouse natural cold springs about 5 minutes bike ride from the Train Station. I didn’t take pictures there but there’s lots online about it . Three things made this location memorable. Firstly, although it sounds a bit industrial, the railway bridges over the cold springs are an ideal place for the train spotter to watch all the different locomotives shuttle between Yilan and Hualien, from local slow trains to the new Taroko and Puyuma Expresses. Secondly, thankfully there are a number of stalls selling food one of which was a lady doing BBQ Taiwanese sausage that hit exactly the right spot after hours on the beach and sea.  Finally, a note about the water. It really is cold, and by cold I mean take your breath away icy. I cleaned my sunglasses in it and they remained frosted for about ten minutes after I took them out of the water. I wouldn’t recommend just diving in, unless of course you like shocks to the system. I’ve been in many cold pools (including nearby Su’ao) in my time in Taiwan and this was pretty much the coldest. It made the Xinliao falls feel like a hot spring. All that said, my god was it refreshing. Final note. the cold springs are a major Taiwanese tourist spot so come ready to share the place with the screaming hordes ...

Sated and comfortable again, we headed back up Highway 2, stopping to take pictures of the stunning panorama’s along the coast ...

See those rocks jutting out? That marks the busy ports of Nan’ao and Su’ao from where you can even see Turtle Island in the distance ...

Finally, we rode back to Luodong and met up with our CouchSurfing hosts who showed us their favourite local vegetarian restaurant (we had actually been there the night before also but the food was so good we were happy to eat there again) and then they took us out to the beach to hang out with their friends around a beach fire under the stars and a flaming huge moon. A perfect end to a long but stimulating day.

DAY 5 - MINGCHI AND HOME

Since we wanted to get back home with enough time to unpack and relax, we decided on only two activities on our final half day in Yilan, a visit to the Atayal Life Museum (泰雅生活館) very close to the Geba Waterfall and an exploration nearby (ish) to find a natural hot spring we had learned about.  The Museum was well constructed and almost entirely empty so we sauntered around at our leisure ...

The information boards below detail both the various indigenous groups in Taiwan as well as research showing that Taiwanese indigenous groups may have been the origination of a group of peoples who later colonised a vast area of Austronesia stretching from Sri Lanka to East Island. A short note here. It is an egregious and widespread error to use the term ‘Austronesian People’, one that I often see on blogs and in media. The term ‘Austronesian’ refers to a language group whereby ethnographers and anthropologists found linguistic commonalities between diverse groups of people across this area, suggesting a possible shared language root or origin thousands of years before. In the time that has passed, different groups of people such as the New Zealand Maoris, Australian indigenous, and Taiwanese first nations have developed their own specific languages, cultures, customs. Inside Taiwan alone, there are at least fourteen different languages, many of which are mutually unintelligible. There’s no such thing as an ‘Austronesian people’ today.  

Atayal house construction and model examples ...

This was the section where people could dress in traditional Atayal clothing and have pictures taken. We declined to participate. (We did however make some bead keychains, which now adorn my key bag.)

The Atayal are perhaps the largest and most geographically widespread of Taiwan’s indigenous groups and there’s also a museum dedicated to them in Wulai that’s also very instructive. 

After this, we drove up the valley to the Fan Fan natural hot spring but after arriving and not being sure hoe exactly to get to them, we abandoned that idea and instead went to another known hot spring location nearby where Highway 7 meets with 7甲.  To get there, turn off 7甲 up Highway 7 and almost immediately you see this little temple and turning off to the left ...

Turn down that steep rough concete road until to you come to a suspension bridge where you park up and walk from there ...

Walk along the path through the orchards ...

At this point, take the small path to the right ...

... and down to the river bed ...

The hot spring we found out was broken and all that remains is one small scalding murky pool next to a glistening, cool, fast moving, mountain river. Here’s EVA enjoys the hot spring ...

There weren’t too many people there and the river was perfect for cooling down ...

And then, after lunch of fried rice and greens cooked by an Atayal chef and former policeman at a roadside stop erected to sell watermelons, and infested with flies, we drove back to Luoding and were lucky enough to catch the cheap, fast local train that only took 1.5 hrs back to Nanggang. On the train home we were treated to amazing views like this below ... 

... but sadly also this twenty-something floor monstrosity ...

Whoever green lighted that, thereby blighting the Tucheng and the North Yilan coastline, should be made to spend the next twenty years cleaning chewing gum off the streets with a blunt spoon.

All in all a great holiday with plenty of other places left still to visit.

[lightningenergy]

@lightningenergy​ and @codyscommandpost​ proudly present:

Operation Cloudburst, a Pokémon Fan-Fiction

Disclaimer: Pokémon is copyright its original owners. The authors only own the plot and original characters. Any representation of real persons, dead or alive, is purely coincidental unless it makes a damn good reference.

Chapter 7 - “An Unlikely Ally? International Police Agent Looker!”

“Why are we running?!” Smidge yelled over the din of the engine. He, May, and Manya had escaped from the Shadow Pokémon Lab in a rush and were now making their getaway in Miss Birdie. But Smidge apparently objected to this idea.

“We should go back ‘n clean that place up!” He protested, eyes wide in disbelief at May shaking her head.

“We hardly have the manpower for that right now,” She countered. “And sit down.” She pushed down on Smidge’s shoulders to prevent him from flying out of the cargo bed. “But you’re welcome to go back if you want.”

Smidge stared out towards the Lab, vanishing over the horizon behind him. His shadowed eyes glared at May before turning away from her, arms crossed.

Rolling her eyes, May addressed Manya, “Where are we headed?”

“To a hideout of our own,” She replied rather mysteriously, and would not elaborate when pressed. “Just keep an eye out, I’m heading straight for it.”

“Oh good,” said Smidge, his voice filled with irony. “Then Abyss’ll know right where to find us.”

At that, Manya jostled the bike, just enough to almost toss Smidge out onto the ground. She smirked at May over her shoulder before returning her attention back up front.

They traveled east for roughly a quarter-hour before something appeared on the horizon ahead. It wasn’t immediately discernable, but it certainly appeared ominous at first glance. May couldn’t help but imagine that whatever they were heading towards almost certainly didn’t belong in a desert at all.

As they rode towards the structure and it came more clearly into view, May could see what it was: a massive streamliner ship, partly submerged in an ocean of sand. It had clearly been here for years, as evidenced by peeling, faded paint and massive patches of rust here and there.

“How did this end up here?” May asked, staring up at the wreck as they all climbed off Miss Birdy.

“Would you believe it?” Manya smirked. “A giant Pokémon picked it up and dropped it here.”

“You’re kidding.”

Manya shrugged, manually guiding her motorbike towards a gaping, jagged hole in the ship’s hull. “It’s what people say, anyways.”

May glanced back at Smidge. The boy was clearly attempting to appear unimpressed, but his face reflected something like fearful reverence. He might be too young to have heard the story, regardless of its historical accuracy.

They followed Manya into the crevice. Scavengers had gradually cleared out whatever was inside, leaving little behind except sand and broken containers. It was much cooler here due to all the shade, but the air was still dry with a lingering stale smell.

Manya noticed May wrinkling her nose and smiled. “Yeah, I know it stinks, but it’s better than constantly having Abyss on our asses.”

“I’ll manage,” shrugged May, sitting on a long-buried steel crate. It was preferable to have a place to hide out in, to plan and regroup without the stress and panic of doing it on the run. She wondered what her dad would say about this situation. Knowing his training methods, he’d probably say something about it “building character”.

Smidge set himself down onto the sandy ground. Manya had rolled out a tarp with some tools to tinker with her motorbike. Understandable, May thought. Can’t have our transportation breaking on us.

They sat in relative silence for a while, the only sounds being the metallic clinking of Manya’s work and the wind howling outside. It was rather peaceful… at least until May’s acknowledgement of it being such triggered an unexpected boost of adrenaline.

Then she found herself having difficulty drawing breath. Combined with her heart rate increasing and stomach tightening, it felt as though her entire torso had collapsed in on itself. Feeling light-headed and unreasonably terrified, she stood up and started running, stumbling as her feet hit sand.

Manya called out after her, but May didn’t hear it. She was acting automatically, out of impulsive fear and self-preservation. She didn’t stop until she found herself in the long-abandoned control room. Thoughts flashed into her head, disappearing as quickly as they came. They burst open like fireworks: I can’t do this, I can’t. I’m leading everyone into trouble. I have no idea what I’m doing, they’re going to kill us…

May curled up on the floor, knees up to her chest. Tears welled up in her eyes and she squeezed them shut, half-wishing the burning sensation would envelope her entirely and leave nothing behind. “What was I thinking…?!”

A metallic creak shot through the room, and May glanced up to see Manya walking in. May said nothing in acknowledgement, choosing instead to wipe her face on her sleeve. She could tell without looking that her friend was standing over her, perhaps carefully measuring what to say.

Manya lowered herself onto the floor, sitting with her legs crossed. Gazing at May’s scrunched-up form, she asked, “D’you want to talk about it?”

