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siren-virus · 4 years ago

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You know what? Just because you’d be able to talk my ears off with LuckyBoy!AU, I’m gonna keep asking you about it with long asks so I can get long answers (I love reading long answers since they give out so much info and speculation, while leaving room for discussion as well). So let's have a chat through asks so neither of us have anxiety(?) while talking to each other in messages.

Who would be some of the regulars when Ben is working at the cooffe shop? (I also love this au XD) Would Cooper, Rook, Gwen, Max and/or anyone else go at the same time as a group and have a casual conversation with the barista? Would Ben accidently gain confidential information about the Plumbers this way? I wonder if he would be famous between the aliens and humans near Undertown as one of the few humans that's actually chill with every alien regardless of appearances thanks to knowing Gwen with the Omnitrix from before?

I feel like Ben purposefully avoiding Cooper as his vigilante persona would start as a measure to avoid his identity being exposed (I belive it was Cooper who exposed him in UAF, right?), but later would develop into a troll play, waiting for him to finally find him and play a prank there.

Would Ben play pranks on Will Harangue for giving him bad publicity to the humans? I mean, it's not like he can just appear in front of a camera and tell his side of the story, he would be captured instantly, or interrupted at the very least; and he having his own social media wouldn't work too well since he isn't a tech genius and the Plumbers could track him down.

Also, what has Gwen done that they think they need Ben to protect them from her? Like yeah, in OV there's a lot of property damage, but they don't believe they need protection from him (at least I don't think so), so she must've done something big in order for that to happen.

And now an ask that isn't directly related to Ben XD Who would be some of the people leading an investigation against the vigilante, trying to discover his identity as well as species? Like I imagine Rook would be more of an addon to said investigation, being on the lookout but not actively investigating everything that Ben has been involved with, and Gwen has a lot on her plate, so let's not let her join said investigation.

Oh oh oh, I just thought about it, if Ben could be considered an Anodite in this AU, what happened when Verdona appeared in that one episode of AF? Did she manage to find Ben in the first place and almost but not quite take him away? Does the rest of the family know he's an Anodite and what are their thoughts about it? If they don't then how would Ben explain some of the magic things that he does and someone witness?

Ohohoh, buttering me up are ya? Well you're in for a brain dump.

Ok, first I gotta say: The alien cafe is separate to the plumbers (the plumbers have their on cafeteria, but like to indulge in other food sometimes, and non-instant coffee.)

So I was thinking, one of Ben's regular coworkers is Alan Albright. Reason for this is because Alan is not allowed to go on missions often. He's too young. I mean I know they definitely have child soldiers in OS- buuuut Max's influence has put a stop to that. He's seen how it affected Gwen. So, Alan is put on easy patrols in low crime area, in the city.

Alan, however wants in on the action, so Max had suggested the cafe. Ben and Alan have a very brotherly bond, and Ben (outside of his vigilante life) has been swaying Alan's opinion on both, the plumbers and his alter ego.

Manny, Alan, Helen and Cooper- When not busying himself with the tech lounge- (sorry, Pierce is still dead in this), will often come by the cafe, they sit in a booth and discuss things. Most occasions Ben is invited to sit with them.

When Gwen pops by their interactions are brief, Ben would try to tease her about anything and everything under the sun. "See Kevin lately?" "Oh, got beat by the walking glow stick again, huh?" "Geez, another jail break? 3rd time this week!"

Normally he gets a fiery reaction and a nasty retort.

Of course Ben would take every opportunity he can to get info. At first it wasn't intentional, he'd just eaves drop on a few conversations that interested him. As time goes by though, he's found that a lot of people, plumber, criminal and just outer space travelers, are more than happy to unload some gossip. Ben is very much delighted by that.

He's not exactly famous, he's well known for being a friendly person, yes. But not all throughout Undertown.

ain't cooper the blond dude with some kinda telekenetic power that ended up turning into an almost Kevin duplicate? (i'll fix that) NGL I forgot he grew up in UAF.

Pretty sure the one that exposed Ben was the nerd who was voiced by the VA of Robin (TeenTitans/Go). Now that you bring it up though, that guy... Jimmy, is someone to be avoided, cause he's a snoopy guy. Who also hangs out at the cafe a lot to get details. Always ends up harassing Ben cause he knows Ben has all the juicy gossip.

And yeah Ben would totally take advantage of it to mess with the poor kid.

Definitely. Ben would mess with Will Harangue as much as possible. Especially when he goes live. Ben won't confront him personally, or do anything that could possibly reveal his indentity. He's got a lot of unique mannerisms that his family could quickly pick up on, there's also his voice, although muffled by the mask, if it's recorded enough- it's another identifier.

So that leaves Ben with his sticker trail. They're very bright, almost blinding, so Ben's stickers are an annoying inconvenience. He could also use a weak spell that causes it's victims to yawn/sneeze. Maybe he'll hang in the background briefly and wave. Just some of things he does to get under Harangue's skin basically.

Gwen:

So, you picked up on what I've hinted at. Good.

Before I go into Gwen, I'll say this: The plumbers are stationed on Earth to protect humanity. That means the aliens who have immigrated are less of a priority. That doesn't mean that they're completely unsafe, the plumbers still patrol Undertown and look after the people- just less so.

Aliens that leave Undertown especially- Normally they're ushered back by a few Plumbers standing guard- those that pose a threat or seem to pose a threat are dealt with by the plumbers. Which isn't too bad, just a slap on the back, a fine, maybe jail time.

Unless you run into Gwen. Who is much more intimidating, much more brutish, she won't exactly hold back. So- she hasn't got the best rep with Undertown. She's still a hero. Known throughout the universe. Just not a kind one.

On several occassions, Ben(vigilante) has had to step in to get her to back down from dealing with criminals.

The plumbers don't have a lot to go on with the investigating. Ben doesn't leave any DNA trails, cause anodites have no DNA. No hair strands, no finger prints, no blood. Even his stickers. They got nothing, nada.

That doesn't mean it's completely hopeless. A clean hit to Ben has on more than one occasion shocked him out of his anodite form, reverting him back to human (which is why he has the glasses and face mask, as a just incase scenario.) Sometimes even spooking/shocking him can make him human again. If his focus is messed with he's human, kinda deal.

So the plumbers are aware of this. They do their best to be as violent and destructive when they see Ben. They're attempts usually fail unless they have someone competent enough with them, Ie; Gwen, Rook.

Villains are also aware of this. So risky buiz am I right?

In regards to Verdona; honestly, I feel like having her know about Ben's existence as an anodite would kinda nerf this whole thing completely. Verdona, I bet, would be a massive gossip. Although her contact with Max is limited, he'd hear about it eventually. Game over. There's also Sunny, who would take advantage of this information and spread it across the universe.

So instead maybe Verdona pays a visit later rather than now.

She'd also be less inclined to take Ben back home, I like how Verdona is indifferent to Ben but loves Gwen, I wanna keep that aspect.

To explain any magic happenings that his family or friends have spotted, he just says he's practicing to be an illusionist. Or he broke a glow stick, or his has glitter in his pocket. (He always has something retaining to magenta hidden up his sleeve.)

Hopefully that got all your questions answered for now!

#ben 10 #lucky boy! au #answer

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tabloidtoc · 4 years ago

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In Touch, March 8

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Kanye West's tell-all will destroy Kim Kardashian

Page 1: Contents

Page 2: Beauty News -- update your makeup bag -- these new beauty buys are destined for heavy rotation -- Lucy Hale

Page 4: Scott Disick debuted a bold new platinum hairdo and even the Lamborghini he was driving couldn't distract fans from noting how completely uncool he looks and while the dad of three is not quite middle-aged it looks likes he's having a midlife crisis and it seems that dating so many young women like his current girlfriend 19-year-old Amelia Gray Hamlin has made 37-year-old Scott start to feel his age and he's overcompensating but he's clearly gone too far

* They Went Blond, Too But Looked Cool -- Brad Pitt, Justin Bieber, Ryan Gosling, Adam Levine, Riz Ahmed, Zac Efron, Jared Leto, Kanye West, Zayn Malik

Page 5: Salma Hayek fights against prejudice of all kinds even when the victims are insanely wealthy -- there is discrimination against rich men, she said of the struggles her husband French businessman Francois-Henri Pinault has faced while maintaining his $43 billion fortune and she said you think because somebody's rich, he might not be a good person, doesn't have values or doesn't deserve it and even Salma gets judged like everybody said she married him for money, but after after 15 years together, she's not even offended

* Number of the Week -- 76,000 is the dollar cost of a pair of Kylie Jenner's new Birkenstock sandals made from Hermes Birkin bags, Man Candy of the Week -- Max Ehrich cooling off in Miami, Clapback of the Week -- Mindy Kaling said she wrote the episode the gif was from when an internet troll used a gif from The Office to express their dislike of her, EXBFF of the Week -- Larsa Pippen on her rift with former friend Kim Kardashian

Page 6: Crib of the Week -- The Weeknd's Hidden Hills hangout, Winners of the Week -- Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds donate $1 million to Feeding America and Food Banks Canada three months after giving $500,000 to both charities, Loser of the Week -- because of production delays Tom Cruise is forced to scrap plans to film Mission: Impossible 7 and M:I 8 back-to-back

Page 8: Up Close -- Nicole Kidman on Instagram thanked actor and theater artist Kevin Zak for his altered photo of her The Undoing character Grace with lots more hair

Page 9: Zooey Deschanel embraces her DIY side for Valentine's Day decorating balloons with sweet affirmation using her Cricut, Shawn Mendes kissing Camila Cabello's foot because he loves her, Paris Hilton celebrates turning 40 by accepting an enormous emerald-cut diamond engagement ring from beau Carter Reum

Page 10: 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams gets eliminated from the Australian Open semifinals, Tayshia Adams and Zac Clark take a loved-up selfie at the Empire State Building, Emma Roberts celebrates turning 30 at a backyard pool bash

Page 12: Fur Babies -- Kathryn Newton's dog Lady Bird yawning, Miranda Lambert snuggles with one of her dogs, Maude Apatow's cat Dolly conks out in her lap, James Van Der Beek and his dog

Page 14: Jimmy Fallon celebrates his seven years on The Tonight Show at home with his daughters Winnie and Franny

Page 16: Rebel Wilson does her best Cruella De Vil impression for her new TV show Pooch Perfect, Beyonce shows off more than just her new Adidas x IVY PARK collection, Thomas Rhett celebrates daughter Lennon's first birthday along with wife Lauren and daughters Willa and Ada

Page 18: Naked Chelsea Handler covering herself with books while standing in snow, Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, Chrissy Teigen has a swollen lip due to an allergic reaction

Page 20: Princess Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank share a photo of their newborn son August Philip Hawke Brooksbank, Rihanna striking a seductive pose with her new release The Rihanna Book: Queen Size which retails for $1215.70, Katy Perry flaunts her curves in a purple bathing suit and fiance Orlando Bloom flaunts his muscles during a getaway in Hawaii

Page 22: Kate Gosselin sold her house in Wernersville in Pennsylvania that she bought in 2008 with then-husband Jon Gosselin because she desperately needs cash these days -- the girls Cara and Mady are off to college, she doesn't have a show on the air anymore and her legal bills in her custody war with Jon are through the roof -- to stay afloat she's had to cut back on many perks including her trusted bodyguard Steve Neild -- she's just holding out hope for a new reality show about her and her kids now

Page 23: Brad Pitt has been spotted hanging out in Jennifer Aniston's trailer on the set of her series The Morning Show and things are getting serious again -- he's been at her house on the weekends and they're hooking up -- Jen has set ground rules for her ex including that they can date other people because Jen is also seeing a man she met through her Morning Show co-stars Reese Witherspoon and Mark Duplass so Jen's keeping her options open

* Cheryl Burke teamed up with Kroger to host the Healthy Heart, Happy Mind wellness experience to bring awareness to women's heart health during Heart Health Month

Page 24: Cover Story -- Kanye West's revenge on Kim Kardashian -- Kim and Kanye's marriage is over but the war is just beginning -- the world will be shocked by what Kanye has to say about Kim

Page 26: As Kim's love life falls apart again, her sisters are happier than ever -- Kourtney Kardashian is talking marriage with Travis Barker, Khloe Kardashian is back on track with Tristan Thompson, Kendall Jenner and Devin Booker go public with their love

Page 28: True Crime -- Dubai Princess Latifa Al Maktoum: My family is holding me captive -- three years after she vanished, a billionaire's sheikh's daughter pleads for someone to save her

Page 30: The Bachelor: It's Worse Than Anyone Knows -- Chris Harrison's controversial exit sparks a racial reckoning in Bachelor Nation

Page 32: Meghan Markle to Queen Elizabeth: I'm Never Coming Back -- Meghan closes the door on returning to the U.K. and doesn't regret it one bit -- because of Meghan's decision, the queen may never see Archie again

Page 36: The Big Interview -- Olivia Newton-John and Chloe Lattanzi -- we inspire each other -- the Grease star and her daughter share an unbreakable bond and a lifetime love of music

Page 42: Animal Overload -- My dog looks like Charles Bronson

Page 45: Double Take -- Brie Larson rocks tie-dye at the supermarket in L.A.

Page 46: Horoscope -- Pisces Lupita Nyong'o turned 38 on March 1

Page 48: Last Laughs

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wodenscild · 2 years ago

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The series i was watching is called Insane craft and i watch SSundee's pov cause he's the "villain" of the group! It's a very modded Minecraft series with all kinds of new stuff, i think there's like over 80 mods atleast?? The mod was made specifically for thier series and the developer keeps adding new mods to it but it's quite easy to catch up.

If you want to watch it (Wich i greatly encourage you to do its quite underrated) Some good and interesting povs are:

SSundee, if you want to watch the overpowered villain that is getting manipulated by the evil tentacle creature

Henwy, who's kinda like jimmy a little bullied, constantly working on things like his castle, dragons, cool armour and weapons

Sigils, the mad scientist of the group. Kinda like doc but less uncle energy and modded machines instead. He even automated a thing to get infinite infinity stones (yes infinity gauntlet is a thing in insane craft)

Biffle, the one who doesn't have the slightest idea of what's going on, but still tries his best to be the most powerful one (I'm pretty sure he's second place in "who's the most powerful")

I would also recommend Nicovald but he quit, so others are Frostdaye (i think..?) And the other admins. But i barely see them so i can't remember their channels

Mhm that was a long long list that you might not even do anything with but that doesn't matter cause i like rambling about insane craft :D it is also seen as season two of crazy craft and sky factory, which had the same people but different mods!

