#this conversation is based on an exchange my folks frequently have

[ooliecat]

i have nothing to post

[voxofthevoid]

Hello! We haven't really interacted before but I reviewed a Bleach fanfiction of yours a while ago, and I've loved your stories for the fandom! I'm sad that you no longer write for Bleach, but you've shared some amazing work, so thank you for that.

Just wanted to ask if you have any tips on how to connect more with other readers and writers, as it seems your conversations with other people in your fandoms bring a lot of joy and inspiration! While I wrote fanfiction in my teenage years, I felt very much like a fandom hermit back then but I'm coming back to it now many years later and want to actively engage with more people. I've joined some discord servers and am posting much more to twitter and tumblr, but I'm still pretty shy about messaging people privately as I feel like I don't really know what to say. I know it will take time, but any advice on how to get the ball rolling would be much appreciated.

Good luck with the writing!

Hi! I'm very glad you like my Bleach fics, and hey, being missed isn't a bad thing either ❤

(I do have one 80%–finished grimmichi fic that I'll put up on Ao3 soon-ish. The last chapter won't ever be written, but there's still some 28k of fluff and porn that ends on a fairly conclusive note on the emotional end.)

You're right that interacting with my fellow fans is a large part of what makes fandom fun for me. The community aspect of fandom is something that comes up a lot in conversations about why people flock to fandom, why they stay, and why they leave, and although I'm an introvert bordering on a hermit, the social aspects of fandom are its greatest draw. I write because I need to or I'll burst, but I share for the people here with me. That's not an uncommon attitude or experience. YMMV, but many of us want to connect with people who share our interests, and the level of creativity and commitment fandom inspires often thrives in collaboration and community.

How to get that sense of community is a trickier matter though. You're already in Discord servers, which seems to be the main fandom social space(s) these days. You're also on social media platforms where people can reach out to you or vice versa. So that's the basics covered. After that, it's largely a matter of organically developing relationships. But I do understand the hesitance to just roll up into someone's DMs; even though I have no issues with people popping up in my DMs, I also find it harder to initiate.

Plus, I've found that some sort of existing rapport gives you a better foundation when you do take the step into private exchanges. This can be Ao3 comment sections, Tumblr notes, or Discord group chat spaces. I tend to avoid Discord servers these days, but back when I had more tolerance for group chats, the people I met there often became closer friends. Mostly though, my pocket friends are people I met via Ao3 and, less frequently, Tumblr—fellow authors and readers in a specific fandom.

I know my regulars, here and on Ao3, and I've been a regular many times. Discussions in comments usually start out limited to the specific fic, but they can also include general fandom/canon stuff or even personal talk. Many times, you build a degree of familiarity with a person that way, and if the conversation moves to more private channels, you already have a shared base to build further conversation on.

So my best advice to find friends and like-minded fandom folks is to be active in Ao3 comments and Tumblr notes (...and whatever the corresponding thing is over on Xitter):

Reply to the comments on your stories and try to really engage with what your readers are saying. This is very much a personal preference, but the reason I try to reply with more than a generic "thanks" for longer, more in-depth comments is that, like I said above, nerding out with fellow fans is a huge part of why I love fandom. If people are already expressing interest in your story and you have a shared interest in canon, there's a lot of room there for fun conversations, even if they never go beyond one-off exchanges.

Comment on stories you like, and if you find specific authors you really love, let them know without reservations what you like about their takes and why you like them. One of my favorite commenting methods when I'm well and truly in love with something is to read everything once, then reread and leave longass comments on every chapter/fic. It's time-intensive, but I've never seen the effort go unappreciated. I've also been on the receiving end of this many times, and that's how several of my fandom friendships were born; one of my closest friends is someone I virtually kidnapped because I loved their tags on my JJK fic posts so much.

The above habits can be applied to Tumblr/Twitter too. Plus, there are plenty of people on such sites who engage deeply with fandom outside of fic writing. Be loud and proud about what you love. Sending a DM is an intimidating step, and not everyone will be receptive anyway, but most people welcome encouragement and appreciation. There are a lot of people I'm friendly with and fond of whom I've never interacted with directly, only via Tumble notes or asks.

I think all of this narrows down to being pretty generous when it comes to expressing your love for fandom and fellow fans. Won't always work out for various reasons, but as long as you're having fun, it's not wasted effort or time.

[itsclydebitches]

I adore talking about this with you, it's so cool to be able to agree, everything I've read is just excusing yen lmao.

And with "geralt would rather do and say things Yen wants to avoid pissing her off" LIKE YEAHH I guess I annoyed yen with my answers and she teleported Geralt out of the tower thing, and then threatened to do it again like??? Like he pissed her off so she has fuck all care about him, was over water thank god but like girl??? omg and her refusing to tell the wticher bros what she was planning on doing to Uma, like I get that they would be hesistent but I mean it's cause it's cruel and painful and they have that trauma around that. She just expects everyone to do what she asks when she asks no questions. (Lambert's "I'm not geralt" when he and Yen are kinda arguring, bb red flags)

I just assumed she didn't believe him cause if she did whats her excuse for behaving how she is lmao??? Like you believe he has amnesia and you still blame HIM over the person who maniplated him KAY.

And goodddd that fucking scene when Triss and Yen see Ciri in Kaer Morhen is genuinely the worst, Triss and Yen see their sis/daughter (not gonna get into how weird I find it that Triss considers Ciri her sister and Geralt is Ciris father and she still wants to fuck him, uncomfy) for the first time in forever, she's alive and well and while Triss is hugging Ciri, Yen kisses Geralt and Triss throws a glare at her. I hated that scene so damn much, it's stupid and shouldn't have been there. (aso I get emotions and all but Yen kissing Geralt is so bitchy, idk even full of gratitude and emotion I wouldn't kiss the man who just dumped me lol, especially not in front of a situation like Triss)

I'm still mad about the women, I really wanted to like them fuck meeee

YOU GOT TO THE PART. Oh thank god, anon, I've wanted to talk about this since we started these conversations lol