May lifted her head up, blinking her red and irritated eyes in confusion. “What?” She croaked, a side effect of her throat drying out. “No reprimand for not keeping myself together?”

“I hardly think that’s what you need right now.”

They stared at each other for a moment. Even in her current emotional state, May had a rush of gratitude and respect for Manya maintaining a calm and level attitude. Shudders racked her body, and without any further restraint May burst into frustrated tears. Her thoughts tumbled out of her mouth: how she was frustrated with the expectations placed on her shoulders, afraid of making a mistake and endangering people when she was supposed to save them.

She paused, taking rasping breaths, when she felt herself being pulled into Manya’s arms. The unexpected embrace slightly jolted May out of her breakdown, at least enough to rub the tears out of her eyes. Brief waves of distress crashed against her heart, but a miniscule voice in the back of May’s head was telling her, Manya’s right here, you’re going to get through this. She forced herself to take a slow, deep breath, focusing on the sensation of the dry, dusty air filling her lungs before exhaling.

The two girls remained there for a while, Manya’s arms wrapped securely around May’s torso. May tried her best to focus on breathing, acutely aware that her heart rate wasn’t decreasing. Manya hadn’t spoken since May’s outburst, though May simply wanted her mood to stabilize first before attempting a conversation.

“Bet that feels better, huh?” whispered Manya.

May responded with a small nod and a sniff. What she wouldn’t give to stay here forever and not have to worry about anything anymore… And yet she knew that, after all her previous adventuring, she wasn’t the kind of person to just call things quits when it got tough… She would get through this.

Manya released her grip and May rubbed her eyes dry one last time. “Thanks, Manya,” She said, gazing into her friend’s face. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Manya said, waving away her concerns. “I’m glad you’re doing better.” She stood up, dusting the sand off her skirt. “You’re not a superhero, y’know… there’s gonna be things even you can’t do alone.”

May wanted to respond that Manya wasn’t the one wearing a Snag Machine on her wrist but thought better of it. She nodded instead and pulled herself upright, her legs screaming in protest as they stretched out. Her head still felt swollen after her emotional release, with the arid desert air doing no additional favors.

“That said,” May said, as they made their way back to the ground level (given that she was in the middle of an anxiety attack the last time she came through here, everything looked so alien to her). “I wouldn’t say no to a little extra help.”

“Hmm…” Manya gazed out at nothing in particular, pondering that statement. “Well, I don’t think it’d be a good idea to have too many people in on what we’re doing… but maybe…”

“Maybe what?”

Manya wasn’t able to answer: the moment their feet touched the sandy ground, Smidge came running up to them, his face a mixture of confusion and anger. “The heck did you go?” He snapped.

“None of your business,” Manya shot back. May inwardly thanked her for not divulging her breakdown before addressing their miniscule companion.

“What’s going on, Smidge?”

The boy pointed out towards the crevice in the ship’s hull. “I think there’s someone skulkin’ around out there. I keep hearin’ footsteps and coughing.”

They all stared out past the hole, watching a giant dust cloud swirl around in the breeze. May strained her ears and, as Smidge had said, could detect faint sounds of movement. Her heart skipped a beat: could they have been followed from the Shadow Pokémon Lab? She had tried to keep an eye out as best she could during their escape, but hadn’t noticed anything…

“What d’ya think?” She asked Manya, lowering her voice to a whisper.

“I doubt anyone with Abyss would be clumsy enough to let us hear them,” Manya murmured back, her eyes still focused on the billowing sand. “But who’d be stupid enough to come out here?”

“Us,” Smidge grumbled, but his remark went unheard as the girls’ attention became fully focused on a dark shape that had appeared in the midst of the dust cloud. It had to be a person —it became more identifiable as it advanced towards them — but were they a friendly? Or someone less desirable?

Three hands grasped three Poké Balls as May, Manya, and Smidge all waited with bated breath. The shadow was steadily growing larger and more defined, and each step it took was echoed with a heartbeat in their chests.

Then a tall man strode out of the dust, stepping with purpose and intent. He appeared very professional, with a well-worn but cared for trench coat over a deep brown suit. Wide brown eyes gazed out at the trio, a deep frown and arched eyebrow creasing his long face. It was quite an impressive entrance… at least until he doubled over, coughing violently.

“Cough!! Hack!! … Ergh. That was quite unpleasant.” The man straightened up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “My apologies for having you witness that,” He added, addressing the three Trainers staring bemusedly. “But it seems that, despite being the very picture of health, I had inhaled a large amount of sand.”

“Who the heck’s this guy?” wondered aloud Smidge to no one in particular, looking torn between outright confusion and breaking into laughter.

“Curious about my identity, are we?” asked the man, not even bothering to conceal a satisfied smile. “Then I shall indulge you… My name is —” He shook his head and raised a hand in forgiveness. “No, my codename! It is Looker, and I ask that you refer to me as such.”

“Codename?” repeated Manya, eyebrows raised. “Is Abyss handing out codenames now?”

“You think me as being with Abyss?” Looker shook his head and reached a hand into his coat. “My dear lady, I have come to stop Abyss.” He withdrew his hand, revealing a gold badge that glinted in the sunlight. “As you can clearly see, I, Looker, am a member of the International Police. I hope you all will review my credentials, and that they are satisfactory to you.”

May put away her Poké Ball and took the badge that Looker had offered. She had never heard of the International Police before, so she was rather skeptical of this Looker character (such a word certainly fit him). But the more she scrutinized his credentials, the more genuine they seemed. She handed the badge to Smidge (who passed it off to Manya without a glance) and turned her attention back to Looker.

“Okay, I have like a billion questions for you… first of all, how did the International Police know we’re here?”

Looker nodded, as if satisfied with May’s inquiry. “We have spies and informants all across the world, so that we may always be prepared to investigate what nefarious goings-on require investigating.”

“I have to admit,” said Manya, returning Looker’s badge to him. “That’s pretty impressive for how remote Orre is.”

“We do our best to live up to the name ‘international’.” The agent affirmed.

That answers my next question about how they discovered Abyss, May thought, so she moved on: “So now that you’re here, are you gonna send us all home to be the adult policeman who solves everything?”

Taken aback, Looker shook his head. “No, not at all. You see, as I have been abroad on multiple occasions, I have been privileged to witnessing such feats what young Trainers such as yourselves are capable of. And thus, I, Looker, have come before you to assist your endeavors in endangering the evil empire of Abyss.”

May could feel Manya and Smidge’s eyes on her, waiting to see what her decision would be. She was, at least, certain that Looker was truthful in his occupation. Maybe this was who they needed: an experienced adult with the authority to give weight to their actions against Abyss. Having Looker around might lessen her anxiety, too…

  “We’re glad to have your help, Mr. Looker,” She told him, hoping her smile came off as sincere.

“I am pleased to hear of your acceptance,” Looker replied with a nod. “But, please, there is no need to call me ‘mister’, as my codename is simply Looker.” He paused in thought. “Pardon me, for I have seemed not to be privy to your names.”

They all introduced themselves briefly, Looker nodding as they each gave their names. “Now then,” He continued, looking around at the three of them. “What, may I ask, is our next move?”

May and Manya exchanged glances. They had not yet breached that topic, with their most recent concerns having been escaping and passing an anxiety attack. “We, uh… we haven’t discussed that yet.” May explained.

“This shrimp might help,” said Manya, sneering down at Smidge with her arms crossed. “I have the feeling he knows more than he’s letting on, what with that little stunt he pulled before.”

“I don’t know squat, blondie.” Smidge huffed, and he flashed a rude hand gesture at Manya. “I jus’ thought it’d be funny —”

“Be honest, Smidge,” interrupted May, becoming more thankful by the minute that her brother was nothing like him. “At the very least you knew enough to have two Admins come after us.”

The boy didn’t answer, choosing instead to glower at her from under his bandanna. May crouched down to match his eye level. “Smidge,” she said, her voice level. “Please tell us what you know. You helped us get away, so I think you don’t want to be as involved with Abyss as we think you are.”

Smidge kicked the ground, the wheels of his skates spiraling from the motion. His eyes, flashing with indecision, darted from Manya to Looker before landing back onto May. Then, with a relenting sigh, he spoke. “Okay… I honestly know nothin’ ‘bout what Abyss is doin’… only thing I really do know is that they’ve settled in a lot of the same places Cipher did.”

“Cipher…” Lily had mentioned them earlier, only noting that they used to be active in Orre. May looked up at Manya, one hand tapping the screen of the Snag Machine. “D’you know where Cipher used to be?”

Manya stepped closer as the Snag Machine projected a map of Orre, much like when Allyson had sent a message before. Small icons of each landmark appeared to hover in place, suspended above their location. One icon, a simplified head and torso, seemed to be the marker for May’s position.

Smidge and Looker stood off to the side, wearing similar bemused expressions as Manya gazed around at the map, tapping two fingers against her lips. “Well,” She said finally, hands on her hips. “I will admit that I haven’t heard a lot about Cipher, but I think I know enough…” She pointed to an icon south of Mt. Battle, directly west of their current resting place. “That’s the lab we came from before, and Cipher used to be there… And this one here —” She jabbed a finger at a pyramid-shaped icon. “— was another of Cipher’s laboratories.”