Also thanks for letting me just talk about whatever to you it's really nice and has really made my mood go skyrocket

Less nice thing you might not want to read: I'm in the car to my grandpa, and it might be the last time i will see him. He got sick in his brain and maybe won't remember me. I don't know why I'm not sad, Maybe cause death is a normal thing in my brain and i don't really cry when someone or something dies. Mh, maybe

Anyway i will see you later! Or not, i will uhh send ask later. Also hope you had a good sleep! It's probably late midday for you but i forgot to ask-

-Mystery anon 1

OMGS SSUNDEE I HAVE NOT WATCHED HIM IN AGES- I used to watch his crazy craft & troll craft series with Mr. Crainer, but I stopped watching them for some reason & never got back to it. It was so much fun tho so I might watch some tonight :00 I really missed Ssundee 🥺🥺

Not much has been happening on my end- I have been working on my study plan for uni for this trimester as we start next week :D & omgs it is gonna be so easy. The only iffy subject is going to psychology, but only just slightly- >:3 My results for last trimester has been rolling in too!! Credit for psychology, distinction for linguistics, & a high distinction for sociology :D BTW WEEK 6 OF SOCIOLOGY THIS TRIMESTER IS GONNA BE ABOUT GENDER & SEXUALITY & I AM SO FEKKING HYPED MATIE YOU HAVE NO SLFKSKDKSK

Last night myself & my irl-friends to be were on call so I wasn’t able to reply to this ask but we have a tonne of fun! I just realised but that my roomie lives on like the 19th floor of an apartment building & I get bad vertigo by being on the second floor of a shopping centre O_o imma just… not look out the windows LMAOOOOO the plane flight is gonna suck but cos it is 15 hours t-t

& btw, OFC I LLVE YOU RAMBLING SO SO MUCH PLEASE KEEP DOING IT IF YOU WANT!!!! You are great 🥺 & o love hearing what is going on in your life <33

& I- gods I am sorry. That must be heartbreaking to see :( & to hear. My condolences beloved 🫂I don’t know what to say-

I hope you are having a good sleep but- I’ll see you later <33

#wodensasks

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ninjagoat · 6 years ago

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Note on Supergirl 4x02

This week, on the Metaphor For Xenophobia And Racism For White People:

- We return to the themes of episode 3x05, specifically how unfair it is when very, very powerful people have to face consequences for their actions.

- Seriously, it is so TOTALLY unfair how Olivia Marsdin has to resign just because she *checks notes* committed a massive criminal conspiracy to illegally win a presidential election.

- ON TOP OF THIS, it's also a mindshatteringly bad take on the Obama birther conspiracy. The birther story was not racist because it was "unfair" that people from Kenya couldn't be President. The birther story was racist because it assumed that President Obama's election HAD to be the result of a massive criminal conspiracy and not a genuine win MERELY BECAUSE HE WAS BLACK.

- Kara thinks Olivia can say something to get out of this; becasue Kara, being a seasoned journalist that now mentors other journalists, has no idea how laws work. Olivia schools her, which is noble; but it's still skating around the fact that she INTENTIONALLY BROKE THE LAW.

- All of that being said, I've always liked Ms. Carter's performance as Olivia. She's folksy, but tough. If she'd been an alien that had been born on Earth, I'd be fighting for her to stay as well.

- "Ugly is as ugly does; that makes you the ugly one!" This protest scene was written by fucking MILHOUSE.

- And then a fight break out. Because as we all know, security and crowd control are pretty lax on *checks notes* PENNYSYLVANIA AVENUE.

- The DEO interview process is clearly lacking something, because Agent White Dude has some serious prejudices that aren't suitable for the job; and the dude he's arguing with has Kara's level of understanding of the Constitution. Where's Pam when you need her?

- James - having spent the last two years publishing his onw love-letters to a local superhero, who is also himself - suddenly has a big stick up his arse about objectivity in news reporting.

- I maintain that the guy playing Otis is doing Ned Beatty but *serious*, and for that, he has my gratitude.

- I'm sorry? The DEO poisoned the atmosphere with lead? THE DEO? Not Lena Luthor, executing a plan from Lillian Luthor, using an original design by Lex Luthor; in the full knowledge it would likely murder her very recently betrothed and probably really upset her best friend? THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GOING WITH? (I realise this is just exposition, but it's pretty bad) At least Otis recognises the inherent viciousness of the plan, becuase no-one else has ever mentioned it.

- I would like to note that this is probably the most credit Winn has ever gotten from someone from his own time.

- Apparently, you can just... *buy* black-market Kryptonite? Arguably, the most powerful substances on Earth? The one that's so rare the show tied itself in knots justifying Lena's personally developed synthesis cache of it? ...kay.

- Lena's been working through meal-times. This is usually your five epsiode warning to evacuate the city.

- "Sales for the image inducers have been skyrocketing since the revelation that the President is an alien." This does not actually explain anything, because: a) it's not like Lena builds them herself; that'll be outsourced to China, at a location with safety netting around the roof to stop the workers killing themselves; and b) IT WAS YESTERDAY. WE KNOW WHAT YOU WERE DOING YESTERDAY. IT WAS THE PREVIOUS EPISODE.

- I get the sense that I'm going to spend time this season complaining about time-scales.

- At least they're keeping Lena's libetarianism consistent. Let's credit them with that. And of course, she's not immediately concerned with the potential collapse of democracy because MONEY.

- I will never cease to be confounded about the complete lack of coffee in the Catco building. I work for a relatively small company, and we have a Starbucks in our canteen.

- Weirder still is how increasingly hard it is to find. We've gone from Noonan's, to a little cart, and now to a *pizza place*. How hard is to find an *actual* coffee place?

- And now it's another Lena Sob Story; because this episode isn't just about the ideological battle between hope and fear, it's also a Lena vs. The World story - not so much an actual story, as a plot mechanism that will result in Lena stating where her character's at right now. It's completely incongruent with the rest of the episode, but never mind.

- Anyway, Mercy was like a big sister to her, but then Mercy and Lex broke up, and Lena never called her. Lena blames Lex for the break-up, but Mercy for the abandonment. So far, typical Lena. Oh, and they agree on some really fucked-up shit.

- "Why can't humans be as powerful as aliens?" Lena is, I'm guessing from this, planning to make metahumans on purpose. I'm certain Lena has read Mary Shelly; but, like many nerds, has completely missed the point.

- Why is Brainy on the L-Corp image inducer network? He built it himself, and did it two episodes before Lena even met him. Did he give her the design? Why is it networked anyway? Why is the hack affecting Brainy first? What is this plan?

- It doesn't fucking matter; this whole thing is so Brainy can be victim to a hate crime as part of the Metaphor For Xenophobia And Racism For White People, and then Nia can step in to help Solve Racism.

- I'm not going to claim to be an expert on women, but I'm pretty sure encouraging total strangers to investigate their personal information is... rare.

- "I'm putting a lockdown on the cloud so no-one can access the system through a computer." This is not how cloud computing works.

- It's at this point we stop the narrative so Nia can explain to one of the most powerful and influential black men that's ever lived that he does, in fact, have a lot of power and influence to make social change. She's Solving Racism!

- "You have another chance to fight for justice now," she says. Back when I was posting on the AV Club forums during season 2, the fact that James DIDN'T KNOW HE COULD DO THIS IN HIS JOB was one of the reasons we were so fucking tired of him already. He's not improved since then.

- We are back on the 'mirror' analogy that first appeared in 3x15, and it's actually quite good. I am, however, reminded of the image of Lena looking at herself in fractured glass at the start of 3x17. Lena's image of who she is has been broken, and cannot simply be repaired.

- I digress. James is worried if he does an editorial, he will seem biased. *sigh* Okay, this is gonna get ranty. Deep breaths, everyone...

- YOU ARE JIMMY OLSEN, SUPERMAN'S PAL. AN ALIEN SAVED YOUR LIFE. AN ALIEN MADE YOUR ENTIRE CAREER. AN ALIEN GAVE YOU A SIGNAL WATCH SO HE COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE SEVERAL MORE TIMES. YOU BECAME SUCH GOOD FRIENDS WITH AN ALIEN YOUR GIRLFRIEND JOKED HE WAS YOUR BOYFRIEND. YOU DEVOTED SO MUCH TIME TO ALIENS YOUR GIRLFRIEND BROKE UP WITH YOU. *TWICE*. MANY OF YOUR CURRENT FRIENDS ARE ALIENS. YOUR BEST HUMAN FRIEND - who is 'currently' busy cleaning up the mess made by one of your alien friends, helping another one of your alien friends - BRIEFLY FELL IN LOVE WITH AN ALIEN, WHO YOU HUNG OUT WITH. YOU GO TO AN ALIEN BAR SO MUCH YOU'VE FUCKING GENTRIFIED IT. THE SHIP HAS SAILED ON YOU BEING PRO-ALIEN, JIMMY. STOP BEING A MASSIVE WANKER.

- Apparently, the only way to access the Image Inducer network is through the L-Corp mainframe, which is: a) definitely not how cloud-computing works; and b) contradicted by the fact the image inducers are STILL WORKING.

- Mercy designed all of L-Corp's security. Even though they only moved to National City two years ago. Right.

- "This is more innovative and imaginative than even I expected." IT'S AN OFFICE BUILDING WITH BUILT-IN SKYPE. Real imagination would have been REPLACING THE FUCKING SECURITY SYSTEM.

- Why does EVERYTHING have to turn into the Glorification of Lena Luthor?

- Miss Teschmacher getting the doors to close through quick thinking has easily made her the most likeable character on the whole damn show.

- "Reporter's Honour." Okay, Kara; firstly, it's called 'off the record', and the fact that Lena doesn't really feel worried about getting that status from you is pretty much why being such close friends with her is *completely unprofessional*.

- Lena built the Lexosuit. Huh.

- ...

- What?

- She built a suit... described as an "exquisite intrument of death"... with the potential for fighting Superman... as a hobby project? Is that what happened? Or are we just going to gloss over it, like- oh, okay, we are doing that.

- "It's about doing good for the world and clearing the Luthor name." You can't clear the Luthor name, sweetie. They actually did those things. And as far as doing good for the world: that's not a plan; that a GOAL. You really need to give details. Maybe a real journalist can ask you sometime.

- "He told me they were cute and I should make them in pink." One line of dialogue, and the potentially interesting Lena/Lex dynamic has been reduced to the most boring thing imaginable. FFS.

- "I know I'm the best." Oligarch, *please*. I guess it helps that Winn's in another century.

- "You've chosen a side. I'd never do that." WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT EVEN MEAN? Please, someone explain.

- No one tell Mercy about that time Lena purposefully overdosed her oldest friend with Kryptonite.

- "The Luthor name doesn't deserve Lena." Why the fuck not, Supergirl? Kryptonite, Lexosuit, thinks you're full of shit; what exactly is the big thing here that separates her from them?

- Also, have you just... *forgotten* about the Kryptonite thing, or...?

- The sheer petty-minded simplicity of the wood-chips in the cup is lending weight to my 'written by Milhouse' theory.

- Huzzah! James has decided to stop being a massive wanker for a bit!

- "It is our duty as journalists to expose the truth." For long-time readers of these posts, THIS SHOW IS TROLLING ME.

- Brainy and Alex get a nice scene as part of the Metaphor For Xenophobia And Racism For White People, but I'm just left wishing we could have had more scenes like this between her and Winn. Where was *nice* Big Sister Alex when he was here?

- Supergirl's speech is lovingly earnest, and *totally unengaged* with any actual issue beyond being nice to each other, and certainly not the one where Olivia INTENTIONALLY BROKE THE LAW. This was a total failure of our institutions, not least of which, THE PRESS, for not vetting her thoroughly enough. The potential for whataboutery is high.

- Okay, for some reason, I thought they'd cast Brent Spiner in this role, not Bruce Boxleitner. Anyway, this casting is a nice bit of nerd symmetry; and makes it almost certain that President Baker is going to be revealed as a wrong'un.

- I've not talked about J'onn much, mainly because he's spent most of the episode walking around aimlessly before he can show up at the Sons of Liberty meeting.

- Agent Liberty has been described in press releases as being almost supernaturally persuasive. The actual execution of this idea is... he's actually engaged with the issue. That's it. The government *was* taken over by aliens. National City *was* attacked by aliens. The press - and I know I did a big rant in favour of this above - *is* pro-alien; and these people know it, regardless of how unbiased James was hoping to appear. It's messy, and Supergirl talking about hope is not going to cut it. It's not going to get these people jobs. It's not going to stop their nightmares. I've seen people compare how he speaks with Trump. This - this scene, at least - is not Trump. Trump isn't engaged with the issues. Trump is the end result of forty years of this shit, long after the tribal boundaries have been set in place. It's never even really mattered what Trump says. They like Trump, because Trump is *their* guy. The definitions of 'Us' and 'Them' have been around since at least the 90s, if not earlier; and Trump just made himself more 'Us' than anyone else did. And Agent Liberty is not doing that. There's an attempt, but the mask keeps him separate from his audience. Mostly, he's just recirculating the fears that they already have - that they have a *right* to have - and then pushing them towards his terrible conclusions. This isn't magic. This is basic oratory. This is the big challenge our heroes face.

- Our heroes are *so screwed*.

#notes #superglue

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helloworlddemo1122-yahoopar-blog · 7 years ago

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Taylor Swift vs. Katy Perry: The Complete Timeline of Their Feud

Taylor Swift and Katy Perry's pop star feud just keeps on giving!

Over the past few years, these famous frenemies have seemingly used their beef as songwriting material, addressed their differences in interviews and have gotten their squads involved.

Here's a look back at how the feuding first began and how it's progressed:

Sept. 8, 2014: Taylor Swift's Rolling Stone Interview

Getty Images

Prior to Swift's revealing Rolling Stone tell-all, Perry and Swift appeared to be friends, gamely posing at awards shows together.

But Swift had everyone talking ahead of the release of her GRAMMY-winning 1989 album, thanks to her quotes to Rolling Stone magazine, in which she revealed that she had a feud with a fellow pop star, which inspired her hit song, "Bad Blood."

"For years, I was never sure if we were friends or not," Swift said. "She would come up to me at awards shows and say something and walk away, and I would think, 'Are we friends, or did she just give me the harshest insult of my life?'"

"She did something so horrible," she continued. "I was like, 'Oh, we're just straight-up enemies.' And it wasn't even about a guy! It had to do with business. She basically tried to sabotage an entire arena tour. She tried to hire a bunch of people out from under me.”

Several internet commenters then noted that Perry did lure a few backup dancers away from Swift's tour as she embarked on her own Prismatic tour in 2014. However, according to one of the dancer's agents, the dancers "exercised a 30-day out in their contracts and left Taylor, but Katy didn't steal them."

