#Tom was showing ownership of Greg

[tenebrous-academic]

Tom keeping those stickers means that he forgave Greg the second he walked out of that bathroom. He could have tossed them aside before leaving apartment — they should have lost all meaning beyond those walls. But instead he held on to them for the sheer drama of claiming Greg in the most public and undeniable place possible.

[transmutationisms]

I couldn't stop thinking about you pointing out the theme of eugenics in this season finale. Finding out Kendall might be sterile was the icing on the cake. And Tom, who doesn't sleep and can withstand physical pain ends up at the top... he's got a dick like a red sequoia and he fucks like a bullet train.

this is a really interesting line of inquiry imo, because you're right that the rhetorical appeal tom makes to matsson very noticeably uses the language of physical strength and bodily fitness. at the same time, we know this to be kind of a lie: tom's been suffering for lack of sleep, he dipped early from the funeral reception last episode, and he spent most of season 3 terrified of the potential violence he could face in prison. i don't say this to pass some kind of judgment on tom, but to point out what i think is a parallel to logan, who also relied on the language of strength, masculinity, and domination, yet was introduced to us as sick and was in varying conditions of sickness / disability throughout the course of the show. both these characters are living in human bodies that are susceptible to various forms of pain and physical limitation, yet their rhetoric and the fascistic demands of corporate masculinity mean they can only survive and succeed by denying these things about their bodies for as long as possible.

the connection here to fertility, impotence, and sexual performance is fairly clear. fucking and impregnating someone is a way to demonstrate not just your power / ownership of that specific person, but also your general bodily fitness and place at the top of the corporate and gender hierarchy. there's some degree of ambiguity about tom's actual sexual performance, but certainly he uses the claim that he has a big dick and fucks well as a demonstration to greg not just of how he 'got' shiv, but also to justify his general position at the company. also, although shiv's motives for voting against kendall are complicated, it is true that she ultimately had to choose between her brother and her husband, who is also the father of her child—so, in some sense, tom's ability to ejaculate and impregnate someone does eventually win him the company. as for kendall, his literal infertility is really the bodily symbol of his metaphorical impotence in logan's eyes. logan sees him as weak for being emotional, as morally lax for using drugs, as pathetic for stuttering, and so forth. logan doesn't talk about his infertility (in the show), but the way he frequently uses feminising language toward kendall, and accuses him of homosexuality, also shows how kendall's infertility is perceived as a failure of his masculinity.

for logan and thus also the rest of the roys, what this ultimately comes down to is a specifically hereditarian idea of bodily fitness, wherein parentage and bloodlines matter as much as environmental circumstances (all of these factors matter in eugenic discourses). logan has defined himself as worthy and physically fit, so his legacy has to be carried on by offspring who inherit these things from him. in this way logan subconsciously hopes to prove his own strength and ability even beyond his death, as the survival of the empire and the bloodline will continue to signal his personal bodily capacity. of course this also betrays a deep sense of anxiety in logan, who fears that if his children are 'weak' or 'unfit' in some way, it also implies something is wrong with his own body and reflects poorly on him. this is partly what drives his clear embarrassment of his children, like in 'tern haven' when confronted with a rival family dynasty that speaks the language of high culture more successfully than the roys. it's also implied that this is part of what made logan view connor as a failure so early in his life: having his mother institutionalised suggests that logan saw in her a mental weakness or defect that would potentially be inherited by connor. parentage can biologically secure the child's position, but can also threaten it; and the child's fitness or lack thereof also reflects back on the parent. this sort of biological anxiety is both a discourse of fixity and one in which loss of status is always a possibility, eg in the ever-present fear of disability.

also, the causality in the show runs in multiple directions: sometimes a power dynamic shifts and is then inscribed on the body (shiv tripping in 'honeymoon states'), other times the bodily event is itself a cause of a power shift (logan yerfing in 'argestes'). then there are threads like matsson being physically so much larger than roman and kendall, in conjunction with his team being specifically young people who are athletically fit and academically credentialed, and matsson flashing his abs to make a business deal. and of course, matsson telling tom he might fuck his wife, and tom basically just nodding along—which tells us a lot about the power dynamic matsson foresees between himself and tom. bodies on this show are explicitly part of the political and rhetorical field of action, and the characters' ideas about bodily fitness are supposed to cue us to these larger discourses about which bodies are 'correct' and 'deserving' of power.

[toxicsludgeyaoi]

Toxic Sludge Yaoi Tournament: Tomgreg (Succession) Vs Tyler Durden/Narrator (Fight Club)

(No images provided. Vote for whichever you like.)

Propaganda under cut. Note: spoilers for these medias may be below.

Tomgreg propaganda

"Tom is married to Greg's rich cousin and is also Greg's boss. As all Succession characters, they are terrible people. Tom immediately takes Greg under his wing because finally there's someone beneath him on the pecking order and proceeds to playfully and lovingly mistreat the daylights out of him. Tom constantly switches between humiliating and criticizing Greg with great enjoyment and treating him as his protege, and he never fails to make homoerotic insinuations while doing so. Not only does he ask Greg to kiss him several times, only to turn back around and tell him he's joking, he also compares himself to Nero and Greg to Sporus, Nero's slave whom he castrated and then married. They double cross and betray each other at least five times over the course of the show and Tom takes out all his frustrations with other people on Greg (there's a memorable scene where he pelts him with water bottles) but they always keep coming back to each other because they're the closest to a healthy emotional connection each one of them has. The end of the show has Tom saving Greg from being fired and marking him as his with a sticker he was supposed to use to mark what furniture he wanted from his dead father in law's home."

Tyler Durden/Narrator propaganda

"Where to begin? They’re literally the archetypal toxic yaoi. That burning kiss on the back of the hand, the starting a cult, the getting a whole load of guys to try to destroy the world. The Narrator has no identity, and Tyler Durden is everything, consuming the Narrator completely. They deserve to win. To finish this off, a few quotes from the Narrator about his relationship with Tyler: “I love everything about Tyler Durden, his courage and his smarts. His nerve. Tyler is funny and charming and forceful and independent, and men look up to him and expect him to change their world. Tyler is capable and free, and I am not.” “We have sort of a triangle thing going here. I want Tyler. Tyler wants Marla. Marla wants me. I don’t want Marla, and Tyler doesn’t want me around, not anymore. This isn’t about love as in caring. This is about property as in ownership.” “Tyler tilts the can of lye an inch above the shining wet kiss on the back of my hand. “This is a chemical burn,” Tyler says, “and it will hurt worse than you’ve ever been burned. Worse than a hundred cigarettes.”” And another quote from the author: “On a plane back to Portland, an airline flight attendant leaned close and asked me to tell him the truth. His theory was the book wasn’t really about fighting at all. He insisted it was really about gay men watching one another fuck in public steambaths. I told him, yeah, what the hell.”"

[gregoftom]

the way that arm touch from tom at the end of the sticker scene isn't even just like...an arm pat. he's like. rubbing greg's arm there. it's comfort. it's not like a bro tap. it's like...I care for you.

god I just. wish we could get different angles of that scene. I want to see tom's hand on greg's arm. does he squeeze. does he caress with his thumb. and I want to see greg's full smile, not just what we get from the behind/side-profile. and I want to see greg's eyes when he flicks them down over tom as he's smiling.

there's just!!! so much love and care and affection and comfort in that scene!! they bitch slapped, and then??? just so much love between them and they expressed it

like they're literally so strong as a unit. they're like. the vibes of them just always having a hand touching somewhere on the other. they're in tandem. and that doesn't go away baby

THIS ASK IS MY ENTIRE ASS, SAY THAT!!!!

something shifted in that scene i don’t give a fuck about the cycles and ppl don’t change, jesse can meet me in the pit. they’re breaking out. yes tom claimed ownership of greg in terms of capitalistic property, in line with the show’s universe, but there is another layer to it too that cannot be denied. like you say it’s after their fight in the bathroom so that adds something i think. this is different to the other times tom has forgiven greg. he’s not self sacrificing and he’s not just throwing money and positions at him - he’s giving him something more than that, something that respects the both of them and their relationship. he’s giving him safety and security and comfort and for the first time, being affectionate in front of people. he’s showing that he takes them seriously.

i think sometimes people forget just how huge this is in terms of a step forward for tom like yes has never normal about greg, but it’s always been behind closed doors in offices, whispering, huddled away, the only time he’s ever shown any kind of dependence on greg or the extent of how much he needs him is in america decides. this was fully in front of people, loud and proud. you could say it’s just the ceo position giving him a power but like, come on. i don’t think it’s just that [the scenes later where he looks depressed af realising his puppet position argue otherwise.]

but yeah tom straight up strokes greg’s arm. the only other time we’ve ever seen a touch like that which was more of a stroke was to his back calling him mr bond but like, that’s not the same i don’t think. this was something else. NOT THE THUMB CARESS OOF… i want to believe he did do that. i think he does squeeze a little at the end. and greg’s been flicking his eyes up and down tom multiple times in s4; he keeps doing that! i thought he just did it in america decides, but he does it in the munsters too. something else as well but i forgot it. anyway, i have a post too of where both their eyes linger on each others mouths. ridiculous!!!!

but yeah. i agree with you anon and it gives me hope tbh. it left me with a sweet taste in my mouth and a sugar high. we don’t know what happens afterwards and there’s many ways things can be read, but for me personally, things are looking up for tom and greg. “they move in together” and tom becomes more “broad minded” are statements that coexist in my head together rent free.

[romanslut]

people claiming succession is queer baiting them because tomgreg isn't gonna happen WHATTT... their relationship is silly-goofy, sure, but it's one of many in the series showing just how destructive capitalism and greed can be to a person's mind and view of the world. tom is so obsessed with his power over greg that he feels a sense of ownership over him because of their difference in rank. everyone in the show is so power hungry it's literally warping their view of what it means to be human and form real relationships with others. it's fucked up, but that's also the fun of the whole show. everything is fucked up.

[madwickedawesome]

out of curiosity how did succession end. i have only watched it through tumblr memes but i am still very curious if you wanted to talk about it (no presh if u dont feel like explaining)

omg yes i gotchu!! the Ending was tom winning ceo position tee hee hee hee hee 😊😊😊😊😊😊

the finale itself was like. shiv and kendall r on opposite sides shiv is CONVINCED mattsson (played by my bf alexander skarsgård) is gonna give her ceo. they go to their moms house (where roman is) to win romans vote for each respective side. meanwhile tom is being interviewed by mattsson for the ceo position and greg spills to kendall that shiv is Not becoming ceo. the siblings all team up and settle on a plan to make kendall ceo and push back against mattsson (and they make kendall a FUCKED UP SMOOTHIE meal fit for a king! to commemorate). siblings r now all working together on the same team and its very funsilly. connor (the Forgotten sibling) holds an event where they claim their dad’s belongings (joined by a really heartwrenching moment when they show a video of their dad on a screen) & shiv finds out from tom that toms being ceo and tom finds out from shiv that greg ratted. tom is PISSED like PISSED. and pulls greg into a bathroom and they fight bc theyre 12 year old girls. roman is really sad that hes not ceo. all of them think they Deserve to be ceo. roman is actually really sad its so tragic. from there the board meeting takes place and the vote is 6-6 and the company ownership relies on shivs vote. shiv walks out bc shes kind of freaking out w the weight on her shoulders and tells kendall he shouldnt be ceo bc he killed someone. kendall tries to say he Didnt kill anyone and that he was lying. roman and shiv r both like what the fuck….. and kendall starts yelling at them. and roman makes a jab that makes kendall attack him and shiv and everyones freaking out and shiv storms out and votes. kendall is a mess. tom wins. greg is kept in bc tomgreg is real. tomshiv is also real but its bc shiv is now forced to be the unhappy trophy wife to the ceo tom. theres so many parallels to 101 and 310. its a mess. i cried. absolute masterpiece

[the-everqueen]

17 + 24 for violence ask game pwease :3 perhaps both sandyman and sucksession

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art para mansand: i want more Lucienne art in general. Viv's insta features some fucking cute fits that would be great fanart inspo. for fic...i'm going to continue preaching the gospel of Coco/Luce. i'm currently writing the Coco/Rose fic i wanted, because the people who write that pairing turned me onto it and i owe them my life.

para succshow: i have many many arts in my likes after the finale, pero if anyone has Roman Roy in that cage with a dog collar...that would be highkey relevant to my interests. idk if anyone is doing the cosmic horrors/waystar crossover but i do sometimes think about the kids' monstrosity being literal.