“Pardon for the interruption,” interjected Looker. “But I caught up on briefings during my daring journey out here. It seems that Cipher’s laboratories were never examined by any law enforcement agency after they were defeated years ago. Thus, I would deduce that Abyss has taken advantage of such a fact and has taken up residence there.”

“Probably made it easy for them,” May said. “And if Cipher created Shadow Pokémon, all their research could have been there, too. Abyss wouldn’t have to work so hard to continue what Cipher started.”

She turned her attention back to the map again and noticed another icon not too far from they were situated. “What’s this?”

Manya stared at the icon, brow furrowed in thought. “We’re right near Eclo Canyon,” she murmured. “I think… I think that used to be a hideout for some thugs that were also running around Orre.”

“Team Snagem,” blurt out Smidge, and everyone turned towards him. He frowned around at them all before clarifying: “They were th’ ones who’d snag Pokémon for Cipher to experiment on… I overheard some scientists talking about it when I was at the lab wit’ ya.”

“Do you know if Snagem’s working with Abyss?” Manya asked.

Smidge shook his head. “Nah… I think at one point Snagem stopped workin’ with Cipher… at least from what I heard.”

Manya and May both gazed up at the icon of Snagem’s Hideout. Would it be worth checking out if Snagem would ally with us…? Even as she finished this thought, an all-too-familiar image of two costumed idiots and a talking Meowth flashed through her mind. That’d be a miracle of the century.

May tapped the Snag Machine screen again and the holographic display disappeared. “Let’s try and rest,” She announced. “We should stock up on supplies later. I… I need to do some thinking, so let’s not make any rash decisions.”

And before anyone could respond, May was already making her way back up to the control room, unconsciously rolling around Altaria’s Poké Ball in her hand, the pounding of her heart starting up again.

May stared down at the translucent top of her Poké Ball through the Aura Lenses. The Altaria was curled up inside, its head tucked under a fluffy wing. Inky, violet smoke drifted around the Pokémon, a foreboding reminder of May’s responsibility. The thought of it triggered a jolt of discomfort in her stomach, and with a heavy sigh she leaned back along the shattered control console.

The sun had begun dipping towards the horizon, and was currently at just the right position to illuminate the entire cabin. Holding the Poké Ball above her face, it almost seemed like May was holding the miniaturized Altaria in her hand without the manufactured capsule. How long had it been, she wondered, since the Altaria had experienced the sensation of a warm, gentle hand?

“It’s not really fair, is it?” May said aloud. “People telling you what they expect you to do, without any consideration for your feelings…” Memories of her neighbors back in Petalburg raced past her mind’s eye: We’re looking forward to seeing what kind of Trainer you’ll be…

She shook her head, as though the motion would dislodge the uncomfortable statements. Focusing back on the Altaria, May once again experienced the briefest flash of familiarity. She recognized the Pokémon as a species, of course, having seen one used by the Hoenn Gym Leader Winona, and in Johto by Lance… but there was something she couldn’t place about this particular Altaria…

On a whim she tossed the Poké Ball into the air, and it popped open, depositing the Pokémon onto the floor in front of her. Awoken from its slumber, Altaria raised its long, slender neck, blinking its beady eyes. It fixed May with a stare as she pulled off the Aura Lenses and crouched down to meet its gaze.

Her heart started pounding again. Lily’s voice echoed in her head: they’re even known to attack Trainers themselves… yet somehow, she didn’t mind taking this risk. She had to know why she almost felt as if she had met this Altaria before… the Pokémon itself even appeared to be thinking along the same lines, tilting its head slightly, as though discerning the human in front of it…

Moments passed in silence, each hammering thud of May’s heart a reminder that she was still alive for another second… she strained her memory, struggling to think of Altaria’s evolutionary chain… it evolved from another Pokémon, didn’t it? … But what was that Pokémon?

Then, in a sudden bolt of recognition, May realized. Altaria evolved from a Pokémon called Swablu… she had seen plenty of them in her travels, and had even… but that was impossible. It was just too much of a coincidence for it to be true…

 “No way,” May whispered, slowly reaching out a shaking hand up to Altaria’s face. “There’s… just no way…” Bracing herself for a sudden attack, she placed her hand against the Pokémon’s cheek…

To her great surprise, Altaria closed its eyes in contentment, and hummed a single, brief note. Blinking its small, black eyes, it looked up at May, who struggled to speak.

“You… you’re not…” She swallowed and blinked the fresh wave of tears threatening to fall down her face. “Do you… recognize me…?”

Altaria gave the briefest of nods, its skin brushing against the fabric of May’s gloves. A chill surged down May’s spine, and she drowned in a wave of bittersweet amazement. It couldn’t be… she couldn’t believe that this was actually true… ignoring all further restraint, her face broke into a teary, disbelieving smile. This Pokémon, the Shadow Altaria… had to be the very same Swablu she had nursed back to health in Hoenn just over a year ago.

To be continued...

[psychicmedium14]