"They just didn't want to tour with her anymore because there is basically no choreography or dancing in her show," the agent claimed.

While Swift did say that the feud had nothing to do with a boy, both previously dated singer John Mayer.

Sept. 9, 2014: Katy Perry Calls Swift a 'Mean Girl'

Watch out for the Regina George in sheep's clothing...

— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) September 9, 2014

Perry didn't shy away from Swift's Rolling Stone comments, tweeting the next day: "Watch out for the Regina George in sheep's clothing..."

In January 2015, Perry confirmed the tweet was pointed at Swift.

"If somebody is trying to defame my character, you're going to hear about it," Perry told Billboard magazine when asked if her tweet was about the "Shake It Off" singer.

May 23, 2015: Taylor Swift Will Never, Ever Talk About Katy Perry Again

In an interview with The Telegraph, Swift made it clear she was over Perry. "I'm not giving them anything to write about," she said when asked about about her nemesis. "I'm never going to talk about her in my interview. It's not going to happen."

Swift did, however, confirm she had her "enemies" in the business. "It's not real if someone appears to never have any issues with anyone," she explained. "I have my friends. I have enemies."

July 22, 2015: Katy Perry Hits Back at Taylor Swift Amid Her Nicki Minaj Beef

Finding it ironic to parade the pit women against other women argument about as one unmeasurably capitalizes on the take down of a woman...

— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 22, 2015

The pop star feud was resurrected when Perry jumped in on the Twitter beef between Swift and Nicki Minaj over the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards nominees.

"If I was a different 'kind' of artist, 'Anaconda' would be nominated for best choreo and vid of the year as well," Minaj tweeted, getting vocal about her VMA snub. “If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year."

Swift took the tweet personally, responding, “I've done nothing but love and support you. It's unlike you to pit women against each other.”

Perry then chimed in with a devastating tweet referencing "Bad Blood."

"Finding it ironic to parade the pit women against other women argument about as one unmeasurably capitalizes on the take down of a woman..." she wrote.

July 27, 2015: Taylor Swift Throws 'Left Shark' Shade at Katy Perry

@TSwiftOnTour@TSwiftNZ@taylorswift13 THERE WAS A SHARK DURING #BADBLOOD TODAY #BADBLOODSHARKpic.twitter.com/VXWetafdj6

— Jillian ❤🎤🎧 (@Swifty448) July 26, 2015

Swift appeared to be back at it again later that month, seemingly trolling Perry during her Foxborough, Massachusetts, stop as part of her 1989 world tour. Her performance of "Bad Blood" curiously featured a cameo from a life-sized shark mascot -- a not-so-thinly veiled dig at Perry's Super Bowl dancer-turned-internet meme.

July 13, 2016: Calvin Harris Brings Taylor Swift and Katy Perry's Feud to the Forefront

pic.twitter.com/m6ebYV8D1r

— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 13, 2016

Time, the ultimate truth teller.

— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) May 9, 2015

Swift's ex-boyfriend, Calvin Harris, brought up Swift and Perry's bad blood when he slammed the singer on Twitter. Harris was upset after Swift's rep confirmed that the singer wrote his and Rihanna's summer hit, "This Is What You Came For," under the pseudonym Nils Sjoberg -- when the two were still a couple -- and after Swift began dating actor Tom Hiddleston, who she broke up with that same year.

"Hurtful to me at this point that her and her team would go so far out of their way to try and make ME look bad at this stage though," he tweeted, after initially praising Swift. "I figure if you're happy in your new relationship you should focus on that instead of trying to tear your ex bf down for something to do."

"I know you're off tour and you need someone new to try and bury like Katy ETC but I'm not that guy, sorry. I won't allow it," he continued.

Perry later tweeted out a GIF of Hillary Clinton shooting out an epic "I told you so"-look shortly afterward.

Adding more fuel to the fire, Perry then retweeted her own tweet from May 2015, where she wrote, "Time, the ultimate truth teller."

Sept. 10, 2016: Katy Perry Would Collaborate With Taylor Swift Under One Condition

if she says sorry, sure!

— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) September 10, 2016

Perry was looking for an apology after a fan asked her on Twitter: "Will you ever collab with Taylor Swift?"

She surprisingly tweeted back: "If she says sorry, sure!"

Oct. 26, 2016: Katy Perry Rocks Out to Kanye West's 'Famous' Taylor Swift Diss

Perry once again rekindled the pop star feud while celebrating her 32nd birthday at Kanye West's concert in Inglewood, California. She even shared a video of herself dancing along to the rapper's now infamous Swift diss in "Famous."

May 20, 2017: Katy Perry Calls "Swish, Swish" an 'Anthem' Against Bullying

Though Perry never mentions Swift in her song, "Swish, Swish," the track is clearly slamming somebody, and of course, fans couldn't help but notice that that "swish" isn't so far off from Swift.

"From a selfish or a sheep/ Don't you come for me/ No, not today/ You're calculated/ I got your number," Perry sings. "'Cause you're a joker/ And I'm a courtside killer queen/ And you will kiss the ring/ You best believe."

"So keep calm, honey, I'ma stick around/ For more than a minute, get used to it," she continues. "Funny my name keeps comin' outcho mouth/ 'Cause I stay winning."

"I think it's a great anthem for people to use whenever someone's trying to hold you down or bully you," Perry told Jimmy Fallon about the song during her appearance on The Tonight Show. "That's kind of what this record is about. It's just like [a] 360-degree liberation. ... I think 'Swish' represents the liberation from all the negative that doesn’t serve you."

Of course, some of Swift's pals definitely didn't see it that way. Ruby Rose took to Twitter to defend Swift and slammed Perry, writing: "Purposeful poop" to 'bomb a petit' to a sloppy mess of writing over the top of Funkagenda..stop trying to make 'Wit..I mean 'fetch' happen."

"I've always stood up for the people I love and against things I think are cheap or mean spirited. That's not new. You have to follow your ❤," the actress continued. "I just think with everything going on in the world to go from rebranding as political activist only to ditch it and go low.. is.. a bummer."

May 22, 2017: Katy Perry Claims Taylor Swift 'Started' Their Feud and 'It's Time for Her to Finish It'

Perry didn't hold back during her Carpool Karaoke segment with James Corden, addressing the beef head-on.

"Honestly, it's really like she started it and it's time for her to finish it," Perry said after the Late Late Show host asked her to clear things up. "She wouldn't speak to me. I do the right thing any time that it feels like a fumble. It was a full shut-down and then she writes a song about me and I'm like, 'OK, cool, cool, cool. That's how you wanna deal with it?'"

"But, what I wanna say is that I'm ready for that B.S. to be done," she added. "Now, there is the law of cause and effect. You do something and there's going to be a reaction. And trust me, Daddy, there's going to be a reaction. It's all about karma."

It should be noted that "Swish Swish," coincidentally, has a line about karma, where Perry croons, "Karma's not a liar."

June 8, 2017: Katy Perry Slams Taylor Swift for 'Trying to Assassinate' Her Character

Perry wasn't quite done talking about Swift. In an interview with NME, she gave background on why she decided to address the feud with Corden.

“I mean, I’m not Buddha -- things irritate me,” she said. “I wish that I could turn the other cheek every single time, but I’m also not a pushover, you know? Especially when someone tries to assassinate my character with little girls [her fans]. That’s so messed up!”

June 8, 2017: Taylor Swift Puts Entire Song Catalog Back on Streaming Services -- Right When Katy Perry's Album Drops

Actions speak louder than words. Though Swift has stayed silent on Perry's comments about her, she announced on June 8, 2017 that her entire song catalog would return to all streaming services at midnight -- just when Perry's Witness album dropped.

Perry was later asked about whether the move bothered her during an interview with the Today show's Natalie Morales. "I don't know, I can only do me," Perry replied. "All I need to say to her is I love her, and God bless her on her journey. And that’s it."

June 10, 2017: Katy Perry Is '100 percent' Ready to 'Let Go' of Feud

Perry made it clear that she was ready to make amends with Swift during a conversation with Arianna Huffington, which was live streamed to promote Witness.

"I'm ready to let it go. Absolutely, 100 percent," Perry said of the longtime beef. "I forgive her, and I'm sorry for anything I ever did, and I hope the same from her, and I think it's actually... I think it's time."

"There are bigger fish to fry, and there are bigger problems in the world," she continued. "I love her and I want the best for her, and I think she's a fantastic songwriter, and like, I think that if we both, her and I, can be representatives of strong women that come together despite their differences, I think the whole world is going to go, like, 'Yeah, we can do this.' Maybe I don't agree with everything she does, and maybe she doesn't agree with everything I do, but like, I just... I really, truly, want to come together, and in a place of love and forgiveness, and understanding and compassion."

June 12, 2017: Katy Perry Changes a Key 'Swish, Swish' Lyric

Perry backed up her conciliatory quotes by pointedly changing a few lyrics while singing "Swish Swish" during an outdoor concert for her fans. Instead of singing the line, "Don't you come for me," in the first verse, Perry sang, "God bless you on your journey, oh baby girl."

July 19, 2017: Katy Perry Says She's 'Always Loved' Taylor Swift Despite Their 'Differences'

Perry wasn't done trying to make nice with Swift.

In an interview on Australia's Today show, Perry reiterated that she had love for the singer. "I mean, I love her, I always have," Perry told host Richard Wilkins. "We've had our differences, but I just continue to say, 'God bless her on her journey.'"

While Swift never acknowledged Perry's compliments, Twitter was abuzz that the ladies would finally put their beef behind them at the VMAs. After all, Swift did so with West at the 2015 VMAs when she presented the Video Vanguard award to the rapper, and when she jumped onstage to open the show with Minaj after their Twitter feud that same year.

However, Swift did not end up attending the 2017 VMAs.

August 24, 2017: Katy Perry Releases Star-Studded "Swish, Swish" Music Video

youtube

Like Swift's "Bad Blood" music video, Perry enlisted a bunch of celebrities to star in the music video for her single, "Swish, Swish," her diss track widely speculated to be about her frenemy. The release was ahead of Swift dropping her first single, "Look What You Made Me Do," off her album, Reputation.

August 24, 2017: Taylor Swift Releases Shady "Look What You Made Me Do" Music Video

youtube

While Perry hosted the VMAs, it was Swift that got people talking with her shade-tastic music video for "LWYMMD."

Main moments of shade include Swift made up in a way that could be described as “Katy Perry-esque” and wrecking a car (complete with a Katy-cat in the front seat).

March 17, 2018: Karlie Kloss Addresses Taylor Swift Feud Rumors After Hanging Out With Katy Perry

The model-turned-tech philanthropist was longtime friends with Swift, and opened up to The New York Times after fans started speculating that she was now Team Katy. After all, the girls was spotted hanging out together a month prior.

"Don't believe everything you read," Kloss said simply.

March 18, 2018: Katy Perry Subtly Shades Taylor Swift on 'American Idol'

The feud continues! @katyperry throws SHADE on @taylorswift13 on @AmericanIdol#AmericanIdolpic.twitter.com/IBut9mAkhn

— TalentRecap (@TalentRecap) March 19, 2018

During a montage segment of Idol hopefuls auditioning for the panel, Perry's fellow judge, Luke Bryan, asked one scruffy, guitar-carrying singer, who he looks up to as a musical artist. "I'm sorry for this Katy… Taylor Swift," the hopeful answered nervously.

"Oh, you don't have to be sorry," Perry replied.

"I love Taylor Swift," the contestant added, emphatically.

"I love her, as a songwriter, as well," Perry stuttered, before shrugging indifferently.

Will these two ever make amends? Here's more on the feud:

May 8, 2018: Katy Perry Sends Taylor Swift a Literal Olive Branch:

It appears the feud is finally over. Swift shared a video of an olive branch and a note from Perry on her Instagram Stories on May 8, one night before her Reputation tour kicked off. The note is addressed "Hey Old Friend," and a closer look at the handwriting shows that Perry apologized to Swift.

"Hey old friend, I've been doing some reflecting on past miscommunications and the feelings between us, I really want to clear the air," the note reads.

Swift was clearly pleased by the gesture.

"So, I just got back to my dressing room and found this actual olive branch," she says in the video. "This means so much to me."

"Thank you Katy," the text on the video also reads, along with pink heart emojis.

Katy Perry sent Taylor an olive branch for the opening night of the reputation Stadium Tour! pic.twitter.com/6GDamcxezI

— Taylor Swift Updates (@TSwiftPR) May 8, 2018

A source told ET that Perry gave her apology to the "Gorgeous" singer a lot of thought before sending it, and has been wanting to bury the hatchet for a while now.

“Katy planned a very personal, sweet apology and took time to write a kind note in hopes Taylor would see how much she cared about putting this behind them,” the source said. “Katy told friends if Taylor didn't accept this apology, she would keep trying because she is done holding on to the past and wants to be part of the change in today's society. She wants to set a good example for women, so she planned to never give up, if that is what it took."

“Katy hopes they finally can be supportive of each other's music and maybe one day soon even hang out together again," the source added. "Katy realizes they need to take it one day at a time, but that this is a great start.”

Read Next

8 Baffling Poop-Themed Toys Kids Are Lining Up To Buy

And it’s not only tin cans and Wu-Tang albums that are marketed in intentionally strange ways. Food advertisers have figured out that they can get more attention by being ridiculous than by being delicious. Remember when KFC used fried chicken as sandwich bread in the Double Down? Or when Chick-Fil-A announced that their fried chicken hated gay people with the Cajun Titty Jiggler? We all made fun of them, but they absolutely did not care. These are people turning pigeon meat and “deported” foreign nationals into nugget shapes. They’ll take any press they can get.

We need to stop doing this. It’s very possible the only conversation any of us had or will ever have about Dr. Pepper came when they released a special version of their soda for men only. We all went on Twitter to say things like, “Forbidding women from tasting Dr. Pepper Ten will only delay the discovery that it’s made from semen, not stop it completely.” We asked questions like, “Why would you make a soda for men only? Are you trying to find the perfect drink to pair with losing custody of your kids?” Or maybe you simply speculated, “Dr. Pepper Ten sounds like the refreshing treat you reach for when defending an accused rapist you haven’t met.”

SORRY LADIES, OUR CREATIVE DIRECTOR IS STILL DEALING WITH SOME CHILDHOOD TRAUMA INVOLVING PENISES.

Products should make the customer happy, not be so deliberately dumb that the customer hears about them during a Jimmy Kimmel monologue. You shouldn’t make every tenth new Oreo out of cat suppository in the desperate hope that cookie influencers tweet about it. And pizza, you especially need to get your shit together.

