#but this is about how they appear and are perceived in solitaire only

[aristaeuss]

SOLITAIRE CHARACTERS AS MITSKI SONGS

Tori Spring: Geyser

“Though I'm a geyser feel it bubbling from below // Hear it call, hear it call, hear it call to me, constantly // And hear the harmony only when it's harming me // It's not real, it's not real, it's not real enough // But I will be the one you need the way I can't be without you // I will be the one you need I just can't be without you”

Micheal Holden: I Will

“And all the quiet nights you bear, seal them up with care // No one needs to know they're there, for I will hold them for you // Cause' all I ever wanted is here, all I ever wanted, all I want is always you, it's always you // And we're not out of the tunnel, I bet you thought there's an end // Stay with me, hold my hand”

Charlie Spring: Love me More

“I wish that this would go away, but when I'm done singing this song I will have to find something else to do to keep me here // Something else to keep me // Here's my hand, there's the itch, but I'm not supposed to scratch // I need you to love me more, love me more, love me more // Love enough to drown it out, drown it out, drown me out"

Nick Nelson: I Bet on Losing Dogs

“My baby, my baby, you're my baby, say it to me // Baby, my baby, tell your baby that I'm your baby // I bet on losing dogs, I know they're losing and I'll pay for my place by the ring where I'll be looking in their eyes when they're down // I'll be there on their side, I'm losing by their side”

Becky Allen: Townie

“And I want a love that falls as fast  // As a body from the balcony, and  // I want a kiss like my heart is hitting the ground // I'm holding my breath with a baseball bat // Though I don't know what I'm waiting for // I am not gonna be what my daddy wants me to be”

[deejayjewelers]

Crafted Brilliance: The Artistry Behind VS1 Diamond Pendants

Diamonds are precious just like the one wearing them hence it is important to know which one is right for you when it comes to buying a diamond. It takes a lot of research and questioning when you are about to buy a diamond. 

In any diamond clarity is a significant factor, cause you do not want your diamond to not shine. Right? If you are looking for something of this quality then you should choose VS1 diamonds, known for their exceptional clarity.

VS1 is the kind of diamond that is a popular choice for those seeking a balance of beauty and investment value. These diamonds exhibit minimal inclusions, which are difficult to detect even under magnification, making them nearly flawless to the naked eye. 

However, the artistry that highlights the diamond's natural brightness is what makes a VS1 diamond necklace so alluring, regardless of its technical details. Although there are options available like a 5CT tennis necklace. You can do your research about it also. 

This article delves into the artistry behind VS1 diamond pendants, exploring how expert craftsmanship elevates these stones into exquisite pieces of wearable art.

What Are The Significance of VS1 Clarity

If you are about to buy a VS1 diamond or if someone asked you to buy this diamond then you should know what its significance is. Hence let’s start with what VS stands for VS expand to Very Slightly Included 1.

VS1 stands for its clarity grade which denotes a diamond with inclusions so small that they are difficult to detect, even under 10x magnification. 

The diamonds of this magnification are often only visible to trained gemologists and have minimal impact on the diamond's overall appearance, allowing the stone to maintain a high level of brilliance and sparkle. 

If you are wondering what VS1 is then let us tell you that it’s a grade that diamonds get based on their flawless look. There are premium price tags associated with higher grades like VVS which expands to Very, Very Slightly Included, or IF which stands for Internally Flawless. 

When set in a detachable pendant necklace, a VS1 diamond pendant becomes a stunning centerpiece that captivates attention. 

The VS1 grade strikes the perfect balance between visual perfection and value, making it a popular choice for those seeking elegance and sophistication in their jewelry. If you are looking for something under necklace options then a 5CT diamond necklace could be a good option for you. 

The Role of Expert Craftsmanship

Creating a VS1 diamond pendant is a process that requires not only high-quality materials but also exceptional craftsmanship. The first step is selecting the right diamond, one that meets the stringent criteria of the VS1 clarity grade. 

Once the diamond is chosen, the craftsmanship truly begins. Expert jewelers meticulously cut and polish the diamond to enhance its natural brilliance, taking care to maximize light reflection and minimize any visual impact of the slight inclusions. 

The setting of the pendant is equally important; whether it’s a classic solitaire, a halo design, or a more intricate pattern, the setting must be crafted to hold the diamond securely while allowing it to shine in all its glory.

Designing for Brilliance

The design of a VS1 diamond pendant plays a crucial role in how the diamond is perceived. A well-crafted design not only highlights the diamond's clarity but also complements the wearer’s style. 

Each design choice, from the metal used to the shape of the setting, contributes to the overall effect of the detachable pendant necklace, transforming it from a mere piece of jewelry into a work of art.

The Emotional and Aesthetic Value

A VS1 diamond pendant has great aesthetic and emotional value in addition to its technical attributes and craftsmanship. Many people associate it with a memorable occasion or turning point in their lives, such as an anniversary, a noteworthy accomplishment, or a treasured bond. 

Its beauty transcends trends, offering a classic elegance that can be worn with both everyday attire and formal ensembles. 5CT diamond necklace haitsir charm but if you like to go for a 5CT tennis necklace kind of thing to gift someone then it will be a good option. 

Caring for Your VS1 Diamond Pendant

If you are thinking of buying a VS1 diamond pendant then it will require utmost care when it comes to maintenance to maintain its brilliance. Many of you must have heard that diamonds are known for their high hardness and durability but if not cleaned properly with the right methods it can harm them. 

For your detachable pendant necklace, it's important to clean the diamond regularly using a mild detergent and a soft brush, which will effectively remove oils and dirt that can accumulate on the surface and diminish its sparkle. 

Additionally, when your VS1 diamond pendant is not being worn, store it carefully in a soft-lined box or pouch to protect it from scratches and other potential damage. 

This careful storage is especially crucial for pieces like a 5CT tennis necklace or a 5CT diamond necklace, where the brilliance of each diamond is a defining feature. By following these steps, you can ensure that your diamond jewelry remains as stunning as the day you first wore it.

Conclusion

If you read the following article till the end then you must be ready with your choices and whether or not you want to buy the VS1 diamond necklace, pendant, or anything that includes it for yourself.

We hope after reading this article you are stratified with your research for your buying. Last but not least remember VS1 diamond pendant is more than just a piece of jewelry; it will also show off your personality and style.

All the steps that you will read about a VS1 diamond go through take place so that it comes out as a diamond with high clarity. If your diamonds aren’t shiny and attractive then will you even believe it’s authenticity? Hence that’s why VS1 diamonds are famous. 

The goal of every step involved in making a VS1 diamond necklace is to enhance the stone's inherent beauty, from the deliberate choice of a high-clarity diamond to the painstaking attention to detail in its setting and design. 

The result is a pendant that not only dazzles with its brilliance but also carries a timeless elegance that makes it a treasured part of any jewelry collection. 

Whether worn daily or reserved for special occasions, a VS1 diamond pendant is a perfect blend of clarity, craftsmanship, and classic style.

[transbian-technoblade]

Things we know about death on the SMP

Everyone has three lives by default meaning anyone can experience dying (at least) three separate times. As far as we know, a single instance of dying cannot claim more than one life (you can’t lose multiple lives at once).

When one dies, their consciousness physically leaves their body (which feels like being dismembered, stretched, and shredded, not necessarily in that order).

There is no “heaven” or “hell.” As far as we know, the only afterlife is a dark void where multiple consciousnesses can reside, though not every dead person apparently resides in the same place. This place is sometimes called the void, the death zone, limbo, and hell.

The Afterlife is not entirely bare. There’s solitaire and access to information about the universe’s heat death. Time passes differently, with 24 hours in the Overworld possibly being the equivalent of about a month. However, one’s own perception of time may be warped by experiencing permanent death/the Afterlife, so this conversion may not be reliable.

In death, a consciousness may assume a (semi-corporeal?) form as a ghost within the Overworld. Ghosts appear as the mental image of how the consciousness perceives itself. As far as we know, the only way for one to become a ghost is if they have unfinished business in the Overworld, but it’s unclear how much this unfinished business informs a ghost’s identity or takes up their day-to-day life.

Ghosts don’t have a sense of smell and their skin appears grey. Some ghosts can fly/levitate (Glatt in The Haunted Mansion) and may have other supernatural powers, but other ghosts don’t appear to be significantly different from the living (e.g. Ghostbur who can’t fly, walk through walls, or become invisible without potions).

Some ghosts are restrained to a single area within the Overworld and experience a degradation of physical form (Glatt describes his experience as his “skin falling off”) when they leave this area. However, it is apparently possible for this limitation to be removed or overcome (Glatt is restricted in Quackity’s most recent stream which takes place in present day, but doesn’t appear to have any limitations on where he can go during The Haunted Mansion which takes place in the future).

One’s consciousness may be split into various versions of the original self which can inhabit different planes of reality (e.g. one version may become a ghost in the Overworld while another remains in the Afterlife). It’s unclear how many of these different versions can exist at once and if they are able to inhabit the same plane as one another or transcend planes.

These versions may retain only some memories of their experiences alive. It is unclear whether memories are split between them (e.g. one version retains only positive memories while another retains only negative) or if one version may experience amnesia while another version may retain most or all of their memories.

It is possible to resurrect someone which involves forcing their consciousness back into their body. It is unclear at this time whether the split versions of one’s consciousness merge together when this happens or how much of one’s memories of the Afterlife/being a ghost are retained.

It is possible to experience the Afterlife without dying. (When Jack “died” to Technoblade during doomsday, he explained that he felt himself descending into “hell,” but clung onto life- he didn’t fully die.)

It is somehow possible to regain lost lives. (When Jack “crawled out of hell,” he had three lives again.)

Please feel free to add to this list if I’ve missed something.

[yellowocaballero]

ok so I know you said you weren’t gonna explain daisy and then you did, and I want u to know I love when you explain your stories, almost as much as the stories themselves. I both envy and admire the way you think about characters and the way you build your stories and put all these elements together. bc this was a silly story and I laughed almost the whole way through, but there were moments with genuine meaning (ok gertude and jon conversation and about being a very nice boy and all that really got me bc like when am I not having feeling about jon lmao). So then I have Many Feelings about this silly story that are both heartfelt and just pure amusement and I go to you tumblr and then you talk about this story in a way that just makes me love it more. I think it’s bc you write stories where the pov is generally from only one character and when I read the story it’s like I can tell the other characters are having thoughts and feelings deep enough as the pov character, but for the most part, these rich inner lives or just lives separate from the pov character can’t really be perceived. Like it’s all there, but bc we are only seeing it from one characters pov, then there are things we aren’t going to see. And that’s really cool bc like, your characters are real enough that even tho things aren’t outright stated, I can tell there is so much happening “behind the scenes” so to say. It’s neat bc to read what your processes that went into writing a story is satisfying bc it’s like, ok here is what’s happening without the unreliable narrator. Idk as someone who is perpetually confused on why people do what they do (even myself sometimes lol), I like coming here where you explain things so well. Idk this is getting too long so just gonna say that I just really like what you do haha

;_______; Thank you so much. I’m always stressing out that I talk too much and go on too long about stuff nobody cares about lol. I’m also always pretending that I’ve thought stuff out or that I know exactly what I’m doing when I really don’t. I do objectively talk quite a bit about stuff here, but in my defense almost nobody irl knows that I write, at all. They think I don’t have hobbies. 

I’m glad it heightens the experience, though, I didn’t think about it that way. Rise of Skywalker Rule: people shouldn’t need to hear your word of god to understand what’s going on. But I really do hate writing multiple POVs (I only do it when it’s absolutely necessary) for a lot of reasons, but definitely it means that a lot of the behind the scenes character work you do goes unseen. But...even if you don’t see it, you know when it’s not there. A lot of technique in art is like that - invisible unless it’s bad lol. Take Daisy in TCF - it is blindingly evident that I did not really know what was really going on with her until much later in the story. My #1 frustration with that fic - just because Daisy will never tell Jon what’s going on, that’s not an excuse for me not knowing. 

But I do think a lot of a story is a supporting cast. I really sincerely hate it when a story is winnowed down to Main Character and Love Interest, and everybody else is a flat prop for that. I was reading a super fabulous Stucky fanfic the other day that was gorgeously written, but...none of the supporting characters had conversations with Steve that weren’t about Bucky. It was like some kind of terrifying Lotus Eater Machine hellscape. Imagine if nobody around you had rich inner lives, that they didn’t have their own rationales for what they did, that they had lives outside of you - that literally their only role in your life was to get you together with your boyfriend. Disturbing. (This was another parodied thing in Sucker’s Bet) A lot of Jonmartin fics are guilty of this too, frequently even worse. 