Okay, let's set the scene, shall we? You arrive to find that, with our playthroughs anyway, your ex has barged into your home. I say "barged in" because although we (Geralt) know that Yen's help is necessary and she'll be tagging along, the other witchers living there are given no prior warning and, according to Vesemir, Yen teleported in without so much as a "Hello." She then immediately starts ordering everyone around like her servants, failing to explain the situation beyond there being a curse that they have to help with. No, this isn't negotiable. She (still being an ex) takes your old room for herself, which just happens to be the biggest in the keep, and proceeds to toss a bed out the window. It's only later that Vesemir recalls that Triss used to use it, so prior to that everyone apparently just accepted that Yen was destroying their stuff for no understandable reason. Classic Yen. You go upstairs to find her cursing a blue streak at her failed experiment and when you try to lighten the mood, she snaps at you. If you're of the opinion that Yen's every order must be obeyed, this is when you're supposed to drop the conversation entirely, because she said to. Except, funnily enough, you'd like to know why she's up here being The Worst Guest Ever and destroying your property. She tries to justify this by saying that destroying a bed is better than how she could be dealing with her anger over Triss. Be grateful and all that. Except, it's not really about Triss, is it? The line is "You shagged my friend. For upwards of a year. I don't know what your witcher's code says on the matter, but ordinary folk would consider it obscene, base, vile." The blame is not on the woman who knowingly manipulated Geralt into having sex with her while he was vulnerable, it's on Geralt himself! He is the "obscene, base, vile" person for... daring to have amnesia? And when you point that out - "Yen... told you already. I lost my memory" - she yells that she's "lost [her] patience" and teleports you into a lake! This is, apparently, how she really wants to deal with her anger. Not by destroying beds, but by attacking you for things outside of your control. And I do consider it an attack. Yen is meant to be insanely powerful, she is leveraging her magic as a weapon here, particularly when Geralt has spent the whole game commenting on how much he hates portals. Yen knows this. Not just because he says so in her presence, but because she frequently reads his mind, something else he's expressed discomfort with. She's not just demonstrating her power (controlling) and sending him away when he makes a point she doesn't want to acknowledge (immature), she chooses the one thing she knows makes Geralt uncomfortable, perhaps even scared. Then when you've swum your way back to shore and returned to, despite all this, begin her list of chores, she makes a dry comment about how next time she just might drop you high enough for the fall to be fatal. With the next time implied to be, you know, the next time you disagree with her. The next time you dare to do anything other than agree with her every belief and jump at her every command.

The fandom interpretation of all this: "Lol Geralt getting yeeted is so funny. And their banter is just 😍"

Me:

You mentioned red flags and yeah like that ENTIRE SCENE is a crimson banner for me. I mean, by all means, love the fictional ships that are super messed up (I often do), but it astounds me how many fans honestly think this is just a cute interaction with absolutely no problems attached. Nothing to question here, folks. I've mentioned before, but last I discussed this in depth the asker wanted to know if I'd been an asshole to Yen and... that's it. That's the perspective. Any disagreement with her, any pushback, anything that's not complete, blind obedience is something she will not permit AND something most fans take as a given. If you're not doing what Yen tells you to, you're automatically the asshole, and if you're the asshole, you automatically deserve any punishment she chooses to dish out.

Comic spoilers coming up if you want to skip, but this is made abundantly clear in "Curse of Crows." Yen and Geralt are at their best in the moment below, enjoying one another's company on a nice day. Yen asks if Geralt wants to swim and he says nah, he'd rather watch her. She appears to like that idea and, indeed, swims naked while Geralt admires from the shore.

Actually cute right? I really liked this moment! They're cuddled up together and exchanging smiles. It's a rare moment of peace where I can believe that they truly care for one another, outside of passionate sex and not wanting the other dead. Finally, something beyond that incredibly low bar.

...except Yen starts flirting with a young man who shows up, invites him to travel with them, all while refusing to explain why she's interested in his company. The sudden third wheel is clearly bothering Geralt, but Yen continues to ignore his questioning. The answer she finally gives later that night?

She did it purely to mess with Geralt! It's his "just desserts" for "refusing to swim with [her]." She is "not one to be refused - I thought you needed reminding" by giving him "a flick on the nose." When I say that Yen treats Geralt like a dog I mean she literally treats him like a dog. He's a servant who must jump at her every command and if he doesn't, he'll punished for disobedience. He might not even know why he's being punished for a long stretch because Yen enjoys making him think she's a normal person capable of accepting that he doesn't feel like swimming right now - insert the Kaer Morhen scene where she wants to go have sex upstairs, but Geralt wants to catch up with the brothers he hasn't seen in an age here - only to reveal that actually she's made their formerly nice outing uncomfortable because he needs to be put in his place. All of which is followed by, "So... willing to join me now?" The message is very clear! Geralt had better get his ass in that tub unless he wants to be punished some more. Whether he wants a bath right now or not is inconsequential.

This is also the run where she scares the women Geralt was with, despite them being separated right now. Why? "I could."

Claims that Geralt is allowed to return to his companions (who he actually waves away) only for him to realize she's cast a spell to burn him with the water. Yen loves pretending she's okay with things only to punish Geralt for them later - sometimes with physical punishments. And what would have happened if the women had actually joined him again? Do witchers weather hot water better than the average courtesan? Who knows, but Yen clearly doesn't care who might get hurt.

Just like her time in Skellige and at Kaer Morhen, she refuses to explain what's going on. She just expects people to obey her, so-called loved ones included. Geralt was to get her cider, and arrive before her bath went cold, not question what they're doing on this dangerous hunt. He's a servant.

And my favorite, petty moment: transforming her awful inn food into a lavish meal without offering to do the same for either Geralt or Ciri.

"But, Clyde, that's just the comics. They're not really canon." Nah, questions of canon aside, this is 100% Yen's characterization. She's prideful. Immature. Beyond controlling. And punishes anyone who dares to tell her "No." Fans are always pointing out that she's meant to be horrible, she could have been a villain in another life, like any of that explains why I'm supposed to root for this relationship or enjoy her existence outside of being a complex character. Yen is interesting, but she's interesting in a "I can't wait to see her get her own just desserts" way. Not "Wooo now I get to watch this story ignore her behavior again to push a True Love narrative."