In 2012, a Pizza Hut employee happened upon the idea of a hot-dog-stuffed crust, quite by accident, when his manager caught him fucking a pizza and demanded an explanation. This marked the last time there would ever be a non-insane pizza invention. Today, pizza marketing is a series of deranged innovations, like a serial killer’s journey toward becoming the Minotaur. For instance, Pizza Hut created “smart” shoes that place an order for you. Aside from getting the elderly to wonder what they’re going to come up with next, what the fuck good do pizza shoes do anyone? If you have a use for ordering Pizza Hut via shoe, your foot is going to fall off from diabetes long before you get to do it a second time.

And did you know that Domino’s spent millions of dollars promoting something called “carryout insurance?” It’s what it sounds like — a financial guarantee that when your sloppy ass drops a pizza, they give you another one. Aside from getting us to mention how dumb that is, what’s the point? Was there a community of fat idiots eating pizza off the ground and demanding their representatives do something? Let’s say it’s just to set your mind at ease. Let’s pretend you’re thinking about ordering Domino’s, but decide against it because you’re always dropping pizza. Will this convince you? Of course not. You’re not even here. You were taken in the night by mad scientists, and now you’re a lump of brain tissue labelled “HISTORY’S SADDEST FUCK.”

“CARRYOUT INSURANCE!? Hey, boss? Yeah, I just found a loophole that gives me unlimited floor pizza. So what I’m saying is you can kiss my ass.“

All Things “Of The Year” Are Arbitrary Decisions Made By Small Teams Of Random Assholes

We are living in the darkest of times. Our current sexiest man alive looks like a rectangle who makes its living hustling milk-drinking contests.

“I’m digesting four gallons of Half & Half. Hi, I’m Blake Shelton, your sexiest man alive.”

When People magazine announced hoedown music standout Blake Shelton as the sexiest man alive while Casper Van Dien was still not dead, it hit like a bomb. Every Twitter account and Safeway express lane had a hot take on it. It wasn’t merely controversial; it was a direct challenge to what vaginal lubrication even meant. What will it do to society if passably handsome NASCAR dads are the new standard of sexy? Do we need to stop doing sit-ups? Will there be enough denim?

What will Casper Van Dien do with this boner?

You know what we should have been doing that whole time? Not giving a shit about how handsome Blake Shelton is. Don’t get me wrong, Blake Shelton is alright. His condoms probably don’t expire, and if he was arrested for sodomizing a dairy cow, you’d think “Him?” But let’s not play games. He’s not the sexiest man alive. At best, he’s “Oklahoma’s Hottest Mostly Ham DNA.” But we should remember that this isn’t some great honor decided by measuring the gonad stimulation of test subjects. “Sexiest Man Alive” is picked by four or five editors desperately trying to hang onto print media jobs, and every now and then one of them is smart enough to say, “What if we trolled everyone?” With all respect to Blake Shelton’s fuckability, if you died trying to teach a prosthetic arm how to give a handjob, the People staff would write your name up on the “Sexiest Man Alive MAYBES” board.

It’s important to keep in mind how meaningless these titles are before we get outraged. Before Donald Trump, Time gave its 2006 “Person of the Year” title to You, as in the second-person pronoun. And in 1938 they gave it to Hitler, the Donald Trump of 1938. These are meaningless choices meant to inspire terrible conversations between uninteresting people. Did you think LaTonya from Fayetteville was chosen as Jet ‘s “Beauty of the Week” because of her winning tits and smile? Wake up. It’s because her face tattoo says “Abortion is Bae.” Please, all of us, we have to stop getting outsmarted by the Jet magazines of the world.

It’s Not An Event When Fictional Characters Die

In 1992, DC Comics killed Superman — an invincible ventriloquist with laser eyes, frost breath, and chronosphere-bending flight speed — with a rock monster who was pretty good at punching. Despite it being the third time he had died, the country went into mourning and the story was picked up by the actual news. Which was weird, because if the media wanted to cover upsetting Superman stories, where were they when his girlfriend got turned into a pony and fucked his horse?

I think about this every day. Every day.

Why are we so obsessed with fictional deaths? Most of the time, they’re not even real in the make-believe universe in which they happen. Captain America and Batman die around 20 times a year, each in different combinations of fake-outs, resurrections, and universe reboots. If a dead guy’s best friends own a time machine and the Eye of Agamotto, you can probably hold off on making funeral plans. And if your favorite character dies on The Walking Dead, maybe don’t waste an hour watching Chris Hardwick cry until you see the body.

It should help you relax knowing that most fictional deaths are only abusive pranks, but the “real” ones are about as meaningless.

I mean, you knew there wasn’t going to be any more Firefly. This death cost us maybe two wisecracks.

Remember when Han Solo died? He was a 73-year-old laser gun fighter scheduled to get his own movie in three years. His death was both long overdue and completely inconsequential to the amount of Han Solo you will continue to see on your TV. His father-in-law, Darth Vader, was on screen for about 36 minutes before he died in 1983, and since his death, there have been more Anakin Skywalker stories than anyone could ever want. Anakin Skywalker is the Nicolas Cage of outer space. He stopped making good movies three decades ago, yet he’s still everywhere and radiating inexplicable cosmic energy.

If George R. R. Martin went on TV to announce that a meteor hit Westeros between books and everyone in A Song Of Ice And Fire is gone, how is that different from the world you’re living in now? The guy has clearly wanted to focus more on snacks for about four books. You know what’s sadder than seeing Ned Stark get his head chopped off? Watching some fragile-hearted slob go through the stages of grief in a YouTube video afterwards. Parents, if your child is filming themselves weep over a make-believe death, that’s a bigger failure than if your child is filming themselves pee into a tube sock for Patreon supporters. I mean, you can do whatever you want, but when you cry over fake people whom you can still see every day for as long as you want, you’re only sending a message to the people around you that you’re a dramatic piece of shit. But I know something that will cheer you up!

Being Special Is Free

That’s right, I said it.

You’re welcome.

It’s pretty easy to sell someone nothing more than the idea that they’re special or important for actual money. For example, somewhere right now, a Todd is looking through a rack of keychains to see if they have one with his name on it. “I hope they have a Todd,” he might announce as he thumbs through dusty garbage. “They do! And it’s spelled right!” So Todd will buy it, a cute reminder of the worst store in the least interesting part of a city he once visited, and it will never occur to him that an Indonesian factory gambled and won that a completely shitty Todd would one day pay money to remind himself of his own name. This next part is way off-topic, but not even the Indonesians could have foreseen that this keychain would one day be used to frame Todd …

… for Toddslaughter.

Back to the point I was trying to make: We are all susceptible to this crap. Coke had its first sales increase in more than a decade when it introduced the idea of adding the customers’ stupid fucking names to their cans and bottles. And the internet has been haunted by ego-stroking personality quizzes and IQ tests since before we used it to pay girls peeing into tube socks. We are so desperate to be told we’re special that we will suspend all disbelief and critical thinking to hear it. You should know that answering a few simple personality questions does not make you the coolest ninja turtle, and you shouldn’t trust the scores of an IQ test that you watched yourself cheat on which also advertises free Slavic women and four new pounds of dick girth.

One of my favorite examples of this, and favorite things in general, is an online community called Intertel — “An International Society of the Intellectually Gifted.” It’s very difficult to get in. You can only join if you score in the top 1 percent of any self-administered intelligence test and mail in a $10 application fee. You may have considered that this in fact checks to see whether you’re stupid enough to mail in a test with a 98 percent score or less and nothing else. If you get accepted, you then pay a $39 annual fee to be a part of a genius club for people who are very specifically not. What do you get? I’m so glad you asked. For the annual fee, you get unlimited pity and the right to post a photo and bio about your unusually gullible self. It has created an avalanche of unearned ego that looks like a late ’90s Casper Van Dien fan page whose webmaster went mysteriously missing.

Image courtesy of the estate of the Casper Van Dien Fan Page & Genius Community webmaster.

OK, no, but seriously, this next image is a real screenshot from the Inertel (An International Society of the Intellectually Gifted) website. This is a real person who really thinks he’s in the 1 percent of intellectual elites, and this is his real profile.

I didn’t doctor this. This is what an actual genius named BigJim369 pays $39 a year to display. Fuck! This world is magic and you get to live in it!

Another business that exploits your love of yourself on a massive, sprawling scale is the pop-up museum industry. The name implies that there are things to do or learn inside them, but they’re more like oversized photo booths than art galleries. For instance, if you take a trip to the zany, world-famous Museum of Ice Cream, you will learn zero to one things about ice cream and eat ice cream worth $45 less than the entry ticket. What you will do is wait in line to take photos of yourself next to what you’d describe in any other context as “nothing of interest.” So to be clear, we are so self-obsessed that it’s now an effective business model to charge us money to take pictures of ourselves so we can promote you online.

You didn’t fool ME, Museum of Ice Cream. But my family loved it. Five stars.

Stop Making It Seem Like There Are Nazis

OK, so the world has enough idiot racists to elect Donald Trump president, but not all of those voters were full white supremacists. Some of them were simply too religious to know when someone is lying or too old to change their mind about politics. And yes, a troubling number of them were Nazis. But in a lot of ways, most things are fine and the world isn’t as awful as you think.

You’re welcome again.

Impossibly shitty people, like the Trump supporters who took that Garfield mug personally, seem like they’re everywhere. A lot of that is our fault — the decent people making fun of them. They use us to amplify their voices, like Han Solo (R.I.P.) convincing a hallway of Stormtroopers that he’s way more people than he actually is. Every few minutes, a website publishes a variation on the article “These Miserable Fucks Said Something Racist About A Thing And Got Annihilated By Twitter.” They’re fun and vaguely heroic, but if you read more than one, you’ll start to see that they all share the same content. It’s the same three or four racist tweets quoted in every article, tweeted by the same three or four racists who “attacked” the Star Wars with the Asian girl and “staged boycotts” of the all-lady Ghostbusters. We need to stop treating these three or four people like they’re a threat to anything other than skewing PornHub’s algorithm to favor mother-son incest.

BREAKING NEWS: Local high school’s least-likable prick still making quite a spectacle out his irrelevant awfulness.

Here’s a reassuring fact: A study of Reddit found that 1 percent of communities were responsible for 74 percent of all conflict. We are taking the intentionally ignorant comments of a Kia’s worth of debate club hobbyists and pretending they’re a tidal wave of hate we must stand together against. The “alt-right” movement is 30 boys too cranky to date and too slow to learn Dungeons & Dragons. Their supporters are a toxic group of gamers who will disappear once they turn 17, and their media outlet is a cable network whose entire audience will be dead in two more flu seasons. All these people want is for the other side to get upset, so if we stop writing thinkpieces about the rise of dapper white nationalism and focus more on how liberals hate suicide cults, we can be rid of them almost immediately.

BREAKING NEWS: C-word who only tweets C-wordy antisemitic things DOES!

Ann Coulter is a good example. She’s the skeletal remains of antique intolerance, and she has about as much cultural influence as Corey Feldman’s band, Oral Thrush and the Yeast 2000s. Has she ever done anything other than hiss wrong things at impatient TV personalities or pretend that clinical antisemitism is antisemitic comedy? She only seems like she is a thing because 10,000 of us dunk on the bitch every time she blames her oral thrush on the Jews. Without all of us explaining to each other how wrong she is, Coulter would just be wandering through Home Depot to see if there are any white employees she can ask about the toilet safety rails. And soon she would be hatching spider eggs in her mouth while her parakeet watched her body rot. “Rawk! The Jews are at it again!” it would repeat to her undiscovered corpse. “The Jews are at it again!”

We all seem to get how dumb it is when the news says “teens” are doing a comically apeshit thing like human centipede parties or detergent eating. Why can’t we use those same giant brains to figure out how one Nazi nerd looking for attention isn’t “the Right”? I know it’s tough to resist trolls, but Kim Kardashian owning all the world’s money should have taught you that there is virtue in shutting the fuck up about some things. We need to stay strong not in the battle against the “alt-right,” but in the battle to ignore them. The next time you see another column about how women won’t date conservative men, leave it alone. Let those dickless Nazis keep writing versions of that article into the empty void until they learn evil causes women to dry up. And the next time someone on your Facebook thread defends their Second Amendment rights after a school shooting, don’t validate their child murder fandom with attention. Move your cursor to the left and click on their mother’s profile. Pose as Blake Shelton, win her moist trust, and quietly destroy that child-murderer’s family. Every one of us can shut up and make a difference.

Seanbaby invented being funny on the Internet. You can follow him on Twitter, or play his hit mobile game Calculords.

Did you realize Casper van Dien was in a Tarzan movie in the 90s?

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#IFTTT #Viral News HQ

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junker-town · 7 years ago

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NFL Dad, Week 17: Good riddance to the Ravens, Seahawks, and 2017

On the final day of the year, one NFL fan tried to watch all of the RedZone action while parenting two toddlers.

It’s fitting that the NFL season came to a close on New Year’s Eve. After the Week 17 games, every team will start with a clean slate — either vying for the Lombardi Trophy in the playoffs, or taking stock of what went wrong and planning for 2018. Coaches will be fired, management restructured, free agents signed, hopes laid upon draftees. Injured players will return stronger than ever, and you’ll take this opportunity to improve yourself, too. Exercise more. Eat better. Work harder. A fresh start for all!

It’s a lie, of course. Unless a franchise has recently fired Jeff Fisher, a team will only take incremental steps forward or backward. Sure, there are exceptions: One or two teams will experience huge leaps in the win column thanks to turnover luck and positive results in close games, and those teams’ fans will be CERTAIN that it was the result of effort and superior coaching, and not the random providence of luck, destined to regress to the mean.

The truth is, the calendar is the only thing that’s changed. We can experience temporary improvements, but most of us are destined to regress to our personal means. And NFL teams are the same: Your team is unlikely to improve dramatically.

But the NFL monolith will scrape forward nonetheless. Your favorite players will get injured. People will complain about the refs. The Patriots will go 12-4. 2018 is the same hell as 2017, just fresher.

EARLY GAMES, FIRST HALF

— It’s a tame early slate. Bears-Vikings, Jets-Pats, and Browns-Steelers are the only games with playoff implications, and that’s being generous. The (heavy) favorites in those games only have minor jockeying for bye weeks and top-2 conference seeding. I’m saving most of my attention span for the late games.

— A common theme for many of the early games is the extreme cold hitting much of the country. Players wear extra layers, helmets shrink, and Jets quarterbacks live out the metaphors of their station in life.

