#and someone else will say that the social issues and limitations of our medicine/technology would make it terrible

[spokelseskladden]

while i wouldn't like living in any other time period due to knowing like. The basics of history or whatever, I'm gonna be real with you all. The current one I'm living in isn't all that appealing either.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #189

“why are the children all marching into the desert to die?”

What does your trick-or-treat bag or pail look like? Pretty sure mine was usually just a plastic orange pumpkin. How old will you turn on your next birthday? 23, wow-ie. What are your plans to celebrate? Dinner with the fam, and I don't think I could possibly pass a birthday without getting a tattoo. :') Which X Factor audition(s) was/were your favorite? Don't watch it. Were you a straight A student in spelling and grammar? Yes. Were you a straight A student in math? No, I got Bs sometimes. Were you abused or do you know anyone who was abused? I know people who were. What is the name of your favorite coffee shop in your town? N/A What is fall weather usually like where you live? Usually warmish and breezy, but sometimes super cold. Do you think you have an accent? Very slightly. Do you use plastic, wooden, or wire hangers? Plastic. What is your favorite shade of yellow? Pastel. Are there any shades of blue that you don’t like? If so, which ones? No. Are you afraid of getting yelled at? YES YES YES YES I WILL CRY PLEASE DON'T Who has the best-decorated house in your town? *shrugs* What is your favorite part of Halloween? Dressing up. Is there a cemetery in your backyard? No. Did you decorate a pumpkin this year? No. ;_; What are some fall activities you would do with your kids? If I actually wanted them, take them on a hay ride (spooky one if they're older and want to), decorate pumpkins together, obviously go trick-or-treating, let 'em play in leaf piles. Have you ever seen a fox? Yes. What color are the squirrels where you live? Brown. Is there anything about Halloween you find offensive? Um no. What do the trees look like where you live? There's basically a shitload of pine trees, some dogwoods in spring (which fucking stink, btw), and then there's other trees idk the name of. Did you like field trips when you were a kid? YESSSSSSSSSSSS Do you find museums boring or interesting? Interesting! What was your school’s rival team’s mascot? Uhhhhh idr. What are three issues you are passionate about? Gay rights, gun control, and immigration. Would you ever wear a shirt with your country’s flag on it? I mean if I had to? What’s a medicine that makes you sleepy? Klonopin, back when I had to take two a day. I was just barely able to function at all on three. Do you like bath bombs? Never used one, but sure. What was your favorite girl group when you were growing up? Pussycat Dolls lmaoooooooo Do you like Disney movies? Only heathens don't. In what type of area was your first sexual encounter? A house. What do you occupy your time with on flights? Listen to my iPod. Do you ever realize how ridiculous you’re being yet continue on anyway? Sometimes in anxiety-type situations. Have you ever seriously vandalized someone else’s property? No. Have you ever been punched? No. What do you usually order from Olive Garden?
 Spicy shrimp fritas oh my gaaaaaaaaaaaah How do you like your steak cooked?
 Medium well. How do you feel about bats? I'm love them. Is anyone in your family artistic? Me. Have you ever suspected anyone of cheating on you? No. Are you emo/gothic/punk? I AM the Thicc Goth GF in my head. I'm just too poor and lazy for the wardrobe. :^) Would you date someone 20 years older than you? Nooooooooooo that's way too big a difference for me. What is your father’s middle name? John. What was the last food you got a random craving for? Sour gummy worms lmao. What is something you enjoy doing, but aren’t good at? Singing, sometimes. Name some healthy foods that you enjoy eating. Strawberries, apples, peaches, corn, cucumbers, green beans, bananas... What is your favorite Studio Ghibli film? Don't think I've watched any. If your best friend was a fictional character, who would he/she be? Why? This requires too much thinking. What was the last song you listened to? Does it mean anything to you? Ninja Sex Party's cover of "Africa" is on now. No. What flavor was the last cupcake you ate? Chocolate. When was the last time you complimented a stranger? Idk. Do you know how to text without looking? Not well. What about typing without looking? Yup. Have you ever thrown rocks at a girl/guy’s window? No. When was the last time you bought a bathing suit? Like, a year back? Do you like eggnog? NOOOOOOOOOOO. How often do you see your mother? Every day. When was the last time your living room furniture was rearranged? Long time ago. When you were little, did you like watching Cartoon Network, Disney or Nickelodeon more? Disney. When is the last time that you experienced rejection–literal or imagined? By no means /serious/ rejection, but I suppose it fits the definition. Asked the tat/piercing parlor I go to about working there at the desk (the place isn't busy and I'm v comfortable there, so I think I easily could), but they let me know they currently didn't need anyone. When you are feeling down are you more likely to cheer yourself up by shopping, eating, or drinking? I've gotten loads better about it, but eating. Do you think there will be a time when our current age of rapid innovation comes to a standstill? What do you think is the limit of human technological advancement? No, honestly. It may stall, but I don't see it stopping any time soon. In hindsight, what was the most misguided/unhelpful assignment you had to do in school or college? Uhhhh idk. On any blogs or social media you may have, do you try to maintain a certain aesthetic or persona? Is this consistent across platforms or just specific to one? Not really. My less-appropriate sense of humor comes out more on Tumblr, and in some areas I type in all lowercase because I find it more aesthetically pleasing. Is there an artist or celebrity whom you admire for their craft but take issue with their personality or politics? Marilyn Manson, very easily. He's talented and unapologetically unique as all hell, but I do noooot like him as a person from what I know. What is the last party or event you were invited to but declined? Why? Are there certain events that you might be invited to which you are likely to decline? An old friend's Thanksgiving-ish friends party. I was tempted, but it was explicitly stated to BYOB and weed and I just didn't want to be in an environment where there was lots of drinking and smoking something that's still illegal in the state. I was already uncomfortable enough last time I went to a party at her house and there was so much smoking. You were also supposed to bring a piece of Thanksgiving food to contribute, but I can't cook and I didn't wanna bother Mom about it. For the last question, it's just about a "never" situation where I'm invited to a real event besides family birthday parties or meet-ups with Dad and his wife. Off the top of my head, I'd never go to a club if I was invited. Imagine your life three years from now as if things have gone perfectly, better than you would typically predict. What do you see? Living with a happy Sara in the mountains, very successful in photography and thus financially stable (or hopefully a bit beyond that), excelling in school, back to my healthy weight, my mental health is great and I'm on way fewer meds, Sara's able to breed snakes and write as a real career, COVER ME IN TATS BITCH, more piercings, a treatment/medication for hypotonia has been discovered, my niece and nephew have met Sara and been taught our relationship is not wrong (I doubt it though :x), I'm happy, it'd be nice to write with more people, I have at least one poem published, Teddy, Venus, Kaiju, Roman, Mitsu (now totally comfortable being held), and Sara's babies are still alive and kickin', Venus and Crowley have had a clutch, Sara's PMDD is under control, Dad's stopped smoking, Mom is in a healthy, fulfilling relationship, both Mom and Sara are at the weights they aim for, Nicole is with a guy she truly loves and he reciprocates properly, Mom has been treated for depression and has forgiven Dad... Man, lots of things. This question really made me look forward to creating this future. What about your personality makes you good at your job? Alternatively, why do you find yourself uniquely suited for or drawn to your ideal career path? No job, so I'll just respond to the second. Photography is pretty surprising as it requires serious communication, which y'all know isn't my forte in the least. However, I'm so passionate about it and feel knowledgeable enough on it to be confident. Plus I just love showing how beautiful the world is capable of being. Do you find it valuable or important to respect those in positions of authority simply because of their position? Does this vary based on what that position is? Nope. I'm not gonna respect an absolute asshole just because you're of a high position. It doesn't vary to me, either. Do you find that you often desire and/or enjoy sex? If not, why not and how do you negotiate those feelings with your partner? If so, what is it that you enjoy about it in particular? I'd say I desire it to a normal degree, and yeah, I enjoy it. Why, #1, it's such a passionate and intimate way to communicate how much you love and trust your partner. Then I mean it feels good so. How many times have you seriously injured yourself? Idk. Seriously... three? When was the last time you were a passenger in a car and sat in the back? In the back, idk. Did you attend Sunday School as a child? Yes. Are/were you in the school band, and if so, what instrument did you play? Yes, flute. What is the best thing you’ve ever bought at a thrift shop? This cool crashed ship lamp! It's beside my bed. Have you ever ordered an unusual drink at a bar? No. What is your favorite thing about summer? Swimming. That's it. When was the last time you went to your local library? Whew, years. Can you do a proper cartwheel? No. Have you ever been pulled aside by security at the airport? No. Are you a fast-thinker or a slow-thinker? Slow. If you were to donate to charity today, what would you donate to? The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention or The Trevor Project. What is your favorite card game and when was the last time you played it? Magic: The Gathering and not since my PS3 broke (I had the Duel of the Planeswalkers store game on there and I WANT IT BACK). Who was the last person you cuddled with? Sara. Did you ever go to summer camp when you were younger? No. What is your favorite seasonal candy? (only available at certain times) Gingerbread men!! Are there any television shows you own in entirety on DVD or VHS? Meerkat Manor. How far away from your house is the nearest gas station? Like, two minutes. Do you know anyone who is fluent in a second-tongue? Yeah. What is the scariest movie you’ve ever seen and who did you watch it with? The Rite, but only because the whole "raped and impregnated by a demon" shtick is a fuck to the no from me. Watched it with my younger sis years ago. When was the last time you had a bubble bath? A looooooooong time ago, I don't like baths. What was the last strong scent you smelled? Poop. Good job, Bentley. What did you buy the last time you went shopping for new clothes? A bra, I think? How did you discover your favorite band? Mom's CDs. When I was getting into my rock and metal love, I went through them and listened to albums with cool covers or bands I knew she loved, and the first happened to be Ozzy. :') Does the weather affect your mood? If so, in what ways? Yes. I have a greater tendency to feel down when it's real cloudy and sometimes rainy. If it's really hot, I'm in a worse/cranky mood. When are you most likely to be bored? Late afternoon/evening. What was the last big decision you made? Hmmm. Going back to school, maybe? Where was the last place you traveled to, and what did you do while there? Illinois. Hang out with my bby. :') What is your favorite thing to go shopping for? Clothes at Hot Topic ahhhhh. What was the last thing you received in the mail? Something for VR. What is one of your wildest dreams or ambitions? Become a well-known photographer. When was the last time you performed in front of a group of people? Years ago for dance. Who was the last person to upset you? How about the last person to cheer you up? Mom; Sara. Is there anything or anyone you’re trying to get over or let go of? No. What was the subject of your last phone conversation? Uhhh something short with Ma that I don't remember. How close do you have to be with someone before you’ll consider them a friend? I have to feel decently comfortable around them. How do you feel when a mostly unheard of band (or tv show, movie, etc.) that you love suddenly starts to gain popularity? I'm happy for them! I just hope they don't change. When was the last time you listened to new music? Uhhh recently. Do you think it is strange when a couple says “we are pregnant” rather than “I am pregnant” or “my girlfriend is pregnant”? No, I actually prefer it. You're in that shit together. Do you ever feel like you were born in the wrong era? What decade would you most like to have grown up in? No. I'm good with the '90s. What was your most memorable concert experience? Only been to one. :| But Alice was great. If you have any, are you close with your sibling(s)? Has it always been that way? Not very, and no, at least with my younger sister. We were pretty close. Do you require “closure” after things like break-ups or do you move on easily? I. Need. Closure. How long does it take for someone to earn your trust? Good luck. Do you like peanut butter? Yesssss. Have you ever had to wear a uniform to school? Do/did you prefer wearing it than regular clothes? In middle school. Hell no. What’s the last thing you got really excited over? Going to Sara's. Is there a genre of movie that you just can’t watch? Action-y. What was the last song to give you nostalgia? "Holiday" by Green Day. Do you have a certain color grape you like the most? Purple. What’s your signature thing you do when drinking that will make your friends say, “Alright, they’re drunk”? N/A Have you ever been on a hot air balloon? No. What’s your definition of weird? I try to keep the mindset that "weird" doesn't exist as I'm not one to talk about things being so, yet I'm hypocritical about it and do find some things, ex. fetishes, extremely weird. Do you use shaving cream? For my legs. When was the last time you cleaned your room? Is your room clean? I dusted my whole room a while back. I need to vacuum baaadly, but ours is broken. ;-; Have you ever personally known any girl who shaved their head? Yes. Have you ever known anyone who committed suicide? Sadly. Have you ever tried to commit suicide? Yes. Have you ever coughed up blood? No. How do you wish you could die? Surrounded by family and painless. Do you have any apps on your Facebook? If so, what? No. What kind of mouse pad do you have? Don't have one. What color is your mouse? Pink. Do you know any who might be anorexic? Do you know anyone who has bulimia? Maybe? Did you ever want a pony when you were little? Idr. What’s your favorite dessert food? Ice cream. What is the closest thing to you right now that is alive? My dog. Do you exercise? I'm starting to again. Do you dislike writing school essays? Not if it's a subject I like. Are you a very open-minded person? Yes. Are you modest? I believe I am. Do you skate? No. Are you in a band? No. If you were to make it big with your own band, what would its name be? *shrugs* It depends on the members. Would you rather a friend come over to your house or you go over there? I go over there. Have you ever had rabies? No. Do you know anyone who ever had to get a rabies shot? Idk. Have you ever gone hunting? No, never would. Ever eaten deer? Duck? Squirrel? How about lamb? No. Have you ever received a note in your locker? I think once from Aaron?

[deathstrange]

                                         RABASTAN LESTRANGE.                                               twenty five. death eater. hufflepuff.                                                 charming. persuasive. creative.                                                  two faced. passive. sadistic.                                                        healer. chameleon.