24. topic that brings up the most rancid discourse already answered but just for you, shall answer again 😘

para mansand: "here's why h*b/dream are actually soulmates" inevitably leads to some incredibly misogynist (and occasionally biphobic) takes. i'm not sure why, in the year of our lord 2023, we continue to find "person you are inextricably bound to" as anything other than horrifying (and if someone has a horror fic based on that premise, lmk), but then again, i'm also not sure why the very normal stance "i like [this] ship" nearly always becomes an excuse to shit on fictional women. (that's a rhetorical statement, i know why.) the actors already gave us the lovely line "Dream is the cast bicycle" so i think people should run with that and diversify the ecosystem.

para succshow: i should say Shiv, because no one can be normal about the one woman, pero sometimes i do a great job curating my experiences on the margins of fandom, and i've actually seen some really good nuanced takes on the finale. so instead i'm going to say tom/greg discourse is, imho, Bad. these men don't secretly love each other. no one loves each other on this show. no one on this show knows what love is. that line "i'd castrate you and marry you in a heartbeat" is not fucking romantic, it's about ownership and dominance because that's the framework of all relations under capitalism. and that's the only framework the Roys have for anything.

[officiallymyself]

Okay, but I do also want to talk about how Tom not only views Greg as belonging to him, but he simultaneously views Greg as someone who reminds him of himself when he started out.

Tom married into the family and Greg came in as a cousin nobody had really spent time with until then, so they were both as much “in the family” as they could be while still being outsiders to the family. They both do their best to stay on the side of whoever they think will win instead of necessarily being out for themselves first.

Tom takes Greg under his wing, I don’t think as a kindness to Greg, but as a kindness to the new kid who reminds him of himself. He is to Greg what nobody was to him. And if Greg is Tom, then of course Tom has ownership over Greg. They’re the same person.

I think that’s also why Tom will always forgive Greg when he betrays him or pushes back. Because it’s a move Tom would have made (or wishes he would have made when he was starting out) and, honestly, he’s proud of him for it. The smile on his face when Greg is asking if he can blackmail him is all the evidence you need of that. But also, when the chips are really down, they both do know that they have each other’s back. Tom is an asshole to Greg, but he brings him along whenever he can. Greg goes behind Tom’s back all the time, but he’s also willing to “Greg” for him when he really needs it.

Tom and Greg, by the end of the show, are effectively extensions of each other, for better and for worse. Tom puts his sticker of ownership on Greg’s head and Greg accepts it with a smile because they know their roles. And they’re happy together.

​Tom made the active decision to keep a sticker. He could have put it on another object and got something physical, but a gesture of love towards Greg was more important. Tom, a man who cares about nothing more than status and monetary gain, decided to chose a gesture towards Greg over priceless antiques and art. He must have planned it out in his head before going there. This was clearly a thought out move. Every train of thought, from keeping a sticker to bringing one to the meeting, was planned. He didn’t even need to stick a sticker on Greg to forgive him. A simple exchange of words would have been enough for Greg and everyone else. It was pretty unnecessary. It was Tom who wanted to do a symbolic gesture. It was Tom who kept a sticker specifically to put on Greg. The object he covets most.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Pluralistic: 18 Mar 2020 (Ethopia's Jack Ma infatuation, Charter's infect-the-world plan, Trumpist firefighters dismiss covid, Flatter Me, aviation bailouts need strings attached, the only way through is together, ventilator sharing, explainers, patents vs respirators, covid stimulus, DIY TP, 1665 plague orders+

Today's links

Ethiopian factory sports Jack Ma quotes: Global trade currents are shifting fast.

Charter orders all workers to keep showing up: Even the 15% of its workforce who could work from home.

MAGA firefighters dismiss coronavirus as Democrat hoax: And/or a Chinese bioweapon.

Flatter Me, a compliments card game: Kickstarting now.

American Airlines blew billions, now it wants a bailout: Socializing losses, privatizing gains.

John Green's mutual aid manifesto: The only way through is together.

How to split a single ventilator for four patients: Peer-reviewed simulations.

Bigoted Republican Congressjerk votes against coronavirus relief because it might cover same-sex partnerships: Rep Andy Biggs wants to send us all to meet Jesus.

Epidemiology and public health in 14 minutes: An epidemiologist and an sf writer make an outstanding science communications team.

3D printed ventilator hero got a patent threat: Human rights vs property rights.

If nothing is for sale, how will covid stimulus work? Can you fix a supply shock with stimulus?

How to make your own toilet paper: A craft for your isolated kiddos.

Plague precautions from 1665: No feasting, but you can tipple in a bar until 9PM.

This day in history: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2019

Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

Ethiopian factory sports Jack Ma quotes (permalink)

This pic was taken by researchers from Caribou Data at a textiles factory in Ethiopia. Every curtain on every window bore silk-screened quotes from Jack Ma's book (the name of the factory has been redacted to preserve the owner's privacy).

The researchers told me that 72 hours after Alibaba moved into Rwanda, every coffee farmer using the platform had sold out of their inventory.

It's a potent and visually arresting reminder of how global trade currents are shifting.

Charter orders all workers to keep showing up (permalink)

My local monopoly ISP is Charter. They're terrible in every single way. What's more, my city, Burbank, owns 100GB fiber that runs under my home's foundation slab, but I can't access it because of Charter's deal with the city. In addition to delivering slow-as-molasses connectivity at nosebleed prices (and relentlessly advertising upsells, dozens every week, print and digital), the company is also forcing all workers to show up in person during the pandemic – even those who could work from home.

They basically forced Nick Wheeler, an engineer who complained about this, to resign, calling his short, measured complaint about the policy "irresponsible," accusing him of "inciting fear."

https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/16/charter-coronavirus-work-home/

Charter gives its workers a single annual week's worth of sick-leave. Workers have to use that leave time if they are worried about contracting or transmitting coronavirus. Medical advice for coronavirus infections is to self-isolate for two weeks, though.

Even other telcos (AT&T, Comcast) are asking workers to work from home. Charter CEO Tom Rutledge has doubled down on his infect-the-world policy, because "While back office and management functions can be performed remotely, they are more effective from the office."

Charter is a tremendous beneficiary of public largesse. It gets access to our rights-of-way, something they couldn't hope to afford at market rates. It received billions in tax-cuts (which it squandered on stock buybacks). The company got Net Neutrality dismantled, and is given monopolies wherever it operates.

This largesse is predicated on the idea that Charter views itself as a steward and can be trusted with monopoly self-regulation. If you had any doubt that the company can't be trusted to pour piss out of a boot with instructions printed on the heel, this should dispel it forever.

What I'm saying is, if you ever have a Charter exec in your home, count the spoons before you let him leave.

MAGA firefighters dismiss coronavirus as Democrat hoax (permalink)

"IAFF Union Firefighters for Trump" is a 27,000 member Facebook group of first responders who split from their union over its endorsement of Biden; Trump himself has endorsed the group.

Today, it is full of firefighters and EMTs who say that coronavirus is no big deal.

Some of the group's members are posting evidence to the contrary from their working experience, talking about the devastation they're witnessing firsthand. Their colleagues reply with poop emojis and "Trump2020."

https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-firefighters-corona#179168

The group is infected with the conspiracy theory that coronvirus is a panic cooked up by Democrats to discredit Trump, or that it's a Chinese bioweapon, an idea that Trump and his Congressional and Senate supporters have tacitly (or explicitly) endorsed.

This is especially worrying as EMTs and firefighters are at high risk of contracting coronovirus. If they don't take the risk seriously, they could spread it to vulnerable people, or reduce emergency capacity while they are quarantined (they also risk their own health).

Group founder Kelly Hallman told Propublica that "There's never been this much hoopla given to the other things. They're doing it to crash the economy and make Trump look bad…If you had to point a finger at why the leftist media and the left in general has a smile on their face about this, it's the Dow. My wife and kids are scared, believing what they're seeing on TV. I'm telling them it's not as bad as the media makes out."

Flatter Me, a compliments card game (permalink)

Flatter Me is Ami Baio's latest kickstarted card-game: "a two-player game for all ages with 250 unique compliments to play with friends, family, and partners."

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/amibaio/flatter-me-a-compliment-battle-card-game

Its creator Ami Baio specialises in games that turn on kindness and connection; her last project was "You Don't Know Me."

https://youthinkyouknowme.cards/

A $20 pledge gets you one Flatter Me deck, $35 gets a two-pack. The cards are also designed to be given as gifts: "given to friends who need a boost, tucked into cards or gift bags, or left for friends to find."

Baio is seeking $12k in pre-orders and is delivers in Oct.

American Airlines blew billions, now it wants a bailout (permalink)

Since 2014, American Airlines has accumulated a $30B debt. It did so while paying its shareholders $15B through stock buybacks, and while raising prices on fliers, nickel-and-diming on bag charges and other extras. Now its industry group – whose members spent 96% of their free cash-flow on buybacks – is seeking a $50B coronavirus bailout, with no strings attached. That's 300% more than the industry got after 9/11.

This is shareholder capitalism working as intended. As Matt Levine writes, "it is optimized to extract money for shareholders when things go well and minimize the amount of shareholder money that is at risk when things go very wrong."

http://link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/join/4wm/moneystuff-signup

But as Tim Wu writes, bailouts should come with strings attached. The airlines engineered this situation for themselves. If we let them socialized their losses and privatize their gains (again), they'll do it again (again).

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/opinion/airlines-bailout.html

"Change fees should be capped at $50 and baggage fees tied to some ratio of costs. The change fees don't just irritate; they are a drag on the broader economy, making the transport system less flexible and discouraging otherwise efficient changes to travel plans."

"We should end the airlines' pursuit of smaller and smaller seats, which are not only uncomfortable and even physically harmful, but also foster in-flight rage and make the job of flight attendants nigh unbearable."

"Finally, we have allowed too much common ownership, permitting large shareholders to take a stake in each of the major airlines, creating incentives to collude instead of compete."

As Naomi Klein has reminded us, the Shock Doctrine (can) cut both ways: the Great Depression catalyzed transformative change and the New Deal. Let's not permit this disaster be seized by the people responsible for it.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/17/pluralistic-17-mar-2020/#disaster-socialism

John Green's mutual aid manifesto (permalink)

This video from John Green is a tonic: a reminder that humanity has a shared destiny and that cooperation is the human condition. and that mutual aid is key.

"The only way out is through, and the only way through is together."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh23nwxpfe8

How to split a single ventilator for four patients (permalink)

In 2008, Greg Neyman and Charlene Babcock Irvin published "A Single Ventilator for Multiple Simulated Patients to Meet Disaster Surge" in the peer-reviewed Society for Academic Emergency Medicine journal.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1197/j.aem.2006.05.009

In this video, Dr Babcock demonstrates how to split a single ventilator to safely and effectively treat up to four patients.

As she points out, there have been no studies of this, but it has been (temporarily) used successfully in the field.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uClq978oohY

Bigoted Republican Congressjerk votes against coronavirus relief because it might cover same-sex partnerships (permalink)

You may not get paid leave during the coronavirus crisis in part because Rep Andy Biggs (R-AZ) voted against it because his homophobia was more salient than his empathy.

https://theintercept.com/2020/03/17/coronavirus-stimulus-bill-andy-biggs/

He claimed (wrongly) that this was novel federal legislation in that it included domestic partnerships.

He was objecting to the provision of assistance to family members, including "biological, foster, or adopted child, a stepchild, a child of a domestic partner."

As Lee Fang writes, "The exact same legislative text around domestic partnerships and committed relationships is found in several bills in Congress, including paid sick leave legislation proposed as far back as 2015."

Biggs also lied and said that he objected to coronavirus relief because it would repeal the Hyde Amendment ("Two provisions that have nothing to do with the coronavirus are basically thrown into this thing. That's par for the course for the left").

The bill does not repeal the Hyde Amendment.

The Republican Party, folks. The party of death and poverty and tragedy and hate. Remember that in November.

Epidemiology and public health in 14 minutes (permalink)

Epidemiologist Dr. Ross Kauffman and sf writer Tobias Buckell teamed up to produce this short video explaining the costs of a runaway coronavirus epidemic to explain the need for drastic measures to their local Ohio town council.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqgINxGQB5w

It's a spectacular piece of science communications: grave without being alarmist, calm and measured, informative and plainspoken. It's a really important piece of video and I hope you'll watch it.