She punished Geralt frequently during their first meeting, she punishes him whenever they get together, and, I think, she punished him during the reunion with Ciri. Given our playthroughs, do we really think that after breaking up with her and all this fury over Triss - an anger so deep she destroyed the bed and attacked Geralt - she's just overcome with such joy that she forgets they're not together anymore and forgets the anger she's been nurturing for years? Yen doesn't forget. She's staring at Ciri during that moment, right where Triss is currently running towards them, and then after a considering look at Geralt pulls him in for that kiss. That was calculated. She did that to make a claim she no longer had. To punish them both: make Triss uncomfortable by playing at the "perfect" family reunion; make Geralt uncomfortable by kissing him when she knows he doesn't feel the same way. But of course, the popular reading is that she just loves him so much she couldn't help herself. Riiight.

It's just all SO BAD. (Including, as you say, the ickiness of having Triss lusting after Geralt and referring to Ciri as "little sis.") I love a lot of the women in Witcher - Cerys is a fave, Ciri, Saskia, Philippa, Keira, etc. - but the two I'm supposedly meant to fall in love with are just the worst lol.

Basically:

Half the fandom: TEAM TRISS 🤬

The other half: TEAM YEN🤬

Me: TEAM REGIS 😭

[stray-snake]

Seeking Connectsions & LFRP  Alaire Daerev

Chaotic Neutral Ishgardian Heretic, Rare-Goods Dealer & Money Lender with a penchant for pretty things & violence. A great many rumors linger about a man who steeps himself in a great many things not altogether legal. 

Alaire is a social creature, craving and seeking out the company of others even if it might simply be in some rank hole of a tavern or speaking with less than reputable folks on the street. While at first glance the well spoken man might come across and level headed and well put together, he is a deep tangle of emotions with a temper to match.

The Basics ––– –

Age: late 30′s - early 40′s. He’s rather tight with specific numbers.

Race: Duskwight Elezen 

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Pansexual

Relationship Status: It’s complicated...

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral/Lawful Neutral 

Physical Appearance ––– –

Hair: Mahogany and kept longer

Eyes: Vibrant Amber-Pink

Height: Edging past 7 fulms

Build: Very large, broad shoulders, with a great deal of upper-body strength and muscle to match. A good head above many elezen.

Distinguishing Features: An old scar across his right eye has been reopened and gashed to something horribly gnarled, flesh burnt and twisted - running from forehead to neck. A few marks now mar his left cheek as well, though those are near faded compared to this. Right eye socket is ruined and empty. These aren’t old injuries.

Common Accessories: Gilded metals are often found as buttons or other additions to the clothing, as are motifs of scales. Nails are well-kept, manicured even despite the fact the he seems to put very little effort into almost any other feature of his person.

Personal ––– –

Profession: Smuggler, Rare-Goods Dealer, Money Lender

Hobbies: Gambling & Betting, Magitek & Engineering, Most anything to do with firearms of all kinds, The Theatre and Musical entertainment

Residence: Limsa Lominsa. Owns an estate in an isolated settlement in Coerthas. Travels between the two often.

Nationality: Ishgardian -- will say Coerthan

Most Frequently Found: .Thanalan, Coerthas, Ishgard, Limsa

Traits ––– -

Extroverted / In Between / Introverted

Disorganized / In Between / Organized

Close Minded / In Between / Open Minded

Calm / In Between / Anxious

Disagreeable / In Between / Agreeable

Cautious / In Between / Reckless

Patient / In Between /  Impatient

Outspoken / In Between / Reserved

Leader / In Between / Follower

Empathetic / In Between / Apathetic

Optimistic / In Between / Pessimistic

Traditional / In Between / Modern

Hard-working / In Between / Lazy

Cultured / In Between / Uncultured

Loyal / In Between / Disloyal

Faithful / In Between / Unfaithful

Additional information ––– –

Smoking Habit: Frequently. Drugs: Occasional for recreational purposes or to test product.  Alcohol: Heavy Drinker.

RP Hooks –––

The Criminal Element: While operating his business under a pretense of legality, Alaire is almost eager to step out of lines of the law - hiring and dealing in less reputable practices.

Expensive Taste: All but drawn to things costly and shiny, Alaire is incredibly materialistic on all fronts. Costly clothes, jewelry, performances and people. Upper-class establishments (even if he doesn’t exactly suit the place himself). He adores gambling & betting on others -- especially shows of strength, fighting or tournaments. 

An Interest in Engineering: While he doesn't have expert knowledge with magitek, he has a passion for it. Often inquiring about repair services and frequently seeks rare items or parts of all type and make. (Weapons & Airship in particular)

Trader & Money Lender: If you're looking for longterm or shorter employment, Alaire is almost always hiring. If simply hocking your wares, he has gil to spend! If you find yourself in dire need of coin yourself he will eagerly offer....with hefty interest attached. 

Heretic & Dragonblood: Often overly aggressive to other Ishgardians, the man has a bad temper and strong opinions. Recent peace agreements mean little to a man still bitter about loss

A (somewhat) Silent Investor: A patron of the arts and advancements in engineering, Alaire is quite interested in acting as a financial investor when it’s something he deems important...just be aware he does expect to be involved and relies on contracts. The man has a soft spot for those with ambition...but if you’re looking to simply try and con someone out of coin then it might get interesting for everyone.

Create Your Own.

The above is only a short list to spark some ideas, and I’m more than happy to hear anything and everything else you might have in mind! I am quite open to pre-established relationships as well as always alright with playing the antagonist. 

Rumours –––��(Please inquire if using any of these as hooks)

Murderer: There are are a good handful of deaths with his name attached, though trial shoved aside...usually after a exchange of coin and thanks to the familiar relations with a number of low ranking Flames. 

Aether Sick/Strange Aether: With wan aether that feels stretched and thin, to anyone who can sense it it's as though his very stuff is filtering away. He radiates an unpleasant sort of tang like someone on edge of aether-sickness.

