#he's an interesting figure with a lot of nuance for discussion but this site can get so reductive sometimes like good grief | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

29-12-2011 · 3 years ago

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Hope this is okay to bring up but all th points u made in that post abt ppl white woman-Ifying viktor Yeah. It’s impossible 2 scroll through certain tags on this site (or any tbh) without seeing some bad jayce take because people don’t understand they’re completely separate characters. Or refuse to read viktor as he actually acts in arcane OR league just because he’s their scrungly sad little meow meow who can do no wrong and everyone and everything is out to get him. It’s incredibly annoying too because people are Making content based on league lore, but are basing it off other people’s fics instead of reading the lore, so it’s like a self repeating cycle, not sure how else to explain it but it just sucks ass and it makes it hard to interact with th majority of ppl making art for the two of them

that is true! sorry, didn't mean to localise it as an issue particular to just arcane because yeah, it's been happening since the arrival of 2016 viktor's lore (and maybe even before). i can't count the number of times jayce has been accused of genocide(?) or stealing blitzcrank by hiding him in his trenchcoat and running away or purposely trying to get viktor expelled (in the order of significance ascribed by most fans), or any other weird crimes people can dream up because the fact is that if you look at his biography instead of basing your entire knowledge off of drabbles and AUs and author's notes and inside jokes and references he did... none of these things?

like there's nothing gloating about how he describes viktor getting expelled -- i'd argue he didn't intend for it to happen at all. but somehow in fandom discussions or reddit posts people stretch it to jayce stealing viktor's wife and kids or whatever i really don't get it! and if you argue from the lens of interpretation i'm not sure what textual basis you'd have for that at all given that jayce is notably distraught after losing viktor.

of course jayce doesn't do himself any favours by not mentioning blitzcrank, or trying to defend himself, but you only really fall victim to thinking viktor was in the right by doing an entirely surface level reading without realising, hey, maybe trying to strip people of free will is bad?

i understand being more emotionally engaged with viktor's side of the story, and if you read jayce's biography after reading viktor's your viewpoint is already shaped by the uncharitable way viktor depicts him, but honestly if you're going to try to engage with these characters in a serious level i'd at least ask for you to try and figure out what is going on (or don't, if it's more fun i guess i can't really police how you consume fictional men).

the "genocide" that they believe is happening (please google what genocide is) is so... GUYS HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY VIKTOR WAS ABLE TO CONTROL AND ORDER AROUND THE AUTOMATONS THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO BE THE ZAUNITES' NEW BODIES? like there is room for nuance here obviously if you can be bothered to think it through but at a surface level glance viktor is not in the right here. i'll defend viktor and write him and love him until the day i die but that's not because i agree with what he is doing, it'd be because i enjoy him as a character and find him interesting to explore.

maybe people conflate this emotional attachment with the belief that since so much wrong has been done to him (which i won't deny, just that a lot of it wasn't jayce's fault) viktor must be in the right, and jayce becomes the target of this righteous anger because how dare you not defend this poor little meow meow victim of all of society's faults!

and all of these things are multiplied tenfold by looking at it through the lens of arcane and refusing to even consider how the two SEPARATE iterations would fuse together. now white woman A!viktor is dying, and isn't that just so pitiful? why WOULDN'T you let him commit all those atrocities, and if you REALLY LOVED HIM you wouldn't BETRAY HIM AND SELL HIM OUT! WHICH TALIS DOES NOT DO BECAUSE THOSE EVENTS ARE NOT PART OF ARCANE THEY ARE PART OF LEAGUE! or something or the other. and frankly this is just disrespectful to all four characters.

the image most arcane-only fans have of giopara would be "asshole", which is true, but he's also a complex layered character that loses a lot if you choose to reduce him to one archetype, and if you choose to misinterpret a character and then blame him for your misinterpretation it's like... well i really don't get it but it's whatever because it's for real just a video game biography/TV show.

#bon.docx #long post #anonymous #answered #don't even wanna expound on how much of this is people looking at them and seeing ''big brown man and frail pale twink''#it's just so...#anyway if you're going to have the worst takes ever i'd at least ask for you to do the courtesy of looking at the source material #or not i'm literally just some guy you don't have to care #it's a tv show/game #scratches head i just feel like writing improves a lot from having a sense of characterisation #sorry if i sound like an elitist fuck over a tv show/game i just like reading things that make sense #also don't understand people's needs to be like ''I DON'T ENDORSE LEAGUE OF LEGENDS!'' like league is substance abuse or something #but if it makes you feel better because league killed your gecko or something then i can't say anything

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idreamtofmanderleyagain · 4 years ago

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princess-nazario:

It's ok, thanks for clearing things up. See, everytime theres a post that might just be different the tumblr-fad! Version you speak or questions how tumblr might be romanticizing them theres always annoying people in the replies saying that theres a version where she wanders down the underworld herself, or that the version where shes kidnapped is...weak or a damsel in distress since it doesnt fit into tumblrs made idea of empowerment?? Its so annoying honestly. I saw this kind of stuff in a lot of posts while exploring the greek myth tag and its just... infuriating. I definitely should ignore them but it seriously makes me kind of sad and angry at the same time? The hades and persephone posts are everything(mostly tumblr-fad!) Version I reread your original post and yes I do agree, tumblr-fad! Persephone does take away a lot of the complexities and archetypes I read you examine. I think Hadestown might portray Hades and Persephone's power struggle well, it doesnt completely ignore the implications its giving off for the sake of some romance. This is what tumblr is doing and it's really annoying. By doing this and reducing the characters here to simple boxes it's taking away your interest in the myth, I think that's what you meant? I think your study of Hades/the underworld being Persephones self, cthonic meaning "spirit of nature within, inner self" while I dont fully understand that's really cool. I especially dislike how woobified and depowered he usually is in the tumblr-fad! Theres a lot you can work with him as the antagonist in a retelling I think. In fact maybe itd be great to have a retelling that explores the power struggle between Hades and Persephone and shows how Persephone gets through adversity and becomes of equal power through oppressive authority? Thatd be really cool. Tumblr-fad! Version is the twilight of myths but kind of the opposite. In twilight, the author itself romanticizes the creepiness and power struggle that might be there between Edward itself(although Bella does have a lot of agency so I think that's why it resonated so much with female readers?) while the Persephone has a various amount of versions, most versions being she was kidnapped/abduction with many meanings and metaphors and allegories to things, and tumblr-fad! Version ignores nuance in favor of their ships. Thanks for being so open and honest about this, I honestly was stressed because I thought my response maybe being immature or uninformed might be irritating or annoying. I haven't been sneaking through your blog or anything like that, I just saw your original post in the goddess demeter tag so I searched up "Persephone" on your stuff since I was curious with what else you might have to say about it. I wish Tumblr could maybe bother to learn something called not everything is entirely not THIS thing or the OTHER and maybe do something different from what Hades and Persephone coming to be known as the peak of all love stories on the website.

@princess-nazario I hope you don’t mind, I copy pasted your last reblog into a new post thread because the last one was getting massive.

I think I’m starting to understand what you’re getting at regarding the perception of victims as “weak,” and it makes a lot of sense. Thank you for clarifying regarding the “damsel in distress” trope because that’s when it clicked for me what you were talking about. I actually agree on that point, I think there is a tendency for pop feminism to kind of portray more vulnerable, sensitive or fragile women as less feminist, so I can see how you’re applying that to your views on how people on tumblr perceive the story of Hades and Persephone.

That said, I think you have a lot of different angles you’re looking at this whole thing from, and that’s great! However I think there’s so many subjects you are trying to tackle here that it seems like you are kind of are only half informed about, maybe from exploring discussions online. I think this is resulting in conclusions that are kind of confused and lacking in more solid foundations, if that makes sense. I think maybe you might benefit from exploring each element further on their own merits.

For example, did you know that there are a lot of different feminist viewpoints on Twilight itself? And not all feminists completely condemn it? In my opinion, there are a lot of things about Twilight to criticize, however there was a distinct element of hatred for the interests and desires of teenage girls involved with how people responded en masse to the Twilight phenomenon. I don’t think you were old enough to be directly familiar with all this at the time. I think a decent primer would be this video from Lindsay Ellis (tho please keep in mind that some of her most recent content is not for younger audiences). It doesn’t cover all angles of the topic, but it does give an alternative perspective in retrospect about the raging Twilight hate that swept through pop culture for a long time:

youtube

Also, there is a whole conversation to be had about the concept of “woobification,” and why that word exists, as well as how it is used in conversations about girls and women’s fantasies. The original post I made shows that I have my own frustrations when male villains and darker archetypes are whittled down to something seemingly non-threatening and “socially acceptable” myself (like...turning the beast into the prince in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast), but in my experience, people have often used the word “woobie” to describe any explorations of the vulnerability of these types of male characters when women do so because they find those men intriguing or attractive, and that can get kind of tricky because in many ways, those conversations can harbor a subtle resentment and shaming towards female fantasties, period.

I’m getting the impression that maybe there’s something about Hades and Persephone, or at least the archetypes they embody, that really intrigues you, but you’re not sure what you are supposed to think and feel about it from a feminist perspective. That’s ok, ultimately you’ll figure it out on your own. I can’t tell you what to think about the myths themselves on their own, separate from contemporary feminist media because that’s ultimately it’s own thing, and you can springboard your own perspectives and reimagining off of the original in any way that feels right to you.

What I can do though, is leave you with some age-apropriate content that I was consuming at your age, as well as a link to a site that explores stories with similar archetypes that Persephone embodies.

The site is called Girls Underground, and it explores and catalogues stories about girls who go on heroine’s journeys in the “Cthonic” context like I was talking about, as in exploring their own inner psyches through the experience of traversing a strange, scary, magical place. Sometimes these stories involve the trope of a spooky attractive male character who takes on an adversarial role that is sometimes also romantically charged, but not all of them do. I think the resources page may be of particular interest to you because it links to essays on subjects within this genre of storytelling. The Examples page has a ton of other stories not listed here that you can take a look at, however not all of them (but many of them!) are kid friendly.

Movies that I would recommend:

Labyrinth (1986), which was my favorite film since early childhood, and is the reason I love these types of stories to begin with.

Legend(1985), which doesn’t depict a healthy dynamic, but is a great film and does have a big place in the general conversation about this type of storytelling.