Inspiring start for Bryce Petty and the Jets http://pic.twitter.com/3t9LvfGCxb

— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) December 31, 2017

— My wife and I rented a car to take our kids to my sister’s place for a couple days after Christmas, with a stop along the way to see old friends. And I’m not going to relive the entire journey, but I will offer one unpleasant travel snapshot: Experiencing carsickness from constantly torquing my neck and back around to fruitlessly attempt to soothe two toddlers completely unaccustomed to car travel as snarled traffic turned a 3.5-hour car trip into a 6.5-hour cry-a-thon.

The lesson I refuse to learn: NEVER. GO. ANYWHERE.

The lesson I refuse to learn as a parent of young children: NEVER. GO. ANYWHERE.

— James Harrison is making his debut for the Patriots, and some Steelers fans are aghast. I don’t quite get the surprise. When Harrison was cut by the Steelers in 2013, he signed with the division rival Bengals. He also had a stint with the Ravens after being on the Steelers’ practice squad early in his career. This is James Harrison we’re talking about. He’s not a paragon of virtue loyal to the black and yellow; he’s a vindictive maniac who has dedicated his entire life to hitting people. Of COURSE he went to the Steelers’ biggest rival this year.

— Juju Smith-Schuster’s touchdown celebration gets an A for joyous creativity, and a D for snowball packing.

— It’s 2:15 p.m. and my son is awake at least 45 minutes earlier than my wife and I would like. He only ever takes 90-minute naps now. My daughter at his age would regularly sleep for three hours in the afternoon. Hell, she still sleeps longer in the afternoon than he does, and she’s twice his age. Sleep longer, you adorable goblin! You’re tired!

— The Bears score a touchdown on the famous fake where the punt returner feigns tracking the ball on one side of the field while a second player catches it on the other side of the field. Long live this explainer on why the play is so unstoppable.

— Dallas and Philadelphia are tied 0-0 at the half. Someone named Jeff Sudfeld is playing quarterback for the Eagles. Nick Foles is too valuable for the Eagles’ playoff run!

Last reminder of the year: (extremely long sigh) Any team in the NFL could have signed Colin Kaepernick on the cheap.

EARLY GAMES, SECOND HALF

— The Colts attempt a surprise onside kick, and there appears to be an end-of-year fire sale on trick plays. If I were a coach about to get fired, you can bet your ass I would throw every unused page in the playbook at an opponent in Week 17: Fake punts, surprise onside kicks, hook-and-laterals, Fumblerooskis — the trick plays would get the defense so on edge for the trick plays that they would get knocked over by power runs.

And then I would be fired.

— Much of what I do on a week-to-week basis has already been collected, with much more brevity, in this piece of service journalism: Every dumb thing that happened in NFL Week 17. (No bits about parenting there, though.)

— Eight minutes into the third quarter, the Giants and Washington are a combined three-for-19 on third downs. It’s hard for me to express how much I’m enjoying not watching that game.

Instead, I’m watching these bad bartending videos:

youtube

There’s a whole series of those that are equally confounding, and they are either the stupidest videos on YouTube or the subtlest troll jobs I’ve ever seen.

As someone who’s been absorbing online culture as a job for more than a decade, it’s rare for me to find something like this inscrutable. Hundreds of dollars for a full bar, but no muddler? The totally incapable but somehow believable bartender? The pint glass of whiskey? This is a ruse, right? I refuse to be anyone’s mark.

— A fun new thing I have since the round-trip car voyage is a semi-permanent eye tic. Just a tiny little muscle spasm on my lower left eyelid that’s like, “Hey, remember that time you were trapped in a rolling box of stress for six hours? Twice?” Look for it on SB Nation’s YouTube channel in 2018.

Hey, remember that time you were trapped in a rolling box of stress for six hours?

— My wife leaves to walk the dog right as the early games wind down. Because we’re keeping our children out of the Arctic blast, I stay back with both kids. My son immediately grabs the iPad off the table and shoves his face into it.

“I want Elsa,” my daughter says, so I play “Let It Go” on Spotify and pull up an image of Elsa for her to look at while the song plays. Frozen is the next horizon for us after Moana. I’m fine with this eventuality, but Moana definitely has the superior story and soundtrack. The important thing is that they’re both better than the 50 years of Disney princess movies that came before. GAHHHH WHY DO I SPEND SO MUCH TIME THINKING ABOUT DISNEY CARTOONS?

— The Browns, despite their best effort against the Steelers’ B-team, finish their season 0-16. Congratulations?

— Because all nine (!!!) late games start at 4:25 p.m. Eastern, RedZone’s Scott Hanson must deal with an action-less lull that’s unusual for so early in the day. It’s 4:15 and RedZone is running highlights, snippets of press conferences, and fantasy updates. And come on: I know the segment is sponsored, no self-respecting fantasy league is active in Week 17. Much like Le’Veon Bell.

LATE GAMES, FIRST HALF

— GAME TIME. My focus today is Panthers-Falcons, Saints-Bucs, and Cardinals-Seahawks. I want the Seahawks to win to stay alive for a playoff spot, and I need the Panthers to be motivated to beat the Falcons, which means I need Tampa Bay to give the Saints a fight, which means the Seahawks are probably going to miss the playoffs. Which, frankly, is probably better than getting blown out by the Rams or Saints on Wild Card Weekend. Everything is meaningless, by the way.

— Ah crap, Arizona opens the game with a touchdown. Drew Stanton escapes Michael Bennett on what could have been a 15-yard sack, buying enough time to throw a TD pass instead. I am going to hate today.

Tyler Lockett returns the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to tie the game. I am already closing off all emotion to deal with whatever happens for the next three hours.

— In Tampa, the Bucs score game-opening TD. Yay! But then Alvin Kamara returns the ensuing kickoff for a TD. I NEED EVERYONE TO SETTLE DOWN, PLEASE.

— The kids are at the dinner table, alternately painting with watercolors and screaming. My son, whose relentless teething continues, takes a sip of water from the cup he’d been dipping his paintbrush in. My daughter, who has recovered from a double ear infection over Christmas only to get ANOTHER ear infection, has a Moana-themed coloring book. I read her the plot point that goes with each picture as another Panthers drive stalls. COME ON, CAM.

— The Niners are dominating early and up 10-0, but a Jimmy Garoppolo INT sets the Rams up in the red zone. However, the Niners D holds firm, and the Rams are forced to kick a field goal.

— Oh, hello there, AFC. I understand there are some stakes in your conference today, too, hmmm? In Los Angeles, where the Chargers need a win and some help to secure a playoff spot, Melvin Gordon fumbles, but Keenan Allen scoops up the fumble for an awesome TD.

Wait. WHAT?! Gordon loses it. Allen recovers. And SCORES. #Chargers http://pic.twitter.com/PQ59L012NB

— NFL (@NFL) December 31, 2017

My feelings on the four AFC teams vying for two Wild Card spots, ranked by preference:

Chargers. I know they deserve nothing but misery for leaving San Diego, but this team is genuinely fun to watch. Philip Rivers has been incredible this year, and Keenan Allen has stayed healthy! Melvin Gordon is great and likable! The defense has the kind of scary pass rush that can enable a deep playoff run (read: can knock Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger on their asses).

Bills. I hate tables.

Titans. This is one of the least inspiring winning teams I’ve seen in a long time, which is what it’s been since RedZone last clicked over to the Seattle game. Who has ever looked at the AFC South and said, “Yes, this division needs TWO playoff teams.”

Ravens. I strenuously object to Joe Flacco’s existence. If the Ravens offense touches your field, the earth there will be fallow for seven years.

— My kids, still sitting at the table, dance to “Twist and Shout” like two little Elaine Beneses, a brief moment of cheer before the Cardinals punch in another touchdown to take a 17-7 lead over the Seahawks. But the dancing! It’s so herky-jerky and devoid of coordination — like Seattle’s offensive line, but happy.

— What was I saying about the Chargers’ fearsome defense? On third and 22, Derek Carr unloads a bomb to Amari Cooper for an 87-yard touchdown.

EIGHTY-SEVEN YARDS!@DerekCarrQB to @AmariCooper9 for SIX! #RaiderNation http://pic.twitter.com/GLf0Q7bAva

— NFL (@NFL) December 31, 2017

My wife tells my daughter that the Raiders are Uncle Sean’s favorite team. “Can you say the Raiders?” she asks.

Daughter: “The Raid-ahhhhhs.” Chris Berman’s tics are much better when they’re done by toddlers.

— I get a text from Steven Godfrey, SB Nation’s excellent college football reporter who is also doomed to an existence of Falcons fandom. It is to me and Brian Floyd, our managing editor who is also a Seahawks fan: “Please God take this wildcard spot.”

Floyd and I both reject any desire to see these Seahawks in the playoffs. It feels good to own the feeling, to want a different team in a new season instead of watching this one for another week.

— Here is the first RedZone play featuring the Ravens offense that I see: Joe Flacco throws a one-yard crossing route to a running back, who drops the ball. A graphic pops up that says it is the Ravens’ fifth dropped pass of the day. Put this offense in a rocket and fire it into the deepest reaches of space.

— Philip Rivers throws another deep bomb for a touchdown. God, this team belongs in the playoffs, and they’re not going to make it because the first quarter of their season was a grotesque monkey’s paw retribution inflicted by the San Diego city council.

— The Saints attempt a fake field goal, the Bucs don’t fall for it, and Wil Lutz gets CRUSHED. If you ask me, there are simply not enough punters getting blown up by defenders in today’s NFL. (Miss you, Sean Taylor.)

Not enough punters are getting blown up in today’s NFL.

— A big hit in the Ufford household these days is the Daddy Monster. I become my alter ego, roar, and chase my son into the corner where I tickle him and pretend to eat him. “OM NOM NOM!” I say.

He stands up and says, “Naan naan naan!” in his little voice. I feign terror and let him chase me. I hope you didn’t take what I said about the car ride and the eye tic too seriously, because parenting is great.

— Breaking news: The Colts have fired Chuck Pagano. So we’re doing away with Black Monday now? Just getting it out of the way on Sunday?

— I change my son’s poopy diaper. But don’t think of it as poop! It’s more like his butt threw up.

— Flacco watch:

Flacco 3/16 says "Hey remember that time I won a Super Bowl?" http://pic.twitter.com/pvaQG3RKhs

— James Dator [waiting for recognition] (@James_Dator) December 31, 2017

— HALFTIME SCORES:

The Seahawks trail at home 20-7, their only score a kickoff return TD. Burn this season to the ground.

Chargers lead the Raiders 20-10 despite having a FG and PAT blocked. Very on-brand.

Carolina and Atlanta are tied 7-7.

Buffalo leads Miami 10-0. David Fales has replaced Jay Cutler, who is riding a jet ski pantsless to the nearest bank with a boat-thru teller to cash his game check. I am gonna miss that guy so much.

Only a missed extra point is keeping the Bucs from being even with the Saints. New Orleans leads 14-13. Get inspired, Carolina!

Titans 12, Jags 3. Jacksonville trails because its defensive and special teams units have struggled to score touchdowns.

49ers 20, Rams 6. If anything, this score is flattering for the Rams. San Fran-Clara will be a chic pick to win the NFC West next year.

An 85(ish)-yard kickoff return with seconds left in the half gifts Baltimore with a touchdown that cuts the Cincinnati lead to 17-10. C’mon Bengals, don’t Bengal this one.

LATE GAMES, SECOND HALF

— I make a vow to myself: The Seahawks have one possession, the first of the half, to keep me interested in the result of their game, and even then … BARELY. Naturally, the run game comes to life, Russell Wilson connects on a pass, and this appears to be a crude approximation of a drive.

— Shady McCoy is carted off. Screw this season.

— I help with the end of the kids’ bath time. My son, who hates getting out of the bath, sits in tub as the water empties. “Fee-oh,” he says, for frio, because my children are dual-language geniuses. I let him chill there while I peek at the TV; I’m just in time to see Doug Baldwin score a touchdown that narrows the score to 20-14.

The next drive — at least, the next drive I catch a glimpse of — Shaquill Griffin intercepts a Drew Stanton overthrow, and I now feel confident that the Seahawks can get a comeback victory, only for the Falcons to lock down the last playoff spot with a win. (With the Panthers trailing 10-7, Cam Newton promptly throws a terrible interception.)

— The Saints have been a little shaky for the last month of the season, but I could definitely endorse Alvin Kamara destroying the entire playoff field. Look at him make a contested catch downfield:

Oh my goodness, @A_kamara6. #GoSaints http://pic.twitter.com/4bLIJaPrzI

— NFL (@NFL) December 31, 2017

That drive ends in a field goal, and the Saints lead 17-13.

— Ravens WR Chris Moore bobbles a red zone pass, which is intercepted and returned for a touchdown. The Bengals lead 24-10, and I am HERE for the season implosion.

Yes, that is Joe Flacco's pick-six. http://pic.twitter.com/Utx1SfhBP3

— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) December 31, 2017

— The Bucs force a fumble on a punt return and return it for a touchdown! The used coffee grounds of the NFC South are ahead of the division leaders, 20-14.

— With the Seahawks trailing 23-14, they definitely could use a field goal to make it a one-score game. Instead:

Thomas Rawls' taunting penalty cost the Seahawks 15 yards and likely cost them three points as well.

— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) December 31, 2017

— With the Tennessee leading 15-3 in the fourth quarter, all the Titans have to do is bleed clock and let Blake Bortles throw it to their defense. Instead, Marcus Mariota and Derrick Henry collide on a handoff, and the Jaguars return the fumble for a touchdown.

I just checked, and the Jaguars have seven defensive touchdowns this year. That’s a lot, but I could have sworn it was more. Like, if you told me that Bortles had thrown as many touchdowns as the defense scored, I would have believed you. But Bortles had 21 passing TDs (to 13 picks); the NFL works in mysterious ways.

— I pause RedZone to put the kids to bed. I read my son Good Night Moon because he freaking LOVES seeing the moon. “MOON! MOON! MOON!” every time there’s a moon on the page of a book. As I read the last page — “Good night noises everywhere” — he puts his finger to his lips and says, “Shhhh.”

I offer him a choice of second books but he olds up Good Night Moon again. So I read it a second time, but with four pages to go, he shuts the book and says, “All done!” Oh, I’m sorry. Did you perhaps already know how it ends?

— Twenty minutes later, the kids are in bed and I’m back in front of the TV, but I don’t have the energy or desire to watch everything I missed, so I just skip to live TV. The biggest news is that the Panthers have farted their way around the second half to lose to the Falcons by two scores, rendering the Seahawks game pointless. Or more pointless than usual, at least.

And the Panthers should be kicking themselves over that performance: With nine seconds remaining in Tampa, the Bucs score a go-ahead touchdown that gives them a meaningless win and leads to a super-awkward unfriendly never-ending handshake between Sean Payton and Dirk Koetter. The Panthers will go on the road to face the Saints instead of hosting them next weekend.

