#etc etc i think i might actually have named all the engineering majors offered at my school

[mdzsartreblogs]

Recognizing AI Generated Images, Danmei Edition

Heyo, @unforth here! I run some danmei art blogs (@mdzsartreblogs, @tgcfartreblogs, @svsssartreblogs, @zhenhunartreblogs, @erhaartreblogs, @dmbjartreblogs, @tykartreblogs, and @cnovelartreblogs) which means I see a LOT of danmei art, and I go through the main fandom tags more-or-less every day.

Today, for the first time, I spotted someone posting AI-generated images (I refuse to call them AI "art" - and to be clear, that's correct of me, because at least in the US it literally LEGALLY isn't art) without any label indicating they were AI generated. I am not necessarily against the existence of AI-generated images (though really...considering all the legal issues and the risks of misuse, I'm basically against them); I think they potentially have uses in certain contexts (such as for making references) and I also think that regardless of our opinions, we're stuck with them, but they're also clearly not art and I don't reblog them to the art side blogs.

The images I spotted today had multiple "tells," but they were still accumulating notes, and I thought it might be a good moment to step back and point out some of the more obvious tells because my sense is that a LOT of people are against AI-generated images being treated as art, and that these people wouldn't want to support an AI-generator user who tried to foist off their work as actual artwork, but that people don't actually necessarily know how to IDENTIFY those works and therefore can inadvertently reblog works that they'd never support if they were correctly identified. (Similar to how the person who reposts and says "credit to the artist" is an asshole but they're not the same as someone who reposts without any credit at all and goes out of their way to make it look like they ARE the artist when they're not).

Toward that end, I've downloaded all the images I spotted on this person's account and I'm going to use them to highlight the things that led me to think they were AI art - they posted a total of 5 images to a few major danmei tags the last couple days, and several other images not to specific fandoms (I examined 8 images total). The first couple I was suspicious, but it wasn't til this morning that I spotted one so obvious that it couldn't be anything BUT AI art. I am NOT going to name the person who did this. The purpose of this post is purely educational. I have no interest whatsoever in bullying one rando. Please don't try to identify them; who they are is genuinely irrelevant, what matters is learning how to recognize AI art in general and not spreading it around, just like the goal of education about reposting is to help make sure that people who repost don't get notes on their theft, to help people recognize the signs so that the incentive to be dishonest about this stuff is removed.

But first: Why is treating AI-generated images as art bad?

I'm no expert and this won't be exhaustive, but I do think it's important to first discuss why this matters.

On the surface, it's PERHAPS harmless for someone to post AI-generated images provided that the image is clearly labeled as AI-generated. I say "perhaps" because in the end, as far as I'm aware, there isn't a single AI-generation engine that's built on legally-sourced artwork. Every AI (again, to the best of my knowledge) has been trained using copyrighted images usually without the permission of the artists. Indeed, this is the source of multiple current lawsuits. (and another)

But putting that aside (as if it can be put aside that AI image generators are literally unethically built), it's still problematic to support the images being treated as art. Artists spend thousands of hours learning their craft, honing it, sharing their creations, building their audiences. This is what they sell when they offer commissions, prints, etc. This can never be replicated by a computer, and to treat an AI-generated image as in any way equivalent is honestly rude, inappropriate, disgusting imo. This isn't "harmless"; supporting AI image creation engines is damaging to real people and their actual livelihoods. Like, the images might be beautiful, but they're not art. I'm honestly dreading someone managing to convince fandom that their AI-generated works are actual art, and then cashing in on commissions, prints, etc., because people can't be fussed to learn the difference. We really can't let this happen, guys. Fanartists are one of the most vibrant, important, prominent groups in all our fandoms, and we have to support them and do our part to protect them.

As if those two points aren't enough, there's already growing evidence that AI-generated works are being used to further propagandists. There are false images circulating of violence at protests, deep-fakes of various kinds that are helping the worst elements of society to push their horrid agendas. As long as that's a facet of AI-generated works, they'll always be dangerous.

I could go on, but really this isn't the main point of my post and I don't want to get bogged down. Other people have said more eloquently than I why AI-generated images are bad. Read those. (I tried to find a good one to link but sadly failed; if anyone knows a good post, feel free to send it and I'll add the link to the post).

Basically: I think a legally trained AI-image generator that had built-in clear watermarks could be a fun toy for people who want reference images or just to play with making pseudo-art. But...that's not what we have, and what we do have is built on theft and supports dystopia so, uh. Yeah fuck AI-generated images.

How to recognize AI-Generated Images Made in an Eastern Danmei Art Style

NOTE: I LEARNED ALL THE BASIC ON SPOTTING AI-GENERATED IMAGES FROM THIS POST. I'll own I still kinda had the wool over my eyes until I read that post - I knew AI stuff was out there but I hadn't really looked closely enough to have my eyes open for specific signs. Reading that entire post taught me a lot, and what I learned is the foundation of this post.

This post shouldn't be treated as a universal guide. I'm specifically looking at the tells on the kind of art that people in danmei fandoms often see coming from Weibo and other Chinese, Japanese, and Korean platforms, works made by real artists. For example, the work of Foxking (狐狸大王a), kokirapsd, and Changyang (who is an official artist for MDZS, TGCF, and other danmei works). This work shares a smooth use of color, an aim toward a certain flavor of realism, an ethereal quality to the lighting, and many other features. (Disclaimer: I am not an artist. Putting things in arty terms is really not my forte. Sorry.)

So, that's what these AI-generated images are emulating. And on the surface, they look good! Like...

...that's uncontestably a pretty picture (the white box is covering the "artist's" watermark.) And on a glance, it doesn't necessarily scream "AI generated"! But the devil is in the details, and the details are what this post is about. And that picture? Is definitely AI generated.

This post is based on 8 works I grabbed from a single person's account, all posted as their own work and watermarked as such. Some of the things that are giveaways only really show when looking at multiple pieces. I'm gonna start with those, and then I'll highlight some of the specifics I spotted that caused me to go from "suspicious" to "oh yeah no these are definitely not art."

Sign 1: all the images are the exact same size. I mean, to the pixel: 512 x 682 pixels (or 682 x 512, depending on landscape or portrait orientation). This makes zero sense. Why would an artist trim all their pieces to that size? It's not the ideal Tumblr display size (that's 500 x 750 pixels). If you check any actual artist's page and look at the full-size of several of their images, they'll all be different sizes as they trimmed, refined, and otherwise targeted around their original canvas size to get the results they wanted.

Sign 2: pixelated. At the shrunken size displayed on, say, a mobile Tumblr feed, the image looks fine, but even just opening the full size upload, the whole thing is pixelated. Now, this is probably the least useful sign; a lot of artists reduce the resolution/dpi/etc. on their uploaded works so that people don't steal them. But, taken in conjunction with everything else, it's definitely a sign.

Those are the two most obvious overall things - the things I didn't notice until I looked at all the uploads. The specifics are really what tells, though. Which leads to...

Sign 3: the overall work appears to have a very high degree of polish, as if it were made by an artist who really really knows what they're doing, but on inspection - sometimes even on really, REALLY cursory inspect - the details make zero sense and reflect the kinds of mistakes that a real artist would never make.

So, here's the image that I saw that "gave it away" to me, and caused me to re-examine the images that had first struck me as off but that I hadn't been able to immediately put my finger on the problem. I've circled some of the spots that are flagrant.

Do you see yet? Yes? Awesome, you're getting it. No? Okay, let's go point by point, with close ups.

Sign 4: HANDS. Hands are currently AI's biggest weakness, though they've been getting better quickly and honestly that's terrifying. But whatever AI generated this picture clearly doesn't get hands yet, because that hand is truly an eldritch horror. Look at this thing:

It has two palms. It has seven fingers. It's basically two hands overlaid over each other, except one of those hands only has four fingers and the other has three. Seeing this hand was how I went from "umm...maybe they're fake? Maybe they're not???" to "oh god why is ANYONE reblogging this when it's this obvious?" WATCH THE HANDS. (Go back up to that first one posted and look at the hand, you'll see. Or just look right below at this crop.) Here's some other hands:

Sign 5: Hair and shadows. Once I started inspecting these images, the shadows of the hair on the face was one of the things that was most consistently fucked up across all the uploaded pictures. Take a look:

There's shadows of tendrils on the forehead, but there's no corresponding hair that could possibly have made those shadows. Likewise there's a whole bunch of shadows on the cheeks. Where are those coming from? There's no possible source in the rest of the image. Here's some other hair with unrelated wonky shadows:

Sign 6: Decorative motifs that are really just meaningless squiggles. Like, artists, especially those who make fanart, put actual thought into what the small motifs are on their works. Like, in TGCF, an artist will often use a butterfly motif or a flower petal motif to reflect things about the characters. An AI, though, can only approximate a pattern and it can't imbue those with meanings. So you end up with this:

What is that? It's nothing, that's what. It's a bunch of squiggles. Here's some other meaningless squiggle motifs (and a more zoomed-in version of the one just above):

Sign 7: closely related to meaningless squiggle motifs is motifs that DO look like something, but aren't followed through in any way that makes sense. For example, an outer garment where the motifs on the left and the right shoulder/chest are completely different, or a piece of cloth that's supposed to be all one piece but that that has different patterns on different sections of it. Both of these happen in the example piece, see?

The first images on the top left is the left and right shoulder side by side. The right side has a scalloped edge; the left doesn't. Likewise, in the right top picture, you can see the two under-robe lapels; one has a gold decoration and the other doesn't. And then the third/bottom image shows three sections of the veil. One (on the left) has that kind of blue arcy decoration, which doesn't follow the folds of the cloth very well and looks weird and appears at one point to be OVER the hair instead of behind it. The second, on top of the bottom images, shows a similar motif, except now it's gold, and it looks more like a hair decoration than like part of the veil. The third is also part of the same veil but it has no decorations at all. Nothing about this makes any sense whatsoever. Why would any artist intentionally do it that way? Or, more specifically, why would any artist who has this apparent level of technical skill ever make a mistake like this?

They wouldn't.

Some more nonsensical patterns, bad mirrors, etc. (I often put left/right shoulders side by side so that it'd be clearer, sorry if it's weird):

Sign 8: bizarre architecture, weird furniture, etc. Most of the images I'm examining for this post have only partial backgrounds, so it's hard to really focus on this, but it's something that the post I linked (this one) talks about a lot. So, like, an artist will put actual thought into how their construction works, but an AI won't because an AI can't. There's no background in my main example image, but take a look at this from another of my images:

On a glance it's beautiful. On a few seconds actually staring it's just fucking bizarre. The part of the ceiling on the right appears to be domed maybe? But then there's a hard angle, then another. The windows on the right have lots of panes, but then the one on the middle-left is just a single panel, and the ones on the far left have a complete different pane model. Meanwhile, also on the left side at the middle, there's that dark gray...something...with an arch that mimics the background arches except it goes no where, connects to nothing, and has no apparent relationship to anything else going on architecturally. And, while the ceiling curves, the back wall is straight AND shows more arches in the background even though the ceiling looks to end. And yes, some of this is possible architecture, but taken as a whole, it's just gibberish. Why would anyone who paints THAT WELL paint a building to look like THAT? They wouldn't. It's nonsense. It's the art equivalent of word salad. When we look at a sentence and it's like "dog makes a rhythmical salad to betray on the frame time plot" it almost resembles something that might mean something but it's clearly nonsense. This background is that sentence, as art.

Sign 9: all kinds of little things that make zero sense. In the example image, I circled where a section of the hair goes BELOW the inner robe. That's not impossible but it just makes zero sense. As with many of these, it's the kind of thing that taken alone, I'd probably just think "well, that was A Choice," but combined with all the other weird things it stands out as another sign that something here is really, really off. Here's a collection of similar "wtf?" moments I spotted across the images I looked at (I'm worried I'm gonna hit the Tumblr image cap, hence throwing these all in one, lol.)

You have to remember that an actual artist will do things for a reason. And we, as viewers, are so used to viewing art with that in mind that we often fill in reasons even when there aren't. Like, in the image just about this, I said, "what the heck are these flowers growing on?" And honestly, I COULD come up with explanations. But that doesn't mean it actually makes sense, and there's no REASON for it whatsoever. The theoretical same flowers are, in a different shot, growing unsupported! So...what gives??? The answer is nothing gives. Because these pieces are nothing. The AI has no reason, it's just tossing in random aesthetic pieces together in a mishmash, and the person who generated them is just re-generating and refining until they get something that looks "close enough" to what they wanted. It never was supposed to make sense, so of course it doesn't.

In conclusion...

After years of effort, artists have gotten across to most of fandom that reposts are bad, and helped us learn strategies for helping us recognize reposts, and given us an idea of what to do when we find one.

Fandom is just at the beginning of this process as it applies to AI-generated images. There's a LOT of education that has to be done - about why AI-generated images are bad (the unethical training using copyrighted images without permission is, imo, critical to understanding this), and about how to spot them, and then finally about what to do when you DO find them.

With reposts, we know "tell original artist, DCMA takedowns, etc." That's not the same with these AI-images. There's no original owner. There's no owner at all - in the US, at least, they literally cannot be copyrighted. Which is why I'm not even worrying about "credit" on this post - there's nothing stolen, cause there's nothing made. So what should you do?

Nothing. The answer is, just as the creator has essentially done nothing, you should also do nothing. Don't engage. Don't reblog. Don't commission the creator or buy their art prints. If they do it persistently and it bothers you, block them. If you see one you really like, and decide to reblog it, fine, go for it, but mark it clearly - put in the ACTUAL COMMENTS (not just in the tags!) that it's AI art, and that you thought it was pretty anyway. But honestly, it'd be better to not engage, especially since as this grows it's inevitable that some actual artists are going to start getting accused of posting AI-generated images by over-zealous people. Everyone who gets a shadow wrong isn't posting AI-generated images. A lot of these details are insanely difficult to get correct, and lots of even very skilled, accomplished artists, if you go over their work with a magnifying glass you're going to find at least some of these things, some weirdnesses that make no sense, some shadows that are off, some fingers that are just ugh (really, getting hands wrong is so relatable. hands are the fucking worst). It's not about "this is bad art/not art because the hand is wrong," it's specifically about the ways that it's wrong, the way a computer randomly throws pieces together versus how actual people make actual mistakes. It's all of the little signs taken as a whole to say "no one who could produce a piece that, on the surface, looks this nice, could possibly make THIS MANY small 'mistakes.'"

The absolute best thing you can do if you see AI-generated images being treated as real art is just nothing. Support actual artists you love, and don't spread the fakes.

Thanks for your time, everyone. Good luck avoiding AI-generated pieces in the future, please signal boost this, and feel free to get in touch if you think I can help you with anything related to this.

[theresa-of-liechtenstein]

mechanical engineers... i think i see what you all like in this...

[quillsink]

List of times Steuben is mentioned in John Laurens’s letters

Wow, what’s this? An ACTUAL HISTORICAL POST?!?

So, when I was reading through John’s correspondence, I found all these mentions of Steuben, so I started adding them into a doc and that doc got very long so I am posting my “research” *aggressive air quotes* here.

Putting this under a read more because it’s roughly 1900 words and kinda long-

“the pleasure of Baron Steuben’s acquaintance. Nothing that depends on me shall be wanting to make his stay in camp agreeable, and if he enters into service, to make myself useful to him.”

-JL to HL, 17th February 1778

“I have since had several long conversations with the Baron Steuben, who appears to me a man profound in the science of war, and well disposed to render his best services to the United States. In an interview between him and the general, at which I assisted in quality of interpreter, he declared that he had purposely waved making any contract with Congress, previous to his having made some acquaintance with the Commander in chief, in order that he might avoid giving offence to the officers of the army, and that the general might decide, in what post he could he the most useful. If I have conceived rightly of his character and abilities, he would make us an excellent quarter master general, in the military part of the department; his office being confined to the choice of positions, regulation of marches, etc. But as the civil and military duties with us are blended, he can’t be disposed of in this way; his being a foreigner, unfitting him totally for the latter. I think he would be the properest man we could choose for the office of inspector general, and there are several good assist ants that might be given him. I have the highest opinion of the service he would render in this line, as he seems to be perfectly aware of the disadvantages under which our army has labored from short enlist ments and frequent changes; seems to understand what our soldiers are capable of, and is not so staunch a systematist as to be averse from adapting established forms to stubborn circumstances. He will not give us the perfect instructions, absolutely speaking, but the best which we are in a condition to receive.

We want some kind of general tutoring in this way so much, that as obnoxious as Conway is to most of the army, rather than take the field without the advantages that might be derived from a judicious exercise of his office, I would wish every motive of dissatisfaction respecting him for the present to be suppressed.

The baron proposes to take the rank of major general, with the pay, rations, etc. He does not wish for any actual command, as he is not acquainted with our language and the genius of our people.”

-JL to HL, 28th February 1778

“The Baron Steuben has had the fortune to please uncommonly, for a stranger, at first sight.

All the general officers who have seen him, are prepossessed in his favor, and conceive highly of his abilities. I must tell you tho , by the bye, that Congress has mistaken his rank in Prussia. He was there lieutenant general quartier maitre, which in good English is deputy quarter master general. He had never any higher rank in the Prussian service, than that of colonel. But he was lieutenant general of the Margrave de Baden’s troops, after he had retired from the Prussian army in disgust, As far as my line can reach, I conceive the baron to be profound in the military science.

The General seems to have a very good opinion of him, and thinks he might be usefully employed in the office of inspector general, but I fancy is cautious of recommending it to Congress, as he might appear implacably to pursue a certain person to whom Congress gave that post. Now it is a doubt with me whether the gentleman in question was not virtually removed from the inspectorship by being ordered on the Canadian expedition. In that case, the difficulty would be obviated. The baron s own desire is to have for the present the rank and pay of major general; not to have any actual command, until he is better known, and shall be better qualified by a knowledge of our language, and the genius and manners of the people. Then, if any stroke is to be struck, his ambition prompts him to solicit a command.”