                                   i will not be atlas with arms so bruised they are blue.                                                                  PINTEREST BOARD.

BACK TO BASICS.

name: rabastan emory lestrange. occupation: healer. nicknames: rab or rabbie.

+ charming, persuasive, creative, patient, clever. - two faced, sadistic, passive, entitled, superficial.

age: 25. date of birth: october 23, 1993. zodiac: scorpio. hometown: somewhere in england!!! to be determined!!!! current location: lives in a penthouse apartment in london. gender: cis male. pronouns: he/him. orientation: bisexual. spoken languages: english, french and german fluently. moral alignment: neutral evil / true neutral. element: earth / air. house: hufflepuff.

character insp: peeta mellark ( the hunger games ), achilles ( mythology ), finnick odair ( the hunger games ), lucifer ( mythology ), will halstead ( chicago med ).

BACKGROUND.

child neglect cw.

Rabastan grew up as the youngest of two brothers, the second in line to the throne. The second Lestrange. The backup. The extra, in case the first one broke.

Being the forgotten Lestrange had its perks, though. Rabastan became a golden boy in his own right, growing up in the shadows, with the same access to the riches, the luxury and the reputation that a proper Lestrange deserved. But none of the attention... or the burden of the Lestrange legacy. He was mostly seen as the baby Lestrange, the sweet, sweet boy who behaved like an angel, but wasn’t... all there. Thank god that he’s pretty, right? At least he’ll marry nice.

So maybe Rabastan grew a bit resentful against his parents. Decided that fuck them, I’ll do whatever I want.

But he still remained The Good Son, dutifully attending all his tutor sessions and all his classes. Smiled pretty at his parents’ parties. Was painfully polite to all their guests. Managed to charm the most rugged of dark wizards, weaseled his way in, with that slight smile and those big blue eyes and that weird talent of being scary good at guessing exactly what people wanted to hear. Probably stemmed from him always listening in, ya feel.

Def partly raised by house elves and maids. Was left wondering where his parents were at most of his childhood.

But 100% grew up idolizing his brother!!!!!! Thought he was the greatest thing to happen since sliced bread.

HOGWARTS YEARS.

So homeboy shows up at Hogwarts, and he’s absolutely fucking bursting with rebellion and a wish to do absolutely ANYTHING to fuck with his parents. Maybe.... idk.... to make them notice him for once.....

So what does he do? He pulls a Harry Potter !!!!!!! Asks the sorting hat to place him in any house but Slytherin, which it reluctantly agrees to do. And suddenly he’s sitting at the Hufflepuff table. 

Okay so, he started out as a pretty good Hufflepuff. Really hard working ( eager to prove himself ), very loyal, very modest ( he would get over that one, later. lmao ), so so sweet ( that one too, would not be permanent ) and overall just a good kid!!! 

Arrived at Hogwarts with the good ol’ “Rodolphus Lestrange’s baby brother” label already firmly slapped on him. All teachers compared him to his brother, which was a bitter pill to swallow. Was that all he’d ever be? For how long would he have to chase his older brother’s shadow? Never quite keeping up.

ANYWAYS. His parents weren’t exactly charmed by the fact that Rabastan didn’t follow the Family Tradition™ of ending up in Slytherin. Made for an awkward Christmas dinner, that year. 

Luckily ( or, perhaps, unluckily, for him ), he was quickly forgiven for his faults. The poor boy can’t help that no other house will take him, can he? 

But Rabastan made a life for himself in Hufflepuff. He went home every summer with grades that were almost flawless ( which rewarded him with a quick pat on the shoulder, some brief acceptance, before the family’s attention returned to work and far more important things than the non-heir ). He made friends. Moved in different social circles, quickly becoming a social chameleon, blending in just as well with the Hufflepuff kids as the Slytherin kids. In Hufflepuff, his actions spoke louder for him than his name did. In Slytherin, his name spoke louder for him than his house.

Was a bit of a party boy. Has definitively been found black out drunk in the prefect bathrooms more than once ( how did he get in there, u ask? his dazzling smile : ~ ) what else ! ).

Watched as the Dark Lord slowly rose to power, but never directly involved himself, and was very careful to not mention his own thoughts, instead always steering the conversation towards something else, or back towards the person he spoke to. 

Silently, Rabastan supported Voldemort, though. His agenda was appealing to him, sounded about right. And then there was the influence of his older brother, of course. Everything Rodolphus touched turned to gold, after all.

AFTER HOGWARTS.

alcoholism cw / murder cw / torture cw ( it’s going downhill from here ig)

Rabastan graduated Hogwarts with good grades, plenty of friends and a growing addiction to alcohol. 

Immediate decision after school was to go into emergency medicine, and he thus became a healer for St Mungos hospital. It was the glory he was after, the status. Helping people? Not really his primary concern.

Has sworn to do no harm wHICH HE DOESN’T!!!! WHILE AT WORK !!!!! What he does outside of work is a different story though. We all have our hobbies, guys!!!!

Started getting kinda tired of being known as the Idiot Lestrange after a while. Especially now that he was a healer. Slowly began dropping the dumb act, it rarely benefited him anymore anyways.

Slowly also became more involved with the Death Eaters, and eventually rose to a high enough position that he could be seen as someone to Count On. Which was all he really wanted, really. Homeboy is attention starved and wants recognition!!!! The Death Eaters fed into that, a lot. 

But anyways, he’s very lowkey about it. Even though his name is kinda sus, I guess? But other than that - Stealth mode.

Currently drinking himself into oblivion, when he’s not working :/

Not super into the whole torturing people thing, but has been assigned a lot of That Kind Of Work anyways (within the Death Eaters), because of his medical background : ~) He will slowly get more into it though, becomes a little bit darker the longer the war goes on. More willing to push past his limits, cross the lines he normally wouldn’t cross. We all know how far he’ll go, in the end.

Has lowkey developed two distinctive personalities over the years - two sides of the same coin that can be flipped as easily as you turn on/off the lights. There’s the good guy, the healer, the smiling pretty boy that knows exactly what to say to get you to take a step closer to the edge, and then there’s the very bad man, who’s drunk, trying to kill you and has forgotten who he is. Which one is the real Rabastan !!!! We don’t know !!!!

Deadass reverts straight back to his Hogwarts self whenever he’s at a family gathering. 

REALLY loves his job !!!! Is good at it too and works really hard !!! Loves the kick of the adrenaline rush when he saves someone, or when someone acknowledges his work.

PERSONALITY.

alcoholism cw.

Bit of a disaster, really.

Probably trying to charm u out of ur life savings right now

Typical Bad Influence, tbh

SOCIAL CHAMELEON!!!! 

Never shows his anger and ends up burying it deep down instead until he eventually snaps.

Responsibility? Not his thing. Taking responsibility for his actions? Also not his thing.

He’s really out there repping the whole irresponsible younger brother stereotype!!!

Still a bit of a party boy, tbh.

Kinda vain. Knows that he’s good looking and doesn’t rly understand 100% why other people wouldn’t think that he’s god’s greatest gift to mankind. 

Has deep rooted commitment issues and can’t commit to anything, except work & his brother, to save his life

Also has deep rooted trust issues probably.

Likes plants a lot but keeps killing them :(

Very good at reading people!!!! 

Surprisingly good cook!!!! But can only follow like five recipes. :/

Can go from being a tall dark stranger to a golden retriever puppy within seconds.

There is so much hate in him, but he’s not sure what for. Somewhere deep down, he hates his parents, he hates himself, he hates his family line and what they’ve forged him into. But that’s a little too painful to bear ( and Rabastan has always been the type to run away from his problems, refuse to shoulder the burden of anything that might bruise his arms / his heart !!! ), so he channels all that hatred into something else.

Has Opinions™ about muggle technology but still uses an iPhone. Hypocrite.

Constantly craving attention and will do anything to get it. He’s looking for acknowledgement and praise, tbh? Can def be a textbook people pleaser, too.

Can be so so so cruel and cold, it’s a bit scary really. 

Somehow also the best listener? Gifts from his childhood, I guess!

More of an emotional torturer, than anything. Likes playing with people’s feelings and their heart strings. Favorite hex is the imperius curse.

How to break someone down emotionally 101 by Rabastan Lestrange.

Used to have a heart !!!!!! Lost it a long time ago though. It’s rotting, now.

[squareallworthy]

As a bioethicist of the pro-human school, I denounce the dim-witted hand-wringing in this article.

And because this morning I am a rather crabby bioethicist, I am going to denounce it in detail. If you are a transhumanist, or if you ever even heard of transhumanism, there’s likely nothing in the article and nothing I’m going to say that’s new to you. So the rest is below the cut. I apologize in advance for wasting your time on this stupid article and my foul mood.

First, the lede:

In a 2011 New Yorker profile, Peter Thiel, tech-philanthropist and billionaire, surmised that “probably the most extreme form of inequality is between people who are alive and people who are dead”. While he may not be technically wrong, Thiel and other eccentric, wealthy tech-celebrities, such as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, have taken the next step to counteract that inequality – by embarking on a quest to live forever.

So, the big news that sparked this useless blather is -- nothing. If you thought maybe you missed some big news in longevity research, no, you didn’t. The writer of this piece, Sanjana Varghese, looked over the entire field of transhumanism and couldn’t find anything more compelling to kick off the lead paragraph than a six year old quote. Smashing journalism.

After opening with this damp squib, Varghese invites us to contemplate this horror:

Thiel and many like him have been investing in research on life extension, part of transhumanism. Drawing on fields as diverse as neurotechnology, artificial intelligence, biomedical engineering and philosophy, transhumanists believe that the limitations of the human body and mortality can be transcended by machines and technology. The ultimate aim is immortality. Some believe this is achievable by 2045.

Okay, so we should expect some argument about why this is bad, right? Well, what we get are these two complaints: 1) "transhumanism won't fix capitalism”, and 2) "I hope these people in particular die.”

It seems like if you could articulate those two simple ideas in a pretty strightforward way, right? Well, maybe you could, but let’s not. Instead, let’s first get confused about what the hell transhumanism even is, and who are the people involved in it.

The hows and whens of transhumanism are matters of debate. Some advocate the "Singularity" – a form of artificial super-intelligence which will encompass all of humanity's knowledge, that our brains will then be uploaded to.

Wow, sounds like a radical transformation of all of human civilization and society!

"Transhumanism doesn't have much to say about social questions. To the extent that they see the world changing, it's nearly always in a business-as-usual way – techno-capitalism continues to deliver its excellent bounties, and the people who benefit from the current social arrangement continue to benefit from it," says Mark O'Connell, the author of To be a Machine,

Oh, not so much then.

Musk has publicly declared that we have to merge with artificially intelligent machines that overtake humanity in order to survive.

Oh, survival of the species, that does sound like an important social question, though.

O'Connell points out that "you'd have to be coming from a particularly rarefied privilege to look at the world today and make the assessment, as someone like Thiel does, that the biggest problem we face as a species is the fact that people die of old age".

And we're back to "transhumanism is just overenthusiastic geriatric medicine."

But who are these transhumanists, anyway?

Of course, humans have long harnessed technology, from vaccinations to smartphones, to improve and extend our lives. But that doesn’t admit you into the transhumanist club. Wanting to live forever, and possessing vast sums of money and time to research, does. 

So transhumanists are typically billionaires, then. Like Thiel and Musk and Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg? He's mentioned as someone "embarking on a quest to live forever" in the first paragraph, and then never again in the article. I guess supporting one's contentions is too tranditional-journalisty for a progressive outfit like the New Statesman.

But also, transhumanism includes Ray Kurzweil, an engineer at (gasp) Google. Also a former candidtate for governor of California, Zoltan Istvan. Kursweil has some ideas about that "Singularity" thing, and Istvan has no ideas at all, apparently, since none appear in this article. But he does admit that billionaires are funding longevity research, so that's obviously sinister. 

But also, transhumanism includes white nationalists like Michael Anissimov. But also, they are not a fringe movement because DARPA is funding some projects. DARPA being a totally mainstream thing that everyone is always talking about, like Game of Thrones.

But also, 

It would be remiss to tar all transhumanists with one brush. [...] There are some prominent transhumanists who don’t fit into the Silicon Valley mould. Natasha Vita-More, the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Humanity+ , the global transhumanist organisation, has spoken about the potential for a posthuman society to address issues of economic justice.

So transhumanists are evil billionaires, except when they are not, and they have no vision for the future of society, except when they do. So, we were going to learn about why they are bad, right?

On an even more basic level, a transhumanist society would undoubtedly be shaped by the ideals of those who created it and those who came before it. 

Unlike other societies we might have in the future, which would not be shaped by any sort of ideals, of course.

Immortality as defined by straight, white men could draw out cycles of oppression. 

PETER THIEL IS GAY, YOU DOLT! How can you even work in journalism and not know that he destroyed Gawker for outing him? You use a quote from Thiel to kick off your lousy excuse for an opinion piece and you don't even know this?  Did you even spend as much time writing your screed as I did writing this rant in response to it?

Without old attitudes dying off and replaced by the impatience of youth, social change might become impossible.

We need to kill off these transhumanists because they are stuck in old, hidebound ideas like this "upload all human minds into a global superintelligence" thing.

Artificial intelligence has already been shown to absorb the biases of its creators. Uploading someone’s brain into a clone of themselves doesn’t make them less likely to discriminate. 

Only technology that advances progressive ideals can be tolerated.

Thiel and Musk, for example, identify as libertarians and have frequently suggested that taxes are obsolete and that governmental military spending needs to be curbed (and put into life-enhancing technologies).

Progressive ideals like spending money on the military instead of on improving people's lives, that is!. Now, the New Statesman has been around for a long time, and what counts as progressive is as prone to drift as anything else in politics, but I did not realize they had come around to "bombs are more important than treating senlile dementia."