Howl’s Moving Castle, either the book or the film.

Pan’s Labyrinth is rated R for some gore and violence, and it has scary moments, but I think it’s fine for most teens. The character of Pan is not part of that whole “demon lover” trope because the heroine is a small child, but he takes on a similar role in terms of being a figure that embodies the underworld and thus a major part of the heroine’s psyche.

Honestly, I would consider Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (the original, not the live action remake) a good rendition. It was written by a woman.

Jean Cocteau’s black and white La Belle et La Bete.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, or a film adaptation of the same.

Rebecca by Daphne DuMarier, which is what my username is from. I’m fond of the Hitchcock film adaptation.

Honestly, the 2004 adaptation of Phantom of the Opera is...flawed, but it was my introduction to Phantom, and it’s a lot of melodramatic fun.

It’s worth noting that in a lot of these stories, there are not perfect, healthy relationships depicted between men and women. There is cruelty, there is harm. But in many cases, that does not mean these stories have nothing to say about relationships between men and women, nor does it say that they are solely tales about abuse and we cannot find romanticism within them. Each story has it’s own flaws, it’s own strengths, hold deeper meanings beyond the surface. They contribute something distinct to a rich history of artistic explorations of the dynamics of power in romance and the female experience with our own desires within a patriarchal society.

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thelonguepuree · 4 years ago

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In thinking this question through the collusion of emancipation and imperial expansion, I am deeply influenced by the work of Thomas Holt, Saidiya Hartman, Andrew Zimmerman and others who have, in different ways, examined the remaking of race and racialized coercion after the end of slavery. As Hartman puts it in Scenes of Subjection, black labor is produced through modes of coercion that “exceeded the coercion immanent in capital labor relations.” For imperial administrators and international civil servants between the late 19th and mid-twentieth centuries, the deployment of extra-economic coercion was both justified as necessary in the tropics and rhetorically distanced from chattel slavery. I am interested in the ways that race emerges from the structures of coercion and also serves to stabilize them. I also want to return to the what where anticolonial critics like W.E.B Du Bois, George Padmore and others tried to name this specificity of black labor by returning to and rewriting the history of slavery. I am struck by chapter 1 of Du Bois’s Black Reconstruction—the Black Worker where he grasps to name what made black labor a distinctive form. Asking “What did it mean to be a slave?” he finds “its analogues today in the yellow, brown, and black laborer in China and India, in Africa, in the forests of the Amazon…” He makes this connection even more explicit in Darkwater where he writes, “Today instead of removing laborers from Africa to distant slavery, industry built on a new slavery approaches Africa to deprive the natives of their land, to force them to toil, and to reap all the profit for the white world.” The “Negro Worker” of Padmore’s journal would in this come to name discrepant and raced categories of labor that could not full assimilated to the figure of proletariat. Though I am not sure exactly where it will lead, I want to think through how one might plot different visions of freedom from the subject position of the Negro Worker. I hope to pursue the question with three guiding orientations in mind. First, having left the terrain of formal international politics and state sovereignty, I hope to be more attuned to freedom projects that are articulated on “a lower frequency” that might not take the form of organized and institutional politics, that while ephemeral and fleeting offer conceptual resources for reimagining freedom. If in Worldmaking, I charted how critique of colonial labor as slavery grounded project of postcolonial statehood, this project opens up space to consider the alternative trajectories of such a critique and to offer a critical vantage point on the ways the postcolonial states deployed and reinforced the coercive logics it inherited. Second, I want to attend more closely to the erasures and lapses that made available the category of Negro Worker. I want to attend more closely to the underlying assumption about politics and economic transformation that underwrite the projects of Du Bois and Padmore. This too informed by Hartman who illustrates that the heroic vision in Du Bois’s general strike obscures black women’s sexual and reproductive labors. Finally, after rereading Andrew Sartori’s Liberalism in Empire in our class, I want to try and hold at bay my own desires to find certain kinds of resistance among my subjects, to be open to the multiple ways colonized people secured something akin to freedom even if compromised and limited. I hope this gives you a sense of the questions and framing I am thinking with even if the substance of the project has yet to be fill. Ultimately, I would like this examination of colonial labor and its legacies to inform the on-going debates about the contemporary transformation of work. By provincializing the proletariat as the primary or dominant figure of labor, it attunes us less to the decline and crisis of the wage laborer than to the prior problem of dispossession and thereby makes it possible to chart the multiple ways that that dispossession is lived.

Adom Getachew in conversation with Chris Taylor, “The Global Plantation,” b2o (x)

Some inchoate and out-of-order thoughts on this:

Gotta think more about the super important distinctions between (and nuancings of the relationship between) plantation, enslavement, and capitalism in this discussion.

In a hasty, overly monolithic and sequential historical account, it’s easy to miss the fact that the plantation (as Taylor and Getachew insist) shouldn’t be reduced to the setting of slavery alone; that plantations and the carceral system as we’ve come to know it can and do coexist. Getachew’s phrase “the plantation’s uneven relationship to the world system” is helpful here.

I think the discussion (not in this quote) of the Angela Davis / RWG debate about the historical continuities and discontinuities between chattel slavery & prisons is super powerful and worth hanging onto. Especially because it calls attention to the fact that an analytic I turn to a lot, namely Robinson’s racial capitalism, might need to be specified with a historical and geographic frame. I guess all I’m saying is I often tend to use “racial capitalism” as a theoretical blanket without attending to, indeed, unevennesses within the world system.

Another quote from Getachew, earlier in the article:

I worry that when framed as an antecedent or metaphor for the carceral, its contemporaneity and co-presence disappear [i.e., the contemporaneity and copresence of the plantation and the carceral]. A couple of months before we started teaching the class, In These Times reported on labor struggles in Honduran plantations where workers demanded union rights and compliance with domestic and international labor standards. The worry here is that the plantation’s persistence as a site of a particular regime of labor process is occluded when the carceral is posited as its current iteration or instantiation.

#adom getachew #chris taylor #the global plantation #saidiya hartman #scenes of subjection #w.e.b. du bois #george padmore #black reconstruction #racial capitalism

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cryptolily · 3 years ago

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List of Famous Crypto YouTubers

Following cryptocurrency, YouTubers is a terrific way to stay up to date on all of the current crypto developments.

But that’s only the beginning. They can broaden your horizons, conduct interviews with significant persons, and even provide trade advice.

Various crypto YouTubers, on the other hand, have different styles, and what appeals to one viewer might not appeal to another.

Remember to be open to their personalities, which may initially be off-putting, but the more you listen to them, the more you will learn. You may find them tough to like at first, but they will grow on you over time.

We chose to evaluate famous crypto YouTubers based on the number of subscribers they have because rating them based on content is difficult. I recommend that you look at them all.

BitBoy Crypto (1.11M subscribers)

BitBoy Crypto is the place to go for the most up-to-date cryptocurrency news, project reviews, and cryptocurrency trading tips. Learn about other altcoins, Bitcoin’s historical cycles, and the newest Ethereum news. Come be a part of the BitSquad, our online community.

Coin Bureau (936k subscribers)

The Coin Bureau is your one-stop site for all things cryptocurrency-related. Guy, the Crypto Guy, is the captain of this crypto ship, and he is about to take you on an amazing adventure through the crypto-verse.

Anthony Pompliano (200k subscribers)

Anthony Pompliano is a co-founder and partner of Morgan Creek Digital, a hedge fund that focuses on blockchain technology and digital assets and is supported by Morgan Creek Capital, an investment management firm. On this channel, he broadcasts videos of interviews and personal opinions, with a focus on technology and finance.

Crypto Zombie (217k subscribers)

Every day, Crypto Zombie brings you the latest Bitcoin, altcoin, and cryptocurrency news! We talk about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, blockchain technology, present interviews with leading fintech projects and professionals, and bring you the most up-to-date and relevant breaking news in the industry!

Hashoshi (138k subscribers)

YouTuber Forest, an Ethereum developer, hosts Hashoshi, a mashup of the words “hash” and “Satoshi.” He usually updates every couple of days.

Forest’s films are extremely educational, and he breaks down the most technical aspects of bitcoin in a way that anyone can comprehend.

He feels that educating and equipping individuals for the approaching decentralized society is critical.

Forest also examines various wallets to guarantee that your cryptocurrency is secure.

Chico Crypto (254k subscribers)

Tyler Swope, a YouTuber, hosts Chico Crypto, which is excellent for a more negative view of the cryptocurrency market.

Swope, who describes himself as a “dedicated crypto investor,” investigates and delves into the nuances of what is going on, and can cover a lot of ground in a single video.

He excels at identifying potentially problematic circumstances that may develop in the sector and offering investment advice on his top picks.

Swope plans to post a new video practically every day, with a new video being released on most days of the week.

Swope’s manner may initially turn you off since it appears unprofessional, but if you get beyond that, you’ll love what he has to say.

Crypto Love(206k subscribers)

Crypto Love is hosted by YouTuber Randal and is one of the most popular cryptocurrency-related channels on YouTube, as well as being incredibly amusing.

He is really good at looking at the charts in detail and giving his perspective on what might happen to various cryptocurrencies in the future.

Crypto Love is an excellent place to start if you’re looking for a channel that not only looks at different cryptocurrencies but also trading tactics that you can use.

On most days of the week, Randal uploads a video.

The Crypto Lark (394k subscribers)

The Crypto Lark has been dubbed the “Weird Al Yankovic of the cryptocurrency world,” but don’t be fooled by his look.

Lark Davis, a YouTuber, hosts The Crypto Lark, and he is by far the finest in the market at describing how various cryptocurrencies function in an easy-to-understand manner.

When it comes to getting started in the crypto realm, he’s your best chance, and his terminology is outstanding, thanks to his background in political science and critical thinking.

Lark has several explanatory videos and has interviewed some of the leading players in bitcoin, like Binance’s CZ, in addition to contributing his “two Satoshis” on news and events.

Boxmining (249k subscribers)

Michael Gu, a YouTuber with a physics degree who is also adept at explaining how different cryptocurrencies function and has been interested in bitcoin since 2012, hosts Boxmining.

Michael conducts live videos on occasion, which can be entertaining, but the message box on the right can be distracting, so it’s best to simply close it.