So, it’s kind of this dual thing for me - I have to know 10 things about a character and only 1 of those things will appear in the story. This is why I spent so long going on about how I know character’s religions lol. And even if you don’t know these things, it’s obvious when it’s not there. My stuff gets bloated because I insist on giving every major character a character arc and it is terrible of me (Solitaire was a hellscape). Even in the joke arson story - Jon, Sasha, and Tim all needed their individual character arcs, and even though Gerry and Daisy were more plot based characters you still got a strong sense of their lives. 

But the flipside is that as I’ve mentioned I don’t do OCs and I just adjust everyone based on the needs of the story.  Character is fluid and flexible for me so rarely anything is set in stone. I’m always spinning a ton of plates. I think when you know too much about your character and their background you end up stubbornly forcing a square peg into a round hole sometimes. For all I’ve talked about knowing characters - sincerely please don’t think about it too hard it’s useless. I don’t get too attached to any one characterization. Most of the time, the characterization in the story organically grows as the story develops. Some of the time I only really get a character as I write the final scene, then I have to go back and rewrite a bunch. There is a tremendous amount of characters who only really clicked for me as I wrote a final climactic scene (HR!Jon, TCF!Daisy and Web!Jon but specifically in Evilcon are the worst offenders, but also TCF!Annabelle, BBC!Gerry, SC!Daisy...). 

Anyway if you want the reason why I write so many side stories it’s because I finish a story and I just GOTTA tell you EVERYTHING I know about Agnes and Gerry or whatever (how did they meet? Jon will never know!). Legitimately for anyone who’s read Solitaire I highly recommend the Tim side story because Melanie is probably the most unreliable narrator I’ve ever written and there is this entire fucking storm of shit going under the surface of that Tim. Just because he got so complicated. I’ve been churning out a shitton of HR!Jon stories just to fucking try and get the character to click for me. It just goes on and on. As usual I’m both putting too much thought and not enough thought into things - the only way I really hammer out these things is by writing just an insane quantity of words, which is not the most. efficent way.

Sometimes I feel as if I’m hindering myself by not writing multiple POVs but also fuck that. Thank you for the super sweet ask I loved it!

[sunshinereversed]

𝙙𝙮𝙡𝙖𝙣’𝙨 “𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙡”: 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙨

I think it’s eerily prophetic how the song “Flowers on the Wall” (performed by the Statler Brothers) radiates so strongly with Dylan Klebold. The country tune has already been associated with Dylan because it appears in the background of the video where he and Nate are driving to school. But if you really listen to the lyrics and reflect on Dylan’s inner struggles, they coincide strangely well.

Let’s take the very first line of the song.

I keep hearin' you're concerned about my happiness.

The constant ‘Are you okay? Are you sure you’re okay? You seem so down lately’ from his parents, especially Sue, is reflected here. His mother sees that Dylan is ‘moody and irritable,’ often withdrawn, spending time hauled up in his room. She notices the tightness of his voice, which is unlike him, and she offers to make him French toast or an omelet. This must be about something small, she thinks. Yet his sullen demeanor stays as days turn to weeks, and she must ask again in vain, ‘Are you okay?’

But all that thought you're givin' me is conscience, I guess.

It doesn’t even cross Sue’s mind that her son may be unwell. She is simply asking out of concern for him looking unhappy, believing whatever it is will solve itself out. His mother wears her heart on her sleeve, and it pains her to see him so sad. But what can she do if he refuses to talk about it? All she can do is ask and wait for it to pass. He’s a good kid, after all. He’ll do the right thing because she’s worked hard to instill her morals into what he does.

If I were walkin' in your shoes, I wouldn't worry none.

Dylan reassures her repeatedly. ‘I’m only tired. I have a lot of homework. Nothing’s wrong. No one gives me a tough time, I’m 6’4”.’ He wishes she would leave him alone. He thinks she wouldn’t understand; she wouldn’t listen. He tells his parents not to worry. ‘You can trust me,’ he tells his mother one evening after the prom. Dylan goes out of his way to prove that he is the golden child. It works, and they worry none.

While you 'n' your friends are worried about me I'm havin' lots of fun.

Dylan’s social life serves as a mask for what is going on in his mind. He goes over to his friends’ houses, bowls on Friday nights, makes videos after school, plays catch with his dad, and even watches old movies with his mother. He has pictures of good times with friends. Outwardly, he is smiling; life is a dream. This makes his parents rethink their concerns. He’s a happy kid who does normal teenage things. What is there to worry about? He’s assuring those around him that he’s fine.

Now here comes the chorus, which is a bit tricky but makes sense when you consider these things:

Countin' flowers on the wall.

If anyone is familiar with the book The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, this might be a clue. Like the protagonist in the book, Dylan is trapped in his four-walled cell (his bedroom) which is where he does most of his thinking and spiraling downwards. This is where he writes in his journal and vents his frustrations. It’s a toxic environment for his brain. His room is where he cries himself to sleep; hugs his pillow in loneliness; gets drunk by himself. Most importantly, it’s where he blurs fantasy and reality. While not as plainly mad as the poor woman from Gilman’s novel, Dylan is mentally tortured by what he perceives to be ‘an unfair/miserable existence’ and being ‘stuck in humanity.’ He rejects both, and often retreats into his fantasy where he is with his love and away from the world. The ‘flowers on the wall’ symbolizes his own deception of life when he is alone, and might not only symbolize his bedroom, but also his brain.

That don't bother me at all.

Unlike the real world, Dylan very much prefers to live in the fictional one he’s conjured within his mind. It’s his safe place. Paradoxically, his mind is also where he tears himself down and others around him. It’s a poisonous escape. Yet he is already so far gone in that escape, he can’t see the damage he is doing to himself. And he continues to do so, unbothered, and unaware.

Playin' solitaire till dawn with a deck of fifty-one.

‘Playing solitaire’ could be a metaphor symbolizing his isolation and loneliness, his solitude. Solitaire is a single-player game, and Dylan feels alienated most of the time, especially when he is sulking in his room. Thinking, always thinking. Sometimes, as the line implies, until dawn. He is a night owl who cannot sleep because his mind is constantly awake. Playing music, conversing in chats on the computer, formulating poems in his notebooks, doodling, or just thinking (negatively). He oversleeps often because he is up late doing these things. He is alone, in the middle of the night, consumed by his own sadness. Something is missing inside him, and that is why he plays with ‘a deck of fifty-one.’ He thinks a significant other is the thing that is missing, and if he finds her, he will finally be playing with fifty-two cards, figuratively.

Smokin' cigarettes and watchin' Captain Kangaroo.

For Dylan, this is a dichotomy. An everlasting contrast. The balance between two things, lightness, and darkness, good and evil, etc. He’s doing grown-up things like holding a job, applying to colleges, driving a car, and as the lyrics say, smoking cigarettes. Marlboro, preferably. At the same time, Dylan is caught between acting his age and longing for simpler days. This is where ‘watching Captain Kangaroo’ comes in. It’s a kid’s show and is intended for such an audience. Dylan thinks back with nostalgia for his childhood, when life wasn’t full of disappointments, stress, high school bullies, responsibility. He hangs onto items that remind him of his youth: his stuffed koala, origami, classic movies, his trademark baseball cap, his love for fixing old cars with his dad. Dylan is stuck somewhere in the middle of the two, never truly satisfied with one over the other.

Now don't tell me I've nothin' to do.

Again, Dylan tells those around him that he is perfectly fine by engaging in normal teenage things. He hides how depressed he feels. Dylan becomes increasingly irritated the more people ask if he’s okay. The repetition of this line throughout the song is more like a cry for help than a reassurance.

Last night I dressed in tails, pretended I was on the town.

This could symbolize several things, but what comes to my mind is Dylan’s prom night. The fact that he even goes to prom is a pleasant surprise to his parents, confirming that there’s nothing abnormal lurking on the horizon. His father helps him get dressed in his tuxedo, struggles to figure out how the bow tie works, and he pulls his newly washed hair back into a neat ponytail. His mother thinks he looks quite handsome, comparing him to a character in a movie they are both fond of. For a moment, he is just a normal high school kid going to a dance. Nothing out of the boring ordinary.

As long as I can dream it's hard to slow this swinger down.

For one night, at the prom, Dylan pretends this is his life. He is good at blocking out what he considers evil, and Dylan allows himself to enjoy the moment. He’s had a lot of practice at ignoring his pain. If he can retreat into the fantasy he’s created in his mind, he is capable of anything, good or bad. It’s like an out-of-body experience. He’s not there when he’s there. Nothing can stop him. He has two settings at this point, 0 and 100. An unhealthy dreamer can be deadly not only to others, but to the dreamer himself.

So please don't give a thought to me, I'm really doin' fine.

As mentioned previously, Dylan flies under the radar to not be asked about his well-being. He holds out his arms to point to all these social activities he’s engaging in with his friends as if to say ‘Look what I’m doing. I’m fine. Do not worry.’ It’s a cruel deception, and he doesn’t even realize he is being deceived as much as those around him are. Dylan starts to believe what he’s telling others. He doesn’t think he is worth the worry.

You can always find me here; I'm havin' quite a time.

‘Here’ can mean one of several places: his bedroom, his mind, or perhaps his existence. Either way, ‘I’m having quite a time’ is a sarcastic remark. He’s drowning in his harmful thoughts, yet that’s where he feels the safest. It’s his protective shell that he puts up against the world. Dylan entertains the idea over and over in his mind that his love is waiting for him in another existence. No matter where he physically is, he’s ‘always there’, lost in his thoughts.

The chorus repeats. Dylan outwardly seems okay. Left to his own devices, he is not.

It's good to see you, I must go, I know I look a fright.

This is a goodbye. Even though it is a casual farewell, it has deeply painful undertones. He says he didn’t like life too much but hopes he will find peace in the next one. He offers a final goodbye to those he loved, family and friends. ‘It’s good to see you’ displays how detached he feels toward the end. These are no longer people he knows fondly; it was simply good to see them. The thoughts must end, and he must leave before they worsen. Like the lyrics suggest, he doesn’t want to stick around and knows he must go. A big part of his self-esteem had to do with his self-image. The line ‘I know I look a fright’ symbolizes how negatively he thought of his own appearance. Dylan couldn’t see his own attractiveness. He felt awkward due to his height, long facial features, shaggy hair, and the way he dressed.

Anyway, my eyes are not accustomed to this light.

This is the trademark dark sunglasses that Dylan wears almost everywhere. He hides behind them, shielding his tears from the world. The light comes from the sun, and he cannot withstand the same light that others can, a nod to him feeling isolated from humanity. Though he is called the ‘sunshine boy,’ his eyes are not meant for its light. So, he dawns the shades to (metaphorically) keep it out.

And my shoes are not accustomed to this hard concrete.

Unlike the sneakers worn by the jocks at his high school, Dylan sports black combat boots. They are unusual among the other students, but Dylan feels comfortable in them. Again, he separates himself from the rest of humanity. He is not meant for it. He knows he must go somewhere he feels free.

So I must go back to my room and make my day complete.

By the end of the song, it becomes clear that Dylan now lives inside the world he’s created in his mind. It almost becomes odd for him not to retreat there at least once a day if not all the time. But like the final lyrics, he goes to stay there forever and never to return.

The final repetition of the chorus only emphasizes the truth. He was not ‘doing fine’, despite all the work of convincing others the opposite.

The last line loops again before the song ends. The upbeat and happy tune only makes the message more haunting.

Don't tell me I've nothin' to do.

And no one did.

[shadowdianne]

Swan queen prompt : "This doesn't have to be goodbye, does it? Not really?"

A/N I was just looking at my inbox while trying to fight off yet another nightmare -boy, do those pile up quickly sometimes- so I decided to do a small battery of prompts. Mostly Cissamione Xd But, W, I’ll always love your ideas and despite my burn out still present I thought I could give you a small something… Just because I guess. Let’s consider this a very tardy xmas gift(?)

Set in: Let’s see, shall we? xD

“This doesn’t have to be goodbye, does it? Not really.”

She eyed the mostly filled book, the silence that seemed to grow over the walls of the small alcove in where it was being stashed -for recording purposes, some of the members of a Council that had been appointed after the Merge had insisted upon- suffocating above the pleading words Emma could have said to her as the portal kept on swirling behind her as  burning as ever.