Mother Killed: Sift through the records enough & you'll find a woman killed a dozen or so years back -- hastily tried and executed for heresy. This is a very...sore topic of conversation for him, to say the least.

Missing Records: Alaire's name doesn't find it's way into the public record until just over half a dozen years ago.

Contact & RP Information  ––– –

Please contact me ingame or via Discord -->  (Milesian#9468)

My general RP information is over here: https://toyhou.se/~bulletins/19450.roleplay-stuff 

Contacts, run-ins and general interactions are always welcome! Longer plots/stories or arcs are as well. I prefer ingame RP to Discord, though can do either most oft he time. I'm able to set aside time if we work it out in advance regardless of timezone. I am based on Balmung but feel to contact if you’re from any Crystal server! 

I am not usually looking for for Romance-ONLY RP with this character, but am open to pretty much anything else from Slice of Life to one-shot Run-ins to Darker Themes. 

@mooglemeetI’ve

[aroworlds]

Okay! More rambling wording, because it is so exciting to see what you’ve all said! I’m not going to respond to each individual comment or reblog because spoons (check the notes on the post if you haven’t seen them) but I’ll try to make sure the meat of what you’ve all said is examined here.

I’m seeing the collective as having two distinct spaces--a public space for promotion and a private space for interaction and discussion between collective members.

Members must be aro-spec, and while I’d never make the requirement that all our works must be about being aro-spec or include aro-spec characters, I think a commitment to some aro-spec representation or other attributes that appeal to aro-specs (low/no romance, challenges of amatonormativity) in our writing is fair. I’d really like a sense of aro-spec authors writing stories for aro-specs.

We’d have to name it something. “Aro-Spec Writers Collective” is boring but says clearly what we’re about. Perhaps something with the words “writer” and “collective” but with an arrow pun?

Public Website

From what I’ve seen of other collectives, it’s more commonly a collection of authors having a shared public website (in addition to their own personal websites and blogs) where all authors are listed on the website with their own about and book/work pages, and together carry out things like sales and giveaways, in addition to authors posting promotional type blog posts, personal essays, discussion posts about publishing or media or aro-spec identity or representation, informative non-fiction or flash fiction/short stories. What I haven’t seen, and what I’d like to do in addition to each author having their own about and book pages and the blog side of the site, is to have pages based on genre--for example, all the fantasy works by the authors of the collective are on a page, all the contemporary works by the collective on a page, all the trans works on a page, etc. Yes, this will be so much work, but it’d form a good central point/archive for folks delving into aro-spec-centric storytelling.

Given that aro storytelling is so young, I wouldn’t restrict works featured on the website to “only published in a book” authors, but it’s not meant to be something like AO3 or Wattpad. Authors can easily post stories directly to the collective’s website (I’ve been posting stories to my WordPress site for years) or link to stories hosted elsewhere, but it’s not going to be an AO3-style archive. I absolutely do not have the skills or resources for that one.

In a sense, these pages collecting all our works by genre would be a kind of de facto publisher’s website, where you can browse their backlists by genre. We’re just coming together voluntarily, the authors of the collective, to provide something of the same. Many publisher websites these days have spaces dedicated to their backlists, author pages and an updating blog, so the website would be about providing that - drawing readers to a central point where they can check us all out and see what we’re saying about being aro-spec and aro-spec fiction.

I mentioned WordPress because I’m confident in using it (I’ve run both .com and .org/self-hosted sites, both personal and community-based) and I think in this case, .com, aside from being free, would be best because it means our tags would be visible to other users (more akin to Tumblr). If we want to look at exporting the site to self-hosted later on, that’s absolutely something that can happen, but I’d start with .com. WordPress is also far better than Tumblr for long informative or discussion posts.

I’m thinking a multi-author blog with authors having their own contributor access, so authors can post freely to the blog part of the website. That may be chaotic, so we’ll have to see how it works out, but it means that the blog part of the website can update frequently (which is hard to do on our own, another benefit of the collective). You’ll need to have a WordPress account, but it isn’t difficult to make one.

It’d be absurd not to make an accompanying public Tumblr for the collective to go with said website, given that we’re all over here anyway. Likewise, we can all post to it and reblog anything we find relevant and interesting.

As you might see, there’s a variety of ways to contribute. Folks like me who are good at the design and administration can handle that side; folks with a lot of things to say can contribute by providing regular post and discussion content; folks who are good at promotion can take everyone’s content and spread it around the internet. I could admin the website; someone else could admin the Tumblr. It’s about pooling our skills and resources.

Private Community Space

This is somewhere for the members to hang out, discuss, share, offer advice, ask questions, connect, support, etc. We can discuss all the behind-the-scenes stuff of the collective’s website, but I’m mostly thinking of a closed space where it is safe to network and discuss and have all the conversations about writing partners and how to do things and writing as aro-spec that we often don’t feel safe having in public. For aro-spec writers I think it’s essential given that we’re all crying out for support and connection.

Some of the content here could likely grow into pieces we develop for public posting on the website, of course, but that wouldn’t be its main purpose.

I’ve seen Discord mentioned--I have absolutely no idea how to use it. (I kind of avoid those sorts of text chat sites because of typing spoon reasons.) I’m not saying we can’t use it, just that I have no idea how it works! Would anyone who uses Discord be able to give me a run-down on how it works and how we might use it for this project?

I was thinking that a community on Dreamwidth might work well for this, as it’s easy to keep posts private within the community while also having public exchanges (for example, if we do fic exchanges or prompt memes and want these to be visible to others) and it’s so much easier to have text conversations on Dreamwidth or LJ. The format is also very good for posting long pieces of text for feedback/review if you’d like to do that. It’s a little old-school given that we’re all on Tumblr, and it’d involve checking another website each day, but the site is free to use and I like the fact that it has capacity for public and private exchanges plus being well-designed for text.

(Basically, on Dreamwidth or LJ you have an account, and then there are communities, which is a shared account members can post to and hold discussions in.)

Again, this is just the beginning of the conversation, just so you all know where I was thinking with this. I’m so glad folks are interested!