Michael also offers a Chinese viewpoint on various cryptocurrency events and can read Chinese, which is often overlooked by other YouTubers who prefer to focus on the west.

The Ivan Tech (470k subscribers)

Ivan on Tech is a renowned YouTube channel presented by Ivan Liljeqvist of Stockholm, Sweden, who is possibly one of the most well-known bitcoin personalities on the platform.

He is a blockchain educator, software developer, data scientist, and blockchain consultant who has spoken all over the world.

Ivan’s YouTube series “Programmer Explains” is one of the best at explaining how Bitcoin and different cryptocurrencies function.

He is one of YouTube’s most active characters, and he recently launched his “Good morning Crypto” series, in which he live-streams his videos and discusses current events.

DataDash(462k subscribers)

DataDash, hosted by YouTuber Nicholas Merten, is the greatest place to go for trading advice and to learn about the technical side of cryptocurrency trading.

It’s also one of the most popular bitcoin channels on YouTube.

You’ll be able to learn not just how to trade cryptocurrencies, but also a variety of other financial assets.

Merten makes videos practically every day, and you may follow him on Twitter, however, it is his account, and he tweets about a variety of topics other than cryptocurrency trading.

YouTubers are a wonderful method to keep up with what’s going on in the bitcoin world. Some people upload videos on a daily or weekly basis. Observing YouTubers is a great approach to pick up trading tips. You may use these tips for cryptocurrency trading as well as other market instruments.

Keep an eye out for interviews with prominent figures in the bitcoin field. YouTube celebrities are well-known and may host some fascinating interviews.

#crypto #youtubers #famous youtuber #famous artists #popular #cryptocurrency #coinpedia

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secretcupcakesublime · 4 years ago

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Reducing the risk of design

Light, flexible, do even less, and more. Again and again, design culture encourages us to push rapidly to the point where design is a pure thread in the larger corporate spool and trim research and design operations. Writer and author Nikki Anderson describes the implications of this pressure to perform high speed research: "Once we are asked to synthesize at light pace, user research is a way for teams to take a shortcut — to create conclusions based on quick associations, thoughts, and quotes."

The effect is design based on assumptions, or incomplete user and customer knowledge. For example, a Fortune 500 company (let's call it Company Q) hired me to do a usability test for a complex user interface (usability testing includes a series of one-on-one sessions with actual users who are asked to perform different tasks when using a product or piece of software).

The study yielded what would possibly become identifiable patterns and when I was told to pause and send the results to the client immediately I was halfway through the research. My clarification of the need for more time to perform a detailed and nuanced review fell on deaf ears: "Just send a short video." I reticently submitted a video snippet of a user interface ( UI) struggling participant.

There was no time for context, background or nuance. Company Q product manager remembered the person in the video from a previous experience and dismissed his struggles: "He's a crank, we can't base decisions on him." Without discussing this serious UI problem, the company passed on.

This sales manager had been addicted to his client emotionally (see endowment effect below). This emotional attachment impeded his capacity to objectively assess the strengths and weaknesses of the product. It's no wonder that professionals are forming positive feelings about their products.

Comprehensible but also troublesome. As explained in an article about UX's ROI by UX guru Jared Spool, ignoring user needs carries a high cost: assume you get a lot of support calls, for example, because the design doesn't do anything that users expect. That's a high cost because of a bad judgment on the design. How expensive? The average cost of a single support call in North America is $15,56 according to HDI's Jeffrey Rumburg. Even though support calls only increase by 83,000 per month, the annual cost is more than $15 million.

Conversely, functions to solve interface issues. According to the McKinsey report, "The Business Value of Design": "One online gaming company found that a slight increase in the usability of its homepage was followed by a dramatic 25 percent increase in sales." Note: For this study, McKinsey tracked the design practices of 300 publicly listed companies in multiple countries and industries over a five-year period. This interviewed or questioned their senior management and architecture members. The McKinsey team gathered more than two million pieces of financial information and reported over 100,000 design actions.

Such figures illustrate the direct financial costs of rushing market research and shortchanging customer and company interests. We also demonstrate the financial value of addressing consumer issues. I will shed light on the approaches used in this article to resolve these concerns: carefully choosing a study location; negotiating with stakeholders to provide ample time for review without disrupting the design process; making rational, evidence-based design decisions; engaging in design reduction. 1. Background Over Comfort: Why Location Matters

Where you carry out analysis, matters as much as the method of study. Consider the value of the venue before booking a room for your next interview with users. You may not want to book a quiet meeting room if the users operate with multiple distractions in a noisy environment. The user experience will actually help you determine the best research approach for collecting feedback (interviews, diary analyses, observation / contextual enquiry, usability tests, cognitive walkthroughs, etc.).

That is exactly what happened when our team conducted UX research for a major construction equipment manufacturer. We should have taken machine operators to a quiet showroom to ask them questions about the machinery and what was working well and what was not. That would have been the easy choice but the wrong one. Instead, we traveled to U.S. , Mexico, and Colombia construction sites where we observed operators using the equipment outside where it was dusty, dirty, and noisy.

Observations on the field included: chances of traffic accidents due to noise, and poor visibility in high winds. The challenge faced by shorter operators when they entered the cab for certain controls (operators in Latin America were, on average, smaller than their counterparts in the USA). The rapid corrosion of metal equipment on a construction site near the ocean, caused by salt.Observing consumers in their real-world work environment: Minimized the chance of solving the wrong problem, because we did not rely on sales or product second-hand knowledge (this occurs more frequently than you would think). We (the researchers) were allowed to hear the wind, see the dust and feel the bumps when riding on these massive machines. Given actionable information not collected in an office. Our study at sites in Mexico and Colombia has shown the old adage to be valid. Meeting users where they worked on a daily basis yielded rich, qualitative data which our client used to inform important design decisions. 2. Concession

That was a good result. Real-world problems were identified in the fieldwork in Mexico and Colombia, and stakeholders acted on that information. That's not always the case here. As happened with Walmart when management decided to change aisle and shelving design based on a customer survey, there is a temptation to make design decisions quickly based on incomplete information. When asked to customers if the stores were too cluttered they said yes. Walmart spent millions re-designing stores only to lose sales in excess of $ 1 billion. Sales increased when Walmart reverted to the cluttered aisles. What went wrong?

A poorly worded survey and inadequate study were undoubtedly two factors for the debacle. Walmart depended too much on what customers said and not what they were doing. In consumer and user experience the value of putting significant weight on what applications and consumers are doing is a cornerstone concept.

Underhill, a business and market research pioneer, is completely correct. Unfortunately, even when stakeholders decide to finance research (ride-alongs, shop-alongs, contextual inquiry), tremendous pressure is exerted to move forward when a UX or market study is completed, leaving little time for detailed examination.

The goal is to strike a balance between pace and thoroughness in these situations. Brand managers and other stakeholders have a lot of responsibility and are often under pressure to rapidly transfer goods into the market. Nevertheless, rushing the design process will result in the emergence of research into ignoring key user needs.

Compromise serves two purposes throughout the passage from study review to design. Firstly, it provides ample time for researchers to study, evaluate and report reliable and actionable results that will help the design team move forward. Second, as with any undertaking, a willingness to compromise sets a degree of confidence. 3. Decisions on better functionality

Compromise and trust are a solid basis for establishing a collaborative partnership between researchers, designers and stakeholders. These partnerships lead to an conducive environment for better design decisions. Those points tend to be simple, even transparent.Perhaps straightforward but not easily attainable. Why? For what? Human character. Human beings are subject to what psychologists term the endowment effect, the tendency simply because they belong to you to overvalue objects that you own. A typical example of selling a house is. You are emotionally attached to your house as the landlord, as you have put effort into repairs and upgrades. The house has pretty good memories. You live there, after all. The buyer does not say much of this. She just cares about the objective market value and for the least amount of money, she gets the best house. It is difficult for people to part from the object, a house in this case, once the endowment effect holds onto. Changing a UI or physical object in the sense of design is approximately equal to parting with it. For example, the product manager announced to me and a room full of stakeholders while reviewing a complex UI for a programmable logic controller: "My name is Jim, and I love this product." Honesty points. As predicted, Jim held fast to his conviction when I presented the report that the UI was perfect and didn't need change. He was attached, unsurprisingly, to the computer and the UI.

The evidence supports this statement. According to the McKinsey study listed above: "Less than 5 percent of those we surveyed indicated that their members could make rational design decisions." One of the challenges to making sound design decisions is the endowment effect. See A Designer's Guide to Good Decisions to learn how to avoid other can mistakes in making decisions.

Knowledge of the endowment effect and other decision traps leads to better design, as it helps us to make difficult decisions during the actual process. 4. Reduction of Architecture One such option is whether to delete from an current design or from early iteration of design. For instance, the image below left could easily be an early iteration of a mobile app. Few would dispute the power of simple, elegant, and engaging design. Sometimes, these results benefit from deliberate, thoughtful reduction. From the number and size of the elements on the screen to the simplicity or complexity of the color palette, it's all about the the design to the point that it's simple and easy to use without losing something significant.

A designer could also ask in the cleaner example (above right) if "This Month" and "165: Max Pulse" are required. If not, cutting them will be another downsizing. The point is not to discuss the specifics of the UI for this fake fitness program. Instead, designers will expect the "everything-but-the-kitchen-sink" effect and recommend eliminating unnecessary elements of design. Effective strategies include: Gently remembering the dangers of a high cognitive load to stakeholders and other team members. Sharing cluttered designs with the team (any app or website will do) and asking them to quickly find a particular feature. Their battle to find the feature should make the case.Sharing video clips of your company's past research projects demonstrating how quickly users get overwhelmed while communicating with a crowded UI.

By adhering to this reduction strategy early in the design process, the company gains by reducing the risk of customer frustration, task or cart abandonment, and dissatisfied clients. Design reduction is important for creating engaging, user-centric design but works only when combined with robust user research that leads to informed design decisions. Conclusion

Since analysis, decisions, and the design process go hand in hand, the focus of this article has been on identifying the risks of user testing and design rushing. Mitigating this risk does not demand that research and design teams double in size. We have also introduced four concrete strategies that teams can quickly implement: Meaning over Convenience: Position matters. Either at home, in a café, or on a noisy construction site, perform UX and market research where consumers engage with your product.