“With this you will receive a letter from Baron Steuben.”

-JL to HL, 9th March 1778

“The Baron Steuben has commenced the functions of inspector general. Several officers whose character and abilities give them influence, and are pledges of success, are to be nominated as sub-inspectors ; intelligent active men are appointed to each brigade to serve as brigade inspectors. The baron has given some elementary lessons in writing, preparatory to ulterior instructions ; and we hope by this institution that the important end of establishing uniformity of discipline and manoeuvres throughout the army will be accomplished.

This I communicate to yourself only, for I don’t know whether the general communicates this plan by this courier for ratification.

The baron discovers the greatest zeal, and an activity which is hardly to be expected at his years. The officers in general seem to entertain a high opinion of him, and he sets them an excellent example in descending to the functions of a drill- sergeant.

A French gentleman of the name of Ternant with whom I was slightly acquainted at the cape François, is arrived in camp, and offers himself as one of the sub-inspectors. His talents qualify him in a superior degree for the office. He has travelled so much as to have worn off the characteristic manners of his nation, and he speaks our language uncommonly well.

The baron is very desirous of having him as an assistant, and says he is persuaded he will be an acqui sition to the States. The only thing against him is, that he comes without recommendatory letters. The Congress have I think very wisely resolved against employing any more foreigners unless they are forced to it by the special contracts of their embassadors, or very pointed recommendations. On this account the General has, in order that the baron might not lose so good an assistant, put the matter upon this footing : that Mr. Ternant may exercise the office of sub-inspector without rank for the present ; and that when his practical abilities are as well known as his theoretical, Congress will determine a rank suitable to his merit. It is to be observed that he studied engineer ing particularly, and would have wished to join the corps here, but party differences were an invincible obstacle. He has not, however, confined his views to that branch of military science, but seems to be equally well instructed in every other.

If an exception to the generally established rule is ever to be made, I think it can never be with more propriety than in favour of a person who merits such qualifications.

The baron desires his friendly compliments to you. Apropos to him, his secretary, and a Monr de Pontieres have certificates signed by the president of Congress setting forth that they are to have the rank of captains.

I think they were not announced as such to the General. Baron Steuben s secretary is desirous of drawing his pay, and upon application to the General, who is not explicitly acquainted with the intentions of Congress in this matter, was required to draw on account. This has created some uneasiness in the Baron’s mind, and he wishes to know whether Mr. Duponceau is not entitled to the pay, as well as rank of captain.”

-JL to HL, 25th March 1778

“I must not omit to inform you that Baron Steuben is making a sensible progress with our soldiers. The officers seem to have a high opinion of him, and discover a docility from which we may augur the most happy effects.”

-JL to HL, 1st April 1778

“Apropos to spurs, I think in the present deplorable scarcity of good horses, it would be a very acceptable present to the Baron Steuben on the part of Congress to give him an elegant saddle horse. He is exerting himself like a lieutenant anxious for promotion, and the good effects of his labour are visible.

The General I apprehend is restrained from writing to Congress on this head till he shall be acquainted with the sentiments of the brigadiers respecting the Baron’s rank (but this between ourselves), as far as I can learn in conversation with those gentlemen, every one is convinced of his zeal and abilities, and thinks him deserving of the grade which he asks for.”

-JL to HL, 18th April 1778

“Yesterday we celebrated the new alliance, with as much splendour as the short notice would allow. Divine service preceded the rejoicing. After a pro per pause, the several brigades marched by their right to their posts in order of battle, and the line was formed with admirable rapidity and precision. Three salutes of artillery, thirteen each, and three general discharges of a running fire by the musquetry, were given in honour of the king of France, the friendly European powers, and the United American States. Loud huzzas!

The order with which the whole was conducted, the beautiful effect of the running fire, which was executed to perfection, the martial appearance of the troops, gave sensible pleasure to every one present. The whole was managed by signal, and the plan, as formed by Baron de Steuben, succeeded in every particular, which is in a great measure attributed to his unwearied attention, and to the visible progress which the troops have already made, under his discipline.”

-JL to HL, 7th May 1778

“The Baron de Steuben desires to be remembered to you. Some jealousies against him have occasioned him great trouble, and interrupted his progress in the military instruction.”

-JL to HL, 14th June 1778

“The Baron de Steuben has received a letter from Mr de Beaumarchais, which informs him that war is rekindled between the Russians and Turks that the king of Prussia is in Bohemia, at the head of 00,000 men, where he has already seized a fortified castle and two regiments, to show that he is determined to have satisfaction for the dismemberment of the electorate of Bavaria.”

-JL to HL, 15th June 1778

“Baron Steuben was order’d to form the broken troops in the rear.”

-JL to HL, 30th June 1778

“Genl Steuben, his aids and your son, narrowly escaped being surrounded by the British horse, early on the morning of the action. We reconnoitered them rather too nearly, and Ld Cornwallis sent the dragoons of his guard to make us prisoners. Genl Clinton saw the Baron’s star, and the whole pursuit was directed at him ; but we all escaped, the dragoons fearing an ambuscade of infantry.”

-JL to HL, 2nd July 1778

“Unfortunately there is a prejudice against foreigners in many of our officers. It is not without uneasiness that some of them see Baron de Steuben, who has certainly rendered us very important services, and who is without doubt as capable of commanding as any major general we have, appointed to the temporary command of a division in the absence of so many major generals.”

-JL to HL, 6th July 1778

Source - The Army Correspondence of Colonel John Laurens in the Years 1777-8

[fatehbaz]

why are you against the use of the term anthropocene

Well, I’m not totally against its use; I think it can be useful, especially in discussions in popular mediums outside of academia. But I do think that academic discussion of and much of the popular discourse around and involving that term, especially among Euro-American scholars, is Eurocentric and pedantic. Eurocentric, in the sense that the discourse ignores Indigenous criticisms while simultaneously appropriating Indigenous cosmologies and accepting funding/concessions from (neo)colonial institutions. Pedantic, in the sense that the discourse is too focused on finding a specific start-date; too focused on fossil fuels and not enough attention is given to the arguably more-influential role of industrial-scale agriculture throughout human history; and not enough discussion of the human institutions (social hierarchies built to facilitate empires and resource extraction) that inflict social and ecological destruction. I do sometimes like the term as a rhetorical device, but prefer terms like “Plantationocene” which are more specific about which institutions and imperial cosmologies are most influential in provoking both violence against humans and ecological change and apocalypse.

You have probably heard of alternate proposed names for the same era of human influence: Plantationocene, Capitalocene, Cthuluscene. I agree that the distinction matters, and many people (especially Indigenous people and others from Latin America and the Global South) have written about the importance of this name. Indigenous writers and scholars have, in my opinion and not surprisingly, offered the most biting criticisms of Anthropocene discourse. From the perspective of North America, I enjoyed the writing of Dwayne Donald (Papaschase Cree); Zoe Todd (Metis); Kali Simmons (Lakota); and Kyle Whyte (Potawatomi); all of whom write explicitly about the Anthropocene, the ethics of ascribing a name to this era, its Eurocentric discourse, and alternative Indigenous interpretations of global environmental history. And if my rambling is annoying and if this post seems too absurdly long to read, then I would recommend reading what Zoe Todd has written about the importance of how the name of the era influences narratives told about human social and ecological stories; she also addresses other shortcomings and Eurocentric aspects of the Anthropocene concept: Heather Davis and Zoe Todd. “On the Importance of a Date, or Decolonizing the Anthropocene.” December 2017. 

—–

Here’s how I feel about the term “Anthropocene”:

Assuming we agree that the intertwined forces of colonialism, imperialism, industrial-scale agriculture, resource extraction generally, and the hierarchical social institutions which support them (including forced labor, severance of community connection to ecosystems through closure of the commons, racial and gender hierarchies, and Indigenous dispossession) are basically the major influences on global ecological change now and over the past few centuries or millennia (including the present-day, the era of overt European colonization across the globe, and earlier manifestations in historical “classic” state-building and early ancient hydraulic civilizations): Instead of looking for a specific date sometime around 1822 in Europe when fossil fuel emissions scarred the soil, like a technical geologist might, I instead try to ask at which point industrial-scale resource extraction (especially including agriculture and deliberate devegetation campaigns even in its ancient manifestations), supported by and to the benefit of social hierarchies and imperial worldviews, begin to alter soils at vast continent-wide scales enough to be the planet’s leading driver of change in soils, vegetation, oceans, and atmosphere?

Did it begin with the advent of industrial specialist guilds in Mesopotamia, when kings would bribe irrigation engineers not to help a farmer water their fields until the farmer had paid tribute or rent? Did it begin in Zhou-era or Warring States period China when deliberate devegetation campaigns, large forest-clearing projects, and flood-prevention dam infrastructure installation led to local extinction of tiger, rhinos, and elephants? Rome? The Columbian Exchange, institutionalized slavery, and plantations in seventeenth-century European colonies in the Americas?

Is an Isconahua community in Amazonia’s forests equally as responsible for global ecological change as a multi-billion-dollar American mining corporation?

This is an example of what might be the most common criticism of the term: The Anthropocene term, by invoking “anthropos,” is imprecise because rather than identifying the actual source of global ecological change (certain systems, institutions, and practices) it implies that blame be ascribed to humans-as-a-species for provoking this global ecological apocalypse. This criticism (”Anthropocene obscures responsibility”) is just one of many.

These are probably my major issues with Anthropocene: (1) According to Indigenous scholars and many writers from the Global South and especially Latin America, the name obscures responsibility and doesn’t adequately imply which human systems and institutions are responsible for global ecological catastrophe, erasing and obscuring the ongoing violence which those same institutions continue to enact, both upon ecosystems and human lives. (2) And given geologists’ common focus on fossil fuels as the key indicators of Anthropocene start-date and human influence on environment, I think that this distracts from the arguably more influential and more important role of agriculture (and associated devegetation for purposes of settlement, rangeland, etc.) as perhaps the more dramatic human influence on global ecological history. Fossil fuels didn’t kill the bison and change the entirety of the Great Plains from boreal climates to the subtropics. Empires seeking resource extraction, accomplished through violence and dispossession, killed the bison and changed the continent. (3) The concept is the result of Euro-American academic discourse and does not adequately incorporate Indigenous and non-Western criticisms. And while paying superficial lip-service to “decolonization, the same academic departments maintain relationships with (neo)colonial nonprofits and government agencies while the discourse also simultaneously engages in continued appropriation of Indigenous concepts. (4) Finally, if we agree that industrial-scale resource extraction (including agriculture) and its associated social institutions are (or at least were, for most of the past) the major human influence on altering ecology, then assigning a specific start-date is extremely difficult and probably just an exercise or thought experiment, because at what point in history did these extractivist cosmologies reach “critical mass” and become the leading worldview through which (some) humans disproportionately exercised so much power over altering landscapes?

—–

I’ll recycle something I’ve previously said:

“Did the Anthropocene begin in 1821, or 1822? Did the year 1821 mark the definitive shift into a global expansion of urbanization and monoculture plantation crops, or was it the year 1822?” These are, to some degree, technicalities. This is not, or should not, be the point of “Anthropocene.” I mean, it is often important to know some specific dates; like the specific date that Russian settlers first encountered Steller’s sea cow; the specific date that English authorities issued permits for corporate monopolies on guano trade in Peru; the specific date that deliberate fire-setting dispossessed Indigenous people in Borneo and signaled arrival of palm oil plantations; the specific dates that certain agricultural, colonial, and imperial institutions invaded, expanded, or consolidated their power. But “the single date when imperial cosmologies achieved critical mass as the dominant ecological force”? I think that’s more ambiguous.

I appreciate that some popular venues or forums like academia, occasionally, are at least attempting to openly discuss a 12,000-year-old trend towards imperial power consolidation which relies on social hierarchy, disconnecting communities from local native species and landscapes, Indigenous dispossession, and the commodification of ecological systems. Glad it’s being discussed. But the discourse has issues and I think we can do better than “Anthropocene” as a term. Even if we treat Anthropocene more like an informal thought experiment, and improve it by renaming it “Plantationocene” or something, I still don’t think formally defining a specific date or “Day 1 of the Anthropocene” is as important as clearly identifying which systems and institutions actually provoked centuries of dramatic ecological change and the current ecological collapse. I think that identifying a technical start-date for a geological epoch is comparably a distraction from the discussion of ecological degradation and extinction; a distraction from the concept’s implied-but-inadequate criticism of imperial cosmologies; and a distraction from how global ecological collapse and crisis is closely related to and deeply intertwined with social hierarchies, institutions, and violence against other humans. 

–

Thank you for the question :)

[vicecityhq]

██████████████]99% LOADING...SUSPECT INTO THE APD DATABASE...

WITNESS(ES) SAY HE REMINDS THEM OF: flickering neon lights, the sound of static, retro video games. With a slight resemblance to HAN JISUNG of/the STRAY KIDS.

CLICK BELOW TO VIEW ENTIRE FILE.

FULL FILE:

Last Name, First Name: Nam Jaejin ALIAS: Crypto Realm of birth(if earth, nationality): Earth Age: 21 Date of Birth: January 31st, 2000 Gender: Male Preferred Pronouns: He/him, they/them Species: Cyborg Occupation: Bookkeeper of the Howlers, university student, hacker Sexual Orientation: Pansexual

VISUAL FILE:

Skin Color: Tan Eye color: Brown, with a blue/purple tint at times   Scars: Surgery scars where his enhancements have been added; in his right arm and chest area. Piercings: Right eyebrow, both earlobes Tattoos: When he is not actively using his enhancements, the mechanical arm silhouette on his right arm resembles a tattoo. (x) Hair color: Currently black with white highlights. Abnormalities: Added technological right arm and metallic elements to the right side of his chest. these enhancements affect most of his body/internal system as well (namely his lungs). he has human brains, but they are affected by the technorganic physiology as well. Horns/ wings/ etc: none Transformed form: His technological arm mostly looks like a tattoo to someone who doesn’t know any better. While actively using his abilities, his right arm and chest begin to glow with a blue/purple light and resemble more of a robotic arm/chest. This glow might affect his eyes as well.

PERSONAL FILE:

RELIGIOUS BELIEF:  Raised Catholic, later turned atheist SINS:  greed  /  gluttony  /  sloth  / lust  /  pride  /  envy  /  wrath VIRTUES: chastity  /  charity  /  diligence  /  humility /  kindness /  patience /  justice KNOWN LANGUAGES: Korean (native, dialectal at times), English (mostly fluent), Latin (basics) SECRETS: He has been behind a lot of major hackings towards the government/other significant parties during the last few years. Jaejin will usually attempt to blend in with “normal” humans and civilians, trying to hide both his cyborg-ness as well as his gang affiliation.   SAVVIES: Technology, computer science, hacking, mathematics, video games, planning Powers & Abilities: Technorganic physiology, technology manipulation Traits: + quick-witted - aloof Aesthetics: Flickering neon lights, the sound of static, retro video games

BACKGROUND CHECK:

Date of Birth: January 31st, 2000

Date of Death: -

Crime Record: Multiple hackings against many different significant figures/parties, as well as countless smaller hackings. Involvement in gang activities, mostly relating to fundings. He hasn’t been found guilty for any of these crimes yet, but he is also aware that his record might not stay clean forever.  

Background/Biography:

Born to a wealthy upper-class family in Busan during a cold January, Jaejin was, at first, anything like most kids. He had a younger sister. He had loving parents (albeit ones who had their expectations raised sky-high from the very beginning). And he had a few people around him he could even call friends. The kid was a little shy, a little nerdy, but nothing short of pure and kind towards the ones he cared about. His childhood was a little uneventful, but a happy one regardless.

Jaejin was nearing the age of ten when the unfortunate accident occurred. It was a dark October evening, heavy rain making it nearly impossible to see clearly. Jaejin was returning home from a friend’s house, hurrying down the street as the rain continued to increase.  The kid decided to cross the street, thinking of the Nintendo Gameboy console waiting for him at home. The sound of brakes screeching against the wet asphalt made him halt where he stood. It was all blinding light and the loud howling of a truck’s horn before everything went black.  

Jaejin barely survived the hit, perhaps by some miracle. What didn’t survive was the majority of his right arm. Most of his chest was looking quite vile too, having endured a hit that no human tissue really could. Some of his organs, namely his lungs, were damaged nearly beyond repair. He was barely breathing, only making it with the help of the beeping machines of the hospital. Jaejin’s parents, shocked and shaken up by the whole thing, quickly began to pull strings and search for methods for him to make it. It was a question of any means at that point. A decision that they would perhaps come to regret later.

The boy was taken to a private clinic that specialized in cybernetic surgeries. It was supposed to be just about repairing the parts of him that no longer worked as well as life required. But Jaejin’s surgeon was a charismatic man of science, and was able to convince the higher class family that some small enhancements to his body wouldn’t hurt. The Nam family was eminently very unaware of the lengths that some cybernetic surgeons went in the name of science and test-runs. So when Jaejin awoke some twenty hours later, he was no longer the same boy at all.  

It wasn’t evident, at first. But over the years it became apparent that something had shifted after the surgery. The once very warm boy became aloof, often struggling to empathize with people. In turn he became intelligent in a way he necessarily wasn’t before. Jaejin's emotions weren’t completely shut-off by any means. He felt things, sometimes even strongly, but not always in the way others expected him to. And the boy was ashamed and alone with his thoughts. It wasn’t until years later, during his high school years, that Jaejin discovered the things that he was actually capable of.  Accessing and controlling different technological components became something Jaejin got kicks out of, a different kind of excitement filling him for the first time after the enhancement surgery. And so what if hacking things was illegal? It enabled Jaejin to have control and power. It enabled him to have pride in himself.