3D printed ventilator hero got a patent threat (permalink)

Remember the heartwarming story of the Italian makers who volunteered to fix their hospital's busted ventilators with 3D printed parts that they designed and produced on the spot?

https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/16/tiktoks-secrets/#3dp-breathfree

It turns out that these makers weren't just saving lives, they were also taking a legal risk. That's because when they asked the manufacturer for help with the project, the manufacturer countered by threatening to sue them for patent infringement.

https://it.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-manca-la-valvola-per-uno-strumento-di-rianimazione-e-noi-la-stampiamo-in-3d-accade-nellospedale-di-chiari-brescia/

The part they printed cost them 1 euro, while replacing the system would cost a reported EUR10,000.

In a heartfelt, and soul-searching post, one of the people behind the project says he won't try to distribute the files he created.

https://www.facebook.com/Ing.Cristian.Fracassi/posts/10222339428782713

I can't help but wonder if he's hoping to mollify the corporation whose threats he ignored to help save lives.

Postscript: If you're pondering the issues of open source/homebrew respirator design, check out this excellent thread on the material constraints and challenges of med-tech.

https://twitter.com/turzaak/status/1239544498553860096

If nothing is for sale, how will covid stimulus work? (permalink)

I'm a believer in Modern Monetary Theory and the idea that state deficit spending is not intrinsically inflationary – only when the state is trying to procure things the private sector wants, so they get into a bidding war.

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/4/16/18251646/modern-monetary-theory-new-moment-explained

In theory, the covid contraction is a great candidate for MMT stimulus. If people are stockpiling cash and thus eliminating their discretionary spending (40% of US GDP!), then the state can procure the discretionary items without triggering inflation.

Or there could be a hybrid, such as distributing vouchers to the public, redeemable for discretionary purchases – instead of bailing out aviation, we could buy people plane tickets, for example.

But that runs into a big problem: there's another reason people aren't making discretionary purchases, which is that those goods and services aren't available (manufacture has been disrupted by social distancing) or aren't safe (flying is incompatible with social distancing).

In this case, it seems to me that stimulus spending runs the risk of being inflationary (when everyone tries to redeem their plane ticket vouchers at once) or useless (people throw away their vouchers). Stimulus + supply shock = ??

That's not to rule out stimulus altogether, but it does suggest that the stimulus needs to be targeted, especially considering the size of the bailout that Wall Street is bandying about: trillions, in a matter of days.

https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-coronavirus-calls-for-wartime-economic-thinking

The GOP is calling for a $1,000/person bailout, but as @yvessmith says, this isn't much when it comes to the immediate expenses that affected people need to cover, like rent, mortgage, and, of course, treating covid-related illness without insurance.

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2020/03/why-sending-1000-checks-to-everyone-wont-solve-the-coronavirus

Maybe, instead, help to cover mortgage and rent, along with anti-eviction/foreclosure rules; help with utilities, expanded food aid, and swift Medicare for All. Then, once the crisis is passed, a big stimulus package – for people, not banks – that gets us buying stuff again?

TBH, I don't know. It's weird to feel skeptical of stimulus, given how valuable demand-side relief would have been over the past decade+. Obviously we don't want another 2008 plute bonanza giveaway, but we also don't want to inject ever more money to chase ever-fewer goods.

How to make your own toilet paper (permalink)

Making toilet paper at home is a pretty on-the-nose craft to try with your covid-isolated kiddos. You need newsprint, leaves/grass (as a cellulosic binder) and baby oil.

https://www.ehow.com/how_4514690_make-toilet-paper.html

Soak the paper until ink is mostly gone, slowly boil with leaves/grass, simmer 1h, bring to boil for 30m, adding water and skimming foam. Remove, ladle out excess water. Mix 4tbsps of baby oil in with pulp. Scoop pulp onto a towel, press with a rolling pin.

Gently beat out lumps with a rubber mallet, add another towel on top. Cover with a board and add weights. Wait 30m. Flip over, remove towel and leave to dry in sun. Cut into strips and use (sparingly).

Plague precautions from 1665 (permalink)

ORDERS CONCEIVED AND PUBLISHED BY THE LORD MAYOR AND ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF LONDON CONCERNING THE INFECTION OF THE PLAGUE, 1665

https://brucesterling.tumblr.com/post/612917764072636416/orders-conceived-and-published-by-the-lord-mayor

Every parish needs examiners. Refuse duty and you go to prison: "persons of good sort and credit chosen and appointed by the alderman, his deputy, and common council of every ward, by the name of examiners, to continue in that office the space of two months at least."

Examiners must "inquire and learn from time to time what houses in every parish be visited, and what persons be sick, and of what diseases…[I]f they find any person sick of the infection, to give order to the constable that the house be shut up."

Infected homs get 24/7 surveillance two watchmen: "these watchmen have a special care that no person go in or out of such infected houses whereof they have the charge, upon pain of severe punishment."

They'll also get you groceries and lock up your shop.

Women "of honest reputation" are appointed by physicians as "searchers" to inspect the dead and determine cause of death. Searchers are helped by newly appointed "able and discreet chirurgeons," charged with ensuring that "a true report made of the disease."

Nurse-keepers have to be quarantined for 28 days after their patients die.

If plague is found in a house, the whole household is locked in for 28 days. Prior to sequestration, their personal effects have to be aired, treated with fire, and then perfumed. Anyone known to have visited a plague house is locked down for 28 days, along with their household, with the same airing, flaming and perfuming business.

Plague-dead may only be buried after sunset and before sunrise, with no mourners in attendance. No sermons or eulogies allowed. Graves must be 6 feet deep. All funerals are banned. Personal effects of the plague-dead must be destroyed, not given away or sold.

Public notice: "Every house visited be marked with a red cross of a foot long in the middle of the door.. and with these usual printed words… 'Lord, have mercy upon us,' to be set close over the same cross, there to continue until lawful opening of the same house."

Cab drivers can continue as normal, but if they carry someone thought to have plague they have to retire their hackney-coaches for 5-6 days and give them a thorough airing.

[[I sense that this may be a weak spot in the whole plan]]

There's also new sanitation rules requiring regular sweepings and rakings of "filth" from the streets, with all the human waste being dumped far from the city and not in local gardens. Smelly or rotten food-sales are banned.

Cops are charged with sweeping up and punishing beggars, who are banned from the streets.

No live entertainment: "all plays, bear-baitings, games, singing of ballads, buckler-play, or such-like causes of assemblies of people be utterly prohibited."

All restaurants are closed. Feasting is banned.

Bars are OK, but under suspicion, and must close by 9PM. The rule covers "tippling in taverns, ale-houses, coffee-houses, and cellars."

[[Again, this seems like a weak spot]]

This day in history (permalink)

#15yrsago Andre Norton, RIP https://web.archive.org/web/20050318045717/http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/books/03/17/obit.norton.ap/index.html

#15yrsago Orrin Hatch is head of new IP subcommitee https://www.technewsworld.com/story/41548.html

#10yrsago Is the UK record industry arrogant or stupid? https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2010/mar/18/digital-economy-bill-calculated-loss

#10yrsago Entertainment industry sours on term "pirate" — too sexy https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2010/03/piracy-sounds-too-sexy-say-rightsholders/

#10yrsago YouTube: Viacom secretly posted its videos even as they sued us for not taking down Viacom videos https://youtube.googleblog.com/2010/03/broadcast-yourself.html

#10yrsago Michael Lewis's THE BIG SHORT, visiting the econopocalypse through the lens of LIAR'S POKER https://boingboing.net/2010/03/18/michael-lewiss-the-b.html

#5yrsago Insider view of the cash-for-gold ripoff https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/swindle-fraud/we-buy-broken-gold

#5yrsago Terry Pratchett's advice to booksellers https://www.thebookseller.com/blogs/advice-booksellers

#1yrago Facebook's year-old "improvements" to the newsfeed have elevated enraging Fox News posts to the service's dominant form https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/03/one-year-in-facebooks-big-algorithm-change-has-spurred-an-angry-fox-news-dominated-and-very-engaged-news-feed/

#1yrago Electronic Health Records: a murderous, publicly subsidized, $13B/year grift by way of shitty software https://khn.org/news/death-by-a-thousand-clicks/

Colophon (permalink)

Today's top sources: Mitch Wagner (http://mitchwagner.com/blog/), Kottke (https://kottke.org), Laurent Stanevich (https://twitter.com/LairBob), Naked Capitalism (https://www.nakedcapitalism.com), Slashdot (https://slashdot.org).

Currently writing: I've just finished rewrites on a short story, "The Canadian Miracle," for MIT Tech Review. It's a story set in the world of my next novel, "The Lost Cause," a post-GND novel about truth and reconciliation. I've also just completed "Baby Twitter," a piece of design fiction also set in The Lost Cause's prehistory, for a British think-tank. I'm getting geared up to start work on the novel next.

Currently reading: Just started Lauren Beukes's forthcoming Afterland: it's Y the Last Man plus plus, and two chapters in, it's amazeballs. Last month, I finished Andrea Bernstein's "American Oligarchs"; it's a magnificent history of the Kushner and Trump families, showing how they cheated, stole and lied their way into power. I'm getting really into Anna Weiner's memoir about tech, "Uncanny Valley." I just loaded Matt Stoller's "Goliath" onto my underwater MP3 player and I'm listening to it as I swim laps.

Latest podcast: The Masque of the Red Death and Punch Brothers Punch https://craphound.com/podcast/2020/03/16/the-masque-of-the-red-death-and-punch-brothers-punch/

Upcoming books: "Poesy the Monster Slayer" (Jul 2020), a picture book about monsters, bedtime, gender, and kicking ass. Pre-order here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626723627?utm_source=socialmedia&utm_medium=socialpost&utm_term=na-poesycorypreorder&utm_content=na-preorder-buynow&utm_campaign=9781626723627

(we're having a launch for it in Burbank on July 11 at Dark Delicacies and you can get me AND Poesy to sign it and Dark Del will ship it to the monster kids in your life in time for the release date).

"Attack Surface": The third Little Brother book, Oct 20, 2020. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250757531

"Little Brother/Homeland": A reissue omnibus edition with a new introduction by Edward Snowden: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250774583

[architectnews]

Queen's University Belfast presents ten student architecture projects

A centre designed to help relax cancer patients and a "Carnival of Colours" feature in Dezeen's latest school show by students at Queen's University Belfast.

Also included is a performing arts theatre referencing Japanese architecture and a community centre featuring a community kitchen, market hall and allotments.

Queen's University Belfast

School: Queen's University Belfast Courses: BSc Architecture and MArch Tutors: Dr Niek Turner, Clare Mulholland, Prof Michael McGarry, Catherine Blaney, Rachel Delargy, Tarla MacGabhann, Jane Larmour, Dr Gul Kacmaz Erk, Patrick Wheeler, Jennifer Harper, Dr Nuala Flood, Laurence Lord, Guido Vericat, Aoife McGee, Dr Rachel O’Grady, Fearghal Murray, David Magennis, Prof Greg Keeffe, Dr Seán Cullen, Prof Michael McGarry, Ben Weir, Prof Tom Jefferies, Dr Laura Coucill, Dr Amber Roberts, Jane Larmour, Keith McAllister, Catherine Blaney and Dr Colm Moore.

School statement:

"The BSc (Hons) Architecture programme is a dynamic learning environment that encourages students to develop professionalism, critical thinking and creativity by acquiring architectural design, research, analysis, and communication skills.

"The programme pivots around the design studio and is articulated around three interconnected and overlapping areas: architectural design and communication; history and theory of architecture and; technology and environment.

"For stage two and three students, joint studio projects, live projects for stage one and MArch students, shared skills development events and collaborative learning projects with planning and engineering students all enrich the curriculum. A well-established architecture society (ArchSoc) and the Queen's Climate Action Network (QCAN) provide further social, educational and cultural lectures and events.

"At its core, our M.Arch programme's ambition is for each student to understand what motivates them as architects in the expanding field that is the contemporary practice of architecture.

"Across the two years, each student builds a personal portfolio culminating in a thesis project which inquisitively seeks to define a position – to establish the ground from which they can develop their future practice. In doing so, we hope that our graduates enter the profession with clear values, ambition and confidence in both architecture itself and their ability as a designer to positively contribute to the shaping of our society."