Compromise Compromise If market customers can not necessarily demand a detailed review, compromise. The design team will move forward with minor design changes in the direction of the stakeholder, while promising not to make significant changes until the final review of the study is complete.

Better design decisions Allow better choices by keeping an eye out for the all-too-human propensity to get attached to a design you made. Reduction Remove redundant UI components leaving only what users and clients need to complete the task at hand.

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technicallyelegantruins · 4 years ago

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Reducing the risk of design

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alishbakhanus · 4 years ago

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Wedding photo session: ideas, mistakes, tips!

A wedding photo shoot is captured emotions and memories for a lifetime, which is why it is so important that these are beautiful, vivid and atmospheric photos. But how to pose in front of the camera, what mistakes are there, how to deal with anxiety? Our professionals tell about all this

Photos from the wedding celebration represent the best memory of this magical day, because they reflect the most interesting, funny and, of course, the most romantic moments. They help the couple to relive the excitement, joy and excitement of this day again. It is because of such an important role of photography that we always urge you to choose your photographer carefully, slowly and with full responsibility, because this person will be responsible for your memories. However, there is one more important moment in shooting – the excitement and fear of the camera, which are familiar to almost all of us. In this article, we’ll show you how to deal with your anxiety and what you need to do to ensure that your photoshoot results exceed your expectations!

Fear of posing

Wedding photographers notes that: “One of the biggest fears before a wedding photo session of a couple is the fear of posing, some couples are afraid that they will not be able to stand up correctly, turn the right angle, and often just turn to stone in front of the camera. This is quite natural, because you don’t have to get a lot of attention every day, and even pose for wedding photos. It happens that a couple decides to invite a reportage photographer to the wedding, because then they don’t have to pose. This is a misconception. To get a cool, lively, emotional report, you need to live in the frame, you need to feel very comfortable in front of the camera… Only a photographer who knows how to beautifully pose models, choose a pose suitable for them, distract from constraints, chat, relax, will suit a shy couple. “

Wedding photographers gives some practical advice on how to get up better and what you need to do to get rid of the fear of posing: “Many people have heard about the fact that the camera sees everything a little differently than our eyes. So I’ll start with the most fundamental things: your position relative to the camera. In most cases, the camera will not forgive you if you stand frontally, that is, with all parts of the body turned strictly in the direction of the photographer, at attention, in other words. Let’s remember that our task is not to take a photo for a passport or the Finnish Schengen – our task is to find an artistic image, and the frontal position will not help us in this at all, although there are exceptions here too. The most advantageous option is to be located in relation to the camera in three quarters. That is, turn a little in half a turn. Using half-turns, you can create an image of ease, emphasize the curves of the figure. After all, we must not forget that the ultimate goal is to bring maximum femininity into the image with the help of correct posing. “Wedding photo shoot ideas: tell your love story!

Excitement and fear of the camera

In order to cope with the fear of the camera, the Orange Wedding Company offers a preliminary shooting , a love-story or just a pre-wedding walk that will help you learn how the photographer works, and he, in turn , will better understand you and your desires. During this shooting, you will also be able to better understand yourself and what moments give you discomfort – if you are embarrassed by crowded places, respectively, on your wedding day, it is better to choose a more secluded place for your photo session.

Creative process

Wedding photographers believes: “In order to get real, sincere happy pictures, the most important thing is to be yourself and enjoy the moment. The biggest mistake is to keep a lot of photos from different photographers and try to copy them. This takes a lot of time and effort, and the result will still be different. Since each master has his own look, his own technique and his own style. Therefore, the best advice is to trust the professional of your choice and enjoy your shooting day as much as possible! “

if you want to hug and kiss your beloved, do not postpone and do not wait for the go-ahead from the photographer, the most sincere photography is spontaneous!” By AK organize a route for the wedding photo shoot: expert opinion!

During the creative process, you need to make sure that everything around you is perfect: a bridal bouquet, a photo zone, in the event that you plan to shoot in a studio, you need to think through every detail! The Love decor studio has been creating a unique atmosphere for five years, and the studio’s designers will professionally decorate any space. Studio style is a combination of original approach and elegance. The studio team works with a variety of projects from classic style to loft, embodying the ideas of the newlyweds in the best possible way.

Shooting locations

Most popular ideas for a bride’s photo shoot: One of the most popular shootings is the bride’s morning. According to Natalya Nova, a representative of Nova Wedding , the most ideal place for gathering and morning shooting of the bride is the hotel, for which there are several reasons: “ Firstly, the calmness of the bride, and, secondly, the service – breakfast in the room, dress preparation, help in an emergency, the maids and the concierge are always ready to help . “

Also, shooting in a café is no less popular: the bride sits half-turned on a chair, holds a cup of tea in her hands and looks dreamily out the window, or the reflection of the bride in a beautiful full-length mirror.

Interesting ideas for the groom’s photo shoot: you can take the hobbies and hobbies of a young man as a basis. For example, if your fiancé cannot imagine life without music, then you can organize a thematic photo session with a musical theme. In the event that the groom is fond of sports, then a photo session can be organized at a sports stadium, why not?

Shooting in nature: “In the photo session, I love live shots, real ones. For example, if shooting in a park in nature, or somewhere in the city, I suggest that the couple move more, run, walk, spin, laugh, and behave like a normal day… At these moments, a person gets the most natural emotions on his face! And the cadres are filled with life. Of course, there is a place for staged shots, where the photographer must see the light and tell the couple how and where to stand, this applies to classic photographs, for example, in palaces, in interior photography. Often, brides are very fixated on their image, they are afraid for the dress or hairstyle, and this leads to pretense and unnaturalness in the frame, and prevents the groom from relaxing. It is necessary to constantly remind the bride that this is her day and she is the most beautiful, and the dress can always be dry-cleaned. Cheer everyone up and keep toned! The main thing is that the young people have a great mood and then a perfect result is guaranteed, “notes wedding photographer

In the event that you are thinking about shooting outdoors, then the Lake House is what you were looking for. After all, the restaurant offers its guests a picturesque landscape on the shore of the lake and a large summer veranda, where you will get wonderful photos. The site disposes, both for photography on warm summer evenings and early autumn.

Common mistakes

Any shooting has its own nuances, but we decided to tell you about the three most common mistakes during a photo shoot, try not to do this, and always remember the main thing: “Remember your hands. The position of the hands plays an insanely important role in creating the image in the photo. Therefore, you should never curl your fingers into your palm when posing. So visually in the photo, fists are obtained – and we see hands that do not have fingers – a terrible horror! Do not do that! Don’t throw your head back. Sometimes models throw their heads back, wanting to portray languid languor. And they forget that the camera visually enlarges the cheeks and makes the eyes smaller. Add to this the fact that the camera adds an average of three kilograms to the model … In general, the conclusion is clear. Don’t squint your eyes… Not everyone can squint their eyes. Or rather, to almost anyone. Because visually the eyes are made smaller – and this does not paint anyone. So it’s not sexy or expressive at all,

Tips & Tricks

Wedding photographers focuses on the fact that: “Almost every couple at the meeting before the wedding fearfully asks me the question:“ How to pose for the camera? ”. Of course, there are media people who are constantly in the lens of photographers, have experience of individual or family shooting, love story behind them. These couples feel more relaxed and confident during the wedding day. But, in most cases, newlyweds are inexperienced in front of the lens, and therefore are worried, and wonder how to stand up, how to smile and what to do in general. I always try to make the shooting process as light as possible. And already at the meeting I discuss with the couple how to behave and feel in front of the camera. I advise you to start your wedding day by filming your hotel fees… While the young people gather with trepidation and are busy with preparations, they get used to the camera and the photographer, they become liberated. We get to know each other and chat, and the next shooting day is already easier for the couple. ” But it is worth taking care not only of photography, but also of video filming , how can we do without it? Especially that the video format is becoming more and more popular recently. Media ax videographers team has extensive experience in the wedding field. During the period from 2009 to the present day, the team has filmed over 1000 weddings. Experience in television and the latest video technology ensure the quality and professionalism of shooting. Media ax are professionals in their field who do not save on equipment, which allows you to shoot with the best professional equipment. Meetings with the newlyweds take place in the office, where there is an opportunity to discuss all the necessary details. Media ax’s pricing policy is based on favorable terms for both the customer and the contractor.

“I would advise you to pay attention to the percentage of live staged shots in a photographer’s portfolio to see how a person works with people. Beautiful shots where a couple is standing and looking at the camera can be done by many, if this suits you, it’s great, it will be easier to choose a photographer. If you want you to really live in the frame, and the photo session was a pleasure, then it is important to choose a person with whom you will be comfortable during the shooting. Make a pre-wedding love story , give yourself the opportunity to get used to the camera and the photographer to find your most spectacular angles. Look at paired photos that you like and are close in mood, pay attention to the poses, emotions that people do in the frame, remember some of them or show your photographer. Get ready to shoot beautiful photographs are a joint work of a couple and a photographer , including before shooting, at the stage of preparation. I advise my couples to enjoy their wedding day as much as possible, each other, to catch every moment. First of all, a wedding is a holiday for you and your loved ones, and a photo session is one of the small but very pleasant parts of it

Courtesy: best marriage halls in Lahore

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hopefulfestivaltastemaker · 4 years ago

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January 3, 2021

My weekly roundup of things I am up to. Topics include dietary needs, farmer well-being, cooking, reform, vaccine distribution, scientific progress, and a health update.

Dietary Needs

I got three sections done on Urban Cruise Ship this week. The first of them is on Dietary Needs. The main goal here is to have an assessment of dietary needs for the purpose of recommending food production systems. It does little good to focus on raw calorie count but then be deficient on vital nutrients. A secondary goal is to identify solutions for meeting needs that are currently unmet. Iodizing salt is one key example of this.

Like most sections, what I have now is only a start. But a start is necessary before the finish.

Farmer Well-Being

The second section is this one with several aspects of farmer well-being. A couple of interesting points:

- Urbanization is driven by three major trends: rural-to-urban migration, the indigenous growth of cities, and the reclassification of villages as cities as they grow. Most development literature focuses on the first trend but neglects the other two.