Okay, wrap it all up for us. What's the really real problem with people not suffering from old age as much as they do now?

If those who form society in the age of transhumanism are men like Musk and Thiel, it’s probable that this society will have few social safety nets. There will be an uneven rate of technological progress globally; even a post-human society can replicate the unequal global wealth distribution which we see today. In some cities and countries, inhabitants may live forever, while in others the residents die of malnutrition. If people don’t die off, the environmental consequences – from widespread natural resource devastation to unsustainable energy demands – would be widespread. 

So, three basic complaints. First, old people in the future will suddenly stop wanting social safety nets. Old people are kinda well known for their attachment to safety nets now, so why exactly do you expect that to change? Because Musk and Thiel funded medical technology, and thereby hypnotized nonagenarians into voting to end Medicaid and the National Health Service?

Second complaint: in the hideous transhuman future, we would still have problems with inequality. Well, I had raisin bran for breakfast, and that also did not solve global inequality. Am I next on Varghese's hit list? "You did not solve global inequality" is a pretty tough standard to meet, so I guess we can look forward to a long series of columns explaining why knitting, and ISO date formats, and hanging toilet paper the right way, and coffee, Taylor Swift's new album are all bad. Don't you know that if it doesn't solve this huge, complex problem that's been around forever, it's bad?

But worse, the second complaint is entirely unsupported, and the reverse may well be true. Cell phones used to be toys for the rich. Now they are commonplace, and they're doing quite a bit to benefit poor people, thank you. Could it be that research into human longevity will have positive consequences for people other than six billionaires in Silicon Valley? Like every broad-based area of technological research always has, ever? Could that be an interesting line of inquiry to write about in an opinion piece? Nah, not worth considering.

And complaint the third is that keeping people alive is just too expensive. It's phrased in tems of environmental costs, but that's just a way of tabulating the bill. Let me tabulate it this way: Varghese looks at a bunch of humans and a bunch of non-humans, and says, "Yeah, it's better if the humans die and the non-humans live." If you're aiming your dumb-ass opinon at oysters, that might be a good argument. Aimed at humans, not so much.

So there's the case against transhumanism. There's the case against basic medical research into aging and disease, including  Parkinson's, Alzheimer's,  cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, hearing loss, vision loss, and just generally feeling crappy when you get old. There's the argument against helping billions of people to live happier, more connected, more productive, more satisfying, and yes, longer lives. 

It's also the argument against fighting cholera, smallpox, and polio. It's the argument against human existence. And it's not progressive, it's not in favor of human dignity and autonomy, and it's not a position that helps the people Varghese claims to be concerned about. As someone who is in favor of human beings, I say fuck that.

[jilliangkenny-blog]

Orr and Earthlings - An Analysis

Blog Post #5

David Orr, “What is Education For?” - I decided to focus on this article for my blog post because I found it to be compelling, and I wanted to critique his argument in a constructive manner.

This quote from Wiesel is especially poignant: “It emphasized theories instead of values, concepts rather than human beings, abstraction rather than consciousness, answers instead of questions, ideology and efficiency rather than conscience.” Wiesel refers to the Nazis here, saying that this was the problem with their thinking. He argues that the Nazis were educated people, but they forgot about their humanity while committing these atrocities. Orr compares this to the way we think about the environment. He says that there is not a necessary correlation between being educated in the way that we think of our traditional education, and having education that promotes and values the sanctity of life.

Orr then goes on to list six myths that people undoubtedly believe. He claims that these myths are the foundation that our modern education rests on. The first of these myths is that ignorance can be solved, which Orr claims is untrue. He says that believing in solving ignorance results in believing that you can make a change with no consequences. This is not true, since there are always unforeseen consequences for human action. Second, he says that it is false that we can “manage planet Earth” with “knowledge and technology”.  This is untrue because you can never manage a system as complex as planet Earth. The only thing that can be managed is human action. Third, Orr refutes the argument that human goodness increases with knowledge, and that knowledge is generally increasing. He says there is not an increase in knowledge, but a shift to different kinds of knowledge. He argues that “important knowledge is being lost because of the recent overemphasis on molecular biology and genetic engineering,” which implies a loss in the intensity of other types of science.

His fourth argument is that we cannot “adequately restore that which we have dismantled.” His argument is that, based on the way we developed higher education, we create fragmented students. People generally end up specializing in whatever field they go into, whether it is medicine, law, or many other disciplines. This creates a fragmented society where people are not aware of the connections between fields. They end up focusing too heavily on their specialization and ignore the big picture of the good of the whole. Fifth, there is a belief among developed countries that education is intended to make you successful. By tying success and mobility to education, it takes away the value of education in itself, discouraging careers and lifestyles that make positive change for the good of the whole world. This belief can take away purpose and morality from our day-to-day tasks. Lastly, people falsely believe that American culture represents progress and success. By believing that capitalism is positive in itself denies all the damage it has done on people and their humanity.

Now that Orr has determined these misunderstandings about our modern society, he suggests six more principles for how we should think about our education. Education is the formation of our future, so this is the most important way to change the way we shape our lives. First, he believes that “all education is environmental education.” This means that everything we teach the younger generations should fit into the idea that we are a connected ecosystem, and that all forms of knowledge interact with one another in a way that makes sense. Second, he discusses the Greek idea of “paideia,” which means that education’s goal is about mastering the person. This reminds me of the Jesuit idea of cura personalis, or care for the whole person. If a school can not only teach their students concrete knowledge about specific subjects, but also teach them how to be well-rounded people living in a larger system, this will benefit the entire human community at large. Third, Orr argues that, when we gain knowledge, we must use it responsibly. Once we gain the ability to do something does not always mean that we should do it. This can be seen in an event like Love Canal, where many people suffered from the effects of nuclear waste. Knowledge about the development of a certain product or system does not imply immediate implementation, and we should all tread with caution.

Orr also says that we cannot claim knowledge on a subject unless we know how it affects people. Many people make large claims about how certain legislature or policy affect them personally, but they do not know the whole story. By limiting their opinions to what they know, this completely invalidates the experiences of anyone else who was affected differently by this same legislature. Fifth, he argues (using William Blake’s belief) that example is more important than words. This means that institutions should practice what they preach, so to speak. This is extremely important to future generations because it perpetuates the idea that people must do what they say should be done. He implies some sort of moral responsibility in this. This is not a new idea, but it is very important to implement in an environmental standard. Lastly, he suggests that the process of learning is “as important as the content of particular courses.” By saying this, Orr means that learning should transcend the physical boundaries of a classroom. When only learning in the constraints of a room with chairs, a projector, laptops, and the like, it does not ensure that students will connect what they learn with their own world.

Orr’s argument is compelling because he focuses on the long-term implications of environmental teaching and uses widely accepted principles to build on this idea. Education is something often thought of as always good, regardless of what it is. His argument could be controversial among cultural relativists, who believe that cultures should allow their own groups to choose how they educate their youth. This ensures that sections of history are not tossed aside in the interest of preserving national pride, or that western culture is not forced upon anyone who does not want that experience. This proves difficult, though, when teaching about the environment. Orr argues that we should think of education as having a correct or incorrect way of implementation. Is this undermining the idea of cultural relativism? How can we strike a balance between respecting the values of different cultures and making people realize their place in the environment? This is an extremely difficult balance to achieve, and possibly why Orr’s ideas are not more widely accepted.

Of course, there is the age-old argument that philosophical ideas such as these cannot be implemented for a number of reasons. First, how can you change people’s worldviews? Every single person I’ve met has a specific way that they tend to think about their place in the world, and, for the most part, this does not change. While people change gradually over time and shift in how they come to believe in their own truth, there is often a general way that people think about issues, and it is framed from a young age. The people who are in charge of educating the youth, then, are already stuck in their ways of thinking. How can we break this dangerous cycle, and should we?

I wanted to also discuss Earthlings, the film we watched in class. For the most part, this film was disturbing, yet insightful. The opening scene where the narrator compares the way we treat animals to mass genocide is a very strong and polarizing statement, but it is effective. They label this as speciesism, which is the same as other “isms” in that it is a social justice movement bringing awareness to discrimination based on a certain trait. In this case, that trait is being a species other than human. They highlight the moral imperative of the sanctity and respect of human life, and says that every living species is a someone, not a something. It also argues that it is part of our duty to eradicate pain and suffering to the best of our abilities, and we are denying this duty if we do not do that in the case of slaughter. These ideas relate to Orr’s piece in many ways.

Since we watched mainly the slaughterhouse section of the documentary, we saw the worst parts of what mass cattle farmers do when they slaughter different farm animals. I found myself extremely disturbed and upset by these images, as anyone would be. That is the point of these images: they want to make it so that you do not want to perpetuate this kind of behavior. It wants to challenge the way we think about the lives of animals, and it says that animals have an equal right to life to humans. It wants us to think of how we rely on animals to live, yet we do not respect them by giving them a peaceful and relatively painless life. Even raising animals to kill them seems fairly unethical to me, but we should at least treat them well if we do this.

The documentary also discussed the injustices faced by those who run the slaughterhouses. Because these are jobs that not many people desire to have, minorities and the poor are often placed in them. They are then treated poorly in these locations. Additionally, these workers are completely desensitized to the killing of animals, a huge injustice to them. This can cause psychological problems and can create lack of sensitivity in other areas of life. They could lose their social nature and become dangerously comfortable with violence. Not only that, but the workers are the only people that are exposed to any sort of killing of animals. The customers are then completely shielded from any type of violence, disconnecting themselves from their food. This can be problematic because it emphasizes meat consumption and lessens awareness of the effect killing your food can have on a person.

Word Count: 1674

Discussion Question: How would cultural relativists respond to Orr's argument about how education should be implemented?

[waldbrown]

Six Questions about Filmmaking in Saudi Arabia

A video of this interview can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYwHo-zkNxI

On the subject of manifestos. I met up at IFFRotterdam with Abdulrahman Khawj, a director  from Saudi Arabia who is at the epicenter of both the commercial and independent film work emerging after the Kingdom legalized cinema in 2018. For three years, we discussed the possibilities of cinema in a place it was not really permitted, often discussing a manifesto that would seek to document the unique challenges faced by filmmakers in this seemingly insurmountable--and sometimes bizarrely welcoming--filmmaking environment. Abdulrahman’s first feature film, The Great Muse, is the focus of my film, First Feature, which was screening at Rotterdam. Before running to catch our trains on the last day of the festival, we recorded an interview about the current state of filmmaking in Saudi Arabia, as well as our own goals with filmmaking in the next few years, touching on subjects that had served as discussion topics for a possible manifesto: splitting time between ads and shooting features, whether we aim to make films with a possibility of commercial cinema release, and the importance of place for someone looking to write and direct films. Here's the transcript of the interview.

Bentley (B)

First question: Where are the films with stories of people in Saudi Arabia who don't hold Saudi nationality?

Abdulrahman (A)

Where are they? Ok…

Well, even films for Saudi nationals, there's only three of them so far. It's true that Saudi Arabia has a very high diversity of people from different nationalities and backgrounds, and there are some awesome stories. There's a group called Thamaniyah who make documentaries, do you know them? They made two or three short films about the Hajj. Most people in the films are foreigners...or at least from different nationalities. It was really nice. 

So there are a lot of great stories out there, but we're still catching up on the Saudi ones. There's a huge potential.

Question for you: I know how you work but others might not know. What keeps you going with a majority of films whose work takes place in post-production.

So you're filming all the time and you wind up with a lot of footage.

B

Just like we're doing right now.

A

Yeah, by 2045 we might see this in a film.

What keeps you patient watching footage and then spending a year or two in editing? Here the whole film takes a year and a half.

B

What keeps me going? It's coffee, of course...espresso.

But what gives me patience? The idea is that I've got a lot of projects going on at the same time. So if I have a project that keeps me in an editing studio for a whole year, I don't feel like it's taking all my time because I'm spread out between other projects, many of which aren't even "documentary" or "non-fiction" in nature, such as dramas. So I'm having fun with some things but concentrating on post-production projects at the same time. Diversity of projects...distractions...just trick yourself, forget you're spending all your time on a film.

Next question: People say "Saudi Arabia's all oil and money" and that it's easy to get funds to make a movie. But maybe in reality it's not. Where do you ideally get your money for making a film in Saudi Arabia?

A

This is a good observation that many people think Saudi Arabia is all money. But those with money are the same, their religion is money. Whether they're in America or Saudi Arabia 

or Malaysia or anywhere else, they want something in return for their expenditure, and this is why they might not give out money. There hasn't been cinema in Saudi Arabia until now

so they're starting to envision that movies could earn profit. But even this is tough because there are many things more profitable than films. Individually we make very low-budget, inexpensive films which take a really long time to get any money back. Or we do something where the 

director and producer split costs. Savings...you have to save.

B

I feel like in life you have to save. No matter where you're living or what you're working

you have to save money.

A

You have to be smart with money.

We also work commercials and TV in order to earn money to spend on films later. So we work two jobs always.

Next question: What is the end goal for you? We're here, we're struggling, we're trying to make movies, trying to get noticed. Twenty years from now where do you want to be with filmmaking?

B

I'm working on a lot films composed of home video or other types of video not intended to be made into a movie. But the dream in twenty years is that I'd be back in films like Faisal Goes West with more of an imaginative space, addressing contemporary social issues. That's my goal, to get back into drama and comedy and the like. I would have a diversity of projects in form and content.

A 

So you won't to go more fiction?