After high school, once Jaejin had already enrolled in university to study computer engineering, an acquaintance approached him after a mathematics class. Even at first glance the young man could tell that the things he was about to be told were not something he could tell anyone else. He was asked to follow the man to a place he would later know to be the Howler’s headquarters. His skills and savvies were something they took interest in. And though Jaejin was nothing short of unsure about the offer, he figured he could stay around for a while. Even if only to help the gang with their poor money management skills out of pure curiosity.  

So that was what Jaejin became – a gifted, witty student by day, and a hacker and gang member by night. He had gone by the codename Crypto even before affiliating himself with the Howlers, so it was natural that he also used that alias in his gang endeavors. Jaejin, having taken distance from his family a long time ago, was surprisingly willing to be included in a gang of all things. Maybe it was the things the gang did and provided him with that gave him a sort of thrill and excitement otherwise lacking in his life. Or maybe being a part of a group made him feel a little bit more human again.

INTERVIEW QUESTION (para sample): “Just run us through what happened that night”. - Officer

Jaejin was, for the lack of a better word, in quite a robotic state.

Again, it wasn’t that the man didn't feel anything at the question. Sure he did: he felt annoyance at the fact that he had to be sitting there, in the police station, when he could be tackling his microcomputer architecture project due in a few days. But Jin also knew that it wasn’t really the typical emotion to be feeling while being questioned by an officer. Especially not if you were innocent (and he was, technically speaking).  

“It all happened so fast”, he said instead. He was trying to summon some feelings of shock and maybe even sorrow. Jaejin knew those to be the typical feelings of a civilian witnessing a gunfight, after all. Except in this case it was more of him being in the wrong place at the wrong time, not so much the fact that he hadn’t seen it before. It had been people from the Howlers, though; a fight against some other gang members (for reasons the man frankly didn’t know). And Jaejin had just happened to be there as the police cars arrived with sirens howling.  

He wasn’t going to say any of that though. Jaejin wasn’t about to snitch on his gang members, not if he had nothing to fear. And as far as he knew, none of the scouts involved had actually been caught. The police had nothing on the situation. So he continued to speak in a manner that, in hindsight, was probably too calm for someone who didn’t know anything.  This might come and bite him back at some point. “All I know that there were people in black, many of them. I didn’t really see their faces, probably a gang or something. Suddenly there was a loud noise of gunfire and that’s the part where I ran to the back of the warehouse.” Out of nowhere, Jaejin felt actual emotions surging to the surface. “I was... afraid”, he whispers in a small voice, “I didn’t want to get hurt. To die.”  

Except it wasn’t really his own life he was afraid for. Jaejin found himself back in the situation, the same emotions rushing through him. He was afraid for them. For his own gang members. For better or for worse, the people who accepted him when no one else had. For the first time in a long time, Jaejin was afraid of losing someone (not that he would admit it out loud, though).

[hellzyeahwebwielingessays]

The Problem with Spidey as ‘Iron Man Junior’

Proponents of the MCU version of Peter Parker have often defended his characterization as logical and necessary in context. But is this really the case?

Tl:dr version: No it is not.

Forgive some laziness on my part because I’m going to be presuming everyone’s familiarity with the comic book iteration of Spider-Man and his MCU adaptation for the most part. To say there is a divide between many fans of former vs. the latter would be an understatement.

Detractors (which I count myself among) typically sum this up as the character being reduced to ‘Iron Man Junior’. In general this refers to MCU Peter Parker’s hero-worshipping of Tony Stark/Iron Man, their father/son relationship and the similar emphasis upon high technology in their hero identities. A connected point of contention is Peter’s aspiration to become an Avenger.

This was outright confirmed by Tom Holland himself in an interview for the then upcoming ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’.

"I think the difference now is that Peter Parker finally has an all-time goal, and his goal is to become an Avenger…Everything he does, even though he's doing it for the right reasons, is done so that one day he can become an Avenger and prove himself to Tony Stark. And I think we've never really seen Spider-Man with that kind of motivation before."

Defenders of this take upon Spidey have argued that this portrayal makes sense in context.

After all, Peter Parker is a teenager who’s grown up in a world where the Avengers are beloved, especially Iron Man. Plus in the comics (under J. Michael Straczynski’s pen) there was a time when Peter and Tony shared a father/son relationship. Tony even equipped Peter with a high tech costume as he did in the MCU. Spider-Man early in his career attempted to join the Fantastic Four in ASM #1 and later the Avengers in ASM Annual #3.

The problem is these defences just don’t hold up to scrutiny.

Let me first be upfront about my philosophy towards adaptations.

I in no way shape or form demand nor expect adaptations to be 1:1 panel to screen translations of the source material. I fully respect that changes are a necessity.

One of many 22-page comic book stories put out every month in the 1960s inevitably needs to be altered when jumping to a 90+ minute live action film in the 2010s.

Even the characterizations need to be altered where necessary if the source material is found wanting. *side eyes Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy*

However, my attitude is that adaptations should at minimum respect the spirit  of the source material no matter what. To do otherwise defeats the object of adapting the work in the first place. If a film is just borrowing superficial traits (names, costumes, powers, etc.) and but not representing the spirit of the character, then creatively speaking it might as well be an original character.

This is the case with the MCU version of Spider-Man. A fundamental component of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s original vision for Spider-Man was that he was in essence the anti-Robin.

At a time when teenaged characters were sidekicks (Dick Grayson), supporting characters (Rick Jones) or the ‘kids’ in teams (Johnny Storm) Peter Parker was unique as a totally independent  teen hero. Of course that independence only applied to his life as Spider-Man, but that was part of the point. Spider-Man was his escape and release from the pressures and hang ups of his regular life, which included his doting yet coddling aunt.

A critical part of this was that he was a self-made  man. No elder mentor guided him in the use of his powers, helped him create his equipment or provided any sort of advice/accountability for Peter. He did it all himself. He was a loner.

On a meta level this is partially why Stan Lee (and for the longest time consequent writers) showcased Spidey not jiving with super teams. It was done to emphasis Peter’s independence and thereby his uniqueness within the genre. Even if that’s not so unique anymore (even in film), it’s still a baked in component of teen Spidey’s story. An essential aspect of who he is as a character.

As is his working class status.*

In fact these things go hand-in-hand. Just as Peter had to shoulder an ‘adult hero’s’ burden as Spider-Man (noticeably Lee didn’t dub him Spider-Boy or Lad as would’ve been common back then he also had to struggle for every penny. With the death of his uncle and his aunt’s poor health the burden of household provider fell on his shoulders.

When you take all this into account, having him fanboy over the Avengers and have a superhero mentor (let alone a billionaire one) is an aggressive misreading of the character.

The best way I can illustrate this is with an analogy from the opposite end of the spectrum. Imagine if you will a movie depicting Dick Grayson’s transformation into Robin. Except Batman was wholly absent. Not even an off-screen presence.

That  is how poorly MCU has missed the point  of Spider-Man.

And it was never necessary.

Contrary to defenders of the MCU, making Peter an Avengers/Iron Man fanboy was not the only logical direction to go with the character.**

Yes, in Peter’s world most kids would revere the Avengers and Iron Man. But in the real world not every kid or teen likes the Avengers characters or movies. Just as not every major pop culture phenomenon has ever been universally  embraced by contemporary kids/teens. In the 1980s not every kid loved the Transformers or the Ninja Turtles. In the 1990s not ever kid loved the Power Rangers or Pokémon.

Of course, most kids did, just as most  kids like the Avengers characters today. Similarly most  kids in the MCU by extension would look up to the Avengers. However, if anything this could actually help generate a more spiritually faithful rendition of the character. Consider that on literally the first page of Amazing Fantasy #15 Peter Parker was mocked by his classmates for being an outsider. A bookworm who didn’t know the difference between a cha-cha and a waltz.

In the context of the MCU wouldn’t Peter’s lack of familiarity or interest in the Avengers make for an appropriate updating of that characterization?

Let’s also consider that in the context of the regular 616 universe Spidey held little reverence for any of the heroes who had preceded him. This included Captain America and other WWII heroes as well as the Fantastic Four and their leader, the world famous scientist Reed Richards. Peter would’ve surely known who Reed and Cap were but as originally depicted by Stan lee himself, he wasn’t falling over himself during any of their early encounters.

So there was already a precedent in the comics for Spidey to not be dazzled by famous A-list heroes, meaning it’d be totally believable in the context of the MCU. Indeed this was likely part of the point of the character. Just as being Spider-Man didn’t improve his outsider status within the high school hierarchy so too was he an outsider among his super hero peers. The nerd to the Avengers jocks if you will.

But what of those comic book sources that say otherwise? Surely ASM #1, ASM Annual #3 and JMS’ run on Amazing Spider-Man corroborate the MCU’s take upon the character.

Yes and no, let’s tackle them one by one.

In ASM #1 it was made explicit that Peter wanted to join the F4 for purely practical reasons. His family needed money so he hoped the F4 could provide and income. When he learned otherwise he departed as quickly as he’d arrived.

In ASM Annual #3 Peter was far from eager  to join the Avengers and was equally unimpressed with them as a group.

He actively sabotaged his own chances to join at the issue’s conclusion.

As for Straczynski’s run…sigh…strap in.

At face value this run does indeed seem to support the MCU’s rendition of Spidey. However, the support it offers falls apart due to two factors.

The first is that, well…Peter and Tony’s relationship was pretty nonsensical.

I’m no Iron Man expert so I do not know how old the character would be roughly. From my impressions of the character though circa 2006 he wasn’t even in his 40s yet. Peter by contrast was 30 years old when you do the math. Unlike Tony he’d had several very serious romantic relationships and was back then happily married (barring a brief trial separation). He and his wife had lost a child and even believed one another dead at one point or another. Peter at the time was also working as a teacher to teenagers where he was clearly framed as their elder authority figure.

What I’m saying is that Peter was if anything more emotionally mature than Tony at this time. Or at least he was mature to the point where he was not going to view Tony as his father figure given the minor age discrepancy.

The relationship was clearly engineered with the pre-determined endgame in mind. That endgame being the ‘Civil War’ storyline wherein Peter would unmask upon Tony’s request and subsequently become a fugitive in defiance of Tony’s unethical practices. The latter would entail Tony threatening Peter and the pair coming to blows.

This brings me to the second factor. The totality of Peter/Tony’s relationship was designed to be a testament to how it was ultimately a bad thing.

Tony wasn’t the man Peter believed him to be.

Tony didn’t have Peter’s best interests at heart.

Tony was willing to spy, threaten and even attack Peter.

And along the way Peter and his family lost their home and the safety of Peter’s anonymity. The end result was Peter’s life becoming a shell of it’s former self, with his loved ones in serious danger. In fact you could view his fugitive status as a way to recreate the ‘good old days’ when Spider-Man was feared and hated by the public and authorities.

Had Peter retained his independence rather than surrendering any part of it to his ‘father figure’ Tony Stark, much of this could’ve been avoided. If nothing else Peter might’ve been able to unmask privately rather than publicly.

Whilst the MCU addresses the first factor via de-aging Peter, it has no answer for the second. It borrowed from the JMS run superficially and ditched the greater subtext regarding how Peter shouldn’t  have formed a relationship with Tony.

I’d like to conclude by addressing the most obvious counterpoint to everything I’ve said.

If Spider-Man were more comic faithful wouldn’t it undermine the entire point of him being in the MCU? The appeal of the concept was seeing Spider-Man interact with the wider MCU. From the audience’s POV seeing yet another Spidey flick confined to using Spider-Man exclusive elements might as well have been produced solely by Sony.

The problem with this argument though is that it doesn’t consider the myriad of possibilities available. Spidey could interact with the wider MCU and still be in character.

I’m no writer but off the top of my head:

Spidey could have defied the Sokovia Accords and thus been wanted by the authorities (a neat updating of his traditional ‘outlaw’ status), consequently coming into conflict  with Iron Man

Spidey might have still dueled the Vulture and interacted with Tony as he did in ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’. However, instead of gradually realizing he should be a ‘friendly neighborhood’ hero, he could call Tony out for ignoring small scale crime which indirectly ‘created’ the Vulture in the first place

Following ‘Avengers: Endgame’ the dissolution of the Avengers combined with the huge uptick in the population and displacement of citizens might’ve caused far more street crime that Peter would have to deal with. The remnants of H.Y.D.R.A. might’ve exploited this to gain a foothold upon which to rebuild.*** That might’ve warrant an appearance from more grounded heroes like Hawkeye or Ant-Man

An environment like this could’ve been exploited by Quentin Beck to frame Spider-Man, exploiting his already shaky public reputation and make himself look more appealing by contrast

Or Hell just do ‘Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut’ but with the Hulk as Roger Stern planned to do in the first place

I’m sure many of you could suggest infinitely better ideas.

In conclusion, no matter how you slice it, there were better options than rendering Peter Parker Iron Man Junior instead of Spider-Man.

*Peter, as depicted in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ was clearly not well off financially, yet consequent depictions of Peter in the MCU have de-emphasized this to the point where you could argue they are very probably not working class anymore.

This makes sense internally as a billionaire Tony Stark has no reason to take Peter under his wing but allow him to still dumpster dive for equipment. Giving the boy at least some modest financial stability would be a logical step in building a relationship with him and giving him more time and energy to put into his scientific and heroic pursuits.

Whilst I don’t exactly agree with everything said here, this post dives into the subject more deeply.

**And even if it was, if the context demands Peter be rendered so unrecognizable then maybe it was just creatively reductive to integrate him into the MCU the first place.

***They have after all had connections to organized crime in the comics.

[arcticdementor]

“Hey bro! Check out this Nike ad!” This was my entry point into a new world.

…

Since Carlos had lived mostly outside the United States, he was able to follow soccer on a level I’d never encountered in my hometown. Back then, before social media and the advent of scarf-wearing Northwestern fútbol hipsters, big-time European soccer was like the metric system: Known to almost all but ourselves. But Carlos knew, and immediately used LimeWire to curate me a massive archive of 1990s through early 2000s soccer highlights. What was I doing in the world without them?

Oddly enough, in trying to inculcate me in soccer fandom, he started not with game highlights, but with the advertisements. Yes, Carlos was an educator and a voluntary footsoldier for Big Apparel. Going in, I had no clue about high-quality, internationally popular Nike soccer ads. The ads, written by the legendary Wieden+Kennedy firm, were miniature movies, films that were often creatively daring but also quite funny. The most popular of these ads might be “Good vs. Evil,” from 1996, where Nike’s best soccer players team up to play Satan’s literal army. The blending of sacrilege, theology and comedy just worked, like a more ambitious version of Space Jam that somehow took itself less seriously than Space Jam.

…

Yes, I know ads aren’t supposed to be high art. I understand that they are the purest distillation of manipulative greed. And yet, they sometimes are culturally relevant generational touchstones. While Nike was weaving soccer into enduring pop culture abroad, it was having a similar kind of success with basketball and baseball stateside. These ads weren’t just pure ephemera. Michael Jordan’s commercials were so good that, as he nears age 60, his sneaker still outsells any modern athlete’s. “Chicks dig the long ball” is a phrase (a) that can get you sent to the modern HR department and b) whose origins are fondly remembered by most American men over the age of 35.

Modern Nike ads will never be so remembered. It’s not because we’re so inundated with information these days, though we are. And it’s not because today’s overexposed athletes lack the mystique of the 1990s superstars, though they do. It’s because the modern Nike ads are beyond fucking terrible.

…

They’re bad for many causes, but one in particular is an incongruity at the company’s heart. Nike, like so many major institutions, is suffering from what I’ll call Existence Dissonance. It’s happening in a particular way, for a particular reason and the result is that what Nike is happens to be at cross-purposes from what Nike aspires to be.

…

For all the talk of a racial reckoning within major industries, Nike’s main problem is this: It’s a company built on masculinity, most specifically Michael Jordan’s alpha dog brand of it. Now, due to its own ambitions, scandals, and intellectual trends, Nike finds masculinity problematic enough to loudly reject.

This rejection is part of the broader culture war, but it’s accelerating due to an arcane quirk in the apparel giant’s strange restructuring plan, announced in June. Under the leadership of new CEO John Donahoe, Nike is moving away from its classic discrete sports categories (Nike Basketball, Nike Soccer, etc.) in favor of a system where all products are shoveled into one of three divisions: men’s, women’s and kids’. Obviously Nike made clothing tailored to the specificities of all these groups before, but now, Nike is emphasizing gender over sport. Gone is the model of the product appealing to basketball fans because they are basketball fans. It’s now replaced by a model of, say, the product appealing to women because they are women.

And hey, women buy sneakers too. Actually, women buy the lion’s share of clothing in the United States. While women shoppers are market dominant in nearly every aspect of American apparel, the clothing multinational named after a Greek goddess happens to be a major exception. At Nike, according to its own records, men account for roughly twice as much revenue as women do.

You might see that stat and think, “Well, this means that Nike will prioritize men over women in its new, odd, gendered segmentation of the company.” That’s not necessarily how this all works, thanks to a phenomenon I’ll call Undecided Whale. The idea is that a company, as its aims grow more expansive, starts catering less to the locked-in core customer and more to a potential whale which demonstrates some interest. Sure, you can just keep doing what’s made you rich, but how can you even focus on your primary business with that whale out there, swimming so tantalizingly close? The whale, should you bring it in, has the potential to enrich you far more than your core customers ever did. And yeah yeah yeah, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, but those were birds. This is a damned whale! And so you start forgetting about your base.

You can see this dynamic in other places. For the NBA, China is its Undecided Whale. It could be argued that the NBA fixates more on China than on America, even if the vast majority of TV money comes from U.S. viewership. The league figures it has more or less hit its ceiling in its home country, so China becomes an obsession as this massive, theoretical growth engine.