- There is some anxiety in the literature about the “uncontrolled growth of cities”, though I have yet to see a good exposition of how and why urban growth should be controlled. I remain skeptical. Nevertheless, I had gone into this topic expecting to find that the literature was generally anti-urban, and I have found it to be much more nuanced than that.

- Estimates vary, but I figure that about 1% of the Earth’s surface area is urban. Meanwhile, agricultural yields are still growing and population growth is slowing. For these reasons I think it is very unlikely that urbanization would pose any real threat to food security.

- Urban agriculture is a complex topic for which there is limited data. But unless we are talking about greenhouses, hydroponics, or other forms of intensive agriculture, I would not expect urban agriculture to be very important. It is something people generally do for exercise or aesthetic reasons, not to grow food.

- A number of NGOs extol the value of “local knowledge” in agriculture. I cited several studies that look into the subject more deeply, but I don’t have anything quantitative. Obviously there is a danger of romanticizing indigenous cultures, but it is something worth looking at more seriously.

Cooking

The third section I did this week is on Cooking. The use of polluting, biomass-based cookstoves is perhaps the leading indoor air pollution issue globally. While we debate electric versus natural gas stoves in the Western world, moving to any form of modern energy for cooking is far more important. Aside from pollution, traditional cooking takes a lot of time (estimates I’ve seen are hundreds or even thousands of hours per year) gathering fuel, which is unpleasant, especially if the fuel is animal dung.

Despite the risks, I did cite the AGA study I mentioned a few weeks ago that it costs $572-806 per ton to decarbonize by banning gas appliances. I don’t generally like citing industrial trade groups since there is an obvious bias, but after looking some more I still don’t see any other reliable estimate of carbon mitigation costs.

I also whipped up a chart of saving energy while cooking. Efficiency matters too, though I am generally skeptical of highly distributed solutions because it is not easy to make the general public change cooking habits. But there are plenty of small, easy things on the efficiency front.

American Reform

This Palladium article came out a few days ago, arguing that reforming American institutions is the answer to the threat posed by China’s rise. It is worth reading.

I’ve generally taken a dovish view on China. Not that I think the CCP is admirable in many respects but I see little coming from the Chinese that is a real threat to American power or well-being. Furthermore, even as the United States has its own challenges going forward, China is facing severe demographic and debt crises and is probably not far from its geopolitical high water mark. Avoiding the impulse to panic is the wisest course.

Nevertheless, articles such as the linked Palladium one use China as a bit of a morality tale: it’s a pretext for the United States, or the Western world more broadly, to get its own house in order. In this regard the China threat is perhaps a noble lie: a statement that is not true but is meant to motivate valuable action.

Vaccine Distribution

This week there has been much anxiety about the slow pace of vaccine distribution in the United States. These articles by Marginal Revolution, Scott Aaronson, and John Cochrane are good representatives.

“Distressing” would seem like an understatement of the appropriate response to the distribution. The CDC initially proposed on racial equity metrics in vaccine allocation, a plan that bears an uncomfortable resemblance to eugenics. Aside from that, the obsession of distributing vaccines in “the right order” seems to have displaced the need to do it quickly. Thousands of people are dying every day in the United States. The seeming lack of urgency about this fact is probably the most disqualifying fact that has emerged about the public health profession.

While distribution could be much faster, I’m not sure we’re doing such a terrible job. The United States is one of the better countries in terms of vaccines distributed per person. Commentators have compared the US unfavorably to Israel. It seems to me that Israel is an exceptionally well-run country by many metrics; another example is the rate of water recycling and desalination. Israel, along with Singapore, Taiwan, and a handful of other states, seems to show high levels of state capacity. Replicating that is far from a straightforward matter.

Any serious attempt to look at the Covid-19 failure will have to grapple with the fact that failure seems to have been uniform across the federal, state, and local governments in the US, as well as the fact that most countries did poorly. Hopefully the final chapters of this episode are now being written, but with the new variant, with high reproduction rate, spreading around the world, I am worried.

Scientific Progress

There continue to be a flurry of articles about scientific progress, including this one by Eli Dourado which is pretty good. Eli makes a strong case that there are many technologies on the drawing board, and the world is not facing apparent stagnation for want of ability to invent new things. We have to look harder at the diffusion mechanisms. Apparently it is much more difficult to make robots do useful things than to make them dance.

What Eli doesn’t do so well is give us a sense of what those diffusion mechanisms look like. The basic question I want answered remains: why has productivity growth slowed most of the time since the 1970s and especially since 2005, and what if anything do we expect to be different about the 2020s such that diffusion would increase again?

A couple of nitpicks, since Eli goes into some topics that I work in. It it my understanding that the main bottleneck to wind and solar expansion right now is siting, not energy storage, and so the extended discussion that Eli gives to energy storage may be premature. He discusses enhanced geothermal, as have several other commentators recently, which is a bit puzzling to me since enhanced geothermal has been a hot topic since at least the 2000s, and I don’t see a lot of sign that things the area has significantly evolved recently. He discusses small modular reactors, noting with disappointment the recent delay in the NuScale project, though there isn’t a serious attempt to examine the drivers of nuclear costs. There is also discussion of electrolyzed aviation fuel, a concept which I support but I doubt will be economically viable this decade.

Maybe the 2020s will be the decade for autonomous vehicles, drones, and tunnels. The first two of these items have been on the agenda for a long time, and why they haven’t been commercialized already gets back to the question of technology diffusion noted above.

Regarding farming, I continue to expect that greenhouses and hydroponics with natural light, rather than vertical farming, will be the main drivers of agricultural intensification. Even with recent advances in LED technology, artificial lighting is just too expensive. And we can still get plenty of agricultural intensification with natural light. Eli predicts that lab-grown meat may be successful where plant-based meat substitutes are not. That comes down to market acceptance. Plant-based options tend to be cheaper and have lower environmental impacts. Established options like the Boca Burger have shown that they have a market, albeit a limited one. Why will lab-grown meat have greater market share? This could very well be the case, but I’d need to see the reasoning for it.

Health Update

With the start of the new year, this seems like a good time to take stock of where I am health-wise.

I was in quarantine for two weeks at the end of December. My wife was in Floria, and due to potentially being at higher risk, I decided to be away from her. Quarantine time was extended because she got a minor cold. All measures taken to avoid the virus are either underreactions or overreactions; the trouble is that we don’t know in advance which is which.

I was feeling under the weather for the first two days this year, but now I am better. Aside from being a bit more tired than usual, by all outward signs I have recovered to pre-stroke levels. Being tired may be an after-effect of the stroke, the result of being cooped up in a hospital bed for a while, or it may be a long term trend that I didn’t notice until now.

My appetite is down significantly; again it is not clear why this is the case. This is a welcome change, since I have lost about 10 pounds since the peak and I was getting pudgy before (I still am a bit). I also drink one cup of coffee per day, down from 3+ before the stroke. This is due to a lack of desire for coffee, not any deliberate effort to cut back.

Some time in January I am due to go in for an angiogram, which should check whether the procedure I had in September was successful. I don’t know if the Covid situation has disrupted that schedule.

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dannofaust · 6 years ago

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Yep, I’m still reading, so here’s what I’ve been reading lately.

You know the drill by now. These are just my thoughts. I’m not a critic, but I’m going to share my opinions with you anyway. I am not affiliated with any of the books, products, or web sites mentioned here. I am not compensated by anyone in any way for this blog. This is just for my own amusement. Your enjoyment may vary.

“Over the Hill – Grandpa Hikes the PCT” by Jim & Zhita Rea

This is the story of Jim Rea, a sixty something retiree from Los Angeles, California who wants to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, and his wife Zhita who is a retired educator with a unique background.

I had a difficult time reading this book. Some of my difficulty stemmed from the fact that parts of the book were written by Jim, and parts were written by Zhita, who was acting as Jim’s support crew. The two different perspectives were interesting, but at times it was confusing to me and a bit hard to follow. I think my other difficulty was that Jim was section hiking the PCT and jumping around a bit from one section to another from year to year. Maybe I’m just getting too old to follow anything more complicated than a simple through hike.

I don’t have any criticism of the writing in this book. It just wasn’t my cup of tea. I only got about one third of the way through the book before I gave up. Maybe I’ll come back to this one and finish it someday.

“RiverGator” web site by John Rusky

https://www.rivergator.org

RiverGator is an amazing resource. It’s not a book. It’s web site that contains just about every piece of information anyone would ever want to know about the Mississippi River below St. Louis, Missouri. The amount of information on this web site is overwhelming. I have not read all of it, but I have read a lot of it.

For me, the most important part of the website is the mile by mile river guide. It is very helpful to have this kind of a resource. The guide even includes a description of the Atchafalaya River, which is the route I will take to the Gulf.

My difficulty with this web site is that a lot of the mile by mile descriptions of the river are interrupted by a plethora of other information. I would much rather the river description continued mile by mile uninterrupted from beginning to end. I must be getting old, because it took me awhile to navigate through the myriad of menus and hyperlinks to find the information I was looking for. The more I read and use the RiverGator.org website, the better I get at finding what I want. For me, the site navigation and layout is not intuitive.

My pet peeves aside, this is by far the most comprehensive collection of information about the Mississippi River written for people traveling the river in canoes and kayaks. If you are interested in paddling the Big Muddy, this is a “must read” web site. Some of the topics discussed are Safety, navigation, camping, locks & dams, weather, river gages, hazards, history, and much more.

“A Walk in the Woods” by Bill Bryson

I tried for some time to get my hands on this book. The first time I ordered “A Walk in the Woods” all I got was a piece of the envelope that it had been shipped in. When I contacted the company that had sold me the book they said that they would ship another copy out ASAP, but eventually they issued me a refund because they didn’t have another copy. Subsequently, I found the book for sale on eBay and ordered it. This time the book actually arrived.

In the mean time, I also bought a DVD copy of the movie by the same name. That was a mistake. It stars Robert Redford and Nick Nolte. I figured that if I couldn’t read the book at least I could watch the movie. They’re probably about the same, right? Well, the movie sucks in my humble opinion. I hadn’t even laid eyes on the book yet and I knew that the movie wasn’t half as good as the book. I have read enough stories about the Appalachian Trail to know that the movie should have been much better. Clearly the acting was not the problem. They had a great book to start with. How could they screw this up? I don’t know if it was the writing, the directing, the editing, or all of the above; but somewhere along the line the movie did not live up to its potential or my expectations. I was disappointed, to say the least.

