#decided to group posts by location rather than day as not to spam

[imaginepirates]

Scotland Location One: Welcome to Anstruther! Please enjoy the coastal path.

Scotland Triptych 1/?

[sufyan12]

8 reasons why Social Media Marketing important for business?

Social Media Branding Services has become the most influential and important virtual space, where the platform is not only used for social media but is also a great way to digitally advertise your brand and products.

The power of social media is commendable, as you can reach a large number of people within seconds of submitting an ad, helping you lower your costs and ensure your ads reach your potential audience with those ads. on social media.

With a large number of users online, representing almost 56% of the world's population, marketers should not miss the opportunity to market on these digital forums, where they can reach the maximum number of potential buyers compared to the media. printed or television.

Improve brand awareness 

Social media is one of the most profitable and stress-free digital marketing platforms that can be used to increase the visibility of your business. To get started, create social media profiles for your business and network with others. Using a social media strategy will help you dramatically increase your brand awareness. Spending just a few hours a week, more than 91% of marketers said that their social marketing efforts significantly increased their brand visibility and improved the user experience. A social media site for your brand will certainly benefit your business and with regular use, it can also generate a large following for your business in no time.

Financially rewarding

For an advertising strategy, social media marketing is perhaps the most profitable medium. Creating an account and signing up is free for almost all social media platforms. But if you decide to use paid advertising on social media, always start small to see what to expect. It is important to be profitable because it helps you get a higher return on investment and have a bigger budget for other sales and marketing payments. By just investing a little money and time, you can dramatically increase your conversion rates and ultimately get a return on the money you primarily invested.

Pros and Cons of Social Media Marketing

Social media can be used for businesses of all sizes and is cheaper than any other marketing tool ever. You can use it for some users including:

Promote your brand and business name.

Talk to customers about your products and services.

Find out what consumers are saying about your business.

Attract new customers.

Build stronger relationships with existing customers.

Using social media has many benefits, but nothing is perfect. Social media marketing carries notable risks. These include several, including:

Time and money wasted with little or no tangible return

Rapid dissemination of the wrong kind of information about your company.

Incorrect information posted by you or negative reviews posted by others

It does not respect privacy, spam, and copyright laws.

Engaging attention

Social media is a great way to connect and communicate with customers. The more you communicate with your audience, the more likely you are to convert. Create two-way communication with your target audience so that their needs are known and their interest is easily met. In addition, communication and engagement with customers are one of the ways to capture their attention and convey your brand message to them. In this way, your brand reaches a larger audience in real terms and is effortlessly imposed.

Easily use advanced targeting opportunities

If these benefits sound good enough to you, but you're wondering if social media marketing is paying off, the answer is yes. Think about the amount of information that social platforms have about their users. They know each person's character location, gender, interests, and friends, among many other details. Since you can target users specifically on these topics, social media marketing can be extremely effective.

With platforms like Facebook and Twitter, you can choose to show your ads only to the most qualified demographic groups. This means that you only pay for extremely specific ads and you don't have to spend money showing your ads to users who are probably not interested at all. This is an extremely profitable method and another reason that shows the importance of social media.

Healthier customer satisfaction

Social networks play an important role in the networking and communication platform. When using these platforms, it is important to create a voice for your business to improve the overall brand image. Customers appreciate that when they post comments on your site, they receive a personalized response rather than a computer message. A brand that values its customers takes the time to create a personal message that is naturally presented in a positive light.

Market knowledge

One of the best ways to get to know your customers' needs and wants instead of communicating directly with them is to know the market. It is also considered the most valuable benefit of social media. By looking at the activity on your profile, you can see the interests and opinions of customers that you would not otherwise know if you were not present on social media. As an additional research tool, social media can help you gain insight and better understand your industry. Once you have a large number of them, you can use additional tools to find other demographic information about your consumers.

More brand authority

Brand loyalty and customer satisfaction play an important role in powering your business, but it's all about communication. When customers see your business posting on social media, especially answering questions and posting original content, it helps them build a positive image in their minds. Regular interaction with your customers shows that you and your business care about them. Once you have a few satisfied customers talking about their positive shopping experience, you can show your ads to real customers who appreciate your product or service.

Final words

There is no denying that social media marketing offers many benefits for startups and established brands. Regularly updating the correct social media marketing strategy will lead to higher traffic, better SEO, better brand loyalty, healthier customer satisfaction, and more. Your competition is already increasing day by day on social media, so don't let your competition take away your potential customers. The earlier you start, the faster you will see your business grow.

[fakestatus]

WAEC GCE Whatsapp Group Link for Answers | CeeBook

The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is round the corner. It's exactly 12 days to English paper. There are many reasons why candidates pass this all -important paper in flying colors on their own without cheating during the exams waec gce whatsapp group link. There also are reasons why others fail woefully even once they cheat. i do not support cheating in exams, but i will be able to provides a workable solution to form it even without going the incorrect thanks to make your way. Preamble: The English Language paper is essentially divided into five sections: 1. Continuous Writing 2. Comprehension 3. Summary 4. Objectives 5. Test of Orals 1. CONTINUOUS WRITING: The word limit is about at 450 words for every of the areas under this section. i will be able to explain how the words are counted later. once you are answering any question during this section , you want to write every point during a paragraph with a subject sentence. a subject sentence may be a sentence that contains the most point or idea during a paragraph. and every paragraph should have one waec gce questions. confirm you've got not but four points (well explained) to support your claim. The continuous writing section comes with about five questions usually in WAEC exams and 4 in NECO exams covering Articles, Letter Writing, Essay Writing, Speech and Report Writing. For easy understanding, i will be able to discuss the Article during this post, and in subsequent ones until it's exhausted. i will be able to take them the maximum amount as I can in piecemeal by God's grace. It should be stated here that each one essays, including articles have almost an equivalent features but differ only in areas each covers. But their writing are seemingly an equivalent . So, whatever is discussed under the primary topic below (Articles), should suffice for others. Therefore, time won't be wasted when others are taken, but will linger over their peculiarities. ARTICLES: a piece of writing may be a type of writing on a given topic on a problem of public interest. It contains the opinions or views of its writer on the subject or issue. It might be on a social/societal ill, politics, disease or the other topic of public interest as we currently experience one today. Whatever is written under this section is supposed for publication (as the question usually says) during a national daily newspaper or magazine. Note that your essay in exams will never be published, but it's an attempt to check your ability to be creative and articulate to write down one, having learnt the art in class . How are the questions answered? Once you've identified a subject gce question for 2021, you've understood it alright , then you plow ahead and start to write down . you want to make certain you've got solid points about it before you begin composing. Poor understanding of a selected topic will cause an abysmal loss of mark.   Who we are Our website address is: https://legitexpo.com.ng. What personal data we collect and why we collect it Comments When visitors leave comments on the location we collect the info shown within the comments form, and also the visitor's IP address and browser user agent string to assist spam detection. An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) could also be provided to the Gravatar service to ascertain if you're using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is out there here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the general public within the context of your comment. Media If you upload images to the web site , you ought to avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the web site can download and extract any location data from images on the web site . Contact forms Cookies If you allow a discuss our site you'll opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience in order that you are doing not need to fill in your details again once you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year. If you visit our login page, we'll set a short lived cookie to work out if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded once you close your browser. once you log in, we'll also found out several cookies to save lots of your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for 2 days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you decide on "Remember Me", your login will persist for 2 weeks. If you sign off of your account, the login cookies are going to be removed. If you edit or publish a piece of writing, a further cookie are going to be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and easily indicates the post ID of the article you only edited. It expires after 1 day. Embedded content from other websites Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves within the very same way as if the visitor has visited the opposite website. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction thereupon embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you've got an account and are logged in thereto website. Analytics Who we share your data with If you request a password reset, your IP address are going to be included within the reset email. How long we retain your data If you allow a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. this is often so we will recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically rather than holding them during a moderation queue. For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the private information they supply in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they can't change their username).

[seoulfulcity]

July 7, 2018: A Humidity and Noraebang Cocktail

안녕하세요,

This week started off really wet with 100% rain and thunderstorm and a humidity that never went below 95%.

Sunday, July 1, 2018: I had to shower multiple times in the day because I could not even walk down Anam-dong without being drenched in both rain and sweat. Although, all my pores opened up and I had good skin for a few days.

The day was pretty slow - I met up with Anthony, Bonnie, Valentino, Sophie, Matt, Jason, Joyce, and Thai and was introduced to Bonnie's roommate Deedee and her friend who showed us that you eat raw spam in China. We ate at a barbeque place next to Chicken Bus called Seorae (서래 갈매기).

Later that night, Valentino, Matt and I met up at Valentino's room to watch Train to Busan (Busanhaeng/부산행) on Netflix; but since we're in South Korea, it did not give us the option of English subtitles so we watched Taegukgi: Brotherhood of War (Taegukgi Hwinallimyeo/태극기 휘날리며) on YouTube instead.

Monday, July 2, 2018: It was a regular night that started with Minki-hyung (민기형) taking me, Matt, Florence, Wendelyn, Sophie, Thai, and Joyce to have chicken galbi in a place called Chuncheon Dakgalbi (춘천닭갈비) where the owner called me "greedy" for setting up two side dishes (banchan/반찬) for each table and claimed that it was too excessive and we wouldn't be able to finish it. Culture shock, I guess? Since, Korean barbeque places in Los Angeles give us a set of banchan (반찬) per person, rather than per table, most of the time. Hyunjic-oppa (현진오빠) joined us towards the end of our dinner.

We went to a karaoke (noraebang/노래방) place nearby ending our night at one in the morning. There were nine of us for a total of ₩14,000, so we decided to have two people not pay and have the other seven of us pitch in ₩2,000 each. Hyunjic-oppa (현직오빠) had a bright idea and asked the worker at the noraebang (노래방) to draw two of our school IDs from a hat to decide. Minki-hyung (민기형) and I did not end up paying for noraebang (노래방) that night.

Tuesday, July 3, 2018: The sun started shining and puffy white clouds filled the sky. Everybody decided to go outside to enjoy Seoul without the rain for the first time. I walked the entire Anam-dong with no idea where to go or what to do just because I only wanted to be outside. The humidity was still unbearable though. It stayed within 90% throughout the day, so I gave in to the Asian mini fan culture and bought myself one from the nearby Daiso store.

Walking back from Daiso, I saw a really attractive worker in Baskin Robbins, so I bought a Puss in Boots milkshake and stayed in to study for my Korean class enjoying my view.

I was getting over budget very fast so I did nothing special that night besides another soju night with Valentino, Matt, and Cara in a place called 88. Valentino finally got around and visited Myeongdong to buy his sim card and his Korean starter pack that included a black face mask, a hat with the South Korean flag (Taegukgi/태국기), and a white pair of Adidas shoes.

Wednesday, July 4, 2018: My actual ISC buddy never had the time to meet with us until this week, so he scheduled a lunch with each of us individually to get to know each other. His name is Hyungki-hyung (형기형) and it was his first time being a buddy for the summer program. He had a part-time job for the summer, so it was difficult for him to find the time to meet with us as a group. He asked me what I have not tried in Seoul yet and suggested bossam (보쌈), spiced belly pork in a restaurant that specializes in it called Ssago (싸고). I enjoyed it so much I later dragged Matt and Valentino to the same location later in the week.

After my lunch with my actual buddy, I decided to skip my only summer class to tour around Seoul and visited SMTown Museum in COEX mall with Sophie. Luckily, my Korean professor did not give out any paperwork or homework that day so I didn't miss much. Sophie and I walked around COEX mall before going into SMTown Museum and just missed the 3 PM EXO show in the theater. The next show was going to be at 7:30 PM with SHINee, and I was not willing to wait four hours and pay an extra ₩10,000 to watch a live concert.

The SMTown Museum ticket was only ₩18,000 and it had areas for each SM artists. At the main lounge were bookshelves of all the albums and an entire timeline for each SM group, such as EXO, Super Junior, TVXQ!, NCT, SHINee, Red Velvet, Girls' Generation, and f(x). Then they have an entire section dedicated to each SM group which includes the outfits they wore in their music videos and concerts.

We returned back to Anam later in the afternoon and met up with our friend group to spend the night together again. Florence showed me a machine in Daiso that dispensed customized stickers with your name on it. So, I got one with my name (크리스) and Korea University (고여대학교) in Korean. I also introduced Florence and Valentino to my favorite restaurant in Anam-dong that specializes in chicken steaks (Dakgup Neunshin/닭굽는신), which is near the KU entrance by Anam Station (안암역) on the second floor of Namu Playstation Console Game Room. If you ever get to visit Anam-dong, make sure to visit this place. It's a regular and casual hangout for the KU students, if you want to be surrounded by local Koreans and not by foreigners and tourists.

In South Korea, you decide if the restaurant is good or not by their kimchi - so my kimchi tasting skills have been really improving.

The kimchi at the chicken steak restaurant was still my favorite one though. I ate at that place the second day I arrived in Seoul after orienting myself to the campus with Tommy, and met two girls from Venezuela and Romania who have studied in Korea University for four years, and told me the fun fact about kimchi being the deciding factor on how good the restaurants are. They both agreed that the kimchi at my favorite chicken steak restaurant was one of the better ones.

Since it was Fourth of July, the Americans in our group (Valentino, and Matt, and me) dragged the group to a coin noraebang (코인노래방) to sing American songs, especially "Party in the USA". It was ₩500 for two songs, so we did not pay by hour and worry about wasting time finding songs. We stayed in the coin noraebang (코인노래방) for five hours and only spent close to ₩9,000 the entire night.

We tried looking for fireworks or sparklers to light up by our dorm or even the Han River, but to no avail. Our friends back in America were posting fireworks snaps and celebrating Fourth of July with American and Mexican foods, and it made me feel a little homesick; I still did not want to go home though.

We ended the night at McDonald's, since what was more American than McDonald's anyway?

Thursday, July 5, 2018: Another regular day. My Korean professor still taught the class in full Korean, cafeteria food was still filling, and my wallet was still trying to take a break from all the spending.