[michaelandy101-blog]

Advertising Tendencies to Watch in 2021, In keeping with 21 Specialists

New Post has been published on http://tiptopreview.com/marketing-trends-to-watch-in-2021-according-to-21-experts/

Advertising Tendencies to Watch in 2021, In keeping with 21 Specialists

Entrepreneurs are community-minded folks. We collaborate throughout a number of departments in our personal corporations, whereas holding monitor of aggressive gamers and making certain we’re deeply linked to the wants and targets of our clients.

So, to higher perceive what to anticipate or pay shut consideration to in 2021, I’ve linked with 20 marketing specialists for his or her perspective.

Whereas there may be vital variety of concepts and visions introduced under, I really like the frequent theme of how we’re working towards a greater future collectively, which is why my prediction is that this: Advertising in 2021 might be extra empathetic than ever.

I proceed to imagine in my mantra that marketing is highly effective and have to be used for good, not evil. That may sound overly simplistic, however I do imagine it is paramount that entrepreneurs perceive their affect and what an exquisite optimistic energy it may be.

We’re people, serving people. Whether or not B2B or B2C, clients are on the lookout for manufacturers they’ll belief to satisfy their wants and make their lives simpler or extra pleasant. If we deal with every particular person with loving kindness and respect, we’ll be making the optimistic affect I do know we are able to whereas constructing a stronger, extra loyal base.

This is what else 2021 has in retailer primarily based on the predictions of this fabulous group of marketing leaders.

Digital Occasions

1. Entrepreneurs will plan asynchronous occasions that plug into the funnel.

Latané Conant, Chief Market Officer at 6sense, predicts: “This year saw an explosion of virtual events as marketers adapted to a changing world. While I suspect a lot of us are feeling some virtual burnout right now, there will still be a place for these kinds of events, even after we resume in-person ones. Imagine a virtual event running 24/7.”

“Your prospects get triggered into the event as they proceed to the right steps in your funnel, and they engage with this event through multiple means, like Netflix meets Slack. There’s video content they watch on-demand, there’s a live stream playing on-site and there’s a community of users and fans who create a unique and engaging place to be. Prospects learn about your solutions and then, after watching videos and chatting with others, they get directed immediately to your product team. Now that sounds like a virtual event worth attending!”

2. Neighborhood marketing will exchange event-based marketing.

Adam Masur, VP of Advertising at Credly, instructed me: “The era of anchoring marketing around a big, industry event is coming to a close. We’ve all seen the annual conference go virtual due to the impact of COVID-19. But I expect hosts to find that their audience’s appetite for the singular virtual gathering will wane, as well.”

“Look for more intimate, and more topical online get-togethers in 2021. Experts with verified digital credentials and a willingness to share will be highly valued virtual community leaders and influencers.”

“Companies should be ready to be active contributors and bring practical value to the conversation.” 

three. Companies will discover new methods to encourage online connections.

Kevin Alansky, Chief Advertising Officer at Higher Logic, says: “The digital and digital-first world will proceed in 2021 and presumably past. Many organizations have shifted their annual occasion and tradeshow to a digital one. Many organizations have not succeeded, nevertheless, as a result of they tried to copy the expertise on an outdated mannequin. This has led to a flood within the variety of digital occasions and many individuals dealing with ‘Zoom fatigue.'”

“Organizations are actually questioning tips on how to battle this overcrowded market and stand out towards the remainder. The reply is online communities — how do you interact earlier than, throughout, and after your occasion? We have to discover methods to higher interact our audiences and construct significant connections between our organizations and our clients. We’re seeing the demand for engagement already this yr and this may proceed to be a giant development by means of 2021.”

four. The interactivity that is been promised for many years is now a necessity for 2021.

Jake Milstein, CMO at CI Security, instructed me: “When the pandemic hit, there was a huge spike in registrations and attendance in virtual events that attempted to mimic in-person events. Attendance at those events lasted a month or two and then dropped off quickly. People are looking for more human interactions — something out of the norm. Webinars just don’t do it anymore.”

“People are now interested in discussions and panels in which they can ask questions, they can be part of the action, they can offer their own expertise. That’s not something you could do when watching someone on-stage, but we all know it’s something you can do online. The interactivity that’s been promised for decades is now a necessity for 2021.” 

Model Values

5. Buyer-centricity will propel manufacturers ahead.

Natalie Severino, VP, Advertising at Chorus.ai, predicts: “Throughout the many challenges of 2020, revenue teams have been able to weather the storms and thrive by putting the customer at the center of every decision. This is only made possible through total alignment between sales, marketing, and customer teams, as all must rely on using the actual voice, pain points, and goals to create a winning partnership.”

“While conventional methods of relationship building, like in-person meetings, may not be possible today (or simply don’t scale quickly enough), entering 2021 provides us a paradigm shift for bringing relationships and shared business goals to the forefront of every opportunity.”

6. Manufacturers will navigate an more and more polarized social and political local weather.

“One of the biggest trends to watch in 2021 will be how brands navigate an increasingly polarized social and political climate. Presidential politics, the response to navigating the global pandemic, and an increasingly siloed media and social media landscape is forcing brands to make hard decisions about how and where they align with their customers.”

“Every ad dollar spent, every choice of channel and platform, every social post, every inch of shelf space, and every conference or trade show will be evaluated through the lens of what a brand’s marketing decisions say about who they are and what they stand for,” says Tim Linberg, Chief Expertise Officer at Verndale.

Income and Price range

7. A/B Testing will turn out to be a waste of time and funds.

R. J. Talyor, CEO and Founder at Pattern89, says: “The next decade will see the end of A/B testing. Marketers have long relied on validating their intuition with A/B tests to guide creative advertising and marketing decisions — however, the rise of AI makes this not only obsolete, but wasteful.”

“Once machine learning predicts the trends before they happen and provides clear guidance for marketers, why waste money to A/B test something that wouldn’t work as well? Soon, marketers will be able to go all-in on what will work best without having to test the theory.” 

eight. Digital marketing spend will proceed to develop.