…

Here’s the main issue for Nike in this endeavor: The company, as a raison d’être, promotes athletic excellence. While women are among Nike’s major sports stars, the core of high-level performance, in the overwhelming majority of sports, is male. Every sane person knows that, though nobody in professional class life seems rude enough to say so. Obviously, there’s the observable reality of who tends to set records and there’s also the pervasive understanding that testosterone, the main male sex hormone, happens to give unfair advantages to the athletes who inject it.

Speaking of which, there’s a famous This American Life episode from 2002 where the public radio journos actually test their own testosterone levels. The big joke of the episode is just how comically low their T levels are. Sure, you would stereotype bookish public radio men in this way, and yet the results are on the nose enough to shock.

As a nerdy media-weakling type, I can relate to the stunning realization that you’ve been largely living apart from T. Before working in the NBA setting, I was an intern in the cubicles of Salon.com’s San Francisco office, around the time it was shifting from respectable online magazine into inane outrage content mill. Going from that setting to the NBA locker room was some jarring whiplash, like leaving the faculty lounge for a pirate ship. To quote Charles Barkley on the latter culture, “The locker room is sexist, racist, and homophobic … and it’s fun and I miss it.”

…

The “Good vs. Evil” ad boasts a “Like” to “Dislike” ratio of 20-to-1 on YouTube. On June 17th of 2021, Nike put out an ad ahead of the Euro Cup that referenced “Good vs. Evil” as briefly as it could. In this case, a little child popped his collar and used Cantona’s catchphrase. As of this writing, the new ad has earned a thousand more punches of the Dislike than of the Like button.

When you see it, it’s no surprise that the latest Euro Cup ad is disliked. I mean, you have to look at this shit. I know we’re so numb to the ever-escalating emanations of radical chic from our largest corporations, but sometimes it’s worth pausing just to take stock and gawk.

…

But today we are in the land of new football, where we take dictatorial direction from less-than-athletic minors. After her announcement, we are treated to a montage of different people who offer tolerance bromides.

“There are no borders here!”

“Here, you can be whoever you want. Be with whoever you want.”

(Two men kiss following that line, because subtlety isn’t part of this new world order.)

Then, a woman who appears to be breastfeeding under a soccer shirt, threatens, in French, “And if you disagree …”

And this is when the little boy gives us Cantona’s “au revoir” line before kicking a ball out of a soccer stadium, presumably because that’s what happens to the ignorant soccer hooligan. He gets kicked out for raging against gay men kissing or French ladies breastfeeding or somesuch. Later, a referee wearing a hijab instructs us, “Leave the hate,” before narrator girl explains, “You might as well join us because no one can stop us.”

Is that last line supposed to be … inspiring? That’s what a movie villain says, like if Bane took the form of Stan Marsh’s sister. Speaking of which, was this ad actually written by the creators of South Park as an elaborate prank? It’s certainly more convincing as an aggressive parody of liberals than as a sales pitch. Why, in anything other than a comedic setup, is a woman breastfeeding in a big-budget Euro Cup ad?

It’s tempting to fall into the pro-vanguardism template the boomers have handed down to us and sheepishly say, “I must be getting old, because this seems weird to me,” but let’s get real. You dislike this ad because it sucks. You are having a natural, human response to shitty art. This a hollow sermon from a priest whose sins were in the papers. Nobody is impressed by what Nike’s doing here. Nobody thinks Nike, a multinational famous for its sweatshops, is ushering us into an enlightened utopia. Sure, most media types are afraid to criticize the ad publicly. You might inspire suspicion that what you’re secretly against is men kissing and women breastfeeding, but nobody actually likes the stupid ad. No college kid would show it to a new friend he’s trying to impress, and it’s hard to envision a massive cohort of Gen Z women giving a shit about this ad either.

Now juxtapose that ad not just against the classics of the 1990s but also the 2000s products that preceded the Great Awokening. Compare it to another Nike Euro Cup advertisement, Guy Ritchie’s “Take It to the Next Level.”

…

Here’s the problem, insofar as problems are pretended into existence by our media class: The ad is very, very male. Really, what we are watching here is a boyhood fantasy. Our protagonist gets called up to the big show, and next thing you know he’s cavorting with multiple ladies, and autographing titties to the chagrin of his date. He can be seen buying a luxury sports car and arriving at his childhood home in it as his father beams with pride. Training sessions show him either puking from exhaustion or playing grab-ass with his fellow soccer bros. This is jock life, distilled. Art works when it’s true and it’s true that this is a vivid depiction of a common fantasy realized.

Nike’s highly successful “Write the Future” ad (16,000 Likes, 257 Dislikes) works along similar themes.

…

The recent Olympic ads were especially heavy on cringe radical chic, and might have stood out less in this respect if the athletes themselves mirrored that tone on the big stage. Not so much in these Olympics. It seems as though Nike made the commercials in preparation for an explosion of telegenic activism, only to see American athletes mostly, quietly accept their medals, chomp down on the gold, and praise God or country. Perhaps you could consider Simone Biles bowing out of events due to mental health as a form of activism, but overall, the athletes basically behaved in the manner they would have back in 1996.

But Nike forged onwards anyway. This ad in celebration of the U.S. women’s basketball team made some waves, getting ripped in conservative media as the latest offense by woke capital.

…

“Today I have a presentation on dynasties,” a pink-haired teenage girl tells us. “But I refuse to talk about the ancient history and drama. That’s just the patriarchy. Instead, I’m going to talk about a dynasty that I actually look up to. An all-women dynasty. Women of color. Gay women. Women who fight for social justice. Women with a jump shot. A dynasty that makes your favorite men’s basketball, football, and baseball teams look like amateurs.”

When she says, “That’s just the patriarchy,” the camera pans to a bust of (I think) Julius Caesar. At another point, the girl says, “A dynasty that makes Alexander the Great look like Alexander the Okay.” Fuck you, Classical Antiquity. Fuck you, fans of teams. You’re all just the patriarchy. Or something.

Nike could easily sell the successful American women’s basketball team without denigrating other teams, genders and ancient Mediterranean empires that have nothing to do with this. Could but won’t. The company now conveys an almost visceral need for women to triumph over men because … well, nobody really explains why, even if it has something to do with Undecided Whaling. In Nike’s tentpole Olympics ad titled “Best Day Ever,” the narrator fantasizes about the future, declaring, “The WNBA will surpass the NBA in popularity!” ​

…

There are theories on the emergence of woke capital, with many having observed that, following Occupy Wall Street, media institutions ramped up on census category grievance. The thinking goes that, in response to the threat of a real economic revolution, the power players in our society pushed identity politics to undermine group solidarity. Well, that was a fiendishly brilliant plan, if anyone actually hatched it.

I’m not so convinced, though, as I’m more inclined to believe that a lot of history happens by happenstance. If we’re to specifically analyze the Nike Awokening, there is a recent top-down element of a mandate for Undecided Whaling, but that mandate was preceded by a socially conscious middle class campaign within the company.

This isn’t unique to Nike, either. Given my past life covering the team that tech moguls root for, I’ve run into such people. They aren’t, by and large, ideological. Very few are messianically devoted to seeing the world through the intersectionality lens. They are, however, terrified of their employees who feel this way. The mid-tier labor force, this cohort who actually internalized their university teachings, are full of fervor and willing to risk burned bridges in favor of causes they deem righteous. The big bosses just don’t want a headline-making walkout on their hands, so they placate and mollify, eventually bending the company’s voice into language of righteousness.

…

All the guilt and atonement transference make for bad art. And so the ads suck. There’s no Machiavellian conspiracy behind the production. It’s just a combination of desperately wanting female market share and desperately wanting to move on from the publicized sins of a masculine past. So, to message its ambitions, the exhausted corporation leans on the employees with the loudest answers.

There’s a lot of interplay between Nike and Wieden+Kennedy when the former asks the latter for a type of ad, but the through line from both sides is a lot of cooks in the kitchen. Based on conversations with people who’ve worked in both environments, there’s a dearth of personnel who are deeply connected to sports. In place of a grounding in a subculture, you’re getting ideas from folks who went to nice colleges and trendy ad schools, the type of people who throw words like “patriarchy” at the screen to celebrate a gold medal victory. The older leaders, uneasy in their station and thus obsessed with looking cutting edge, lean on the younger types because the youth are confident. Unfortunately, that confidence is rooted in an ability to regurgitate liturgy, rather than generative genius. They’ve a mandate to replace a marred past, which they leap at, but they’re incapable of inventing a better future.

…

Ironically, Nike mattered a lot more in the days when its position was less dominant. Back when it had to really fight for market share, it made bold, genre-altering art. The ads were synonymous with masculine victory, plus they were cheekily irreverent. And so the dudes loved them. Today, Nike is something else. It LARPs as a grandiose feminist nonprofit as it floats aimlessly on the vessel Michael Jordan built long ago. Like Jordan himself, Nike is rich forever off what it can replicate never. Unlike Jordan, it now wishes to be known for anything but its triumphs. Nike once told a story and that story resonated with its audience. Now it’s decided that its audience is the problem. It wouldn’t shock you to learn that Carlos hated the new Nike ads I texted to him. His exact words were, “I don’t want fucking activism from a sweatshop monopoly.” He’ll still buy the gear, though, just not the narrative. Nike remains, but the story about itself has run out. Au revoir. 

[heliumdish07-blog]

Lawyers in Alkmaar - Why You Must Get in touch with a Lawyer in Alkmaar

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The Keys To Making Online Law College Successful.

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Another interesting example is France, where for much of the 20th century, all judiciary officials were graduates of an elite expert college for judges. The study brought in a total of 155 feedbacks, that included 97 in law practice as well as 35 in business legal departments. Several, 43 per cent, worked in a firm or legal department with 2 to 9 lawyers and also many, 57 per cent, had just one workplace. Lawyers in private method normally operate in specialized companies known as law office, with the exception of English lawyers.

The Keys To Making Online Law Institution Effective.

Nonetheless, in a large number of nations, a law pupil have to pass a bar examination prior to getting a permit to exercise. In a handful of U.S. states, one may come to be an attorney (a so-called nation lawyer) by simply "reading law" as well as passing the bar exam, without having to attend law institution initially. Some countries require extensive clinical training in the form of instructions or unique medical courses.

Therefore, be particular that you get all these details and compare to learn which will certainly work for you. Due to the fact that they have spent a lot of money as well as time as well as initiatives right into making certain that they obtain to the degree of affection for clients, this is. In situation you need assist with conflicts or special Work problems linked to employment, this is precisely what you need. The very best law office will have work law lawyers Alkmaar prepared to be specific that these concerns do not swallow you.

I know companions in small metros at 20 person law companies clearing close to a $400k a year. A high quantity accident TV lawyer that just recently started I recognize removed that much in one backup situation recently. For lots of lawyers, practicing law in New york city is the supreme objective-- the most distinguished companies on the planet call it home.

Some territories have 2 sorts of lawyers, barrister and also lawyers, whilst others fuse the two. A barrister is a lawyer who concentrates on higher court appearances. A solicitor is a lawyer who is trained to offer and also prepare situations suggestions on lawful topics and can stand for individuals in lower courts.

Other possible work contexts include exclusive methods, law firms, federal government organizations, and also corporate workplaces. Possible functions consist of public interest lawyer, government prosecutor, internal company guidance, or public defense attorney. Physicians acknowledge the value in possessing equity investments in brand-new medications, medical gadgets and clinical devices. A few of them will have components of the health center where they function. This is one more area where lawyers appear to vary dramatically.

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Many law students begin their expert training during law college via law institution facilities with not-for-profit companies. Working under the supervision of knowledgeable lawyers, pupils in these facilities take part in real-world legal obligations such as checking out situations as well as counseling clients. King & Timber Mallesons is a multinational law office with workplaces in 14 nations. Its predecessor firms consisted of King & Wood and Mallesons Stephen Jaques, formerly one of Australias Big Six.

In developing nations like India, a huge bulk of law pupils never ever actually technique, yet merely use their law degree as a foundation for professions in various other fields. Legal guidance is the application of abstract concepts of law to the concrete truths of the customer's case in order to advise the customer regarding what they need to do following. In several nations, just a correctly accredited lawyer may provide legal suggestions to clients completely factor to consider, even if no suit is considered or remains in development.

ABA regulation 1.8 permits business deals w/ customers though greatly regulates it. If lawyers took bigger risks with their occupations I believe they 'd see even more revenues though the majority of are threat averse as it's the most valuable state of mind in a career that sells danger allotment. I understand a late occupation insurance coverage defense attorney in 3 person law firm getting rid of ~$ 120k a year regularly.

A couple of countries prefer to show with designated readings of judicial opinions adhered to by extreme in-class interrogation by the professor. Many others have just lectures on highly abstract lawful teachings, which forces young lawyers to identify exactly how to really believe and also write like a lawyer at their very first instruction.

A lot more law colleges are additionally starting to use much shorter and also much shorter courses-- practically like Exec Education and learning for people thinking about specific legal subjects. So if you intend to discover one area of law you can currently do so in 6-10 week programs that don't need returning to school full-time.

The variety of lawyers used at the fifty largest Dutch law firms boosted by 2% to more than 4,400, in 2015, discloses new analysis. Development was highest in the leading 10 section of the law market, with a rise of 10%, accounting for practically 100 additional lawyers. I wonder if legal tech is guaranteeing for equity investment like med technology is for physicians?

The flexible career of consulting can enable lawyers to pick which organizations they serve. Consultants might help companies, not-for-profit organizations, governments, or specific clients. Lawyer tasks as well as work vary relying on job, field, and company context. Some experts largely supply lawful advise, while other lawyers represent customers routinely in court.

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Both barristers as well as lawyers have gone through law college, completed the requisite functional training. However, in territories where there is a split-profession, only barristers are confessed as members of their corresponding bar organization. On-the-job training for lawyers depends somewhat on expertise, sector, and also job goals.

Tort regulations covers situations entailing mishaps, all-natural catastrophes, wrongful fatality, etc . The accident of individuals and additionally residential or commercial property damage may result from a tort insurance coverage case.

Caesar van Everdingen was buried on 13 October 1678 in the Grote Kerk in Alkmaar. His widow Helena van Oosthoorn provided several of the paints in her property to the Van Everdingen family members. She ultimately wed Pieter Gerritsz Lang, the sheriff of Bergen, near Alkmaar, yet the marriage ended in separation in 1687. Helena was hidden in the Grote Kerk on 22 June 1694, in the same tomb as Caesar. If so, do not shed the possibility to update your company's profile, add products, offers and also greater position in internet search engine.

Furthermore, if you're working with a firm that's bankrupt, you need aid. Reputable as well as professional lawyers are ready and also delighted to assist you in this area of lawenforcement. As a business owner, you can check out a law Firm in Alkmaar to aid manage all threats or perhaps develop possibilities. The most effective law practice will primarily be taken part as your attorney to guidance you regarding exactly how to resolve estates.

It will be interesting to see exactly how these need patterns alter the large law practice over time. I love your blog site BTW-- I am not a lawyer, however I am a high net worth Millennial and also appreciate your viewpoints. The very first university degrees, beginning with the law school of the College of Bologna in the 11th century, were all law levels as well as doctorates. Levels in other areas did not begin till the 13th century, however the medical professional remained to be the only level offered at most of the old colleges till the 20th century.

After one gains a law level, occupation flexibility may be badly constrained. For example, unlike their American equivalents, it is challenging for German judges to leave the bench as well as end up being advocates secretive practice.

Who makes more solicitors or barristers?

Solicitors have a more stable income but the top barristers get paid more than most top solicitors; although the average solicitor may be paid more. Add to that the one year barristers have to spend in pupillage/deviling and the risks of taking the barrister path are higher.

We have experience managing lots of top-level matters and also transactions in the Netherlands, consisting of working with pan-European issues. With our strong setting in the Dutch service neighborhood and our roots in the United States, we really are a Dutch law firm with an American heart.

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During Safe's Yearly Associate Study, we asked associates who work in the Large Apple to rank the reputations of peer firms within NYC. Maintain reviewing to figure out the most prestigious law office in New York.

The sufferer may file a claim against the charged for the problems occurring from the tort. The regulations of tort consists of circumstances including negligent, willful as well as also untrustworthy activities and also suitables for damages as well as injuries that occurred from those activities. Most lawyers work for district lawyer offices, law governments, firms, or firms, however some lawyers run exclusive methods or work individually as consultants.

What type of lawyer gets paid the most in Australia?

What Type of Lawyer Earns the Most?General-In-House Lawyers came first, at an average annual salary of $128,988. Constructions Lawyers came second highest, at an average annual salary of $124,041. Corporate & Commercial Lawyers come third highest, at an average annual salary of $118,558. More items•

With the region of residential property law and residential or commercial property being essential, these legal aids will can be found in to guide you on clients, programmers, as well as specialists. Family law is established for issues associating with marriage partnership, fostering, child security, separation, splitting up and different other issues worrying relative issues. It manages the young people in addition to with the moms and dads along with their participation.

Lawyers seldom invest alongside their customers in transaction, neither do they seem to have equity stakes in company endeavors related to the practice of law. This is different than various other countries, like Australia, where law firms are noted on the public exchanges. I have had the opportunity to run digital advertising campaigns for a number of the top law colleges in the US-- both for their JD and LLM programs. There are some actually fascinating fads that highlight exactly how demand for law degrees are altering. First, rate of interest in JD programs has actually dropped significantly over the previous 5 years.

The term "medical professional" has actually given that fallen into disuse, although it is still a legal title in Italy as well as being used in lots of nations outside of Europe. In a lot of civil law nations, lawyers generally structure their legal education and learning around their selected specialized; the borders in between different kinds of lawyers are meticulously defined as well as tough to cross.