After class, I went to the CU convenience store next to Frontier House to grab a quick snack and bumped into Simi! We haven't seen each other since orientation day, so it took us a while to catch up with each other. I invited her to the Seoul Summer School Festival in a club in Itaewon called B-One Lounge Club Friday night, which was a huge club party for all the international students from the big universities in Seoul - Yonsei, Hanyang, Ewha, Seoul National, Korea, Hankuk, Sungkyunkwan, Hogang, Chung-Ang, Ajou, and many more.

After the conversation, I met for dinner with Davy, Sophie, Thai, Matt, and Joyce for some budae-jjigae (부대찌개), which is a sausage stew with gochujang (고추장), red chili paste in a place called Biya, which was basically next to the Frontier House stairs. Thai and Sophie could not stand eating spicy food, so they both settled in for the unlimited tater tot side dish. Thai also drowned the jjigae (찌개) with water and ramen to hide the spicy taste. Thai and Davy were disappointed since they asked Minki-hyung (민기형) for a hotpot location, and Minki-hyung (민기형) suggested to eat at Biya (비야). I guess he had a different idea of what hotpot is because jjigae (찌개) did not end up satisfying Thai and Davy's hotpot cravings.

After the dinner, we went around Anam-dong and settled in a restaurant, which specializes in seafood, called Shingshing Oring Eobada (싱싱 오링어바다), just under O-Bar Whiskey and Beer, to drink some apple-flavored sojus since the previous bars we checked out did not offer it (apple-flavored soju is our favorite drink).

Matt bought a 1.5L Milkis bottle from a nearby GS25 store and brought it in the the restaurant to mix with the apple-flavored sojus, since he wanted us to taste this easy-to-make cocktail.

Matt ordered shrimp tempura in horrifyingly-embarrassing Korean that our cute Korean waiter was laughing the entire time Matt was talking. It's funnier since Matt is Korean but does not speak a word of the language, so everybody he interacts with here in Seoul expects him to be fluent with the language. They start laughing or let out a sigh of disappointment whenever he says a Korean word in a heavy American accent. He had an experience with an Uzbek worker in a 7/11 store nearby where he asked for a cigarette in terrible Korean and the Uzbek worker laughed at him and spoke to him in fluent English to stop Matt from further embarrassing himself.

After mixing our first round of apple-flavored soju and Milkis, the cute waiter came over with his translator app and told Matt to not bring in outside drinks to the restaurant "from now on" so he mixed the Milkis with our sojus under the table throughout the rest of the night.

We went to the same coin noraebang (코인노래방) right after.

Friday, June 6, 2018: I was running on a few hours of sleep since we got home very late from the noraebang (노래방) and I had to wake up at 7:30 AM for the K-Pop flash mob hosted by the school. After getting home, Sophie asked me to help a drunk student she ran into back to his room in Frontier House since only guys can enter the building. The guy was very stubborn and I was very exhausted and needed to rest. I dropped him off after a good hour of him drunkenly eating his ramen and told his roommate, who was surprisingly still awake at that time, to knock on my room if he needed any help.

We learned the choreography to Red Velvet's "Red Flavor" in the Tiger Dome (Hwajung Cheyukgwan/화정체육관) from 9:30 to noon to perform the flashmob three times on camera at the main plaza in Korea University. The school gave away BT21 goods, signed CDs from Blackpink, SHINee, BTOB, and ONF, and four tickets to see KBS “Music Bank” live that afternoon to those who participated in the flash mob.

After the flash mob, I napped until it was time for us to go to Seoul Summer School Festival. I met with Matt and Valentino for a quick dinner at the bossam (보쌈) place I had lunch in with Hyungki-hyung (형기형) earlier in the week.

Valentino had both his phone and wallet stolen from the night before when he went out with his fraternity friends in Made bar in Itaewon. He fell asleep and woke up early in the morning with only his phone case left. So, both Matt and I have been helping him out paying for things and offering our phones so he kept up with our group Kakao Talk conversations, etc.

We met with Minki-hyung (민기형), Thai, and Sophie at Anam Station (안암역) after the dinner and headed to Itaewon just in time for the event to start at 11 PM. Bonnie, Joyce, Florence, Wendelyn, Lina, Simi and her roommate Edan, Salli, and Carolina were going to catch up with us later in the night. Hyunjic-oppa (현직오빠) and Hyungki-hyung (형기형) couldn't join us because they needed to study and do homework.

Valentino was initially denied entrance to the club because he was wearing his Adidas jogging pants, so he had to take the subway back with Sophie to change to a more acceptable pants. We left the club to drink some soju by the GS25 store next to the bar and met up with Bonnie, Wendelyn, Florence, and Joyce who were in line. Just behind them were Lina, Bruno, and Davonte, who I was meeting for the first time.

Lina actually messaged the group chat saying she wanted to get to know and hang out with us more, so that was why I was familiar with her - although, we didn’t see each other for the rest of the night after that. Not long after that at midnight, Simi and Edan came, while Salli and Carolina arrived around 2 AM.

Every time I went outside, I always took the chance to get some chicken skewer (dakkochi/닭꼬치) from the ahjumma just next to the entrance of the club - so much that she knew which sauce I wanted spread on my skewer. Hint: it’s teriyaki sauce.

I introduced the non-Americans to the cocktail called Adios Motherfucker (AMF), which is known in the US to black people out. Minki-hyung (민기형) finished the drink in one sip and Florence had to take him home at midnight - an hour after entering the club.

We left B-One a little past 5:30 AM in broad daylight. We had more skewered teriyaki chicken outside the club and headed back to our dorms.

It's currently 6:32 PM and I woke up just four hours ago, basically sleeping through breakfast and lunch; so I'm writing this blog waiting for the cafeteria to open for my first meal of the day at 7:30 PM. Luckily, I did not wake up with a headache, although my legs and feet are currently sore from seven hours of standing up and dancing.

Recently, I've been wanting to take a break from Korean foods, especially chicken and every form of soup. Every single restaurant around here serve mainly those two and I just wanted to eat something different - perhaps Japanese or Mexican food? I aimlessly walked around Anam-dong to look for a non-Korean restaurant to eat at and came across a tonkatsu place where they served a Japanese-Hawaiian fusion plate in Eunhwasu Sikdang (은화수 식당). After the filling meal, I bought a pack of banana milk and sweet bread from a convenience store and sat down to eat at the Central Plaza overlooking the Main Hall of Korea University that was beautifully lit up at night.

Michael (Inseok/인석) messaged me to meet Valentino at the Frontier House stairs since Valentino lost his phone and had no way to contact any of us since Kakao Talk wanted verification from his phone number attached to his account. Jordan and Matt joined us a while after and had banana milk and bread together.

It is Nay's birthday and they're all planning on going out to a bar in Hongdae tonight. Jordan was headed to Itaewon in a bit to visit some gay clubs also.

I think I might sit these down to take some time to recuperate. The night life here in Seoul doesn't stop, apparently. Until then!

고마워요, Chris 「크리스」

Update: I just met up with Thai, Davy, Hyunjic-oppa (현직오빠), Hyungki-hyung (형기형), Wendelyn, Matt, Valentino, and Florence for chicken and soju in Chicken Bus (치킨버스) and to watch the World Cup match between Sweden and England. I left earlier in the night to sleep, while Thai, Davy, Hyunjic-oppa (현직오빠), and Hyungki-hyung (형기형) stayed in the place to finish the game. Wendelyn, Matt, Valentino, and Florence headed to Hongdae for to continue drinking for Nay's birthday.

[wickedbananas]

Google Questions and Answers: A Case Study

Posted by MiriamEllis

Ever since Google rolled out Questions and Answers in mid-2017, I’ve been trying to get a sense of its reception by consumers and brands. Initially restricted to Android Google Maps, this fascinating feature which enables local business owners and the public to answer consumer questions made it to desktop displays this past December, adding yet another data layer to knowledge panels and local finders.

As someone who has worked in Q&A forums for the majority of my digital marketing life, I took an immediate shine to the idea of Google Questions and Answers. Here’s a chance, I thought, for consumers and brands to take meaningful communication to a whole new level, exchanging requests, advice, and help so effortlessly. Here’s an opportunity for businesses to place answers to FAQs right upfront in the SERPs, while also capturing new data about consumer needs and desires. So cool!

But, so far, we seem to be getting off to a slow start. According to a recent, wide-scale GetFiveStars study, 25% of businesses now have questions waiting for them. I decided to hone in on San Francisco and look at 20 busy industries in that city to find out not just how many questions were being asked, but also how many answers were being given, and who was doing the answering. I broke down responders into three groups: Local Guides (LGs), random users (RUs), and owners (Os). I looked at the top 10 businesses ranking in the local finder for each industry:

Industry Number of Questions Number of Answers LGs RUs Os Dentists 1 0 0 0 0 Plumbers 2 0 - - - Chiropractors 0 - - - - Mexican Restaurants 10 23 22 1 - Italian Restaurants 15 20 19 1 - Chinese Restaurants 16 53 49 4 - Car Dealers 4 5 3 2 - Supermarkets 7 27 24 3 - Clothing Stores 4 1 1 - - Florists 1 0 - - - Hotels 44 142 114 28 - Real Estate Agencies 0 - - - - General Contractors 1 0 - - - Cell Phone Stores 14 3 3 - - Yoga Studios 1 0 - - - Banks 1 0 - - - Carpet Cleaning 0 - - - - Hair Salons 1 0 - - - Locksmiths 1 0 - - - Jewelry Stores 0 - - - -

Takeaways from the case study

Here are some patterns and oddities I noticed from looking at 123 questions and 274 answers:

There are more than twice as many answers as questions. While many questions received no answers, others received five, ten, or more.

The Owners column is completely blank. The local businesses I looked at in San Francisco are investing zero effort in answering Google Questions and Answers.

Local Guides are doing the majority of the answering. Of the 274 answers provided, 232 came from users who have been qualified as Local Guides by Google. Why so lopsided? I suspect the answer lies in the fact that Google sends alerts to this group of users when questions get asked, and that they can earn 3 points per answer they give. Acquiring enough points gets you perks like 3 free months of Google Play Music and a 75% discount off Google Play Movies. Unfortunately, what I’m seeing in Google Questions and Answers is that incentivizing replies is leading to a knowledge base of questionable quality. How helpful is it when a consumer asks a hotel if they have in-room hair dryers and 10 local guides jump on the bandwagon with “yep”? Worse yet, I saw quite a few local guides replying “I don’t know,” “maybe,” and even “you should call the business and ask.” Here and there, I saw genuinely helpful answers from the Local Guides, but my overall impression didn’t leave me feeling like I’d stumbled upon a new Google resource of matchless expertise.

Some members of the public seem to be confused about the use of this feature. I noticed people using the answer portion to thank people who replied to their query, rather than simply using the thumbs up widget. Additionally, I saw people leaving reviews/statements, instead of questions: And with a touch of exasperated irony: And to rant:

Some industries are clearly generating far more questions than others. Given how people love to talk about hotels and restaurants, I wasn’t surprised to see them topping the charts in sheer volume of questions and answers. What did surprise me was not seeing more questions being asked of businesses like yoga studios, florists, and hair salons; before I actually did the searches, I might have guessed that pleasant, “chatty” places like these would be receiving lots of queries.

Big brands everywhere are leaving Google Questions and Answers unanswered

I chose San Francisco for my case study because of its general reputation for being hip to new tech, but just in case my limited focus was presenting a false picture of how local businesses are managing this feature, I did some random searches for big brands around the state and around the country.

I found questions lacking owner answers for Whole Foods, Sephora, Taco Bell, Macy’s, Denny’s, Cracker Barrel, Target, and T-Mobile. As I looked around the nation, I noted that Walmart has cumulatively garnered thousands of questions with no brand responses.

But the hands-down winner for a single location lacking official answers is Google in Mountain View. 103 questions as of my lookup and nary an owner answer in sight. Alphabet might want to consider setting a more inspiring example with their own product… unless I’m misunderstanding their vision of how Google Questions and Answers is destined to be used.

Just what is the vision for Google Questions and Answers, I wonder?

As I said at the beginning of this post, it’s early days yet to predict ultimate outcomes. Yet, the current lay of the land for this feature has left me with more questions than answers:

Does Google actually intend questions to be answered by brands, or by the public? From what I’ve seen, owners are largely unaware of or choosing to ignore this feature many months post-launch. As of writing this, businesses are only alerted about incoming questions if they open the Google Maps app on an Android phone or tablet. There is no desktop GMB dashboard section for the feature. It’s not a recipe for wide adoption. Google has always been a fan of a crowdsourcing approach to their data, so they may not be concerned, but that doesn’t mean your business shouldn’t be.

What are the real-time expectations for this feature? I see many users asking questions that needed fast answers, like “are you open now?” while others might support lengthier response times, as in, “I’m planning a trip and want to know what I can walk to from your hotel.” For time-sensitive queries, how does Questions and Answers fit in with Google’s actual chat feature, Google Messaging, also rolled out last summer? Does Google envision different use cases for both features? I wonder if one of the two products will win out over time, while the other gets sunsetted.

What are the real, current risks to brands of non-management? I applauded Mike Blumenthal’s smart suggestion of companies proactively populating the feature with known FAQs and providing expert answers, and I can also see the obvious potential for reputation damage if rants or spam are ignored. That being said, my limited exploration of San Francisco has left me wondering just how many people (companies or consumers) are actually paying attention in most industries. Google Knowledge Panels and the Local Finder pop-ups are nearing an information bloat point. Do you want to book something, look at reviews, live chat, see menus, find deals, get driving directions, make a call? Websites are built with multiple pages to cover all of these possible actions. Sticking them all in a 1” box may not equal the best UX I’ve ever seen, if discovery of features is our goal.

What is the motivation for consumers to use the product? Personally, I’d be more inclined to just pick up the phone to ask any question to which I need a fast answer. I don’t have the confidence that if I queried Whole Foods in the AM as to whether they’ve gotten in organic avocados from California, there’d be a knowledge panel answer in time for my lunch. Further, some of the questions I’ve asked have received useless answers from the public, which seems like a waste of time for all parties. Maybe if the feature picks up momentum, this will change.