Bridget Perry, CMO at Contentful, predicts: “We have discovered a digital innovation hole between what clients demand and what manufacturers are at present able to delivering. That is why digital leaders throughout industries inform us they plan to spend, on common, 25% extra on digital in 2021. And 25% is simply the common — some plan to spend considerably extra. CMOs who aren’t scaling up their digital spending will quickly be outpaced by rivals.” 

9. Tech spending ranges will return to regular over 2021 — however not all classes will profit.

“Some companies will remain remote, others will move to hybrid offices, and some will — eventually — go back to business as usual. In 2020 we saw user searches jump on TrustRadius for software categories like e-signature, collaboration, video conferencing, endpoint security, antivirus, and of course telemedicine. Those categories will stay strong in 2021 and beyond, reflecting the new workplace. Other categories — event management and facilities management, for example — will radically reinvent themselves,” says Russ Somers, VP Advertising, TrustRadius.

10. Content material marketing will begin with conversations.

“The content marketing playbook we’ve been using is at least two decades old. Marketers are still focusing on keyword-heavy blog posts as the main tactic to captivate their audience. But it’s a strategy made for Google, not for people.”

“Today, your audience wants to have an authentic experience with your brand and the best way to do that is by leading with conversations.”

“As marketers aim to create a more human-centric experience, we will see more content pulled from actual conversations with people in the industry who can provide that genuine interaction today’s consumers are looking for,” Lindsay Tjepkema, CEO of Casted, instructed me.

11. Many corporations will lower their marketing budgets.

Melissa Sargeant, CMO of Litmus, says: “In the coming year, marketers will experience budget cuts and even smaller teams. But, by doing this, companies are setting themselves up for failure. During an economic downturn, companies that pull back and starve marketing efforts, do not perform well. And, when our consumerism-driven environment re-engages, those brands will be further behind than they were when they made those budget-conscious decisions.”

“Ultimately, the pandemic has accelerated trends in business. Look at digital transformation and work from home initiatives, for example. But, if there were cracks within a business’s model beforehand, the pandemic brought those to light so now is the time for them to fix it, not bury it. Businesses have to position themselves the best they can now in order to come out even stronger in the end. And, it requires a mature, advanced multi-channel strategy with experienced marketers.”

Groups and Collaboration

12. In 2021, it is all about folks, folks, folks.

Caroline Tien-Spalding, CMO at Aptology, says: “Marketing’s north star will be evolving in 2021. Marketing has always been about understanding people and acting on that knowledge. A key difference in 2021 is that marketers are able to know more than ever. It’s the rise of the psychologist, and the rise of the digital marketer.” 

13. Many corporations will implement a brand new Internet Operations staff.

Christy Marble, CMO at Pantheon Systems, predicts: “Marketers will require technology to enable real-time responsiveness to customer needs that span the customer lifecycle and each customer touchpoint. The events of 2020 taught us that we must demand the agility to transform on a moment’s notice to respond to customer needs. This forced an end to the era of lengthy multi-year brand and website re-builds.”

“In 2021 those will be figments of the past, replaced by cross-functional teams that collaborate through technology-enabled workflows to continuously test, learn, and evolve their digital customer experience. These WebOps teams will have a distinct advantage — especially those supported by artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation.”

“The pace of change has accelerated, but one thing will remain constant: Marketers who focus on people — on customer experience — will be the ones who will keep pace with change. Focus your team on improving personalization, advancing your customer journey, and creating a truly authentic web experience that meets your customers where they are.” 

Digital Transformation

14. Manufacturers will unlock the important thing to orchestration.

Andrea Lechner-Becker, CMO at LeadMD, instructed me: “Data should be on every marketer’s mind as we enter 2021, but not in the way it usually is. B2B marketers must realize they’re generally strong with orchestrating their own data, but weak with third-party data — which must be a top area of focus. They can’t afford to depend on marketing automation or CRM platforms for this, but will need to strongly consider creating their own system, something along the lines of a CDP. If they do that? They’ve unlocked the key to orchestration and success with data in 2021.”

15. The ‘panic pivot’ will flip into extra purposeful reinvention.

 Laliv Hadar, VP Advertising, InVision Communications, says: “In 2020, out of pandemic-induced necessity, marketers have rapidly transformed face-to-face events into virtual ones, and developed innovative ways of connecting with audiences digitally. In 2021, this reactionary ‘panic pivot’ will turn to more purposeful reinvention of the ways we engage our core audiences. That reinvention will manifest in hybrid audience experiences that are wholly connected across the communications ecosystem. This integrated brand approach will be built on the premise that our audiences comprise real human beings, whose brand perceptions are shaped by their experiences, and now, more than ever, crave professional empathy and connection.”

As a result of whereas quarantines, social distancing and distant work will play a vital function in our eventual emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic, additionally they have had a big aspect impact: Disengagement. 2021 will see entrepreneurs tapping into the human want for simply the alternative: engagement.”

16. Manufacturers will capitalize on change.

John Graff, Chief Advertising Officer at Sonim, predicts: “I believe 2021 will be a year that will provide significant opportunities for companies to grow/expand market share. Why? Because many companies will fall into the trap that there will be a post-2020 ‘return to normal.’ Marketing has already been experiencing constant change and evolution the last decade, and just because many people are ready to get past COVID times, does not mean the change will stop. In fact, for best of breed, it very much will accelerate. Everything has been changed, whether it’s work-from-home, education, online retail, and more.”

“The best marketers will look to capitalize further on those changes in 2021, while others unfortunately revert to the old pre-COVID playbooks. It’s a great time for marketers to further embrace change, and be the stewards of helping their companies grow and gain share in 2021!”

17. Entrepreneurs will proceed to include actual, true personalization.

“Marketing automation should not be confused with personalization. Oftentimes, it’s just quicker batching and blasting. When marketers use intent data and data-based insights to fuel their automated communications, they can create remarkable brand experiences sophisticated consumers rely upon. In the year ahead, marketers will better incorporate real, true personalization.” says Nick Runyon, CMO of PFL.

18. Entrepreneurs will depend on deep knowledge insights and machine studying to ship worth to prospects.

Richard Jones, CMO of Cheetah Digital, predicts: “The next generation of personalization is not about cookies or third-party data, it’s not about merchandising, and it’s not about guesswork. The next generation of personalization is about relying on deep data insights, first and zero-party data and using machine learning to derive not only the right content, not only the right offer, not only the right channel but, the right sequence of events that leads to an automated path to conversion.”