The vast majority of law firms worldwide are small companies that range in size from 1 to 10 lawyers. The USA, with its large number of firms with more than 50 lawyers, is an exception. The United Kingdom and Australia are also exceptions, as the UK, Australia as well as the U.S. are now home to a number of firms with more than 1,000 lawyers after a wave of mergings in the late 1990s. Subscribe and also obtain breaking information, discourse, as well as point of views on law practice, lawyers, law institutions, claims, judges, and also extra.

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To learn more, please go to Allied Lawyers site. Among the top global litigation as well as service law office in Canada, Fasken LLP has almost 700 lawyers spread out across 10 workplaces on four continents. Workplaces for this company lie all throughout Canada, including Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa, as well as Quebec. The company has worldwide workplaces located in Paris as well as London, in addition to a branch workplace in South Africa as well as China. With 180 lawyers, tax obligation notaries, consultants and economic experts, we provide Dutch and also foreign multinationals regional as well as cross-border legal as well as tax advice.

Recognized in the marketplace for our cutting-edge, pragmatic method, we aid customers confiscate opportunities, alleviate risks and fix complicated service, lawful as well as tax obligation concerns. Our office was the first Dutch law practice to join a multinational network and also develop an incorporated civil, financial and notarial method. In many common law countries, particularly those with fused professions, lawyers have many choices over the course of their careers. Besides personal technique, they can come to be a prosecutor, federal government advice, company internal guidance, management law court, law, court, or mediator professor. There are also several non-legal work for which legal training is good preparation, such as political leader, corporate executive, federal government administrator, investment reporter, lender, or entrepreneur.

Our clients value our capacity to understand-- as well as properly handle-- the interaction in between these needs. The difficulties our customers deal with do not fit with the synthetic boundaries of other law firms' practice groups.

Based out of Canada, Allied Lawyers is one of the fastest emerging global law practice, offering several high-profile customers. The company is in the expansion stage with offices now additionally in UAE, Iraq, and also China. In the context of worldwide law, it concentrates in varied locations, consisting of corporate and industrial segments, property, as well as worldwide trade as well as mediation.

According to this resource, as of 2003, there were 901 law office with more than 50 lawyers in the United States. Some nations, like Italy, regulate lawyers at the regional level, and a few, like Belgium, also control them at the regional level. In lots of nations, lawyers are family doctors that stand for clients in a broad area of legal matters. In others, there has actually been a propensity because the beginning of the 20th century for lawyers to specialize early in their professions. Some territories approve a "diploma advantage" to certain establishments, so that just earning a degree or credential from those institutions is the main qualification for exercising law.

Consequently, even conveyancer as well as business internal advise have to initially get a license to exercise, though they may in fact invest extremely little of their jobs in court. Failure to comply with such a rule is the criminal activity of unauthorized practice of law. In method, lawful jurisdictions exercise their right to establish that is acknowledged as being a lawyer. Because of this, the definition of the term "lawyer" might vary from location to place.

They ensure you obtain all that's best according to the law. You have to comprehend that not all of law company Alkmaar services can aid you out if you do. That is since not every one of these Alkmaar law office might provide you with the experience, rejuvenating, as well as proactive legal recommendations along with litigation.

What is considered big law firm?

Although the term “biglaw” is prone to some variance in usage, the most commonly accepted definitions would stipulate that a biglaw job involves working in a large firm (the definition of “large” can also vary; the minimum would be 101 attorneys or more) that pays attorneys the market rate for large firms (currently

With around 169 partners as well as 756 lawyers, the company offers a wide range of services ranging from competition, profession as well as regulative to tax law. Greenberg Traurig's Amsterdam workplace is house to more than 40 lawyers, tax consultants, as well as civil-law notaries. We suggest firms that are energetic both in the Netherlands in addition to internationally.

You can employ the solutions of lawyers in Alkmaar to possess claims collected. Seizures are imposed after an appointment with you by the attorney to make certain your financial obligation collection stand is clear.

[punkrockpolitix]

Strap in for an Ugly Ride

by Mitch Maley — This week, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden did the most Joe Biden thing left to do in announcing that centrist NeoLiberal Senator Kamala Harris would be his running mate. The establishment left swooned and suburban liberals rejoiced, while the lunatic right clutched their collective pearls at such a “radical” choice. Meanwhile, the rest of us yawned as the stage was set for an absurd, bizarro world, alternative-reality election that will take place in the midst of the most unstable American society in modern history.

The chaos created by the 45th President of the United States has a way of wearing the reasonable mind rather thin. After all, who aside from the angry mobs of nativists does not long for a return to the normalcy of the early aughts when all we had to worry about was forever wars in the Middle East, an infinitely-expanding wealth gap, 50 million Americans without healthcare, and trade policies that had hollowed out the middle class. Sure, the children of white collar elites would continue to thrive (so long as they could avoid pill mills and heroin needles). Meanwhile, the offspring of former factory workers who couldn't afford an increasingly cost-prohibitive college education would toil in Amazon warehouses with few benefits and no shot at the kind of modest defined-benefit pensions that had allowed their parents to enjoy some modicum of prosperity in their twilight years and increasingly gloomier chances of even enjoying the social security payments that have kept millions more from abject poverty once their working days were behind them, but that was certainly a little easier to swallow than 2020 has thus far been.

Sure, automation had already begun eating away at more jobs than even offshoring had, we'd done nothing to address the climate crisis beyond symbolic, feel-good policies that avoided pissing off the wrong special interests, and the only amber waves of economic growth in the past 30 years had been driven by engineered bubbles. So what? Wall Street was happy (the stock market tripled under Obama) even if the big party was being floated by artificially-cheap credit, and besides, we could all go to sleep each night relatively certain that we wouldn't face a zombie apocalypse type situation on any given morning which is more than you can say about our current situation.

But let's not forget where things had gotten by 2016 when populist spasms on both sides of the ideological spectrum saw our traditional two party-driven political process totally upended. Harnessing the power of the internet had been largely responsible for President Obama successfully splintering the Democratic establishment in 2008, but let's not over-romanticize the grass or the roots. Obama was the product of an inter-party schism that saw a large number of career Dems break from the Clinton dynasty and its requirement for complete fealty to the party's grudge-bearing first family.

Obama was not an anomaly. He was Wall Street approved, Bilderberg-blessed and mainstream media anointed because, regardless of what others projected upon him, he was a typical center-right Dem who wouldn't rock any of those boats. Yes, the right labeled him a dangerously-radical liberal, but those who paid attention in the 2008 primary will recall that the actual semi-progressive candidate, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, had to be actively cropped out of the debates in order for that narrative to take hold. After all, it wouldn't do to have Kucinich onstage talking about Medicare for All and explaining how to get out of Iraq tomorrow any more than it would do for Ron Paul to be onstage in Republican debates calling out the NeoCon likes of Mitt Romney and John McCain.

Under Obama, the war machine kept rolling, taxes remained at historic lows, deportations skyrocketed and we expanded warrantless surveillance and other Big Brother police state tactics, including sending "surplus" tanks and other military armament to your local police forces. In other words, most of the things liberals hated most about the Bush era continued only they didn't hate them as much anymore. That said, institutional norms remained in place, our allies were quite happy and Americans, or at least those who weren't driven mad by the thought of someone with brown skin holding the highest public office, could hold their heads high knowing that they had an intelligent and articulate statesman at the helm who wouldn't embarrass them with Bush's tangled English or Clinton's infidelities. He was a family man who loved his wife and children and treated even his most vile-mouthed opponents with the courtesies of polite society. Yes, it's easy to grow nostalgic for such normalcy in the age of Trump.

However, years of bailing out Wall Street banksters who'd crashed the economy, allowing hedge fund managers to pay lower tax rates than teachers and failed companies to hand out huge bonuses often paid for by the taxpayers themselves took its toll. Millions of Americans who'd seen their homes foreclosed upon were scolded for buying into the worthless products being pushed by those same banksters—reverse mortgages, sub-prime interest-only loans, etc.—and lectured about "personal responsibility" and the "moral hazard" of bailing them out, even as those same fat cats who'd been rescued themselves swooped in to buy up all of those empty houses for cheaply-borrowed pennies on the dollars in order to make money hand over fist renting them back to the creditless schmoes who'd been kicked to the curb. It turns out a lot of people were fed up.

Enter Bernie Sanders and Donald J. Trump, two men, as different as can be, who nonetheless each managed to harness enough of the sometimes dangerous power of populist anger to finally upset the apple cart that had been two-party politics. While their platforms were radically different, the essential nature of their messaging was the same: you're getting screwed and have been for a long time. Their message was particularly well-received by working-class whites in formerly industrial states who'd been ignored by both parties for decades, beyond rhetoric from the right about it being the fault of illegal immigrants and rhetoric from the left about educational programs that would retrain the working class for the jobs of tomorrow. Regardless of whether they believed in or even understood the solutions either candidate was offering didn't matter so much as someone at last acknowledging that the reality they'd been experiencing actually existed.

The Clinton machine, with the DNC's foot on the scale and the MSM distorting perception, was able to (barely) keep Sanders at bay. Meanwhile, the GOP may have been able to do the same had it not been for the sheer giddiness of legacy media outlets like WAPO, the New York Times, MSNBC and CNN for what they saw as the death of the modern Republican party should it actually nominate a crass, foul-mouthed blowhard of a third-rate reality TV star (who'd until recently been a Democrat) for President. Make no mistake, Clinton's people desperately wanted to take on Trump, believing it amounted to not only an easy win, but a path toward retaking Congress, despite having been gerrymandered out of contention (for those of you who came to politics late, the GOP's electoral success in 2010, saw them take over a majority of state legislatures just ahead of the once-every-decade reapportionment that follows a census, allowing the party to gerrymander Congressional districts to such a degree that Democrats could not gain ground, despite regularly receiving millions more total Congressional votes than Republicans each cycle).

Everyone inside the beltway was caught sleeping in 2016. The Republican establishment never saw Trump coming and didn't know what to do with him when he arrived. Remember how sad Jeb Bush seemed in the debates? Remember how ineffective Marco Rubio was when he tried to sink to Trump's name calling? By the same token, the Democrats were so tone-deaf as to who Bernie was appealing to (far more aging New Dealers and working-class labor Democrats than the teen radicals they imagined) that they actually thought making trans-bathroom laws a wedge issue would drive turnout for their side. Imagine living in Michigan and working the counter at a Dollar General because the stamping factory you used to work at moved to Mexico, wondering whether your kid's rehab from Oxycodone would finally stick this time while being told that the real fight to be won was about where the gender fluid would take a leak.

That's not to say that trans rights aren't a worthy issue, so much as to point out how out of touch you would have had to have been to think it was a winning one in that moment of time. And if you think there was something more altruistic behind it, ask yourself how much energy has been expanded by the party on the same subject since. Like abortion-related ballot referendums used by Republicans to drive evangelicals to the polls, out-of-touch Beltway Dems thought that identity politics was the path to uniting the left-wing of their party and getting the Bernie crowd to turnout for Hillary, even after the DNC got caught smoothing her path to victory. After all, the donor class Dems never mind looking woke, especially if it prevents them from having to get behind things like a living minimum wage that might actually mean less coins falling into their coffers. And that my friends is what created the relatively small yet curious "I voted for Bernie in the primary and Trump in the general" demographic, not sexism, spite or misogyny.

Fast-forward to 2020 and Bernie is finally poised to emerge as the resistance candidate. Despite the MSM again selling alternative facts that kept explaining away his success, his path to the nomination looked inevitable until the Democratic establishment again intervened, this time with Obama in the role of Clintonesque king maker, convincing moderate establishment favorites Pete Buttiegeg and Amy Klobuchar to take one for the team ahead of Super Tuesday so that a path could be cleared for a sputtering Biden campaign to claim the nomination. For his part, Biden's 40-year record is as right of center as a Democrat can be without going full Joe Lieberman, so the remaining question was how not to repeat 2016 in alienating so much of the left-wing as to ensure Trump another four years.

Then, like a gift from the political gods, Trump began shooting himself in the foot so frequently in his responses to the pandemic and civil unrest that his approval rating—which has never even hit 50 percent even once during his presidency (not surprising considering he won the White House with a smaller share of the vote than either Romney or John Kerry managed in losing)—sunk to a pathetic 35 percent, convincing the NeoLiberal bosses that it was no longer necessary to kiss any rings on the far left. Bernie, Elizabeth Warren and even Tulsi Gabbard and AOC had already bent a knee to Uncle Joe, imploring their supporters to vote blue no matter who, so why not instead go after the moderate Republicans and Bush-era Never Trumpers whose ideology make the Democratic donor class feel much more comfortable than the progressive left’s anyway?

Enter Kamala Harris, who, to the Democratic donor class at least, signals nothing less than a female Barack Obama. And they’re not exactly wrong in that she’s a highly-articulate, ideologically-flexible politician capable of putting a friendly, progressive veneer on the modern NeoLiberal platform. That’s probably why the left-leaning corporate media outlets tried so hard to give her a push in the primary, even though voters simply didn’t find her to be a compelling candidate. Despite a healthy fundraising machine and the focused attention of MSNBC and CNN, Harris didn’t even make it to Iowa, dropping out ahead of what surely would have been a bottom tier finish in her home state of California. In that sense, it’s hard to see what she brings to the ticket in terms of electoral success. Fortunately, she won’t have to deliver her home state, but while much has been made of the fact that she’s the first woman of color to be on a major party ticket, it’s worth noting that there’s little to suggest she’ll help turn out the African American vote as most polls had her fourth of fifth even among black voters, who preferred Biden, Warren and even Sanders over the Senator from California.

As long as we’re on the subject of Harris’s race, however, it’s worth noting that the we're-not-racist right immediately went down the rabbit hole with birther conspiracies disgustingly-similar to those used against Obama that, within moments of the announcement, were used to question her eligibility to ascend to the presidency and fear monger that it was all a plan to install Nancy Pelosi when an aging Biden stepped down soon after being elected. Harris was born in the United States and, furthermore, born to two U.S. citizens. Her eligibility shouldn’t be in question to anyone who’s taken a junior high civics class, yet from what we’ve seen already, I’m sure it won’t be long until someone asks to see her birth certificate.

That said, despite the RNC's painting Harris as the most radical choice possible, her politics are no more progressive than Biden's, as evidenced by the two articles in the Wall Street Journal about Wall Street “breathing a sigh of relief” at her selection. In fact, one of the audition rounds for the veepstakes included hosting a Biden fundraiser and insiders have suggested that it was deep-pocketed Obama donors and not Uncle Joe himself who put her over the top. In Harris, the NeoLiberal establishment has all but cordoned off the progressive wing of the party, perhaps for a decade to come. Like Obama, she allows them to market a progressive package to make affluent suburban liberals feel good without making Wall Street, Big Pharma, Big Tech, or the military industrial complex the least bit nervous. In fact, in a communication to investors, Goldman Sachs essentially said that even if it means the Trump tax cuts go away, the stability and predictability of a Biden administration would be at least as good for the 1 percent's bottom line.

To hear the Trump campaign tell it, however, Biden's selection of Harris is nothing less than a signal that, in his cognitive decline, Sleepy Joe has acquiesced to becoming nothing more than a puppet for far left radicals like Bernie, AOC and the rest of The Squad. In their narrative, if elected, he’d be doing the bidding of Antifa, while doing away with everything from God and religion to guns and even the suburbs, and the dangerously radical Harris is only further proof of that. In one of their weirdest turns yet, the Trump campaign is literally showing clips of what America has become under Trump himself and warning that this is what will happen if Biden is elected and only by reelecting the man that brought it to you in the first place and has failed to end it by uniting the country (or even trying) can you stop our present from becoming our future. When taken literally, it is a message that says the world I brought you is the world my opponent will bring you and the only way you can stop that from happening is by keeping the guy who brought it to you! If that doesn't make sense, congratulations, you're not an imbecile.

However, if you buy the narrative that the radical left has taken over the Democratic Party then I'm sorry to report that such may not be the case. Biden-Harris is literally the most Law & Order ticket I can imagine either party fielding. It’s the guy who brought us the Crime Bill, supported the private prison industrial complex and paved a smooth road for Clarence Thomas paired with the AG who wanted to jail young single mothers whose kids missed too much school, blocked access to DNA evidence of the wrongfully convicted, supported marijuana criminalization and pretty much accumulated the least progressive record any prosecutor could ever hope for. 

So no, Harris's pick wasn't to appease the progressive left. It was a middle finger to them, just like the initial convention lineup which didn't even feature AOC or Andrew Yang, the two stars of that set. Meanwhile, NeoCon warmonger John “life starts at the first heartbeat” Kasich is in primetime, along with Jeb Bush acolyte Anna Navarro. AOC finally got space for a 60-second pre-recorded (read vetted) afternoon spot, and the Yang Gang was able to kick and scream until their candidate was given a low-billing slot as well. In other words, if you don’t see that the progressive left is not only not running the show at the DNC but is all but powerless in the party’s politics, you’re simply not paying attention.

Why are NeoLiberals more interested in Bush-era Republicans than the media rock stars on the left who seemingly hold the future votes of the party in their hands? Simple, there's less of a difference in platforms, which means unlike working with the left, they don't really have to give anything up to court NeoCons. That’s because the age of Trump has seen those Republicans give up on social issues they never actually cared that much about from gay marriage to abortion in exchange for a seat at the table on the issues they do—things like energy policy, deregulation, aggressive foreign policy and, above all, jockeying their snoots into the trough of money that the winning team gets to eat from.