Growing Together by Kayla Enos

"This project aims to enhance the lives of the community by providing inclusive and accessible opportunities for social interaction. The scheme provides a community kitchen and dining room, a market hall and a series of allotments.

"It responds to research which associates proximity to green space with improved mental wellbeing and proposes gardening as a measure to improve wellness. The site is located along the River Lagan, in an area at high risk of flooding. Designing a flood strategy for the site became a priority for this scheme and a new flood wall for the area which also forms a footpath."

Student: Kayla Enos Course: BSc Architecture Tutors: Dr Niek Turner, Clare Mulholland, Professor Michael McGarry and Catherine Blaney

The Healing Gardens by Rachel Murphy

"A calm and relaxing environment for cancer patients and survivors, the project provides therapy and counselling rooms together with residential spaces. Connections between interior spaces and garden and courtyard views have been prioritised in the planning of the building, and a library and living space connect directly to the outdoors through a large window with built-in seats.

"Armagh is known for apple orchards, and existing trees on the site have been preserved. The building structure uses timber construction. Cladding materials include handmade clay bricks which match the colour palette of the surrounding area."

Student: Rachel Murphy Course: BSc Architecture Tutors: Rachel Delargy, Tarla MacGabhann and Jane Larmour

Performing Arts School by Arjun Bharj

"Using sustainable means of construction, a traditional Japanese style is imitated to attain a certain degree of visual softness and theatricality. The design provides a journey around shoji screens that aim to encourage exploration whilst maintaining the quietness of the proposal's thematic qualities.

"The design proposal considers the diversity of the Holyland's performing arts students. The spaces are designed to support contemporary pedagogy, diversity and equality."

Student: Arjun Bharj Course: BSc Architecture Tutors: Dr Gul Kacmaz Erk, Patrick Wheeler, Jennifer Harper

Expanding Networks – Reimagining Architectural Education by Grace Carney

"The proposal challenges the current paradigm of architectural education and proposes spaces which enable the school to act as a network between practitioners, students and citizens.

"A grid provides flexible structures, and breakout spaces facilitate collaboration. The ground floor is designed as a covered street to accommodate exhibitions and markets. Sited along the Lagan, but building proposes new pedestrian networks to connect the school with other buildings across the city."

Student: Grace Carney Course: BSc Architecture Tutors: Dr Gul Kacmaz Erk, Patrick Wheeler and Jennifer Harper

The Carnival of Colours by Ellen McKeag

"The Carnival of Colours is a three-day festival and circus based in Derry / Londonderry around midsummer. This scheme proposes temporary pavilions which provide performance spaces for the festival and a permanent headquarters for the festival organisation.

"The headquarters are made up of timber framework with smaller, integrated modules, which allow the building to expand and contract according to spatial demand. Construction is designed to be zero-waste – all components are demountable and fully recyclable."

Student: Ellen McKeag Course: BSc Architecture Tutors: Civic Stage

Artificial Super-organism Eco-Town by Stavroula Perdikaki

"Artificial Super-organism Eco-Town (ASET) explores alternative economies based on an analysis of the Dublin housing crisis and the theoretical perspective of anarchism.

"Examining homelessness and dereliction about the policies which created them, the project imagines a society in which ownership, tax and surveillance do not exist and proposes a new form of urbanism to support this.

"ASET relies on social impact and low-profit investment. It goes against governmental decisions and mainstream financial systems to create a resilient economy and housing system. Renewable energy is the currency of this new society, powering."

Student: Stavroula Perdikaki Course: MArch Tutors: Professor Greg Keeffe and Dr Seán Cullen

Scaffold by Juliette Moore

"Located in Railwayview Street, Bangor, the project takes the form of four detached dwellings, a local shop, café and community path which connects the street to Bangor train station. The project is an investigation of a design methodology that examines how linework in drawing can be manipulated to inform and justify design decisions.

"Tracing physical plotlines and analysing the geometries of the context with the predicted paths of movement through the site created patterns that guided internal spatial arrangements, structure and materiality. Lines of notation and sound were used to augment the project beyond technical configurations."

Student: Juliette Moore Course: MArch Tutors: Professor Michael McGarry, Ben Weir

The Renewable Energy Landscape of Mourne by Louis Shing 

"This project aims to reconcile renewable energy and heritage landscapes. The possibility of distributing renewable energy in the Mourne Mountains is evaluated in terms of productive capacity and scenic value. The proposal unites vernacular and traditional building techniques with hi-tech renewable energy systems by integrating PV panels in traditional forms of drystone walling.

"The Automated Recycling Centre provides maintenance and recycling facilities which minimize the visual impact on the landscape. This introduces a new vernacular typology into the landscape and internal space is divided between automated maintenance and visitor experience capturing the view of Slieve Binnian."

Student: Louis Shing Course: MArch Tutors: Professor Tom Jefferies, Dr Laura Coucill and Dr Amber Roberts

Kinbane: Curating the Historic Landscape by William Brady, In Praise of Adaptation

"This proposal narrates the historic landscape and the story of Kinbane to celebrate the area's unique cultural importance. It retraces the pilgrimage of past generations to lead to the salmon fisheries under the shadow of the cliffside.

"A reroofed cottage offers shelter and accommodation from the elements. Kinbane Castle hangs precariously over the rocks below, accessed by a new staircase and path. Beyond the castle, in the north bailey, new interventions bridge the enclosure to the rising headland."

Student: William Brady Course: MArch Tutors: Jane Larmour and Keith McAllister

From Sienna to Dublin: An investigation in the picturesque by Katie Jackson

"This thesis project is a hotel for the city in Dublin that is grounded in the picturesque sensibility, informed by 'A Month in Siena by Hisham Matar'. Capel Street is a complex site with a deep plan in a dense landscape. It was a challenge to the conventions of architecture.

"Light is carved through the building using light wells and light objects. The objects are aedicules, mini architectures held within the hotel. The thesis is about making architecture that can exist at all scales. It explores how to design a space like a painter would compose a painting with a picturesque sensibility."

Student: Katie Jackson Course: MArch Tutors: Catherine Blaney and Dr Colm Moore

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Queen's University Belfast. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

The post Queen's University Belfast presents ten student architecture projects appeared first on Dezeen.

[transmutationisms]

i agree with the your statement on what succession is saying on the nuclear family but i guess i don’t understand how to get there analytically. how/why is it saying that these things are intrinsic to the social form of the family? how/why is it not arguing that it is the product of familial abuse specifically? like how is it arguing that this is true for all families and not just ones we’d label fucked up? like i do believe it but i can’t articulate why so i was wondering if you could lol thank you

so, to me the analysis proceeds by asking what specific social forms and conditions create and enable the familial abuse. logan has control over his family because of his money and his social and political capital. he sees himself as specifically having ownership over his children, as they're almost avatars of himself including / specifically in their sexual behaviour. his psychological abuse is possible because they rely on him for their emotional development; his physical abuse is possible because as the father, he has legal ownership over them. he wants to turn them into ideal, disciplined employees, who correctly demonstrate his definitions of masculinity and strength, and punishes them for failing to live up to these demands.

so, what elements are anomalous? logan's level of wealth and power is elevated because he's a tv billionaire, of course. but, legally and socially, parents do actually have ownership over their children, who are denied personhood and bodily autonomy. fatherhood specifically is configured as a relation of ownership (though make no mistake that even in a non-patriarchal society, ceteris paribus, the parent-child relationship is still power-imbalanced). the family as the site of emotional development and the source of the child's basic material needs means there is tremendous potential for abuse because it's very difficult, emotionally or materially, for a child to survive leaving it. and logan's valorisation of masculinity etc is very much in line with prevailing cultural norms.

the suggestion then is that the type of abuse we see in the roys is not an aberration from the normal rules of familial dynamics, just an intensification of them. even in healthy, non-abusive families there are elements of control and power imbalance, and children are basically trapped in such families as well; they're simply lucky not to be in immediate extreme harm because of it. misogyny that pervades a society will also pervade individual families, and it's very common and normal for parents to value their daughters less than their sons, treat their sons with disgust for being effeminate, etc. even in families where these things don't produce outright abuse, they are still harmful; abuse of the roy variety is not different by quality but in quantity.

the collapse of the employer-employee relationship and the parent-child relationship is a critical piece of this. for logan, having children was a means of securing an heir to both his business and his bloodline / legacy. this inherently makes the children instrumental for logan, valued on the basis of how well they conform to what he wants, ie, a flattering reflection of himself that can outlive him. and furthermore, the show goes out of its way to show how the power imbalance of employer-enployee inherently creates the possibility for abuse (tom and greg, kendall and jess, logan and the old guard, logan and waystar more generally). so, mapping logan's relationship with his children onto the capitalist relationship to the worker is a deliberate move again suggesting that these relationships are both marked by a power differential and instrumental use of the disempowered person, which enables abusive treatment.

so, familial abuse on the show is not a departure from normal family dynamics but an intensification of them. not all parents are emotionally and physically violent with their children to the extent logan is, obviously. but the family inherently allows for this possibility, makes it extremely hard to stop such violence when it is occurring, and is still coercive even for those children who are not in an actively dangerous situation with an outright abusive parent. again, the difference with the roys is in degree of intensity; nothing about how they function or the ideology logan imposes on them is actually a violation of cultural, social, or legal norms in the united states in 2023.

[junker-town]

The 6 best NFL destinations for free agent Tom Brady

Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

It’s gonna be the Patriots, but here are the teams that will at least be in the running for Tom Brady.

Tom Brady has been a New England Patriot for the past 20 years. He may not stick around for a 21st.

The two-time MVP and six-time Super Bowl champion is set to hit free agency for the first time in his career. That means he could be the most sought-after player in the league, even if the Patriots are willing to throw upwards of $30 million annually to keep him in Foxborough.

If 2019 is any indication, 2020 Brady will be a slightly above-average passer who mostly avoids risks, beats the teams he’s supposed to, and wins games with a heavy assist from his defense. There’s a chance that could change with a better supporting cast. There’s a similar chance that, at age 43, his inevitable decline is finally upon him.

He’s made it clear there’s gas left in his tank, though. And it’s possible he spends 2020 somewhere other than New England. The Raiders are reportedly planning a dogged pursuit, and they may not even be a top-seven destination for his services.

So which teams could provide the softest landing spot? Let’s look at the early standouts, broken down by best fits for Touchdown Tom.

The best fit for Brady’s passing game (and Chris Ballard’s revenge): Indianapolis Colts

It’s not a perfect fit, but it makes some sense.

The Colts could give Brady an offensive line Pro Football Focus ranked third-best in the NFL. Jack Doyle won’t be confused for Rob Gronkowski, but he’s a Pro Bowl tight end with a 73.4 career catch percentage. Nyheim Hines, electric as a punt returner, has 107 catches in his two seasons as a situational back. When Brady looks to air it out, he’ll have T.Y. Hilton as his top option.

This would all be a delightful turn of events for Indianapolis general manager Chris Ballard. Back in February 2018, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels agreed to become head coach of the Colts. But before he could sign that deal — and, famously, after the Colts had tweeted it out — McDaniels reneged on his agreement and decided to keep his old job in New England.

Convincing Brady to finish out his career wearing Peyton Manning’s old shoulder stripes would be a pretty good heckle on New England. It’s not completely out of the realm of possibility, either.

Indianapolis may be in the market for a quarterback. Jacoby Brissett struggled late in the season after suffering a knee injury in Week 8. That turned a 5-2 start into a 7-9 finish and a spot outside the playoffs.

Bringing Brady to the AFC South would also unite him with his former backups in Brissett and Brian Hoyer. The Colts have a limited receiving corps, but also have more than $86 million in salary cap space to spend this offseason. They could throw money at A.J. Green to join Hilton in an all-initials receiving corps or use their solid draft position to take a crack at one of the deepest influxes of wideout talent in years.

If Ballard wants to make Brady a priority, there’s a lot he could offer.

Chance it happens: 1/10

Indianapolis Colts QB Brady seems like the fastest way to piss off two different fanbases. It also sounds like a credible threat to force the Patriots into investing heavily in their veteran quarterback and his wide receivers and tight ends this spring.

The best team that can give him big-play wideouts: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Brady still wants to throw deep balls. The question is, should he? He’s only completed 37 percent of passes of at least 20+ yards over the last three seasons. While some of those incompletions can be explained away by an underwhelming receiving corps, the truth is that Brady misses a lot of deep throws.