She hadn’t known then, when she had eyed her, sad smile on her lips, a nod already twisting her torso, a silent promise of something neither of them had been fully able to verbalize, what the younger woman had been thinking as they had gazed into each other. She had inferred, of course, had pretended to understand even as the sad realization that she was about to embark on an adventure the other woman wasn’t going to accompany her into had hit her and made her almost sway in the spot. She had tried hard, then, and ever since, to understand, to keep her own emotions at bay: she could see what Emma was trying to reach for. The commodity of something much more tangible than the constantly-changing expectations of a title that she had never grown into. Despite others ever-tightening words of affirmation that felt more like a curse than a blessing.

She had understood, had tried her damnest to, even if the very thought made her skin crawl and her heartbreak and her magic itch as if something was being irrevocably taken from her as the portal closed. She had understood, but she hadn’t known.

Yet, she thought with a contrite smile, a pained one that almost felt like a wince as she breathed into the slowly dusting room, the flames that jumped to life every time the door was opened thanks to an everlasting fire seeming to mock her as she stood as straight as her back permitted, the cruel aspect of being able to read the book, to see their actions so pristinely taken as photographs, was that she could know now, know what the other’s thoughts had been in that moment.

“This doesn’t have to be a goodbye.”

She could feel Emma’s shame at the intrusive thought, burning and turning everything ashen at the back of the blonde’s throat. The knowledge, intimate, solitaire, that she didn’t feel worthy of speaking such words into reality. She hadn’t deemed herself strong enough to word them back when there had been a child about to arrive to their world: the decision made; the path taken. And so, she hadn’t.

But she had still thought the words and so, the book, the ink, the magic that surrounded the very purpose of the magicked pages, had taken it from her mind and had reflected it onto the page. A page that shared those lines with a picture that if Regina narrowed her eyes, could almost feel like it was moving. Beckoning her, calling her in. If she only reached a little more, if she only moved closer towards the book…

Magic always came with a price. She had learned that lesson very early on, almost even before than she had been able to cast and hex with the flex of her fingers, with a pointed look. Knowledge, however, also came with one. And that lesson seemed to be one she still hadn’t quite been able to grasp yet. Not quick enough to move away from it before it left scars that were decidedly much more imprecise and deeper than the ones magic ever could create.

She wondered now, not for the first time, at the very bottom of the castle, surrounded by nothing but bricks and magic and sigils written by the fairies and warlocks that had appeared once the Merge had been complete, what would have she done if she had known Emma’s thoughts when the blonde had taken, apparently, the less difficult road. She would love to say that she would have told her “no”. That the distance would be closed, that they could still see each other. But she knew that she wouldn’t have said that, as much as she loved the idea to. After all, there was only a limited amount of pain and longing she was able to take at the time. She had, at least, learned that lesson.

And Emma, strong, breathtaking Emma, had been painful to look at. With the promise of the shadow of the one she had once been known diffused and darkened by decisions that had been made for her, by decisions she had made while trying, desperately, to find a place that didn’t burn away whatever little of herself still remained. Regina had once told her, before the moment that still twinkled at the pages in front of her had arrived, how she was too good, far too good, for the decisions she kept on making, for the ones she decided to perceive as her happy endings.

For someone so detached to what the magic realm the Enchanted Forest had sprouted from that particular germ had grown quickly: the vines thick and impossible to divide while they fed into everyone’s empty hope that nothing other than the Savior will ever be able to save them, to be the recipient of everything Good, Prophesized.

So, she had waited until the Portal had been closed and she had swallowed down as her magic, the one linked to Emma, shivered down her palms, up her veins, into her heart. And she might have been able to live with that, for a spell, if it hadn’t been for the book re-appearing once more after the Merge: the authorial aspect of Henry’s ability sort of blurred now, sentience being given to the pages by the sheer power that run through the conjoined realms and kingdoms. They had sealed the book away: a true testimony of arcs that now seemed like one big proof of how slowly, how devastatingly, she had fallen for the blonde.

For a time, she had been able to feign that she didn’t want to read where the book ended up into, what had been the last survived chapter recorded by it. Short after the coronation, however, she had opened it: shy almost, and had read.

And understood.

Regina closed her eyes and sighed, the sound losing itself into the walls, her magic purple and azure and white on her veins, squiggles of energy and ozone that climbed through her fingers in barely-there wisps.

Hope had been a poison once: a treacherous word, one that made her feel murderous, blood lusted. She knew  she couldn’t quite claw herself out from the pool of dripping knowledge it presented.

Because, she thought as she turned and left, her steps echoing, the flames subsiding until nothing was left of them, if Emma had thought the same as she had done: lovesick, what would she then say, or think, or act, if she knew that she had wanted to kiss her, senseless, every day since she had gotten back?

[silvysartfulness]

6. 10. 19.

6. What character do you have the most fun writing? 

I would lie if I didn’t say Xue Yang. Either his POV, or how the others perceive him. I feel guilty about playing favourites sometimes, but then I remember that this is in fact my story, and I’m allowed. u.u

He’s an agitator, the one that makes things happen, which makes him a lot of fun to write! He’s snappy and sarcastic, with a vicious sense of humour... and he is - beneath all those layers - as broken to the core as the other two. The duality of that makes him super-interesting to write, to have him whiplash between emotions and moods the way he does, just flashing glimpses of something terrifyingly genuine behind all the deflection, lies and harsh defense mechanisms. ♥

10. How would you describe your writing process?

In one word - frustration. 😅

I usually can’t just sit down and make words go, I have to have rehearsed at least parts of a scene in my head multiple times before it’s set enough that I can actually start the writing. So it starts with taking a walk, or lying in my bed cuddling a cat, or drawing, or playing solitaire - things I do to keep the body busy enough that the thoughts can run free.

I get very immersed in my POV-character (90% of the time Xue Yang, even if I often end up writing any given scene from another POV) and just... let them all start talking, or do something, and they’ll snowball by themselves and plot appears, and I’m just in the back seat, taking mental notes as fast as I can. XD

It is only just barely a conscious process - I’ve tried to explain it to people but not a lot seem to understand it, but it really a form of utter dissociation, near split personality. I do very little, just try to keep up as a passive watcher, try to memorize the good bits and give the occasional nudge to keep things going. And then I refine it a few more times in my head, hone some raw lines to perfection, and then I sit down to actually write it down.

When it works, it works very well. When it doesn’t, working up the momentum is almost impossible.

Don’t ask me how it works, I just work here. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

I already answered 19 in another ask!

Thank you so much for the questions! ♥

[superchartisland]

Uncharted #1 - Solitaire (Microsoft, Windows, 1990)

[Uncharted is an occasional feature where I look at games which were massively successful but, for whatever reason, were not eligible for the charts so could not possibly have made my list of #1 games. In this case it is because Solitaire was part of Windows rather than sold separately]

[Note that this post originally appeared without this intro on April Fool’s Day] 

In tribute to 1990’s biggest game and a titan of gaming, here is an entire deck of facts about Microsoft’s Solitaire:

1. Solitaire has been available for every release of Windows since Windows 3.0. 2. On Windows 8 it wasn’t pre-installed, though. Boo. 3. Solitaire is based on a real-life card game which may or may not have been played by Napoleon to pass his time in exile, in much the same way as the modern version has long served office workers. 4. Solitaire was considered a good way to teach mouse movement, drag-and-drop etc. to those who hadn't already been doing that on their Amigas or Atari STs for years. 5. Solitaire was programmed by Microsoft intern Wes Cherry. He was never paid for his efforts. 6. Linux users desperate to play Solitaire have been able to do so since the 1993 introduction of Wine (which stands for Wine Is Not an Emulator). 7. You can play Solitaire on iOS and Android mobile devices too these days, so no need to confine your distraction to desk-based times only. 8. And you can play it in Google by typing Solitaire into the search, and all. No word on if they’ll be bringing in seamless live-streaming for it yet. 9. The modern Windows version of Solitaire contains adverts which can only be removed by paying a subscription, showing how perfectly it has adapted to the current environment. 10. Solitaire was at one point the single most-used Windows application in the world. 11. The original version of Solitaire allows players to switch between Vegas and Standard scoring systems, or to free themselves from the restrictive concept of ‘points’ altogether. 12. Economists believe that Solitaire was responsible for the US recession of 1990-1991. 13. The verified speedrun record for Solitaire is 5 seconds.

14. Tool assisted speedruns have brought times down to as low as 3 seconds. 15. Speedrunners have determined that switching the game language to German allows for the fastest possible time. 16. The top professional Solitaire players regularly earn £200,000 a year in prize money. 17. The highest score you can earn in the standard version of Solitaire is 24,113. 18. 0.25% of possible Solitaire games are impossible to solve. 19. Dr. Maressa Hecht Orzack of Harvard Medical School opened the first clinic for computer addiction in 1996 after becoming obsessed with her Solitaire high score. 20. In 2006, a worker for the city of New York was fired after the city’s mayor saw Solitaire on their computer screen at work. 21. A study by Dr. Jeffrey Goldstein at the University of Utrecht found that being allowed to play Solitaire at work improved employees’ productivity and job satisfaction. 22. Solitaire was the first computer game to be played aboard the International Space Station. 23. Microsoft celebrated Solitaire's 25th anniversary by holding a tournament that saw the company’s strongest players play against fans. 24. Also to coincide with the 25th anniversary: the release of a set of physical playing cards based on Susan Kare’s initial Solitaire designs. 25. In the US, the 22nd of May each year is officially Solitaire Day. 26. The rest of the world prefers to celebrate Solitaire Day on the 1st of May.

27. In 1998, the billionth game of Solitaire to be played was celebrated with a special presentation at that year’s Solicon. 28. In 2017, Microsoft reversed plans to remove Solitaire from Windows 10 completely, after an outpouring of despair from users at the prospect of it being replaced by Solitaire 3D. 29. Under the right conditions, it is possible to complete a round of Solitaire with only half a left click. 30. Some versions of the game Doom secretly contain a complete, playable version of Solitaire within their code. 31. Solitaire was devised partly as a way of paying tribute to the origins of Microsoft, which was founded in 1889 as a playing card company. 32. Wes Cherry went on to develop a hat-themed sequel, Hataire. It was significantly less successful. 33. Solitaire succeeded despite an initial protest campaign of negative reviews, organised by a group of male gamers upset at what they perceived to be an unrealistic proportion of female characters among the most powerful cards. 34. While there is a buzzing scene of retrogamers playing Solitaire on emulators, some purists consider that it is only worth playing on an original IBM PS/1. 35. The IBN 0401 would be an acceptable alternative were they not all in the ownership of hackers and time travellers. 36. An alternative ending in which all of the cards die was removed as ‘too depressing’, leaving the famous cascade. 37. Hackers have determined that there is a Solitaire stage as part of forthcoming Super Smash Bros. Ultimate downloadable content, leading to speculation on whether the robot from the back of the cards will be included as a fighter. 38. The order of the twelve card backs, with the patterns first and the dressing gown aces last, was determined by the order in which each of them completed a race across a river. 39. The bright beach scene card back was inspired by the meaning of the Latin root of the name Solitaire, ‘the sun is the air’.

40. In addition to the standard card backs, it is rumoured that a cursed thirteenth may appear at midnight on rainy days. 41. If you put your nose right up to one of the patterned card backs, focus as though you are looking through the image into the distance, and very slowly move your face away from the image, you will see a blurry pattern on the back of a card. 42. Variations of the original card game include Spider Solitaire, Klondike Solitaire, Clock Solitaire, and Hexadecimal Solitaire. 43. Factional disagreements between Klondike and Spider loyalists culminated in the 2004 Solitaire War, since when neither side acknowledges the other’s legitimacy. 44. A reference to this dispute appears in Kanye West’s 2007 single “Stronger”. 45. Other musicians to have paid tribute to Solitaire include Chris Webby, Gucci Mane and Neil Sedaka. 46. Microsoft are believed to be currently developing a battle royale version of Solitaire. 47. The forthcoming battle royale version would be the first new entry in the mainline Solitaire series since Solitaire Remix Card Capture Current (Dub Edition). 48. Once there were the cards, and when all else is dust, again shall there be the cards. 49. Solitaire is banned in Belgium. 50. Solitaire having been a UK chart #1 is as real as around half of these facts. Solitaire didn’t make it to the top of the chart, because no one went out to the shops to buy a cassette or disk version of it. 51. It was, though, more widely played in the UK than most (all?) of the games which I am covering around it, and in its own way did as much or more for gaming. The niche of semi-attention-occupying pastime played on devices lots of people were already using for other reasons was to be an exceptionally fruitful one. 52. The particular form of this entry was inspired by an irresistible scheduling coincidence placing it on 1 April, but I do genuinely want to give some attention to games which have made a massive impact without their popularity being in a form that the charts recognise. As such, this is going to be the first of an irregular series doing just that, each time I reach one of those games in my timeline. The series will be called Uncharted. And it’s only a week until I get to its second entry.