Will increasing rates of questions = increasing rates of business responses? According to the GetFiveStars study linked to above, total numbers of questions for the 1700 locations they investigated nearly doubled between November–December of 2017. From my microscopic view of San Francisco, it doesn’t appear to me that the doubling effect also happened for owner answers. Time will tell, but for now, what I’m looking for is question volume reaching such a boiling point that owners feel obligated to jump into management, as they have with reviews. We’re not there yet, but if this feature is a Google keeper, we could get there.

So what should you be doing about Google Questions and Answers?

I’m a fan of early adoption where it makes sense. Speculatively, having an active Questions and Answers presence could end up as a ranking signal. We’ve already seen it theorized that use of another Google asset, Google Posts, may impact local pack rankings. Unquestionably, leaving it up to the public to answer questions about your business with varying degrees of accuracy carries the risk of losing leads and muddying your online presence to the detriment of reputation. If a customer asks if your location has wheelchair access and an unmotivated third party says “I don’t know,” when, in fact, your business is fully ADA-compliant, your lack of an answer becomes negative customer service. Because of this, ignoring the feature isn’t really an option. And, while I wouldn’t prioritize management of Questions and Answers over traditional Google-based reviews at this point, I would suggest:

Do a branded search today and look at your knowledge panel to see if you’ve received any questions. If so, answer them in your best style, as helpfully as possible

Spend half an hour this week translating your company’s 5 most common FAQs into Google Questions and Answers queries and then answering them. Be sure you’re logged into your company’s Google account when you reply, so that your message will be officially stamped with the word “owner.” Whether you proactively post your FAQs while logged into your business’ account is up to you. I think it’s more transparent to do so.

If you’re finding this part of your Knowledge Panel isn’t getting any questions, checking it once a week is likely going to be enough for the present.

If you happen to be marketing a business that is seeing some good Questions and Answers activity, and you have the bandwidth, I’d add checking this to the daily social media rounds you make for the purpose of reputation management. I would predict that if Google determines this feature is a keeper, they’ll eventually start sending email alerts when new queries come in, as they’re now doing with reviews, which should make things easier and minimize the risk of losing a customer with an immediate need. Need to go pro on management right now due to question volume? GetFiveStars just launched an incredibly useful Google Q&A monitoring feature, included in some of their ORM software packages. Looks like a winner!

Do be on the lookout for spam inquiries and responses, and report them if they arise.

If you’re totally new to Google Questions and Answers, this simple infographic will get you going in a flash:

For further tips on using Google Questions and Answers like a pro, I recommend following GetFiveStars’ 3-part series on this topic.

My questions, your answers

My case study is small. Can you help expand our industry’s knowledge base by answering a few questions in the comments to add to the picture of the current rate of adoption/usefulness of Google’s Questions and Answers? Please, let me know:

Have you asked a question using this feature?

Did you receive an answer and was it helpful?

Who answered? The business, a random user, a Local Guide?

Have you come across any examples of business owners doing a good job answering questions?

What are your thoughts on Google Questions and Answers? Is it a winner? Worth your time? Any tips?

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

from The Moz Blog http://ift.tt/2GpXL3x via IFTTT

[buzrushblog-blog]

Best Question Answer Website

It's common train to question Bing your questions via the internet as an alternative to bothering true individuals today. However, when your question is so precise and Google's results are so vague that you're still left with even more concerns than you did if you initiated, just where different might you use make inquiries web-based?

You will find Best Question Answer Website on the market with great groups of people who are eager to help you out. Even if the information you receive might be depending typically on individual thoughts even more than proficient know-how or practical experience (for example answers to a health dilemma from end users who aren't health professionals), sometimes it's even so worth seeing and hearing how many other persons have to convey.

Below are 10 online websites you'll want to consider to gain your queries answered. You may also return back the prefer to additional individuals by resolving questions in the subject areas which are connected to your own personal knowledge and experience.

Quora

Everything We Like

•Upvoting and downvoting filtration systems for higher quality questions and answers.

•Important questions and reactions retained collectively for simplier and easier looking at.

•Can implement questions and stay up with extra replies.

What We Should Don't Like

•Everyone can respond to questions, irregardless of competency.

•Resolutions could be of doubtful correctness.

•A social networking-like page open to mistreatment by crawlers and provocateurs.

Quora is perhaps perhaps the best and a lot common no cost web pages that permit you to inquire to generate answers from a sizable area of members. The neighborhood usually encompasses professionals who are likely to respond in your subject with very helpful, and often very details.

There's only one web site each dilemma so everyone's key in can certainly be seen in exactly at least one handy set up. As a user, you can follow particular questions asked by other users if you're interested in seeing more answers that may be added in the future, and you can upvote or downvote anything to help the community discover the best questions and answers.

Google Solutions

Whatever We Like

•A popular and venerable response webpage.

•Look for by question categories or tailor-made queries.

•Concern quality includes likeupvoting and downvoting, and greatest reply voting.

Everything We Don't Like

•Content material is often poor for the kids.

•Confirming include is easily abused to receive good quality replies extracted.

•Moderation is irregular.

Google Replies has been around for decades, and it's continue to one of the more common areas to check out have important questions resolved by tremendous people.

Logon on your Yahoo bank account to share a question you, browse through the kinds of problems or operate the hunt pub at the very top to find the answers.

Akin to Quora, you can upvote or downvote the the right answers you have for your important questions, and you can also decide on a "most effective provide answers to" whenever you experience you've earned enough of them.

Solutions.com

Whatever We Like

•You could add pictures into your inquiries.

•Specialized content articles attainable as explanations.

•Person "confidence" system helps you evaluate trustworthiness of respondents.

The Things We Don't Like

•Location classified ads will be extreme and obtrusive.

•Pace within the website can become fairly decrease.

•Getting to a response can call for clicking on because of a wide range of pages.

Responses.com brings together online community-influenced explanations with instructive posts on loads of diverse subject matter created by skilled masters.

What's particularly unique about Answers.com is that you can add an optional image to your question to make it stand out and attract answers faster.

Anyone that explanations your inquiry should have a "self-belief votes" body shape viewable, which reveal how frequently visitors confirmed that the answer was practical. A user who has an increased self-confidence vote count reassures you they can find out what they're dealing with.

Just Best solution

What We Should Like

•Information are derived from analysts, not just a web site town.

•Capability chat right with specialists, online or on the telephone.

•You will create meticulously detailed queries.

What We Don't Like

There is a 7-day trial, even though •A paid subscription service.

•Some problems from consumers about unapproved rates.

Yahoo and Quora Answers have their voting systems while Answers.com has its confidence votes, but that doesn't always guarantee that you're getting qualified answers from real experts.

If you're looking for an factor to a question that only adoctor and lawyer, technological specialist, mechanic or your home maintenance member of staff could resolution, then Just Best solution is where to get.

This is the site where you could write out your stuffed experience, which includes each of the messy aspects, to support your dilemma. An experienced will consider your situation and provide you their proposed help.

Blurtit

Whatever We Like

•Site is cleanly developed.

•Wide range of question categorizations are easy to get.

What We Should Don't Like

•Answers normally include spam commercials who have tiny to do with the topic.

Like Quora, Google Answers, and Answers.com, Blurtit can be another personal topic and respond to online community that's rather less widely known using the web.

Join up to question something, comment on users' the answers or take advantage of the best suited sidebar to browse through problems in classes spanning anything from technology and science to health and education.

There are a ton of ads scattered all throughout the answers, which makes it kind of difficult to quickly skim through them,. That is one of the major downsides of Blurtit.

Fluther

That Which You Like

•Tighter remedy recommendations increase resolution top quality.

•Any visitor can vote an answer as great, making an effort to focus on excellent responses.

•Individuals can reference inquiries to other people who could have responses.

The Things We Don't Like

•Only 5 generalized lists make browsing a reduced amount of particular.

Yet another particularly sociable answer and question site is Fluther, that has only various fundamental classifications: , simply for you, and meta.general and social

Fluther enforces more stringent pointers included in the over-all portion to help individuals discover the right answers they came up attempting to find should they placed their queries. The social networking department is reserved for considerably more recreational interplay for opinion and humor-structured information.

End users could easily create user profiles which has a own tale, their concerns, their responses and a lot more to produce their reputations, and now you may mouse click Very good Answer upon an respond to vote for the helpfulness.

My Answer Is

Everything We Like

•Extraordinary structure allows questioner particular target special teams or people today for the right answers.

•Position questions or concerns in an array of formats, such as training video and sound.

•Vast, world-wide online community of users.

Everything We Don't Like

•Not quite as well known and scaled-down community might not produce replies quickly.

My Respond Is needs a exceptional strategy to answers and questions by letting end users to pick out who they will improve with them.

You could blog post a query intext and photo, footage or even just sound file format and select the ideal areas of expertise of those from who you prefer to reply your question. You can even buy a ideal geographical location.

The location then scours its area of masters and encourages the ideal people to answer. So if you've got a question that you want to ask a targeted person or group of people, My Reply Is might be the best alternative for you.

Try to ask.fm

The Things We Like

•Dietary supplement concerns with photos and video.

•Safety measures and personal privacy possible choices created to protect younger looking owners from bullying.

Whatever We Don't Like

•A much more everyday social websites design, so most likely is not as efficient for on the lookout for strategies to substantial thoughts.

•Platform's strategies to posing anonymous concerns are usually misused to cyberbully.

Consult.fm is definitely a social networking for answers and questions. It hooks up you with associates in your prevailing social media sites allowing you to ask them issues anonymously or perhaps not. It's more of a casual, fun type of platform that you can use to get to know your friends better, but you can still use it for finding answers to more serious questions.

Also you can have your important questions far more powerful with the help of GIFs, videos and photos. Ask.fm has additionally extremely beefed along the privacy and safety opportunities seeing that it's a hot system for young adults.

Snippets

What We Like

•Voting product to sift for top notch answers.

•Capability to simply see users' reputation and activity.

•Short answer and question boundaries make instant reading through and surfing painless.

Everything You Don't Like

•Topic and answer distance boundaries may very well be short for advanced queries.

Snippets is often a website that permits you to talk to simple problems in 20 key phrases or less. Individuals who prefer to reply your thought be required to constrain their answers to 50 ideas.

The concept behind these kind of concise questions and answers will be to preserve just about everything basic and inspire anybody so you can get correctly to the stage.

When a particular person advice your topic, you'll be alerted by email address. And like lots of the other web-sites listed above, buyers can vote up solutions to press them up to the very top.

You may as well hover your cursor in excess of usernames to find out a brief popup review of their task on the website.

Reddit

The Things We Like

•Are able to find a subreddit on any kind of topic area possible.

•Anyone can establish and nominal a subreddit area (if it's readily available).

•Voting solution polices replies (to some diploma).

That Which You Don't Like

•Lots of subject matter may incorporate NSFW and inappropriate topics for quite a few individuals.

Reddit is really a favored societal reports message and community table, split up into threads recognized as "subreddits" for several ideas.

There's a subreddit for pretty much every last question you could think, most local community associates are happy to respond specific questions which are published inside correctly "be sure to ask me things" subreddit.

Simply use the seek market to access subreddits relevant to the main topic of your subject, login to Reddit (or compose a free account) and publish your question. As other users leave their answers, you'll be able to comment directly within the thread if you want to reply to anyone.

Question & Answer Website: https: //community.buzrush.com/

[buzrushglobalcommunity-blog]

Best Question Answer Website

It's usual put into practice to inquire about Yahoo your concerns on the net in lieu of bothering honest persons currently. In case your real question is so specialized and Google's effects are so hazy that you're left behind with all the more thoughts than you did while you set about, whereby else might you make use of seek advice web-based?

Usually there are some Best Question Answer Website in existence with substantial residential areas of people that are more than willing to assist you. Though the information you aquire is likely to be centred most commonly on own views beyond capable knowledge or practical knowledge (for instance the answers to a health related question from users who aren't health care professionals), often it's even now worth listening to how many other individuals have to convey.

Here i will discuss 10 web pages you'll want to check out to receive your queries clarified. You can also go back the favour to additional individuals by answering questions on the subject areas that happen to be strongly related to the experience and knowledge.

Quora

That Which You Like

•Upvoting and downvoting filtration system for higher quality answers and questions.

•Queries and responses retained together for a lot easier checking out.

•Can adhere to inquiries and stay up with further reactions.

Everything You Don't Like

•Everyone can respond to questions, no matter what expertise.

•Advice could be of sketchy accuracy and reliability.

•A friendly-like webpage open to misuse by crawlers and provocateurs.

Quora could very well be amongst the best and the majority favored zero cost web pages for you to ask questions to have the right answers from the sizable local community of clients. The neighborhood normally consists of pros who are willing to respond for your problem with practical, and regularly really details.

There's only one post for every single inquiry so everyone's insight can be observed in exactly a single practical area. As a user, you can follow particular questions asked by other users if you're interested in seeing more answers that may be added in the future, and you can upvote or downvote anything to help the community discover the best questions and answers.

Yahoo Solutions

What We Like

•A popular and venerable provide answers to internet site.

•Search by thought different types or tailor made queries.

•Challenge top notch characteristics likeupvoting and downvoting, and greatest response voting.

Whatever We Don't Like

•Content might be inappropriate for youngsters.

•Confirming function is easily misused to experience top notch replies deleted.

•Control is inconsistent.

Google Explanations has been in existence for an extended time, and it's continue to essentially the most favorite areas to travel to have concerns addressed by real persons.

Register towards your Yahoo membership to post a query all by yourself, read through the categories of questions or use the query nightclub at the top to search out right answers.

Similar to Quora, it is possible to upvote or downvote the responses you will get for a basic questions, and you could also opt for a "finest solution" if you experience you've gotten enough of them.

Explanations.com

What We Like

•You can include photos towards your inquiries.

•Authority reports available as the answers.

•Client "faith" model lets you decide standing of respondents.

Everything You Don't Like

•Site adverts can be intense and obtrusive.

•Pace in the internet site could become very slow-moving.

•Progressing to a solution can demand pressing by many different articles.

Explanations.com integrates city-influenced replies with valuable articles and reviews on all types of totally different matters furnished by skilled pros.

What's particularly unique about Answers.com is that you can add an optional image to your question to make it stand out and attract answers faster.

Anyone who the right answers your dilemma will probably have a "confidence votes" body shape shown, which exhibit how often clients verified that their help answer was effective. A user that has an increased self-assurance vote matter reassures you that they determine what they're dealing with.