He probably wouldn’t have anyone like Randy Moss or Gronkowski if he returned to the Patriots, but there’s one QB-needy team that can bolster him with a top wideout tandem. The Buccaneers are currently in the market for a quarterback with Jameis Winston set to hit free agency. A move to Tampa would pair Brady with field stretcher Mike Evans and budding star Chris Godwin, whose 1,333 receiving yards were third-most in the NFL in 2019.

These dynamos could help fill in the gap between any waning accuracy and Brady’s traditionally solid numbers. Instead of putting a ball in a tight window for Gronkowski to innately snatch, he could turn to the 6’5 Evans, who is similarly masterful at using his size and length to shield the ball from defensive backs. If he needs a sure-handed target at the sticks on third down, he’d have Godwin, who dropped just one of the 88 catchable passes thrown his way.

The Buccaneers operate behind an explosive passing game and a head coach (Bruce Arians) known for getting the most out of his quarterbacks. Brady would provide Tampa Bay with a prolific, if diminished, passer who can show what the Bucs are capable of behind a quarterback who doesn’t turn the ball over twice per game.

Chance it happens: 2/10

Brady would get two good receivers and a coach who could help restore his brilliance in Tampa. He’d also have a defense that ranked 29th in points allowed thanks to an awful turnover differential but fifth in Football Outsiders’ defensive efficiency metric. Factor in nearly $85 million in cap space this offseason and there’s a lot to like from Brady’s vantage point. As far as suitors go, though, the Bucs may not measure up.

The best team to offer him something he truly hasn’t had: Carolina Panthers

David Tepper assumed ownership of the Panthers in 2018 and oversaw a quiet transition ... until 2019. That’s when he fired longtime head coach Ron Rivera, released veteran tight end Greg Olsen, and threw oodles of money at college sideline standouts Matt Rhule and Joe Brady.

Tepper’s next splash could be to hire a man whose work he knows well. As a native of Pittsburgh and former minority owner of the Steelers, Tepper’s seen the Patriots end his hometown team’s postseason hopes in the AFC title game three separate times. Transplanting Brady from New England to Carolina would be his biggest move yet.

The main factor that could swing Brady south — besides a big chunk of cash made possible by the $20 million in salary cap savings the Panthers would gain by releasing Cam Newton — would be Christian McCaffrey. The All-Pro runner/receiver would be the most complete tailback Brady’s ever played with in his 20+ years in the NFL.

McCaffrey is James White and an upgraded rookie-year Sony Michel all in one. Having him on the field for all three downs would create a new level of flexibility to the QB’s playbook, and his play-action passing would branch out into more options than ever before.

Chance it happens: 2/10

The Panthers’ offensive line and its 8.4 percent sack rate aren’t exactly conducive to a 43-year-old quarterback. Carolina would have to make other upgrades to make Charlotte one of Brady’s preferred destinations.

The best place to take one more swipe at Philip Rivers’ legacy: Los Angeles Chargers

Rivers saw his season end thanks to Brady’s Patriots three times in his 16 seasons. He and the Chargers parted ways before the 17th.

Brady could take the reins for a team just one year removed from a 12-win season. He’d have one of the league’s top receiving backs should the club retain restricted free agent Austin Ekeler, as well as a dynamite deep threat in Keenan Allen. The Chargers could also use the franchise tag to keep tight end Hunter Henry in town to be Gronk Lite for the quadragenarian QB. While Los Angeles’ offensive line hasn’t earned much hype, it allowed Rivers — a player roughly as mobile as Brady — to be sacked on just 5.4 percent of his dropbacks in 2019.

A move across the AFC wouldn’t just give the Chargers a headliner to open their new, shared stadium in LA. It would also bring Brady back to his California roots. He grew up in San Mateo, some 360 miles north of Los Angeles, but Hollywood could make a lot of sense for the world’s most recognizable football player, his supermodel wife, and the children he threw into a Facebook reality show in 2018.

Actually, you know what? Hold that thought.

Chance it happens: 3/10

This feels less dirty than seeing Brady in a Colts helmet, but the Chargers’ limited defense and recent failures could be a problem.

The best hometown option: San Francisco 49ers

If general manager John Lynch thinks he’s seen the best of Jimmy Garoppolo already, he can trade away his quarterback while eating just $4.2 million in dead cap space this offseason. That would clear more than $22 million in room to bring Brady to the franchise he grew up cheering for. Want to get weird? THIS would be weird.

And probably pretty stupid from the Niners.

Chance it happens: 0.25/10

Garoppolo was 10 minutes away from a Super Bowl MVP. Brady is no guaranteed upgrade at age 43. This would be one hell of a swing from Lynch, who has mostly made the right moves after graduating to the Niners’ front office in 2017. There’s almost no way this happens, but dear god, imagine if it did.

The best fit because, come on, what are we even doing here?: New England Patriots

The storybook ending is for Bill Belichick and Brady to go out together, holding ring-clad hands (metaphorically) and turning into the sunset. That’s always been the plan.

If New England is willing to pay, free agency should just be a formality for Brady — a brief Rumspringa before returning to his hardworking, strawberry-free roots. Here’s what the Patriots can offer him:

his best shot at winning a Super Bowl in 2021

the best head coach in the game

an offensive line that’s allowed him to be sacked only 49 times the past two seasons (36 games, including the playoffs) — and one that should get center David Andrews back in the lineup after missing all of 2019 due to blood clots

the league’s top defense, even if several key pieces (Kyle Van Noy, Devin McCourty, etc.) are set to be free agents

the chance to finish out his career having played for only one NFL franchise.

Re-signing Brady may make it difficult to carve out the room needed to get receiver and tight end help, but that group could be improved with the growth of 2019 first-round pick N’Keal Harry and midseason addition Mohamed Sanu’s increased familiarity with the Patriot offense. But Brady returning to New England might not be such a sure thing after all. A couple reports from Feb. 27 suggested that him going elsewhere seems a bit more likely. Via Pats Pulpit:

First, ESPN’s Jeff Darlington said that he “would be stunned if Tom Brady went back to New England” during an appearance on his network’s show Get Up. A short time later, the Boston Herald’s Karen Guregian added that the Patriots and Brady’s camp have not yet been in contact and that the odds of a contract extension materializing are “‘not looking good,’ according to a person with knowledge of the situation.”

Still, there’s a long way to go with these negotiations, so it’s probably best to take that with a grain of salt. Even if there are still plenty of questions to answer in New England, there’s a lot the Pats have going for them that other teams do not.

Chance it happens: 8/10

There’s only one place Brady belongs, and it’s in the warm, Twisted Tea-smelling bosom of screaming Boston fans.

[douglassmiith]

What do local SEOs really think of Google My Business support?

It’s already hard to remember a time when a local SEO Company’s priorities included having to deal with Google My Business’ various support teams across email, phone, live chat, and social media.

Earlier this year, though, it was a different story. So, inspired by serious issues with incorrect recommendations, errant listing suspensions and very long wait times for reinstatements earlier this year, I sought to find out what the local search experts (many of whom are GMB Product Experts) really thought of the quality of Google My Business’ support, and compiled the following reactions from a long list of local SEO Company pros, including Joy Hawkins, Ben Fisher, Greg Gifford, Dan Leibson, Dana DiTomaso, and more.

I have it on good authority that the quality of support isn’t likely to magically improve once the virus clears, so let’s consider this the “wayback machine” of GMB support gripes, and just hope that the future doesn’t so clearly reflect the past.

Search Engine Land’s Greg Sterling will lead a Live with Search Engine Land discussion with two leaders in the local marketing agency space: Foursquare CEO David Shim and PlaceIQ CEO Duncan McCall. They will discuss how brands and marketers can use location intelligence as they plot a way forward at 2 p.m. ET May 15. Learn more here >>

Incorrect or misleading information and advice

One very common response from almost all sides was around the issues with incorrect information being presented as fact. While experienced SEO Companys may be able to see through the misinformation, any local business owner looking for help from GMB support runs the risk of being told to do something that either won’t help with their problem at all or will actively damage their business’ visibility.

Ben Fisher (Steady Demand): Phone support is a gamble: if you get someone untrained, they will destroy you with the wrong information. On the other hand, if you get someone who has some sympathy, they will not only help you but follow up to make sure all went okay.

My tip for phone support is to listen to their voice and see if it’s clear that they’re talking from a script. Interrupt them and ask them: “How are you doing?”, “What time is it there?” If they stick to the script, tell them you need to run because of an emergency or something.

I do love live chat, but it is severely understaffed. The staff they have added in the last six months or seem to be the same staff, experience-wise, as phone support.

The worst cases of misinformation I have experienced are where support is telling a user to create a new listing because of the actions of a previous manager. This problem can be overcome, but it’s really difficult and usually requires the involvement of a GMB Product Expert.

Phil Rozek (Local Visibility System): We avoid and dread support at GMB like it’s the DMV. It can be good for simple requests, like moving reviews or redirecting a closed page, but I pretty much never contact support. My clients occasionally  do, simply because that’s more efficient than my acting as a conduit, but that’s a big time-taker because it’s extremely tough to speak with a human at GMB.

When you do get through to someone, often there is a quasi-language barrier that leads to misunderstandings. Then there’s the conflicting advice: over the years, Google reps have claimed things like that keyword stuffing in the description helps rankings, call-tracking numbers aren’t allowed, and that clicks are a direct ranking factor.

I chalk that up to a lack of training, or a lack of clear SOPs from Google, or both. In any event, the time it takes to get help that may or may not help, and the confusion caused by well-meaning GMB support reps, often makes business owners wonder whether they’re too reliant on the “local map” and going about their local visibility all wrong.

Jason Brown (Sterling Sky): To say that the latest round of new hires is not properly trained is the understatement of the year. I know more about Google’s policies and procedures, and find myself having to train the support staff. It’s worse for the average user that doesn’t know any better.

We’re at Google’s mercy, and sadly, they don’t seem to care (at least, that’s the message that they’re conveying). I’ve had to point out countless flaws and issues when I contact support, and have had to contact another Google employee for assistance. The average user can’t do this, and so is left hanging.

Dana DiTomaso (Kick Point): The recommendations coming from official GMB support channels can definitely be misleading. For example, they have said that a listing was suspended because we updated the categories on the listing, yet egregious spam lives on.

There also seems to be a high number of suspended listings right now [this was in late February]: we have a client who has a suspended listing (one out of their several locations) with no reason given, and no response yet to our request for help.

Tom Waddington (tomwaddington.com): While I think GMB support wants to help users resolve their issues, I feel the overall priority, at least for a phone support agent, is to convince you that the issue is resolved or will be in a day or two, so that you leave positive feedback regarding your experience with them.

There is typically a survey you will be asked to complete at the end of a support call, but there have been times when my talk with support didn’t go well, the issue wasn’t resolved, and the call disconnected during the transfer to the survey.

GMB is a complex product and support agents aren’t going to have the training and experience to understand all issues. I think the desire for positive feedback along with genuinely wanting to help a user can lead to bad or incorrect advice from a support agent that is trying to placate the user.

Gyi Tsakalakis (AttorneySync): There seems to be a lot of inconsistency in the quality of support depending who happens to field your inquiry. Some of the GMB support folks seem knowledgeable about the platform and common issues, while others seem to lack even a basic understanding of GMB language and core concepts.

Tim Capper (Online Ownership): Getting some odd advice from business support can be frustrating to businesses as well as the community, especially when said advice is broadcasted publicly: because people think it’s from Google, it must be legitimate advice.

On the contrary, business support is basically a call centre, with set procedures for set issues. They’re not in direct contact with Google My Business product managers, and equally, no single Googler knows or understands what are exact ranking factors are.

I can only surmise (having listened to countless hours of recordings from account managers for GMB listings during compliance auditing), that call handlers who feel confident with the product will offer their own advice whether they think it may help or have heard other agents offer similar advice.

Some particularly troubling pieces of misinformation I’ve heard are:

Adding keywords into your listings, shop code and labels will help your listing rank better (they won’t!)

Deleting a suspended listing and starting again will solve the suspension issue (it won’t!)

Edits made to your GMB listing will ‘reset’ the account’s authority (they won’t!)

A ‘permanently closed’ listing will go away eventually (it might not -– I have a business still showing ‘permanently closed’ after 12yrs and three different businesses at location later!)