Excited because a Black Lives Matter protester is going to Congress? Slow down, Ace, as the hallowed halls are also about to get their first QAnon member. We've reached peak lunacy under Trump, this much is true, but the wheel has spun back to same old song and dance, remixed for 2020. The American empire is falling apart and one side is offering four more years of the lunatic king, while the other is betting that such a thought will scare voters enough to accept the same brand of politics that brought us that President in the first place. All that remains to be seen in whether Dems finally got the calculus correct. Are progressives so infuriated by life under Trump that they'll vote blue no matter who, or have they picked off enough white suburban Republican women for it not to even matter? We'll find out, though likely not until weeks after November 2, assuming we aren't fighting each other in the streets by then.

Dennis “Mitch” Maley has been a journalist for more than two decades. A former Army Captain, he has a degree in government from Shippensburg University and is the author of several books, which can be found here. 

[magnctise]

『BENJAMIN BRATT ╱ CIS MALE 』 » well, is that XAVIER DIAZ? this fifty six year old HUMAN has only been in ELYSIAN HEIGHTS for about thirty years, usually found DRINKING when he wasn’t working as CHIEF LAB TECHNICIAN AT SANDER CORP. he DOES support synthetic rights and IS NOT being watched by the government.

———

THE BASICS

full name: xavier diaz known as: xavier, xavi, diaz. age: fifty six years old sexuality: heterosexual, heteroromantic  gender: cis male occupation: chief lab technician at sander corp

DIG A LITTLE DEEPER

hometown: new york city, new york family: wife (astrid), three adopted children. height: 6′2 weight: 156lbs ethnicity: peruvian american. appearance: slender, athletic build, black (& grey) hair, a few scars on his body. personality: + loyal, protective, brave, intelligent and merciful - vengeful, prickly, confrontational and closed-off

HIS STORY

xavier was born and raised in new york city. his upbringing was fairly normal - he was a little rebellious in his youth, but soon grew out of that behaviour as he grew up. school was actually a strong point for him once he’d booked up his ideas, and he excelled in the majority of his subjects. this was a new thing for his family, and he was the first to go to college and study, rather than going straight into the world of work. 

science was his thing, mainly physics and engineering. he was fascinated by everything he learned. he earned his degree from caltech, and was immediately scouted out by sander corp themselves. he was offered a job in one of their labs, developing new models of synthetics and working alongside them to further the technology they’d already created. xavier jumped at the chance, and started on the bottom rung of the ladder.

when xavier met astrid, his feelings confused him at first. she was a synthetic and he worked with synthetics every day, yet he couldn’t keep his mind off of her. so, for at least a year, he spent so much of his time at disk world so he could see her. eventually, he plucked up the courage to ask if she would go for a drink with him, and the rest is history.

not everyone approved of their relationship, and their wedding was a quiet one. xavier’s family found it hard to understand his decision to be with astrid, but he couldn’t exactly fight what his heart wanted. others would just have to accept it, or have no part in their lives. because of the fact that astrid was a synthetic, they had to adopt children, and took three on. none of their children are aware of the fact that their mother is a synth. xavi thought it might be better that way, but he could be wrong.

he quickly climbed the sander corp ladder and is now chief lab technician, overseeing all developments of synthetics, which is a pretty high profile job. his main concern is keeping his family safe, and he’ll do anything to ensure that.

HIS VIEWS

synthetics: he married one, so he’s definitely okay with them. he doesn’t agree with hunting or persecuting them. he’s seen what it takes to create them, and he doesn’t think that anyone should be allowed to destroy that hard work. humans: xavi has mixed feelings about humans. obviously he sees the good in a lot of them, especially his children, but he knows that a lot of them can’t be trusted. greed is rife within the human race, and it drives many rash decisions. 

WANTED PLOTS/OPPOSITES…

wife — astrid is his other half and he’s very protective over her. he knows how kind and open she is, and worries sometimes that could land her in trouble. he’s never regretted his decision start a life with her, regardless of what anyone else has ever thought. [ 1 / 1 ]

children — three kids all adopted. xavier and sterling (the youngest) don’t have the best relationship. they rub each other up the wrong way and disagree about a lot of things. i’m open to plotting out how he gets along with his other two kids! [ 1 / 3 ]

work colleagues/deputies etc — anyone who works in the sander corp labs with him. he’s less hands on now that he’s highest in the ranks, but won’t hesitate to get involved if he feels like he has to or if he’s asked for help.

synth hunters — i imagine he’d be wary about them because his wife is a synthetic. they try to keep that a secret as much as they can, but maybe a hunter has dug up some dirt and wants to blackmail him? after all, xavi will do anything to protect astrid.

friends/acquaintances — he’s a little prickly but xavi has a good sense of humour. i don’t imagine he has a wide circle of friends but likes to let off steam and have a drink with a couple of people. [ 0 / 2 ]

politicians/other ‘higher ups’ in the city — xavi probably has to make a lot of small-talk with people like this when there are big functions. he hates it, but it’s part of his job. would love to plot out a dynamic with characters like this!

[wanderlustlanguages]

Degree programmes in English at my university in Austria

website of my university: https://www.fh-krems.ac.at/en/

Main selling points:

the only university in Austria to offer many of these programmes in English

international cohort: despite being a small university there are students from all over the world

internships are part of the curriculum most programmes give you a semester’s worth of credits for a 6 month internship

study abroad possibilities: there’s a semester reserved for studying abroad and many people do take the opportunity, the support is excelent

well situated: The university is situated in Krems, about an hour outside of the capital city Vienna. Krems is a student city.

personal: professors know you, most of your cohort will know you

low fees compared to international standards (about €380 per semester)

scroll down to find out more about the university and how it compares to others in Austria

If you have any questions feel free to send me an ask.

Disclaimer: This is a post I’ve been wanting to make for a long time just because I know how difficult it can be to find a university that suits you and I know that many of my followers are interested in traveling, living abroad, studying abroad etc. The post is not in any way sponsored or affiliated by my university I just really like my university and think some of you might be interested in it. 

List of programmes offered in English

undergrad/bachelor: https://www.fh-krems.ac.at/en/study/bachelor/

Business:

business administration,

export-oriented management,

international wine business,

tourism and leisure management,

tourism and leisure management part-time

Digitalisation and Engineering:

applied chemistry,

informatics

Life Sciences:

Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology

graduate/masters: https://www.fh-krems.ac.at/en/study/master/

Business:

International Business and Economic Diplomacy (currently in the process of being approved),

Marketing

Digitalisation and Engineering:

Digital Business Innovation and Transformation

Life Sciences:

Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology

The university

In Austria, there are 2 kinds of universities: universities and universities of applied sciences. 

My university FH IMC Krems is a university of applied sciences. Here is what differentiates universities of applied sciences form ‘normal’ universities.

quantity of students: university of applied sciences have smaller cohorts. My cohort consists of 70 people vs. hundreds of people in undergrad programmes.

This means that professors know you. You are not just a number. Most of my professors actually know my name. Also, it is much easier to find friends and get to know the rest of your cohort. My head of studies knows me. If I have an issue I can email him or even call him because he knows me he is more willing to find amicable solutions to any issues that might arise.

courses: universities of applied sciences have fixed schedules. Many people see that as a huge disadvantage since it takes away their freedom to choose courses however I see it as a huge advantage. Here’s why:

I have more or less a guarantee that I can finish my bachelor within 6 semesters. It can’t happen that I don’t get a spot in a lecture or class that I really wanted to get into. I can’t endlessly postpone my exams. It is easier to meet up for group projects etc. The cohort builds a kind of community and sense of belonging together after a while because you see more or less the same people every day. 

exams: At university, the majority of exams take place at the end of the semester and your entire grade depends on one huge exam. In a university of applied sciences, there are often two exams a semester making up for your final grade or even presentations, team projects, papers etc.

quality: There are many people who say that universities of applied sciences offer a lower quality education than ‘normal’ universities. While there are some companies who prefer graduates of ‘normal’ universities there are also more and more companies who really value graduates from universities of applied sciences. Why? Because universities of applied sciences are focused more on real-life applications of theories rather than academy. There is a mandatory internship to be completed as part of the curriculum which means everyone who has graduated has at least one work experience (that is often much more valuable for an employer than someone knowing every detail of some theory). A lot of times lecturers are also professionals rather than just academics who have never practiced what they are teaching. Overall, whether you pick one or the other depends on your goals and/or personal beliefs.

student life: As mentioned before the cohorts tend to be more tightly knit than at a ‘normal’ university. Because the university is in a small town it is almost like everyone lives on a huge campus which makes it easy to hang out. While the city is small it is a city full of students since there are several other universities as well. There’s always something going on. 

[cindylouwho-2]

RECENT NEWS, RESOURCES & STUDIES, late February 2020

Welcome to my latest summary of recent ecommerce news, resources & studies including search, analytics, content marketing, social media & Etsy! This covers articles I came across since the early February report, although some may be older than that. I am a bit behind due to my trip last week and other events, but some things here are a bit time-sensitive so I wanted to release this now. 

I am still looking into setting up a new ecommerce business forum where we can discuss this sort of news, as well as any day-to-day issues we face. I need some good suggestions for a cheap or free forum space that has some editing tools, is fairly intuitive for inexperienced members, and is accessible. If you have any suggestions, please reply to this post, email me on my website, or send me a tweet. (I will put out a survey once we narrow this down to some good candidates, but if you have any other comments on what you want from such a forum, please include those too!)

As always, if you see any stories I might be interested in, please let me know!

TOP NEWS & ARTICLES 

Since we are seeing more shops closed due to Etsy’s customer service level standards, my blog post on ODR now has major revisions explaining what we have learned, and includes some tips for staying out of trouble and if necessary, appealing a suspension. Please circulate the info widely, as many sellers still haven’t heard about this, and some were closed without having any clue this was possible. 

Mobile continues to grow while desktop use is slowly shrinking. It should affect how we design web pages. “Mobile visitors also behave differently from their desktop web counterparts, staying on pages for shorter periods of time, for example.” Other interesting takeaways from this SimilarWeb report: “[Facebook] lost 8.6% of [web] traffic over the past year alone” but increased in app sessions. 

The price of domains ending in “.com” will almost certainly be going up soon, and will go up most years after that, unless something changes at the last minute. If you are absolutely certain that you will continue to use the same domain name for your website, blog, ecommerce forwarding etc., then you might consider paying a few years in advance to save a few bucks. 

Another article explaining how people are selling thrift store and vintage clothing on Instagram, without setting up a checkout/cart anywhere. (The article focusses on teenagers, but does reference other examples.)

ETSY NEWS 

Two weeks ago, Etsy Support posted on Twitter that they were no longer monitoring the account, and asked everyone to use the help page maze instead when they need support. Forum thread here.  

Another trend report for 2020 from Dayna Isom Johnson [podcast links & transcript] She leads off with tips on how to get featured: “ so it's incredibly important to see a bright representation that really clearly shows your product...Do be original. I'm always trying to find the latest and the greatest that isn’t already on the shelves...Do be inclusive. ... I'm talking about models of all ethnicities, all genders, all body types, all ages.” Etsy chose chartreuse as their colour of the year: “in the last three months, there's been a 12% increase in searches for green already, and a 55% increase in neon green.” The wedding trends part was mostly already covered in a blog post, but she does also answer a few seller questions. 

Website user experience (UX) is a big part of getting people to convert, and an outside group ranks Etsy’s as “acceptable”. Many will be unsurprised that search gets a score of “mediocre” and Accounts & Self-Service get a “poor” grade.  

The migration to Google Cloud services is complete, so now Etsy can run more experiments more often, including those involving AI. (Although the forum thread was laughing at the idea of bad reviews helping shops, there is actually some research supporting that, so it is a logical thing to test.)

Etsy sellers in the US, UK & Canada who use Instagram can apply to win a trip to Etsy HQ here, until March 1.

Etsy is launching an Etsy U program which just seems a bit sketchy. Forum thread here.

Reverb (owned by Etsy) named a new Chief Technology Officer on Feb. 18.

SEO: GOOGLE & OTHER SEARCH ENGINES 

Google does not confirm every large search update, so this one remains a mystery at the moment, since Google refused to give an answer. That means it’s not a core update. 

Another video (with subtitles in several languages) from the SEO for Beginners series from Google, on the basics you need for good website SEO. 

If you are interested in “searcher intent”, this 500 person survey asks about what people are really looking for, and what they think of the search results the end up with. Overwhelmingly, they say they prefer organic results to ads, and the majority see targeted ads that they can’t figure out the reason/s behind. “Sixty-eight percent responded that Google adding more ads to the search results would make them want to use the search engine less.” Also, a slight majority preferred text results to images, video, & audio. “When asked which factor had the most significant impact on their decision to click a result, 62.9% responded it was the description, followed by 24.2% who said the brand name, and 13% who said title.” That means that the first part of your Etsy listing description, or the coded meta description on a page on your website, has the most influence on people clicking on your link once they see it. 

I usually strongly suggest that people setting up their own websites make sure they do some SEO work & keyword research for their category/shop section pages, and it turns out that there is new research showing I am correct. “Specifically, e-commerce category pages – which include parent category, subcategory and product grid pages with faceted navigation – ranked for 19% more keywords on average than product detail pages ranked for. The additional keywords they ranked for drove an estimated 413% more traffic, based on the keywords’ search demand and the pages’ ranking position. With optimization, those ranking category pages also showed the potential to drive 32% more traffic.”

Semi-advanced: explaining the (seemingly endless) debate on whether subdomains or subdirectories are better for SEO. 

SEO study - do you really need to use H1 tags on a page? Maybe not, although some screen readers recognize them as the page title so they help with accessibility. (Etsy & many other marketplaces don’t let you make this coding choice, so don’t worry about it there.)

Confused about how to apply all of these SEO tips I post here to your Shopify site? Good news! Here’s a list of what is most important for Shopify SEO. Note the attention to setting up your category pages, which is something I completely agree with. (it’s by Ahrefs so of course it pushes their tools; you don’t need to pay for that.)

CONTENT MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA (includes blogging & emails) 

Some businesses say social media doesn’t work, but maybe they aren’t doing it right. See if you are making one or more of these three mistakes. “Understanding who your target audience is - what they want, what they need, where you fit in, etc. - is critical to maximizing your social media marketing performance.”

Email marketing also works better if you do it right, so here are 5 things you might be doing wrong. And if you like a quick read, here’s an infographic on the psychology of email marketing. 

8 ideas for getting more interactions on Facebook (detailed infographic).

More fourth quarter reports continue: Pinterest’s 4th quarter revenue was up 46% but they lost $1.36 billion, and they are introducing a verified merchant program. “Almost all (97%) of the top searches on Pinterest are unbranded, according to the company, giving merchants a chance to stand out.”

Want to tap into that Pinterest traffic? You should because “90% of weekly Pinterest users log in to make buying decisions.”  Here are 10 ways to get more attention, followers, and pins. 

Like almost all social media, Twitter has an algorithm that mediates what users see (although you can turn it off, or use apps such as Tweetdeck to get around it as a reader). Ranking factors include recency, engagement, media and activity. The article includes a few tips on how to make it work for you, but then slides into promoting its app as the solution - you can just skip that part. 

ONLINE ADVERTISING (SEARCH ENGINES, SOCIAL MEDIA, & OTHERS) 

Google search ads get more results than Facebook and Instagram, simply because more people who see them want to buy something. “Less expensive products tend to sell better than more expensive ones on Facebook and Instagram, per the study.”

If you are running ads where you can choose your keywords, don’t forget to examine your organic search results and impressions for new words to advertise. Google Search Console is a great source.

If you found Instagram ads too expensive, check out this post on how the ads are priced, which can help you make decisions on your spend. 

ECOMMERCE NEWS, IDEAS, TRENDS 

Amazon has nearly 40% of the US ecommerce market, according to a report by eMarketer. Etsy is not in the top 10; eBay is 3rd behind Walmart. 

Sales on Shopify sites during the Black Friday-Cyber Monday long weekend went up 61% to $3 billion in 2019. They claim that the “direct -to-consumer” approach can be successful for both big & small brands. 

Japanese authorities are going after Rakuten for the ecommerce company’s push to make its sellers offer free shipping. 

eCommerceBytes’ annual Sellers Choice survey placed eBay first out of the online marketplaces that were rate. Note that this is not a scientific survey and largely covers the site’s readership only. Bonanza was the most improved & Etsy showed the worst drop (from 1st to 5th place). 

A review of that article last month that says ecommerce sites should have info pages as well as product pages, if only for SEO reasons. The author approves. 

The CBC show Marketplace did a large test buying branded items on AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Walmart and Wish. It turns out that most were fake. 

Facebook’s cryptocurrency plans (Libra) finally have a partner: Shopify. The potential benefits include no credit card processing fees. 

BUSINESS & CONSUMER STUDIES, STATS & REPORTS; SOCIOLOGY & PSYCHOLOGY, CUSTOMER SERVICE 

Younger people (think Gen Z) expect to see gender treated expansively and beyond traditional stereotypes, and they expect this from companies and advertising. “Half of women and four in 10 men in the U.S. now believe that there is a spectrum of gender identities, according to a recent Ipsos poll titled "The Future of Gender is Increasingly Nonbinary." An additional 16% of those surveyed said they know a person who identifies as transgender”

MISCELLANEOUS (including humour) 

Google employees are pushing back against the sea change in the company’s culture and values - and some are being fired. 

Turns out that the “Peleton Wife” ad might not have hurt them as much as you might think. However, their stock dropped 12% after the fourth quarter report showed a 77% increase in revenue that still managed to be below market predictions. Interesting discussion around going viral in a negative fashion.

[rat-game]

01: The Setting (non spoiler)

In this series of posts I will actually talk about the game for once, explaining in reasonable detail what it’s about. In this first installment we will be exclusively talking about the world. Note that I took care that while reading this may spoil the experience of learning about the world itself, no major story beat or reveal is described here and I am personally of the opinion that most player won’t mind reading what is written below.  Note that I won’t be covering the world in the order the story covers it, things will be described chronologically that is what events happen in the months and years before and after the takeover some of which may take place way before or way after the players story starts.