“The next generation of personalization is about providing a value exchange for consumers in the ‘moment’ when you have them on your mobile app, on your site, in your store. How can you provide them something that will generate trust and affinity with the brand?”

19. Cross-channel integrations will proceed to develop.

Meg Scales, CMO of SlickText, instructed me: “Incorporating multiple channels within campaigns is much more effective than simply putting all your resources into one channel — even a versatile channel like SMS. It’s why we’ll see channels and varying tactics continue to cross-integrate in the coming year.”

“For example, channels will adopt services like loyalty programs to better connect brands with customers through a variety of strategies within just one platform. Also, a customer interaction in one channel could trigger a personalized, automated sequence in another, creating data- and behavior-driven campaigns many are unable to produce currently due to a lack of time, money and expertise.”

20. We’ll see an acceleration with the digital-first shift.

Auseh Britt, VP, Progress Advertising at Terminus “We saw an acceleration in the shift to digital in 2020, mainly due to the gap left by live events. Substitutes like virtual conferences lacked the ability to really engage audiences, making them glorified webinars, exacerbating the ‘Zoom’ fatigue.”

“I see this trend continuing in 2021 as we look for more creative ways to engage customers and prospects through hyper-personalized outreach, high impact direct mail, intimate and interactive virtual experiences, and relevant educational content.”

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[perfectirishgifts]

Five Reasons Startup Boards Fail To Add Value

New Post has been published on https://perfectirishgifts.com/five-reasons-startup-boards-fail-to-add-value-2/

Five Reasons Startup Boards Fail To Add Value

Done right, a start-up board should help to drive growth

Ask any seasoned startup founder and they’re likely to have a horror story about managing a startup board. “I once had a board member who would come into every board meeting and argue an incredibly strong point of view,” recounts Joe Cohen, serial founder of businesses including Seatwave, who now chairs a number of fast-growth businesses. “And then the next meeting he would come in and argue the exact opposite. It was hugely disruptive, but I couldn’t get rid of him.”

Cohen’s experience is not uncommon amongst startups, most of whom start to think seriously about their board once they raise angel or seed funding. Investors are usually offered – or request – a board seat in exchange for their cash, and the increased governance brings a whole set of new responsibilities and challenges – which aren’t always welcome. Many early-stage entrepreneurs feel that they have enough on their plate already, without justifying their decisions in board meetings every month.  

But done right, a board can be a huge asset for founders, giving them access to external expertise, senior experience, and skills that they may lack within their own team. It can help with decision-making, hands-on business development, and act as a driver for growth. Yet, there are a number of common mistakes that founders and directors make, which mean that boards fail to add the value that they’re capable of and, in extreme cases, actually cause more problems than they solve. 

Death by reporting  

A common misconception amongst founders is that the board is a forum for reporting, with no time given to discussion, insight, or planning. Boards do of course have a governance role, particularly when it comes to big decisions around fundraising, budgeting, and M&A. But their real value lies not in looking backward through reporting, but in planning for the future, solving problems, and adding value around strategy. 

Scanes Bentley, an independent chairman and non-executive director, says that this is particularly the case when businesses are at a very early stage. “If they’re a smaller business they want contacts and rainmaking, along with support and advice about raising money,” he explains. “Governance is normally third or fourth on that list. They’re under no obligation to show clear documentation all the time, particularly in the early stages.”

As a result, much of the work should be done between meetings, through an ongoing dialogue with board members about challenges and strategy, while meetings are used to consolidate and finalize decisions. Furthermore, founders shouldn’t expect to introduce anything new in board meetings but should have thoroughly prepared the ground beforehand, to maximize the time they have.

“More inexperienced founders often think that decisions get made at board meetings,” says Cohen. “But actually, the meeting is just about codifying decisions that have already been made and discussing key challenges facing the business. It is never good to introduce completely new information at a board meeting, so don’t send something right before and expect a decision, because it just won’t happen.”

Board overflow

Another common issue is that startup boards are allowed to become too big and cumbersome, as founders bring in more and more investors, all of whom are offered a board seat as part of the deal. 

“I’ve seen up to eight investors on a startup board, plus the two directors before they even think about having an independent non-exec,” says Bentley. “A couple of years ago it was seen as being quite cool to be on the board of a talked-about startup…. but when you’ve got an overloaded board you have a lot of egos and it’s hard to get any value out of it.” 

Experts recommend that around five board members is ideal – an odd number to make voting decisive. Founders should therefore do a regular review of who will really add value as the business evolves and have an honest conversation with their board members about whether the relationship is still working for both parties. And when there isn’t space on the board, but investors are keen to be involved, a good compromise is to appoint them as observers or members of an advisory panel, to limit the number of people who have a controlling role. 

“Board observers are probably the most infrequently used, prized thing that founders can do more of,” says Sujay Tyle, Co-Founder and Former CEO of the recently acquired Frontier Car Group. “You have to invite them to meetings and have them in the room, but you don’t have the complexity of them having to vote, and you still get all the value-add, more than just a typical investor. I would encourage founders to use board observers more liberally than they are probably used to doing.” 

Investor “showboating”

Boards can also become a power game between egos to show who has control, rather than being used as a tool that adds real value to the business. If an investor decides to throw their weight around, founders understandably find it hard to put their foot down and this can lead to them feeling bullied and, in some cases, pressurized into making the wrong decisions for the business. 

According to Bentley, this is often the consequence of having too many board members: “Everybody is trying to be the smartest person in the room, and it ends up being a quasi-management team and it’s hard for the CEO and CFO to push back against these very successful people,” he explains. “And although it’s usually done in a nice way, you often get people trying to showboat and the CEO comes out feeling beaten up, or that it’s a waste of time.”