B

It would be spread out...also virtual reality and installation. I've got a project I'm working on now, for example, that is four screens in the same room. But bigger than this, before I die, I want to tell stories...finish telling the stories I've got. Especially the things I witnessed unique to my experience as a kid and teenager in Chad. For example, my relationship with religion, with my parents, such as my father, who was a doctor in Chad. My later work in Saudi Arabia...I want to talk about these stories and get them out to the world. I want them to be public too, not just exclusive to theaters or film festivals.

A

Just like Kamal Jaafari, celebrated films talking about something important and personal but it's for everyone to...

B

Everyone should be able to get something from it.

My third question is: Will you make a commercial film for cinematic release in Saudi Arabia? Or is this not really one of your goals?

A

Yes, but as a producer. There are films for which I'm be a producer and there's films where I'm a director and writer. My directing and writing aren't really for general audiences. They're mostly art films and their audiences are limited. I'm happy with the way things are, but I also want to make films my dad or mom or younger siblings would go watch. That's why I produce, to make films other than those I'd write and direct. I help other people make films. So, hopefully in cinemas soon.

B

You've got the last question.

A

The last question is mine.

B

The last question of yours is for me.

A

It's not as poetic as that.

So now you're studying PhD. You're doing a doctorate in filmmaking and technology...it's very interesting. What are the pluses and minuses?

B

Oh my god that's a big question.

A

Let's just start the whole interview over now.

B

Let's start with the disadvantages. In order to do the PhD--and I still don't know if I'll be spending two years or four years where I'm doing my studies--I had to take myself out of the "Arab World," from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan, Chad, and Africa in general. This hurts a bit. I feel that one of the best ways to spend my youth is to always be moving between Chad, Sudan, America, France, Saudi Arabia and the like. But to concentrate on the PhD I have to spend most of my time in America at the university where I'm studying.

There's many advantages of course. The first is that I'm making even more films now than when I was teaching filmmaking in Jeddah. Teaching six to seven courses a semester didn't allow us to work on our films. Most of the films we made together [in Jeddah] were made in the summer, for example. So now I'm making films inside the program where I'm studying. That's its focus.

The last thing, and this is something you helped me with when I was living in Jeddah--and I hope we keep the communication flowing so we can encourage each other in this--is that I'm challenging myself so that I can develop intellectually. I feel like you could spend your life telling stories, showing us a perspective we wouldn't see if it weren't for movies. And this is very nice, that you could show us a culture or lifestyle we knew nothing about. This is very beautiful. But without a higher thinking, or without pondering the future, or without incorporating a different point of view, or a depth of subject matter--to understand the background elements beyond the story, is very important. So I want to grow intellectually.

A

In filmmaking, the story is a medium for communicating an idea. It's a language--I admire that actually, and I miss it. I'm making movies but I don't have three months, for example, to learn and explore a new perspective.

B

Just look at the films we both enjoy, the director often has a hobby or passion they're crazy about. Perhaps they studied medicine, or architecture such as yourself. Their knowledge of another field made the film's story better, and deeper.

I hope you make it back to Saudi Arabia okay.

A

I'll see you at the next festival.

(Photo credit: Sara Alsubaie)

[lucasxxbrown-blog]

The Maine Woods, Thoughts Loosely Constructed in Train of Thought.

Part One: Casco Bay Conundrum

Casco Bay has many beauties, like Peaks Island. Peaks island itself is a magical, mysterious, inherently dangerous place. Two cultures exist on Peaks; the Square and the Wild. The square are tame, old, and quiet. Generally white (most of Maine is white, unfortunately). They lack culture and fun. The fun are the Wild. The Wild are young, ambitious, and not surprisingly - but most importantly - stupid. The Square stick to what they know - driving their golf carts to the expensive restaurant by the water. The Wild live like they’re about to die; driving their cheap (about to fall apart) golf carts; screaming down dirt roads with 3 too many people piled on the back. They seek entertainment. Sometimes in throwing bottles, sometimes in climbing on the roof of a moving car. But, as old as civilization itself, we as humans hold on to ritual. 

Ritual, for the Wild on Peaks, are the outrageous fires they construct in Battery Steele. Anything from chairs to entire box spring mattresses are likely to be burned at the stake. The Steele is a large, concrete, hallway like tunnel. Several small rooms line it. It’s about 15 feet high and 20 feet across, with musty dirt floors. Rooms contain anything from broken glass to remnants of satanic rituals. The police on the island are limited, and really just don’t care. 

The Square far outnumber the Wild. Not much really happens, but when it does, it’s a sight to see. The Wild live life to the fullest. This is something the Square could do; but choose not to. The Square sit inside in the comfort of their homes and experience next to nothing. They fill their minds with mindless entertainment. They have no desire to explore, expand their horizons, or change their perspectives. They crave security both mentally and physically. Why is any of this important? If they’re happy with their lives, don’t bother them? The problem is that this kind of happiness is ignorant. Ignorant happiness. Their minds are closed from the outside world. Rarely do they care, think of, or even understand the or state of the world. They care about their issues only and themselves only. This ignorance is dangerous.

We, as humans, have an ethical, moral, primal obligation to help other humans. We all experience the same feelings; love and hate; despair and hunger. At any level of privilege, it is our duty to help those less privileged. Privilege can be described as the circumstances in which every human life comes into. Everyone was just like you at one point; a soul born into a place we have no control over. None of us choose where. None of us choose when. But all of us are born into cycles of more or less privilege (privilege can generally be interchanged with wealth). 

A study was done that examined families wealth status over the course of 1000 years. Every family that was poor, stays poor. Just about every family that was middle class 1000 years ago is middle class now. The rich stay rich. The poor stay poor. We are born into cycles. Born into wealth classes, which we usually stay in. These wealth classes generally determine the privilege one has. More wealth, more privilege. 

We don’t choose anything when we are born. How can you look at another human, another soul, who also chose nothing (but has less), and not help?

If the majority of people’s happiness came from helping people, we would live in a better world.

Part Two: Bag of Bones

I’m back now. When I last ended, my father had called me for dinner. After swinging a chicken sausage around on a stick for a while I sat down and ate. My brother is fishing again, to no surprise. He continues to ask me to accompany him, but I decline. I like spending time with him.  I like spending time in silence. But something about fishing with someone rubs me the wrong way. Fishing is solitude, silence, and patience. It could even be compared to meditation. This should be time for self reflection. Utter loneliness. Loneliness is seen as this sad, pouty thing. In reality, solitude can truly improve your mind. Meditation improves your mind. When it comes down to it, it isn’t weird to want to be alone.

That being said, you shouldn't be alone all of the time. Social interaction has its benefits. But there is something so peaceful, serene, beautiful and divine about spending time in your own head. No thought with the outside world. Nothing to worry about, nothing to do. You, alone, with your thoughts. At the end of the day, that’s all that we are… thoughts. Electromagnetic pulses through a pink squishy blob. Brains control our bodies, but what describes the “back of your head”? When you have sleep paralysis, you can see everything, but you can’t move. What is being “there”? What is being “conscious”? If “real feelings” can be manipulated by things that aren’t real, what is reality? What is real?

Thousands of veterans with severed limbs account feeling “ghost limbs”. Go ahead, look it up, it’s real. Even though their, say, arm isn’t there… they sometimes feel as if it is. Their brains forget that they don’t have an arm and those feelings return. If your leg is attached to you - you’d consider it alive. But it’s not. Our legs, arms, everything, are simply bones wrapped in meat covered with liquid. Nothing is “alive”. Are we?

Part Three: Survival?

The human brain has evolved some physically - but mostly mentally. Our great ancestors had similar, but differently shaped brains. Their minds were simple. The focused on food, sex, and shelter. Main goal: don’t die. For thousands of years, the human brain had one main goal; survive. 

Why? People died all the fucking time. Medicine wasn’t shit. You could cut your foot and die from infection within days. Plagues killed millions upon millions. Food was scarce. While this wasn’t a reality for all, it was for most. Our minds functioned differently. 

Fast forward to now. Your average first world human, for generations on generations, never needed to survive. From birth to death, death was never an “in your face” kind of thing. These generations were all born into hospitals; places of care and security. Then, they were brought home, fed well and cared for. They were given love, nourishment, and anything else you could think they would need. As they got older, they attended school. They spent 12 years of their lives in a safe and calm environment, learning. Yes, they might have had a health issue here or there.  But our modern medicine prevented them from ever directly facing death. They never had to worry about food, shelter, hunting, gathering, anything that our simple-minded great ancestors had to. Our constant thoughts shape the inner-workings of the brain. Generations since the 21st century have been shaped by thoughts of utter security; we always have our guard down. Food, shelter, and sex are all far too easily accessible. We don’t have to think about these things anymore. 

We are losing the ability to survive. To be human. What are we becoming?

Part 4: Whatever

Am I going insane? Probably. But nobody cares. You know why nobody cares? Because everyone is fucking insane. Everyone has at least one mental issue one way or another. None of us are truly sane anymore. What is normal? “What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly” - Charles Adams. What is sanity? Who determines sanity? Is there a test you can take? Fuck. There probably is. But are all tests accurate? What if I take two separate tests and get two varying results? 

Sanity cannot be determined. We are all insane one way or another. Is this a bad thing though?

Mildly. We are all mildly insane. So, what does this mean? What does this prove? First, everyone needs to give everyone else a break. Cut judgement. Cut ignorance. Try to understand that everyone you meet has a life, feelings, family, possessions, and sorrows just like yours. What feelings do you seek to experience? Joy, kindness, forgiveness. Everyone else seeks these as well. Remember that we all feel the same - if you don’t want to be sad, why would you want someone else to?

---

I’m less high now. Being high is such a beautiful thing. I almost didn’t even want to write about it. It feels…”taboo”. Getting high has been part of the counterculture since its origins. The counterculture has often been referred to as the “anti war hippies”. These hippies were right. Right about everything. These hippies were the not only the peak, but the pinnacle of American culture. Their anti-war and anti-destruction of the earth ideas were spot on. Best of all, they were so fucking passionate about it. They all lived such humble, free lives. They weren’t poisoned by the food they ate. Technology didn’t corrupt their minds. They were spiritually awoken and fought for what was right (including the civil rights movement). The problem is that this counterculture was deemed “dangerous to the inner workings of society as a whole”. Many older people at the time didn’t understand. The hippies said, “Guys, look. America is pretty fucked up. But not too fucked up. We’re at a point of return. Let’s slowly start changing some stuff for the better”. 

Unfortunately the Nixons of America denounced them. They saw change as a threat to their way of life. They also realized that their control was threatened. Nixon types, Nixon himself were ultimately severely ignorant.  Ignorance fueled by ego and greed. Fueled by an undying lust for power. This ignorance began the war on drugs. The failing, idiotic “war” on drugs. Let me be clear; opioids do not expand your mind. They are a specifically designed substance for easy, immediate happiness. Not to mention the deeply addictive trait of these absolutely monstrous drugs. Do you know what they do? They release serotonin, your “happy” chemical. You know what they don’t do? Get you high! People will misconstrue this rush of feelings from opioids as a high. You know what gets you actually high? 

Cannabis. But, also meth. As well as huffing paint. But - things like meth or paint are a synthetic high with devastating consequences. These chemicals were created by a man in a lab. They aren’t natural. You know what is natural? Cannabis. To be clear; just because something is natural doesn't automatically make it safe. My point is to suggest that this natural high is safer and doesn’t fuck with your body and brain. Cannabis is natural; so are humans. We, like cannabis, come from the earth. Don’t forget we are still creatures of this planet! We are nothing but highly sophisticated monkeys. For thousands of years during our evolution, we were pretty basic. We dealt with survival over all else. But around the 21st century something changed. Modern Medicine. We became so good at keeping stupid people alive that we significantly slowed down natural selection. And what does that create? More stupid people reproducing, and a stupider population. You know who gains from a stupid population? The puppet masters of society. A society that has corrupted us.

--

Suicide. Suicide doesn't make any sense. Many (most) animals don't commit suicide. Most humans, for a long time, didn't want to kill themselves. Personally, I’ve struggled with thoughts of suicide. I’ve never been diagnosed with depression. Depression is...unnatural? Is that the right word? My point is that animals don’t generally experience depression. Depression in mass amounts began around the 50’s. The 50’s. What an interesting crossroad in American culture. Possibly the most important. The morph between the 50’s and 60’s, that is. But what happened around the 50’s that made everyone want to kill themselves? Actually, maybe it wasn’t the 50’s. 90’s maybe? The humans (in America) peaked as a species in the 60’s. Have we gotten to a point somewhere beyond natural evolution? I theorize that we have began to evolve around society itself, and no longer the earth. 

We are evolving around ourselves. Death and survival are no longer a part of our lives. We’re becoming less naturally human and more internalized to society. Our everyday problems and issues are completely insignificant compared to that of the past. My great ancestors biggest problem was finding food in loom of death; mine is forgetting to put my dishes away. At the end of the day we’re so caught up in our obsolete issues that we forget how to truly live. How to feel. Our emotions are being warped and fucked with. What even is the main goal of life? To be happy? What even is happiness? What is emotion? Chemical balances and imbalances in your brain? Aren’t we all just energy? How do you describe a feeling? Aren’t happiness and sadness just chemicals released by your brain? Is anyone happy all of the time? Is that even possible? Is the point of life to just be alive? 

My father calls for me. I’m still in the tent. I should probably go. 

Part 5: An river end

I’m sitting by the river. Sounds of babbling rocks and the fresh smell of earth make me feel at home. Sleeping in the wild, waking up with the air we were meant to breathe; it’s a beautiful and peculiar thing. Everything just feels right. The wind brushes the trees, bushes, and my hair. The water moves slow and methodically, calm, with a purpose. Soon, the dam will release and the shore will rise. Will I rise as well? My spiritual journey is still in the making. I’m not only trying to find myself, but make myself. Maybe that’s it. Maybe I need to stop looking for who I am, accept who I am, and just do the things that make me happy. It’s hard, though. Making yourself happy; when your own joy comes from the light of others. I am the most happy when others around me are happy. Even if I’m doing something that bothers me, as long as the ones around me are content, so am I. Some things downright cause me utter sadness. But at the same time, I’m happy. I’m at a constant state of war in my own head. 