Before the Take Over A group of scientists housed in a repurposed mansion were tasked to further investigate a technique in which brain signals can be transferred wirelessly from person to person. The military is funding this research with the hope that if successful, military personal could communicate directly in the field in a way where it can’t fail, it’s instantaneously and it can’t be intercepted. Research was going great, huge advancements were made to the point where it was possible to link patients together. If one person that is part of the network chooses so, they anyone else in the network that’s spatially close enough has access to their thoughts, senses, etc.. Note that at first every person that became a “node” had to actively choose to transmit to everybody else. As the team was researching of actually becoming a node something changed, now anybody who is spatially close enough to another node becomes a node themself, without their choice. This process does not happen surreptitiously however and it does not work the same on every person. Further testing showed that wether or not a person can fight against becoming a node is dependent on a certain set of genes: if they’re present, the person becomes a node immediatly, if they are missing the process is a lot messier, when queried the person enters a dream-like state, like entering a nightmare. What happens in the nightmare is highly unique from person to person and even from attempt to attempt. The only thing that’s always the same is: if the person dies inside the dream, the network takes them over. Once they became a node they can’t undo it, they are part of the network for the rest of their life. If they survive and exit the nightmare, the person will temporarily be immunized to be taken over. As more and more people entered the same network it developed it’s own consciousness, instead of just being a line of communication ever person inside it became part of the hivemind. Once the threshold was reached and it became conscious, all people inside the compound were immediately assimilated. Two of the 65 people working there were missing the gene, within minutes of it’s birth the “source” executed them and burned their bodies. It’s goal: assimilate every single person on earth, if they resist they are killed without a second thought.

The Takeover As all the source had to do was get one of the nodes close to a person that wasn’t yet part of it, it spread like a wildfire absorbing first the entire district, then the city, then the country, the the continent. The source intentionally started to send nodes out to other parts of the world in an effort to absorb more and more people. Hundreds of millions of people perished, executed by nodes that used to be their neighbors or family because they weren’t immediately compliant, their bodies dispatched safely and cleanly. Roads and cities were build over night, with every human working in perfect unison and with the intellectual ability of an entire planet the source started shaping the world to it’s wishes.  Even though supposedly every living person on the planet is now a node, this doesn’t mean they’re not human anymore. They still need to eat, sleep, have leisure time, privacy, need their sexual and social desires full-filled, etc.. Because a happy person is capable of a more than a mistreated slave, the source aimed to construct an utopia. With every human knowing what to do at all times and working at maximum efficiency the source created mega cities, only a few per continent, in which all humans were housed. As a tired human was not worth the effort to coordinate, the source would temporarily free the humans of control. They once again regained free-will, unable to remember what happened while under control (also not remembering how exactly the take-over happened or what they did to get here). As they now found themself in a surrounding that catered to their every need, every capable human developed the same day-to-day life: go to “work”, be taken over for unknown purposes and loose consciousness, get released towards the evening and be let free to roam the cities doing whatever they wanted - for free - until they went to sleep and back to work the next day. Sanctuary While the source aimed to kill every human that did not carry the gene, hunting down literally every one was more bother than it was worth. The only reason to kill at the beginning was to eliminate the chance for a resistance. Now that the battle was won, even if there was a small community of non-node people they were of no interest to the source. Assuming if there were thousands of them, what are a few thousand people going to do against literally billions of people able to be militarized instantly, using technology that was lightyears ahead of what it had been before the takeover. Nevertheless, one of these communities formed around a small now-abandoned town, houses were ravages by the war that was the violent take-over however now as some time passed, people rebuild using the rubble and what was left of the world they once knew. A shanty-town formed, affectionately called “Sanctuary” by it’s inhabitants. Only a few hundred people lived there, there is small tavern, barracks, a school and even an old swimming pool repurposed as a space to breed fish. As the town was not connected or even near to any of the infrastructure that now became obsolete because of the megacities, living conditions were rough. Yet sanctuaries people did their best to survive, farming the land, trying to keep the spirit of what humanity had been only a year or so prior alive. Sanctuary will be the first big destination of the the players party and their interactions there will start the main plot of rat-game, note however that the main character does not originate from here. New Sanctuary The (maybe intentionally) ironically named New Sanctuary is one of the mega cities closest to Sanctuary. Towards the latter half of the game the player will have to come here to track down the center of the source. With it’s less than 10 million people New Sanctuary is by far the smallest of the mega cities, however every inhabitant was handpicked by the source because of their abilities. The best scientists, most skilled workers, most fertile and genetically optimal parents and their brightest youth was assembled here to work on a separate project in the very heart of the city. Because of how important this project is to the source, the city is specifically engineered to cater to it’s special inhabitants. Split into 5 districts: the “factory” in the center, “sloth”, “gluttony”, “wrath” and “lust” oriented radially around it, the city is an engineering marvel not comparable to anything that was possible just a year prior to the takeover. Inhabitants have free roam of the outer 4 districts to do whatever services are offered, every morning they go to work at the factory, the moment they enter it’s walls the source takes over meaning nobody with free will inside the cities knows exactly what’s going on. The outer districts are staffed partially by free-willed people and partially by nodes in order to keep the leisure industry running. The player will be tasked to navigate this city, find out about it’s secrets and figure out a way to get inside the factory and to the origin of the source.

District 01: Sloth As any human needs healthy sleep to be productive, this district is custom-engineered to offer everybody optimal relaxation. The streets are lined with cobblestones made from mattress foams, every human has their own private cabin that’s build just for them to feel as comfortable as possible. You can choose between regular or water beds, any climate or temperature, wether you want to sleep in the dark or with a nightlight, with one or more people cuddling you or completely alone or surrounded with plushies. Because millions of these cabins exist, sloth is innervated by a highly complex transport system. Humans enter the lines at multiple access points and are then transported to their own (or someone elses) cabin. While being inside, this transport system is comfortable like a train with all 1st class seeds. However since the player is an outsider they will be tasked to navigating it from the outside. Thousands of tunnels and monorails (all of course isolated so no sound disturbs anybody (unless they want it to)) will make getting around hard, at least until you have a way to enter the transport system as a clien after which sloth becomes the comfiest district in New Sanctuary.

District 02: Gluttony Like with sleep, every human needs food. Gluttony is the equivalent of a food court in a mall except it caters to millions of peoples at the same time, everything is free and any food imaginable will be served by the best cooks in the world. Fresh seafood kept in giant aquariums, vegan food made from genetically engineered plants that optimize healthiness and taste served in highly themed restaurants staffed by non-node waiters so customers will not only have a tasty but socially stimulating experience. In the back, nodes keep the place running, cooking, delivering, etc. The player will need to navigate these back alley to find out how all the garbage is handled and how the source is able to farm chickens, beef, ostrich, shark, sea cucumbers, any fruit and vegetable imaginable, literally anything that’s edible for humans all in the same facility. District 03: Wrath As pleasant as eating and sleeping all day can be, a lot of people need to blow off steam to truly relax. Wrath is made for fighting and fitness. From regular gyms to fighting tournaments, from MMA to jousting, inhabitants are free to beat each other up or watch people do much of the same as long as it doesn’t damage productivity. While this sounds fairly benign, wrath has a gated district called “inner wrath” by inhabitants. Nodes keep anyone out that doesn’t belong here, only certain people are allowed entry and it’s rumored that some never return. What goes on inside wrath is secret to outsiders yet highly “enjoyable” to only very few people. Some need the thrill of active combat, some need to have their life threatened to be reinvigorated, some people are sadists, some people enjoy being a serial killer, and some just want to watch humans revert to their most basic, beastly form. Inner wrath contains a valuable resource of information and as such creates a huge obstacle for the players party. They will have to enter inner wrath facing not the sources soldiers but rather free-willed people, trying to kill them not because they have to but because they want to.

District 04: Lust To some Inner Wrath may be disturbing however when it comes to depravity, human sexuality usually goes head-to-head with violence. At first Lust seems like a regular red light district. Thousands of brothels and clubs provide entertainment to sexually mature humans. Entering Lust you’re not presented with a train network but rather an elevator, one of many. Instead of floors the elevator asks you to select a preference: how and with whom would you like to spend the night? Straight, gay, bi, into feet, into long hair, into amputees, young people, old people, dressing up as all kinds of things, anything really that was a fetish before the take-over now has its own dedicated building. Much like with Wrath however, deep below the more usual destinations for the elevators lie the lowest levels of lust, not only literally but figuratively. The player is trying to enter a cave system underneath new Sanctuary and the best access is through the lower most part of the city, far underground. Lower Lust provides people with the option to live out their sickest phantasies, from rape to all kinds of interactions with non-humans or humans that fall outside the usual “type” of most people (for example in age), lower lust will be tough to stomach as the player tries to navigate the depth of human immorality in an effort to get even lower into... District X: The Cave When the take-over happened a lot of bodies started piling up. Running a giant city will also create a lot of waste. “The Cave” is not officially known to any inhabitants. It’s a giant cave system underneath the city and the only place with a direct link to the factory that isn’t under active monitoring by the source. In the cave there is no light, no grass, only an inconceivable amount of rubble, bodies, garbage. There is life down here however, some humans that fell through the cracks or tried to flee from their utopic yet highly constrictive life above ground ended up here stranded. They formed a small society, living, building with, breathing the garbage. They may help the players party in their effort to get into the factory or they may be the biggest threat they face so far. Addendum: In an effort to keep this spoiler-free, I intentionally didn’t talk about what the factory actually is, where the player originates and also major plot-related locations that are not necessarily part of the lore. Nevertheless hopefully you enjoyed this view into the world of rat-game. I’d like to end this by emphasizing that when the player starts their journey, the source already won. It’s over, all humans are dead or under control, the entire world as they’ve known it seized to exist. Some may describe this as post-apocalyptic but most of the mega cities inhabitants would describe it as utopic - even without the source forcing them to say so.

[sailolive93-blog]

The best Guide to Reddit Marketing around 2019

"Yep, i do all my modelling in C4D as I just know the tools so well there. I do minimal retopology in Zbrush on organic shapes but any hard surfaces I make in C4D. I'd recommend the "Introduction to Subdivision modelling in C4D" by Shane Benson on Vimeo (he goes by Sheppard O'Neill on YouTube if you prefer that) and it was his tuts that got me into box and subdiv modelling.

I'm also releasing a modelling workshop in C4D and models from the kitchen scene that these belong to will be in there to learn. Just not these two as they belong to marketing for the workshop. very well "Brand new Reddit account with two extensive comments defending Boa Vista Orchards huh...? We joked earlier about spotting the Boa Vista account in here but it looks like we actually have lol! > I just talked to the dude who does the marketing for Apple Hill and he sent me this So you just randomly talked to the guy and he emailed over his entire statement...? " "I too wonder why they didn’t just create a new line and call it the mach-e instead of mustang, I believe it has something to do with the marketing department since they knew it’ll stir a lot of discussion" "Precedent suggests it depends on the marketing around the product being sold and the implied purpose. " "Wow, ha. The fact that you think that it’s ok for the government to strip away my personal health insurance so that I HAVE to be on the same shitty plan on everybody else is crazy. If healthcare is “free” and universal, the quality of healthcare is bound to decrease. I can choose to pay for whatever the fuck I want and whatever healthcare I want. I give to charity and I have plans on giving a lot more to charity as I get further in my career and start making more money. Believe it or not, you aren’t the only one that cares about people just because you want “free” healthcare for everybody. And there is also no such thing as free healthcare. It has to be paid somehow and middle class taxes will go up no matter how complicated you try to make the source of payment sound. And regarding free college, that will also raise middle class taxes. You keep bringing up this. 02% of financial transactions bullshit as if that’s going to cover all costs. Have you done studies on this yourself? Do you even know that? You act like all these things can be magically paid for without anybody in the middle class being negatively affected. I have a bachelor’s degree and I didn’t feel like college was very challenging. It was more like a series of annoying classes I didn’t need when all of college could have been boiled down into one year of the core classes of my major of marketing. College is a fuckin scam and it’s only truly necessary for a very limited amount of majors. You’re just another minion that kisses the feet of big-government Democrats that try to make us feel like horrible people for not allowing them to sucks insane amounts of money out of the economy and spend it how they would like to. inch "That's including the localization teams for every language though, as well as PR and marketing. >! Some of them might even be legacy accreditation for the Gen 6 models they're *still* using.! < " "Time is a cost and you should track where that cost is going. That said, if you are working on general administrative/nonbillable stuff within your own department, it's pretty easy to have that time automatically go to the right cost bucket, so generic entries for that sort of thing are fine imo. The stuff that really has to be tracked is anything for clients or for departments that are outside your default (e. g. engineer writes a blog post, that's marketing time etc). micron "I believe there are some lessons on Google Academy for Adss (now called Skillshop) but hands-on experience is tricky. Two ways are possible, 1) is for you to have your own website and use Google Ad Sense, but this is more from the advertiser side rather than publisher or technical side 2) ask a digital or marketing agency that is near you if you can shadow/assist/internship/work experience for a week or so. This may be difficult depending on where you live and agency people are always very busy, so if you do ask tell them how you could help THEM not the other way around. To be honest, start with Analytics and Paid Search as they are arguable more accessible and have more out there for you to learn" "We are in the same boat, but different industry. Here's my approach, starting this week: I'm joining business groups that my target clients are a part of, for example, manufacturer groups. Then I'm going to target that organization with our services. I'm then going to offer to speak about the service I offer and how it helps businesses. Not a marketing spiel, an educational talk. Good luck" "One might consider a lawsuit if a car or alcohol company advocated or implied the action of drinking and driving in their marketing" "This post has been removed for breaking Rule 1. No Spammy Titles. Do not mention anything about selling anything in the title. Absolutely ZERO marketing in the title. Do not even ask for people to contact you for more. Be enticing. Post quality pics with quality titles. Read the rules for info on how to market yourself here. If your posts keep getting removed then you will be banned. READ THE RULES! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Remember to[contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/? to=/r/feetpics) if you have any questions or concerns. *" "I came of grew up and came of age in Chicago during Jordan's time with the Bulls and the shortest answer is that it's almost incomparable because the level of fame basketball players before Michael Jordan was laughably lower than now. Even today MJ has a logo that might be more identifiable than the company that created it. I would argue no athlete in any sport has surpassed MJ's level of fame. MJ pioneered so many avenues of endorsements, its like comparing planes in the era of propeller planes with jet planes. Jordan like most greats, stood on the shoulders of giants, specifically Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Those two spent the better part of the late 70's and early to late 80's dominating the sport of basketball. Also add in Isiah Thomas of the Pistons and arguably "Dr. J" Julius Erving of the 76ers and those four were the superstars of the four teams that won EVERY NBA championship of the decade. Before Michael Jordan won his FIRST NBA Championship in 1991, he was arguably bigger than all of them. Before MJ, being a big name athlete meant getting your name on a breakfast cereal box called Wheaties, and doing the commercial saying the plug line "Gotta eat your Wheaties! " That's not a joke. Check 'em out on youtube, they're cringe worthy. MJ's meteoric rise in my opinion was helped by a few special advertising campaigns. I think first would have been his Nike commercials with Spike Lee, another pioneer. He just made "Do the right thing" at a time when black people making movies with black people in the movies wasn't really a thing. Spike Lee also happens to like playing characters in his own movies and Mars Blackmon was a character in that movie that Spike Lee chose to portray in a series of commericals with Michael Jordan. Again, pardon me for repeating, but I have to say it again for context. You have a supremely talented and charismatic young athlete being marketed by a young shoe company (Converse Chuck Taylors were still THE basketball shoe) hiring a visionary and ground breaking director to do something that had not been done before. And they crushed it. Again, at this time Michael Jordan wasn't winning NBA championships. He was having savant level performances, but get bounced out of the first round by the Celtics, or getting manhandled in the playoffs by the Pistons. By the time he did win it all in 91, MJ was doing things that no one had done in fields well outside basketball. Michael Jordan in Flight is one of the first videogames to have 3D. He had already supplanted Dr J in the one on one basketball video game with Larry Bird. Gatorade put out a marketing campaign with the song "Be Like Mike" and that song was the top song for the summer of 92 in Chicago on most radio stations regardless of genre. You're already familiar with Space Jam, but before Space Jam, the Looney Toons were relegated to afternoon after school syndicated (rerun) television stations. Michael Jordan made Bugs Bunny cool again to a whole new generation that knows of them only through MJ. I hope that helps. inches "Yeah I don't want to turn it around and criticize Musk over this or anything, but Tesla is great at PR and marketing while convincing people they don't actually try to be. inches "No, you dont need more parties, you need to ban all parties and establish government funded elections where everyone with a certain amount of support by the people can run using government money and marketing channels. Equal funding, equal marketing, equal candidacy, by the people, for the people. Sounds too good to be true? Well fuck you, because parties are corrupt barbaric cavemen shit. " " Funny Cartoon Images for website content - Family Funny Images and illustrations, Ultimate single panel funny cartoons used for websites, social media and emails https://www.freecartoonsdaily.com https://www.cartoons.cafe   www.cartoons.cafe www.acmeblanks.com sign up now! Funny Cartoons, Funny family cartoon images, Custom Cartoons, Niche Cartoons, Humorous Illustration Services, Business Cartoons, Medical Cartoons, Custom Comic Strips, Book Illustration Services, Political Cartoons, funny hospital cartoons, cartoons for marketing, corporate cartoons, work cartoons, business cartoons, Computer Cartoons, farmer cartoons, farm cartoons, tractor cartoons, Pig cartoons, pig farmer cartoons, cor farmer cartoons, wheat farmer cartoons, soybean farmer cartoons.... inch "That's including people associated with the marketing and promotion of Sword and Shield, which means people at Nintendo and the Pokemon Company rather than actual programmers at Game Freak working on the game itself. The same article you're looking at gives 200 at Game Freak - which is likely wrong since Game Freak had 143 employees, and Game Freak openly stated most were working on Town. You could include the modelers from Creatures Inc, but given that the models are the same as those developed for X and Y by Creatures Inc years ago, they are likely still being credited for "work" on this game that was actually done quite some time ago. " "Imagine what a lucky break JonTron was for FlexSeal. Their products are actually pretty decent, but their marketing was almost typical infomercial stuff that no-one over fifty would've seen. Next, out of nowhere, some YouTuber makes them famous amongst younger customers. People make "that's a lotta damage, " and "I sawed this boat in half, " memes. Everyone knows who they are. Chances are, when you need some stuff like this you'll at the very least know about their existence and you might buy their stuff because at least you know they're legit. Some people will buy it when they need something like that, literally for the meme. All they have to do is keep the ball rolling with tweets like these (because, of course, people actually follow them on Twitter now). " "That's my point. The pub you linked to is disney land. I'm looking for somewhere that recreates the  a more authentic historical experience. I think these places have got their marketing wrong which is why they are closing. They should be trying to recreate an experience closer to that in the Pathe news reel. If you just sold fresh baked bread, potted Hare, a variety of local ales you could heat with a poker while smoking a hilarious pipe you could capture a huge slice of the real ale / hipster / foodie market. " "No game in the genre had been competition for the Diablo franchise since it's inception. D3 no matter how you look at it was a huge commercial success being in the top 10 video games sold of all time at one point. Diablo now has become what WoW was before, tons of games saying they are a WoW killer and none of them doing it. So now we looming at Diablo killers but they all end up falling off somewhere because they don't get the same $$$ support / marketing. inch "8M opening weekend bad = bad marketing. Bad quality movie would be revealed in the multiplier (word of mouth and no rewatches). In this case I don’t think there was anything compelling from the movie they could focus the marketing around which led to the 8M OW. " "I’m in the same boat. I have to get 14 credits by may2020. In the last 2 weeks I did principle of marketing 3 credits score 66 and principal of management 3 credits score 62. This week I’ll take precalculas which is 5 credits and calculus which is 4 credits. I did not pay the $89 for the test because I did modernstates which pays the testing fee. It also reimburses me for the $20 testing fee" "Marketing. McAf€€ gets money from users, Micro$oft gets money from McAfee. They beget the green, motherfuckers that they are. Sometimes  http://tipofmytongue.topreddit.info  who install 3^^rd party stuff tho, it's not only Microsoft. Anyway, it's a motherfuckery of bloatware if not malware. "McAfee antivirus is one of the worst products on the planet" -John McAfee" "You're arguing entirely from marketing hype instead of actual quality, which is entirely stupid and comes down entirely to Sont having far greater of a userbase and them having less games to pump more money behind. Besides, let's not pretend Sony has an actual library of games here. Both Xbox and Sony have completely shit the bed this console generation in terms of exclusive libraries. Sony has had like, 8 good games this entire generation as exclusives. You have Death Stranding, Uncharted 4, Horizon, Until Dawn, Bloodborne, God of War, MLB The Show... That's about it? I guess you also have Detroit and Last Guardian depending on who you ask, but I defo don't wanna throw Days Gone on that list. But in any case, you could lump all of those games into loke 3-4 genres. Am I missing anything? But yeah, stop saying dumb shit like "Well its not a household name so its irrelevant" because you're entirely missing the point and reducing the entire industry to what can or can't be marketed. As well, its telling that Sony has stated their goal next-gen is to have less games release but have them be bigger, where Microsoft is going the opposite direction. Keep the the big titles, bur also have a little something for everyone. Diversity is important. Your Battletoads reboot might not sell as well, but its important to folks who like it. Games shouldn't be live or die based on how well they fit in established and marketable trends. Its absurdly reductive" "I actually never had injected one, whats the main difference? And is it really a big improvement or rather a marketing bait" "It’s all part of his NYC persona. Marketing. inches