The Tragic Demise of the RMS Titanic

To commemorate the 105th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, the British luxury cruise liner deemed "unsinkable" before hitting an iceberg, I decided to share her history. INTRODUCTION: A century has sailed by since the luxury steamship RMS Titanic met its catastrophic end in the North Atlantic, plunging two miles to the ocean floor after sideswiping an iceberg during its maiden voyage. Rather than the intended Port of New York, a deep-sea grave became the pride of the White Star Line’s final destination in the early hours of April 15, 1912. More than 1,500 people lost their lives in the disaster. In the decades since her demise, Titanic has inspired countless books and several notable films while continuing to make headlines, particularly since the 1985 discovery of her resting place off the coast of Newfoundland. Meanwhile, her story has entered the public consciousness as a powerful cautionary tale about the perils of human hubris. THE MAKING OF TITANIC: The Royal Mail Steamer Titanic was the product of intense competition among rival shipping lines in the first half of the 20th century. In particular, the White Star Line found itself in a battle for steamship primacy with Cunard, a venerable British firm with two standout ships that ranked among the most sophisticated and luxurious of their time. Cunard’s Mauretania began service in 1907 and immediately set a speed record for the fastest transatlantic crossing that it held for 22 years. Cunard’s other masterpiece, Lusitania, launched the same year and was lauded for its spectacular interiors. It met its tragic end–and entered the annals of world history–on May 7, 1915, when a torpedo fired by a German U-boat sunk the ship, killing nearly 1,200 of the 1,959 people on board and precipitating the United States’ entry into World War I. Passengers traveling first class on Titanic were roughly 44 percent more likely to survive than other passengers. The same year that Cunard unveiled its two magnificent liners, J. Bruce Ismay, chief executive of White Star, discussed the construction of three large ships with William J. Pirrie, chairman of the Belfast-based shipbuilding company Harland and Wolff. Part of a new “Olympic” class of liners, they would each measure 882 feet in length and 92.5 feet at their broadest point, making them the largest of their time. In March 1909, work began in the massive Harland and Wolff yard on the second of these ships, Titanic, and continued nonstop until the spring of 1911. On May 31, 1911, Titanic’s immense hull–at the time, the largest movable manmade object in the world–made its way down the slipways and into the River Lagan in Belfast. More than 100,000 people attended the launching, which took just over a minute and went off without a hitch. The hull was immediately towed to a mammoth fitting-out dock where thousands of workers would spend most of the next year building the ship’s decks, constructing her lavish interiors and installing the 29 giant boilers that would power her two main steam engines. TITANIC'S FATAL FLAWS: According to some hypotheses, Titanic was doomed from the start by the design so many lauded as state-of-the-art. The Olympic-class ships featured a double bottom and 15 watertight bulkheads equipped with electric watertight doors which could be operated individually or simultaneously by a switch on the bridge. It was these watertight bulkheads that inspired Shipbuilder magazine, in a special issue devoted to the Olympic liners, to deem them “practically unsinkable.” But the watertight compartment design contained a flaw that may have been a critical factor in Titanic’s sinking: While the individual bulkheads were indeed watertight, water could spill from one compartment into another. Several of Titanic’s Cunard-owned contemporaries, by contrast, already boasted innovative safety features devised to avoid this very situation. Had White Star taken a cue from its competitor, it might have saved Titanic from disaster. The second critical safety lapse that contributed to the loss of so many lives was the number of lifeboats carried on Titanic. Those 16 boats, along with four Engelhardt “collapsibles,” could accommodate 1,178 people. Titanic when full could carry 2,435 passengers, and a crew of approximately 900 brought her capacity to more than 3,300 people. As a result, even if the lifeboats were loaded to full capacity during an emergency evacuation, there were available seats for only one-third of those on board. While unthinkably inadequate by today’s standards, Titanic’s supply of lifeboats actually exceeded the British Board of Trade’s regulations. TITANIC SETS SAIL: The largest passenger steamship ever built, Titanic created quite a stir when it departed for its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, on April 10, 1912. After stops in Cherbourg, France, and Queenstown (now known as Cobh), Ireland, the ship set sail for New York with 2,240 passengers and crew—or “souls,” the expression then used in the shipping industry, usually in connection with a sinking—on board. As befitting the first transatlantic crossing of the world’s most celebrated ship, many of these souls were high-ranking officials, wealthy industrialists, dignitaries and celebrities. First and foremost was the White Star Line’s managing director, J. Bruce Ismay, accompanied by Thomas Andrews, the ship’s builder from Harland and Wolff. (Missing was J.P. Morgan, whose International Mercantile Marine shipping trust controlled the White Star Line and who had selected Ismay as a company officer. The financier had planned to join his associates on Titanic but canceled at the last minute when some business matters delayed him.) The wealthiest passenger was John Jacob Astor IV, who had made waves a year earlier by marrying 18-year-old Madeleine Talmadge Force, a young woman 29 years his junior, not long after divorcing his first wife. Other millionaire passengers included the elderly owner of Macy’s, Isidor Straus, and his wife Ida; industrialist Benjamin Guggenheim, accompanied by his mistress, valet and chauffeur; and widow and heiress Margaret “Molly” Brown, who would earn her “unsinkable” nickname by helping to maintain calm and order while the lifeboats were being loaded and boosting the spirits of her fellow survivors. The employees attending to this collection of First Class notables were largely traveling Second Class, along with academics, tourists, journalists and others who would enjoy a level of service equivalent to First Class on most other ships. But by far the largest group of passengers was in Third Class: more than 700, exceeding the other two levels combined. Some had paid less than $20 to make the crossing. It was Third Class that was the major source of profit for shipping lines like White Star and Cunard, and Titanic was designed to offer these passengers accommodations and amenities superior to those found in Third Class on any ship up to that time. Titanic’s departure from Southampton on April 10 was not without some oddities. A small coal fire was discovered in one of her bunkers–an alarming but not uncommon occurrence on steamships of the day. Stokers hosed down the smoldering coal and shoveled it aside to reach the base of the blaze. After assessing the situation, the captain and chief engineer concluded that it was unlikely it had caused any damage that could affect the hull structure, and the stokers were ordered to continue controlling the fire at sea. According to a theory put forth by a small number of Titanic experts, the fire became uncontrollable after the ship left Southampton, forcing the crew to attempt a full-speed crossing; moving at such a fast pace, they were unable to avoid the fatal collision with the iceberg. Another unsettling event took place when Titanic left the Southampton dock. As she got underway, she narrowly escaped a collision with the America Line’s S.S. New York. Superstitious Titanic buffs often point to this as the worst kind of omen for a ship departing on her maiden voyage. Ironically, had Titanic collided with the ship named for her port of destination, the delay might have spared the ship from being in the precise position for her encounter with the iceberg. DISASTER STRIKES ABOARD TITANIC: That encounter took place roughly four days out, at about 11:30 p.m. on April 14. Titanic was equipped with a Marconi wireless, and there had been sporadic reports of ice from other ships, but she was sailing on calm seas under a moonless, clear sky. A lookout saw the iceberg dead ahead coming out of a slight haze, rang the warning bell and telephoned the bridge. The engines were quickly reversed and the ship was turned sharply, and instead of making direct impact the berg seemed to graze along the side of the ship, sprinkling ice fragments on the forward deck. Sensing no collision, the lookouts were relieved. They had no idea that the iceberg’s jagged underwater spur had slashed a 300-foot gash well below the ship’s waterline, and that Titanic was doomed. By the time the captain toured the damaged area with Harland and Wolff’s Thomas Andrews, five compartments were already filling with seawater, and the bow of the ship was alarmingly down. Andrews did a quick calculation and estimated that Titanic might remain afloat for an hour and a half, perhaps slightly more. At that point the captain, who had already instructed his wireless operator to call for help, ordered the lifeboats to be loaded. A little more than an hour after contact with the iceberg, a largely disorganized and haphazard evacuation process began with the lowering of the first lifeboat. The craft was designed to hold 65 people; it left with only 28 aboard. Amid the confusion and chaos during the precious hours before Titanic plunged into the sea, nearly every boat would be launched woefully under-filled, some with only a handful of passengers. In compliance with the law of the sea, women and children boarded the boats first; only when there were no women or children nearby were men permitted to board. Yet many of the victims were in fact women and children, the result of disorderly procedures that failed to get them to the boats in the first place. Exceeding Andrews’ prediction, Titanic stubbornly managed to stay afloat for close to three hours. Those hours witnessed acts of craven cowardice and extraordinary bravery. Hundreds of human dramas unfolded between the order to load the lifeboats and the ship’s final plunge: Men saw off wives and children, families were separated in the confusion and selfless individuals gave up their spots to remain with loved ones or allow a more vulnerable passenger to escape. The ship’s most illustrious passengers each responded to the circumstances with conduct that has become an integral part of the Titanic legend. Ismay, the White Star managing director, helped load some of the boats and later stepped onto a collapsible as it was being lowered. Although no women or children were in the vicinity when he abandoned ship, he would never live down the ignominy of surviving the disaster while so many others perished. Thomas Andrews, Titanic’s chief designer, was last seen in the First Class smoking room, staring blankly at a painting of a ship on the wall. Astor deposited Madeleine in a lifeboat and, remarking that she was pregnant, asked if he could accompany her; refused entry, he managed to kiss her goodbye just before the boat was lowered away. Although offered a seat on account of his age, Isidor Straus refused any special consideration, and his wife Ida would not leave her husband behind. The couple retired to their cabin and perished together. Benjamin Guggenheim and his valet returned to their rooms and changed into formal evening dress; emerging onto the deck, he famously declared, “We are dressed in our best and are prepared to go down like gentlemen.” Molly Brown helped load the boats and finally was forced into one of the last to leave. She implored its crewmen to turn back for survivors, but they refused, fearing they would be swamped by desperate people trying to escape the freezing ocean. Titanic, nearly perpendicular and with many of her lights still aglow, finally dove beneath the icy surface at approximately 2:20 a.m. on April 15. Throughout the morning, Cunard’s Carpathia, after receiving Titanic’s distress call at midnight and steaming at full speed while dodging ice floes all night, rounded up all of the lifeboats. They contained only 705 survivors. ANALYZING THE TITANIC CATASTROPHE: At least five separate boards of inquiry on both sides of the Atlantic conducted comprehensive hearings on Titanic’s sinking, interviewing dozens of witnesses and consulting with many maritime experts. Every conceivable subject was investigated, from the conduct of the officers and crew to the construction of the ship. While it has always been assumed that the ship sank as a result of the gash that caused the compartments to flood, various other theories have emerged over the decades, including that the ship’s steel plates were too brittle for the near-freezing Atlantic waters, that the impact caused rivets to pop and that the expansion joints failed, among others. The technological aspects of the catastrophe aside, Titanic’s demise has taken on a deeper, almost mythic, meaning in popular culture. Many view the tragedy as a morality play about the dangers of human hubris: Titanic’s creators believed they had built an “unsinkable” ship that could not be defeated by the laws of nature. This same overconfidence explains the electrifying impact Titanic’s sinking had on the public when she was lost. There was widespread disbelief that the ship could possibly have sunk, and, due to the era’s slow and unreliable means of communication, misinformation abounded. Newspapers initially reported that the ship had collided with an iceberg but remained afloat and was being towed to port with everyone on board. It took many hours for accurate accounts to become available, and even then people had trouble accepting that this paradigm of modern technology could sink on her maiden voyage, taking more than 1,500 souls with her. The ship historian John Maxtone-Graham has compared Titanic’s story to the Challenger space shuttle disaster of 1986. In that case, the world reeled at the notion that some of the most sophisticated technology ever created could explode into oblivion along with its crew. Both tragedies triggered a sudden and complete collapse in confidence, revealing that we are vulnerable despite our modern presumptions of technological infallibility.

[aitorgrande]

"How I Taught Myself to Code in Eight Weeks" - Weekends work guide

To a lot of non-developers, learning to code seems like an impossibly daunting task. However, thanks to a number of great resources that have recently been put online for free - teaching yourself to code has never been easier.

I started learning to code earlier this year and can say from experience that learning enough to build your own prototype is not as hard as it seems. In fact, if you want to have a functioning prototype within two months without taking a day off work, it’s completely doable.

Below, I’ve outlined a simple path from knowing nothing about software development to having a working prototype in eight weekends that roughly mirrors the steps I took.

Introduce yourself to the web stack (10 minutes):

The presence of unfamiliar terminology makes any subject seem more confusing than it actually is. Yipit founder/CEO Vin Vacanti has a great overview of some of the key terms you’ll want to be familiar with in language you’ll understand.

Get an introductory grasp of Python and general programming techniques (1 weekend):

Learn Python the Hard Way. Despite the title, the straightforward format makes learning basic concepts really easy and most lessons take less than 10 minutes. However, I found that the format didn’t work as well for some of the more advanced topics so I’d recommend stopping after lesson 42 and moving on.