— The Titans lock up a playoff spot with their win over the Jaguars. When it comes to the other Wild Card spot, the Bills win, but they need help from the Bengals, who have lost their lead in Baltimore. Ravens ahead 27-24.

— Oh, the Seahawks lost, too. Blair Walsh missing a 48-yarder to lose a game that couldn’t save their season is the perfect ending to this campaign. (I may have been miserable watching the Seahawks this season, but they were also an effective kicker away from being 12-4.)

— The last game of the RedZone season is Bengals-Ravens, and my remaining hopes and dreams rest on ... an Andy Dalton drive? Oh Jesus, where’s the liquor?

— On 4th and 12 near midfield, the Bengals season is about to sputter and die, and I’m beginning to accept the Ravens beating Kansas City when DALTON COMPLETES THE PASS! TYLER BOYD SLIPS A TACKLE AND GETS TO THE END ZONE!!!

THE @BENGALS! TOUCHDOWNNNN! WOW. #Bengals50 http://pic.twitter.com/NB78jk9U2a

— NFL (@NFL) January 1, 2018

YEAAAAAGGGHHHHH I COULD LIFT A VOLKSWAGEN OVER MY HEAD RIGHT NOW

— With a chance to respond, Joe Flacco quickly leads the Ravens to zero first downs and 4th and 14, at which point he completes a pass eight yards short of the first-down marker. GOOD RIDDANCE, GARBAGE BIRDS.*

And good riddance, 2017. Here’s to marginal improvements in 2018.

*insult also applicable to the author’s team of choice

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topicprinter · 8 years ago

Link

Hey r/entrepreneur!Q&A sites are not a new idea. In fact, since the beginnings of the web, the Internet has been populated by tons of Q&A sites like Yahoo Answers and WikiAnswers.Not only that, in 2010 (before Quora was released publicly), tech giants Google acquired Aardvark, a social search service that connected users live with friends who were able to answer their questions.In the same year, Facebook also rolled out Facebook Questions, a Q&A service that allowed users to poll the entire Facebook-verse.As you may have noticed by now, the Q&A world is a lucrative place to be in.However, despite such intense competition, Quora managed to launch publicly to a media frenzy in 2010.And 7 years later, Quora is now a social behemoth boasting an impressive 80 million unique visitors a month, and having collected an estimated 13 million questions.The question remains:How did Quora succeed despite having so many competitors?Here are some possible reasons (along with takeaways!):1. Quora’s primary focus is making a great productAdam D’Angelo, CEO of Quora has said repeatedly that the entire team is solely focused on making a great product.(They didn’t even consider monetization strategies until they were satisfied that the product was great.)A: Quora Requires Your Real NameInstead of signing up for an account with a fake username, Quora requires you to use either your email, your Google account or Facebook account.Because their names are now published publicly with every answer they post, users have become responsible for their answers. Trolls have been all but eliminated.B: Quora Implemented The Upvote SystemThe upvote system, originally pioneered by Reddit, helped Quora moderate the quality of answers. Instead of prioritizing “clout” or “authority”, the upvote system allowed users to vote on the best answer to the question.This immediately pushed the best answer to the top, while answers that lacked effort remained unseen.C: Quora’s Onboarding Process Is Easy To FollowThe biggest problems faced by many companies is abandonment rate – basically people who are interested in your product, set it up halfway and abandon it.This is often due to a clunky onboarding process that disorient users and confuse them.To help solve that, Quora has made it relatively simple to sign-up using Facebook Connect.Quora also prompts you to find friends, find people to follow and find topics to follow — actions that slowly build up to a great experience at Quora.D: Quora Focused On Building A Community Of Smart And Educated PeopleLow-quality answers were the bane of Quora’s predecessors. Instead of receiving genuine answers to their questions, Q&A sites like Yahoo Answers got ruined by trolls.Besides that, people do actually enjoy hanging out with smart, like-minded people.Thankfully, due to Charlie Cheever and Adam D’Angelo’s illustrious background, Quora was able to attract high-quality answers from their Silicon Valley friends who were interested in try out a new product.Takeaway:People will only spread word-of-mouth about you if you have a great product and care about them!2. Both founders leveraged their existing network to kick off the platformNot many know this, but Adam D’Angelo was previously Facebook’s CTO while Charlie Cheever was previously a manager at Facebook in charge of Facebook Connect.When D’Angelo quit Facebook in 2008, there were already a huge media buzz surrounding him. While it wasn’t publicly announced at that time, D’Angelo had actually quit Facebook to begin work on Quora.Given the background of the 2 founders, they did not have problem raising media attention when they opened the platform publicly in 2010.Takeaway:Reach out to your network. You’ll never know who amongst your network has the star power or influence to help you drive word-of-mouth or even become a brand ambassador.3. Quora appealed to different people, who then spread the word amongst their peers to use the platformQuora is a platform that appealed to people in multiple verticals, each wanting to use Quora for their own purpose. This, in turn helped fuel Quora’s growth as they told more of their friends about it.A: JournalistsJournalists love Quora because it is a source of inspiration. Where better to look for stories or find first-hand opinions from leading experts than a platform curated for that purpose?MG Siegler, a reporter at TechCrunch even wrote an article discussing how journalists routinely use Quora for story inspiration:“We don’t do that type of full republishing, not because we think it’s bad, it’s just not what we do. Instead, when an interesting Quora thread pops onto my radar, I like to think it over and write it up in a way that I would any other story. That is to say, I like to inject my own words and opinions and expand on the thought.”B: Startup FoundersThings change quickly in the startup world. The latest information today could be the most outdated information tomorrow.These rapid changes cause a gap of information about how to build and scale startups, which result in huge demands for such information.On the other hand, successful startup founders were also looking for a way to tell their story of how they succeeded.C: ProfessionalsBy answering questions on Quora and giving detailed answers, the platform allowed professionals like lawyers and doctors to build thought leadership and authority in their respective fields.D: CelebritiesQuora also served as a platform for celebrities to build awareness for their upcoming projects. Celebrities also benefitted from leaving ONE definite answer for recurring questions they receive from fans.E: Marketing ExpertsMarketing experts who are trying to build awareness to their products and services love Quora because of the number of pageviews their content can generate — and also the fact that many Quora answers are ranked highly on Google.These separate groups of people, in order to maximize their use of the platform, began telling their peers about Quora and subsequently grew Quora’s userbase.Takeaway:Does your product help many people? Can you identify them and empower them in different ways to help you spread the word about your product?**4. 4. Quora puts a lot of effort in rewarding their best usersA little story by Landon Howell (incidentally from a Quora answer) is a sign of how Quora treats its power users:“For example, I posted a mere 50-ish answers on Quora before I was thanked and approached for Beta testing by Marc Bodnick, Kat Li, and Nick Huber (among others). Many of my contributions were retweeted by Quora, which told me that they appreciated my work and were dedicated to promoting quality content.”In 2012, Quora rolled out a Top Writers Program, where they recognized individuals who made the most valuable content contributions to the platform.The Top Writers were given a badge on their Quora profile and were also given Quora-branded clothing and books. They were also invited to events where the Top Writers could meet each other in person and build relationships.Once made to feel special, these Top Writers would continue to contribute to the platform and create great, quality content. The presence of great content will then draw more people in into using the Quora platform.Poof! Viral loop built.Takeaway:Reward your best customers, as they are the ones most likely to refer people to buy more of your products.5. Quora built strategic partnerships with media companiesIt’s no secret that media companies love Quora.Quora is an amazing resource for journalists, bloggers and editors looking for exciting, untold stories. One Forbes contributor, Bruce Upbin even wrote about how obsessed he was with Quora.Similarly, Quora is not ignorant of the fact that many editors from major media companies are lurking or participating in the platform.It was basically a match made in heaven.In 2014, Time Magazine announced a content partnership with Quora where the media company would syndicate Quora’s answers onto their blogs. Prior to that, Quora had already partnered with NPR, BBC, BuzzFeed and The Huffington Post.(Quora would later also have their own columns on Forbes and Inc.)It was a win-win situation for both parties. Media companies like Time are starved for online content, and they need people to churn out articles day after day. Quora provides a platform for them to generate content that is sure to be popular.By virtue of being published on these giant media outlets, Quora was able to gain attention and awareness to their platform. The partnership also meant that Quora is able to incentivize writers with the “carrot” of possibly being published on these media outlets, thus generating better content.Takeaway:You don’t have to do this alone. Partner with companies in similar verticals as you to reach more people and get them interested in your company.6. High-profile influencers who love Quora shared it with their many followersOne of Quora’s attractiveness is its ability to attract high-profile influencers to answer questions.Quora users include big names like Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Foursquare’s Dennis Crowley, Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales and ex-US President Barack Obama. It was an knowledge-hungry person’s idea of heaven — delicious bits of information served right from the horse’s mouth on a silver platter.When these influential names answer a question, they would in turn share them with their followers. This exposed the platform to many people who were otherwise unaware of the presence of Quora.To capitalize on these influencers’ ability to drive visitors to their platform, Quora also launched Quora Writing Sessions, their own version of Reddit’s Ask Me Anything.Several days before, Quora will announce a Writing Session by an influential person, and users can then leave their questions on the page. The influencer would take several days to prepare for his/her answer and then post it on the Writing Session page.This basically pushed influencers to promote their Writing Sessions, which drove herds of people to the platform to read these influencers’ answers.Takeaway:Influential people who have curated an audience can unleash the floodgates to your business. Tap on them and their audience to drive awareness to your products.What do you think?Did you learn anything new, or did that get your juices churning? Let me know!I referred to Quora's marketing strategy via this case study.

#/r/entrepreneur #reddit

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survivor-all-stars-blog · 8 years ago

Text

Steven’s Jury Question

Hey finalists! Congratulations on making it to this point. I've been out of the game for a long time at this stage, so my questions/statements will hopefully be simple ones to answer/respond to.

Jack, I have to say I think you've played a great game, whilst at the same time coming off quite likeable. Even though our only game related interactions came with the twist early merge, it was really fun and made me wish I'd spoken to you a lot more! I think you might've left a bigger threat in the game by voting out MJ, but it'll be interesting to hear your full reasoning behind that during FTC.

My task for you is, if possible, to write an individual haiku for each jury member relating to your interaction with them in the game. Surely 17 syllables is enough, right? Also if you've any kpop bops for me to check out I'd appreciate 1 or 2 of those too! :) Good luck tonight!

Wes, you might've thought I'd be harsh tonight, but I'm out a long time and the original distaste has dissipated. I was bitter you outplayed and outwitted me that early in the merge, and now all I can say is kudos, it was a great move to better yourself to stay in the game.

One little niggle though. You say in your statement that you'd throw challenges to make yourself less threatening, and although this might be a valid strategy, it's not one I can respect. I think you played the game a little bit like a troll throughout. However, I genuinely think you're a good guy, I respect your overall game intentions and you looked out for your mates. My question is: do you have any regret minimizing your social impact in the game to the point it may now backfire with the jury?

Jimmy, boy am I ECSTATIC that you're sitting here with the chance to win, because in my eyes, you've embodied "All Star" more than any one else in the game. You were underrated, and now you've managed to sneak your way into the final. Your RoP proves you had one of the best social games here. In a season where there seems to be a lot of people with some sort of issue with another player, you managed to be extremely nice and caring, and interested to get to know other people. I'm extremely grateful this season gave me the opportunity to work with you properly, with it unfortunately ending prematurely.

You deserve to sit there tonight regardless of what anyone says. You stood on your own two feet and made your own moves, so own them tonight. If people play into a "MalaysiaCult", shut it down. Everyone had their previous connections and everyone utilized them. Just cuz yours was the most visible doesn't make it any more beneficial to you than someone else's were. In fact it made you a target by association, and one you dealt with extremely well as you described in your statement. I think you had the best social game, and the best strategic game in this final 3, and finding the balance between those two things in a season like this is extremely hard. Yet you managed to do that and I hope the jury see that. I don't have a question for you because I think you articulated yourself well enough in your statement for me to understand your game. Best of luck tonight my Aussie friend. Let's see if you become the All Star of All Stars!

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You definitely know that social game has always been my weak point, and it probably always will be, due to my social anxiety and general awkwardness.I don’t really have any regrets about the way I played the game, although I wish I had more room to play more strategically towards the end of the game, but my efforts got shut down every step of the way because everyone had written me off as a piece in Lydia’s game. The game was pretty much ruled by three separate voting blocks that were extremely loyal to one another. Move making in this game was difficult for everyone because of how rock solid certain alliance lines were drawn, which is unfortunate but we all had to work around that.