About a week after I watched the movie, my book arrived. The movie did do one good thing for me. As I began reading the book I envisioned Robert Redford as Bryson and Nick Nolte as Katz. Even though Redford and Nolte are quite a bit older than Bryson and Katz were in the book, I think the casting was brilliant. In my minds eye I could see and hear the two of them starting out on this ridiculous adventure together. I began laughing out loud almost immediately. Bill Bryson is a marvelous writer and story teller. My hat’s off to you sir. I wish I could write that well.

I delighted in Bryson’s in depth description of how agonizingly boring the Appalachian Trail can be. I have read accounts referring to the AT as the “green tunnel”, but Bryson’s rich, textured vocabulary goes way beyond any thing I have read before in relating the mind numbing activity of backpacking the AT. Several times I have read accounts of accomplished backpackers who paddled the Mississippi. Invariably they referred to it as boring and monotonous. One author even referred to the upper section of the river as “the green hell”. I felt offended by those remarks. I love the river. Pretty much any river I’ve ever been on. How could they be so inconsiderate and rude? Well, their beloved AT is pretty boring and monotonous too I guess … at least in some people’s opinions. Any way, I thought that Bryson kind of evened up that score. Thanks Bryson!

As I was reading a short passage near the middle of the book, I realized that much of what Bryson wrote did not transfer to the movie. Had I been making this book into a movie I believe I would have employed a narration ( Redford would have been awesome at this ) to fill in some of the gaps and include more of the subtle nuances that Bryson so expertly relates. Too bad. Some of the best parts of the book were lost in translation. I suppose that’s the way things go all too often.

One thing I did not appreciate was Bryson’s treatment of Emma Gatewood. He was more than rude. It was completely unnecessary and unacceptable in my humble opinion. Bryson couldn’t complete the AT once. Emma did the whole thing three times and she was older than him. I think Bill Bryson was out of his depth to criticize Emma Gatewood so harshly.

The second half of the book does slow down a good bit in my humble opinion. Bryson set off on his own to explore parts of the AT by car. He goes into a lot of detail about the history and geology of the AT as it passes through Pennsylvania. Most of that stuff is pretty boring, but I did manager to push through it and finish the book. Throughout this book Bryson is telling the story of the Appalachian Trail. It’s history. It’s politics. It’s flora and fauna. Its culture. It’s future and more. The part about Bryson and Katz backpacking the AT just adds some fun and makes the whole thing more enjoyable to read.

“Two Coots in a Canoe” by David Morine

This is one of my favorite books so far. Probably the only thing that could have made it any better for me is if it had taken place in the Midwest rather than the Northeast, but then I’m prejudiced.

Author David Morine teams up with a college friend Ramsay Peard, whom he hasn’t seen in twenty years, to paddle the Connecticut River from the Canadian border to the Long Island Sound. A distance of just over 400 miles. But that’s not enough for these two sixty something retirees. They’ve got a gimmick. They aren’t going to camp along the way. They are going to rely on the generosity of “strangers” to be their hosts ( cook, chauffeur, laundry mat, party planner, and local guide ) each night.

As you have probably gathered by now, this is not your typical story of two people canoeing down a river. There’s nothing typical about this story at all. Two Coots in a Canoe is witty, well written, funny, irreverent, and enlightening, but unexpectedly delves deeper into the human condition than some people may be comfortable with. One moment heart warming and the next heartbreaking, this book is hard to describe. There’s a little bit of everything included in Morine’s tale. It has history, drama, romance, mystery, murder, social commentary, and a few surprises along the way. This story is “The Odd Couple” meets “A Walk in the Woods” crossed with “Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn”.

David Morine is an accomplished author who had written several other books, including “Good Dirt: Confessions of a Conservationist”, “Vacationland: A Half Century Summering in Maine”, and “Small Claims: My Little Trials in Life”.

If someone ever had the good judgment to make this story into a movie, I would buy a ticket to see it quicker than the blink of an eye. The world needs more stories like this and more people like Dave Morine and Ramsay Peard.

“Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them.” – A. A. Milne

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Things I’ve Read – Part 4 Yep, I'm still reading, so here's what I've been reading lately. You know the drill by now.

#adventure #camping #Canoeing #Dan Faust #Glory Days #kayak #Kayaking #Mississippi River #outdoor #safety

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evelynmfoye · 5 years ago

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Need To Learn More About Volkswagen Shopping?

When you are shopping for a Volkswagen in Lynchburg VA, you may think about just giving money to someone to get a Volkswagen in Lynchburg VA. It is more nuanced than that. The article below will show you all the ins and outs of buying a vehicle. Pay attention to each piece of advice.

Search the Internet for great deals. An Internet search is able to save you a lot of money. Once you have found the perfect vehicle, you can either drive to the dealership offering the vehicle or go to your dealership and have them purchase the vehicle for you. You may even consider making the trip to buy the vehicle yourself if it will save you quite a bit of money.

What do you want out of your new Volkswagen in Lynchburg VA? For example, you will need to know your budget. How many passengers do you expect to have? What is the type of gas mileage you’ll need? Do you want two or more doors? Get it all down on paper, and bring it with you when shopping so that you don’t forget.

A mechanic of your choosing should always inspect a used vehicle prior to purchase. If the dealer won’t let you do this, look elsewhere. You need a mechanic to give you an objective opinion about the car’s condition and check for damages, submersion in water or other problems some dealers try to hide.

Prior to setting food on a Volkswagen in Lynchburg VA lot, figure out your financing. You can do this through your local credit union or bank. This often provides you with a much better interest rate, and you can visit the dealership with a solid idea of what you can afford.

When buying a vehicle from a private seller, make sure a mechanic does an inspection first. When the seller says no, move on. The car you are looking at might need some new parts or might even have been in a wreck. You need to know before purchasing.

Have a few certain models in mind before you head out to a Volkswagen dealer. You should look it up on the Internet and be more educated about what you want. You will also have a better idea of the price you want to pay for a vehicle.

Absolutely refrain from paying the full asking price for any car. That usually isn’t what the salesmen will expect of you anyway. If you do not feel comfortable with your negotiating techniques, bring a friend with you who is. Have a ballpark figure in mind before you go.

Speak with knowledgeable people before you go car shopping. Take a friend or a family member who will be able to advise you and encourage you to think carefully about the deals you are offered. The person could be your spouse, a good friend or even a parent.

You should drive the car you want to buy. Although you may have already driven this make and model, you’ll want to ensure that this car works properly. The car you choose could have something wrong with it that you would be unaware of until after you have purchased the vehicle unless you test drive it first.

Lynchburg Va

Avoid shopping for a car by yourself if you feel like a pushover. They will help you get a better price and ask hard questions. Brief your companion on your vehicle needs and how much you have available to spend.

Never purchase a Volkswagen in Lynchburg VA without taking a test drive first. Even if you are sure that you want a particular make and model, take the few minutes needed to test drive it. This will give you a real life feel of the car. It could be that the Volkswagen in Lynchburg VA doesn’t ride as smoothly as you like or doesn’t handle as you were expecting.

Once you have an offer you like, bring up incentives, trade-ins or down payments. These monetary exchanges should reduce your cost. You will end up with a better price if you negotiate the deal first, then discuss these “extras”.

Quotas are key to a Volkswagen in Lynchburg VA salesman’s job. That is why you want to shop at the end of the month. Salesmen who are missing a few sales will give you a great deal to meet the quota. This will let you have more control over price negotiations.

The majority of the salespeople have sales quotas to meet every month. If you wait and do your car hunting during the last week of the month, you are quite likely to get a better deal. Anyone who needs to make their quota will do what it takes to sell a car. That way, you have more leverage as you negotiate.

Shop for your new car near the month’s end. Many salesmen have to meet a quota at this time so they are much more likely to give you a better deal. Toward the month’s end, salespeople may be behind in their quotas, and this could be a great time for you to get a good deal.

You can test out a few different vehicles by renting them. If you want to get a real feel for a car, rent one from a local rental car company to give it an extended test drive. To make sure this is the best car for your family’s needs, go on a road trip and really test it out. You can decide if you like the car on the highway and when driving long distances.

Use the Internet to find used vehicles. The convenience of the Internet has all but eliminated the need to set foot on a car lot. Check out community area classified ads, as well as websites like Craigslist and eBay. That way, you can make a fair deal without pressure.

Car shopping can be both exciting and exhausting. Shopping for great automobile deals online can save you both money and time. There are many sites that allow you to comparison shop across a variety of makes and models. This can save you money and time by narrowing down choices.

Do not buy a used car without doing some research. This can give you a better idea of what you should be paying. You could use NADA or Kelly Blue Book to know how much a car is. If you Volkswagen in Lynchburg VA dealer has a Volkswagen in Lynchburg VA that is not worth what he is charging, turn around.

Before you begin car shopping, write out a budget. You must know exactly what your maximum is. Calculate what you can afford to spend on car monthly car payments. You should look for loans before going out to look for cars.

Cars go for better prices at the end of a month. Salespeople need to meet some monthly goals and they will offer you a good price if they need to generate more sales for their quotas. Negotiate towards the conclusion of the month for the best possible deal.

Social security numbers should not be given until a deal is made. Many dealers will ask for your social security number before negotiations even start. They will use this information to pull a credit report. If you do not purchase a vehicle at this dealership, then your chances of obtaining the best deal at another dealership can be damaged because the credit run will be shown. Make sure the deal is ready before you start spouting out your Social.

Be sure that you find out information about all rebates before you go. Lots of Volkswagen dealers offer on-site rebates in order to encourage fast decisions. Other unscrupulous dealers may not even tell you there is a rebate, rather keeping the incentive cash for themselves.

When you go car shopping, take along someone who really does not care whether or not your purchase a car. They will allow you to see mistakes so you’re not making a decision based on emotion. Take them with you when you do your test drive, and have them give you their opinions on any negatives.

After locking in the offer, tell them you have a trade in. While they may not offer as much for your trade-in, at least you have the offer you wanted. The bottom line is that you need to make the deal sooner or later.

The best deals can be found online. You can find a car without visiting a dealership. Rather, check out classified advertisements, Craigslist and even eBay. Doing this can get you a cheaper car and skip out on having to put up with dealership pressure tactics.