Google’s python class. Read the notes and / or watch the videos and do all of the associated exercises until you get them right - without looking at the answers. Struggling through the exercises I kept getting wrong was the best learning experience and I would have learned far less if I had just looked at the answers and tried to convince myself that I understood the concepts.

These two resources are somewhat substitutable and somewhat complementary. I recommend doing the first few lessons from both to see which you like better. Once you’ve finished one, skim through the other looking for concepts you aren’t fully comfortable with as a way to get some extra practice.

Get an introductory understanding of Django (1 weekend):

Work through the Django tutorial.

Delete all your code.

Work through the tutorial again, from scratch.

The first time I went through the tutorial I inevitably ended up just following the instructions step-by-step without really understanding what each step did since everything felt so new.

The second time through I wasn’t as focused on the newness of the concepts was better able to focus on understanding how all the parts work together.

Get a deeper understanding of Python / general programming concepts (2-4 weekends):

Udacity’s intro CS class. Udacity’s courses are generally 7 session classes (2-3 hours per session) that you can at your own pace. (I’m a huge fan of Udacity’s pedagogy and recommend the intermediate programming class or the web development class as follow-ups to this two-month curriculum.)

Unit 1 of MIT’s intro CS course. Really well taught and surprisingly approachable.

Again, I would sample each and see which you like the best. I ended up doing both but that was probably overkill.

Practice building simple web applications (1 weekend):

Work through a few of the exercises in Django by example. These exercises don’t hold your hand quite as much as the Django tutorial but they still provide a fair bit of guidance so I found it to be a nice way to start taking the training wheels off.

Build your prototype (1 weekend):

Build a prototype in just one weekend? Yes, you’ll be embarrassed by what it looks like (I sure was) but that’s the whole point.

That’s it. Eight weekends (or less) and you’ve gone from zero to a functioning prototype. Not so daunting after all is it?

Next Steps:

It goes without saying that there is a huge difference between the relatively cursory amount of knowledge needed to build a simple prototype (the focus of this post) and the depth of knowledge and experience needed to be a truly qualified software engineer.

If you want to learn all that it takes to build modern web applications at scale, getting professional web development experience at a fast-growing startup like Yipit is a great next step.

If you’re smart, hard-working and passionate about creating amazing consumer web experiences drop us a line at jobs@yipit.com - we’re always looking for great people to join our team.

David Sinsky is a noob developer at Yipit

P.S. Below are few other potentially useful resources - please leave a note in the comments if you have suggestions for others:

Stanford’s intro CS courses

Stanford’s iPhone development class

Harvard’s intro CS course

Codecademy

How I Taught Myself to Code in 8 Weeks | Yipit Django Blog

[alexteltevskiy]

Vintage russki camera review - Zenit-B w/ Industar 50-2 f/3.5

Intro

I have a modestly sized family and most about every in it is/has been crazy about photography at some point in their lives. My father, in particular, has been in the cozy company of cameras since, like, forever. I've got a picture of him somewhere: a cheerful little lad, no older than a year, crawling around right next to my grandpa's trusty little rangefinder...

What does this have to do with anything? Well, today I'll be reviewing one of my dad's many old cameras - his trusty Zenit-B with an Industar 50-2 50mm f/3.5. He used this one as his 35mm camera of choice after his FED rangefinder, having abandoned it much later after moving on to Japanese SLRs. I actually accidentally bumped into this camera about a year ago in my older brother's attic. Turns out, my dad gave the camera as a present to my bro, who used it for a bit but ultimately forgot about its existence, having moved on to more modern snappers.

Imagine my surprise when I unearth the leather-case-clad tank-of-a-camera with a big bold Made in USSR stamped onto it. The thing was lightly used, lens had no malices typical of a subterranean attic-dweller (haze, fungus), nothing was seriously loose or wrong... until I popped it open to check shutter operation...

Design & build quality

The thing is built like a tank. Mass produced from 1968 to 1973. Rugged and over-engineered, and that is even before I tore it down to get inside and fix it. Inside it looked like it was built to withstand a nuclear blast. A Tchaikovsky Overture of heavy duty gearing, solid steel parts, heavy gauge springs, all tightly wedged against each other with thick flat head screws.

All the more baffling why, oh WHY did they bother to use simple glue to keep together the rubber-coated cloth shutter??? The most important piece of the puzzle, the cornerstone, the heart of the system... why was it made to be so weak? And it's not like there was a large amount of redundancy built into the mechanism - a little bit of glue going undone and the whole curtain self-destructs. Just don't get it.

Anyway, I had to hunt down a spare body with a functioning shutter on eBay to kindly act as a donor. As soon as the box touched down on my front porch the organ transplant was underway and not long afterwards my neighbors probably heard me go on a creepy "it's alive" howl. Frankenzenit was ready for action.

Apart from the shutter glue drama, the camera is a brick, chiseled out of the Terminator's spare parts. And there's just something about that Soviet design aesthetic that gets me every time. Like an old friend you'd sometimes like to forget, but can't. An eclectic mix of extreme cases of forms following function and the necessity for every single object in the country to be fixable with a skeleton toolset of dull screwdriver and hammer. Heck, most of the time even just the hammer was necessary.

Tech specs

Under the covers it was all business and no frills. Barebones feature set, all manual, nothing extra. Shutter goes from 1/30 to 1/500 (the accuracy of which I can't attest to after seeing the mechanism up close and personal), has Bulb. Shutter knob has twist-proof mechanism, reminded me of something you'd find on a T-34 instead of a camera but it has a charm to it, adding an extra step to process.

Winder/shutter button combo with a built-in hand-resetable frame counter and provisions for a standard cable release. A rewind button and rewind/ISO memory wheel. Oh, and a self-timer. Mirror slap is not too obnoxious but don't expect to pull a ninja with this camera - loud and clunky. Next to zero foam in the body, the only seals are made of felt that are still going strong after 45+ years.

The lens is a copy of a Zeiss design, M42 mount, opens up to 3.5 and stops down to 16. Filter thread is, wait for it, 35mm in diameter. Good luck finding a pinch lens cap for it. More details on image quality further down the review.

In use

Armed with a meter and a trusty roll of Ilford HP5+ @400 (I ran out of Tri-X at that moment), headed out Downtown with Kris from 43 Stories to see the sights and sounds of the Big City. From the sun-soaked vantage point of a 12-floor parking garage all the way down to chilly pale breeze of the distant skyline from the shores of Navy Pier, the 7-mile 6-hour walk took us all the way from Printer's Row, through the Loop on the L and onto River North, crossing the Magnificent Mile and into Streeterville. Crash at Navy Pier then back home.

Right from the beginning you get a sense that this will be a no-nonesense camera. Everything is roughly where you expect it. The gears are less ergonomic than its peers and the levers dig a little deeper into your skin, but the classic layout was a breather from some of the other cameras I've tested lately. Compact, easy to hold and grip, even with gloves. Aggressive knurling on the controls made fine manipulation easy. Everything clicks solidly.

In addition to the Victorian-Era steely thunderclap of a shutter, the camera has further handicaps that keep it back from being a street-smart photoninja. The shutter speed can't be set blindly, as there are no indicators of what speed you're on anywhere else but the knob. And to change speeds, you have to raise the knob, rotate it and plop it back into the correct setting. There are no physical clicks or stops when you rotate it, so unless you have super-dexterous fingers and a built-in angle meter accurate to the degree, you have to take the camera off of your eyes to readjust exposure.

Same goes for aperture, but this time it's even worse - camera needs to be focused wide open as the finder is too dim. And after you focus you'll most likely have to stop down the aperture. This cannot be done without peeling away from the camera and looking down at the aperture ring. It's clickless, so unless you have a sixth sense for degrees, you will need to look down. Forget quick turnaround time on the streets - this camera is a methodical shooter that requires planning ahead and patience, both from you and any animate object in front of you.

The viewfinder is pretty dim and features a regular ground glass - no fresnel circles in the center or any other focusing aids. With a f/3.5 lens it may not make that much of a difference, but any other lens with a larger aperture may require you to hunt quite a bit to nail that f/2 or f/1.4. Another minor (major, actually) annoyance is that the ring around the viewfinder is, just like most else on this camera, made of metal. Yours Truly Four-Eyes over here needs to first focus with glasses on, making sure not to have direct contact with the metal ring, then slide the glasses over to zoom the eye closer in to compose. The viewfinder optics are recessed deep into the body and it's impossible to see the entire viewfinder area coverage with glasses on. Haven't been able to dig up specs on viewfinder coverage but I have a hunch it's around the 80%-90% mark - I always saw extra features on the negs that I thought were long gone from the frame.

One final note about the viewfinder is that in the camera that I have, the viewfinder is misaligned horizontally, with a couple degrees of rotation to the right. Plain English: when the horizon is straight in my viewfinder, it's actually crooked in the actual photo. I haven't tested this with a bubble level yet, but people call me "human horizon" for a reason - I'm usually very, very careful with that. You hear horror stories about little irking details like this all the time with Soviet cameras, guess they've got some validity behind them, eh? Looking inside, I found no way of adjust the mirror or the ground glass. After peaking into the donor body, that one was misaligned as well, this time leaning to the opposite side.