Just Respond to

The Things We Like

•Information result from analysts, not really a location neighborhood.

•Power to have a discussion straightaway with professionals, on the internet or over the telephone.

•You may pose diligently comprehensive queries.

Everything We Don't Like

There is a 7-day trial, even though •A paid subscription service.

•Some criticisms from end users about unapproved allegations.

That doesn't always guarantee that you're getting qualified answers from real experts, although Quora and Yahoo Answers have their voting systems while Answers.com has its confidence votes.

If you're looking for the best solution to a query that justlawyer and doctor, technological consultant, repair shop or place repair service personnel could help answer, then Just Resolution is where to search.

This is often a page where one can create your completely full history, incorporating every one of the scummy data, to support your question. An experienced will examine your situation and provide you their preferred help and advice.

Blurtit

The Things We Like

•Website is cleanly constructed.

•Massive amount subject groups are really easy to seek out.

What We Should Don't Like

•Replies sometimes can include spam advertising that have already small to do with the topic.

Like Quora, Google Right answers, and Answers.com, Blurtit is one other community concern and help answer online community that's rather less well regarded via the internet.

Subscribe to inquire a subject, discuss users' responses or take advantage of the most suitable sidebar to look through questions or concerns in categories spanning from technology and science to education and health.

One of the major downsides of Blurtit is that there are a ton of ads scattered all throughout the answers, which makes it kind of difficult to quickly skim through them.

Fluther

The Things We Like

•More stringent resolution specifications enhance reply superior quality.

•Any customer can vote a solution as very good, assisting to illustrate top quality answers.

•Users can point questions to other people who might have replies.

Everything We Don't Like

•Only three generic classes make surfing a reduced amount of exact.

A different highly social answer and question site is Fluther, which contains only 5 important lists: , exclusively for you, and meta.general and social

Fluther enforces stricter principles included in the normal page to assist get the solutions they got seeking out when they placed their queries. The societal page is reserved for a great deal more informal connections for opinion and humor-centred advice.

Members may produce profiles accompanied by a very own tale, their concerns, their replies plus more ! to produce their standing, and now you may visit Superb Reply upon an answer to vote simply because of its helpfulness.

My Reply Is

That Which You Like

•Different model lets questioner aim for specialized sectors or many people for right answers.

•Pose thoughts in a variety of formats, for example movie and music.

•Extensive, international city of buyers.

The Things We Don't Like

•Significantly less renowned and smaller-sized neighborhood will possibly not produce information speedily.

My Response Is takes a distinctive strategy to answers and questions by allowing members to buy who they need to interact with them.

You may place an issue inphoto and text, video or even sound set up and thereafter select the preferred specialties of the people from whom you would like to provide answers to your concern. You can even decide on a sought after location.

The location then scours its society of analysts and invites an appropriate a person to help answer. So, my Reply Is might be the best alternative for you if you've got a question that you want to ask a targeted person or group of people.

Inquire.fm

What We Should Like

•Health supplement inquiries with photos and video.

•Safe practices and seclusion choices meant to help safeguard more youthful individuals from bullying.

Everything You Don't Like

•A far more everyday web 2 . 0 type, so is probably not as successful for searching for answers to truly serious questions.

•Platform's strategies for posing anonymous concerns may be misused to cyberbully.

Consult.fm is a social media for questions and answers. It joins you with pals in your prevailing social networking sites so you can ask them basic questions anonymously or maybe not. You can still use it for finding answers to more serious questions, though it's more of a casual, fun type of platform that you can use to get to know your friends better.

You might also have your important questions significantly more interesting by adding videos, GIFs and photos. Consult.fm has seriously beefed along the safety and privacy possibilities seeing that it's a well known software for youngsters.

Snippets

Everything You Like

•Voting process to filtering system for high quality responses.

•Power to quite simply see users' activity and reputation.

•Quite short question and answer constraints make easy reading through and surfing simple and easy.

The Things We Don't Like

•Challenge and solution span restrictions may just be short for elaborate queries.

Snippets is often a blog that lets you consult brief questions in 20 words and phrases or fewer. Customers who want to respond to your thought should limitation their answers to 50 keywords.

The actual concept driving this type of short answers and questions is usually to continue to keep all sorts of things straightforward recommend anyone to generate correctly to the stage.

When people solutions your dilemma, you'll be alerted by email address. And like a lot of the other web-sites in the above list, end users can vote up strategies to drive them up to the very top.

You can even hover your cursor across usernames to find a quick popup review of their process on the site.

Reddit

That Which You Like

•Will discover a subreddit on almost any theme imaginable.

•Now you may generate and moderate a subreddit area of interest (if it's attainable).

•Voting model polices responses (to some qualification).

The Things We Don't Like

•Massive amount subject matter consist of NSFW and improper themes for several end users.

Reddit really is a famous friendly news community and message table, partioned up into threads generally known as "subreddits" for different issues.

There's a subreddit for pretty much any issue you can actually envision, and a lot neighborhood associates are content to solve specific questions or concerns who have been released from the best "you can ask me things" subreddit.

Use the research line of business to obtain subreddits connected to the main topic of your inquiry, sign in to Reddit (or set up a free account) followed by write-up your problem. As other users leave their answers, you'll be able to comment directly within the thread if you want to reply to anyone.

Question & Answer Website: https: //community.buzrush.com/

[secdino]

SA Wk 3: OTW Bandit

To start off the CTF journey, I came across OverTheWire (OTW) during the search for potential CTF websites in Wk 2. OTW Bandit is recommended  as the best place to start for absolute beginners by both themselves as well as other user blogs. While my main focus is likely to be on the Pwnables.kr website for Reverse Engineering, I decided (as with the proposed schedule in ‘Something Awesome Wk 2: Initial Proposal’) to test the waters and see how long it takes to do ‘beginner’ CTFs.

Having set up my VM a few days ago (in a previous post), I decided to try and get through as much of Bandit as possible in roughly 2.5 hrs (stop after 2.5 hrs and see how far I managed to progress). The following summarises my progress:

Level 0: A simple level to test our ability to SSH into the remote server and to simple ‘cat readme’, in which the flag for this ultra-beginner level was stored.

Flag: boJ9jbbUNNfktd78OOpsqOltutMc3MY1

Level 1: The flag was stored in a file named ‘-’. Simply doing ‘cat -’ got nowhere, but ‘cat ./-’ yielded results.

Flag: CV1DtqXWVFXTvM2F0k09SHz0YwRINYA9

Level 2: This filename for the flag file this time was ‘spaces in this filename’. It was probably aimed at getting beginners to learn ‘\’ as an escape key, i.e. ‘cat spaces\ in\ this\ filename’. I was a bit too lazy for that and went with ‘cat spa[tab]’ to token match the rest of the name. :)

Flag: UmHadQclWmgdLOKQ3YNgjWxGoRMb5luK

Level 3: Still not really being challenged yet, we’re about 15 minutes in (simply cos the SSH takes a while to run in VM) and this level was a combination of ‘cd inhere’ and ‘ls -a’ to find the hidden flag file.

Flag: pIwrPrtPN36QITSp3EQaw936yaFoFgAB

Level 4: Somewhat annoying, 10 files to choose from and the flag is in the only human-readable one. I did a linear search by ‘cat’-ing each file to see which did NOT produce a binary spam. Of course it had to be the 3rd last file (file07) and not near the beginning...

Flag: koReBOKuIDDepwhWk7jZC0RTdopnAYKh

Level 5: In this level there were multiple directories with multiple files in each one of which 1 was the flag file. We were given some conditions which the flag file satisfied such as its size and not being executable. From this exercise I learnt to use the ‘find’ command line function to locate the answer.

Flag: DXjZPULLxYr17uwoI01bNLQbtFemEgo7

Level 6: This was similar to Level 5 with only a variation in the location in which to ‘find’ and some conditions. The search was conducted on the entire server, ‘/’ and by user and owner: ‘find / -size 33c -user bandit7 -group bandit6’.

Flag: HKBPTKQnIay4Fw76bEy8PVxKEDQRKTzs

Level 7: I’d heard of the ‘grep’ command before but i’d never actually tried or been able to use it properly. Not anymore!! The flag being stored next to “millionth” in a data file was clearly calling for ‘cat data.txt | grep “millionth” ‘ to be used.

Flag: cvX2JJa4CFALtqS87jk27qwqGhBM9plV

Level 8: I really had no idea how to do this one at first but the flag being stored in the “only line of text that occurs only once” led me to search for command line functions which could look for distinct lines - ‘uniq’. After some man page reading on how to use the ‘uniq’ function, it turns out the input needed to be sorted, so that directed me to the ‘sort’ man page. Some more reading later, I arrived at ‘sort data.txt | uniq -u’.

Flag: UsvVyFSfZZWbi6wgC7dAFyFuR6jQQUhR

Level 9: From this task, I learnt about the ‘strings’ function, which prints the strings of human-readable characters from a file. This combined with some more ‘grep’-ing got us the flag: ‘strings data.txt | grep “=“ ‘.

Flag: truKLdjsbJ5g7yyJ2X2R0o3a5HQJFuLk

Level 10: Another new function to learn...the flag was in a file containing base64 encoded data. Fortunately, there’s a ‘base64′ function in command line which is able to convert it back to regular ASCII with the decode flag, ‘base64 --decode data.txt’.

Flag: IFukwKGsFW8MOq3IRFqrxE1hxTNEbUPR

Level 11: The alphabetical text in the flag file for this level was ‘encrypted’ or rather translated by 13 positions - a very straightforward caesar cipher. In order to avoid deciphering it manually, I read into the ‘tr’ command, which allows a user to translate text by providing a mapping. It took longer than I expected to learn how to input the arguments, but it worked out in the end as ‘cat data.txt | tr ‘[A-Za-z]’ ‘[N-ZA-Mn-za-m]’ ‘.

Flag: 5Te8Y4drgCRfCx8ugdwuEX8KFC6k2EUu

Level 12: The file provided was a hexdump of the flag file which had also been repeatedly compressed in different ways. Man pages were especially useful in learning how to use ‘xxd’, as a first step to convert the hexdump back to a binary file. Afterwards, I familiarised with the ‘file’ command, which tells a user the format of a file’s contents. What followed was what seemed like an endless repetition of ‘bzip’, ‘gzip’, and ‘tar’ commands to decompress and convert the formats of the file. At one point I accidentally forgot to change the file name to match the correct format and was unable to reverse the problem by the time I found out, meaning I had to start it again. :c Eventually, the ‘file’ command returned ASCII, meaning I was able to ‘cat’ the flag out.

Flag: 8ZjyCRiBWFYkneahHwxCv3wb2a1ORpYL

And that was about how far I was able to get in a little over 2 hours. I honestly thought after the first 3-4 levels that I’d be able to almost finish, but the last few levels I completed took much longer than expected - reading man pages and learning to use new functions takes some time apparently.

From today’s exercises alone, I’ve learnt how to use about 10 new command line functions, as well as gotten a good feel of what CTFs are like. With the timing, I’m unsure of whether I’ll be able to complete the proposed 5-6 CTFs a week given these 12-13 beginner levels took a full 2 hours. Hopefully I will get better as I go. For now, the next step is to try out the Pwnables.kr website!

[dustydreamsanddirtyscars]

@lafitte said: I have no idea what the majority opinion is on 12x16, but apart from the absence of Cas, I really liked it, I guess. What about you? Broad opinion of the episode? It’s still blurry where the writers want to go with the BMoL arc. Seems to me that instead of showing them as a….. team? They are exploring Ketch’s and Mick’s characters separately. We still don’t have much on their “higher ups”. Where do you think they’re going with the BMoL? Also. No Mary. No phone calls to her either. Is she hunting? Alone? I think this was the first ep that did not feature Mary in any way (I may be wrong)… I think I once sent you an ask about Claire-Dean and Alex-Sam parallels. And this ep made me so happy about that omg :’) Claire hunting alone, but she used to hunt with Jody, like Dean used to hunt alone for a while; and was it just me or did anyone notice how her car was like a personal space? And the end scene except instead of Baby driving out in a scenic location it was Claire’s car. Gave me truly Next Age Hunter vibes. As for the Jody and Alex. How Claire called Jody her mother. It’s like she found a mom, like Dean found Mary (am I making sense? Like how Claire lost her mom and then found a new one in Jody, kinda sounds like a Dean-Mary parallel to me?). And as for Alex, how she managed to get out of a life she was thrust into and go to nursing school (I was so happy they remembered Alex and gave some update on her too :)) Sounds like what could be. I wonder also if Mick tried to recruit Claire? She was a young trainable hunter looking for jobs. It’s odd that he didn’t? But I guess Sam and Dean and Jody would probably not have let him do that.. jshdjhds anyway omg that is all, I think. Sorry for my messy thoughts, oops o_o Have a good week!

Hey dear!