What do I do?

[health-and-felicidad]

How to Improve Your Digital Wellness, According to Experts

Today, I’ve spent 2 hours and 51 minutes scrolling through Instagram, Twitter, and other apps—and it’s not even dinnertime. I’m not alone. Comscore’s 2017 U.S. Cross-Platform Future in Focus report revealed that to be the exact amount of time the average American spends staring at his or her phone each day. Even scarier: When you add in other types of devices, that time goes all the way up to an average of 10.5 hours a day, according to the 2018 Quarter 3 Nielsen Total Audience Report. Wow is right.

Of course, you probably didn’t need to know average usage numbers to know that we all rely on technology for pretty much everything—navigating our way to new spots, connecting with loved ones, and even finding answers to questions we never knew we’d ask.

RELATED: The Surprisingly Easy Trick That Can Help You Use Your Phone a Little Bit Less

“Our devices are bringing us capabilities we’ve never had before,” says BJ Fogg, PhD, founder and director of the Stanford Behavior Design Lab and author of Persuasive Technology. “It’s like a superpower.” Plus, many apps, digital games, and social media make us feel successful. “Some of this technology is designed to make you seem like you’re getting better at something or progressing,” Fogg explains.

And with a feel-good one-two punch like that, why would we ever want to put our phones down? Experts say it can have IRL effects on your relationships, your brain, and even your body.

Giving up our devices entirely, though? Yeah, that’s impractical and unrealistic. And that’s where digital wellness—a term that’s been popping up at tech conferences, including Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in 2018—comes in. What sounds like a tech-industry catchphrase is actually pretty simple. “Digital wellness is about limiting the use of technologies that create anxiety, stress, and mood changes,” says John Torous, MD, a psychiatrist and director of the digital psychiatry division at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. “And, instead, focusing on the psychologically beneficial uses of these technologies to connect with the right people and to have meaningful experiences.”

RELATED: This Mindless Habit Is Sending Your Stress Level Through the Roof

The Damage, Explained

The irony of being connected 24/7 is that it’s actually making us less connected—to those who are important to us and to our own minds and bodies. “The connection digital technology provides is more superficial, and it interferes with deeper, more meaningful connections,” explains Jeremy McCarthy, chair of the Global Wellness Institute’s Digital Wellness Initiative. And research supports this. According to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, young adults who spent more time on social media actually felt more socially isolated.

It’s not just the blatant rudeness of texting while someone is talking to you or the casual inattention of scrolling your newsfeeds while watching TV with your partner. Just having your phone in sight can stifle closeness, trust, and empathy, a study in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships found. “It puts this buzz in your head: ‘What am I missing out on?’ ” says Larry Rosen, PhD, a research psychologist and coauthor of The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World. “It starts to make you feel like what you’re doing in person with someone is making you miss out on other important things.” Hello, FOMO.

RELATED: 3 Tricks to Help Your Eyes When You're Staring at Your Phone All the Time

That fear and anxiety of being away from mobile phones even has a name—nomophobia—and some experts are calling for the issue to be added to the bible of psychiatry, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. “With the increased use in social media, there’s also been an increase in generalized anxiety and separation anxiety,” says Rosen.

There are physical effects, too. “We’re moving our bodies less because we’re spending more time on technology and locking ourselves into anatomically unnatural positions where we’re just staring at a screen a few feet from our face,” says McCarthy. That’s led to an uptick in issues like digital eye strain and “tech neck,” or aches in your neck and shoulders from hunching over a phone and computer all day.

RELATED: 7 Scary Things You Never Knew About Cell Phone Addiction

Get Your Usage Under Control

In an interesting twist, the very technology that is causing these problems is now trying to help you adopt a healthier relationship with it. Apple’s iOS 12 update included new digital-wellness features that allow users to monitor how much time they spend on devices, set time limits on app usage, and control the distraction of notifications. Google announced similar new Android features, like “Flip to Shhh,” which switches your phone into Do Not Disturb when you place it facedown, and a  “Wind Down” mode that turns your screen to grayscale at your designated bedtime.

“Use these features to gather info and get a sense of your typical behavior,” advises Rosen. See what apps you spend the most time on; then decide if you need or want to be using them so much. Your maps app may be a necessity, but is spending hours a day on social media adding to your life? Once you establish a goal of what you’d like to cut back on, find ways to help yourself achieve it. That might mean using the time-limit features to block distracting apps or going so far as to program your Wi-Fi router to turn off at 8 p.m.

RELATED: Gaming Disorder Is Now Considered a Real Mental Health Condition. Here's How to Know If You Have a Problem

Another idea: Hold yourself accountable—with a human. “It’s like having a gym buddy,” says Dr. Torous. “There’s something very powerful in telling a friend or family member what your goals are.” It creates a social contract, something that is often stronger than your own willpower.

Finally, keep in mind that what works for someone else may not work for you. Like with healthy eating or working out regularly, the only way to create lasting change is to do it on your own terms.

To get our top stories delivered to your inbox, sign up for the Healthy Living newsletter

source https://www.health.com/mind-body/digital-wellness

[frankdcarterfl]

Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing Strategies

The new digital age has transformed our daily habits. Who has not purchased something online in the last months? We all buy from the comfort of our house all kinds of products. From shirts in Zara to computers on Amazon. All at the click of a mouse. And why not diapers for the baby? And paracetamol?

Making use of the new technologies offered by mobile phones is one of the ways to reach your customers or potential customers much more directly.

Pharmaceutical companies must also establish themselves in a digital environment and adapt to the incessant growth of the smartphone and its use because the mobile phone is usually the first and the last thing you see every day. Connection speeds are getting better. And more people switch to smartphones, a great opportunity to get closer and interact with your target customer.

Mobile advertising investment exceeded 143 billion dollars in 2017. And it is estimated that in 2020 it will reach more than 247 billion dollars.

You have to imagine the possibilities of a doctor, a nurse, or a health professional having the ability to quickly verify the effectiveness of medication while someone is in treatment without saying that these type of messages humanize the treatment and inform patients.

Digital Marketing for Pharmaceutical Companies

The world of pharmaceutical companies has traditionally been a very conservative and classist sector, where for the user the location of the pharmaceutical company was more important than anything else. 

With the age of the internet, physical stores are less relevant, since in 24 hours we can have our products at home anywhere in the country, and less than 2 hours if we place the order from the same municipality where the warehouse is located. This behavior by the patients emphasizes the importance of having an online presence of a pharmaceutical company.

If you are a pharma company, you need to ask these questions from yourself. How do I adapt my pharmaceutical company to the online world? Do I need a Marketing strategy for my pharmaceutical company?

The four pillars of Pharmaceutical Marketing:

1.    Website

The website should be the axis of the pharma digital marketing, but before we have to be clear about what we want to achieve with it. Do we want a corporate page to inform our customers about our schedules and promotions? Or do we want to develop an online store where we can boost our sales?

I often find pharmaceutical companies that have web pages that are practically abandoned, and that is not updated since the web designer finished it. 

They usually have between 1 and 5 visits per month. Are we interested in developing a website to achieve this result? We must not let ourselves be carried away by digital novelty and do things by impulses and without a Marketing plan for our pharmaceutical company.  

We must be clear about what we want to do, how much we are willing to invest, where we want to go, and what our objectives are.

2.    Positioning in Google

SEO or positioning in Google is closely linked with the previous point. We have our online pharmaceutical company ready, but nobody enters. What do I do to get more visits to my pharmaceutical company? The search engines (especially Google) are the yellow pages of the 21st century. 

The first thing we all do when looking for something online is to go to Google. If our pharmaceutical is in the first positions will be easier to enter our website. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to get visits. 

3.    Social Networks

Another very important aspect of pharma digital marketing is social networks. Who does not have an account on Facebook or Twitter? Social networks provide us with two very important questions:

-Direct communication with our customers:

It will allow us to answer and clarify any doubts that users may have about our pharmaceutical company or certain products.

-Increase sales:

Social networks are also a great showcase to be able to announce, among other things, the latest news or the best offers from our pharmaceutical companies and thereby get more income.

4.    Paid Advertising Online

Paid advertising onine is one of the most quickest and effective ways to drive traffic to your pharmaceutical company. We focus on the major media sites like Google, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Youtube. With paid media your campaigns are black and white meaning that you know exectly how much you spend and how much you make back which makes calculating ROI simple. As a Google certified partner I setup and manage Google pay per click Ads (PPC). Becuase of my unique qualifications my clients ads produce outstanding ROI.   

Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing Strategy:

Related Post: Biotechnology & Life Sciences Digital Marketing Guide

As in other sectors, the pharmaceutical market, as a result of continuous technological advances, has had to adapt to a new digital reality. And to the new consumption habits that have appeared as a consequence of the digital transformation. For this, pharmaceutical companies need to develop new marketing strategies to achieve better results within an increasingly globalized and competitive environment.

On the other hand, we must not forget that this is a sector with many restrictions and limitations because they are products related to health and the field of medicine. Because of these restrictions, in the pharmaceutical sector, you can only carry out campaigns, both offline and digital, about medicines that you can buy on your own, that is, without a prescription.

A pharmaceutical company can have many strategies planned for its marketing. E.g., they can:

Buy the production of an ad, on an influential website with the high circulation that explains how good their product and service is (and also includes a link to the website) 

Write an article in the corporate blog, promote it, and link it from a website with a native advertisement.

Make a recognized and influential website write and publish an article with a positive focus on the product or service.

Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing Trends:

Now that we are familiar with four pillars of digital marketing pharmaceutical, we need to know what are the trends in pharma digital marketing. What methods are more successful in connecting with the patients and how to achieve that? Following are the most common trends:

1.      Marketing through videos:

Videos are an easy and reliable way to convey information. Reading long articles can be tedious for a patient. So, a video provides us the opportunity of delivering the same information in a more exciting and understanding way. Animated explainer videos are quite successful in this regard. Research shows that patient prefer to watch a video explaining their disease in simpler terms. This provides them with a good understanding of their problem and makes them more involved in the treatment strategies.

So, it would be a good strategy for pharma digital marketing to produce various informative videos for their brand. Videos can be on multiple topics starting from general information about a disease to side effects of a specific drug used for the cure. All of this is a part of educating the patient and making him more self-sufficient. 

2.      Influencers:

No matter what the product is, social media influencers play an essential role in its advertisement. People trust their favorite influencers and tend to follow them instead of a random video. If I want to buy makeup products, I will see what Kylie has to say about this, etc. Pharmaceutical companies can also use this strategy where they can fill Facebook, Quora, and different other social media forums with authentic health-related influencers who are trusted by the patients to deliver factual information. One such example of these influencers is Dr. Mike, AKA the hot doctor. He is a social media influencer who is successfully creating his brand. People like him can be effectively used for social media marketing for pharma industries.

3.      Personalized attention

The Internet provides users with means of contact and care with sufficient guarantees and speed to be able to assist you and positively resolve your doubts and concerns.

Each online pharmaceutical companies must have personalized telephone attention through an available pharmacist who answers questions and doubts. Also, the network should be full of health and cosmetics blogs that constantly provide information on real issues based on issues even proposed by the online user community itself.

Blogs generate quality traffic. That is, they capture a well-defined and segmented target audience that ultimately converts, a public that may be interested in hiring your products or services.

4.      Make yourself known in social networks

The use of social networks is a safe bet for the pharmaceutical industry. For this, you need to be well prepared. Not only to manage them. Also, to connect with the target audience generating conversations.

To achieve these objectives, it is important to have a clear digital strategy and focus it on each audience, getting answers as soon as possible, and generating exciting content.

Create a community around your brand on social networks. Where consumers can learn and ask about different ailments and get robust solutions, in addition to introducing your products. Make an in-depth analysis of the needs of your followers.in this way, you will find out the real problems of the users, and thus, you will adequately focus your online digital marketing strategy.

They are also instrumental in spreading messages and content to a vast audience. You can do it through the different channels and as a complement to the websites, news portals, and other communication vehicles.  Therefore, one of the trends in online pharmaceutical marketing is to involve the public in issues related to health, pathologies, adherence, etc.

5.      Online live sessions:

This is a relatively new trend but a successful one, indeed. It makes it possible for a patient to interact with a health care professional live or directly, thus making it a smooth and transparent process. Many doctors are providing free or paid consultation through chats, calls, or live sessions. This strategy can also be used by the pharma industry for marketing.

6.      Email marketing:

Email marketing and newsletters are valuable tools to be in permanent contact with your health consumers.

But before launching any message, carefully analyze the profiles of your potential users — for example, demographic factors, age, sex, needs, habits, and tastes.

Then create a workflow that manages the sending of information and where you talk from the most generic about the pharmaceutical industry to the mention of your products or services at the right time.

Conclusion

We have explained some useful marketing strategies that can introduce your pharmaceutical company to the world. For an active online pharmaceutical company, you need an SEO optimized website which will attract visitors to it. You can use different strategies to boost your pharma sales online.

Let’s Work Together!

We will help you dominate your industry online

Get in touch

The post Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing Strategies appeared first on Lorenzo Gutierrez Digital Marketing.

from Lorenzo Gutierrez Digital Marketing https://www.lorenzogutierrez.net/2019/07/pharmaceutical-digital-marketing-strategies/ from Lorenzo Gutierrez https://lorenzo-gutierrez-seo.tumblr.com/post/186079743937

[lorenzo-gutierrez-seo]

Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing Strategies

The new digital age has transformed our daily habits. Who has not purchased something online in the last months? We all buy from the comfort of our house all kinds of products. From shirts in Zara to computers on Amazon. All at the click of a mouse. And why not diapers for the baby? And paracetamol?