The winder on this camera is an absolute beast. Quite literally. Be very, very gentle with it. Treat it real slow, nice and easy. The winder sprocket cams inside the body are born from a crude metal cast with razor-sharp edges on the teeth. I consider the Ilford HP5+ film base to be on the pretty durable side, yet even it has had ripped sprockets along most of the length. The winding lever has virtually zero feedback compared to modern cameras and Hulk-like leverage. The only way I was informed that I'd gotten to the end of the roll is when I heard a loud rip of the film from it's canister. Removing it required a dark changing bag. Apart from that expect to get 37-38 shots per 36 exposure roll. Film spacing is pretty consistent and film gate is at a slight angle but at least with no major light leaks (pressure plate still good after all these years).

Image quality

So what do the images look like? They're pretty good, actually. I was expecting it perform a lot worse, but it is a knock-off of a Zeiss design, so that probably helps. First, the numbers. 3.5 is predictably soft, with decent center, medium vignetting and mildly mushy corners. Modern pixel peepers would consider this atrocious, but that's not what film aficionados are after, and to my eye it actually appears pleasantly vintage looking. I found the lens sharpest in the center by f/5.6, with f/8 improving the corners but starting to lose a bit in the center. F/11 exhibits a uniform image from center to corner, that's as in "uniformly soft", and f/16 starts looking like somebody took the photo and printed it on a rug made of low-denier fabrics.

Bokeh is minimal and can get quite busy unless you get REAL close to something. Wide open the bokeh is also quite swirly (couldn't find a more technical term), reminiscent of many vintage lens, where it looks like time and space itself are being bent around your subject matter. A look I actually quite like and one that is currently being revived thanks to Lomography's efforts with lens based on ancient optical formulas.

Flaring can be an issue, but the way the lens handles it is by dissipating the flare across the entire field of view, unlike some other lens where the flare affects the image only partially. I would assume this is because minimal, if any coating was used on the elements. I actually prefer this.

I was also quite surprised by the copious amounts of barrel distortion I noticed when photographing objects close up. I mean, come on - it's a 50, not even a 35! At infinity though, distortion is gone and buildings don't look like they're binging on burgers.

Conclusion

So, what do I think about a camera that has more misalignments than a knocked over vase that was superglued back together? The camera has a lot of sides the modern snapper would find archaic, impractical and irritating. It's a menace to film rolls and close ups of straight brick walls. It's an exercise in patience and meticulousness. And it's a lottery of settings and angles plagued by inconsistency and vagueness. But despite all this it still works, and works solidly. I am still surprised by the engineered heart failure on these cameras, but at a dime a dozen, there's no reason one should stay away from these exotic relics from a bygone world order.

PS: Did I mention that it's a conversation starter? "Hello sir! May I make a portrait of you?" "What kind of camera is that?" "It's almost 50 years old, shoots black and white film and was made in the USSR!" (eyes bulging in surprise) "No way! Sure man, take as many as you like!"

Sample pics

[articlesofnote]

carbon sequestration by the numbers, part 2 of ???

In the first post in this series, I did a bunch of back-of-the-envelope math to try and get a rough answer the the question “What would it take to get 651 billion tons of carbon out of the atmosphere?”  Looking at that question from the perspective of energy costs, the quick answer is “a fuckton” with the specific answer being something like 36 million terawatt-hours, or about 227 years of human energy production at 2019 levels. For this post I wanted to try and figure out what kind of USD investment would be required to build the infrastructure for the “industrial carbon sequestration” that I was talking about in Part 1 of this series.  Next time I’ll talk more specifically about what that infrastructure might look like, but in researching this post I had one fairly specific goal: to determine point estimates for capital expenditure (or capex) and operating expenses (opex) of a typical reasonably modern oil refinery in terms of millions of metric tonnes per year (Mt/yr) of refining output.  With these numbers, one can then scale up appropriately to a particular desired output and get an idea of the dollar cost to build and operate that production infrastructure; however, it should be noted that this isn’t a terribly precise way to get an estimate, as I’m quite confident that the scale of investment required to build this infrastructure will have major effects on the overall cost of the investment.  I’ll discuss this more towards the end. You might be wondering why I chose to look at oil refining as the “reference industry” from which to derive cost estimates.  The quick answer for that is that oil refining (and chemical processing more generally) is quite similar in many respects to the kind of process(es) I’m imagining being used for industrial carbon sequestration. Anyway, without further preamble, the numbers I’ve come up with are as follows: for each Mt/yr of refining capacity, you’ve got to invest about $2.4 billion 2020 USD to build it in the first place (capex), followed by about $120 million 2020 USD per year to run it (opex).  This DOES NOT include the cost of raw materials, which are a huge determinant of the price of the finished product (more on that below) These figures are based mainly on North American (Canada and USA) refining industry figures, particularly [1] and [2] below.  To get the capex figure, I first looked at [1] which discusses, among other sections, the actual and projected costs of several at-the-time new refineries and expansions in Canada.  These projects seem to be intended mainly to process heavy oils and bitumen due to the expansion of tar sand oil extraction in the early 2000′s and provided a range of capital costs from $0.45 - $1.59bn 2009 USD per Mt/yr.  Another bit of information comes from the construction costs of the Shell Pearl GTL plant in Qatar [3], coming in at around $1.86bn 2012 USD per Mt/yr capacity.  Rounding that up to $2.0bn 2009 USD and then factoring in inflation since then (about 21% from 2009 to 2020) gives us the final $2.4bn 2020 USD per Mt/yr figure.  The opex figure is mainly derived from [2], particularly the “U.S. petroleum refining/marketing general operating expenses“ and the “U.S. and foreign petroleum refining statistics“ data from April 2011.  This is one of the areas where my ignorance around financial reporting is showing itself: via three different methods, I came up with three wildly different numbers for opex per Mt/yr without being sure which one is the most reasonable.  For example, [1] gives a figure of $29m 2009 CAD of “investment” required per Mt/yr, while [4], as near as I can figure, gives something closer to $8-16m 2020 USD per Mt/yr. Using [2] gave a baseline range of between $73-$118m 2009 USD per Mt/yr, so I took $100m 2009 USD per Mt/yr as a nice round midpoint then applied the ~1.2x inflation factor to it. A few more interesting statistics shook out of this research; from [1] and [5], we see that about 150-180 people are directly employed for 1 Mt/yr production and from [2] we can assume that the average US refinery produces around 10 Mt/yr - in 2009 the average was 9.3 Mt/yr but the trend is toward fewer, larger, more complex refineries so 10 Mt/yr might even be on the low side at this point. * * * At this point, we’ve nailed down what I consider to be reasonable estimates for capex and opex, but I’ve left out a big, big piece of the cost estimating: how much will the inputs to the process - CO2, H2O, and power - cost? Remember, the whole point of this project is to get carbon out of the atmosphere!  Fortunately, the Carbon Engineering paper I referenced last time [6] gives us an answer for the CO2 part, at least: $0.69bn capex and $26m opex (2018 USD) per Mt/yr. We’ll need about 3.06 Mt of CO2 for every Mt of finished product (see assumptions discussion for why), which adds on a cost of $2.2b 2020 USD per Mt/yr capex and $83m 2020 USD per Mt/yr opex for the CO2.  As for the H2O, while there are currently many sources of water it is certainly in the spirit of this project to avoid using fossil water or surface freshwater if it can be avoided.  Given the size of the oceans, we can assume there’s all the water we need for this project if we’re willing to desalinate it.  No need to boil the ocean, in other words - just a miniscule fraction of it! From [10] we have figures on the Carlsbad desalination plant: 189,000 m3 of water produced per day from a capex of $0.9b 2014 USD and an opex of $58m/yr.  As we need 1.48 Mt H2O per Mt finished product, the overall capex needed is $21m 2020 USD (that’s millions, not billions) and opex is $1.4m per Mt/yr.  Do I hear you saying “damn, that’s cheap AF?” You’re not wrong, as far as getting water goes, but the real problem with the H2O is that getting the hydrogen out of water so that you can put it into hydrocarbons is massively expensive in terms of power consumption.  Basically, the price of the water itself can effectively be ignored in the cost accounting compared to the price of turning it into hydrogen.  We’ll get into THAT next time! Finally, the last input: power!  I haven’t estimated the power consumption of any of these processes yet - this is already getting really long, so I’ll kick that to next time.  Suffice it to say that carbon-free power (solar or wind) is getting cheap as hell, which is great for this project as the final cost of the finished product will be heavily dependent on power costs.  According to [11], grid-scale solar ranges from $32-42 per MWh, and wind can range from $28-54 per MWh.  I believe this figure represents a combination of opex and amortized capex over the expected life of a given installation, so you can just “drop it in” to add energy costs if you can figure out how much power you need.  For example, using the total energy requirement for carbon sequestration from Part 1 (3.6e7 TWh, or 3.6e13 MWh), assuming $40 per MWh energy costs we find that the cost for the electricity required to get all the carbon out of the atmosphere is a paltry $1.44 quadrillion dollars - roughly 53x the current US national debt.  Better start buying bonds, folks! * * * Ok, so, some discussion of my assumptions, as promised.  I conjecture that, should my back-of-the-envelope vision become reality, the capex estimate will prove too high and the opex estimate too low.  Basically, the magnitude of the infrastructure required to make carbon sequestration happen at the scale it needs to happen will almost certainly represent, in its construction and operation, such a large undertaking that the economy of the planet will be fundamentally restructured to support it.  This makes a certain amount of philosophical sense, if nothing else: as long as humanity has had industrial economies, they’ve been based on burning fossil fuels.  What this project proposes is, in essence, unburning all of the fuels we burned to get our economy to this point - a truly radical shift in perspective. More practically, the size of the endeavor will likely mean that economies of scale will have a big impact on costs, specifically lowering them.  For example, if a standard “sequestration plant” can be designed in a way that it can be relatively easily replicated, capital expenses can go down dramatically.  On the other hand, since the end-to-end process I envision does depend on extant-but-not-yet-mass-produced technology, it could well work out that capital costs are initially much higher than anticipated.  Likewise with operating expenses - this project could drive demand for chemical industrial labor so high that operating expenses are much higher than anticipated, while at the same time the ever-decreasing costs of carbon-free power could turn out to have a bigger impact on costs than anything else.  Basically, about all I can say for sure is that once the ball gets rolling on making this happen, the assumptions this analysis is based on will almost certainly be invalidated.  I’ve been aiming towards conservatism in my estimates - when in doubt, plan for the worst - so hopefully we would see this project turn out to be cheaper (and maybe a lot cheaper!) than I anticipate.  Just to give one example: I’m treating each necessary process separately in terms of capex and opex, which means that I am 100% certain I’ve duplicated costs in my estimates - but how much of an impact that has, I can’t yet say. * * *