I decided to tackle all of your messages in one go, because otherwise I’d be spamming just bits and pieces. Makes more sense to me to reply this way. :) Surprisingly I did like this episode, which I had not expected to ever be the case again this season tbh, but the bar hangs pretty low, so… LOL. I won’t go into detail here again, you can read up my thoughts on the episode from during live watch you can find them in the link in my sidebar “Things about SPN-posts” and then 12x16 “Ladies Drink Free”), but as a broad statement. I liked Claire’s arc and how I see it in relation to Dean and I loved Dean calling Mick out on his bullshit. Mary not being part of the hunt made absolute zero sense, but that’s one of those “it is because it had to”-moments. Plot-driven reasons that just feel off from within the narrative. Cas’ absence is a similar case. They just drag a story out and it makes no sense for Sam and Dean not even mention him. But this is the stuff you get when writers start up a million tiny stories and then try and juggle them, but fail. I mean, just count all the open threads we have - really none of them really is told satisfyingly. Imo they should have stuck to one or two big aspects and go into detail, but that’s an issue for another time ;)

Anyway… I have written about the BritMoL and their possible plans earlier today as well as over the past couple of days, so you should find a bit more on that if you crossread through my blog. :) But in general to me the current big themes they seem to be tackling with them is a) Mick’s doubts in the methods of the BritMoL and at some point possibly siding rather with the Winchesters and b) the Winchesters and particularly Dean labeled as “rogue” and needing to be “eliminated”. And then of course the black and white thinking on what counts as monster falls into that too. The reason we get Ketch and Mick is because you need PoV characters to better illustrate the BritMoL as a whole to put them into perspective. That wouldn’t work if you just have them act as a group but don’t get to know them as people. I know I have said this countless times, but in general the BritMoL arc is a repeat of S4 arc with Heaven. The orders from high above that should be obeyed without question is the same in Heaven in S4 as what we see with “old men” to whom Mick reports. And Mick is taking Castiel’s place in this analogy (hell, they now even have him wrapped in a coat that’s fitting the color patterns of Cas. Ketch and Mick also serve as the two extremes of the organization of the BritMoL. Their contrasting natures show how this group works and how it is structured. They clearly have a distinction between “brain vs. brawn” and that in the most elitist, arrogant and ignorant way. There are the thinkers like Mick who get their orders and they are the ones siccing their “dogs” - hunters like Ketch or others working for them - on cases. As for those “higher ups”: Seems that this week’s episode may introduce on of them: The one who says either the Winchesters “assimilate or they have to be eliminated”. Furthermore, like I said this morning, I think the BritMoL ultimately may want to get their hands on Kelly Kline and the baby. Not to kill them, but to possibly run some tests or use the kid as their ultra power or so when they “reformed” or rather raised it to their liking.

As for Mary, like I said above, it made no sense for her to not be part of this other than the show can’t have her in every episode due to contract reasons. In a gif set I had spoken of how one could see Mary working similarly as Claire. Needing to be alone and hunting alone for a while (though to me Claire was more of a parallel to what Dean ultimately needs: some time for himself). I think there were a few episodes were she was only name dropped in, but not really part of the episode in a bigger way, so this wasn’t surprising to me. That her absence wasn’t addressed however was plot-driven nonsense imo.

LOL, could be you sent an ask about that a while back. :) I can’t remember right now, but Claire has definitely always served as a Dean parallel. And this episode was no different. She lived in the car and that does align and relate directly to Dean telling Mick “that he had better sleeps in the Impala” (which was a lie of course, but we have seen Dean live in Baby multiple times over the course of 12 seasons). And it made sense for the episode to end on her driving away - it was her important self-actualization/individuation episode and I - and yes, I probably shouldn’t hold any hope to that - still hope that this will be in some fashion Dean at the end of the season. Going on a trip on his own to figure some things out.

Hmmm, when thinking about Claire and finding a new mom in Jody I actually don’t see that as a parallel to Mary and Dean (and Sam), but rather see it as a painful contrast to how Mary is their mom, but really nothing like a true “mother figure”. Jody was there for Claire, she may not have agreed with everything she does, but she always had her back. Mary on the other hand of course was dead for the longest time so she wasn’t there for her sons in a similar fashion, but even now she doesn’t truly seem interested or able to build a meaningful relationship with her sons. And whereas Jody had Claire’s back and made her make her own decisions, Mary so far has pressured them to work with the BritMoL and outright betrayed them when they worked the Ramiel-case.

And last but not least Mick not asking Claire to hunt for them: I think he rather puts her in the “rogue” category of hunters. Sure, she’s interested in working cases and she’s young and trainable, but she made perfectly clear that she didn’t think very highly of Mick’s whole spiel, which further aligns her with Dean as she reacted to them similarly as Dean. So I think Claire would have been too unpredictable and uncontrollable for Mick’s and the BritMoL’s liking - again similarly to Dean. And yes, I think Dean would have very much opposed that, if he tried to recruit her. Though it would lead into dilemma and fir to Claire being annoyed with the Winchesters’ hypocrisy at times as she told Sam outright.

Alright, that’s it, I think :) Thanks for this monster ask. Just as a heads up. If you have such long asks, you can also use the /submit. Makes it easier. :)

[seoviews]

Weekly SEO Q&A – Hump Day Hangouts – Episode 106 Replay

.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: auto; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }

,Weekly SEO Q&A – Hump Day Hangouts – Episode 106 Replay, For more SEO training, visit:

0:00 intro and announcements

Black Friday sale coming up!

4:00 Free hat for good AdWords comment today! Just participate live and win

5:00 Thanks for RYS Drive Stack!

5:30 Hi guys hope you dont feel too rough after Panama! I have a national client in the UK whose website im setting up an IFTTT ring for and they already have some google properties in place.

Their google brand page and Youtube page are connected together under a website email through gmail like person@company.com and have posts and videos from 2 years ago so i wanted to use them rather than setup new ones. Is their branded/company email going to be a weakness/problem as opposed to an actual gmail like person@gmail.com?

9:00 Hi guys! I hope you enjoyed your time in Panama plotting and planning against Google.

We have a law client that we made an RYS drive stack for. We’re trying for a pretty competitive keyword phrase, so we would like add additional drive stacks. When you do that, do you use the same G-Drive account or start fresh with a new account?

Also, the main keyword terms were initially ranking on page one of Google, even as high as position 3 and then gradually have dropped to page 3 and have stayed there. We finished the stack in early May and then started backlink building in early July.

12:00 I am still wondering if I should go with the version of my site. I have 15 pages with just the www version and then 3 pages that have both versions www and indexed so I need to choose one direction to go. Staying with www would be easiest.

How much advantage is there doing this if my site is a simple affiliate site?

18:00 Just a thought – if we use 301 url redirects from a web2.0 to the money site – would that be bad – incorrect or google punished

20:00 Hi all i have a question about PBN’s I have a money site that have a IFTTT ring to his rss. I used my PBN’s with backlinks to the IFTTT ring. how can i make it stronger?

23:00 I have site with 4 locations in TN and am setting up local maps for all 4 locations. I was wondering if I can/should create branded IFTTT linkwheels for each location (same brand for all 4 locations).

26:00 Which would you all recommend, GetResponse or Clickfunnels? I’ve been using GetResponse for a little while now and its pretty nice. However, I just got hipped to Clickfunnels and I’m hearing some really great things about it. Thanks!

31:00 Hey, Have you guys tested or can suggest any new trigger channels that might work in an ifttt network ring yet?

33:00 I’m trying to optimize a website for google maps. The business has 4 categories selected within GMB. I want to create 4 pages on the website and optimize for those terms. How would you suggest to implement in the site architecture and what content would you include on the pages?

35:00 One of my clients has a .mob website that is separate from his old website and it ranks very well in his industy. He has just had a brand new responsive website created, how can I help him keep or transfer his mobile rankings from his .mob site?

40:00 I edited the html code on my Tumblr theme and I now have 35 icons in the sidebar linked to the IFTTT networks and citations. How many links in a sidebar of a blog is too much and did I go overboard with this?

43:00 When I get some spammy comments, I remove the url from comment and edit it to be a positive comment. Do comments help build credibility or should I just block them to save time?

45:00 Trying to sell my house and brokers don’t know and don’t do digital marketing. So I’m starting to market with adwords, and will also do youtube ads and facebook. Hopefully this will work, and if so, then can expand specialized marketing for unique properties and high priced homes

47:00 I plan on using ads two ways…one for multiplying leads for lead gen clients…but the other for doing my own affiliate/cpa offers and eventually selling my own products!

47:30 Following Local Kingpin at the moment spending more than making with adwords but getting better so any more help would not go amiss.

50:00 How many links with FCS (or whatever spam tool you use) do you guys usually throw at each branded Tier 1 spam point property in your network for local sites?

How many Tier 1 spam points do you hit at once and how do you decide which ones to hit first?

What is your favorite spam tool to use for powering up your network?

51:00 When you are updating new IFTTT properties in your IFTTT group are you updating the master spreadsheet or do we need to do that?

Subscribe:

Check out our weekly SEO Q&A webinars “Hump Day Hangouts”:

Join our G+ Community:

We have a Facebook group, too: , {rating}

[entrepreneurnut]

7 Best Autoresponders In 2020

New Post has been published on https://entrepreneurnut.com/best-autoresponders-email-marketing/

7 Best Autoresponders In 2020

Email marketing is a core part of any successful business. It has been ever since the birth of the internet and will continue to be.

It goes without saying then, that choosing the best autoresponder for your business is very important.

While there are loads to choose from, it can get a bit confusing. Some have cool, innovative, and fancy features, while others just offer the tried and tested basics.

On top of that, some autoresponders are better suited to certain types of businesses. If you sign up for the wrong one then it can be a pain to change later down the road.

In this article you will learn about the different features and benefits of the top autoresponders on the market along with the pricing so you can decide which one is right for you.

Several of these autoresponders also have a free plan so if you’re on a budget be sure to read about each one before making our decision.

What To Look For When Choosing The Best Autoresponder

When you’re choosing an autoresponder, there are a few important things to look for to make sure you choose the best one for your business.

Automation

Email automation is the facility to be able to set an email or a series of emails to be delivered automatically based on a trigger or a set of triggers. This is extremely useful for all types of businesses and can save you a lot of time.

Most commonly, people use email automation to set an email or even a whole campaign to trigger an opt into your list.

However, you can also automate your blog posts to be sent to your subscribers’ inbox, set automation by date when building up to a promo or an event, and even send your subscribers a personalized birthday message.

Deliverability

Email deliverability is the success rate an autoresponder has in being able to deliver your email to the inbox of your subscriber.

Unfortunately, not all autoresponders have a great deliverability rate. While some can consistently deliver your emails directly into the inbox of your subscribers, others have a lower success rate.

If you’re using an autoresponder company that doesn’t have good deliverability, then your emails will often end up in the Promotions box for your Gmail subscribers or trigger spam filters and end up in the spam folder.

It goes without saying, this can really hurt your email marketing campaigns.

Segmentation

Email segmentation is basically a way to separate your subscribers onto different lists so you can send them more relevant info based on what they’re interested in.

For example, if you run a fitness blog that covers a range of topics, then some of those topics will appeal to some of your site visitors and not others. However, you may also have a lead magnet that appeals to people across more than one of the different interest groups.

So, rather than sending everyone on your list the same emails, you can segment your subscribers onto different lists based on things like interests, location, purchase history, age, and so forth.

Being able to send more laser-targeted emails to your subscribers based on what they’re interested in will get you better open rates, more engagement, and a higher conversion rate.

Ease of use

If you’re a tech nerd and you love to figure things out then you may not be too worried about how easy it is to use your autoresponder.

However, most entrepreneurs want a solution that is straightforward and easy to set up.

Particularly if you’re new to working online or if you’re a solopreneur with not enough hours in the day, you’re gonna want to choose a solution that can get the job done without having to spend hours figuring things out.

My 7 Best Autoresponder Services

Aweber

Aweber has been around since 1998 and was one of the first autoresponder services on the scene.

They have a great track record and are well respected in the world of online marketing.

With Aweber you get a whole host of features including a landing page builder, contact forms, segmentation capabilities, ready to use templates and even the use of stock images.

Aweber is great for all kinds of businesses and is also affiliate marketing friendly.

Pros

Aweber is competitively priced

Generous 30-day free trial period

Aweber allows you to use all the features during your free trial period

Easy to use (is newbie friendly)

Has great onboarding training videos to show you how to use it

Integrates with many other services including ClickFunnels, ThriveLeads, Unbounce, PayPal and more

Great customer support, even during your free trial

Aweber has a huge template library

Aweber has a very easy to use drag-and-drop email template builder

Aweber is well established and respected

Aweber is regularly introducing new features which are available to all members

Aweber has good automation and segmentation tools

Aweber has great deliverability rates

Aweber is affiliate marketing friendly

It is free to migrate your list to them from another service

Cons

There is no ongoing free plan for people with a very small email list

Aweber charges you for duplicate and unsubscribed people on your list. This means you need to periodically clear out the duplicates and remove people from your list who have unsubscribed so you don’t go over your pricing plan

Aweber does not currently have a split-testing feature available

Pricing

Aweber’s pricing is fairly competitive and starts at $19 per month for up to 500 email subscribers.

The next package up is also very affordable at $29 per month for up to 2,500 subscribers. And, of course, like any other autoresponder there are increased pricing tiers for more subscribers.

While Aweber is not the cheapest on the lowest tier plan, it certainly is very reasonable from the second tier up compared to most other autoresponder services.

If you need to use landing pages and funnels in your business then the new addition of the landing page builder can save you a lot of money using a third-party service for this feature.

Aweber has a 30-day free trial so you can try out all the features before you pay over any money.

See Aweber Detailed Pricing Here

ConvertKit

ConvertKit is one of the most popular autoresponders around at the moment. It’s stylish, fresh, and has fantastic automation and segmentation capabilities.

While ConvertKit doesn’t have as many features as some of the other autoresponder alternatives out there, the ones it does have work extremely well.

ConvertKit’s target market is bloggers and people in the creative industry. So if this is also your area then I highly recommend taking a closer look at ConvertKit.

One thing I particularly like about ConvertKit is the “auto-resend to un-opens” feature. This is a great feature and can increase your open rate considerably.

Another great advantage of using ConvertKit is the “conditional email content based on tags” feature.

This allows you to only show a certain type of content to your subscribers based on the tags you assign them.

Pros

ConvertKit has a free plan for lists under 500 subs

Very good segmentation capabilities that also allows you to assign tags to your subs

 ConvertKit includes a landing page builder with more than 30 templates to choose from. This is also available on the free plan.

ConvertKit makes it very easy for you to sign up and get started

No limit on traffic to your landing pages and opt-in forms, even on the free plan

ConvertKit has advanced reporting capabilities. This allows you to easily see which campaigns are working the best for you

ConvertKit has great visual funnel mapping capabilities. This means you can easily layout, design, and manage your funnels

ConvertKit integrates with over 90 other services including ThriveLeads, OptinMonster, ClickFunnels, PayPal and more

ConvertKit’s customer support is well rated

Cons

The ConvertKit free plan does not allow you to set up automation

ConvertKit’s pricing quickly increases as your list grows

Email templates are not the easiest to use

Pricing

ConvertKit has a free plan for people who have an email list under 500 subscribers. However, on the free plan there are limited functions available to you. IT is also not possible to set up automation on the ConvertKit free plan.

If you go over the 500 subscriber limit of the ConvertKit free plan or if you just want access to the advanced features then pricing starts at $29 per month and allows you a limit of 1,000 subscribers.