Making use of the new technologies offered by mobile phones is one of the ways to reach your customers or potential customers much more directly.

Pharmaceutical companies must also establish themselves in a digital environment and adapt to the incessant growth of the smartphone and its use because the mobile phone is usually the first and the last thing you see every day. Connection speeds are getting better. And more people switch to smartphones, a great opportunity to get closer and interact with your target customer.

Mobile advertising investment exceeded 143 billion dollars in 2017. And it is estimated that in 2020 it will reach more than 247 billion dollars.

You have to imagine the possibilities of a doctor, a nurse, or a health professional having the ability to quickly verify the effectiveness of medication while someone is in treatment without saying that these type of messages humanize the treatment and inform patients.

Digital Marketing for Pharmaceutical Companies

The world of pharmaceutical companies has traditionally been a very conservative and classist sector, where for the user the location of the pharmaceutical company was more important than anything else. 

With the age of the internet, physical stores are less relevant, since in 24 hours we can have our products at home anywhere in the country, and less than 2 hours if we place the order from the same municipality where the warehouse is located. This behavior by the patients emphasizes the importance of having an online presence of a pharmaceutical company.

If you are a pharma company, you need to ask these questions from yourself. How do I adapt my pharmaceutical company to the online world? Do I need a Marketing strategy for my pharmaceutical company?

The four pillars of Pharmaceutical Marketing:

1.    Website

The website should be the axis of the pharma digital marketing, but before we have to be clear about what we want to achieve with it. Do we want a corporate page to inform our customers about our schedules and promotions? Or do we want to develop an online store where we can boost our sales?

I often find pharmaceutical companies that have web pages that are practically abandoned, and that is not updated since the web designer finished it. 

They usually have between 1 and 5 visits per month. Are we interested in developing a website to achieve this result? We must not let ourselves be carried away by digital novelty and do things by impulses and without a Marketing plan for our pharmaceutical company.  

We must be clear about what we want to do, how much we are willing to invest, where we want to go, and what our objectives are.

2.    Positioning in Google

SEO or positioning in Google is closely linked with the previous point. We have our online pharmaceutical company ready, but nobody enters. What do I do to get more visits to my pharmaceutical company? The search engines (especially Google) are the yellow pages of the 21st century. 

The first thing we all do when looking for something online is to go to Google. If our pharmaceutical is in the first positions will be easier to enter our website. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to get visits. 

3.    Social Networks

Another very important aspect of pharma digital marketing is social networks. Who does not have an account on Facebook or Twitter? Social networks provide us with two very important questions:

-Direct communication with our customers:

It will allow us to answer and clarify any doubts that users may have about our pharmaceutical company or certain products.

-Increase sales:

Social networks are also a great showcase to be able to announce, among other things, the latest news or the best offers from our pharmaceutical companies and thereby get more income.

4.    Paid Advertising Online

Paid advertising onine is one of the most quickest and effective ways to drive traffic to your pharmaceutical company. We focus on the major media sites like Google, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Youtube. With paid media your campaigns are black and white meaning that you know exectly how much you spend and how much you make back which makes calculating ROI simple. As a Google certified partner I setup and manage Google pay per click Ads (PPC). Becuase of my unique qualifications my clients ads produce outstanding ROI.   

Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing Strategy:

Related Post: Biotechnology & Life Sciences Digital Marketing Guide

As in other sectors, the pharmaceutical market, as a result of continuous technological advances, has had to adapt to a new digital reality. And to the new consumption habits that have appeared as a consequence of the digital transformation. For this, pharmaceutical companies need to develop new marketing strategies to achieve better results within an increasingly globalized and competitive environment.

On the other hand, we must not forget that this is a sector with many restrictions and limitations because they are products related to health and the field of medicine. Because of these restrictions, in the pharmaceutical sector, you can only carry out campaigns, both offline and digital, about medicines that you can buy on your own, that is, without a prescription.

A pharmaceutical company can have many strategies planned for its marketing. E.g., they can:

Buy the production of an ad, on an influential website with the high circulation that explains how good their product and service is (and also includes a link to the website) 

Write an article in the corporate blog, promote it, and link it from a website with a native advertisement.

Make a recognized and influential website write and publish an article with a positive focus on the product or service.

Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing Trends:

Now that we are familiar with four pillars of digital marketing pharmaceutical, we need to know what are the trends in pharma digital marketing. What methods are more successful in connecting with the patients and how to achieve that? Following are the most common trends:

1.      Marketing through videos:

Videos are an easy and reliable way to convey information. Reading long articles can be tedious for a patient. So, a video provides us the opportunity of delivering the same information in a more exciting and understanding way. Animated explainer videos are quite successful in this regard. Research shows that patient prefer to watch a video explaining their disease in simpler terms. This provides them with a good understanding of their problem and makes them more involved in the treatment strategies.

So, it would be a good strategy for pharma digital marketing to produce various informative videos for their brand. Videos can be on multiple topics starting from general information about a disease to side effects of a specific drug used for the cure. All of this is a part of educating the patient and making him more self-sufficient. 

2.      Influencers:

No matter what the product is, social media influencers play an essential role in its advertisement. People trust their favorite influencers and tend to follow them instead of a random video. If I want to buy makeup products, I will see what Kylie has to say about this, etc. Pharmaceutical companies can also use this strategy where they can fill Facebook, Quora, and different other social media forums with authentic health-related influencers who are trusted by the patients to deliver factual information. One such example of these influencers is Dr. Mike, AKA the hot doctor. He is a social media influencer who is successfully creating his brand. People like him can be effectively used for social media marketing for pharma industries.

3.      Personalized attention

The Internet provides users with means of contact and care with sufficient guarantees and speed to be able to assist you and positively resolve your doubts and concerns.

Each online pharmaceutical companies must have personalized telephone attention through an available pharmacist who answers questions and doubts. Also, the network should be full of health and cosmetics blogs that constantly provide information on real issues based on issues even proposed by the online user community itself.

Blogs generate quality traffic. That is, they capture a well-defined and segmented target audience that ultimately converts, a public that may be interested in hiring your products or services.

4.      Make yourself known in social networks

The use of social networks is a safe bet for the pharmaceutical industry. For this, you need to be well prepared. Not only to manage them. Also, to connect with the target audience generating conversations.

To achieve these objectives, it is important to have a clear digital strategy and focus it on each audience, getting answers as soon as possible, and generating exciting content.

Create a community around your brand on social networks. Where consumers can learn and ask about different ailments and get robust solutions, in addition to introducing your products. Make an in-depth analysis of the needs of your followers.in this way, you will find out the real problems of the users, and thus, you will adequately focus your online digital marketing strategy.

They are also instrumental in spreading messages and content to a vast audience. You can do it through the different channels and as a complement to the websites, news portals, and other communication vehicles.  Therefore, one of the trends in online pharmaceutical marketing is to involve the public in issues related to health, pathologies, adherence, etc.

5.      Online live sessions:

This is a relatively new trend but a successful one, indeed. It makes it possible for a patient to interact with a health care professional live or directly, thus making it a smooth and transparent process. Many doctors are providing free or paid consultation through chats, calls, or live sessions. This strategy can also be used by the pharma industry for marketing.

6.      Email marketing:

Email marketing and newsletters are valuable tools to be in permanent contact with your health consumers.

But before launching any message, carefully analyze the profiles of your potential users — for example, demographic factors, age, sex, needs, habits, and tastes.

Then create a workflow that manages the sending of information and where you talk from the most generic about the pharmaceutical industry to the mention of your products or services at the right time.

Conclusion

We have explained some useful marketing strategies that can introduce your pharmaceutical company to the world. For an active online pharmaceutical company, you need an SEO optimized website which will attract visitors to it. You can use different strategies to boost your pharma sales online.

Let's Work Together!

We will help you dominate your industry online

Get in touch

The post Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing Strategies appeared first on Lorenzo Gutierrez Digital Marketing.

from Lorenzo Gutierrez Digital Marketing https://www.lorenzogutierrez.net/2019/07/pharmaceutical-digital-marketing-strategies/

[teachanarchy]

Name the materials necessary for the common good, or how about just your top three. Health is an arguable front-runner, no? It should be way up there, alongside things like freedom and the environment.

Medical care’s active role in healing denotes its intrinsic value to our common human experience, and for that our communities have a real dependence on Healthcare. Please note its capital ‘h’. The medical industrial complex touts both material and nonmaterial forces in its ranks. Knowledge, profit, and taste keep us under the authority of Health. Yet there could be hope. According to my friend and comrade Dr. Frank, we may be living through a time of immense change in the way health services function.

Frank and I met at Woodbine, an experimental hub in Ridgewood, Queens that hosts workshops, lectures, and discussions.  It serves as an organizing space for various autonomous projects. The Woodbine collective means to develop the skills, practices, and tools for building autonomy. They also serve a mean communal dinner every Sunday.

For Frank, Woodbine represents both the material and the ideal. “It is a local aggregating point, a space for ideas to take shape, while on a larger level it exists for the goal of building a revolutionary life.” He says the way to build that life is to build communally, to find the means for collectivities to grow, and to shape them in a way that overcomes the limitations of the context we find ourselves in today.

In search of the common good, I asked Dr. Frank how we might address Health dependency, if he could imagine entirely different models than what are offered, and what he suggests we do now to develop generative communal health care.

You’re a doctor but you’re also a radical organizer and active member of the revolutionary autonomy collective Woodbine. How’d you get into this?

When I was in high school I wanted to be the surgeon for the New York Mets. I had this grand plan to go to a good college, get into a good medical school, go to orthopedic surgeon residency, and drive BMWs by the time I was thirty. Yeah, I guess I fell off that track, now I ride a 70s Peugeot bicycle to work.

I work in the ER at Bellevue Hospital, I’ll wrap up my residency in July. But, I came to medicine circuitously; I was a chubby kid and I broke my arm a lot. The last time I broke my arm I told myself I’d be a doctor so I could fix it and not go to the ER anymore. It’s funny, but it got me on this track.

In college, I learned about structural violence, structural oppression, and got into international politics. I still wanted to be a doctor, but I moved to emergency medicine because it’s skill based. I wanted to have something to offer a large movement. Most practices are somewhat theoretical and highly dependent on hospital infrastructure. ER medicine is dependent upon ER infrastructure, but it also offers more procedural based learning like suturing, splinting, and dealing with trauma.  

Salvadore Allende, Che, and Rudolf Virchow were all doctors who went into medicine understanding that the larger social determinants of health is a social issue primarily and a medical issue secondarily.

I remember thinking when the revolution happens in some Latin American country, I’ll speak Spanish and I’ll go [there] to be the doctor. In ER medicine, we learn a little about everything so I could deliver a baby, suture an arm, and deal with a chest wound. I thought future struggles would include both acute injuries from gunshots or bombs and sub-acute chronic diseases. I wanted to be like the Che of that country or something. It was a good illusion because it allowed me to have radical beliefs without having to do anything.

After that, I worked in California for a bit and then finally went to medical school in Boston. It was there, while still involved in international health work, that I realized how ridiculous that idea was, how selfish it is to think someone else in some other country is going to start an uprising and I’m going to help. I began questioning myself, like, why am I not trying to foment that here?

Toward the end of medical school, I still had some idealism about changing medicine from within and I did some programs to teach other med students about radical thought and structural violence. I got fed up with that, though. I began to see doctors as a class, that we’re too far gone or too brainwashed by that point to change. I realized the institution itself is the problem.

Through Occupy, I came to New York City in search of a community to build the structures for a revolutionary life, who could ask what that would look like here in the US. For two years, I went to every meeting I could – every socialist group, anarchist group, and communist group – and of course I got burnt out. Around the climate march, I was fed up with the movement, or that our end goal was just to march. After all the meetings, it just felt pointless. I question the strategy and it takes up so much energy. Sure, it can help others get into things and it is worth it sometimes, but I don’t know how much effort we should put into it. You have to ask, is this doing anything?

After the climate march, I found Woodbine through an event and felt it was the group I could ask these questions with. For me, it provides the material ground seeds of ideas need to grow, to begin building the worlds of the revolution.

What does it mean to you as a doctor to have a radical perspective?

For one thing, I still view being a doctor in the sense of what can it do for others. I mean, the history of doctors is already radical. Salvadore Allende, Che, and Rudolf Virchow were all doctors who went into medicine with a social context, understanding that the larger social determinants of health is a social issue primarily and a medical issue secondarily. They were all politically active. They were protectors of the belief in a right to health. For me, that will always counter a proto-capitalist narrative. For me, that is what it means to be a radical doctor. It is community organizations with the idea of de-professionalizing health and trying to decrease the reliance on health institutions to put health back into people’s hands. I think it can only be done inside communal milieus or communities of service.

During medical school and residency, I tried to start initiatives to ask what radical medical application could look like, but unfortunately, there’s been a professionalization of medicine. Doctors tend to carry ideologies or idealisms when they’re younger, thinking they’re going to change the world through the medical system, but then eventually it goes go away and it’s just a means to an end.

After Trump was elected though, I noticed at work, where I have a bit of a reputation, that these ideas were being respected more – political revolution or social upheaval is not as crazy as it seemed before because really, what we want is not that crazy. We want a world where people are healthy, where we can support each other, where we can have families, and people are not oppressed or discriminated against. We want clean water.