Greg Gifford (SearchLab): Every once in a while, I’ve gotten some bad help. We had an issue with a duplicate listing, and got it fixed, and then a month later GMB support finally replied to the initial request we’d put in… and then a month later they answered again.

We’ve also seen the Twitter team send out a few questionable tweets, like saying that keywords in the description help in ranking. Some are more helpful than others, and i think that sometimes they just answer ‘off the cuff’ and don’t realize it’s bad information.

Colan Nielsen (Sterling Sky): Users need to exercise caution when taking advice from GMB support. I’ve actually written a piece detailing the questionable advice I’ve heard.

Dan Leibson (Local Search Guide): I think their support channels suck. I think there is no meaningful way to report systemic, broken things. Everything is treated like you want the secrets to their system or are trying to game the system when you just want them to fix their broken stuff. 

Advertisers get no benefit regardless of spending a ton on ads, despite the fact that they are disproportionately affected by these problems and are more trustworthy sources of reporting.

Speed and efficiency issues

Another commonly-raised issue was the speed efficiency of advice. When your GMB listing is suspended you’re likely to be losing a lot of money every day, and from my chats with the local search community, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

(It should obviously be noted that as of right now, Google has advised that GMB support is going to be slower than ever while they prioritise certain actions related to Covid-19, and social support has been entirely switched off.)

Phil Rozek (Local Visibility System): I had a years-long saga of trying to get Google to remove the “Dentist” category from my Local Visibility System GMB page. Why was it there? Well, as a local SEO Company, I tinker all the time, often using my own GMB page as a lab chimp.

In one experiment I changed the primary category to ‘Dentist,’ but I couldn’t change it back. I I contacted them through Twitter and email, and while the reps were helpful, after some back-and-forth they were stumped, and apparently kicked up the question to a supervisor. I never heard back. (In Google’s defence, I didn’t attempt to call them, but that’s because I didn’t have a business day to spare!)

Gyi Tsakalakis (AttorneySync): GMB issues can have significant consequences for local businesses. When a listing is suspended, it can be really frustrating to get a response like:

Tim Capper (Online Ownership): Support channels all vary in efficiency, especially when there has been a large swath of suspensions. When these happen (and they’re happening more and more), support grinds to a halt. Last year we had an unprecedented 6-week delay in getting reinstatements getting looked at.

I’ve personally found Twitter support to have become swamped as it has become more popular and delays are occurring. You also have to DM details of the issue, which isn’t ideal when it’s a nuanced issue.

Ben Fisher (Steady Demand): According to those whom I talk to at Google, 90% of accounts have only one listing in them. This infers that the majority of listings that are on maps are single users with a single account. In other words, most of them are ‘mom and pop’-type businesses.

So, therefore, GMB builds things that address single account holders the most. Makes sense that support would acknowledge this, right? Heck, no! Have you ever tried to get a reinstatement completed? You get back this email telling you that they need more information, or they are not compliant, or there is a problem with the… whatever.

In the example below, they didn’t tell me the name of the business and supplied a generic response when I asked for it.

However, if you go elsewhere and submit a contact form, you get back this beautiful template that tells you the business name and address!

Claire Carlile (Claire Carlile marketing agency): Personally, when I have an issue, I usually turn to Twitter DMs, but the support I’ve received there has been variable in terms of quality and timeliness.

It is frustrating to send a DM about a problem and then have to wait weeks to get an answer. By the time you get it, you’ve usually found a solution or the problem is no longer a problem!

Personally, I turn to an internal network of fellow GMB aficionados, and the forum, for insight. I just can’t wait two or three weeks for an answer from Twitter support. Also, if you have multiple questions about multiple accounts, it’s very hard to manage responses there.

It’s not all bad, though!

At the time, given the severe slowdown in GMB support responses, the misinformation being shared, and the backup in suspension investigations, I was fully prepared for an onslaught of rage towards the GMB support team. And while I did indeed get that in some quarters, I was really pleasantly surprised by the positive stories, understanding and empathy shown elsewhere.

Joy Hawkins (Sterling Sky): Bad advice is normally given out when users expect Google support to be able to answer questions about ranking tactics, like in this example.

Google My Business support is generally good at fixing issues with listings but there is a limit to what they’re able to do when technical issues and bugs are frequently a problem with the platform. If you’ve been told something by GMB support that you think is incorrect, it’s always fine to get a second opinion by posting on the GMB forum.

Greg Gifford (SearchLab): The support team is trying, but so often they’re completely overwhelmed by the volume of support requests that things don’t work out so well. Overall, I’ve had great experiences. You just have to wait a bit for your reply or solution.

Gyi Tsakalakis (AttorneySync): I’m really empathetic to folks working the GMB support channels. They’re regularly inundated with issues from all directions.

From my vantage point, Google just doesn’t allocate the resources needed to appropriately support GMB. That being said, they’ve definitely moved in the right direction. It wasn’t that long ago that support requests simply went unanswered into the Google abyss.

I’m extremely grateful for the ability to have some means to escalate issues. For example, in dealing with a particularly troublesome law firm listing suspension issue late last year, I got a response within thirty minutes that led to a rapid reinstatement:

Tim Capper (Online Ownership): I really like the original ‘contact support’ form. You can give a pretty detailed report on the issue, then when you get the reply email, you can reply with additional screenshots to help the agent.

By providing the agent with all the details at once in the form, I normally get the issue resolved within 24hrs, with no ‘back-and-forth’ required.

Claire Carlile (Claire Carlile marketing agency): My main point would be that, however frustrated one might be with lack of advice, quality of advice, or speed of advice, we need to remember that GMB is staffed by human beings who are doing their best given whatever resources or internal guidelines they have or do not have.

My tips would be to always be polite, not to be snarky, and to always thank people for their time – whether it’s Max, Flip, Brad, Liz, Mark, Dany, Zach, Matt, Tori or Jenny!

Colan Nielsen (Sterling Sky): Over the years, GMB support has evolved from being virtually non-existent to something that has become very useful for solving most types of GMB issues. Looking at the evolution of the ways that you can contact GMB support alone is a testament to the attention that the GMB product is getting and the progress that they have made.

The future of Google My Business support

While it’s hard for me, here in the spring of 2020, when nothing is as it should be or as any of us would have expected it to be, to summarise the current status of Google My Business support, I do have some closing thoughts on its future courtesy of some of those I spoke to.

Gyi Tsakalakis (AttorneySync): While I’m not very optimistic that it will happen, I’d like to see Google take more accountability for addressing GMB issues and providing support. Like other support contexts, it’s neither fair nor productive to attack the front-line support people. 

Instead, I’d suggest putting more pressure on Google to take Google My Business issues more seriously by allocating the necessary resources to properly support and address these issues. Lack of support is harmful to both businesses and their customers.

Andrew Shotland (Local SEO Company Guide): As is often the case with Google services, the scale of the problem must be in a way overwhelming. And while Google has been making incremental progress, it still feels like a drop in the bucket.

There has been a lot of speculation over the past year that Google is going to roll out a paid GMB service. While we all cringe at Google taking even more money from our collective pockets, if a pay model allows it to more effectively address some of the glaring problems with GMB, I imagine the majority of local businesses and agencies would hold their noses and willingly pay it.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.

About The Author

Jamie Pitman has worked in digital marketing agency for over a decade and is currently Head of Content at local SEO Company tool provider BrightLocal. He specializes in local marketing agency and the many factors that affect local search performance, from Google My Business and consumer reviews to branding, content marketing agency, and beyond.

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

Via http://www.scpie.org/what-do-local-seos-really-think-of-google-my-business-support/

source https://scpie.weebly.com/blog/what-do-local-seos-really-think-of-google-my-business-support

[riichardwilson]

What do local SEOs really think of Google My Business support?

It’s already hard to remember a time when a local SEO Company’s priorities included having to deal with Google My Business’ various support teams across email, phone, live chat, and social media.

Earlier this year, though, it was a different story. So, inspired by serious issues with incorrect recommendations, errant listing suspensions and very long wait times for reinstatements earlier this year, I sought to find out what the local search experts (many of whom are GMB Product Experts) really thought of the quality of Google My Business’ support, and compiled the following reactions from a long list of local SEO Company pros, including Joy Hawkins, Ben Fisher, Greg Gifford, Dan Leibson, Dana DiTomaso, and more.

I have it on good authority that the quality of support isn’t likely to magically improve once the virus clears, so let’s consider this the “wayback machine” of GMB support gripes, and just hope that the future doesn’t so clearly reflect the past.

Search Engine Land’s Greg Sterling will lead a Live with Search Engine Land discussion with two leaders in the local marketing agency space: Foursquare CEO David Shim and PlaceIQ CEO Duncan McCall. They will discuss how brands and marketers can use location intelligence as they plot a way forward at 2 p.m. ET May 15. Learn more here >>

Incorrect or misleading information and advice

One very common response from almost all sides was around the issues with incorrect information being presented as fact. While experienced SEO Companys may be able to see through the misinformation, any local business owner looking for help from GMB support runs the risk of being told to do something that either won’t help with their problem at all or will actively damage their business’ visibility.

Ben Fisher (Steady Demand): Phone support is a gamble: if you get someone untrained, they will destroy you with the wrong information. On the other hand, if you get someone who has some sympathy, they will not only help you but follow up to make sure all went okay.

My tip for phone support is to listen to their voice and see if it’s clear that they’re talking from a script. Interrupt them and ask them: “How are you doing?”, “What time is it there?” If they stick to the script, tell them you need to run because of an emergency or something.

I do love live chat, but it is severely understaffed. The staff they have added in the last six months or seem to be the same staff, experience-wise, as phone support.

The worst cases of misinformation I have experienced are where support is telling a user to create a new listing because of the actions of a previous manager. This problem can be overcome, but it’s really difficult and usually requires the involvement of a GMB Product Expert.

Phil Rozek (Local Visibility System): We avoid and dread support at GMB like it’s the DMV. It can be good for simple requests, like moving reviews or redirecting a closed page, but I pretty much never contact support. My clients occasionally  do, simply because that’s more efficient than my acting as a conduit, but that’s a big time-taker because it’s extremely tough to speak with a human at GMB.

When you do get through to someone, often there is a quasi-language barrier that leads to misunderstandings. Then there’s the conflicting advice: over the years, Google reps have claimed things like that keyword stuffing in the description helps rankings, call-tracking numbers aren’t allowed, and that clicks are a direct ranking factor.

I chalk that up to a lack of training, or a lack of clear SOPs from Google, or both. In any event, the time it takes to get help that may or may not help, and the confusion caused by well-meaning GMB support reps, often makes business owners wonder whether they’re too reliant on the “local map” and going about their local visibility all wrong.

Jason Brown (Sterling Sky): To say that the latest round of new hires is not properly trained is the understatement of the year. I know more about Google’s policies and procedures, and find myself having to train the support staff. It’s worse for the average user that doesn’t know any better.

We’re at Google’s mercy, and sadly, they don’t seem to care (at least, that’s the message that they’re conveying). I’ve had to point out countless flaws and issues when I contact support, and have had to contact another Google employee for assistance. The average user can’t do this, and so is left hanging.

Dana DiTomaso (Kick Point): The recommendations coming from official GMB support channels can definitely be misleading. For example, they have said that a listing was suspended because we updated the categories on the listing, yet egregious spam lives on.

There also seems to be a high number of suspended listings right now [this was in late February]: we have a client who has a suspended listing (one out of their several locations) with no reason given, and no response yet to our request for help.

Tom Waddington (tomwaddington.com): While I think GMB support wants to help users resolve their issues, I feel the overall priority, at least for a phone support agent, is to convince you that the issue is resolved or will be in a day or two, so that you leave positive feedback regarding your experience with them.

There is typically a survey you will be asked to complete at the end of a support call, but there have been times when my talk with support didn’t go well, the issue wasn’t resolved, and the call disconnected during the transfer to the survey.

GMB is a complex product and support agents aren’t going to have the training and experience to understand all issues. I think the desire for positive feedback along with genuinely wanting to help a user can lead to bad or incorrect advice from a support agent that is trying to placate the user.

Gyi Tsakalakis (AttorneySync): There seems to be a lot of inconsistency in the quality of support depending who happens to field your inquiry. Some of the GMB support folks seem knowledgeable about the platform and common issues, while others seem to lack even a basic understanding of GMB language and core concepts.

Tim Capper (Online Ownership): Getting some odd advice from business support can be frustrating to businesses as well as the community, especially when said advice is broadcasted publicly: because people think it’s from Google, it must be legitimate advice.