[copkillinganarchist]

The Old Chunk Of Coal

Every so often are precious stones. Every so often are Stones... what's more, the other one, I am only an old lump of coal, yet I will be a jewel sometime in the not so distant future.

I love tunes. I love the verses and furthermore the pounding vibrations of the lower note beats. I recollect these lines from two nation exemplary holds back. I recollect them since I know the sentiment of being viewed as a cluster of coal. It's a negative inclination. It's less the shading that is a killjoy, the murkiness' included when one considers coal. It's a petroleum derivative. It's acceptable just for loading onto an effectively heinous natural or figurative passionate injury circumstance and exacerbating it. We should light up a match to the coal and consume it until it's utilized into debris. At that point how about we trust the breeze will dissipate it, as we would even prefer not to discharge the cinders once it's value has been spent. We're selfish now and then for administrations delivered. Coal structures under the ground. Without light. I think it deteriorates. I think coal isn't so much as a unique thing. I believe it's packed gases or spoiled wood or something disposed of regardless.

Alright. So you get the image that I like the words to tunes that sing about trust in spoiling old disposed of components.

I have a companion that is a shamanistic healer. It began that he was going to assist me with finding my direction and discover my voice. At that point I began cleaning his home for him. This seemed well and good sooner or later for reasons unknown. We likewise share melodies. Gen X-ers are consistently blossom youngsters on a fundamental level. I think neither one of us truly realizes why I'm as yet spiffing up the castle. I know at some level we bargained house keeping for rose above contemplation meetings. However I returned with a plan. I'm going to scour my way through his latrines and into his heart. At the point when I arrive, I will mirror my Light on his pathway and afterward transform him into the arms of the one genuine God to deal with. Senseless hypothetical egotistical me, accepting he required me to spare him. I raise my Shaman since he let me know in three separate mending meetings I was a jewel so stunning that soon numerous around me would perceive and see me. I figured he was talking in the profound domains and in emblematic language. Presently I'm not entirely certain.

Alright. So you get the image that I've been on an otherworldly journey to associate and bind myself directly into the mainline association with my Creator, God as I was instructed. You know the one in the Christian box? In any case, something occurred en route I didn't anticipate. My perspective with respect to customary Western Christianity flipped. I think now, that Jesus was without a doubt the substance that lead me into the Kingdom of God. In any case, since I've really addressed and researched from unique source information, I think God is Spirit, the whole Spirit of the God and that God is finished unadulterated Love; the starting, making, insightful Source which is the vibration of unadulterated white vitality light. The Light of all cosmology and creation.

Something has likewise transpired since my unique companion and the Shaman helped me discover my voice and soul once more. I started to compose. I started to compose productively Loose Diamonds. I compose constantly. I can't stop it. It's been around a half year now of constant composition. I compose day and night. I expound on everything without exception. I have parts to state and don't have the foggiest idea why. My "still little voice" is exceptionally chatty. Pretty much anyone that is interacted with my email radar go, has proposed I compose professionally. I've recently been sitting tight for the approval signal from somebody. I've been at the convergence trusting that the light will turn green. Today it occurred.

You currently comprehend I live to compose. I locate my general surroundings stunning and wondrous and need to enlighten everyone all concerning it.

I have a place with a churchwomen's association gathering. It's 75-100 ladies who can discover time on Thursday mornings to meet up with aim of being God regarding, together. One of the educators for one of this present season's classes, I am regarded to state, has become a companion of mine. Judy is a raven-haired holy messenger of a lady loaded up with effortlessness, insight and poise. She's the minister's better half. She's additionally extremely interesting. I'm steadily persuaded God has a solid dry comical inclination. He should have. Take a gander at us!

Today Judy astonished me. She solicited my consent to peruse one from my composed works. It was convenient and identified with the President of the United States. She felt it really was great for certain ladies to hear. I would not like to appear to be traitorous in these unsafe occasions, directly after 9/11 so I concurred. I was thankful she was not going to cause me to get up and read my article. I pondered simply playing hooky today, to maintain a strategic distance from the shame I'd no uncertainty feel and maybe evade the unforgiving mockery or negative analysis of my sisters in Christ. (Oh no. It sounds a touch like my impression of my kindred man is cockeyed, doesn't it?) God will take a shot at this issue.

I didn't back down. I appeared. What I didn't envision occurred straightaway.

Judy didn't hold up until little gathering time. She got up there and read my article to the whole bundle of all around reproduced, astute ladies at the month to month planned all-congregation ladies' lunch get-together before our composing class. I was embarrassed! I began to check out me. The meal room was loaded up with round tables seating 8 ladies a table. A little fire-orange rose grew out of the focal point of each table. These women started to resemble a bundle of newly slice roses to me. Such a bouquet is such an excess for somebody like me. These women are the best of the best on Mercer Island, WA. a.k.a. The Golden Ghetto. My children and I just live on the island because of a Section 8 HUD lodging voucher for poor people.

I looked as ladies cleared water out of the edges of their eyes. I looked as eyeglasses began being eliminated and noses were blown. I watched ladies conflicted between gazing at me ( attempting to stow away in an edge of the front of the room) and needing to remain bolted on Judy perusing My composed words. I looked as the hints of my story bobbed against my mind. I was astonished most definitely. I 'd never listened to my words uproarious. I was entranced by the article. It created a quiet stable down in my internal center association with God. It struck dread (as in stunningness) in my heart as I understood something powerful had happened to my fingers to compose such sounds.

At the point when the article was done, the ladies extolled. They mentioned duplicates to have as one. I was announced a skilled essayist. I was lowered into quietness, once more. I saw something unrecognizable. I saw refracted light beginning to crystal off these ladies back at me. Much the same as when a precious stone is held up to the daylight. I contemplated this sight.

As though this was insufficient, the principle bunch disbanded into the littler study hall gatherings to get ready for the motivational lessons of the day. It would be 90 minutes of learning and sharing Life exercises, female Christian style. Judy had another astonishment available for me. She wasn't through with me yet on the grounds that she was the teacher of the composing bunch I had a place with for this littler gathering.

The theme being talked about was Changing Times. Judy started giving instances of how exemplary creators had communicated as she browsed Emerson, Lewis, and a couple contemporary light creators. Partially through the class, Judy yanked out one more of my accounts and read it to this class as her last model! I was frozen the ladies would become angry, exhausted and furious at this restraining infrastructure on their time. There were many talented ladies in this gathering. All with amazing inspiring stories to tell. Judy avoided mincing words about how profoundly she respected my capacity to catch pictures and offer my heart-musings to a crowd of people. She read Homecoming Parade. She excerpted and compacted the long story into one that hit the imprint. More tears streamed and mouths hung free. You could've barely heard anything at all in the spot. More acclaim. I contracted under the table and attempted to fool around benevolently to soothe the inconvenience of thankfulness and acknowledgment.

What I saw as I checked out this gathering of 30 movers and shakers all things considered, paralyzed me. I saw it emblematically, just like my direction. However, by the by, it was there for the review. I saw an ideal perfect blue-white, splendid cut jewel being held up and set into a platinum solitaire setting.

At the point when the gathering finished, a lady I'd become more acquainted with as of late moved toward me. Her name is Judy Boynton. She cut off her accreditations for the gathering. She was an expert distributed essayist of fiction and genuine books. She was a practiced craftsman of figures. She was a trustee on the Board of Pacific Northwest Writers Conference subsidiary with Pacific Lutheran University. She'd been an individual from this gathering for more than 25 years. I was intrigued. Less by her accreditations, as magnificent as they were, however by the force and power behind her eyes. This lady had insight and purpose. She was focusing on me.

She revealed to me she comprehended what she was discussing. She let me know and the gathering I WAS a skilled author. She disclosed to us she'd seen enough to know the distinction between one that might want to be an essayist and one that IS an author. I fell into the last class. She gave me numbers and leaflets and advised me to be at the following gathering meeting. She clarified this is the place distributers, operators, and writers meet each other with the purpose on distributing composed works of legitimacy. Names like Ann Rule and J.A. Jance were talked about during this equivalent day by others as they mentioned my consent to have them maybe contact these "companions of theirs."

Rarely in a lifetime that one really knows about a groundbreaking second or day. I've been graced with one of those minutes. Today it appears, my general surroundings is starting to see and perceive the old lump of coal got the residue pressure-washed off of her so hard and seriously by Life, that she'd advanced into a jewel solitaire of worth and notice.

[bienready2122]

Your Guide To Buying Engagement Rings Online

Presently we as a whole realize that purchasing a wedding band can be amazingly scary and unpleasant. The very idea of going into a gem specialist can be terrible for a few, there are such huge numbers of styles and settings - How would you pick the correct one?

This is the place purchasing wedding bands online is really a truly loose and fun method for getting things done. However, regardless of whether you are purchasing wedding bands on the web or getting them from a disconnected retailer there are several things that you have to consider before you start.

First of all, have a thought of what your ring will resemble.

This is one of the most significant ventures that you will ever make and one of only a handful scarcely any occasions that you will purchase something only for her. It characterizes how you feel about her and your relationship, so you have to pick a style of ring that suits her, suits her way of life, a ring that she wants to wear and is glad to flaunt.

Having a thought on the style of ring, do you need a basic yet great solitaire, an intricately embellished antique style ring, an extremely present day style or a ring that has a straightforward band however three jewels Engagement Rings Perth? You can even add shading to your ring by utilizing gemstones like sapphires and rubies to your setting.

You likewise need to consider what kind of valuable metal you need for the band - Gold, White Gold or Platinum are your primary decisions here. Gold is the more conventional, however White Gold and Platinum do set off your jewel delightfully.

Presently I realize this appears to be overpowering, however when purchasing wedding bands online you do get the chance to explore a piece with the innovation that they have, so you can make the ideal ring and really observe the ring that you are making, including one of the most significant things - how it will look on her finger!

Set Your Budget

This is maybe perhaps the hardest activity when seeing wedding bands through an ordinary disconnected gem specialist. Frequently you have no clue how much a ring will cost until you have asked somebody. This can be a troublesome errand for a large portion of us, particularly when the cost is way out of our compass!

When purchasing wedding bands online you can peruse through the choice accessible or even structure your own ring from the solace of your own home and inside the obliges of your spending limit - without agonizing over what any other person thinks.

Get Educated

Most online precious stone gem specialists will have a type of instruction focus and I can not underline exactly that it is so essential to look at this. It will essentially disclose to you why one precious stone is more important than another and which jewels to avoid. By doing this you will wind up purchasing a precious stone that has quality, shimmer and a sticker price that you can without much of a stretch manage.

Locate a Great Online Jeweler

The last bit of the riddle is to locate an incredible online precious stone goldsmith who has a decent notoriety and stocks quality jewels. There are a significant number of them yet our main three are;

jamesallen.com

goodoldgold.com

bluenile.com

Check their realness - They ought to have a type of marking on their site that says that they are a piece of an openly perceived association - like BBB, or that they have acknowledgment in different manners - like I-vouch, 'Hot 100 Retailer' or as 'seen on Oprah'.

Look at their approaches - Many online gem dealers have extremely liberal arrangements in regards to returns, overhauls and certifications so make certain to look at them. Most have a multi day returns arrangement, yet ensure that you check the fine print.

Do some exploration through the gatherings - Forums like the one at pricescope.com are great worth when purchasing wedding bands on the web. They are brimming with truly educated individuals and free guidance.

By structuring your own breathtaking ring, getting the best cost and picking an incredible online store to make it you will discover purchasing wedding bands online a tranquil and even fun exercise!

[hayesrolando-blog]

We knew what we were getting

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[darkammarketing]

Your Customer Wants To Be the Hero

The idea that millennials are killing brands has become a bit of a running joke on the internet. Headlines like, “How Millennials Killed Mayonnaise” and “Blame Millenials for the Vanishing Bar of Soap” make us laugh, but in many ways, they aren’t entirely off-base. The consumer landscape is changing, and savvy brands are using purpose-driven marketing to stay connected.