I think this is new to our generation, but there still must be a betrayal of your class to some extent. Most doctors come from upper middle class or middle class socioeconomic status. There is a strong subculture of petite bourgeois ways of life, that you must remove yourself from and negate to produce autonomous means of medicine.

It appears class distinction is built into your profession. It does go with the stereotypical projection of doctors: scrubs, stethoscopes, and millions of dollars behind them.

If people want revolutionary change, they have to accept their lives will not be comfortable anymore. Change is chaotic, especially for doctors. Doctors are in a very comfortable position.

That came about in the fifties and sixties with the rise of insurance companies, especially Medicaid and Medicare, and the idea that people should no longer pay out of pocket for services. Insurance companies paid comparatively massive reimbursement rates in regards to out of pocket payments by using collective pooling. Outside payers with large sums of money came with increases in medical technology and higher and higher rates.

Before that, you had a generic local doctor, who carried a black bag to your house. Maybe they were more affluent than others, but they were part of the community. They couldn’t easily charge a neighbor for services they couldn’t afford. There was more respect for the profession, for the ability to help heal and they, in turn, had more responsibility in the community.

But to become a doctor today your family has to have money, or you take on massive loans. And if your family has wealth, statistically you will be less understanding or empathetic to the poor, or even if you are empathetic, it is unlikely you will betray your class upbringing. And if you take out loans, well, some argue the debt is meant to control you. Doctors tend to owe upwards of 400k when we graduate, which is honestly a crushing amount of debt. It can force you to cater to debt: to work a nice job, have car payments, maybe a house and kids. Debt traps you in a certain way of living.  

Now, there’s systemic pressure on doctors to worry about their loans first, or their lifestyle first. It’s subtle and maybe this is clouded because I’m in residency, but there is a sense that doctors need to get theirs. That, as a doctor, you deserve a certain level of living: happy hours, vacations, apartments.

That could stunt the movement.

I think it is the same with any revolutionary group. If people want revolutionary change, they have to accept their lives will not be comfortable anymore. Change is chaotic, especially for doctors. Doctors are in a very comfortable position.

Drastic change in this country means war and you may not be on the winning side. You’ll lose material comforts and psychological comfort. Right now, I can get a job anywhere in the country and it’s an amazing privilege that I have, but to let go of that is still too much for doctors. I have communal support, people who support these ideas, but if I was on my own with a family it would be hard to think about the positives of revolutionary change. That’s why more and more people take a pragmatic approach to change, but I don’t think we’re in a time in which a pragmatic approach is possible.

Does Obamacare or the repeal of Obamacare concern you?

What concerns me is that we don’t think of health as a human right. We’re forced to think of health insurance coverage as a product to buy and, in the current system, everyone should buy that product, even when it does not guarantee the ability to receive health care. Obviously, there are differences between Trump and Obamacare, like Trump’s is more free market-based, but [to go from Obamacare to Trump] isn’t as big of a shift as, say, if Canada were to switch to a free market system. That’d be a huge ideological leap.

We talked about this at Woodbine recently, during a Trump lecture series. The Affordable Care Act increased coverage for people, up to forty million people, but there is still at least twenty million people uninsured. It covers preexisting conditions and limited what health insurance companies could reject. A lot more people come to the ER with insurance, which is great, but they come because they don’t have access to the other services that they are paying for, like primary care or referral services. The ACA increased access to coverage but it did not increase access to health care, which are separate things often lumped together. Now more people have insurance coverage, but health infrastructure was not increased. People have a primary care doctor but often coverages say they can only see their primary care once every six months. This begs the question: if they cannot easily access their primary care doctor, do they even have one? It mandated coverage for birth control and maternal health – each beneficial for greater society, but the problem is that it enshrines insurance coverage. It enshrines the idea that people need a third party to get health care.

What about the Republican plan?

We need ways to mitigate risk, but we should still act. We can't wait for the government. We can't wait for healthcare models to change

The Trump program is just an exacerbation of free-market based policies. It tried to deconstruct certain regulations to further health care as a commodity. The idea is that if given unrestricted access to the market, the best product will come out. This, in theory, makes some sense, if you are buying a car, but in health care, you can’t have educated consumers. There’s too much difference in the understanding of medical problems. If someone says you must get something otherwise you’ll die, it is not a fair situation. Health care shouldn’t be on the market at all. Trump’s plan is a rough continuation of neoliberal policies that Obama, Clinton, and others carried. Now it appears we’re in this situation where we don’t want the repeal of ACA but we also don’t want to defend it, that’s the tricky area people are falling into.

With the idea of health care tied to health coverage, the term doctor immediately connotes higher education and institution. Do you believe health care can be emancipated from the medical industrial complex? Do you see a future in communal medicine?

That is something I think about often and I think it is possible. There’s starting to be a failure of the medical system piece by piece. People don’t want to have health insurance because they don’t see a lot of the benefits. Even myself, I only have emergency health insurance. A lot of younger people are not going to see a need to pay for something that they’re not using. There will be more of an emphasis on preventative, holistic living. I think it is possible, but I think doctors must make a choice.

I worry the Healthcare fight will further individualism, though. There is already hyper-specialization and right now no one can afford to become a community doctor – myself included. I went to emergency care because I could not contemplate the idea of dealing with insurance companies all day. We’re somewhat shielded from it, but as health care costs increase and health care education increases, people will more and more go into specialties because that is where they’ll make money.

Right now, one of the major obstacles for community based healthcare models is fear in medical communities and regulations. For example, if I open an autonomous health clinic, I’m liable to lose my license and never practice again. Due to the legal push to treat patients like customers, with campaigns to increase patient satisfaction, we now treat medical care as a commodity. Initially introduced to protect patients against pseudo-doctors, it has made it impossible go without licensure in a formalized bureaucratic structure, which makes it nearly impossible for health practitioners to practice anything resembling autonomous care.

The regulations compel us to work within the system of medicine. But, still, I believe these are risks doctors must take. We need ways to mitigate risk, but we should still act. We can’t wait for the government. We can’t wait for healthcare models to change.

Do you have experience with autonomous health care models? I know you’ve worked with the Zapatistas.

I’ve been to Chiapas a few times to work with a doctor who trains health promoters. They have a bare-bones clinic, few medications, lots of outdated stuff and because of their lack of resources they rely on preventative, intuitive models integrating holistic and western models of medicine: herbalists, bone setters, and preventative medicine. The health promoters train the community to recognize and treat basic diseases normally treated in a hospital. Vaccines, blood pressure checks, and glucose checks are basic preventative care.

For the Zapatistas, it is too risky to go to the hospital, for fear of violence. They could be detained by the police and you know, it gets worse from there. It is also terribly expensive, so its almost impossible to go, but sometimes they are forced to, if someone might die without medication. Their idea is to limit that and educate the community to recognize red flags.

The doctor I worked with has been doing this for fifteen years. Eventually, the health promoters will teach the next generation so they’re not reliant on outside doctors. If someone is sick, they do have connections to the hospitals, albeit western style hospitals in Mexico, with a lack of resources all around.

The Zapatista model shows us we have to be flexible, we have to be scrappy, and we have to be okay with having no money or resources and building from there.

And you sense we’re in a time of societal change in regards to health?

We are in a chronic crisis and as far as health is concerned it is a horrific time. I think we’re going to see the dismantling of people’s access to health care. This is a crucial time when we should look at models like the Greek solidarity clinics. When there’s an economic crisis, there must be pop-up clinics. The same with the Zapatistas creating their own healthcare systems, and Rojava, which had a decimated health care system and they tried to recreate it. The benefits of looking at these models is that because they lack resources they focus on primary care and preventative care. They advocate not just healthy diets and daily exercise, but mental health care. They mean to keep people healthy. In the US, we treat sick people and that is very resource intensive.

Another example is the GynePunks in Barcelona, they essentially do do-it-yourself gynecological exams and create their own speculums for lab testing, because those services are not around. You look at the war on Planned Parenthood, it is not hard to imagine how a woman’s ability to get an abortion is being impacted and at some point, our clinics are going to need underground services again. How do we develop that capacity? This is something we must think about.

Do you follow these models at Woodbine?

Our clinics are going to need underground services again. How do we develop that capacity? This is something we must think about.

Woodbine’s Health Autonomy track does skill shares to de-professionalize health. To share health knowledge with people, but also create an idea of community care. Our mental health is a detriment right now. Most of us don’t have an idea of being in community. Caring for people in the community is foreign to a lot of people. So, we ask: How can we normalize community and also put it in practice? What do we do when a friend has a cut, or how do we help a sick parent? How can we create communities that can take care of elders and kids? But also, what do we do when one of us has a mental break down? What do we do when the police beat our friends up? We can’t all become surgeons and we cannot all deliver babies. We can however find and balance the needs of the community and how we can project our proposed resources into the future.

What other community medical roles can we fulfill today?

Let’s start with chronic depression and chronic anxiety. There is a chronic feeling of unease that can be treated in a community setting, perhaps it can only be treated in community settings. We need to recognize our limitations, like if someone is having an acute psychotic break, we may not be able to treat them. Sometimes there is a role for medications, but those are last resort versus our first resort.

We can start with the basics of health. We can learn how to cook for ourselves. We can learn what is generally good food. We can learn physical fitness and get away from bad habits. We can deal with basic injuries because most injuries are not that acute. And we can learn to name the more acute things, what we cannot address.

In April, we’re having a herbal medicine series, not to make people into herbalists, but to show some basic herbs that you can try. In the ER, a lot of what we see in the public hospitals are chronic issues, back pain for example. Lots of people have back pain, but the majority of back pains are not acute issues, like those caused by muscle strain or poor posture. These can be treated by non-medical modalities like massage or acupuncture. When people with back pain go to a hospital they get funneled into a way of thinking about pain which will inevitably lead to surgery, imaging, MRIs, and things like that. Often, that’s not the best way to deal with it.

We had an acupuncture series and we’re going to have another. And another basic first aid series. Start with things your grandmother might talk about, holistic home remedies, like putting honey on burns – which actually have a lot of truth to them.

For the record, herbalist/holistic methods work?

Absolutely. There is a lot of evidence for it. Addressing that fact is a good start. That and the fear of the body perpetuated by consumerism, objectification, individualism. Like the hatred of aging, we still fear this thing as the cause of our problems. We need to stop fearing our bodies so we can focus on the materiality of what is going on, otherwise, we’ll just get caught up in the bullshit of 4chan, Twitter wars, and all things that are meant to drive you crazy. I think that stuff is meant to wear you out.

What’s next for you in regards to autonomous health?

At Woodbine, we are hosting an “Intro to Health Autonomy” in the next few weeks and will be focusing on three areas: physical, mental, and communal. Health autonomy is split up but each relies on the other. To me, communal care addresses the physical needs of the individual, be it through collectives farming food, growing medicinal plants, or just taking care of the physical body. This can also attach to ideas of fighting and resisting, to the idea that what our movements often fight against is the oppression of the physical body like the contamination of water via pipelines or the price of goods. The second is the mental, that our mental health is as real as our physical health. People are anxious, depressed, manic, and suicidal. These each need to be addressed, and historically, we have viewed them from individual means alone. We’re trying to change that model to represent mental health as indivisible from the third aspect, which is the communal. We all need to feel part of collectivities, to have groups that support us. We all have a human desire to be part of something more.

[frankdcarterfl]

Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing Strategies

The new digital age has transformed our daily habits. Who has not purchased something online in the last months? We all buy from the comfort of our house all kinds of products. From shirts in Zara to computers on Amazon. All at the click of a mouse. And why not diapers for the baby? And paracetamol?

Making use of the new technologies offered by mobile phones is one of the ways to reach your customers or potential customers much more directly.

Pharmaceutical companies must also establish themselves in a digital environment and adapt to the incessant growth of the smartphone and its use because the mobile phone is usually the first and the last thing you see every day. Connection speeds are getting better. And more people switch to smartphones, a great opportunity to get closer and interact with your target customer.

Mobile advertising investment exceeded 143 billion dollars in 2017. And it is estimated that in 2020 it will reach more than 247 billion dollars.

You have to imagine the possibilities of a doctor, a nurse, or a health professional having the ability to quickly verify the effectiveness of medication while someone is in treatment without saying that these type of messages humanize the treatment and inform patients.

Digital Marketing for Pharmaceutical Companies

The world of pharmaceutical companies has traditionally been a very conservative and classist sector, where for the user the location of the pharmaceutical company was more important than anything else. 

With the age of the internet, physical stores are less relevant, since in 24 hours we can have our products at home anywhere in the country, and less than 2 hours if we place the order from the same municipality where the warehouse is located. This behavior by the patients emphasizes the importance of having an online presence of a pharmaceutical company.

If you are a pharma company, you need to ask these questions from yourself. How do I adapt my pharmaceutical company to the online world? Do I need a Marketing strategy for my pharmaceutical company?

The four pillars of Pharmaceutical Marketing:

1.    Website

The website should be the axis of the pharma digital marketing, but before we have to be clear about what we want to achieve with it. Do we want a corporate page to inform our customers about our schedules and promotions? Or do we want to develop an online store where we can boost our sales?

I often find pharmaceutical companies that have web pages that are practically abandoned, and that is not updated since the web designer finished it. 

They usually have between 1 and 5 visits per month. Are we interested in developing a website to achieve this result? We must not let ourselves be carried away by digital novelty and do things by impulses and without a Marketing plan for our pharmaceutical company.  

We must be clear about what we want to do, how much we are willing to invest, where we want to go, and what our objectives are.

2.    Positioning in Google

SEO or positioning in Google is closely linked with the previous point. We have our online pharmaceutical company ready, but nobody enters. What do I do to get more visits to my pharmaceutical company? The search engines (especially Google) are the yellow pages of the 21st century. 

The first thing we all do when looking for something online is to go to Google. If our pharmaceutical is in the first positions will be easier to enter our website. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to get visits. 