As you choose a Volkswagen in Lynchburg VA, consider how it is likely to be driven. A Volkswagen with better fuel economy will suit you well if you have a long highway commute. By knowing where you’ll be driving the most, you can get a car that fits exactly in with your driving.

You need to make sure that you look over the car closely when you’ve made your choice. Inspect the exterior of the car for scratches and dents. When it comes to the interior, check for carpet stains or upholstery tears. Do not forget that once you make the purchase, the car belongs to you. That’s true of any cosmetic problems too.

Do some research on the car’s hidden costs. There are varying costs pertaining to the insurance, gasoline and resale values for different vehicles. Repair costs can also add to the cost of owning a Volkswagen in Lynchburg VA. This can make a huge difference in what your true cost is.

Always avoid signing As-Is warranties. This is a decision that you will regret. The dealer needs to give you a 30 to 90 day guarantee if you’re buying a car. If your engine or transmission is destroyed on the day that you buy the vehicle, then you are going to be the one responsible for fixing the repair.

Don’t let the car salesman swindle you. On the surface, they may seem like they are looking out for your best interest. Know that they’re out for themselves.

When buying a car, think about fuel economy. Cars that get more miles to the gallon might be worth the extra investment upfront. The fuel savings should be considered when budgeting for a car.

Monthly Payments

When you are looking for a car, try to shop near the end of the month. Salesman need to hit a quota per month, so this time is optimal for shopping. Allow yourself several days time at the end of a month to negotiate a deal.

Beware of monthly payments that are low, but hide higher prices in total. You can easily become distracted with a low payment without realizing the total amount you will be paying for the Volkswagen. There are sales staff who know this and will lead you astray with low monthly payments in exchange for a higher overall price. Carefully peruse the contract prior to signing on the dotted line to make sure all the terms are agreeable to you.

Have an insurance agent estimate the cost of covering a car before you buy it. A car you think is reasonably priced may appear otherwise after you take the cost of insurance into consideration. Select a vehicle that strikes the right note in terms of purchase price and insurance costs.

Talk to your family or coworkers about dealerships they have used. See if they are happy with the one they used. Ask them about service they’ve received and how many repairs the vehicle has needed. Any negative review should be a red flag.

Choose a model that is famous for being cheap and needing rare repairs. There is no point in purchasing an affordable vehicle if you are going to spend a lot on maintenance. Find reviews online to determine which vehicles may meet your needs without requiring repairs.

Don’t get a Volkswagen before you test drive it. You need to actually drive the car you’re purchasing in order to see what it feels like to you. If you’re not able to test drive a Volkswagen at the time, go elsewhere and drive a Volkswagen in Lynchburg VA that’s similar to get a feel for it.

A little flexibility goes a long way when looking for a new or used vehicle. Every brand of car has models similar to the one you like. For instance, if you want a compact car, many car makers have various models for you to choose from. Comparison shop if you want to end up with the best possible deal.

When you go shopping for a new Volkswagen in Lynchburg VA, be careful not to lose the one you really want! You should now know what you have to do to get the ideal Volkswagen. All you have to do is put this advice to good use. Don’t waste time and start shopping!

It’s critical to research when you want to buy a car. Never go to a lot before you do your research. Learn as much as possible about dealers, manufacturers and models; this ensures that there are no surprises along the way.

Now that you are in the know about great deal on Volkswagen in Lynchburg VA, you are ready to form a plan for success. Keep this information in mind and you will be fine. You will be more successful that you ever imagined.

from https://terryvolkswagenshowroom.com/need-to-learn-more-about-volkswagen-shopping/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=need-to-learn-more-about-volkswagen-shopping

from Terry Volkswagen Showroom - Blog https://terryvolkswagenshowroom.weebly.com/blog/need-to-learn-more-about-volkswagen-shopping

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philipfloyd · 5 years ago

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Google BERT Update. How the Natural Language Algorithm Affects You

Just last week Google made waves with its announcement of quantum supremacy – the claim that they have developed a quantum computer that has been demonstrated to solve, in a matter of days, a problem that a “classic” supercomputer would most likely take thousands of years to solve. Elsewhere, stories about robots taking our jobs abound, while machine learning seems to be on everyone’s mind.

But change is not always flashy or even visible. Last week, Google introduced a new update named BERT, which is characterized as a massive and the biggest step forward for search in the past 5 years, as well as one of the biggest steps forward in the history of search altogether. Yet, look and ask around in the SEO community and you’ll see very little that announces as much. Also, it is not yet very clear what Google’s BERT is targeting and how will the SEO landscape be influenced by this big update. So, let’s figure it all out!

What Is Google BERT Update?

What Is Google BERT Targeting?

Does Google BERT Affect SEO?

Does Google BERT Affect Content Marketing?

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? It’s the title of a novel by visionary sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick. If it doesn’t sound familiar, you might better recognize it under its movie adaptation title, Blade Runner. Both book and movie concern themselves with questions on what it means to be human in an ever more technological world and how to (still) distinguish between humans and androids. 2014 indie sci-fi Ex-Machina, by director Alex Garland, asks a similar question by referencing the concept of the Turing test: if a robot were to pass as human to every other human in the universe, would it still be a robot? These are fascinating questions and luckily we can still ponder about them in sci-fi literature and film. We’re not there yet in real life, although one has to wonder how long will it take until the more trivial “I Am Not a Robot” captcha will get checked by a robot (it has).

Even though we are still far away from sheep-dreaming androids, we’re seeing constant progress in the way of more human-like computer interactions.

What Is the Google BERT Update?

Putting it simply, Google BERT is supposed to help a machine understand what the words in a sentence mean, but with all the nuances of context.

Yet, to respond to the question what does BERT mean? we need to talk in a more explanatory note.

BERT, which is what the latest and the biggest Google algorithm update is called, stands for Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers, and is a deep learning algorithm related to natural language processing.

So, is BERT a language model? (geeky alert ahead)

Yes, we can say that it is a language model. Yet, you need to know that even if BERT is a new concept, is not hot new. The BERT concept was made public in 2018, in a paper published by researchers at Google Artificial Intelligence Language.

According to Google researchers, “unlike recent language representation models, BERT is designed to pre-train deep bidirectional representations from unlabeled text by jointly conditioning on both left and right context in all layers. As a result, the pre-trained BERT model can be fine-tuned with just one additional output layer to create state-of-the-art models for a wide range of tasks, such as question answering and language inference, without substantial task-specific architecture modifications.”

Language model pre-training has been shown to be effective for improving many natural language processing tasks. These include sentence-level tasks such as natural language inference and paraphrasing, which aim to predict the relationships between sentences by analyzing them holistically, as well as token-level tasks such as named entity recognition and question answering, where models are required to produce fine-grained output at the token level.

If we were to ask Google what the BERT name means, we’ll get to see a range of interesting results. In all fairness, my search query was for “bert name”, nothing related to the update. Yet, if we’re looking at the “people also ask section”, we get three different pieces of information. Not contradictory, not opposite, but different which might translate in confusion for the user. Will the BERT algorithm update solve this matter? Let’s pursue our investigation to find out.

Fun Fact: The Google BERT Update was launched on October 25, the same day Kanye West launched its latest album, Jesus Is King.

What Is Google BERT Targeting?

By Google’s own estimates, BERT update will affect 10% of all queries. That’s a tremendous percentage, but it might not have caused a visible splash by SEO community standards. That’s most likely because the update focuses on “longer, more conversational queries”, whereas these longer tail queries are queries that (probably) SEOs don’t target as much in a heavy way.

If that last part sounds familiar, it might be because it’s not too far off from our recent discussions about search intent. The basic question is, then, what does the user really want to find out? There are quite a few examples out there illustrating the difference that BERT made.

Search Engine Journal provides an example of BERT understanding, using the phrase “how to catch a cow fishing,” which has nothing to do with the image that may be conjured in your head right now (or in the picture below) and everything to do with a very particular sense of the word “cow” in relation to fishing, referring to a large striped bass.

Google itself offers some examples of queries which would have been pretty clear in intent to a human conversation partner (e.g.: “2019 brazil traveler to usa needed a visa,” and “do estheticians stand a lot at work”), but were previous to the update entirely lost on Google, based on the results it displayed.

By applying the BERT models to both rankings and featured snippets in Search, Google pretends to be able to do a much better job, helping users find useful information. In fact, when it comes to ranking results, BERT will help Search better understand one in 10 searches in the U.S. in English, and we’ll bring this to more languages and locales over time.

Particularly for longer, more conversational queries, or searches where prepositions like “for” and “to” matter a lot to the meaning, Search will be able to understand the context of the words in the query. And users can search in a way that feels natural for them.

In an article from 2018, Rani Horev predicted BERT’s importance. As he stated, BERT will improve search and is undoubtedly a breakthrough in the use of Machine Learning for Natural Language Processing. The fact that it’s approachable and allows fast fine-tuning will likely allow a wide range of practical applications in the future.

Does Google BERT Affect SEO?

Yes, the BERT update affects SEO and allow me to explain why.

SEO – Search engine optimization is the process of making your site better for search engines. Therefore, any update that the search engines are making to their algorithm influences the search engine optimization process.

Now, the question that remains is what can you do to optimize for the BERT update?

If we listen to Danny Sullivan, Google’s public Search Liaison, who helps people better understand search and helps Google better hear public feedback, the answer is pretty straightforward: nothing new. What Danny actually highlights is that there is nothing that you should do from today on that you shouldn’t have done before BERT. And that is: write content for users.

We hope that there is no doubt for anyone that Google has been focusing on content for a couple of years (here’s a case study on Panda 4 update, which targeted content big time and affected lots of important websites). And we don’t want to re-iterate the “content is king” nor to over-highlight the importance of writing both SEO and user-friendly content. Yet, let’s try to understand where SEO is standing now in the context of BERT.

We believe that two main aspects need to be taken into consideration when we ask ourselves how the latest Google Update influence SEO.

Identify and Optimize for the Right User’ Search Intent

In the BERT training process, the model receives pairs of sentences as input and learns to predict if the second sentence in the pair is the subsequent sentence in the original document. So, the algorithm is trying to better understand the user’s needs, even to predict them if and when possible.