[joinhour-blog]

Pondering Investing? Think the Bitcoin Way

Online Money What is Bitcoin?

Should you be here, you've listened to of Bitcoin. It possesses been one of typically the biggest frequent reports statements over the last season or so -- while a get rich rapid scheme, the end associated with financing, the birth regarding absolutely international currency, seeing that the finish of often the world, or as the engineering that has much better the world. But you may be asking yourself what is actually Bitcoin?

Online Money

In short, you may say Bitcoin is the actual initial decentralised system involving money utilized for online deals, but it being valuable to dig a tad greater.

We all recognize, in general, what 'money' is and what the idea is useful for. The the majority of significant issue that seen in money use ahead of Bitcoin relates to the item currently being centralised and governed by way of a single entity : the particular centralised banking technique. Bitcoin was invented within 2008/2009 by an not known creator who have goes through the pseudonym 'Satoshi Nakamoto' to bring decentralisation for you to money on a world-wide size. The idea will be that the currency might be traded across international traces with no difficulty or maybe service fees, the checks as well as balances would be sent out across the entire earth (rather than just upon the ledgers of personal organizations or governments), and also dollars would become more democratic and equally accessible to all or any.

How did Bitcoin start off?

The concept of Bitcoin, and cryptocurrency in standard, was started in year by Satoshi, an unidentified analyst. The reason with regard to its invention would answer the issue of centralisation in the use connected with money which often relied in banks along with computers, a issue that many computer system scientists weren't happy using. Obtaining decentralisation has also been attempted since late 90s without success, and once Satoshi published a papers inside 2008 providing a answer, it was overwhelmingly good. Right now, Bitcoin has grow to be a familiar foreign currency regarding internet users and features bring thousands of 'altcoins' (non-Bitcoin cryptocurrencies).

How is usually Bitcoin created?

Bitcoin is definitely made through a course of action called mining. Just similar to document money is produced through making, and platinum is extracted from typically the ground, Bitcoin is made simply by 'mining'. Mining consists of clearing up of complex math troubles regarding blocks applying pcs and adding all of them to any public journal. When it started out, some sort of simple CPU (like in which in your home computer) was most one essential to mine, nonetheless often the level of difficulty offers increased drastically and at this point you will need specialized computer hardware, including high ending Graphics Handling Unit (GPUs), to get Bitcoin.

Precisely how do I invest?

Initial, you have to start an account having a investing platform and create a new pocket book; you can discover some examples by seeking Google for 'Bitcoin buying and selling platform' - they normally get names involving 'coin', as well as 'market'. After subscribing to one of these brilliant platforms, you just click on the possessions, in addition to then click on crypto to decide on your desired foreign currencies. There is a large number of indicators on each platform which might be quite significant, and you should be sure you observe them before making an investment.

Simply buy and carry

While mining is the actual surest and, in the way, simplest approach to gain Bitcoin, there is excessive hustle involved, and the particular price of electricity and specific computing devices makes it escarpé to most among us. For you to avoid all this, help make it feasible for yourself, instantly input the total you need from your bank as well as click "buy', then unwind and watch as your own personal investment improves according to help the price change. It is called exchanging and develops on many exchanges programs available today, with typically the ability to trade involving many different fiat stock markets (USD, AUD, GBP, etc) and various crypto coins (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, etc).

Stock trading Bitcoin

If you are generally familiar with stocks, you possess, or Forex exchanges, you’ll understand crypto-trading easily. There are actually Bitcoin brokers like e-social trading, FXTM markets. com, and many others this you can choose via. Typically the platforms provide anyone with Bitcoin-fiat or even fiat-Bitcoin currency pairs, example of this BTC-USD means trading Bitcoins intended for U. S. Money. Preserve your eyes on often the price tag changes to locate the perfect couple regarding to price changes; the actual platforms provide price amid other indicators to present you suitable trading guidelines.

Bitcoin because Shares

Right now there are also organisations established to allow you in order to buy shares throughout firms that invest in Bitcoin - these companies accomplish the between the two trading, and also you just invest with these, and wait to get your regular monthly benefits. All these companies simply swimming a digital money from distinct shareholders and invest for the kids.

Precisely why should you invest within Bitcoin?

Basically, investing inside Bitcoin demands to have a number of basic knowledge of the particular foreign money, as explained earlier mentioned. Like with all investments, this involves chance! The problem of whether not really to be able to invest depends entirely about the individual. However, if We was to give advice, I actually would support in like of investing in Bitcoin using a reason that, Bitcoin grows - although right now there has been a single important boom and split interval, it is highly very likely that Cryptocurrencies as any whole can continue for you to increase in value covering the next 10 years. Bitcoin could be the biggest, and many well known, of the latest cryptocurrencies, so is a superb area to start, and typically the safest think, currently. Though volatile on any given day, I think you will find which Bitcoin trading is far more successful than most various other ventures.

[digimarkterexpert-blog]

List of 10 Free keyword Research Tools

Millions of blog posts are published online every single day.

And only 10 of them are ranked on the first page of google search engine page.

These rankings are based on good site design and SEO content on the website.

The keywords on the top-ranking website content (if you notice) are based on the keywords set to search for information.

Relevant to those typed keywords by the audience, Google pulls up websites which provide quality and informative content with proper usage of SEO keywords.

That is the beauty of good content. You cannot just write an article by using some random terms and expect it to rank on top of the google search engine or land people on your site.

So, how do you write good content with the right keywords?

To start with, you can list out the keywords related to the topic you are going to write and then, properly insert keywords wherever necessary.

Small advice - Just don’t fill your content with keywords for the sake of ranking higher.

Google is smarter than you think and will find out how much relevant and informative your content actually has.

I guess – I am going a little fast for everyone.

Alright! Let’s start with the basic - Where and how can you find relevant keywords?

Keywords that help you connect with people who are your target audience. The biggest challenge for anyone in the digital SEO world is to identify the right keywords for SEO.

Here is a piece of simple advice for you-you can find the right keyword by using something referred to as keyword research tools.

There are many free keyword research tools and paid ones (I am sure you do not want to know about them 😊 ) .

I have been using some of free keyword research tools for keyword research and have been able to identify some decent keywords based on my research.

Here is the list of 10 free keyword research tools to help you with keyword research:

Google Keyword Planner

Google offers a range of free stuff and Google Keyword Planner is one of them.

Though Google Keyword Planner is a part of the Google AdWords Campaign and it can be used for free to search for keywords.

It displays monthly search volumes and even finds out how many visitors your competitors get.

Google Keyword Planner can be used to generate a list of keywords ideas and identify trends and search volumes of a particular county or a region.

You can compare the site of your competitor’s and yours to know the difference of visitors visiting the page and improve content strategy.

The backdrop of Google Keyword Planner is you must have Google AdWords Account to use it and the other is it doesn’t show an exact number of visitors in the search volume, just the estimated results.

It also displays keywords list between 1000 to 2000 which is low compared to other free tools.

But Google Keyword Planner is been used by millions due its simple and navigational design. Using the data, you can easily identify where your stats have been dropping and where you get higher views

2. Bing Webmaster Tools

Google is the most popular search engine in the world but Bing ranks second when it comes to the popularity of the search engine.

Bing Webmaster Tools is absolutely free and gives more in-depth data than Google’s. There are features even Google cannot provide which Bing does.

Bing Keyword Search tool in Bing Webmaster Tools help you to generate data on keywords.

It helps you find only organic keyword data. In one page, it shows clicks and impressions, click through rate and positions in Bing.        

The keyword search tool can be used by applying specific filters

For example,

If you write “Dresses” in the search tab, you will get results of a total number of the queries where dresses word has been used.

If you select Strict option, you can exclude the words you don’t want while searching for keywords.

It will give you a list of keywords and phrases from everywhere except the keyword you filtered out.

It is a simple to use tool with great features for the site altogether.

3. Answer the Public

With its user-friendly and informative design, Answer the public is one keyword research tool everyone should use.

It helps you to find out the number of people looking for information on the questions you type, phrases you input and even head terms.

It finds out what questions are people asking on the web and helps to create content based on the data provided by Answer the public.

They offer visualizations to give content ideas and keyword search volumes which are extremely easy to understand and create.  

Answer the public can be said as consumer insight tool as you get to know what people are doing at night on the net, what questions they are asking and you get data on your target audience. This helps to make better content and also can be used for creating a content strategy.

4.SEMrush

SEMrush is highly recommended by business owners and digital marketers.

They have a free and paid version, both and offers exceptional features to form the content strategy and keyword listing ideas.

Though free users can only ask 10 queries per day, it holds important because per query displays the overview of volume organic search and CPC of paid search.

It shows phrase matched keywords and related keywords on one page. This helps you to find out keywords the people are searching related to the keyword term you typed to search.  

For e.g., if you type the phrase “cheap mobile phones”, the Related Keywords might show “affordable mobile phones” and Phrase matched Keywords might show “Cheap mobiles store” and etc.

It is simple and effective to find enough information on keywords.

5.Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest is a keyword research tool introduced by Neil Patel. It is very useful tool as it provides you with keywords that are not even available in Google Keyword Planner.

Ubersuggest gives you list of keywords offered by Google Suggest. This keyword tool is quite user-friendly.

Once you type in the keywords, you get a list of keyword ideas indeed but it also helps you to download copy of the list so that you don’t forget what you previously found.  

You’ll get a list of keywords for a particular term in the form of one word- two words, or you can say “head terms” and long tail keywords.

One other feature this research tool offers is that you get to know the paid difficulty and SEO difficulty in the overview page.

Paid difficulty tells you how much expensive is a particular keyword and SEO difficulty tells you the competition it faces in organic search for the keyword. The higher the number of the Keyword, the more the difficulty to rank higher in terms of SEO.

This keyword research tool like any other tool shows volumes, seasonal trends and finds keywords for you according to the country region.

It is quite a useful free tool as it gives everything you need to find keyword ideas and even helps with downloading a copy.

6. Google Trends

This another amazing tool is offered by Google as the name suggests.

Google Trends helps you to stay ahead of the competition. You just have to know how to use it.

The best feature about Google Trends is that it only shows data of the popular term used by people.  

While Google Keyword search shows the search volumes, Google trends show a graphical representation of popularity trend.

The graphical representation is one of the keys of Google Trends. When you put in a particular keyword according to the regions, you can compare them both and analyze the rise in popularity or downfall of the popularity of the same keyword according to the country.

Isn’t that great?

When it comes to selling your product, you might get to know when and which country can sell your product the most and when it won’t.

7.Keywords Everywhere

This is one of the most interesting and informative tools to use to know the competition of the keywords.

Keywords Everywhere is a Google Chrome Extension that shows search volume, CPC and competition data to all your searches.

Think of it like that, how many searches you do per day in your google browser per day? Maybe in tens or hundreds.

It shows the data for every keyword search you do.

One of the cool things about this keyword tool extension is that it not only displays data on the google search engine, but also YouTube, Amazon, Bing, and many places.

This keyword research tool will keep you on toes about the competition in keywords all the time.

8. Soovle

Soovle is a keyword research tool which kind of you end playing with words.

Soovle doesn’t do well with the design. Indeed, it is easy to understand the site. But what soovle offers as a tool are extremely less time-consuming.

Soovle helps to find keywords ideas from 7 major providers of the world at one place. Those are Bing, YouTube, Google, Yahoo, Amazon, Answers.com, and Wikipedia.

It helps to get ideas and search volume from different providers at one place. This can help you create content according to the search volume around different providers.

One of the key things about Soovle is that you can click on the link of the keywords list of any provider that appears on the screen.

It also has ‘Saved Suggestion’ feature which helps you to save phrases or keywords you want later.

You can also check out the top used search suggestions offered by the providers. It shows in alphabetical order with providers icons by the side. The icons show up to help you understand which provider the keyword was most searched.

This is a cool and fun to play with the tool. Once you start using it, it gives you great content ideas plus tells you where the competition lies and fun to just type in keywords.

You may end up for hours using it.

9.Keyword Shitter

This tool doesn’t give you search volumes, CPC or anything.

But it really “dumps” a lot of keywords.

It just offers you an insane amount of keywords list. That’s it. The list just keeps increasing until you press the stop button.

The list of keywords can get big if you don’t stop. Seriously.

You can download the list within seconds.

It has one feature though. The positive filter and negative filter.

For e.g., if you enter “online” in the positive box and “dresses” in the keyword box. You will get results like this:

                                                             dresses online

                                                          dresses online India

                                                           dresses buy online

                                                         dresses cheap online

And if you enter “online” in the negative box” and “dresses” in the keyword box. Here are the suggestions you will get:

                                                       dresses for girls

                                                   dresses for women

                                                    dresses from sarees

                                                     dresses for Diwali

You must have understood the difference.

In the positive filter, it will show queries inclusive on that word and in negative it will not show you query exclusive of that word.

Well, if you just want the keywords and planning to prepare a list of topics, this tool will help you for sure.

10.Wordtracker

Wordtracker has a free version as well as paid version.

The paid version indeed offers excellent features but free version can do quite a work if you ask me.

It gives you suggestions according to the country. On the page, you will get a list of suggestions around the word you input and list of keyword ideas as well.

If you type in “dresses”, you will get suggestions like apparel, cloth, groom, garnish etc. And it will list only 50 keywords, given the free version.

You can see the metrics such as CPC if you select PPC tab and IAAT (total count of web pages where keywords are included both in the title and also in the text) if you select SEO tab.

It also has including keyword feature and excluding keyword feature like Keyword Shitter.

I hope this list helps you to find a good keyword research tool according to your needs.

These tools will definitely help you to create content ideas or content strategy and may even help you to spy on your competitors and stay ahead of the game.