It’s true that the current generation of consumers are making very deliberate purchasing choices – but so did the previous one. The concept that consumers buy brands that confirm, enhance, or allow them to display their identity also remains true. What’s shifted is how the modern consumer base defines what matters to them. Which part of their identity do they hold most important, and how is it different from previous generations? Aside from the alleged disregard for bland condiments and rectangular soap.

Purposeful Purchasing

Futerra, a sustainability consultancy recently asked a sampling of 1,000 consumers in the US and UK an important question. “Do you think personal actions (like donating, recycling, and buying ethically) can make a real difference in the world?” The answer was a resounding yes, as 96% of the participants answered affirmatively.

The fact that there is even a market for sustainability consultancies, one that market research firm Verdantix predicts will exceed $1 billion dollars by the end of 2019, shows us that being a world changer is an integral part of today’s consumer identity.

Help Your Customers Live Their Values

However, exclusively promoting your brand’s dedication to sustainability or other philanthropic initiatives may fall short. Forbes contributor Solitaire Townsend perfectly sums up why, “Because just talking about your own values isn’t enough, consumers want you to help them live theirs.” Buyers are investing their money into purpose-driven brands that invite their consumers to create change with them, rather than just bear witness.

Townsend explains that “Too much of the cause-related-marketing, sustainability or CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities of brands promote what the company is doing, rather than helping the consumer to make their own difference.” Empower your customers with the feeling that investing in your products or services makes them a hero. Draw a clear, straight line from their point-of-purchase to the impact they’ll have on the world.

The Body Shop and Patagonia Nailed It

Companies like The Body Shop create a hero connection through storytelling. The company was founded with the mission of empowering small, global suppliers in order to promote sustainability. They’ve used storytelling as a way to invite consumers into the worlds of their suppliers. Giving buyers an intimate connection with their brand’s mission makes point-of-purchase feel like activism.

Ad Age’s article, “Three Ways to do purpose-driven Marketing Right” shares an example. “On its corporate website, for instance, you’ll learn about a female farmer in England who provides roses for the company’s British Rose collection. The Body Shop’s YouTube channel has a video that tells the incredible story of the Tungteiya Women’s Shea Butter Association in Ghana which sources shea butter for the company while uplifting women in Ghana. Those are just two examples of how this company employs digital to tell the story of its commitment.”

Patagonia has a reputation for being a leader in purpose-driven marketing that’s resulted in a loyal consumer following. The company was recently in the news for declaring that they would only be selling their popular corporate logo vests to companies that shared their mission of responsibility. They’re a great example of a company that promotes their own mission of sustainability while simultaneously helping their customers feel like purchasing their product can have a positive impact on the planet.

Their Instagram account Wornwear shares ways that customers can upcycle and repair their merchandise. This type of customer engagement demonstrates to consumers how buying their product directly contributes to waste reduction. Buying a cozy fleece now feels like an act of environmental activism.

Both the Body Shop and Patagonia use narratives to foster the hero connection, but some brands are taking a more direct approach. Bridgewater Candles partnered with the charity organization Rice Bowls as part of their company’s purpose-driven mission to provide meals for orphaned children.

Light a Candle. Feed a Child.

The upscale candles are packaged with a lid telling customers that their purchase will directly provide 3 meals to a child in need. Their website has declarations like, “Light a candle. Feed a child” and “Smell good. Do good. Feel good,” and there’s a running tally of exactly how many meals their candle sales have resulted in, more than 9 million when this article was written.

This company has not only wrapped its brand in purpose but is a great example of finding unique points of customer engagement to talk about. A product that could be perceived as an indulgence is now a necessity for customers who want to make a difference during their lunch-hour shopping.

When you’re thinking about your organization’s purpose-driven marketing strategy, it’s important to put your customers at the forefront. Purposeful purchasing allows consumers who identify as change-makers to see your product or service as an entry point to their personal mission. Customer engagement strategies, such as using storytelling and evidence sharing are only a few of the many ways you can position your buyer as a hero.

Comment below to let us know the causes you care about and what world problems resonate with you the most.

The post Your Customer Wants To Be the Hero appeared first on Marketo Marketing Blog - Best Practices and Thought Leadership.

from Marketo Marketing Blog https://adobe.ly/2WtidJ5 via IFTTT

[bizmediaweb]

13 Ways to Improve Your Social Media Profiles in One Hour or Less

Considering how much time people spend on social media everyday, it’s kind of funny—or is it sad?—that most of us find ourselves too busy to actually update and improve our profiles.

Everyone’s busy, yet so many improvements to your social media profiles can be made in just a few minutes. Here are 13 easy ways to improve your social media profiles that, altogether, shouldn’t take you more than an hour.

Time to close that game of Solitaire and get to work.

Bonus: Get the step-by-step social media strategy guide with pro tips on how to grow your social media presence with Hootsuite.

13 easy ways to enhance your social media profiles

1. Make sure you’re using the right social media image sizes

Take a few minutes and optimize your profile photo and your cover photo on each channel. This means ensuring that photos fall within the dimensions recommended for each network—often all it takes is a quick crop.

Many people think that a square is a square, or the social networks will make sure the image fits right. In reality, you never know when profile images will be reused elsewhere on a social network. How will it look when expanded? How does it look when it’s small in people’s streams? How does it look on mobile compared to desktop?

The social networks provide us with optimal image sizes knowing that these photos will be used in a variety of instances. You should probably trust them. The following information comes from our post, Social Media Image Sizes: A Quick Reference Guide for Each Network.

Standard image sizes for major social networks are as follows:

Facebook profile picture: 170 X 170 pixels

Facebook cover photo: 828 X 465 pixels

Twitter profile photo: 400 X 400 pixels

Twitter header image: 1,500 X 500 pixels

Google+ profile picture: 250 X 250 pixels (minimum)

Google+ cover photo: 1080 X 608 pixels

LinkedIn profile photo: 400 X 400 pixels (minimum)

LinkedIn custom background: 1584 X 396

LinkedIn cover photo: 974 X 330 pixels

LinkedIn banner image: 646 X 220 pixels

Instagram profile picture: 110 X 110 pixels

Pinterest profile picture: 150 X 150 pixels

YouTube profile picture: 800 X 800 pixels

YouTube cover photo: 2,560 X 1,440 pixels on desktop

Once you’ve optimized for size, you can optimize the picture itself—using a survey to judge how competent, likable and influential you’re perceived to be. This post by Andy Raskin will walk you through the process.

2. Make your profile photos consistent across all channels

Do you really like some photos of yourself and hate others? We all do. Let’s face it—we’re not always ready for our close-up. So how many of your profile photos are current images you actually like? Right. That’s exactly why you should be using the same profile photo across all of your social networks.

Recognition is key, especially as people quickly scroll through their feeds. For this reason, having consistent profile photos will increase your chances of having people follow you on different social networks.

The more people see your logo (or face if you’re a social media influencer) as they scan their various social networks, the more likely you are to be top of mind when they actually need your product or service.

3. Untag yourself from bad photos and inappropriate posts

Being vigilant about tagged photos can help you quickly clean up your profiles and project a more professional image on social media.

The first thing you’ll want to do is check your photo tagging settings, making sure this reflects your social media policy. Who do you want to be able to tag your business in posts? Would you like to approve these tags before they show up on your profile?

Facebook allows you to review and approve tags on your photos, as well as untag yourself from other photos

Instagram allows you to approve photos you’re tagged in before they appear on your profile

Twitter allows you to restrict who can tag you in photos, and remove any tags

Make sure you review posts you’re tagged in regularly to catch any bad photos or inappropriate posts.

Note: Some might ask why you don’t simply shut off tagging altogether. That’s because there are benefits to allowing people to tag you in photos—especially for businesses. On Instagram, for example, you want customers to tag your business in photos of your product or service, so that they appear in the “photos of you section.” These tagged images are valuable for engagement purposes, providing additional photos of your product for anyone scanning your profile.

Don’t close off this source of content. Be aware of it and spend a few minutes cleaning things up.

4. Ensure your handles are consistent across networks

Just like with your profile photos, consistency is key when it comes to names and handles on social media. With photos, consistency is really about recognition. While that’s one reason to have consistent social handles—in this case, the real driver is searchability.

When you want to mention a brand on Twitter, for example, you probably just throw an @ symbol in front of their name and start tweeting. It’s kind of frustrating when you realize that their handle isn’t just their company name, but some mishmash of words with city names, area codes, or SEO terms.

A simple handle that reflects your name or company’s name will increase the chances of you being mentioned. It also makes it easier for people actively seeking you out to find and follow you.

5. Add keywords to your profile for SEO

What do you want to be known for? Is it family law? Curtain sales? Whatever your niche is, it’s essential that you make yourself discoverable in that field. When people Google or Facebook search ‘curtain sales’, you want your company logo to pop up.

Believe it or not, simply adding relevant keywords to your social profiles can go a long way to helping you get there.

How to do it:

Identify the terms people search for the most when they’re looking for a professional in your niche or industry. Keyword tools like SEMrush and Google Keyword Planner can help you with that

Insert those keywords into your social media profiles. These terms should appear in your LinkedIn job title, job description, and skills. It should appear in your bio copy, in photo names, interests, experience, and just about any other category that isn’t your name (that would be a little obnoxious)

Don’t just drop these terms in haphazardly. Work them into your bios in a way that’s logical, professional, and actually describes how you relate to these terms

6. Fill in every field of your bio (with engaging copy)

While you’re busy adding keywords to all of these fields, you should probably take the time to make sure that, indeed, all of the fields are filled out.

Leaving a field blank is a surefire way to come off as unprofessional or lazy. But you can’t write just anything. It’s important that the text in your bio clearly and succinctly explains what your business is, and what it has to offer.

You also want to make sure the copy is fun and engaging. This will encourage people to continue looking at your profile and feed.

For tips on how to optimize your social media bios, check out our posts: Instagram Bio Ideas for Business and Twitter Bio Ideas to Increase Your Follower Count.

Also note that social networks often update how many fields are available in bios. If it’s been more than a year since you’ve updated your business’s Facebook page, for example, there’s likely a new field to fill out.

7. Link to your other social media profiles

One of the fields in a few of your social profiles will probably be “Website.” Many of us take this field too literally, and just drop in our website before moving on. Don’t stop there. Use this field to link to your other social profiles as another means for cross-promotion.

Facebook allows you to add multiple links to their websites field. There are also apps which allow you to display Instagram and YouTube accounts in Facebook tabs. LinkedIn allows you to add your Twitter account to your profile. Pinterest allows you to connect both Facebook and Twitter, in addition to having a website field within your profile.

The opportunities for cross promotion are there. There might not be an easier way to quickly improve your accounts.

8. Make sure your links work

While we’re on the topic of links—what’s the point of including a link if it doesn’t go anywhere? There’s no reason to host a broken link on your social media profile—not only is it confusing for users trying to learn more about you, it’s also a waste of space.

Make sure every link on your social media profile is active by clicking on them every so often. A link on your social media profile might be used as a CTA, a redirect to your website, or to point someone to your business’ landing page.

When someone clicks a link on your social media profile, it’s because they want to find out more. There’s nothing like a broken link to further deter a prospect or destroy the credibility of your brand’s social media presence. You can avoid this by doing your due diligence when posting any kind of link.

9. Ask a few friendly clients/customers for reviews or endorsements

People trust their friends and family far more than any advertisements. Having positive reviews on your social media profiles can go a long way in earning people’s trust and increasing your chances of turning strangers into followers, and followers into business.

While an hour might not be enough time to actually get reviews up on your profiles, it is definitely enough time for you to write messages to a few of your brand advocates or friendly clients, asking them to leave you positive comments.

How to do this:

Use LinkedIn’s endorsements section. People can endorse the skills you’ve added to your profile, or leave unique endorsements. The latter is very powerful if they’re willing to put in a little extra time to write you one

Use the visitor post section on Facebook pages. This is where people can highlight the good work you’ve been doing

Pin positive tweets on Twitter. Take a positive tweet about your business and pin it to the top of your stream—anyone visiting your profile will see it. Plus, you can always ask for endorsements and actually turn those into content you can share on your profiles (think an Instagram or Pinterest photo of a quote from a client)

Whichever way you slice it, it only takes a few minutes to ask someone for their feedback. This quick act can pay off huge in social proof.