On the contrary, business support is basically a call centre, with set procedures for set issues. They’re not in direct contact with Google My Business product managers, and equally, no single Googler knows or understands what are exact ranking factors are.

I can only surmise (having listened to countless hours of recordings from account managers for GMB listings during compliance auditing), that call handlers who feel confident with the product will offer their own advice whether they think it may help or have heard other agents offer similar advice.

Some particularly troubling pieces of misinformation I’ve heard are:

Adding keywords into your listings, shop code and labels will help your listing rank better (they won’t!)

Deleting a suspended listing and starting again will solve the suspension issue (it won’t!)

Edits made to your GMB listing will ‘reset’ the account’s authority (they won’t!)

A ‘permanently closed’ listing will go away eventually (it might not -– I have a business still showing ‘permanently closed’ after 12yrs and three different businesses at location later!)

Greg Gifford (SearchLab): Every once in a while, I’ve gotten some bad help. We had an issue with a duplicate listing, and got it fixed, and then a month later GMB support finally replied to the initial request we’d put in… and then a month later they answered again.

We’ve also seen the Twitter team send out a few questionable tweets, like saying that keywords in the description help in ranking. Some are more helpful than others, and i think that sometimes they just answer ‘off the cuff’ and don’t realize it’s bad information.

Colan Nielsen (Sterling Sky): Users need to exercise caution when taking advice from GMB support. I’ve actually written a piece detailing the questionable advice I’ve heard.

Dan Leibson (Local Search Guide): I think their support channels suck. I think there is no meaningful way to report systemic, broken things. Everything is treated like you want the secrets to their system or are trying to game the system when you just want them to fix their broken stuff. 

Advertisers get no benefit regardless of spending a ton on ads, despite the fact that they are disproportionately affected by these problems and are more trustworthy sources of reporting.

Speed and efficiency issues

Another commonly-raised issue was the speed efficiency of advice. When your GMB listing is suspended you’re likely to be losing a lot of money every day, and from my chats with the local search community, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

(It should obviously be noted that as of right now, Google has advised that GMB support is going to be slower than ever while they prioritise certain actions related to Covid-19, and social support has been entirely switched off.)

Phil Rozek (Local Visibility System): I had a years-long saga of trying to get Google to remove the “Dentist” category from my Local Visibility System GMB page. Why was it there? Well, as a local SEO Company, I tinker all the time, often using my own GMB page as a lab chimp.

In one experiment I changed the primary category to ‘Dentist,’ but I couldn’t change it back. I I contacted them through Twitter and email, and while the reps were helpful, after some back-and-forth they were stumped, and apparently kicked up the question to a supervisor. I never heard back. (In Google’s defence, I didn’t attempt to call them, but that’s because I didn’t have a business day to spare!)

Gyi Tsakalakis (AttorneySync): GMB issues can have significant consequences for local businesses. When a listing is suspended, it can be really frustrating to get a response like:

Tim Capper (Online Ownership): Support channels all vary in efficiency, especially when there has been a large swath of suspensions. When these happen (and they’re happening more and more), support grinds to a halt. Last year we had an unprecedented 6-week delay in getting reinstatements getting looked at.

I’ve personally found Twitter support to have become swamped as it has become more popular and delays are occurring. You also have to DM details of the issue, which isn’t ideal when it’s a nuanced issue.

Ben Fisher (Steady Demand): According to those whom I talk to at Google, 90% of accounts have only one listing in them. This infers that the majority of listings that are on maps are single users with a single account. In other words, most of them are ‘mom and pop’-type businesses.

So, therefore, GMB builds things that address single account holders the most. Makes sense that support would acknowledge this, right? Heck, no! Have you ever tried to get a reinstatement completed? You get back this email telling you that they need more information, or they are not compliant, or there is a problem with the… whatever.

In the example below, they didn’t tell me the name of the business and supplied a generic response when I asked for it.

However, if you go elsewhere and submit a contact form, you get back this beautiful template that tells you the business name and address!

Claire Carlile (Claire Carlile marketing agency): Personally, when I have an issue, I usually turn to Twitter DMs, but the support I’ve received there has been variable in terms of quality and timeliness.

It is frustrating to send a DM about a problem and then have to wait weeks to get an answer. By the time you get it, you’ve usually found a solution or the problem is no longer a problem!

Personally, I turn to an internal network of fellow GMB aficionados, and the forum, for insight. I just can’t wait two or three weeks for an answer from Twitter support. Also, if you have multiple questions about multiple accounts, it’s very hard to manage responses there.

It’s not all bad, though!

At the time, given the severe slowdown in GMB support responses, the misinformation being shared, and the backup in suspension investigations, I was fully prepared for an onslaught of rage towards the GMB support team. And while I did indeed get that in some quarters, I was really pleasantly surprised by the positive stories, understanding and empathy shown elsewhere.

Joy Hawkins (Sterling Sky): Bad advice is normally given out when users expect Google support to be able to answer questions about ranking tactics, like in this example.

Google My Business support is generally good at fixing issues with listings but there is a limit to what they’re able to do when technical issues and bugs are frequently a problem with the platform. If you’ve been told something by GMB support that you think is incorrect, it’s always fine to get a second opinion by posting on the GMB forum.

Greg Gifford (SearchLab): The support team is trying, but so often they’re completely overwhelmed by the volume of support requests that things don’t work out so well. Overall, I’ve had great experiences. You just have to wait a bit for your reply or solution.

Gyi Tsakalakis (AttorneySync): I’m really empathetic to folks working the GMB support channels. They’re regularly inundated with issues from all directions.

From my vantage point, Google just doesn’t allocate the resources needed to appropriately support GMB. That being said, they’ve definitely moved in the right direction. It wasn’t that long ago that support requests simply went unanswered into the Google abyss.

I’m extremely grateful for the ability to have some means to escalate issues. For example, in dealing with a particularly troublesome law firm listing suspension issue late last year, I got a response within thirty minutes that led to a rapid reinstatement:

Tim Capper (Online Ownership): I really like the original ‘contact support’ form. You can give a pretty detailed report on the issue, then when you get the reply email, you can reply with additional screenshots to help the agent.

By providing the agent with all the details at once in the form, I normally get the issue resolved within 24hrs, with no ‘back-and-forth’ required.

Claire Carlile (Claire Carlile marketing agency): My main point would be that, however frustrated one might be with lack of advice, quality of advice, or speed of advice, we need to remember that GMB is staffed by human beings who are doing their best given whatever resources or internal guidelines they have or do not have.

My tips would be to always be polite, not to be snarky, and to always thank people for their time – whether it’s Max, Flip, Brad, Liz, Mark, Dany, Zach, Matt, Tori or Jenny!

Colan Nielsen (Sterling Sky): Over the years, GMB support has evolved from being virtually non-existent to something that has become very useful for solving most types of GMB issues. Looking at the evolution of the ways that you can contact GMB support alone is a testament to the attention that the GMB product is getting and the progress that they have made.

The future of Google My Business support

While it’s hard for me, here in the spring of 2020, when nothing is as it should be or as any of us would have expected it to be, to summarise the current status of Google My Business support, I do have some closing thoughts on its future courtesy of some of those I spoke to.

Gyi Tsakalakis (AttorneySync): While I’m not very optimistic that it will happen, I’d like to see Google take more accountability for addressing GMB issues and providing support. Like other support contexts, it’s neither fair nor productive to attack the front-line support people. 

Instead, I’d suggest putting more pressure on Google to take Google My Business issues more seriously by allocating the necessary resources to properly support and address these issues. Lack of support is harmful to both businesses and their customers.

Andrew Shotland (Local SEO Company Guide): As is often the case with Google services, the scale of the problem must be in a way overwhelming. And while Google has been making incremental progress, it still feels like a drop in the bucket.

There has been a lot of speculation over the past year that Google is going to roll out a paid GMB service. While we all cringe at Google taking even more money from our collective pockets, if a pay model allows it to more effectively address some of the glaring problems with GMB, I imagine the majority of local businesses and agencies would hold their noses and willingly pay it.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.

About The Author

Jamie Pitman has worked in digital marketing agency for over a decade and is currently Head of Content at local SEO Company tool provider BrightLocal. He specializes in local marketing agency and the many factors that affect local search performance, from Google My Business and consumer reviews to branding, content marketing agency, and beyond.

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/what-do-local-seos-really-think-of-google-my-business-support/ source https://scpie.tumblr.com/post/618136337140367360

[scpie]

What do local SEOs really think of Google My Business support?

It’s already hard to remember a time when a local SEO Company’s priorities included having to deal with Google My Business’ various support teams across email, phone, live chat, and social media.

Earlier this year, though, it was a different story. So, inspired by serious issues with incorrect recommendations, errant listing suspensions and very long wait times for reinstatements earlier this year, I sought to find out what the local search experts (many of whom are GMB Product Experts) really thought of the quality of Google My Business’ support, and compiled the following reactions from a long list of local SEO Company pros, including Joy Hawkins, Ben Fisher, Greg Gifford, Dan Leibson, Dana DiTomaso, and more.

I have it on good authority that the quality of support isn’t likely to magically improve once the virus clears, so let’s consider this the “wayback machine” of GMB support gripes, and just hope that the future doesn’t so clearly reflect the past.

Search Engine Land’s Greg Sterling will lead a Live with Search Engine Land discussion with two leaders in the local marketing agency space: Foursquare CEO David Shim and PlaceIQ CEO Duncan McCall. They will discuss how brands and marketers can use location intelligence as they plot a way forward at 2 p.m. ET May 15. Learn more here >>

Incorrect or misleading information and advice

One very common response from almost all sides was around the issues with incorrect information being presented as fact. While experienced SEO Companys may be able to see through the misinformation, any local business owner looking for help from GMB support runs the risk of being told to do something that either won’t help with their problem at all or will actively damage their business’ visibility.

Ben Fisher (Steady Demand): Phone support is a gamble: if you get someone untrained, they will destroy you with the wrong information. On the other hand, if you get someone who has some sympathy, they will not only help you but follow up to make sure all went okay.

My tip for phone support is to listen to their voice and see if it’s clear that they’re talking from a script. Interrupt them and ask them: “How are you doing?”, “What time is it there?” If they stick to the script, tell them you need to run because of an emergency or something.

I do love live chat, but it is severely understaffed. The staff they have added in the last six months or seem to be the same staff, experience-wise, as phone support.

The worst cases of misinformation I have experienced are where support is telling a user to create a new listing because of the actions of a previous manager. This problem can be overcome, but it’s really difficult and usually requires the involvement of a GMB Product Expert.

Phil Rozek (Local Visibility System): We avoid and dread support at GMB like it’s the DMV. It can be good for simple requests, like moving reviews or redirecting a closed page, but I pretty much never contact support. My clients occasionally  do, simply because that’s more efficient than my acting as a conduit, but that’s a big time-taker because it’s extremely tough to speak with a human at GMB.

When you do get through to someone, often there is a quasi-language barrier that leads to misunderstandings. Then there’s the conflicting advice: over the years, Google reps have claimed things like that keyword stuffing in the description helps rankings, call-tracking numbers aren’t allowed, and that clicks are a direct ranking factor.

I chalk that up to a lack of training, or a lack of clear SOPs from Google, or both. In any event, the time it takes to get help that may or may not help, and the confusion caused by well-meaning GMB support reps, often makes business owners wonder whether they’re too reliant on the “local map” and going about their local visibility all wrong.

Jason Brown (Sterling Sky): To say that the latest round of new hires is not properly trained is the understatement of the year. I know more about Google’s policies and procedures, and find myself having to train the support staff. It’s worse for the average user that doesn’t know any better.

We’re at Google’s mercy, and sadly, they don’t seem to care (at least, that’s the message that they’re conveying). I’ve had to point out countless flaws and issues when I contact support, and have had to contact another Google employee for assistance. The average user can’t do this, and so is left hanging.

Dana DiTomaso (Kick Point): The recommendations coming from official GMB support channels can definitely be misleading. For example, they have said that a listing was suspended because we updated the categories on the listing, yet egregious spam lives on.

There also seems to be a high number of suspended listings right now [this was in late February]: we have a client who has a suspended listing (one out of their several locations) with no reason given, and no response yet to our request for help.