Once you go over the 1,000 subscriber limit the ConvertKit pricing quickly increases. The next plans up will cost you $49 per month for 3,000, then $79 per month for 5,000 subs, and so on.

While ConvertKit definitely isn’t the cheapest, they do have some really great features, which may be worth you paying the extra money for.

See ConvertKit Detailed Pricing Here

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is currently one of the most popular email marketing platforms with over 100,000 small businesses using them across the world. It is also considered by many to be the best autoresponder overall in 2020.

They are particularly known for their sophisticated automation and segmentation capabilities as well as their easy to use visual automation builder.

ActiveCampaign also has a range of awesome features that can make a huge difference to both your revenue and the way in which you build relationships with your customers.

Features like predictive content and predictive sending that can be used to trigger SMS messages are powerful features you can use to grow your business.

Another great feature that a lot of other autoresponders don’t have is the ability to run A/B split tests from within different automation sequences.

This is really powerful because you can quickly and easily discover which sequences are working best for you.

ActiveCampaign is list-based, however, they do not charge extra for duplicate contacts on multiple lists or unsubscribed contacts, unlike many other autoresponder services.

Their segmentation capabilities are very impressive and work through tagging. You can add tags manually or they can also be assigned through automation.

Considering the number of powerful features they offer, Active Campaign is also very reasonably priced and is one of the lowest cost autoresponders in the market.

If you’re an affiliate marketer then it is important to be aware that ActiveCampaign is not really affiliate friendly.

While it is possible to use them to promote affiliate offers, they are very strict on how you will be able to operate.

If you are new to affiliate marketing then I would not recommend using this company. That aside, I think they are a fantastic choice for any small business.

Pros

Excellent deliverability

Excellent automation capabilities

Can run split tests on your automations

Sophisticated tagging system

Good segmentation capabilities

Can create complex workflows

Great visual automation builder

Great segmentation features

Does not charge you for duplicate contacts and unsubscribes

Easy to use

Reasonable pricing

Free 14-day trial without needing a credit card

Cons

Not affiliate marketing friendly

Reporting capabilities could be better

Pricing

ActiveCampaign pricing starts at just $9 per month for up to 500 subscribers.

You can automate your lists on this plan, however, the majority of the advanced features are available on the next plan up, which is $49 per month.

They have a 14-day free trial, which you can take without even entering your credit card.

See ActiveCampaign Detailed Pricing Here

GetResponse

GetResponse is another well known and established autoresponder with thousands of users worldwide.

The companies’ target market is small businesses and solopreneurs and they do a great job serving this demographic.

Even though they don’t have a free plan, pricing starts really low at just $15 per month. This basic plan allows you to send automations and build a list of up to 1,000 subs before you need to think about upgrading your plan.

They also have some nice extra features such as:

Landing page builder

Sales funnels

Visual editor

Webinars feature

Not all of these features are available on the basic plan, however, you do get automations, landing page templates, and one sales funnel on the basic plan.

See exactly [which features are included in the basic plan here].

Two more cool features that GetResponse offers are Perfect Timing and Time Travel.

Perfect Timing is a clever feature that learns your subscriber’s behavior patterns. It then starts to deliver your emails at the most optimal times based on when they are most likely to open their emails.

If your subscriber base consists of people from all over the world then you will like the Time Travel feature. This allows you to send emails to your subscribers based on their local time.

If you’re the type of person who likes to know you have backup when you need it then you’ll be glad to hear GetResponse also has good customer service. You can contact them via email, live chat, and even on the phone.

If you want to check them out then you can [sign up for a 30-day free trial] without having to enter your credit card details.

Pros

Low starting price at $15 per month for 1,000 subs

Great automation

Can automate emails on the basic plan

Includes other tools such as landing pages, sales funnels, and webinars

Affiliate marketing-friendly

Great customer support

Cons

No free plan

Not as easy to use as some of the other platforms

Advanced features only available on the higher-priced plans

Pricing

GetResponse pricing is super affordable and starts at just $15 for up to 1,000 subscribers.

Unlike other platforms, you can also use email automations, landing pages and a sales funnel on the basic plan.

Like all autoresponder services, the price increases by either the number of subscribers you have or the type of features you want.

While the basic plan does include a lot of good features, if you want advanced features like tagging, being able to host webinars or use of the automation builder then you will need to upgrade to the $49 per month plan.

See GetResponse Detailed Pricing Here

MailerLite

MailerLite has been around since 2010 and serves almost 900,000 customers at the time of writing this. They’re a beginner-friendly autoresponder with a large range of features.

They also offer one of the best free plans I have seen. The free plan allows you to use almost all of the advanced features to a certain extent that comes with the paid plans. The free plan also allows you to have up to 1,000 subs, use automation, and even email segmentation.

MailerLite’s segmentation works by using Segments and Groups. Segments allow you to set up auto-adding and removal of subscribers based on different rules you set. Groups function the same way as tagging does on other platforms, they just call it “groups”.

One of the things I particularly like about MailerLite is the automation editor. It’s very easy to use and you can visually map out your automations.

When it comes to setting up automations and segmentations, things can get quite complex. However, MailerLite makes it very simple, which is one of the reasons I recommend this autoresponder for beginners starting out with email marketing.

Pros

Very easy to use

Great automation editor

Easy to use drag-and-drop editor

A lot of good features on the free plan including automations, landing pages, tagging, and advanced segmentation

The free plan allows up to 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month

Very reasonable pricing overall

Cons

The free plan means your emails will contain the MailerLite logo unless you upgrade to a paid plan

No email templates on the free plan

Not affiliate marketing friendly

Pricing

The free plan is free for life and allows you up to 1,000 subs and the ability to send up to 12,000 emails per month.

Once you go over 1,000 subscribers you will need to upgrade to a paid account, which starts at $15 per month and is up to 2,500 subs.

See MailerLite Detailed Pricing Here

ConstantContact

ConstantContact is one of the old boys of email marketing and have been around since 1998.

Unfortunately, they don’t have a forever-free plan, but they do offer a very generous 60-day trial without needing to enter your credit card details.

If you want to keep using them after your trial period you’ll need to cough up some dough, though. Fortunately, the pricing starts off low at just $20 per month.

While they do seem a little outdated compared to some of the newer players in the market, they do offer some cool features that a lot of other autoresponder companies are lacking.

For example, ConstantContact has some great branding tools. If you already have a website then it will scan your site to learn your colors, layout, and images. It will then create several branded email templates for you to choose from.

Besides this, you also get access to their logo maker and image library to further customize your emails.

ConstantContact integrates directly with Facebook and Instagram. It will pull stats from your campaigns on these platforms and show you the insights from within your dashboard.

If you’re ever in need of help using this platform then ConstantContact has excellent customer support. You can reach them via email, live chat, and even on the phone.

Pros

Generous 60-day free trial with no credit card needed

Full use of all the features during your trial period

Cool branding tools

Branded email templates

Email automation available on both pricing plans

Cons

No forever-free plan

A bit dated compared to some of the newer

Advanced automation features only available on the Email Plus plan

Pricing per list size is not clear

Pricing

ConstantContact has two plans, Email and Email Plus. The Email plan is $20 per month and includes the majority of features. If you want additional features including advanced automation then you will need to upgrade to the Email Plus plan at $45 per month.

Prices then increase depending on list size.

See ConstantContact Detailed Pricing Here

SendLane

SendLane is a cool autoresponder solution with a number of mention-worthy features.

SendLane has great automation and segmentation capabilities and they also use a tagging system for you to easily segment subscribers onto different lists.

Each account also comes with pre-build automation funnels ready for you to use. They literally plug and play! You also get a selection of email templates to choose from in order to stylize your emails.

Being able to contact your subscribers via text message is a huge advantage these days. With SendLane you can also automate SMS marketing to your customers if you are collecting phone numbers from your subscribers.

SendLane has some pretty great automation features. You can create automations based on user behavior, events, or triggers you set up.

Knowing exactly where your conversions are coming from is very important when working online. With SendLane you can also track your conversions and monitor your ROI.

If your emails aren’t showing up in people’s inboxes then there’s not much point in using them. Fortunately, SendLane also has excellent deliverability rates and are able to deliver a high number of your emails exactly where you want them to be delivered.

SendLane is also affiliate marketing friendly so if you’re trying to build an affiliate business then they’re worth checking out.

Unfortunately, all of these great features come at quite a high price. They’re definitely not one of the cheaper options on this list and there is also no free plan.

Pros

Excellent deliverability

Affiliate marketing-friendly

Advanced automation and segmentation features

SMS messaging

Automation funnels

You can save money on your subscription if you choose to pay yearly

Cons

Expensive

No free plan

The free trial is only 14-days

Pricing

SendLane’s pricing starts with the Growth Plan at $79 per month, however, this plan allows you a generous amount of subscribers, up to 5,000.

If you want the full range of features then you will need to upgrade to the Pro Plan at $125 per month.

SendLane also has a special offer pricing plan, called the Starter Plan. The pricing of this plan fluctuates, but you can check the Starter Plan pricing here.

See SendLane Full Pricing Here

Final Thoughts

So there you have it, my list of best autoresponders to choose from. If you would also like to know how to grow your email list quickly then check out my article on how to build an email list.

As you can see, it’s not about just choosing the cheapest option out there and hoping for the best. It’s important to find the one that’s right for your specific business.

If you’re an affiliate marketer, for example, then just focus on the ones that are affiliate friendly and forget the rest.

If you need to set up complex sequences with advanced segmentation then choose a solution that specializes in these features. However, if your business only requires simple automations then it’s not worth spending the extra money on a more expensive solution.

If this article helped you out then please feel free to share it on social media. I’d really appreciate it. Many thanks!

[fakestatus]

WAEC GCE Whatsapp Group Link for Answers | CeeBook

The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is round the corner. It's exactly 12 days to English paper. There are many reasons why candidates pass this all -important paper in flying colors on their own without cheating during the exams waec gce whatsapp group link. There also are reasons why others fail woefully even once they cheat. i do not support cheating in exams, but i will be able to provides a workable solution to form it even without going the incorrect thanks to make your way. Preamble: The English Language paper is essentially divided into five sections: 1. Continuous Writing 2. Comprehension 3. Summary 4. Objectives 5. Test of Orals 1. CONTINUOUS WRITING: The word limit is about at 450 words for every of the areas under this section. i will be able to explain how the words are counted later. once you are answering any question during this section , you want to write every point during a paragraph with a subject sentence. a subject sentence may be a sentence that contains the most point or idea during a paragraph. and every paragraph should have one waec gce questions. confirm you've got not but four points (well explained) to support your claim. The continuous writing section comes with about five questions usually in WAEC exams and 4 in NECO exams covering Articles, Letter Writing, Essay Writing, Speech and Report Writing. For easy understanding, i will be able to discuss the Article during this post, and in subsequent ones until it's exhausted. i will be able to take them the maximum amount as I can in piecemeal by God's grace. It should be stated here that each one essays, including articles have almost an equivalent features but differ only in areas each covers. But their writing are seemingly an equivalent . So, whatever is discussed under the primary topic below (Articles), should suffice for others. Therefore, time won't be wasted when others are taken, but will linger over their peculiarities. ARTICLES: a piece of writing may be a type of writing on a given topic on a problem of public interest. It contains the opinions or views of its writer on the subject or issue. It might be on a social/societal ill, politics, disease or the other topic of public interest as we currently experience one today. Whatever is written under this section is supposed for publication (as the question usually says) during a national daily newspaper or magazine. Note that your essay in exams will never be published, but it's an attempt to check your ability to be creative and articulate to write down one, having learnt the art in class . How are the questions answered? Once you've identified a subject gce question for 2021, you've understood it alright , then you plow ahead and start to write down . you want to make certain you've got solid points about it before you begin composing. Poor understanding of a selected topic will cause an abysmal loss of mark.   Who we are Our website address is: https://legitexpo.com.ng. What personal data we collect and why we collect it Comments When visitors leave comments on the location we collect the info shown within the comments form, and also the visitor's IP address and browser user agent string to assist spam detection. An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) could also be provided to the Gravatar service to ascertain if you're using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is out there here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the general public within the context of your comment. Media If you upload images to the web site , you ought to avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the web site can download and extract any location data from images on the web site . Contact forms Cookies If you allow a discuss our site you'll opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience in order that you are doing not need to fill in your details again once you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year. If you visit our login page, we'll set a short lived cookie to work out if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded once you close your browser. once you log in, we'll also found out several cookies to save lots of your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for 2 days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you decide on "Remember Me", your login will persist for 2 weeks. If you sign off of your account, the login cookies are going to be removed. If you edit or publish a piece of writing, a further cookie are going to be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and easily indicates the post ID of the article you only edited. It expires after 1 day. Embedded content from other websites Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves within the very same way as if the visitor has visited the opposite website. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction thereupon embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you've got an account and are logged in thereto website. Analytics Who we share your data with If you request a password reset, your IP address are going to be included within the reset email. How long we retain your data If you allow a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. this is often so we will recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically rather than holding them during a moderation queue. For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the private information they supply in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they can't change their username).

[asrarmukadamworld-blog]

How to Get More Web Design Work for Your Freelance Web Design Business

If you're a freelance web designer, you know how important it is to find new clients.

Your pay depends on you being a go-getter and finding someone who will hire you to complete a web designing project.

That's why learning how to get more web design work as a freelancer is key!

Whether you're looking for a full-time job designing and maintaining a site, or just designing the site and moving on to another project, you need to know where to find your ideal clients.

1. Create Your Own Website

The first thing any prospective client will want to see is the type of work that you can produce for them. This is where a well done personal website will come in handy – both as a portfolio and as a sales page that can win them over and pitch your services.

Include information about your skills and a portfolio showcasing all your projects. Be sure to list your contact information so that people can inquire about services and price list of your services. It is important that you and the client have reliable line of contact, so if a concern arises, it can be discussed and handled quickly.

2. Join Social Media Groups with Your Ideal Clients

Let's face it, social media is where most of us spend a majority of our days online. Social media is a great way to connect with people who might want a personal website or are in immediate need of a professional site.