10. Showcase your best content with pinned posts

Unlike other posts, pinned posts—on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn—stay put. They are the first things people see when they look you up on the three platforms.

Choose a post that promotes a strong piece of content—whether that be an important message, landing page, offer, blog post, video, or other media asset. There are no real limitations on what you can pin. But pin something. Otherwise you’re just wasting one of your Twitter profile’s biggest assets.

11. Add media to your LinkedIn jobs

LinkedIn isn’t the most visually appealing of social networks. People tend to focus less on videos and gifs, and more on the concrete stuff that’s going to get them hired. But there’s a reason digital resumes have grown in popularity—they allow you to showcase more of your work in compelling ways.

A prime example of this is the media option in the Experience section of your LinkedIn profile—one of the most widely underused features on the social network. The media option allows you to showcase your work. In other words, rather than telling people that you worked on a huge project or wrote a blog post, you can show them through an image and a link to the work.

Including media within your profile will help people get a more extensive picture of your experience, all while adding a little bit of visual appeal to your profile.

You can also add media to the Summary and Education sections as well.

12. Rotate the link in your Instagram bio

Instagram might just be the social network with the least detailed profile. Fill in your name, bio, website, and you’re done. It should come as no surprise, then, that some businesses don’t see Instagram as anything more than an awareness tool (see our post on How to Use Instagram for Business to see why that’s not true). This complaint is being addressed by many savvy users in a very simple way: rotating their website link.

Although Instagram only supports one link—the one your choose for your profile—there’s really no limit as to how often you can update that link. Smart businesses have figured out that they can change that link every time they have a new promotion or campaign.

Post a new photo to support any online initiative you want, then in the description, say “See our profile for a link to this campaign!” Then change the link. It will take you about 30 seconds to update, and can help turn your Instagram profile into an instant business asset.

13. Like relevant pages from your Facebook page

We all know that Facebook encourages us to share our interests with our followers. Not many people consider this decision strategically, though. When you make your interests or the Pages you like a public part of your profile, you’re giving people another means by which to judge you. If those likes are “blue cheese” and “Justin Bieber,” you may not be giving off the impression you’re going for.

Have a look at your Likes and interests and delete or unlike anything you don’t want people to associate with your brand, or your company’s brand. Then, consider the things you do want to be associated with. These could be:

Industries or fields, like “marketing” or “finance”

Partner brands or industry leaders, like “Mailchimp” or “Unbounce”

Thought leaders, like “Elon Musk” or “Richard Branson”

Positive interests or associations, like local charities or unions

Casual interests you’re proud of, from local sports teams to public speaking

Updating your interests is an easy way to tell people a little more about yourself and your business in a way they can relate to.

For more tips on how to optimize your social media profiles, take the online course from Hootsuite Academy. It’s part of our broader social media marketing training offering, which is entirely free.

Take the Course Now

With files from Kaylynn Chong.

The post 13 Ways to Improve Your Social Media Profiles in One Hour or Less appeared first on Hootsuite Social Media Management.

13 Ways to Improve Your Social Media Profiles in One Hour or Less published first on http://ift.tt/2u73Z29

[makeitwithmike]

13 Ways to Improve Your Social Media Profiles in One Hour or Less

By Evan LePage

Considering how much time people spend on social media everyday, it’s kind of funny—or is it sad?—that most of us find ourselves too busy to actually update and improve our profiles.

Everyone’s busy, yet so many improvements to your social media profiles can be made in just a few minutes. Here are 14 easy ways to improve your social media profiles that, altogether, shouldn’t take you more than an hour.

Time to close that game of Solitaire and get to work.

Bonus: Get the step-by-step social media strategy guide with pro tips on how to grow your social media presence with Hootsuite.

13 easy ways to enhance your social media profiles

1. Make sure you’re using the right social media image sizes

Take a few minutes and optimize your profile photo and your cover photo on each channel. This means ensuring that photos fall within the dimensions recommended for each network—often all it takes is a quick crop.

Many people think that a square is a square, or the social networks will make sure the image fits right. In reality, you never know when profile images will be reused elsewhere on a social network. How will it look when expanded? How does it look when it’s small in people’s streams? How does it look on mobile compared to desktop?

The social networks provide us with optimal image sizes knowing that these photos will be used in a variety of instances. You should probably trust them. The following information comes from our post, Social Media Image Sizes: A Quick Reference Guide for Each Network.

Standard image sizes for major social networks are as follows:

Facebook profile picture: 170 X 170 pixels

Facebook cover photo: 828 X 465 pixels

Twitter profile photo: 400 X 400 pixels

Twitter header image: 1,500 X 500 pixels

Google+ profile picture: 250 X 250 pixels (minimum)

Google+ cover photo: 1080 X 608 pixels

LinkedIn profile photo: 400 X 400 pixels (minimum)

LinkedIn custom background: 1584 X 396

LinkedIn cover photo: 974 X 330 pixels

LinkedIn banner image: 646 X 220 pixels

Instagram profile picture: 110 X 110 pixels

Pinterest profile picture: 150 X 150 pixels

YouTube profile picture: 800 X 800 pixels

YouTube cover photo: 2,560 X 1,440 pixels on desktop

Once you’ve optimized for size, you can optimize the picture itself—using a survey to judge how competent, likable and influential you’re perceived to be. This post by Andy Raskin will walk you through the process.

2. Make your profile photos consistent across all channels

Do you really like some photos of yourself and hate others? We all do. Let’s face it—we’re not always ready for our close-up. So how many of your profile photos are current images you actually like? Right. That’s exactly why you should be using the same profile photo across all of your social networks.

Recognition is key, especially as people quickly scroll through their feeds. For this reason, having consistent profile photos will increase your chances of having people follow you on different social networks.

The more people see your logo (or face if you’re a social media influencer) as they scan their various social networks, the more likely you are to be top of mind when they actually need your product or service.

3. Untag yourself from bad photos and inappropriate posts

Being vigilant about tagged photos can help you quickly clean up your profiles and project a more professional image on social media.

The first thing you’ll want to do is check your photo tagging settings, making sure this reflects your social media policy. Who do you want to be able to tag your business in posts? Would you like to approve these tags before they show up on your profile?

Facebook allows you to review and approve tags on your photos, as well as untag yourself from other photos

Instagram allows you to approve photos you’re tagged in before they appear on your profile

Twitter allows you to restrict who can tag you in photos, and remove any tags

Make sure you review posts you’re tagged in regularly to catch any bad photos or inappropriate posts.

Note: Some might ask why you don’t simply shut off tagging altogether. That’s because there are benefits to allowing people to tag you in photos—especially for businesses. On Instagram, for example, you want customers to tag your business in photos of your product or service, so that they appear in the “photos of you section.” These tagged images are valuable for engagement purposes, providing additional photos of your product for anyone scanning your profile.

Don’t close off this source of content. Be aware of it and spend a few minutes cleaning things up.

4. Ensure your handles are consistent across networks

Just like with your profile photos, consistency is key when it comes to names and handles on social media. With photos, consistency is really about recognition. While that’s one reason to have consistent social handles—in this case, the real driver is searchability.

When you want to mention a brand on Twitter, for example, you probably just throw an @ symbol in front of their name and start tweeting. It’s kind of frustrating when you realize that their handle isn’t just their company name, but some mishmash of words with city names, area codes, or SEO terms.

A simple handle that reflects your name or company’s name will increase the chances of you being mentioned. It also makes it easier for people actively seeking you out to find and follow you.

5. Add keywords to your profile for SEO

What do you want to be known for? Is it family law? Curtain sales? Whatever your niche is, it’s essential that you make yourself discoverable in that field. When people Google or Facebook search ‘curtain sales’, you want your company logo to pop up.

Believe it or not, simply adding relevant keywords to your social profiles can go a long way to helping you get there.

How to do it:

Identify the terms people search for the most when they’re looking for a professional in your niche or industry. Keyword tools like SEMrush and Google Keyword Planner can help you with that

Insert those keywords into your social media profiles. These terms should appear in your LinkedIn job title, job description, and skills. It should appear in your bio copy, in photo names, interests, experience, and just about any other category that isn’t your name (that would be a little obnoxious)

Don’t just drop these terms in haphazardly. Work them into your bios in a way that’s logical, professional, and actually describes how you relate to these terms

6. Fill in every field of your bio (with engaging copy)

While you’re busy adding keywords to all of these fields, you should probably take the time to make sure that, indeed, all of the fields are filled out.

Leaving a field blank is a surefire way to come off as unprofessional or lazy. But you can’t write just anything. It’s important that the text in your bio clearly and succinctly explains what your business is, and what it has to offer.

You also want to make sure the copy is fun and engaging. This will encourage people to continue looking at your profile and feed.

For tips on how to optimize your social media bios, check out our posts: Instagram Bio Ideas for Business and Twitter Bio Ideas to Increase Your Follower Count.

Also note that social networks often update how many fields are available in bios. If it’s been more than a year since you’ve updated your business’s Facebook page, for example, there’s likely a new field to fill out.

7. Link to your other social media profiles

One of the fields in a few of your social profiles will probably be “Website.” Many of us take this field too literally, and just drop in our website before moving on. Don’t stop there. Use this field to link to your other social profiles as another means for cross-promotion.

Facebook allows you to add multiple links to their websites field. There are also apps which allow you to display Instagram and YouTube accounts in Facebook tabs. LinkedIn allows you to add your Twitter account to your profile. Pinterest allows you to connect both Facebook and Twitter, in addition to having a website field within your profile.

The opportunities for cross promotion are there. There might not be an easier way to quickly improve your accounts.

8. Make sure your links work

While we’re on the topic of links—what’s the point of including a link if it doesn’t go anywhere? There’s no reason to host a broken link on your social media profile—not only is it confusing for users trying to learn more about you, it’s also a waste of space.

Make sure every link on your social media profile is active by clicking on them every so often. A link on your social media profile might be used as a CTA, a redirect to your website, or to point someone to your business’ landing page.

When someone clicks a link on your social media profile, it’s because they want to find out more. There’s nothing like a broken link to further deter a prospect or destroy the credibility of your brand’s social media presence. You can avoid this by doing your due diligence when posting any kind of link.

9. Ask a few friendly clients/customers for reviews or endorsements

People trust their friends and family far more than any advertisements. Having positive reviews on your social media profiles can go a long way in earning people’s trust and increasing your chances of turning strangers into followers, and followers into business.

While an hour might not be enough time to actually get reviews up on your profiles, it is definitely enough time for you to write messages to a few of your brand advocates or friendly clients, asking them to leave you positive comments.

How to do this:

Use LinkedIn’s endorsements section. People can endorse the skills you’ve added to your profile, or leave unique endorsements. The latter is very powerful if they’re willing to put in a little extra time to write you one

Use the visitor post section on Facebook pages. This is where people can highlight the good work you’ve been doing

Pin positive tweets on Twitter. Take a positive tweet about your business and pin it to the top of your stream—anyone visiting your profile will see it. Plus, you can always ask for endorsements and actually turn those into content you can share on your profiles (think an Instagram or Pinterest photo of a quote from a client)

Whichever way you slice it, it only takes a few minutes to ask someone for their feedback. This quick act can pay off huge in social proof.

10. Showcase your best content with pinned posts

Unlike other posts, pinned posts—on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn—stay put. They are the first things people see when they look you up on the three platforms.

Choose a post that promotes a strong piece of content—whether that be an important message, landing page, offer, blog post, video, or other media asset. There are no real limitations on what you can pin. But pin something. Otherwise you’re just wasting one of your Twitter profile’s biggest assets.

11. Add media to your LinkedIn jobs

LinkedIn isn’t the most visually appealing of social networks. People tend to focus less on videos and gifs, and more on the concrete stuff that’s going to get them hired. But there’s a reason digital resumes have grown in popularity—they allow you to showcase more of your work in compelling ways.

A prime example of this is the media option in the Experience section of your LinkedIn profile—one of the most widely underused features on the social network. The media option allows you to showcase your work. In other words, rather than telling people that you worked on a huge project or wrote a blog post, you can show them through an image and a link to the work.

Including media within your profile will help people get a more extensive picture of your experience, all while adding a little bit of visual appeal to your profile.

You can also add media to the Summary and Education sections as well.