Tom Waddington (tomwaddington.com): While I think GMB support wants to help users resolve their issues, I feel the overall priority, at least for a phone support agent, is to convince you that the issue is resolved or will be in a day or two, so that you leave positive feedback regarding your experience with them.

There is typically a survey you will be asked to complete at the end of a support call, but there have been times when my talk with support didn’t go well, the issue wasn’t resolved, and the call disconnected during the transfer to the survey.

GMB is a complex product and support agents aren’t going to have the training and experience to understand all issues. I think the desire for positive feedback along with genuinely wanting to help a user can lead to bad or incorrect advice from a support agent that is trying to placate the user.

Gyi Tsakalakis (AttorneySync): There seems to be a lot of inconsistency in the quality of support depending who happens to field your inquiry. Some of the GMB support folks seem knowledgeable about the platform and common issues, while others seem to lack even a basic understanding of GMB language and core concepts.

Tim Capper (Online Ownership): Getting some odd advice from business support can be frustrating to businesses as well as the community, especially when said advice is broadcasted publicly: because people think it’s from Google, it must be legitimate advice.

On the contrary, business support is basically a call centre, with set procedures for set issues. They’re not in direct contact with Google My Business product managers, and equally, no single Googler knows or understands what are exact ranking factors are.

I can only surmise (having listened to countless hours of recordings from account managers for GMB listings during compliance auditing), that call handlers who feel confident with the product will offer their own advice whether they think it may help or have heard other agents offer similar advice.

Some particularly troubling pieces of misinformation I’ve heard are:

Adding keywords into your listings, shop code and labels will help your listing rank better (they won’t!)

Deleting a suspended listing and starting again will solve the suspension issue (it won’t!)

Edits made to your GMB listing will ‘reset’ the account’s authority (they won’t!)

A ‘permanently closed’ listing will go away eventually (it might not -– I have a business still showing ‘permanently closed’ after 12yrs and three different businesses at location later!)

Greg Gifford (SearchLab): Every once in a while, I’ve gotten some bad help. We had an issue with a duplicate listing, and got it fixed, and then a month later GMB support finally replied to the initial request we’d put in… and then a month later they answered again.

We’ve also seen the Twitter team send out a few questionable tweets, like saying that keywords in the description help in ranking. Some are more helpful than others, and i think that sometimes they just answer ‘off the cuff’ and don’t realize it’s bad information.

Colan Nielsen (Sterling Sky): Users need to exercise caution when taking advice from GMB support. I’ve actually written a piece detailing the questionable advice I’ve heard.

Dan Leibson (Local Search Guide): I think their support channels suck. I think there is no meaningful way to report systemic, broken things. Everything is treated like you want the secrets to their system or are trying to game the system when you just want them to fix their broken stuff. 

Advertisers get no benefit regardless of spending a ton on ads, despite the fact that they are disproportionately affected by these problems and are more trustworthy sources of reporting.

Speed and efficiency issues

Another commonly-raised issue was the speed efficiency of advice. When your GMB listing is suspended you’re likely to be losing a lot of money every day, and from my chats with the local search community, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

(It should obviously be noted that as of right now, Google has advised that GMB support is going to be slower than ever while they prioritise certain actions related to Covid-19, and social support has been entirely switched off.)

Phil Rozek (Local Visibility System): I had a years-long saga of trying to get Google to remove the “Dentist” category from my Local Visibility System GMB page. Why was it there? Well, as a local SEO Company, I tinker all the time, often using my own GMB page as a lab chimp.

In one experiment I changed the primary category to ‘Dentist,’ but I couldn’t change it back. I I contacted them through Twitter and email, and while the reps were helpful, after some back-and-forth they were stumped, and apparently kicked up the question to a supervisor. I never heard back. (In Google’s defence, I didn’t attempt to call them, but that’s because I didn’t have a business day to spare!)

Gyi Tsakalakis (AttorneySync): GMB issues can have significant consequences for local businesses. When a listing is suspended, it can be really frustrating to get a response like:

Tim Capper (Online Ownership): Support channels all vary in efficiency, especially when there has been a large swath of suspensions. When these happen (and they’re happening more and more), support grinds to a halt. Last year we had an unprecedented 6-week delay in getting reinstatements getting looked at.

I’ve personally found Twitter support to have become swamped as it has become more popular and delays are occurring. You also have to DM details of the issue, which isn’t ideal when it’s a nuanced issue.

Ben Fisher (Steady Demand): According to those whom I talk to at Google, 90% of accounts have only one listing in them. This infers that the majority of listings that are on maps are single users with a single account. In other words, most of them are ‘mom and pop’-type businesses.

So, therefore, GMB builds things that address single account holders the most. Makes sense that support would acknowledge this, right? Heck, no! Have you ever tried to get a reinstatement completed? You get back this email telling you that they need more information, or they are not compliant, or there is a problem with the… whatever.

In the example below, they didn’t tell me the name of the business and supplied a generic response when I asked for it.

However, if you go elsewhere and submit a contact form, you get back this beautiful template that tells you the business name and address!

Claire Carlile (Claire Carlile marketing agency): Personally, when I have an issue, I usually turn to Twitter DMs, but the support I’ve received there has been variable in terms of quality and timeliness.

It is frustrating to send a DM about a problem and then have to wait weeks to get an answer. By the time you get it, you’ve usually found a solution or the problem is no longer a problem!

Personally, I turn to an internal network of fellow GMB aficionados, and the forum, for insight. I just can’t wait two or three weeks for an answer from Twitter support. Also, if you have multiple questions about multiple accounts, it’s very hard to manage responses there.

It’s not all bad, though!

At the time, given the severe slowdown in GMB support responses, the misinformation being shared, and the backup in suspension investigations, I was fully prepared for an onslaught of rage towards the GMB support team. And while I did indeed get that in some quarters, I was really pleasantly surprised by the positive stories, understanding and empathy shown elsewhere.

Joy Hawkins (Sterling Sky): Bad advice is normally given out when users expect Google support to be able to answer questions about ranking tactics, like in this example.

Google My Business support is generally good at fixing issues with listings but there is a limit to what they’re able to do when technical issues and bugs are frequently a problem with the platform. If you’ve been told something by GMB support that you think is incorrect, it’s always fine to get a second opinion by posting on the GMB forum.

Greg Gifford (SearchLab): The support team is trying, but so often they’re completely overwhelmed by the volume of support requests that things don’t work out so well. Overall, I’ve had great experiences. You just have to wait a bit for your reply or solution.

Gyi Tsakalakis (AttorneySync): I’m really empathetic to folks working the GMB support channels. They’re regularly inundated with issues from all directions.

From my vantage point, Google just doesn’t allocate the resources needed to appropriately support GMB. That being said, they’ve definitely moved in the right direction. It wasn’t that long ago that support requests simply went unanswered into the Google abyss.

I’m extremely grateful for the ability to have some means to escalate issues. For example, in dealing with a particularly troublesome law firm listing suspension issue late last year, I got a response within thirty minutes that led to a rapid reinstatement:

Tim Capper (Online Ownership): I really like the original ‘contact support’ form. You can give a pretty detailed report on the issue, then when you get the reply email, you can reply with additional screenshots to help the agent.

By providing the agent with all the details at once in the form, I normally get the issue resolved within 24hrs, with no ‘back-and-forth’ required.

Claire Carlile (Claire Carlile marketing agency): My main point would be that, however frustrated one might be with lack of advice, quality of advice, or speed of advice, we need to remember that GMB is staffed by human beings who are doing their best given whatever resources or internal guidelines they have or do not have.

My tips would be to always be polite, not to be snarky, and to always thank people for their time – whether it’s Max, Flip, Brad, Liz, Mark, Dany, Zach, Matt, Tori or Jenny!

Colan Nielsen (Sterling Sky): Over the years, GMB support has evolved from being virtually non-existent to something that has become very useful for solving most types of GMB issues. Looking at the evolution of the ways that you can contact GMB support alone is a testament to the attention that the GMB product is getting and the progress that they have made.

The future of Google My Business support

While it’s hard for me, here in the spring of 2020, when nothing is as it should be or as any of us would have expected it to be, to summarise the current status of Google My Business support, I do have some closing thoughts on its future courtesy of some of those I spoke to.

Gyi Tsakalakis (AttorneySync): While I’m not very optimistic that it will happen, I’d like to see Google take more accountability for addressing GMB issues and providing support. Like other support contexts, it’s neither fair nor productive to attack the front-line support people. 

Instead, I’d suggest putting more pressure on Google to take Google My Business issues more seriously by allocating the necessary resources to properly support and address these issues. Lack of support is harmful to both businesses and their customers.

Andrew Shotland (Local SEO Company Guide): As is often the case with Google services, the scale of the problem must be in a way overwhelming. And while Google has been making incremental progress, it still feels like a drop in the bucket.

There has been a lot of speculation over the past year that Google is going to roll out a paid GMB service. While we all cringe at Google taking even more money from our collective pockets, if a pay model allows it to more effectively address some of the glaring problems with GMB, I imagine the majority of local businesses and agencies would hold their noses and willingly pay it.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.

About The Author

Jamie Pitman has worked in digital marketing agency for over a decade and is currently Head of Content at local SEO Company tool provider BrightLocal. He specializes in local marketing agency and the many factors that affect local search performance, from Google My Business and consumer reviews to branding, content marketing agency, and beyond.

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

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source http://www.scpie.org/what-do-local-seos-really-think-of-google-my-business-support/

[transmutationisms]

Do you think there is anything to take away with how the Roy’s each address the expels of their waste? Shiv spits, Kendall shits, Logan pisses and vomits, and they all leave it for others to take care of but Tom and Roman have technically taken on their excess on their own. Roman cleans his cum off his window and Tom consumes his own cum. So sorry to say these things to you but I am curious

god im so glad im the person you say these things to

so my short answer is yeah, i think this whole show is largely about the disposal of waste (bodily, political, etc) and the examples you list here go along with that. it's interesting with the roys who live these lavish gilded lifestyles but still have, like, dead raccoons in their chimney and they still piss and shit and yerf like the rest of humanity.

to get more detailed, i definitely do read into the specific bodily fluids involved (probably more than the writers do consciously lol, but like... these cultural associations do exist). kendall shitting (expelling black bile) at his emotional turning point in season 2; logan having the phlegmatic piss motif but also yerfing at argestes when he tries to use anger (choler) to win against nan and ends up losing control; roman shown cleaning cum, another fluid you'd associate with phlegm in the classical model. in this sense it's interesting shiv spits after the "rape me" incident: she's really deliberately trying to speak her father's and brothers' businessfuck language, one whose vocabulary is made up partially of (certain) bodily fluids.

in terms of the disposal methods, i have always thought it was funny that tom's defence of the snowballing incident is that it was "like a closed-loop system." i think on this show---as in life---a bodily excretion generally signifies some kind of emotional release, cathartic experience, or important shift. but with the snowballing, as tom notes, all the fluid stays inside him, which means his bachelor party blowjob is kind of robbed of its emotional valence for him. it becomes a humiliation instead of any kind of release. analogously to how shiv is emptionally constipated and therefore rarely shown in bathrooms, tom in 'prague' is emotionally repressed and stuck and therefore can't get his literal fluids flowing. i think for tom this is tied to the way he later expresses his misogynist ownership over shiv's body by fretting over 'wasting' his jizz. his distress about power and his relationships is expressed and shown thru the flow (or lack thereof) of his jizz.

if you expel something bodily and you're a roy, you want that excretion to either accomplish something (shiv spitting, logan pissing) or at least just disappear tidily (kendall shitting, logan yerfing). what you don't want is to have it hanging around inside your own body, or, god forbid, for you to be the one who cleans it up yourself. i think you're right to pair roman and tom in this sense: they're the two characters shown failing to deal with their cum in an appropriate manner according to roy standards.

i also think the cum... motif? is interesting in light of connor's line linking together usury and onanism as "the spilling of good seed" lmfao. pretty much all of the male characters on this show have some degree of masculinity/virility anxiety, but roman and tom are feminised in specific ways, both failing to live up to logan's hierarchical and authoritarian ideal of manhood and both shown taking this out on anyone weaker than them (often greg). so i think the two of them being the ones who swallow and wipe up their own jizz is meaningful insofar as it tells us something about their place on the corporate ladder and logan's disgust for their femininity. (kendall of course is also feminised in logan's language, but this articulates differently and he still usually has an assumed role as the heir apparent that roman and tom haven't been able to usurp yet.)