Social media groups allows you to reach people all over the world in a matter of minutes — and some of these people just might want to hire you for their next web design project! You just have to learn how to balance being helpful, and letting people know that you're available to take on new projects.

I don't have to tell you that professionalism goes a long way online and social media is no different. Be yourself, but remember that you're representing your business, too.

3. Visit Local Businesses

Many local businesses need someone to design a website for them, but never get around to it. This is the perfect opportunity for you to show off your skills while taking their business online.

In my early teens, I helped a local granite countertop company design their very first website… I even went so far as to put pieces of granite on my personal home scanner – so they could have samples to show on their site.

You can start by researching local businesses in the yellow pages or other online directories, and noticing which ones have websites and which ones don't. You might notice some sites that are out dated or could use a few tweaks.

Then it's simply a matter of showing up in person or calling ahead to set up an appointment. Tell them who you are and what you can do for their business with a website.

If your services are needed, be sure to schedule an appointment and take along your portfolio to the meeting.

4. Reach Out To Your Network and Ask For Referrals

If you're just getting started you might reach out to friends or family members who are planning a big event, like a wedding or a family reunion, to ask them about creating a special website for their occasion. It's a great way to showcase your work and hopefully pique the interest of other people who might need the same services.

But the real benefit of your network is that people always know someone who is looking for a website. When you're wondering how to get more web design work, there's no better way to get a gig than to ask for referrals.

It's especially useful to reach out to past clients (especially ones you LOVED working with!) to let them know that you've got some availability in your schedule.

Then make sure to treat these referrals like gold, and follow up with the person who sent them your way… to let them know that you're taking great care of their friend or referral.

5. Pitch Yourself to Ideal Customers

I still remember a few years ago when I got a cold email from someone who thought I could do much better with my video production. The email was friendly, it gave me some ideas for improving my web presence, and it also included a way for me to get in touch about discussing working together on my videography.

The same thing works for getting more web design clients! If you find someone you'd LOVE to work with, you can craft a thoughtful and gentle pitch to send their way and woo them into working with you.

Be sure that your pitch includes ideas on how your web designing skills will benefit and help improve their business. Point out how you can help them resolve issues, meet goals and deadlines.

6. Internet Job Boards

I can't say that internet job boards have ever worked for me, but there are certainly benefits to checking in on these sites every now and then. Many of these jobs will require that you bid on the project that you want to do.

Some boards will allow you to see other people who have put in a bid on the job and their asking rate. You can then decide whether or not to bid as well. Some clients will often look for the freelancer with the lowest rate rather than who might be better qualified for the job.

Always be sure to have your portfolio ready to present with all the jobs that you have done in the past.

7. Be Present On Freelancer Websites

Register on freelance websites. These sites will allow you to create a profile and list your skills and a link to your portfolio. People can then view your profile and reach out to you to hire you for a job.

You might also get a chance to work on a team with others who are looking for a person with a certain designing niche skill. For many people, this is a great opportunity that can often lead to working with the same team on other projects for clients. Working on a team assignment is also a great way to acquire new skills and work with others who might can help point you in the direction of other big job opportunities.

8. Reach Out On Web Designer Forums

Web designer forums are a great start to locate people in the same field. You can find people who need help on certain projects or who might want to hire someone to do a specific job.

If you have a specialty niche, such as coding, working with WordPress, or graphic design, it will not take long for someone to come along who needs your assistance.

Many of these sites will allow you to post a link to your webpage. However, many of these forums also have strict rules about spamming and advertising for business. Be sure to read their posting rules and guidelines.

9. Check Local Listings

Local businesses have always used newspapers as a form of connecting with the public. Check your local newspaper's classified section, either in print or online.

Not all small businesses have websites to post their need to hire someone, so most of these companies still use the traditional way. However, you can help take these small businesses into the digital era by helping them create a website, which might eventually lead to other jobs in your local area.

10. Leave Business Cards Behind

Find billboards in grocery stores, libraries, and small businesses to leave your business card posted. The hope is that someone who needs your services will come along, see your card, and inquire about your skills.

As a freelancer you have to do everything you can to be seen; if you don't, there is always someone else who will. Plus, one chance encounter could lead to a big client who might refer you to a dozen more amazing clients.

11. Join Professional Groups & Attend Events

Networking is one of the best ways to meet professional people in your niche and hopefully snag jobs. There is always someone who knows someone who needs some type of service.

If you're not sure what types of events to attend, you'll want to look at local Word Campor PodCamp conferences, and branch out from there. You don't want to spend all your time with other freelance developers, but meeting some of these folks will help you to see what they're doing to get clients, too.

12. Become an Access Ally Certified Partner

If you're serious about getting more web design clients, you might consider becoming an Access Ally Certified Partner. We only partner with experienced professionals with a track record, but once you become a partner you can expect a steady flow of potential clients coming your way.

Plus, you get additional support and training to grow your freelance web design business into an agency if that's something that appeals to you. Or you can stay in the solo business model, and continue to refine who you want to work with and grow by adding leveraged services and products that aren't a direct exchange of time and money.

Over to You Now…

There are many opportunities when it comes to getting the work that you need as a website designer. As a freelancer and small business owner, you have to be willing to put the effort into finding new clients, and sometimes this means stepping outside your comfort zone.

However, once you do land your ideal clients, you will be happy that you gave your all into making your dreams come true.

[Source] https://accessally.com/blog/scale-your-business/how-to-get-more-web-design-work/

Jaspal Khalsa - Freelance Website Designer in Mumbai. 7+ years experience of Web Design and Logo Design Services. Develop user friendly and Responsive website from expert at affordable cost. I am expert to create integrated design that fills a need.

[dorothydelgadillo]

How To Grow Your Online Community Using Video

We have special guest Stephanie Baiocchi Director of Audience Engagement & Community at IMPACT.  It’s her job to engage with our social communities and to make sure that everyone has access to resources and answer to their sales and marketing questions.

Today she joins us to talk about how she has used video to grow our online community, what she’s seen work, what she’s seen fail, and types of video she uses to create trust with the IMPACT community.

What is IMPACT Elite? 

IMPACT Elite is our closed Facebook group where inbound professionals of all types can come and learn things all inbound, share work, ask for feedback and get questions answered (broad or specific). Here’s a link to learn more about the group. It’s Stephanie job to run the manage IMPACT Elite and engage our audience.  

When Did IMPACT Elite Start and Purpose Behind It?

IMPACT Elite began as a Facebook group around IMPACT Live two years ago which is our annual in person sales and marketing event in Connecticut. You can learn more about IMPACT Live here.  The missions of the group has stayed the same - it’s a place where inbound professionals come together and ask questions and learn together. Stephanie joined IMPACT a little over a year ago and at that point the group was at 1,500 members and now it’s close to 5,000. 

How have you made sure to stay up the latest trends of video you’ve implemented in the community and using it?

When Stephanie first started Marcus Sheridan had posted a video for his Facebook page and it was a great intro about the Facebook page, what people would get from it. Stephanie decided that we needed something like that for IMPACT Elite. Stephanie then created a welcome video for IMPACT Elite letting everyone know exactly what it was about, the purpose of the group and encouraging people to post questions and interact. She also made a point to mention that if you aren’t sure what to do to reach out to her directly. After creating and posting the video for the group people really engaged with it. They commented and did exactly what she said in the video. A little while later Stephanie recorded version 2 of the video as she had more experience with the group, and had more to add and could be more concise. 

The video also allowed people to feel comfortable in the group and welcomed. Video allowed Stephanie to bring a level of warmth and energy that text just couldn’t do. 

What other types of video do you use in community engagement?

Stephanie loves to use video as a way to celebrate milestones for the group. When they hit milestones of new members she does creative things with video. The first time they hit a major milestone she had a member that helped hit the threshold record a video that she shared with the group. She helped the person incorporate best practice and record a good quality video and helped them feel comfortable with it. When they hit another milestone Stephanie had members of the community record testimonials of their experience in the group and she put all the testimonials together. The most recent milestone she screamed from the rooftops what number of Elite members they hit.  

IMPACT Elite Updates

Stephanie talks about how she uses 1:1 video for her 60 second recaps and how it’s one of the best things that has happened for the group of subscribers. She chooses to use Vidyard's GoVideo for the 1:1 videos because it’s fast and convenient and doesn’t involve setting up video equipment - she does it right from her computer. She also uses it because it has analytics and can show her how many people are watching, how much they’re watching and what videos resonate and which don’t. This is how she can measure what’s working and what isn’t. She created the 60 second recaps because people in the group gave her feedback that they wished there was a way that they had a once a week resource to go to in order to catch up with what had happened during the week so they could quickly get up to speed. Rather than having to go back through all the activity (and there is quite a bit of activity). IMPACT did something similar in the past that was text based and more highly designed, but she’s taken a more conversational route and include video which has helped engage the community more. 

What are the responses Stephanie gets with video 

Stephanie gets a good amount of response when she includes video in the group and in email. Most of the responses she gets are people saying “I love this!” “I’m  going to copy and do this” or asking her how she does it because they want to. She has yet to get anyone saying that she uses too much video.

Any Advice For People Getting Started With Their Company Social Page And How They Can Incorporate Video?

When it comes to addressing trolls, spam and rules in your group - essentially the things that seem harder to do within your community use video to do it. You can convey a tone in video that you just can’t with text. It allows you to show sympathy and tone that people will more easily be able to connect with. Using video also allows you to build trust and a tone that people can understand more easily. Don’t be afraid to make more than one video. Pin your welcome video and then direct them to your rules and do another video for those. 

What Advice Would You Give People To Keep Their Community Valuable and Objective- Not About Selling Services 

Do a poll for your group. It will allow your community to give you feedback on what they want to learn about and what they are struggling with. You want to make sure do a poll where people can select answers - it makes it much easier for people than asking them to type out their answers. Use the poll results to guide your efforts. If there is a moment where you community isn’t as engaged as you had hoped for don’t feel the need to fill it with your expertise or services. Instead, find someone in another community who is an expert, or your own community and have them share something they know. Don’t feel like you have to step in as an expert and provide things to keep the conversation going. 

Those That are In Charge Of Their Company Page Should They Put More Time In To A Group Or Community?

It depends on your industry. A community can be a great way to grow your group and for people to rally around what you do. Even if those people aren’t a great fit for your company or services they still can find value in your group and become a great advocate for your company and word of mouth referral. If you’re in an industry that is B2C your page can still be really important. If you’re a restaurant or venue people are going to want to see pictures and reviews- in those situations pages are going to be more effective for you than a community. Other than that, you should go for community over page.  

Would You Give The Same Advice For LinkedIn company pages and groups?

LinkedIn has been bringing in more posts from groups into feeds. Group members can get notifications. It’s really tough to overcome the inherent stigma that LinkedIn groups have - which is that they are pure spam and promotional content. It’s not to say that someone can’t create a vibrant group but you’ll have to battle to prove it’s not going to be spammy. LinkedIn pages are things people struggle with most. LinkedIn is primarily a place for people to talk about themselves. It isn’t a place for companies to do great things. At the end of the day, you have to figure out where your audience is going and be active there. 

Rapid Fire Questions - What You Like Or Don’t Like When It Comes To Video Functionality On Social Platforms 

Facebook - Their video functionality differs from page, group to personal - which is hard to keep up with. (Zach’s biggest frustration you can’t add captions to video on a personal page.)

LinkedIn- There is a video limit of 12 minutes.

Twitter - The second you post it, it’s gone. 

Instagram - Stephanie likes Instagram video - no negatives (Zach mentioned the lack of linking, unless you can swipe up or you’re paid). 

Snapchat - Fastest way to send video to multiple friends at once. But changes they made with stories, feed and being able to watch other peoples videos on demand haven’t helped make it a better platform, in fact Stephanie feels as though she doesn’t look at the feed or other peoples stories anymore unless they are sent directly to her. 

How similar are Instagram stories to Snapchat- similar. Instagram stories can be customized more and make them interesting. For snapchat it’s expected that it’s way more casual. Instagram stories have gotten so polished, Stephanie talks about how it’s become intimidating to put up a story that doesn’t have all these animations, location, tags, etc included. 

What Are Your Future Plans For Community Engagement And Video

More video everywhere. Stephanie wants to work on integrating video even more and to get more members of the community using video to post and respond to posts. Stephanie has seen that some questions that are posted within Elite get misinterpreted and that people have to ask clarifying questions whereas a video might help overcome that. Stephanie is also working on an advocate community which is called Insiders. It’s a place where Elite’s biggest fans come to share content and get rewarded. She hasn’t done much with video there, but thinks a welcome video and videos explaining how to do things will be her next focus.  

If you’re interested in learning more about how to better your community engagement skills check out Stephanie’s Guide To Online Community Management. 

If you want to connect with Stephanie you can do so here. 

  We’d Love To Hear From You!

First, subscribe to our Film School For Marketers Podcast.

Second, leave us a review or share the love with fellow marketers and sales professionals who could benefit from our content.

Lastly, have a question or idea for a future episode? Let us know!

                               from Web Developers World https://www.impactbnd.com/blog/how-to-grow-your-online-community-using-video

[michaelfallcon]

In Amsterdam, The Latest From Friedhats Coffee Is A Big FUKU

It’s true that 2018 WBC second runner-up Lex Wenneker and his business partner Dylan Sedgwick named their new cafe—FUKU—after the Japanese term for “good fortune.” If you speak with them, Wenneker, a three-time Dutch barista champion, will tell you how as a visitor to Japan he was impressed by all the small spaces where each day a single individual “puts the same attention in every cup.” In the same breath Sedgwick, a New Zealander with much international coffee experience, might cite Japanese craft precision as “inspiration for our workflow.” But if you’re like me, you might have doubts. The explanation’s a touch too cute for these two.

These are, after all, the guys behind Friedhats Coffee Roasters, a name they gleefully admit has led confused consumers to believe the company deals in French fries and attracted email spam targeted at milliners. What’s more, Friedhats’ aesthetic—most obvious in its packaging but now also at FUKU—might be summarized as ska-meets-psychedelica in a Roy Lichtenstein palette. Any way you cut it, their goofiness and subversion are colorful, contradicting any “expectations that we were gonna do something super chic and Berlin-style,” as Sedgwick puts it.