Thanks for the rally Stevo! It's awesome that you appreciate what I was able to do and I love that you're all about it ☺

#ftc #ivebeenbamboozled

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movietvtechgeeks · 8 years ago

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Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/moonlight-wins-best-picture-two-major-2017-oscar-mix-ups/

'Moonlight' wins Best Picture after two major 2017 Oscar mix ups

The Academy Awards can sometimes feel like watching paint dry, but it wasn't political speeches that spiced things up at the 2017 Oscars Sunday night. It was two major gaffs, obviously unintended, but 89th Academy Awards broadcast will go down in film history. (Full list of winners is down below) The last Oscar stunner wasn't the Michael Moore acceptance speech for "Bowling for Columbine" as some will think, but in 1974, when a nude man raced across the stage flashing a peace sign. Actor David Niven was able to keep his composure with this quip, "Isn't it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?" "La La Land's" Best Picture confused with "Moonlight" is garnering all the press attention as Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway were caught in the confusion. Everything seemed like they were going with a script and that Beatty was mugging by taking a long time after opening the envelope and looking inside. BEATTY: "The Academy Award..." He pauses, looks at the envelope again. BEATTY: "For best picture..." He pauses again and looks offstage, then hands the envelope to Dunaway, who gives it a quick glance. DUNAWAY: "La La Land." Nothing seems amiss as the audience applauds while the cast, producers and it seems everyone associated with "La La Land" piles onto the stage, but once Producer Marc Platt begins speaking something is definitely off. People standing behind him begin talking and looking confused, then a guy with headphones appears, and you wonder if it's the Donald Trump ICE team checking everyone's papers. The producers hand over their red envelopes while Platt and Jordan Horowitz continue talking. PLATT: "Keep dreaming, because the dreams we dream today will provide the love, compassion and the humanity that will narrate the story of our lives tomorrow." Fred Berger, the final talking producer, takes his turn at the microphone and speaks briefly before looking at a confused scene behind him and dryly states. BERGER: "We lost, by the way." HOROWITZ: "There's a mistake. 'Moonlight,' you guys won best picture. This is not a joke." PLATT: "This is not a joke. I'm afraid they read the wrong thing." HOROWITZ: "This is not a joke. 'Moonlight' has won best picture." Jordan Horowitz retrieves the Oscar card from Beatty and holds it up. In dramatic movie fashion, the camera pans in so the words are visible: "Moonlight" has indeed won best picture. It feels like a scene from an Oscar-winning movie where the underdog comes out the winner. Jumping into host action, Jimmy Kimmel approaches the microphone and mentions Steve Harvey, whose 2015 reading of the wrong Miss Universe winner instantly becomes the second most embarrassing awards show flub. KIMMEL: "Guys. This is very unfortunate what happened. Personally, I blame Steve Harvey for this." Kimmel gives Horowitz an uncomfortable sad look. KIMMEL: "I would like to see you get an Oscar anyway. Why can't we just give out a whole bunch of them?" HOROWITZ: "I'm going to be really proud to hand this to my friends at 'Moonlight.'" KIMMEL: "That's nice of you." Beatty quickly jumps into action to explain what has happened. He's smart enough to know rather than slink off stage in embarrassment; it's better to just lay out the facts quickly. BEATTY: "Hello? Hello?" KIMMEL: "Warren, what did you do?" BEATTY: "I want to tell you what happened. I opened the envelope, and it said 'Emma Stone, La La Land.' That's why I took such a long look at Faye and you. I wasn't trying to be funny." Meanwhile, the cast, producers and crew of "Moonlight" are standing looking very stunned and probably wondering when they get to talk. Everyone from "La La Land" is now drifting off the stage, and on cue, the camera switches to people in the audience who look dumbfounded. Matt Damon whistles. Barry Jenkins, creator of "Moonlight," approaches the microphone. JENKINS: "Very clearly in my dreams, this could not be true. But to hell with dreams, I'm done with it, because this is true. Oh, my goodness." Jenkins finishes his speech. Then Kimmel takes the microphone again. KIMMEL: "Well, I don't know what happened. I blame myself. ... It's just an awards show ... I knew I would screw this show up. I really did ... I promise I'll never come back." Finally, the "Moonlight" people get to speak. One thing is that this is one win they will never forget and easily pushed more recognition of the film than it would have ever gotten without the mix-up. The big question is that why did the producers of the Oscars let the "La La Land" people go on for over two minutes in speeches when it was obvious at least two people knew that the wrong film had been called out. Accounting firm PwC (Price Waterhouse Coopers) sent out this statement several hours after the mayhem had chilled down. "We sincerely apologize to 'Moonlight,' 'La La Land,' Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and Oscar viewers for the error that was made during the award announcement for Best Picture," a statement from the firm said. "The presenters had mistakenly been given the wrong category envelope and when discovered, was immediately corrected. We are currently investigating how this could have happened, and deeply regret that this occurred." "It's one of the strangest things that's ever happened to me," Beatty said backstage. "Thank God there were two of us up there," Dunaway responded. The actress then asked Beatty, "Who else should I tell?" "Everybody," he said. At that point, a security guard tried to take the real envelope, and Beatty said, "Security is not getting this. I'm giving it to (Moonlight director) Barry Jenkins at a later time." Beatty also refused to show it to anyone else. The Miss Universe Twitter account quickly let the Oscars know they felt their pain. "Have your people call our people, we know what to do," the tweet read. That was the beginning of a Tweet pile-on that may be the biggest of all time, with many declaring that "La La Land" won the popular vote while "Moonlight" won the electoral college. I have a feeling that in that moment (which it's easy to become Monday morning quarterback on), everyone froze up not quite believing that something like this could happen. Then someone else took over and jumped in to fix the mess. That's how this usually works out in the movies and now on an awards show about the movies. Very nice film within a film feel this year Oscars. The other major mess up being overshadowed by the "Moonlight" first wrong call, was for Costume Designer Janet Patterson, who was part of the 'In Memorium' section. The name was correct on the card, but the picture was off. So, you can imagine the horror that Australian producer, Jan Chapman, must have felt seeing her image showing up on the card instead of the deceased woman's. “I was devastated by the use of my image in place of my great friend and long-time collaborator Janet Patterson. I had urged her agency to check any photograph which might be used and understand that they were told that the Academy had it covered. Janet was a great beauty and four-time Oscar nominee, and it is very disappointing that the error was not picked up,” Chapman told media outlets. “I am alive and well and an active producer.” Chapman is one of Australia’s best-known producers with credits including “Lantana,” “Holy Smoke,” and “The Last Days of Chez Nous.” She was married to director Philip Noyce in the 1970s. To confuse matters further, Patterson and Chapman worked together on “The Piano.” The Academy hasn't commented on this gaffe yet.

The full list of 2017 Academy Award Winners below (winners are bolded):

BEST PICTURE Arrival Fences Hacksaw Ridge Hell or High Water Hidden Figures La La Land Lion Manchester By the Sea Moonlight – WINNER BEST DIRECTOR Denis Villeneuve (Arrival) Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge) Damien Chazelle (La La Land) – WINNER Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester By the Sea) Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) BEST ACTOR Casey Affleck (Manchester By the Sea) – WINNER Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge) Ryan Gosling (La La Land) Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic) Denzel Washington (Fences) BEST ACTRESS Isabelle Huppert (Elle) Ruth Negga (Loving) Emma Stone (La La Land) – WINNER Natalie Portman (Jackie) Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins) BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Mahershala Ali (Moonlight) – WINNER Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water) Lucas Hedges (Manchester By the Sea) Dev Patel (Lion) Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals) BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Viola Davis (Fences) – WINNER Naomie Harris (Moonlight) Nicole Kidman (Lion) Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures) Michelle Williams (Manchester By the Sea) BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Hell or High Water La La Land The Lobster Manchester By the Sea – WINNER 20th Century Women BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Arrival Fences Hidden Figures Lion Moonlight – WINNER BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Land of Mine A Man Called Ove The Salesman – WINNER Tanna Toni Erdmann BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Arrival La La Land – WINNER Lion Moonlight Silence BEST DOCUMENTARY Fire at Sea I Am Not Your Negro Life, Animated OJ: Made in America – WINNER 13th BEST COSTUME DESIGN Allied Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – WINNER Florence Foster Jenkins Jackie La La Land BEST ORIGINAL SCORE Jackie La La Land – WINNER Lion Moonlight Passengers BEST ORIGINAL SONG Audition (La La Land) Can’t Stop the Feeling! (Trolls) City of Stars (La La Land) – WINNER The Empty Chair (Jim: The James Foley Story) How Far I’ll Go (Moana) BEST SOUND EDITING Arrival – WINNER Deepwater Horizon Hacksaw Ridge La La Land Sully BEST SOUND MIXING Arrival Hacksaw Ridge – WINNER La La Land Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 13 Hours BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN Arrival Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Hail, Caesar! La La Land – WINNER Passengers BEST ANIMATED FEATURE Kubo and the Two Strings Moana My Life As a Zucchini The Red Turtle Zootopia – WINNER BEST ANIMATED SHORT Blind Vaysha Borrowed Time Pear Cider and Cigarettes Pearl Piper – WINNER BEST FILM EDITING Arrival Hacksaw Ridge – WINNER Hell or High Water La La Land Moonlight BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT Ennemis Interieurs La Femme et le TGV Silent Nights Sing- WINNER Timecode BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT 4.1 Miles Extremis Joe’s Violin Watani: My Homeland The White Helmets – WINNER BEST VISUAL EFFECTS Deepwater Horizon Doctor Strange The Jungle Book – WINNER Kubo and the Two Strings Rogue One: A Star Wars Story BEST MAKE-UP & HAIRSTYLING A Man Called Ove Star Trek Beyond Suicide Squad – WINNER

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#Academy Awards #Faye Dunaway #Featured #La La Land #Moonlight #Oscars #Warren Beatty

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topicprinter · 8 years ago

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Hey r/startups!Q&A sites are not a new idea. In fact, since the beginnings of the web, the Internet has been populated by tons of Q&A sites like Yahoo Answers and WikiAnswers.Not only that, in 2010 (before Quora was released publicly), tech giants Google acquired Aardvark, a social search service that connected users live with friends who were able to answer their questions.In the same year, Facebook also rolled out Facebook Questions, a Q&A service that allowed users to poll the entire Facebook-verse.As you may have noticed by now, the Q&A world is a lucrative place to be in.However, despite such intense competition, Quora managed to launch publicly to a media frenzy in 2010.And 7 years later, Quora is now a social behemoth boasting an impressive 80 million unique visitors a month, and having collected an estimated 13 million questions.The question remains:How did Quora succeed despite having so many competitors?Here are some possible reasons (along with takeaways!):1. Quora’s primary focus is making a great productAdam D’Angelo, CEO of Quora has said repeatedly that the entire team is solely focused on making a great product.(They didn’t even consider monetization strategies until they were satisfied that the product was great.)A: Quora Requires Your Real NameInstead of signing up for an account with a fake username, Quora requires you to use either your email, your Google account or Facebook account.Because their names are now published publicly with every answer they post, users have become responsible for their answers. Trolls have been all but eliminated.B: Quora Implemented The Upvote SystemThe upvote system, originally pioneered by Reddit, helped Quora moderate the quality of answers. Instead of prioritizing “clout” or “authority”, the upvote system allowed users to vote on the best answer to the question.This immediately pushed the best answer to the top, while answers that lacked effort remained unseen.C: Quora’s Onboarding Process Is Easy To FollowThe biggest problems faced by many companies is abandonment rate – basically people who are interested in your product, set it up halfway and abandon it.This is often due to a clunky onboarding process that disorient users and confuse them.To help solve that, Quora has made it relatively simple to sign-up using Facebook Connect.Quora also prompts you to find friends, find people to follow and find topics to follow — actions that slowly build up to a great experience at Quora.D: Quora Focused On Building A Community Of Smart And Educated PeopleLow-quality answers were the bane of Quora’s predecessors. Instead of receiving genuine answers to their questions, Q&A sites like Yahoo Answers got ruined by trolls.Besides that, people do actually enjoy hanging out with smart, like-minded people.Thankfully, due to Charlie Cheever and Adam D’Angelo’s illustrious background, Quora was able to attract high-quality answers from their Silicon Valley friends who were interested in try out a new product.Takeaway:People will only spread word-of-mouth about you if you have a great product and care about them!2. Both founders leveraged their existing network to kick off the platformNot many know this, but Adam D’Angelo was previously Facebook’s CTO while Charlie Cheever was previously a manager at Facebook in charge of Facebook Connect.When D’Angelo quit Facebook in 2008, there were already a huge media buzz surrounding him. While it wasn’t publicly announced at that time, D’Angelo had actually quit Facebook to begin work on Quora.Given the background of the 2 founders, they did not have problem raising media attention when they opened the platform publicly in 2010.Takeaway:Reach out to your network. You’ll never know who amongst your network has the star power or influence to help you drive word-of-mouth or even become a brand ambassador.3. Quora appealed to different people, who then spread the word amongst their peers to use the platformQuora is a platform that appealed to people in multiple verticals, each wanting to use Quora for their own purpose. This, in turn helped fuel Quora’s growth as they told more of their friends about it.A: JournalistsJournalists love Quora because it is a source of inspiration. Where better to look for stories or find first-hand opinions from leading experts than a platform curated for that purpose?MG Siegler, a reporter at TechCrunch even wrote an article discussing how journalists routinely use Quora for story inspiration:“We don’t do that type of full republishing, not because we think it’s bad, it’s just not what we do. Instead, when an interesting Quora thread pops onto my radar, I like to think it over and write it up in a way that I would any other story. That is to say, I like to inject my own words and opinions and expand on the thought.”B: Startup FoundersThings change quickly in the startup world. The latest information today could be the most outdated information tomorrow.These rapid changes cause a gap of information about how to build and scale startups, which result in huge demands for such information.On the other hand, successful startup founders were also looking for a way to tell their story of how they succeeded.C: ProfessionalsBy answering questions on Quora and giving detailed answers, the platform allowed professionals like lawyers and doctors to build thought leadership and authority in their respective fields.D: CelebritiesQuora also served as a platform for celebrities to build awareness for their upcoming projects. Celebrities also benefitted from leaving ONE definite answer for recurring questions they receive from fans.E: Marketing ExpertsMarketing experts who are trying to build awareness to their products and services love Quora because of the number of pageviews their content can generate — and also the fact that many Quora answers are ranked highly on Google.These separate groups of people, in order to maximize their use of the platform, began telling their peers about Quora and subsequently grew Quora’s userbase.Takeaway:Does your product help many people? Can you identify them and empower them in different ways to help you spread the word about your product?**4. 4. Quora puts a lot of effort in rewarding their best usersA little story by Landon Howell (incidentally from a Quora answer) is a sign of how Quora treats its power users:“For example, I posted a mere 50-ish answers on Quora before I was thanked and approached for Beta testing by Marc Bodnick, Kat Li, and Nick Huber (among others). Many of my contributions were retweeted by Quora, which told me that they appreciated my work and were dedicated to promoting quality content.”In 2012, Quora rolled out a Top Writers Program, where they recognized individuals who made the most valuable content contributions to the platform.The Top Writers were given a badge on their Quora profile and were also given Quora-branded clothing and books. They were also invited to events where the Top Writers could meet each other in person and build relationships.Once made to feel special, these Top Writers would continue to contribute to the platform and create great, quality content. The presence of great content will then draw more people in into using the Quora platform.Poof! Viral loop built.Takeaway:Reward your best customers, as they are the ones most likely to refer people to buy more of your products.5. Quora built strategic partnerships with media companiesIt’s no secret that media companies love Quora.Quora is an amazing resource for journalists, bloggers and editors looking for exciting, untold stories. One Forbes contributor, Bruce Upbin even wrote about how obsessed he was with Quora.Similarly, Quora is not ignorant of the fact that many editors from major media companies are lurking or participating in the platform.It was basically a match made in heaven.In 2014, Time Magazine announced a content partnership with Quora where the media company would syndicate Quora’s answers onto their blogs. Prior to that, Quora had already partnered with NPR, BBC, BuzzFeed and The Huffington Post.(Quora would later also have their own columns on Forbes and Inc.)It was a win-win situation for both parties. Media companies like Time are starved for online content, and they need people to churn out articles day after day. Quora provides a platform for them to generate content that is sure to be popular.By virtue of being published on these giant media outlets, Quora was able to gain attention and awareness to their platform. The partnership also meant that Quora is able to incentivize writers with the “carrot” of possibly being published on these media outlets, thus generating better content.Takeaway:You don’t have to do this alone. Partner with companies in similar verticals as you to reach more people and get them interested in your company.6. High-profile influencers who love Quora shared it with their many followersOne of Quora’s attractiveness is its ability to attract high-profile influencers to answer questions.Quora users include big names like Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Foursquare’s Dennis Crowley, Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales and ex-US President Barack Obama. It was an knowledge-hungry person’s idea of heaven — delicious bits of information served right from the horse’s mouth on a silver platter.When these influential names answer a question, they would in turn share them with their followers. This exposed the platform to many people who were otherwise unaware of the presence of Quora.To capitalize on these influencers’ ability to drive visitors to their platform, Quora also launched Quora Writing Sessions, their own version of Reddit’s Ask Me Anything.Several days before, Quora will announce a Writing Session by an influential person, and users can then leave their questions on the page. The influencer would take several days to prepare for his/her answer and then post it on the Writing Session page.This basically pushed influencers to promote their Writing Sessions, which drove herds of people to the platform to read these influencers’ answers.Takeaway:Influential people who have curated an audience can unleash the floodgates to your business. Tap on them and their audience to drive awareness to your products.What do you think?Did you learn anything new, or did that get your juices churning? Let me know!I referred to Quora's marketing strategy via this case study.