A final technical note: To get the 3.06 Mt CO2 per Mt product I started with the assumption that we’d want to end up with the average blend of refined products suggested by [9].  I simplified that down to a blend of six products: still gas, hydrocarbon liquid gas, gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, and paraffin.  Each of these products has  characteristic physical properties [7] [8] and represents a range of different hydrocarbon compounds. [7]  One possibly-unsound assumption I made is that each of these categories could be represented using a single “prototype” hydrocarbon molecule.  From that assumption, I determined the carbon and hydrogen composition by mass for a prototypical “tonne” of finished product: about 836 kg of C and 164 kg of H.  These serve as the basis for subsequent calculations. NEXT TIME: Just what the hell am I “envisioning,” exactly? I.e. what are the processes that might be used and how might they all fit together? How much power will be used to run this process? Why is hydrogen so goddamn expensive?!  And so much more! * * * References: [1] Fundamentals of Refining - Canadian Fuels Association 2013 [2] US Energy Information Administration - Refining and Marketing 2011 ref T28 and T29 (Excel spreadsheets) [3] Quora: How much does it cost to build an oil refinery, answer #2 [4] Royal Dutch Shell Q1 2020 - Financial Statements and Operating Info (ref p.13 - Operating Expenses - Oil Products) and Q1 2020 Results (ref p.5 - Oil Products Sales Volumes) [5] Bureau of Labor Statistics - Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing [6] A Process for Capturing CO2 from the Atmosphere [7] Chemical and Physical Properties of Refined Petroleum Products (pdf) [8] Fuels - Densities and Specific Volumes [9] Refining Crude Oil - Inputs and Outputs [10] The Cost of Desalination [11] Lazard - Levelized Cost of Energy/Storage 2019

[blueorangeasia]

In the ever-changing landscape of digital online marketing, it can be hard to truly know what works,  and more importantly, what doesn’t.  With over 20 years of Award Winning Experience in Digital Marketing in London and Bangkok Thailand, Blue Orange Asia has worked with many of the best brands in the world, consistently delivering better ideas and better ROI results for our clients.

Below are 10 examples of dynamic and strategic digital marketing campaigns that have that increased company ROI and added massive value to customers.  The campaigns below are not just doing digital marketing..... They are  creating experiences and content that engage and captivate their audiences and bring outstanding brand awareness. They are the best.

( HOW TO STAND OUT from the competition in today's ultra competitive world ? Simple. Think Different and Create Different.    Contact Us Now.  We'll Show you How.)

1. Zappos

Zappos, a leader in online shoe commerce, sets the gold standard for online customer care. In fact, their CEO wrote the book on it. It’s no shock that they have a stellar digital strategy.

Not only does Zappos provide a 365-day money back guarantee, but they also have free shipping both ways as well, should consumers decide to return or exchange products purchased on the site. As a result, Zappos doesn’t have to work hard to market its online presence—its policies are so appealing to consumers that shoppers are eager to sing the company’s praises to one another in a completely organic (and viral) fashion.

Of course, Zappos does still invest heavily in online marketing, and its social media campaigns shouldn’t be missed! Notice how they focus on what the customer wants and needs, not on what they want the customer to want or need. This is a key part to any effective digital strategy. Listen to your audience and plan accordingly.

The Lesson: Content marketing is the way of the future, but it must be managed appropriately to be effective. Online content marketing campaigns should strive to produce measurable results in proportion to the resources committed to them.

2. American Express (AMEX)

Plenty of companies talk a big game about “the communities” they’re creating online and the inherent value of the “online conversation.” However, very few actually create any community of value. Far from being all talk and no game, American Express puts its money where its mouth is by leveraging the value provided by industry experts on its Open Forum website.

Open Forum is a collaborative website, on which American Express invites guest authors from a variety of sectors to share their business knowledge and wisdom. The result is a content-rich mega-site that’s popular with the search engines, all created without American Express needing to shell out cash to content contributors.

The Lesson: The creator of your content does not need to be you. Find industry leaders that produce great content, and ask them to write a couple articles on your blog. It will build their audience and your traffic, as long as the content provides value. Good content marketing strategies draw on a range of user-generated sources to both grow online communities and minimize financial investment.

3. Mint

Entering the crowded personal finance niche (or any popular niche) is a daunting task for any new startup, but the approach that financial tracking tool Mint took proves that it’s possible to stand out in a crowd through well-executed online marketing strategies.

Although the company was a relative unknown amongst its more popular predecessors, Mint committed to a digital strategy publishing hundreds of high-quality content pieces, from informative blog posts to viral, attention-grabbing infographics (like A Dude’s Guide to Not Going Broke during Wedding Season) to grow their business. As a result of Mint’s digital marketing efforts, the tool gained a massive online following before being sold to Intuit for a whopping $170 million.

In a podcast on Growth Everywhere, Neil Patel discussed why he spends up to $30,000 dollars on content and gives it away for free, and how it is all worth it in the end.

The Lesson: Investing in content marketing often requires significant amounts of time and money, but committing to content production and high-quality standards can build substantial market attention in a short period of time.

4. Dollar Shave Club

Shaving is the epitome of a boring routine, right? If you answered “of course,” then you obviously haven’t seen Dollar Shave Club’s now legendary launch video. DSC shook the notion of its drab, buttoned-up industry and kicked it out the window.

Today, this company has over a million subscribers, its promotional video has been viewed over 24 million times, and it was recently acquired for $1 billion by Unilever. During their hyper growth, Dollar Shave Club continued to share cheeky content such as “Is It Bad to Pluck Nose Hairs with My Fingers?” and “Do I Really Need to Wash My Hands After I Pee?” These guys know how to let loose and get attention.

The Lesson: Don’t be afraid to have some fun! DSC doesn’t take itself too seriously (or at all seriously, for that matter). Everything from its marketing to its onboarding, from its packaging to its social engagement is lighthearted, silly, and tongue-in-cheek. And its customers love them for it. They’ve made something as tedious as buying razors and shaving hilarious and entertaining, and that’s what stands out in people’s minds.

5. The Wirecutter

Affiliate marketing can be a bit sleazy, but it can generate big results when done properly and genuinely. The Wirecutter has set the standard since its launch just five years ago. Labeling itself a simple “list of the best gadgets—like cameras and TVs—for people who don’t want to take a lot of time figuring out what to get,” the site generated $150 million in e-commerce transactions in 2015 and was recently acquired by the New York Times for $30 million.

They write reviews for products they love, embed a link to buy it from someone like Amazon, and take a cut of each sale. Their reviews take anywhere from 20 to 200 hours to complete, involving experts and other interested parties depending on the product. It works because they’re real.

The Lesson: Trust more in the power of real people. Modern consumers are wary of ads, banners, and paid search results. They want real recommendations from real people. And that’s what The Wirecutter delivers with such sparkling success. They’ve made the review (a.k.a. the “ad”) the product. People share them, like them, and rely on them to decide what to buy. The only marketing they have to do is sharing their top-notch reviews. Their fans take care of the rest.