Google BERT update tries to (even) better understand the users’ search intent.

Search intent or keyword intent is the reason why people conduct a specific search. Why are they searching? What are they trying to achieve through their search? Are they trying to figure out the answer to a question or do they want to reach a specific website?

With the increasing use of mobile and voice search, where people need fast and contextual answers to their questions, Google tries to become more and more able to determine the search intent of people. So, the whole Google SERP is now trying to best fit the search intent and not the exact searched keyword. Now, more than ever, there will be situations when the exact searched term will not even be included in the Google search results page. And this happens because Google has become better and better at determining the search intent of people.

Google has to figure out what exactly do people want, so it can offer them the search engine page results they need. And, from an SEO point of view, your job is to create content that is relevant to the Google users and matches their search intent.

Not to linger on this anymore, remember that search intent is more important than ever and here’s how to optimize for each type of search intent.

Optimize for Featured Snippets

Google stated that BERT is about users’ natural language and understanding longer queries. What Google tries to highlight with the focus on featured snippets is that searcher intent is to find content that responds exactly to the this question really quick.

Featured Snippets (also known as answer boxes, knowledge graphs or Google direct answers). If you’re searching for something like “how many calories does an apple have”, you’ll get a direct answer, highlighted within a box, just like in the examples below. We did a really cool research on answer boxes a while ago; you should check it out.

Also, with the BERT update, Google focused on showing even more relevant featured snippets. To better understand what this improvement is all about, we are given the example the featured snippet for the query parking on a hill with no curb. Before, Google used to place too much importance on the word “curb” and ignored the word “no”, not understanding how critical that word was to appropriately respond to this query. So they would return results for parking on a hill with a curb. This latest update seems to fix this matter, as the search engine better understands the query and the context.

But how should you optimize for the featured snippets or answer boxes? Well, here is where content steps in, so keep on reading.

Does Google BERT Affect Content Marketing?

Yes, Google stated that content is even more important, and therefore, one should focus their full attention on writing content relevant for the user.

By definition, content marketing implies creating valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience. And Google’s featured snippet seems to endorse that. And since Google announced that it had leveraged its pre-trained language model BERT to dramatically improve the understanding of search queries, it’s clear that content marketing needs to comply with this biggest leap forward in the history of search.

As Google better understands natural language, focusing on longer tail keywords and on featured snippets, it’s clear that there are big opportunities for content writers to serve their readers with content written more “humanly”, that answers a searcher’s question as quick as possible and provides much value.

Leaving the theory aside, here are the steps you should take to write content that is relevant for your users but also content that will rank high so that your users will find it.

Step 1. Perform a Google SERP analysis

Every keyword research or content optimization process should start with a SERP analysis together with a competitor analysis. The Ranking Analysis from the Content Optimizer Tool gives you tons of insights related to the analyzed keyword. Quick and easy, you get to know the search volumes, what type of content ranks on that keyword, how difficult it is to rank on that query (by following keyword difficulty), as well as how popular that keyword is among searchers. Also, the tool lets you know the exact keywords and links that boosted that page in the top Google results to easily optimize your content.

Step 2. Create relevant & optimized content

Content Optimizer does most of the job for you. I know I’m biased and I don’t want to praise the tool too much, but the reality is that it does most of the job for you. Once you performed the ranking analysis, what you need to do is start writing a new piece of content or optimize the existing one and the Content Assistant will let you know the exact keywords you need to use so your content will be relevant for the user’s search intent.

Remember, you need to write for humans. BERT seems to make Google understand even better the searcher’s queries, so you have no excuses. And if you’re asking why do you need a tool to “write for humans” I’d tell you that a tool can give you lots of insights of what you’re users are actually interested in and you can write content that will answer their needs; and secondly, your users need to find your content first on the first Google page result to access it.

Step 3. Discover new keywords & rankings opportunities

You don’t have to limit yourself to one targeted keyword; you need to discover other queries that your users might be interested in. Searchers have more than one question when it comes to products from your business. Take the opportunity and offer them relevant content for most of their questions. You can use the same Content Optimizer for this task. The tool has two sections that will automatically let you know what other questions are related to your search query:

The Keyword Explorer – this section is great for keyword analysis and for discovering new keyword opportunities. It also gives you the possibility of seeing only the question suggestions. Get inspired by the list of questions, check out the relevancy of the question, its volume, CPC (cost per click), and choose the one that is the most suitable and profitable.

The People Also Ask section – the Content Assistant will let you know the exact keywords you should use in your content, what people are searching for, but it will also offer you a set of questions that relate to your original search query. You should consider answering these questions in your content or create new content starting from these questions.

Although BERT integration in Google Search is currently only available for English queries in the US, Google says it is planning to apply BERT to additional languages and locations. So the rest of the world won’t have to wait too long until BERT will be responsible for the searches in dozens of languages.

When applied to ranking and featured snippets in search, BERT models can process words in relation to all other words in a sentence rather than considering them one-by-one and in order. This enables a better “understanding” of context, which is particularly helpful when it comes to longer, more conversational queries, or searches where prepositions strongly affect meaning. This brings huge opportunities to the search world and big challenges to SEOs and digital marketers.

And while the performance improvements are impressive, Google acknowledges that natural language understanding remains an ongoing challenge. This doesn’t mean that one shouldn’t adapt their marketing strategy or should re-think their marketing automation and SEO strategies to comply to today’s search marketing requirements. Yet, with search engines becoming more and more complex, there are no “complete guides” or “tips and tricks” lists to optimize for BERT or any other future updates (most likely). You need to keep yourself updated and have the user in mind no matter what you do.

The post Google BERT Update. How the Natural Language Algorithm Affects You appeared first on SEO Blog | cognitiveSEO Blog on SEO Tactics & Strategies.

from Marketing https://cognitiveseo.com/blog/23379/google-bert-update/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

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krisggordon · 5 years ago

Text

Google BERT Update. How the Natural Language Algorithm Affects You

What Is Google BERT Update?

What Is Google BERT Targeting?

Does Google BERT Affect SEO?

Does Google BERT Affect Content Marketing?

Even though we are still far away from sheep-dreaming androids, we’re seeing constant progress in the way of more human-like computer interactions.

What Is the Google BERT Update?

Putting it simply, Google BERT is supposed to help a machine understand what the words in a sentence mean, but with all the nuances of context.

Yet, to respond to the question what does BERT mean? we need to talk in a more explanatory note.

So, is BERT a language model? (geeky alert ahead)

Fun Fact: The Google BERT Update was launched on October 25, the same day Kanye West launched its latest album, Jesus Is King.

What Is Google BERT Targeting?

Does Google BERT Affect SEO?

Yes, the BERT update affects SEO and allow me to explain why.

Now, the question that remains is what can you do to optimize for the BERT update?

We believe that two main aspects need to be taken into consideration when we ask ourselves how the latest Google Update influence SEO.

Identify and Optimize for the Right User’ Search Intent

Google BERT update tries to (even) better understand the users’ search intent.

Not to linger on this anymore, remember that search intent is more important than ever and here’s how to optimize for each type of search intent.

Optimize for Featured Snippets

But how should you optimize for the featured snippets or answer boxes? Well, here is where content steps in, so keep on reading.

Does Google BERT Affect Content Marketing?

Yes, Google stated that content is even more important, and therefore, one should focus their full attention on writing content relevant for the user.

Leaving the theory aside, here are the steps you should take to write content that is relevant for your users but also content that will rank high so that your users will find it.

Step 1. Perform a Google SERP analysis

Step 2. Create relevant & optimized content

Step 3. Discover new keywords & rankings opportunities

The post Google BERT Update. How the Natural Language Algorithm Affects You appeared first on SEO Blog | cognitiveSEO Blog on SEO Tactics & Strategies.

from Marketing https://cognitiveseo.com/blog/23379/google-bert-update/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

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lakhwanabhishek · 4 years ago

Text

Reducing the risk of design

get in touch with us!

Source:

whizzystack.co

#b2b ecommerce

#b2b content marketing

#b2b seo

#Ecommerce

#socialmedia

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secretcupcakesublime · 4 years ago

Text

Reducing the risk of design

get in touch with us!

Source:

whizzystack.co

#b2b ecommerce

#b2b content marketing

#b2b seo

#Ecommerce

#socialmedia

#socialmedia #b2b seo

0 notes

wjwilliams29 · 5 years ago

Text

Google BERT Update. How the Natural Language Algorithm Affects You

What Is Google BERT Update?

What Is Google BERT Targeting?

Does Google BERT Affect SEO?

Does Google BERT Affect Content Marketing?

Even though we are still far away from sheep-dreaming androids, we’re seeing constant progress in the way of more human-like computer interactions.

What Is the Google BERT Update?

Putting it simply, Google BERT is supposed to help a machine understand what the words in a sentence mean, but with all the nuances of context.

Yet, to respond to the question what does BERT mean? we need to talk in a more explanatory note.

So, is BERT a language model? (geeky alert ahead)

Fun Fact: The Google BERT Update was launched on October 25, the same day Kanye West launched its latest album, Jesus Is King.

What Is Google BERT Targeting?

Does Google BERT Affect SEO?

Yes, the BERT update affects SEO and allow me to explain why.

Now, the question that remains is what can you do to optimize for the BERT update?

We believe that two main aspects need to be taken into consideration when we ask ourselves how the latest Google Update influence SEO.

Identify and Optimize for the Right User’ Search Intent

Google BERT update tries to (even) better understand the users’ search intent.

Not to linger on this anymore, remember that search intent is more important than ever and here’s how to optimize for each type of search intent.

Optimize for Featured Snippets

But how should you optimize for the featured snippets or answer boxes? Well, here is where content steps in, so keep on reading.

Does Google BERT Affect Content Marketing?

Yes, Google stated that content is even more important, and therefore, one should focus their full attention on writing content relevant for the user.

Leaving the theory aside, here are the steps you should take to write content that is relevant for your users but also content that will rank high so that your users will find it.

Step 1. Perform a Google SERP analysis

Step 2. Create relevant & optimized content

Step 3. Discover new keywords & rankings opportunities

The post Google BERT Update. How the Natural Language Algorithm Affects You appeared first on SEO Blog | cognitiveSEO Blog on SEO Tactics & Strategies.

0 notes