#/r/startups #reddit

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movietvtechgeeks · 8 years ago

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Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/melania-trump-ready-vogue-wile-george-clooney-proves-fertile/

Melania Trump ready to Vogue while George Clooney proves fertile

Despite her husband publically bashing the media (including fashion publication Vanity Fair) on countless occasions, First Lady Melania Trump will likely still get a chance to be a fashion magazine cover star. In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour revealed that she is planning to shoot Melania during her reign as the nation’s First Lady. Anna told the Journal, “We have a tradition of always covering whoever is the first lady at Vogue, and I can’t imagine that this time would be any different.” Surprisingly, Donald’s wife has already been featured on Vogue, which is a highly sought after cover within the modeling world. Back in 2005, Melania graced the cover in an embroidered bridal gown. The accompanying article within the magazine introduced the Slovenia-native as “Donald Trump’s New Bride,” as 2005 was the year that the two tied the knot. In line with what Anna told The Wall Street Journal, Vogue has had numerous US First Ladies on their cover. In fact, Michelle Obama graced the cover of the high fashion magazine on 3 separate occasions. Based on all of the controversy surrounding both Melania and her husband Donald Trump, it will be interesting to see how consumers react to Melania’s [future] issue of Vogue. Unlike the public, who just found out earlier this week, George Clooney’s good friend Matt Damon has known about George and Amal’s pregnancy for several months now. Earlier this week, The Talk co-host Julie Chen broke the big news to the public, revealing that actor George Clooney and his accomplished journalist wife Amal are expecting twins. This inevitably came as a shock to most, as many assumed that George was not interested in having kids. In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight Canada, George’s pal Matt Damon revealed that he has been keeping the couple’s secret for the past while. Matt told the media outlet, “I was working with [George] last fall, and he pulled me aside on set and I mean, I almost started crying. I was so happy for him. And I was like, ‘How far along is she?’ and he goes, ‘Eight weeks.’ [And I said] ‘Are you out of your mind? Don’t tell anybody else! Don’t tell anybody else! Don’t you know the 12-week rule?’ Like, of course he doesn’t.” Matt went on to recount, “Then four weeks later, I’m like, ‘We’re good right?’” Fortunately, George assured Matt that Amal and him were still preparing for parenthood. When asked about George’s beau Amal Clooney, Matt gushed all about her to ET. Matt explained, “I’m thrilled for [George]. [Amal’s] amazing. He hit the jackpot. Just on every level. She is a remarkable woman. They’re gonna be great. They’re gonna be awesome parents. Those kids are lucky.” With George and Amal’s A-list network of friends, as well as the baby frenzy that is currently going on in Hollywood, the couple’s offspring will undoubtedly have a long list of famous friends. This year's Oscar telecast will have some big Grammy Award winners: Sting, Justin Timberlake, John Legend and Lin-Manuel Miranda are all slated to perform the tunes nominated for Best Original Song. Timberlake will perform "Can't Stop The Feeling" from the movie "Trolls" and Sting will perform "The Empty Chair" from "Jim: The James Foley Story," the Oscar-nominated song he co-wrote with three-time Oscar nominee J. Ralph. Legend will perform both "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" and "City of Stars" from "La La Land" and Miranda will team up with Auli'i Cravalho to perform the Oscar-nominated song "How Far I'll Go" from "Moana." The Oscars air Feb. 26 on ABC, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. In a bizarre series of events, Josh Elliott stepped down from CBS’s digital channel on Friday for a larger role at CBS News — shocking his own bosses. Elliott, who had served as CBSN’s lead daytime anchor for a year, bid an emotional farewell to viewers, saying that it was to be his “last day.” “It has been by any measure a great stay here at CBSN,” he added. It was surprising news — not least to CBS News execs, who had no idea he was announcing his plan to leave the online station. “This is a mess of epic proportions,” said a network source. “Nobody at the top at CBS News knew that Josh was going to do that.” It seems Elliott — who joined the network from NBC in 2016 — had recently met with Laurie Orlando, the network’s head of talent, who told him that she wanted him to take on a bigger role at CBS News. The plan is for him to file reports for “CBS Evening News” and “CBS This Morning,” and help fill in for Charlie Rose, who has just undergone heart surgery. We’re told the surgery was a success and Rose is expected back at work in three weeks. “Then Josh announced his departure without warning,” said the insider. “Executives at CBS were stunned.” Meanwhile, sources close to Elliott claim that his executive producer dropped the ball for not alerting higher-ups, including Orlando and CBS News president David Rhodes. “They totally bungled their own announcement,” said the source. “There was no communication.” There was a flurry of meetings Friday at CBS News to work out how to handle the debacle. Finally, they announced Elliott would be reporting on a national level for CBS News. Insiders say the move is part of a plan for Elliott to take on a bigger role down the line. There are rumors CBS could move Scott Pelley off “CBS Evening News,” which network chiefs have denied. On Friday, a CBS rep told us, “Josh is going to be taking field assignments and reporting long-form pieces as well. He will appear across CBS News programs, including CBSN.” Gigi Hadid couldn’t keep her cool on her first date with boyfriend Zayn Malik. “We actually met at a friends birthday party a few years ago,” the 21-year-old model told Ellen DeGeneres in an episode that aired on Friday, “Then he was in New York to go to the Victoria’s Secret show last year, I think, and ended up not coming. I was like ‘I’ll play it cool. I’ll go to the after-party.’ He wasn’t there and then later that week we ended up going on our first date.” She added, “We played it cool for like 10 minutes, and then I was like, ‘You’re really cute.'” The couple began dating in 2015. “We connected really quickly,” she said, “We had the same sense of humor.” In June 2016, there were rumors the couple had called it quits. According to E!, the couple have experienced several rough patches throughout their relationship, but it seems they’ve worked through those issues. “Black-ish” star Yara Shahidi called a federal appeals court ruling against President Donald Trump’s travel ban an “early birthday present.” That because the half African-American, half Iranian-American actress’ grandmother can now come to visit her, the actress explained to People. “I have family that’s already in the states, and I have family in Iran. That was my early birthday present,” she told the magazine. While none of the 16-year-old’s family was directly affected by the ban, it has placed any future travel plans in limbo. “Fortunately, none of my family was traveling. It did affect the fact that my joon joon [grandmother] was possibly coming,” she said. “That’s kind of been halted until we assess what’s happening.” The Minnesota native, whose first language was Farsi, said that despite the ruling, it’s still hard to get a handle on exactly what is happening. “It goes from, ‘it’s happening,’ to ‘no, it’s postponed,’ to, ‘oh, it’s temporarily postponed,’ to ‘how temporary is the postponement? When are we going to get rid of it?’ So I feel like it’s just hard to adjust and keep up,” she admitted. On Thursday, three federal appeals judges unanimously upheld a decision that halted the president’s refugee and immigration ban. The decision prompted a shrill rebuke from Trump on Twitter. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/829836231802515457 https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/830389130311921667 “SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!” he wrote shortly after news of the decision broke. Clive Davis isn’t letting national politics affect his famed pre-Grammys party. The veteran music executive says his annual event will be at capacity again this year despite moves elsewhere in Hollywood to scale back awards season soirees. Celebrities have used acceptance speeches and red carpet appearances at recent awards shows to voice their concerns about President Donald Trump. The more serious mood prompted talent agency UTA this week to replace its big traditional pre-Oscars party with a political rally. But speaking Thursday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel alongside soul singer Maxwell, Davis said “there is no impact whatsoever” on Saturday’s gathering of business and tech leaders, actors, musicians and other celebrities. (Trump himself attended the event years ago when it was held in New York.) “There was a hunger for this night,” the 84-year-old music mogul said. “The audience is totally glittering and special. You can’t wait to see all of these cultural-influencing forces be in one room, one night.” Performers will include Chicago’s Chance the Rapper and Maxwell, who performed last month at the Women’s March on Washington at the invitation of Harry Belafonte, who was an honorary co-chair of the event. Davis said he expected a rising level of political engagement by fellow musicians, well past Grammy weekend. “It’s like the ’60s and the ’70s again, isn’t it. A great time for art. A great time to be able to say something that needs to be heard,” he said. “I just hope that in this time, people start using their voices.” Davis, meanwhile, says he used his voice to make sure there was a focus on music as producers crafted a documentary about his life, “Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of our Lives.” The movie was selected to kick off the Tribeca Film Festival in April. “That’s more than cool. I’m from New York. I’m from Brooklyn,” he said, “and to open at Radio City Music Hall, which is the first theater I ever visited in Manhattan when I was 13 years old — that night of April 19 will be very special.” Actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and professional ballerina Misty Copeland have joined basketball star Stephen Curry in criticizing the CEO of sports apparel company Under Armour for praising President Donald Trump. Kevin Plank, the CEO of Baltimore-based Under Armour, called Trump “an asset to the country” in an interview with CNBC this week. The company later issued a statement saying it engages in “policy, not politics.” “I appreciate and welcome the feedback from people who disagree (and agree) with Kevin Plank’s words on CNBC, but these are neither my words, nor my beliefs,” Johnson wrote as part of a lengthy Facebook post. “His words were divisive and lacking in perspective. Inadvertently creating a situation where the personal political opinions of Under Armour’s partners and its employees were overshadowed by the comments of its CEO.” Under Armour sponsors Johnson, Copeland and Curry, the two-time NBA MVP and star of the Warriors. Copeland wrote in an Instagram post she was so concerned about Plank’s comments that she spoke to him directly. Curry turned Plank’s use of “asset” around. “I agree with that description,” Curry told the Mercury News, “if you remove the ‘-et’ from asset.” None of the three has severed ties with the company. Actor Shia LaBeouf slammed the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens Friday for shuttering his controversial anti-President Trump webcam exhibit. “THE MUSEUM HAS ABANDONED US,” he wrote on Twitter. https://twitter.com/thecampaignbook/status/830078936533102592 LaBeouf’s criticism drew a swift response on his site — not all of it favorable. “Well you created a circus,” responded Quite Frankly Podcast. The Astoria-based museum said it shut down the 24/7 webcam project Friday morning because the installation had become a “flashpoint of violence.” The webcam exhibit mounted on a wall outside the museum— titled “HE WILL NOT DIVIDE US” — began filming on Inauguration Day, and was to be in place 24/7, for the duration of Trump’s presidency. NBC is in talks with FremantleMedia to resurrect “American Idol,” Variety has learned. According to sources with knowledge of the discussions, NBC has been pitched a revival of the long-running singing competition by producer Fremantle and is now mulling options for how to integrate the show into its programming slate. One possibility being considered: cutting NBC’s existing singing competition “The Voice” from two cycles a year to one. Fremantle has been shopping an “Idol” revival in recent weeks, with NBC emerging as the leading candidate to become the new home of the long-running singing competition series. Sources emphasize that talks are ongoing, and no deal is yet in place. Representatives for NBC and Fremantle declined to comment. “American Idol” ran on Fox for 15 seasons beginning in 2002. For eight consecutive seasons, beginning in 2003-04, it was the highest-rated show on television. At its peak in 2006, “American Idol” averaged a 12.4 rating among the 18-49 demographic and 36.4 million total viewers, according to Nielsen live-plus-same-day numbers. Ratings began to decline steeply in the show’s later years, to the point that Fox decided that it no longer represented a worthwhile financial or scheduling commitment. (The series aired two nights a week, typically beginning in midseason.) The final season in 2016 averaged a 2.2 and 9.1 million viewers. Those numbers were far diminished from what the show drew in its heyday, but they remain respectable by contemporary standards, with delayed viewing and increased competition applying downward pressure on live ratings across television. An “American Idol” revival has been a subject of speculation since before the final season aired on Fox last year. Speaking at the Television Critics Association winter press tour in 2016, longtime host Ryan Seacrest discussed the show’s future even as he promoted what Fox had dubbed the “farewell season.” “When you’ve got a franchise that has this kind of heritage, and you’ve got a franchise that generates X amount of millions of people, if it sustains, does that mean it’s the end?” Seacrest said. “I’m not so sure.” “The Voice,” currently in its seventh year, has shown its own ratings fatigue — even as it remains NBC’s most-watched non-football offering besides freshman drama “This Is Us.” The 2016 fall cycle, which ended Dec. 12, averaged a 2.5 live-plus-same-day rating among adults 18-49, according to Nielsen overnight numbers — down 19 percent from the previous fall. From a scheduling standpoint, it could be difficult for NBC to find a place for “American Idol” without making changes to its existing unscripted slate. NBC’s schedule is already loaded with talent competitions year-round, with “The Voice” premiering new cycles in fall and mid-season, and “America’s Got Talent” — produced by original “American Idol” judge Simon Cowell — reigning as the network’s biggest draw in summer. In July, NBC gave a series order to “World of Dance,” a dance competition series from another former “American Idol” judge, Jennifer Lopez, which has not yet been scheduled. After saying she'd like to play President Donald Trump's controversial adviser Steve Bannon on "Saturday Night Live," comedienne Rosie O'Donnell has apparently changed her Twitter profile picture to make herself look like him. O'Donnell's offer to play the chief strategist came after actress Melissa McCarthy's caustic portrayal of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on "SNL" last weekend. O'Donnell's new Twitter picture appears to be a digitally altered picture of Bannon with her face replacing his. But the actress-comedian will not appear on the NBC show this weekend, her spokeswoman said Friday. O'Donnell and Trump have publicly feuded in the past, with Trump making derogatory comments about O'Donnell's looks and weight.

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