12. Rotate the link in your Instagram bio

Instagram might just be the social network with the least detailed profile. Fill in your name, bio, website, and you’re done. It should come as no surprise, then, that some businesses don’t see Instagram as anything more than an awareness tool (see our post on How to Use Instagram for Business to see why that’s not true). This complaint is being addressed by many savvy users in a very simple way: rotating their website link.

Although Instagram only supports one link—the one your choose for your profile—there’s really no limit as to how often you can update that link. Smart businesses have figured out that they can change that link every time they have a new promotion or campaign.

Post a new photo to support any online initiative you want, then in the description, say “See our profile for a link to this campaign!” Then change the link. It will take you about 30 seconds to update, and can help turn your Instagram profile into an instant business asset.

13. Like relevant pages from your Facebook page

We all know that Facebook encourages us to share our interests with our followers. Not many people consider this decision strategically, though. When you make your interests or the Pages you like a public part of your profile, you’re giving people another means by which to judge you. If those likes are “blue cheese” and “Justin Bieber,” you may not be giving off the impression you’re going for.

Have a look at your Likes and interests and delete or unlike anything you don’t want people to associate with your brand, or your company’s brand. Then, consider the things you do want to be associated with. These could be:

Industries or fields, like “marketing” or “finance”

Partner brands or industry leaders, like “Mailchimp” or “Unbounce”

Thought leaders, like “Elon Musk” or “Richard Branson”

Positive interests or associations, like local charities or unions

Casual interests you’re proud of, from local sports teams to public speaking

Updating your interests is an easy way to tell people a little more about yourself and your business in a way they can relate to.

For more tips on how to optimize your social media profiles, take the online course from Hootsuite Academy. It’s part of our broader social media marketing training offering, which is entirely free.

Take the Course Now

With files from Kaylynn Chong.

The post 13 Ways to Improve Your Social Media Profiles in One Hour or Less appeared first on Hootsuite Social Media Management.

The post 13 Ways to Improve Your Social Media Profiles in One Hour or Less appeared first on Make It With Michael.

from 13 Ways to Improve Your Social Media Profiles in One Hour or Less

[unifiedsocialblog]

13 Ways to Improve Your Social Media Profiles in One Hour or Less

Considering how much time people spend on social media everyday, it’s kind of funny—or is it sad?—that most of us find ourselves too busy to actually update and improve our profiles.

Everyone’s busy, yet so many improvements to your social media profiles can be made in just a few minutes. Here are 14 easy ways to improve your social media profiles that, altogether, shouldn’t take you more than an hour.

Time to close that game of Solitaire and get to work.

Bonus: Get the step-by-step social media strategy guide with pro tips on how to grow your social media presence with Hootsuite.

13 easy ways to enhance your social media profiles

1. Make sure you’re using the right social media image sizes

Take a few minutes and optimize your profile photo and your cover photo on each channel. This means ensuring that photos fall within the dimensions recommended for each network—often all it takes is a quick crop.

Many people think that a square is a square, or the social networks will make sure the image fits right. In reality, you never know when profile images will be reused elsewhere on a social network. How will it look when expanded? How does it look when it’s small in people’s streams? How does it look on mobile compared to desktop?

The social networks provide us with optimal image sizes knowing that these photos will be used in a variety of instances. You should probably trust them. The following information comes from our post, Social Media Image Sizes: A Quick Reference Guide for Each Network.

Standard image sizes for major social networks are as follows:

Facebook profile picture: 170 X 170 pixels

Facebook cover photo: 828 X 465 pixels

Twitter profile photo: 400 X 400 pixels

Twitter header image: 1,500 X 500 pixels

Google+ profile picture: 250 X 250 pixels (minimum)

Google+ cover photo: 1080 X 608 pixels

LinkedIn profile photo: 400 X 400 pixels (minimum)

LinkedIn custom background: 1584 X 396

LinkedIn cover photo: 974 X 330 pixels

LinkedIn banner image: 646 X 220 pixels

Instagram profile picture: 110 X 110 pixels

Pinterest profile picture: 150 X 150 pixels

YouTube profile picture: 800 X 800 pixels

YouTube cover photo: 2,560 X 1,440 pixels on desktop

Once you’ve optimized for size, you can optimize the picture itself—using a survey to judge how competent, likable and influential you’re perceived to be. This post by Andy Raskin will walk you through the process.

2. Make your profile photos consistent across all channels

Do you really like some photos of yourself and hate others? We all do. Let’s face it—we’re not always ready for our close-up. So how many of your profile photos are current images you actually like? Right. That’s exactly why you should be using the same profile photo across all of your social networks.

Recognition is key, especially as people quickly scroll through their feeds. For this reason, having consistent profile photos will increase your chances of having people follow you on different social networks.

The more people see your logo (or face if you’re a social media influencer) as they scan their various social networks, the more likely you are to be top of mind when they actually need your product or service.

3. Untag yourself from bad photos and inappropriate posts

Being vigilant about tagged photos can help you quickly clean up your profiles and project a more professional image on social media.

The first thing you’ll want to do is check your photo tagging settings, making sure this reflects your social media policy. Who do you want to be able to tag your business in posts? Would you like to approve these tags before they show up on your profile?

Facebook allows you to review and approve tags on your photos, as well as untag yourself from other photos

Instagram allows you to approve photos you’re tagged in before they appear on your profile

Twitter allows you to restrict who can tag you in photos, and remove any tags

Make sure you review posts you’re tagged in regularly to catch any bad photos or inappropriate posts.

Note: Some might ask why you don’t simply shut off tagging altogether. That’s because there are benefits to allowing people to tag you in photos—especially for businesses. On Instagram, for example, you want customers to tag your business in photos of your product or service, so that they appear in the “photos of you section.” These tagged images are valuable for engagement purposes, providing additional photos of your product for anyone scanning your profile.

Don’t close off this source of content. Be aware of it and spend a few minutes cleaning things up.

4. Ensure your handles are consistent across networks

Just like with your profile photos, consistency is key when it comes to names and handles on social media. With photos, consistency is really about recognition. While that’s one reason to have consistent social handles—in this case, the real driver is searchability.

When you want to mention a brand on Twitter, for example, you probably just throw an @ symbol in front of their name and start tweeting. It’s kind of frustrating when you realize that their handle isn’t just their company name, but some mishmash of words with city names, area codes, or SEO terms.

A simple handle that reflects your name or company’s name will increase the chances of you being mentioned. It also makes it easier for people actively seeking you out to find and follow you.

5. Add keywords to your profile for SEO

What do you want to be known for? Is it family law? Curtain sales? Whatever your niche is, it’s essential that you make yourself discoverable in that field. When people Google or Facebook search ‘curtain sales’, you want your company logo to pop up.

Believe it or not, simply adding relevant keywords to your social profiles can go a long way to helping you get there.

How to do it:

Identify the terms people search for the most when they’re looking for a professional in your niche or industry. Keyword tools like SEMrush and Google Keyword Planner can help you with that

Insert those keywords into your social media profiles. These terms should appear in your LinkedIn job title, job description, and skills. It should appear in your bio copy, in photo names, interests, experience, and just about any other category that isn’t your name (that would be a little obnoxious)

Don’t just drop these terms in haphazardly. Work them into your bios in a way that’s logical, professional, and actually describes how you relate to these terms

6. Fill in every field of your bio (with engaging copy)

While you’re busy adding keywords to all of these fields, you should probably take the time to make sure that, indeed, all of the fields are filled out.

Leaving a field blank is a surefire way to come off as unprofessional or lazy. But you can’t write just anything. It’s important that the text in your bio clearly and succinctly explains what your business is, and what it has to offer.

You also want to make sure the copy is fun and engaging. This will encourage people to continue looking at your profile and feed.

For tips on how to optimize your social media bios, check out our posts: Instagram Bio Ideas for Business and Twitter Bio Ideas to Increase Your Follower Count.

Also note that social networks often update how many fields are available in bios. If it’s been more than a year since you’ve updated your business’s Facebook page, for example, there’s likely a new field to fill out.

7. Link to your other social media profiles

One of the fields in a few of your social profiles will probably be “Website.” Many of us take this field too literally, and just drop in our website before moving on. Don’t stop there. Use this field to link to your other social profiles as another means for cross-promotion.

Facebook allows you to add multiple links to their websites field. There are also apps which allow you to display Instagram and YouTube accounts in Facebook tabs. LinkedIn allows you to add your Twitter account to your profile. Pinterest allows you to connect both Facebook and Twitter, in addition to having a website field within your profile.

The opportunities for cross promotion are there. There might not be an easier way to quickly improve your accounts.

8. Make sure your links work

While we’re on the topic of links—what’s the point of including a link if it doesn’t go anywhere? There’s no reason to host a broken link on your social media profile—not only is it confusing for users trying to learn more about you, it’s also a waste of space.

Make sure every link on your social media profile is active by clicking on them every so often. A link on your social media profile might be used as a CTA, a redirect to your website, or to point someone to your business’ landing page.

When someone clicks a link on your social media profile, it’s because they want to find out more. There’s nothing like a broken link to further deter a prospect or destroy the credibility of your brand’s social media presence. You can avoid this by doing your due diligence when posting any kind of link.

9. Ask a few friendly clients/customers for reviews or endorsements

People trust their friends and family far more than any advertisements. Having positive reviews on your social media profiles can go a long way in earning people’s trust and increasing your chances of turning strangers into followers, and followers into business.

While an hour might not be enough time to actually get reviews up on your profiles, it is definitely enough time for you to write messages to a few of your brand advocates or friendly clients, asking them to leave you positive comments.

How to do this:

Use LinkedIn’s endorsements section. People can endorse the skills you’ve added to your profile, or leave unique endorsements. The latter is very powerful if they’re willing to put in a little extra time to write you one

Use the visitor post section on Facebook pages. This is where people can highlight the good work you’ve been doing

Pin positive tweets on Twitter. Take a positive tweet about your business and pin it to the top of your stream—anyone visiting your profile will see it. Plus, you can always ask for endorsements and actually turn those into content you can share on your profiles (think an Instagram or Pinterest photo of a quote from a client)

Whichever way you slice it, it only takes a few minutes to ask someone for their feedback. This quick act can pay off huge in social proof.

10. Showcase your best content with pinned posts

Unlike other posts, pinned posts—on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn—stay put. They are the first things people see when they look you up on the three platforms.

Choose a post that promotes a strong piece of content—whether that be an important message, landing page, offer, blog post, video, or other media asset. There are no real limitations on what you can pin. But pin something. Otherwise you’re just wasting one of your Twitter profile’s biggest assets.

11. Add media to your LinkedIn jobs

LinkedIn isn’t the most visually appealing of social networks. People tend to focus less on videos and gifs, and more on the concrete stuff that’s going to get them hired. But there’s a reason digital resumes have grown in popularity—they allow you to showcase more of your work in compelling ways.

A prime example of this is the media option in the Experience section of your LinkedIn profile—one of the most widely underused features on the social network. The media option allows you to showcase your work. In other words, rather than telling people that you worked on a huge project or wrote a blog post, you can show them through an image and a link to the work.

Including media within your profile will help people get a more extensive picture of your experience, all while adding a little bit of visual appeal to your profile.

You can also add media to the Summary and Education sections as well.

12. Rotate the link in your Instagram bio

Instagram might just be the social network with the least detailed profile. Fill in your name, bio, website, and you’re done. It should come as no surprise, then, that some businesses don’t see Instagram as anything more than an awareness tool (see our post on How to Use Instagram for Business to see why that’s not true). This complaint is being addressed by many savvy users in a very simple way: rotating their website link.

Although Instagram only supports one link—the one your choose for your profile—there’s really no limit as to how often you can update that link. Smart businesses have figured out that they can change that link every time they have a new promotion or campaign.

Post a new photo to support any online initiative you want, then in the description, say “See our profile for a link to this campaign!” Then change the link. It will take you about 30 seconds to update, and can help turn your Instagram profile into an instant business asset.

13. Like relevant pages from your Facebook page

We all know that Facebook encourages us to share our interests with our followers. Not many people consider this decision strategically, though. When you make your interests or the Pages you like a public part of your profile, you’re giving people another means by which to judge you. If those likes are “blue cheese” and “Justin Bieber,” you may not be giving off the impression you’re going for.