6. Slack

Slack is a collaboration tool that allows teams to communicate more efficiently and share files, all on one easy platform. They’ve had a pretty spectacular rise, with 15,000 users at launch in 2014, just north of 171,000 six months later, over 500,000 in less than a year, and currently sitting at roughly 5,000,000 (nearly one and a half million of which are paid accounts).

Their “secret sauce” is delivering a high-quality customer experience. The company responds to 8,000 help desk tickets and up to 10,000 tweets each month. Even their Twitter feed contains a bunch of 140-character #SlackTips.

The Lesson: From day one, Slack has been about selling a solution, not a product. They’ve focused on customer experience, believing that one positive experience does more than a big marketing budget could ever hope to accomplish. As their tagline says, they’re “on a mission to make your working life simpler, more pleasant, and more productive.” Make it all about solving your customer’s’ pain points.

7. Airbnb

Airbnb has changed the way we travel and look for accommodations. Launched when its founders couldn’t afford their rent, the site now boasts 100 million users, 2.3 million listings, and a total valuation of $31 billion in 2017.

Their marketing strategy is aimed at getting both travelers and hosts for the platform. Its digital marketing relies primarily on user-generated images and videos on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (highlighting the cities and properties in its stable), how-to videos and posts geared towards owners, and popular city guides. Their Instagram campaign matches humor with compelling images of different travel locations around the world, making it more than just a service—it’s a travel forum as well.

When it comes to social media superstars, Airbnb shines the brightest. During a 2015 Instagram campaign, the company received 13.3 million interactions and increased followers by 341 percent.

The Lesson: Create demand around your product or service by finding a topic related to your business that’s interesting. For example, Airbnb is ultimately a crowdsourced hotel business, so interesting content for them is related to travel sites around the world. Generate interest with content, and the dollars will follow.

8. JetBlue

One of the biggest mistakes we see companies making when it comes to online marketing strategies is the tendency to post self-promotional materials only. Nobody wants to follow a company that can’t stop talking about itself long enough to post something of real value!

JetBlue, the popular discount airline, is one company that gets it. Instead of using Twitter to post fare discounts and special offers, the company uses its handles to provide fast and easy customer service. In fact, the effect is so profound that nearly all the messages in the company’s feed include @ replies, which is highly unusual in the world of social media marketing for businesses.

The Lesson: Make it a priority to balance self-promotional materials with information that followers can actually use, and respond to users whenever they interact with your web profiles in order to boost rapport and consumer confidence.

Nobody wants to follow a company that can’t stop talking about itself. Click To Tweet

9. Mastercard

Mastercard is the king of “Priceless” surprises. The financial services giant has a knack for creating engaging experiences that excite and retain their customers.

As a major sponsor of the MLB, the company wanted to execute their “priceless” strategy and take advantage of the Chicago Cubs making the World Series for the first time in 71 years. Why? So they could be a part of history if (and when) the Cubs won.

Their main objectives were to (1) connect with suffering Cubs fans and (2) insert themselves into the World Series conversation.

Mastercard went out looking for the perfect way to implement their campaign and came across a great piece of content: A player on a rival team had accused Cubs fans of lacking passion for their team. This was a perfect sound bite to build an entire campaign on, so Mastercard ran with it, titling their campaign the “Sound of Priceless.” They built a sound meter and placed it around Wrigley Field to measure just how loud the fans were. After measuring the sound and learning how loud the fans truly were, they created a piece of video content around the story.

In order to create the ultimate impact, Mastercard released the film online and on social media just as the Cubs won the final game of the World Series. The results were priceless.

The Lesson: When you are trying to create viral digital marketing campaigns, look for content that is already out there, and put a spin on it that will benefit someone else as well as your brand. Also, notice how Mastercard was patient enough to wait until the very last game to release their content in order to maximize the reach. This is key to any great digital campaign. Timing does matter.

10. Uniqlo

UNIQLO is an innovative Japanese apparel company that urges the world to dress casual. Their mission is to provide simple apparel that makes your life better.

If you have ever lived in a major city, you have probably seen a Uniqlo advertisement or shopping bag, but the company wanted to help customers see Uniqlo as a technology focused company, not just a fashion brand. They wanted to build on a statement made by UNIQLO’s President and CEO Tadashi Yanai that said, “We [Uniqlo] are not a fashion company. We are a technology company.”

The best way to do this? An effective digital marketing campaign. Uniqlo created a world-first “fast-moving” image campaign and activated it in 100 locations and online. The campaign utilizes fast moving images to deliver a unique product code which is indecipherable to the naked eye.

[fitness-24]

To lose your weight you ought to took your meals in time. Set a timer for twenty minutes and reinvent yourself as a slow eater. this is often one amongst the highest habits for slimming down while not a sophisticated diet arrange. Paced meals provide nice pleasure from smaller parts and trigger the body’s fullness hormones.

Sleeping an additional hour an evening may facilitate someone drop fourteen pounds in a very year. once sleep replaces idle activities and also the usual mindless snacking, you'll be able to effortlessly cut calories by 6 June 1944.

A very common tricks individuals into ingestion additional food and ingestion additional fruits and vegetables may be a good way to change state. The high fiber and water content fills you up with fewer calories.

Add a broth-based soup to your day and you’ll extra service on fewer calories. begin with a low-sodium broth or canned soup, add recent or frozen vegetables and simmer. watch out for creamy soups, which might be high in fat and calories.Whole grains like rice, barley, oats, buckwheat, and whole wheat additionally belong in your furtive weight loss strategy. they assist fill you up with fewer calories and will improve your cholesterin profile, too.Pass on those 2 strips of bacon at breakfast or in your sandwich at lunch time. this easy move saves regarding one hundred calories, which might add up to a ten pound weight loss over a year. have faith in tomato slices, banana peppers, cooked red bell peppers, sandy mustard, or a lightweight unfold of herbed cheese.Choose vegetable toppings for pizza pie rather than meat and it'll cut one hundred calories from your meal. different skinny pizza pie trick, Go light-weight on the cheese or use reduced-fat cheese and select a skinny, bread-like crust created with simply slightly of oil.Replace one sugared drink like regular soda with water or a zero-calorie seltzer. Add lemon, mint or frozen strawberries for flavor and fun.Use a tall, skinny glass rather than a brief, wide tumbler to chop liquid calories — and your weight — while not diet. You’ll drink 25%-30% less juice, soda, wine, or the other potable.

You will loose your weight by limit alcohol drint like cocktail, beer, or glass of wine. Alcohol has additional calories per gram (7) than carbohydrates (4) or macromolecule (4). It may loosen your resolve, leading you to senselessly inhale chips, nuts, and different foods you’d commonly limit.

Drinking tea is nice strategy to weight loss. The body’s calorie-burning engine quickly, probably through the action of phytochemicals known as catechins. At the terribly least, you’ll get a refreshing drink while not heaps of calories.

The yoga regulars according a additional “mindful” approach to ingestion. Researchers assume the calm awareness developed through yoga might facilitate individuals resist gula.Eat home-cooked meals a minimum of 5 days per week to measure sort of a soul. road foods will work fast meals, like pre-chopped lean beef for fajitas, washed lettuce, pre-cut veggies, canned beans, well-done chicken strips, or grilled food shop salmon.Most people have a natural “eating pause,” once they drop the fork for one or two of minutes. expect this moment and don’t take another bite. Clear your plate and luxuriate in the spoken language. this is often the quiet signal that you’re full, however not stuffed. the majority miss it.Chew unsweetened gum with a robust flavor once you’re in danger for a snack attack. creating dinner when work, at a party, look TV, or surfboarding the net square measure many dangerous situations for mindless snacking. Gum with an enormous flavor punch overpowers different foods in order that they don’t style smart.Chose a 10-inch lunch plate rather than a 12-inch plate to mechanically eat less. individuals serve additional and eat additional food with larger dishes. Shrink your plate or bowl to chop out 100-200 calories every day – and 10-20 pounds in a very year.The top habit of slim individuals is to stay with modest food parts at each meal, 5 days per week or additional. “Always slim” individuals lie with and thriving losers lie with, too, in line with a client Reports survey. when mensuration parts many times, it will become automatic. build it easier with little “snack” packs and by keeping serving dishes off the table at time for supper.Choose pasta sauce sauce for alimentary paste rather than Alfredo sauce. The tomato-based sauces tend to own fewer calories and far less fat than cream-based sauces. however bear in mind, portion size still counts. A serving of alimentary paste is one cup or roughly the scale of a ball.Eating feeder meals additional usually may be a slimming habit. Vegetarians tend to weigh but meat eaters. whereas there square measure many reasons for this, legumes might play a very important role. Bean burgers, soup, and different tasty legume-based foods square measure merely full of fiber. Most Americans get solely half this vital nutrient, that fills you up with fewer calories.Restaurant meals square measure notoriously finished, therefore think about these special orders that keep parts in restraint. you ought to Split Associate in Nursing entrée with an acquaintance, Order Associate in Nursing appetiser as a meal, select the child’s plate, Get 0.5 the meal in a very doggy bag before it’s delivered to the table. Complement a smaller entrée with further dish for the correct balance, 0.5 the plate full of veggies.