So while the cafe FUKU is pronounced to rhyme with “cuckoo,” it seems its nomenclature arose from the same place it does when the four-letter word is carved into an elementary school bathroom stall: frustration.

“There was a point that I was pissed off at the whole [coffee] thing… I was gonna quit,” Wenneker tells me. “I just got back from the WBC in Dublin and everything was normal again, and I just couldn’t hear one more complaint about the light-roasted coffee. People didn’t get it. I just couldn’t do it anymore, and that’s when I wanted to stop.”

He continues: “Then we decided to look for a cafe again, as a solution—to have something new to do. And as a joke, I wanted to call it ‘the Friedhats’ Fuck You Cafe.’”

His defiance was likely sparked earlier, by the shuttering of Headfirst, a micro-roastery Wenneker co-ran and where he and Sedgwick started working together. Its closure came suddenly after Amsterdam authorities accused the venue of violating rules about what it could sell as a designated retail spot rather than a food and drink vendor. That was in late 2015, when Headfirst, at just two years old, was quite popular among locals and coffee tourists.

In fact, the name Friedhats is no enigma—it is an anagram. Scrambling the letters of “headfirst” has provided at least a linguistically sentimental reincarnation of the old business. As for FUKU’s present-day semantic scrambling—the idea came from much closer than Japan.

“He was in Paris and he saw this place called ‘Fuku,’” recalls Wenneker about Sedgwick. “It kinda says ‘fuck you’ but not really.”

“A sushi place,” his partner specifies.

All that said, guests at FUKU, which opened in September, get no sense of being rebuffed or shooed. Before even going inside the cafe, a sight of delight appears on an entranceway door: a vintage column of feeder trays from legendary Dutch automat chain FEBO. Today, instead of hamburgers or krokets, they dispense coffee beans in Friedhats’ signature plastic jar packaging (nominated for a 2018 Sprudgie Award).

Wenneker and Sedgwick built the bar themselves, leaving a large façade for their illustrator (and part-time barista) Ivo Janss. The most prominent equipment is a rare Kees van der Westen three-group Mistral. There are three grinders: a Mahlkönig EK43, an Anfim Super Caimano Barista, and an ever-so R2D2-esque Lyn Weber EG1. Around the bend is a moss green Slayer Single Group, which patrons can get a courtside view of when seated in the front window.

Asked if his past titles up the pressure to perform in everyday work, Wenneker is candid, mentioning some particularly painful early feedback.

“There was this guy who came in. He was like, ‘Ah, I expected a bit more because he’s the almost-World Barista Champion, and it was just like a nice coffee that I got.’ It hit me quite hard,” he admits, with a good-natured laugh.

“Don’t come with too-high expectations,” Sedgwick half-jokes.

“Nah, that’s not true,” says Wenneker. “We’re doing something new now, I think, in the cafe with the long list of coffees that are available for espresso and filter. I don’t think any cafe in Amsterdam has that.”

Most remarkable is the menu’s “Super Specials” subsection, described by Wenneker as “coffees you just don’t find anywhere because they’re very expensive” and “usually rare or hard to obtain.” Often competition coffees, they are standardly prepared by V60 and cost 7.50 euros. On a recent visit, that list included Brazil Daterra Laurina, Colombia Gesha X.O., Colombia Sudan Rume, and Ethiopia Gesha Village.

Because they have all the necessary licenses, FUKU can serve alcohol—the wines lean towards natural and French—and food; the venue has begun with short hours and easy-to-eat carbohydrates, but eventually plans to stay open well past sunset. The back patio, with an overhang, is ready for warm even if wet days.

Wenneker and Sedgwick have two part-time staff, and Wenneker’s brother is their accounts manager. Still, the pair works six days a week, splitting their time between cafe and roastery. The latter, which they moved into in September, occupies a section of shared space in a hangar-like unit. Compared to the former roastery, it is the boondocks, though has no shortage of storage or parking for the new company car, a secondhand Volvo wagon used for local coffee deliveries. Most international orders are sent within Europe, though the US and Canada are catching on, they report.

Meanwhile, Wenneker maintains he is done competing. Earned in June 2018 at the WBC held only six kilometers south of FUKU, his latest, second place, ranking satisfies in far more ways than I expected to hear.

Lex Wenneker

He explains: “If you get first place, you have all these obligations, you have to go everywhere, people expect you to show up for stuff. We were already talking about the cafe, so we knew we couldn’t really do that. So before the whole competition started I was like, ‘Yeah, second. I’ll go for second.’”

“I was really happy,” says Wenneker of the outcome. “Second place is kind of what I really aimed for.”

The response is quintessentially Dutch: modest, pragmatic, evenhanded. It is also an elegant way of celebrating one’s good fortune while still issuing, to the powers that be, a big FU.

FUKU is located at Bos en Lommerweg 136 HS, Amsterdam. Visit Friedhats’ official website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Karina Hof is a Sprudge staff writer based in Amsterdam. Read more Karina Hof on Sprudge. 

The post In Amsterdam, The Latest From Friedhats Coffee Is A Big FUKU appeared first on Sprudge.

In Amsterdam, The Latest From Friedhats Coffee Is A Big FUKU published first on https://medium.com/@LinLinCoffee

[buzrushblog-blog]

Ask Questions Get Answers

A local community that may help individuals from all over the world to discuss their know-how and get any question that is imaginable. And, one thing that we made sure is that it was free to use.The site has rapidly grown, become most accessible and exciting question and answer community, which we are proud of. Considering the persistence of each group associate, the site is growing every single day - almost every min. This fabulous site rapdly grow in everymin & eveytime.That location for Ask Questions Get Answers.

1.There are more than doubly a lot of resolutions as thoughts. Even though many questions or concerns attained no explanations, many people gotten your five, five, or even more.

2.The Proprietors line is perfectly blank. The area small businesses I studied in San Francisco are investment no exertion in answering Search engines like google Questions and Answers.

3.Area Instructions do almost all of the responding to. Of a 274 advice offered, 232 got their start in end users who definitely have been proficient as Native Instructions by Search engines like google. Why so lopsided? I suppose the result lies in the advantage that The search engines transmits warnings to that band of owners when queries get required, and that they can acquire 3 elements for each help answer they provide. Obtaining more than enough issues should get you bonuses like 3 absolutely free several weeks of Google Enjoy Song including a 75Per cent price reduction away from Yahoo and google Play Videos.

Unfortunately, what I’m seeing in Google Questions and Answers is that incentivizing replies is leading to a knowledge base of questionable quality. How helpful is it when a consumer asks a hotel if they have in-room hair dryers and 10 local guides jump on the bandwagon with “yep”? Worse yet, I saw quite a few local guides replying “I don’t know,” “maybe,” and even “you should call the business and ask.” Here and there, I saw genuinely helpful answers from the Local Guides, but my overall impression didn’t leave me feeling like I’d stumbled upon a new Google resource of matchless expertise.

4 Some individuals the general public seem to be confused about making use of this feature. I realized customers when using the resolution segment to say thanks to persons who replied for their question, rather than simply just with all the thumbs up widget.

Moreover, I witnessed individuals making recommendations/claims, in lieu of important questions: And having a little exasperated

5.Some establishments are definitely building a great deal more basic questions than the others. Granted how everyone loves to talk about hotels and restaurants, I wasn’t astonished to see them topping the graphs in sheer volume of answers and questions. What have surprise me had not been observing considerably more doubts being expected of companies like yoga and fitness studios, florists, and locks salons; ahead of I just have the lookups, I might have suspected that pleasurable, “chatty” places like these is going to be benefiting from loads of inquiries.

Huge types almost everywhere are keeping Search engines like google Answers and questions unanswered

But just in case my limited focus was presenting a false picture of how local businesses are managing this feature, I did some random searches for big brands around the state and around the country, i chose San Francisco for my case study because of its general reputation for being hip to new tech.

I ran across issues in short supply of individual resolutions for Whole Foods, Sephora, Taco Bell,Macy’s and Denny’s, Cracker Barrel, Preferred, and T-Cell. As I looked around the nation, I noted that Walmart has cumulatively garnered thousands of questions with no brand responses.

However, the wrists and hands-straight down champion for that one locale in short supply of standard explanations is Google and yahoo in Mountain Point of view. 103 inquiries at the time of my research and nary an master respond to in sight. Alphabet may want to consider setting a much more impressive sample along with their private product… except when I am misunderstanding their eye-sight of methods Google and yahoo Questions and Answers is meant to be employed.

Just just what is the eyesight for Yahoo and google Questions and Answers, I marvel?

As I said at the beginning of this post, it’s early days yet to predict ultimate outcomes. At this point, the current set belonging to the property due to this attribute has rendered me with increased questions than responses:

•Does Google actually intend questions to be answered by brands, or by the public? From what I have witnessed, users are largely not aware of or deciding to ignore this function many periods put up-start up. Businesses are only alerted about incoming questions if they open the Google Maps app on an Android phone or tablet, as of writing this. There is no desktop GMB dash panel section for your have. It is not really a recipes for large adoption. That doesn’t mean your business shouldn’t be, though google has always been a fan of a crowdsourcing approach to their data, so they may not be concerned.

•A few of the legitimate-time goals in this function? I see quite a few end users asking them questions that called for rapid right answers, like “are you start now? ” whilst some would help lengthier reply time periods, like in, “I’m planning for a voyage and wish to really know what I will go walking to within your resort.” For time-reactive questions, what makes Questions and Answers fit in with Google’s legitimate talk option, Bing Online messaging, also presented endure summertime? Does Search engines like google visualize unique use conditions for options? If one of the two products will win out over time, while the other gets sunsetted, i wonder.

•The serious, actual pitfalls to brandnames of low-relief? If rants or spam are ignored, i applauded Mike Blumenthal’s smart suggestion of companies proactively populating the feature with known FAQs and providing expert answers, and I can also see the obvious potential for reputation damage. That being said, my modest investigation of San Francisco has left me wanting to know how many men and women (manufacturers or purchasers) have been focusing generally in most industries. Bing Information Solar panels together with the Nearby Locater take-ups are nearing an info bloat factor. Would you like to guide something, look into product reviews, stay conversation, see selections, get savings, get operating a vehicle instructions, make a contact? Internet websites are designed with a wide range of web sites to pay many of these likely behavior. Sticking them all in a 1” box may not equal the best UX I’ve ever seen, if discovery of features is our goal.

•What is the enthusiasm for people to take advantage of the product or service? For me personally, I’d be more likely to just pickup your phone to inquire about any topic which I wanted a fast provide answers to. I don’t have the confidence that if I queried Whole Foods in the AM as to whether they’ve gotten in organic avocados from California, there’d be a knowledge panel answer in time for my lunch. Additionally, a portion of the important questions I’ve wanted to know have obtained unnecessary the right answers belonging to the people, which appears like a complete waste of time for all those persons. Possibly whenever the include selections up energy, this tends to transform.

•Will boosting costs of doubts = growing costs of economic responses? Total numbers of questions for the 1700 locations they investigated nearly doubled between November-December of 2017, according to the GetFiveStars study linked to above. From my tiny take a look at San Francisco, it doesn’t appear to me of the fact that increasing outcome also occurred for individual solutions. For now, what I’m looking for is question volume reaching such a boiling point that owners feel obligated to jump into management, as they have with reviews, although time will tell. We’re not there yet, but if this feature is a Google keeper, we could get there.

So what should you be doing about Google Questions and Answers?

I’m a fan of ahead of time adoption exactly where it makes sense. Speculatively, using an effective Answers and questions activity could turn out to be as being a ranking alert. We have undoubtedly noticed it theorized that make use of of another Search engines like google asset, Google and yahoo Content, may results neighborhood pack search positions. Undoubtedly, leaving it towards the open public to respond to concerns about your enterprise with ranging degrees of exactness brings the possible risk of the loss of qualified prospects and muddying your online presence with the detriment of popularity. If your location has wheelchair access and an unmotivated third party says “I don’t know,” when, in fact, your business is fully ADA-compliant, your lack of an answer becomes negative customer service, if a customer asks. Ignoring the feature isn’t really an option, because of this. And, as i would not prioritize control over Questions and Answers above old-fashioned Yahoo-centered ratings after all this, I would suggest:

1.Do a branded search today and look at your knowledge panel to see if you’ve received any questions. Answer them in your best style, as helpfully as possibl if soe

2.Waste around 30 minutes in the week translating your company’s 5 most common FAQs into Google and bing Answers and questions queries and after that giving an answer to them. Ensure you are recorded in your company’s Google and yahoo credit account in the event you respond, which means that your text can be technically stamped because of the term “owner.” Regardless of whether you proactively article your FAQs whereas recorded for your business’ membership depends on you. I feel it is a lot more clear to do so.

3.If you’re acquiring this component of your understanding Panel isn’t buying inquiries, viewing it once weekly is possibly just going to be good enough with the produce.

4.If you be promotional a company that would be noticing some good Answers and questions action, and you will have the bandwidth, I’d insert verifying this to the day by day social network rounds you earn for the purpose of level of popularity managing. I would predict that if Google determines this feature is a keeper, they’ll eventually start sending email alerts when new queries come in, as they’re now doing with reviews, which should make things easier and minimize the risk of losing a customer with an immediate need. Need to go professional on operations right this moment due to problem quantity? GetFiveStars just introduced a very very helpful Google QAndA observation characteristic, integrated into some of their ORM software packages. Resembles a winner!

5.Do be on the lookout for spam responses and inquiries, and report them if they arise.

This simple infographic will get you going in a flash if you’re totally new to Google Questions and Answers:

My doubts, your answers

My claim investigation is modest. Can you assist extend our industry’s practical knowledge structure by giving an answer to a few pre-determined questions while in the feedback to enhance the photo of a up-to-date charge of adoption/performance of Google’s Questions and Answers? You need to, tell me:

1.Get you requested a subject with this aspect?

2.Do you receive an response and was it valuable?

3.Who clarified? This company, a random owner, a neighborhood Instruction?

4.Have you discover any forms of businesses performing a wonderful career replying to inquiries?

5.Do you know your emotions on Google Questions and Answers? Might it be a success? Definitely worth the time and effort? Any techniques?

Question & Answer Website: https: //community.buzrush.com/