Have a look at your Likes and interests and delete or unlike anything you don’t want people to associate with your brand, or your company’s brand. Then, consider the things you do want to be associated with. These could be:

Industries or fields, like “marketing” or “finance”

Partner brands or industry leaders, like “Mailchimp” or “Unbounce”

Thought leaders, like “Elon Musk” or “Richard Branson”

Positive interests or associations, like local charities or unions

Casual interests you’re proud of, from local sports teams to public speaking

Updating your interests is an easy way to tell people a little more about yourself and your business in a way they can relate to.

For more tips on how to optimize your social media profiles, take the online course from Hootsuite Academy. It’s part of our broader social media marketing training offering, which is entirely free.

Take the Course Now

With files from Kaylynn Chong.

The post 13 Ways to Improve Your Social Media Profiles in One Hour or Less appeared first on Hootsuite Social Media Management.

13 Ways to Improve Your Social Media Profiles in One Hour or Less published first on http://ift.tt/2rEvyAw

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Misty Copeland: dancing into record

She was caught between her impoverished mother and the ballet mistress who offered her a way out. Aaron Hicklin meets Misty Copeland, the first black principal at the American Ballet Theatre

We cannot know whether Misty Copeland would have become Americas most celebrated ballet dancer if she had not met Cindy Bradley, the flame-haired instructor who first recognised and then sharpened her talents, but it seems unlikely. Then again, its doubtful that Copeland would have met Bradley if not for Elizabeth Cantine, the coach of her school drill team who urged her to check out the free ballet class at the Boys & Girls Club of San Pedro. Nor is it clear that Copeland would have joined Cantines squad without the encouragement of her adored older sister, Erica, a drill team star. It was Erica who helped Copeland choreograph an audition piece to George Michaels I Want Your Sex. And who, knowing her story, can omit the Russian gymnast Nadia Comaneci from this roll call? As a seven-year-old, trying to emulate Comanecis pyrotechnics, Copeland instinctively understood that rhythmic motion came as naturally to me as breathing, to quote from her memoir, Life in Motion.

This is life, a cascading series of chance encounters and arbitrary choices that shape our destinies, but for a young black girl in a working-class Los Angeles suburb, who characterises her childhood as packing, scrambling, leaving often barely surviving, catching the right breaks are nigh on impossible. Yet through whatever alchemy of grit, resilience and compulsion, Misty Copeland, a 65lb ragamuffin when she arrived at Bradleys class, beat the odds. In August 2015 she was promoted to principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), the first black woman to achieve the distinction in the theatres 75-year history.

For millions of Americans, Copelands journey to the pinnacle of her profession is an archetypal story of triumph over adversity. At the Boys & Girls Club where she practised her first ballet steps, todays visitor is confronted with a painting showing Copeland in a forlorn crouch, forehead resting on her knees. Around her swirl words like agony, hurting, desolation, hardship and rejection. Next to it is another painting in which Copeland pirouettes like a music box ballerina, music notes spiralling over her head. Nearby, a sign proclaims Great Futures Start Here. Copeland is the girl from the wrong side of the tracks who got to stand tall on pointe shoes. Im often asked if Im OK being referred to as the black ballerina, she says. And I say: I dont think thats something I want to change. Were still at a point where it needs to be acknowledged all the time.

Pointing the way: the ballet superstar who beat all the odds. Photograph: Danielle Levitt for the Observer

It is early afternoon, and in a small waiting area inside Steps on Broadway, one of New Yorks best-known dance studios, Copeland sits scrunched up on a bench trying to talk above the din of wailing toddlers as they wait for a class to begin. Although they might not know it, Copeland is the acme of what those little girls dream to be, and a riposte to classical ballets long history of exclusion. Its partly her Cinderella story that has made her a household name in a marginalised art, but its also a reflection of the astute way she has parlayed her visibility beyond the world of ballet. She has danced for Prince (in his 2010 Welcome 2 America tour), appeared in a 2014 commercial for Under Armour that quickly went viral, interviewed President Obama and made the cover of Time magazine in 2015 the first dancer to do so since Bill T Jones in 1994. Her memoir is to be turned into a movie.

Predictably, none of that has stopped the envious from turning her success into a question. People ask: Is she getting this opportunity just because shes had such a voice, and because shes black, or is she good enough to get this part? says Copeland. All of these things can mess with you psychologically and emotionally. Youd think it would get easier over time, but for me it gets harder.

Copeland did not always perceive the prejudice she was up against as plainly as she does today. As an adolescent, dance was a safe harbour where she felt entirely at home. Going to a school in southern California that was very diverse I never felt like I fitted in, she says. But stick me in a ballet studio surrounded by white girls, and I was, like: Oh, I belong here. I wasnt even thinking about the colour of my skin.

A cripplingly shy child, at her happiest hiding in the closet playing Solitaire or locked in the bathroom listening to Mariah Carey, Copeland was 13 when she discovered dance, a belated epiphany. Ballet was always an escape, she says. It was a place where I felt safe, and I didnt have that in any aspect of my life growing up. I was so introverted because I felt that something could hurt me. There wasnt always a man in our house who I trusted, or we werent always living in a place where I felt secure, and ballet was this one constant in my life that I could rely on.

Perpetual motion: does her life validate the idea that talent is innate? Photograph: Danielle Levitt for the Observer

In many ways Copelands life is a powerful validation of the idea that talent is innate. When I saw her in the gym, a tiny malnourished girl who stood with such poise and presence, I couldnt believe it, says Cantine. I just said: Ill take that one. Copeland not only made the squad, she was made captain. But when Cantine recommended Bradleys ballet class, Copeland was sceptical. I was, like, Absolutely not this is as far as I go outside my comfort zone. She went to watch, just to please Cantine, dutifully returning every day for two weeks until Bradley persuaded her to join in. Copeland quickly realised shed found her place. It was the first time I ever felt beautiful, she says. Just to look in the mirror and to be told: Youre what a ballerina looks like.

Bradley, a former punk rocker who had enjoyed moderate success in the 1980s with a band called the Wigs, took to her new pupil instantly. The affection was mutual. Within eight weeks, Copeland had learned to dance en pointe, a skill that most young ballerinas take years to master. The moment of triumph is recorded in a photograph that Bradley had the foresight to snap: Copeland is ramrod straight on the point of her right foot, a smile suffusing her face. Cindy was definitely a big part of my growth, not just as a dancer but as a person, says Copeland. I had never experienced someone forcing me to voice my opinion, and to communicate. I started to develop skills that were so underdeveloped in me.

Copelands growing intimacy with Bradley came at a time when life at home was getting harder. Her mother, Sylvia DeLaCerna, left one temperamental husband for another, and the family found itself living in a motel, sharing two rooms and pooling loose change to buy food. Copeland found her escape in ballet, but DeLaCerna worried the commute to class was too onerous, and told her daughter to quit. That was when Bradley persuaded DeLaCerna to let Copeland move in with her, sharing a room with her two-year-old son, Wolf. Id only been married for two years, and suddenly we had a teenage girl, and she stole our hearts, immediately, says Bradley. On Fridays, Copeland would make matzo ball soup and light the Sabbath candles. It just felt like this beautiful thing that they shared, and I think thats what I was drawn to, Copeland says. When the Bradleys had a professional family portrait taken, Copeland was part of it.

Girl prodigy: in 1998, as a child dancer. Photograph: Kevin Karzin/AP

Its not difficult to see how this would begin to grate on Copelands mother and siblings, who began describing their sister as brainwashed. When those pressures finally exploded, shortly after Copeland won a prestigious award for playing Kitri in her favourite ballet Don Quixote, the fallout was painful and highly public. DeLaCerna decided her daughter no longer needed the Bradleys; in response they encouraged Copeland to petition the courts for emancipation from her parents. DeLaCerna fought back, securing the legendary civil rights lawyer, Gloria Allred. Eventually, Copeland dropped her petition, but the damage was lasting. It was very traumatic having so much of my life exposed for everyone to see, she says. It took 10 years before I could talk about it without crying. It was no easier for Bradley. It was a huge void that never healed, she says. I had so many things to say to her. The two would not speak for 15 years.

In May, Copeland will play Kitri again, but this time in a production for the ABT. Its the role of a lifetime, one she has dreamed about since seeing her idol, Paloma Herrera, play it in 1996. But Copeland is 34 now, and her journey has been arduous. In 2012, days after her critically lauded debut in the title role of Stravinskys Firebird, she discovered six stress fractures in her tibia. It would take seven months of physical therapy before she could return to the stage. Last year, she finally got to reprise her Firebird performance, one of several lead roles she took on as part of the ABTs spring/summer season, including Odette in Swan Lake. She also married her long-time beau Olu Evans. Her promotion to principal dancer may be a vindication of her hard work, but she knows a dancers career is short. A couple of weeks after I was promoted to principal dancer was the first time I felt: This is the beginning of the end, she says. I was promoted at a very late age for a dancer, so my career as a principal will definitely be shorter than most. She thinks for a moment. The scary thing is what will fill that void. She laughs. My poor husband.

We live in an era, to quote dance critic Madison Mainwaring in The Atlantic, when Kim Kardashians selfies get more serious coverage than dancers who have dedicated their lives to their form. Copeland might be the exception that proves the rule, but the vitality of classical dance in America rides on the trail shes blazing. At a time of heightened consciousness around black identity, her story has lured new audiences to classical dance. Is it enough? The ballet world is constantly talking about how we need more exposure, to bring more people in, but they dont want to change anything about it, Copeland says, with exasperation. It doesnt work that way, something has to change and evolve.

Ruffling feathers: as Odette in Swan Lake in 2015 for the Washington Ballet. Photograph: Theo Kossenas Photography

Its a bright blue morning in San Pedro, and the city glows after weeks of abnormally high rainfall. In her black Volkswagen Beetle, Bradley is pointing out the landmarks of Copelands youth. Did you see the sign? she asks, pointing to a plaque that reads Misty Copeland Square at an intersection adjacent to the San Pedro Ballet School, a former bakery that Bradley and her husband, Patrick, bought in 1998. The plaque was unveiled just before Christmas in 2015, and if you Google footage of the ceremony, you will see a visibly moved Copeland thanking the Bradleys for giving me a path and platform to change not only my life, but so many little brown girls lives.

Bradley drives me to her former condo, near a bluff overlooking the ocean. In her memoir, Copeland recalls it smelling of cinnamon and the sea. We sit in the car for a while, and Bradley tells stories of Copeland helping to potty-train Wolf, dancing with him, being a sister. It seems like yesterday, she sighs. I knew it wasnt going to end well from the start. It was wonderful, but very scary, feeling that every minute was going to be our last. She pauses. But it worked out OK.

Our tour ends where the story begins at the Boys & Girls Club of San Pedro. Inside the gymnasium, Bradley indicates the lines of benches. She wasnt just watching casually she was absorbing while she was sitting there, she says, summoning the image. She didnt move, she watched intently for a few weeks and kept saying No, no, no, until finally she stepped on to the floor. She was a skinny, skinny brown girl with pretty hair.

Happy couple: with long-time beau Olu Evans, who she married last year. Photograph: Evan Agostini/Invision

Ever since Bradley could dance, she has wanted to teach. I just thought: Everybody needs to know this, she says. In Copeland she found her first prodigy. I touched her foot and thats when the magic happened, she says, lost in a private reverie. Ive never been able to describe it before, but I knew she was special. Blinking back tears, she shakes her head in astonishment. She hadnt danced! she says. It was an angels singing moment. That same day, Bradley offered Copeland a scholarship, sending a note home to her mother.

We walk back through the club, past the twin posters of Misty Copeland in despair and triumph, the pool table, the vending machine dispensing frozen fruit bars, the spray-painted symbol of the power fist. And as we emerge into the sunlight, Bradley recovers her composure. I have actually just found my second prodigy Enrique. She pulls out her phone. Ill show you a picture. Like Copeland, Enrique started late (at 16), and like Copeland, he is beset by challenges, most having to do with being a Latino man in a world still defined as white and female. Its the first Ive talked about him, because I learned the first time you should not talk about them too much, says Bradley. She laughs, before adding: Until youre ready to lose them. We both peer at the photo. This is a while ago, so hes more spectacular now, she says, beaming. Hes got it all.

Hair and Make-up by Bank using Pacifica at Factory Downtown; Producer Stephanie Porto; Digital Tech Jordan Zuppa; Lighting perry hall and JP Herrera; Set design Chris Stone; location Steps on Broadway, NYC

Life in Motion by Misty Copeland is published by Sphere, 9.99. Order it for 8.49 at bookshop.theguardian.com

Read more: www.theguardian.com

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