3.    Social Networks

Another very important aspect of pharma digital marketing is social networks. Who does not have an account on Facebook or Twitter? Social networks provide us with two very important questions:

-Direct communication with our customers:

It will allow us to answer and clarify any doubts that users may have about our pharmaceutical company or certain products.

-Increase sales:

Social networks are also a great showcase to be able to announce, among other things, the latest news or the best offers from our pharmaceutical companies and thereby get more income.

4.    Paid Advertising Online

Paid advertising onine is one of the most quickest and effective ways to drive traffic to your pharmaceutical company. We focus on the major media sites like Google, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Youtube. With paid media your campaigns are black and white meaning that you know exectly how much you spend and how much you make back which makes calculating ROI simple. As a Google certified partner I setup and manage Google pay per click Ads (PPC). Becuase of my unique qualifications my clients ads produce outstanding ROI.   

Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing Strategy:

Related Post: Biotechnology & Life Sciences Digital Marketing Guide

As in other sectors, the pharmaceutical market, as a result of continuous technological advances, has had to adapt to a new digital reality. And to the new consumption habits that have appeared as a consequence of the digital transformation. For this, pharmaceutical companies need to develop new marketing strategies to achieve better results within an increasingly globalized and competitive environment.

On the other hand, we must not forget that this is a sector with many restrictions and limitations because they are products related to health and the field of medicine. Because of these restrictions, in the pharmaceutical sector, you can only carry out campaigns, both offline and digital, about medicines that you can buy on your own, that is, without a prescription.

A pharmaceutical company can have many strategies planned for its marketing. E.g., they can:

Buy the production of an ad, on an influential website with the high circulation that explains how good their product and service is (and also includes a link to the website) 

Write an article in the corporate blog, promote it, and link it from a website with a native advertisement.

Make a recognized and influential website write and publish an article with a positive focus on the product or service.

Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing Trends:

Now that we are familiar with four pillars of digital marketing pharmaceutical, we need to know what are the trends in pharma digital marketing. What methods are more successful in connecting with the patients and how to achieve that? Following are the most common trends:

1.      Marketing through videos:

Videos are an easy and reliable way to convey information. Reading long articles can be tedious for a patient. So, a video provides us the opportunity of delivering the same information in a more exciting and understanding way. Animated explainer videos are quite successful in this regard. Research shows that patient prefer to watch a video explaining their disease in simpler terms. This provides them with a good understanding of their problem and makes them more involved in the treatment strategies.

So, it would be a good strategy for pharma digital marketing to produce various informative videos for their brand. Videos can be on multiple topics starting from general information about a disease to side effects of a specific drug used for the cure. All of this is a part of educating the patient and making him more self-sufficient. 

2.      Influencers:

No matter what the product is, social media influencers play an essential role in its advertisement. People trust their favorite influencers and tend to follow them instead of a random video. If I want to buy makeup products, I will see what Kylie has to say about this, etc. Pharmaceutical companies can also use this strategy where they can fill Facebook, Quora, and different other social media forums with authentic health-related influencers who are trusted by the patients to deliver factual information. One such example of these influencers is Dr. Mike, AKA the hot doctor. He is a social media influencer who is successfully creating his brand. People like him can be effectively used for social media marketing for pharma industries.

3.      Personalized attention

The Internet provides users with means of contact and care with sufficient guarantees and speed to be able to assist you and positively resolve your doubts and concerns.

Each online pharmaceutical companies must have personalized telephone attention through an available pharmacist who answers questions and doubts. Also, the network should be full of health and cosmetics blogs that constantly provide information on real issues based on issues even proposed by the online user community itself.

Blogs generate quality traffic. That is, they capture a well-defined and segmented target audience that ultimately converts, a public that may be interested in hiring your products or services.

4.      Make yourself known in social networks

The use of social networks is a safe bet for the pharmaceutical industry. For this, you need to be well prepared. Not only to manage them. Also, to connect with the target audience generating conversations.

To achieve these objectives, it is important to have a clear digital strategy and focus it on each audience, getting answers as soon as possible, and generating exciting content.

Create a community around your brand on social networks. Where consumers can learn and ask about different ailments and get robust solutions, in addition to introducing your products. Make an in-depth analysis of the needs of your followers.in this way, you will find out the real problems of the users, and thus, you will adequately focus your online digital marketing strategy.

They are also instrumental in spreading messages and content to a vast audience. You can do it through the different channels and as a complement to the websites, news portals, and other communication vehicles.  Therefore, one of the trends in online pharmaceutical marketing is to involve the public in issues related to health, pathologies, adherence, etc.

5.      Online live sessions:

This is a relatively new trend but a successful one, indeed. It makes it possible for a patient to interact with a health care professional live or directly, thus making it a smooth and transparent process. Many doctors are providing free or paid consultation through chats, calls, or live sessions. This strategy can also be used by the pharma industry for marketing.

6.      Email marketing:

Email marketing and newsletters are valuable tools to be in permanent contact with your health consumers.

But before launching any message, carefully analyze the profiles of your potential users — for example, demographic factors, age, sex, needs, habits, and tastes.

Then create a workflow that manages the sending of information and where you talk from the most generic about the pharmaceutical industry to the mention of your products or services at the right time.

Conclusion

We have explained some useful marketing strategies that can introduce your pharmaceutical company to the world. For an active online pharmaceutical company, you need an SEO optimized website which will attract visitors to it. You can use different strategies to boost your pharma sales online.

Let’s Work Together!

We will help you dominate your industry online

Get in touch

The post Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing Strategies appeared first on Lorenzo Gutierrez Digital Marketing.

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Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing Strategies

The new digital age has transformed our daily habits. Who has not purchased something online in the last months? We all buy from the comfort of our house all kinds of products. From shirts in Zara to computers on Amazon. All at the click of a mouse. And why not diapers for the baby? And paracetamol?

Making use of the new technologies offered by mobile phones is one of the ways to reach your customers or potential customers much more directly.

Pharmaceutical companies must also establish themselves in a digital environment and adapt to the incessant growth of the smartphone and its use because the mobile phone is usually the first and the last thing you see every day. Connection speeds are getting better. And more people switch to smartphones, a great opportunity to get closer and interact with your target customer.

Mobile advertising investment exceeded 143 billion dollars in 2017. And it is estimated that in 2020 it will reach more than 247 billion dollars.

You have to imagine the possibilities of a doctor, a nurse, or a health professional having the ability to quickly verify the effectiveness of medication while someone is in treatment without saying that these type of messages humanize the treatment and inform patients.

Digital Marketing for Pharmaceutical Companies

The world of pharmaceutical companies has traditionally been a very conservative and classist sector, where for the user the location of the pharmaceutical company was more important than anything else. 

With the age of the internet, physical stores are less relevant, since in 24 hours we can have our products at home anywhere in the country, and less than 2 hours if we place the order from the same municipality where the warehouse is located. This behavior by the patients emphasizes the importance of having an online presence of a pharmaceutical company.

If you are a pharma company, you need to ask these questions from yourself. How do I adapt my pharmaceutical company to the online world? Do I need a Marketing strategy for my pharmaceutical company?

The four pillars of Pharmaceutical Marketing:

1.    Website

The website should be the axis of the pharma digital marketing, but before we have to be clear about what we want to achieve with it. Do we want a corporate page to inform our customers about our schedules and promotions? Or do we want to develop an online store where we can boost our sales?

I often find pharmaceutical companies that have web pages that are practically abandoned, and that is not updated since the web designer finished it. 

They usually have between 1 and 5 visits per month. Are we interested in developing a website to achieve this result? We must not let ourselves be carried away by digital novelty and do things by impulses and without a Marketing plan for our pharmaceutical company.  

We must be clear about what we want to do, how much we are willing to invest, where we want to go, and what our objectives are.

2.    Positioning in Google

SEO or positioning in Google is closely linked with the previous point. We have our online pharmaceutical company ready, but nobody enters. What do I do to get more visits to my pharmaceutical company? The search engines (especially Google) are the yellow pages of the 21st century. 

The first thing we all do when looking for something online is to go to Google. If our pharmaceutical is in the first positions will be easier to enter our website. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to get visits. 

3.    Social Networks

Another very important aspect of pharma digital marketing is social networks. Who does not have an account on Facebook or Twitter? Social networks provide us with two very important questions:

-Direct communication with our customers:

It will allow us to answer and clarify any doubts that users may have about our pharmaceutical company or certain products.

-Increase sales:

Social networks are also a great showcase to be able to announce, among other things, the latest news or the best offers from our pharmaceutical companies and thereby get more income.

4.    Paid Advertising Online

Paid advertising onine is one of the most quickest and effective ways to drive traffic to your pharmaceutical company. We focus on the major media sites like Google, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Youtube. With paid media your campaigns are black and white meaning that you know exectly how much you spend and how much you make back which makes calculating ROI simple. As a Google certified partner I setup and manage Google pay per click Ads (PPC). Becuase of my unique qualifications my clients ads produce outstanding ROI.   

Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing Strategy:

Related Post: Biotechnology & Life Sciences Digital Marketing Guide

As in other sectors, the pharmaceutical market, as a result of continuous technological advances, has had to adapt to a new digital reality. And to the new consumption habits that have appeared as a consequence of the digital transformation. For this, pharmaceutical companies need to develop new marketing strategies to achieve better results within an increasingly globalized and competitive environment.

On the other hand, we must not forget that this is a sector with many restrictions and limitations because they are products related to health and the field of medicine. Because of these restrictions, in the pharmaceutical sector, you can only carry out campaigns, both offline and digital, about medicines that you can buy on your own, that is, without a prescription.

A pharmaceutical company can have many strategies planned for its marketing. E.g., they can:

Buy the production of an ad, on an influential website with the high circulation that explains how good their product and service is (and also includes a link to the website) 

Write an article in the corporate blog, promote it, and link it from a website with a native advertisement.

Make a recognized and influential website write and publish an article with a positive focus on the product or service.

Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing Trends:

Now that we are familiar with four pillars of digital marketing pharmaceutical, we need to know what are the trends in pharma digital marketing. What methods are more successful in connecting with the patients and how to achieve that? Following are the most common trends:

1.      Marketing through videos:

Videos are an easy and reliable way to convey information. Reading long articles can be tedious for a patient. So, a video provides us the opportunity of delivering the same information in a more exciting and understanding way. Animated explainer videos are quite successful in this regard. Research shows that patient prefer to watch a video explaining their disease in simpler terms. This provides them with a good understanding of their problem and makes them more involved in the treatment strategies.

So, it would be a good strategy for pharma digital marketing to produce various informative videos for their brand. Videos can be on multiple topics starting from general information about a disease to side effects of a specific drug used for the cure. All of this is a part of educating the patient and making him more self-sufficient. 

2.      Influencers:

No matter what the product is, social media influencers play an essential role in its advertisement. People trust their favorite influencers and tend to follow them instead of a random video. If I want to buy makeup products, I will see what Kylie has to say about this, etc. Pharmaceutical companies can also use this strategy where they can fill Facebook, Quora, and different other social media forums with authentic health-related influencers who are trusted by the patients to deliver factual information. One such example of these influencers is Dr. Mike, AKA the hot doctor. He is a social media influencer who is successfully creating his brand. People like him can be effectively used for social media marketing for pharma industries.

3.      Personalized attention

The Internet provides users with means of contact and care with sufficient guarantees and speed to be able to assist you and positively resolve your doubts and concerns.

Each online pharmaceutical companies must have personalized telephone attention through an available pharmacist who answers questions and doubts. Also, the network should be full of health and cosmetics blogs that constantly provide information on real issues based on issues even proposed by the online user community itself.

Blogs generate quality traffic. That is, they capture a well-defined and segmented target audience that ultimately converts, a public that may be interested in hiring your products or services.

4.      Make yourself known in social networks

The use of social networks is a safe bet for the pharmaceutical industry. For this, you need to be well prepared. Not only to manage them. Also, to connect with the target audience generating conversations.

To achieve these objectives, it is important to have a clear digital strategy and focus it on each audience, getting answers as soon as possible, and generating exciting content.

Create a community around your brand on social networks. Where consumers can learn and ask about different ailments and get robust solutions, in addition to introducing your products. Make an in-depth analysis of the needs of your followers.in this way, you will find out the real problems of the users, and thus, you will adequately focus your online digital marketing strategy.

They are also instrumental in spreading messages and content to a vast audience. You can do it through the different channels and as a complement to the websites, news portals, and other communication vehicles.  Therefore, one of the trends in online pharmaceutical marketing is to involve the public in issues related to health, pathologies, adherence, etc.

5.      Online live sessions:

This is a relatively new trend but a successful one, indeed. It makes it possible for a patient to interact with a health care professional live or directly, thus making it a smooth and transparent process. Many doctors are providing free or paid consultation through chats, calls, or live sessions. This strategy can also be used by the pharma industry for marketing.

6.      Email marketing:

Email marketing and newsletters are valuable tools to be in permanent contact with your health consumers.

But before launching any message, carefully analyze the profiles of your potential users — for example, demographic factors, age, sex, needs, habits, and tastes.

Then create a workflow that manages the sending of information and where you talk from the most generic about the pharmaceutical industry to the mention of your products or services at the right time.

Conclusion

We have explained some useful marketing strategies that can introduce your pharmaceutical company to the world. For an active online pharmaceutical company, you need an SEO optimized website which will attract visitors to it. You can use different strategies to boost your pharma sales online.

Let's Work Together!

We will help you dominate your industry online

Get in touch

The post Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing Strategies appeared first on Lorenzo Gutierrez Digital Marketing.

from WordPress https://ift.tt/2FWsMNK via IFTTT