Board members aren’t there to tell founders what to do, but instead to listen and offer advice, based on the context provided by the management team. Roelof Botha, Partner at Sequoia Capital, who currently sits on the board of Eventbrite, Evernote, and Tumblr, amongst others, had it right when he said: “A board member doesn’t have the nuanced detail, hence should be careful in terms of being prescriptive…. they should be shock absorbers, not amplifiers.”

Ulrich Schmidt, CEO of Pretty Social Media, believes the key to keeping the board under control is to ensure that roles are clearly defined at the outset: “The board should be involved in strategic decisions, for example budgeting for an expansion or a new product,” he explains. “But they shouldn’t get involved in operational or HR decisions. And if they are getting involved in execution then there needs to be clear accountability, and management needs to be in charge.” 

This is something that less experienced board members sometimes struggle to grasp, so first-timers need to listen a lot and ask careful questions. The chairman or independent board member also has an important role to play in helping to control meetings, ensure discussions stay focused, and rein in anybody who oversteps the mark. 

“As an independent, my role is often, initially politely and then less politely, to try to shut down unhelpful conversations,” says Cohen.

Optics over strategy

The above issue can be exacerbated by the fact that startup boards are frequently staffed by the wrong people, often because founders want a ‘name’ on their board, irrespective of how much time that person will put in or how much value they will add. As Kate Zatland, Founder and Managing Partner of Forme Partners, a board headhunting firm, says: “A lot of the time, if you look at venture-backed businesses, it’s quite a lot of optics rather than getting down to what you’re trying to achieve and what’s needed.” 

Instead, startups should think about the skills and recent experience they actually need, based on what their short-term objectives are, for the next 12 months or so. 

“At series A to C, you need people who are really going to help advise on a hands-on basis, rather than give a birds-eye view,” Zatland explains. “So, for instance, if you’re talking about European expansion, you wouldn’t get somebody who has global US experience with several exits under their belt. You just need to think about how you conquer Europe.”

Nina Nærby, Managing Director at Leadership Advisor Group, advises startups to map out the competencies they need in the business, based on where the current gaps are, so they can identify board members who complement the current management and investor team. “Once you’ve got your investors, map it out so you can see what competencies you have and what you are lacking. Then with the last couple of board spots you can be really specific,” she explains. 

Schmidt agrees, explaining that he only takes on board members who can contribute something very specific to the company. “We always have something in mind when we’re looking for a board member, whether that’s access to the market, technical knowledge, or access to a partner network. We define a project for them to help with and agree how they will do that and how long it will take, and we hold them accountable against certain targets. We need someone who is working, and if they aren’t working, that they can at least open doors.”

Lack of diversity 

Like any team, company boards benefit hugely from having a diversity of voices involved, however, research shows that 75% of companies between Seed and Series B only include management and investors, without an independent director. And while a lack of independents won’t always be an issue, particularly when founders and investors have a strong relationship, it can make it more likely that the board won’t act in the best interests of the company. 

“Having an independent board director, appointed by the founders, is something I didn’t do early enough,” says Tyle. “These are folks who can bring a tremendous amount of value-add, and you can typically get an industry veteran… and they represent the founders’ interests. So, it’s another advocate for you.” 

Furthermore, even when boards do include independents, there is a tendency to hire from within existing networks, without thinking about bringing in people from a diversity of backgrounds. The result is one-dimensional thinking and poorer decision-making, while Nærby argues it can also increasingly impact fundraising: “It isn’t good to have just British, white, male if you want to attract investors,” she says. 

Like every aspect of starting a business, getting the maximum value out of a startup board can be a steep learning curve, and each founder, or founding team, has to develop their own style and decide what works best for them. But dedicating time to getting it right early on, and then nurturing your top team as the business evolves, will ensure you always have the right support – whether that’s in the boardroom, via Whatsapp, or on Zoom – to make your business the best it can be.

From Entrepreneurs in Perfectirishgifts

[charlieharry1]

It's far getting personal – the brand new technology of doing social media as a enterprise

Permit’s face it. We’re all getting jaded with being ‘offered to’, ‘listened to’, ‘re-advertised to’. And this is rich coming from us right? In any case, we’re virtually concerned in marketing for a wide  Digital Marketing Agencies Bath variety of companies, and clearly being a advertising agency, we use all the trendy techniques in marketing to get in the front of potential customers on behalf of our clients. However the market does usually truly dictate what works. In spite of everything they’re the recipient of any given advertising message. So in the event that they’re over it and begin spending time in any other medium or converting their behaviours online, we ought to exchange ours to get in front of them again. I’ve been noticing a changing tide. And my sentiments on the game converting have been echoed on the social media futures conference which i attended recently in melbourne. Like several conference, with more than one days of content being shared by way of a number of enterprise leaders (which includes myself) a few themes emerged. And one that stood out to me and i idea well worth speakme about in a weblog, was the need to ‘get private’ as in marketplace to human beings in one-of-a-kind approaches on social media to just posting to your enterprise web page. If you hadn’t heard, posting on social media commercial enterprise pages remains profitable, however it is turning into an increasing number of more difficult as a marketer to gain results until you have got a decent advertising and marketing price range allocated (see our weblog submit here on that), are constant together with your posting, and honestly recognize what you’re doing in phrases of manufacturing fine content in phrases of professional pics, pix, video, clever copy + calls to motion. Where we are now often seeing the first-class outcomes in social media for our clients, is speaking with them in extra direct, personal and relevant approaches. And regularly this entails getting a social media outreach or messaging method going on. So what exactly am i suggesting? 1/ do more social media outreach

Read Also:-  Effective Time Management Strategies For Digital Marketers

At the same time as the general public suppose being energetic on social media for enterprise is all approximately posting to your enterprise page, the use of your non-public profile to are looking for out relevant linkedin or fb organizations, in search of to sign up for them, after which getting lively in an true and relevant manner can help you connect with capability clients in a much greater personal way. And it doesn’t require any marketing finances – just it slow (which in our experience maximum businesses are quite short on!)

So how do you social media outreach? In quick, the use of your profile (yep, that’s the only along with your call on it, not your page although posting as a page in businesses is likewise feasible in a few instances on facebook situation to the organizations regulations), you're capable of find applicable companies to publish in, request to enroll in, and once normal, publish your carefully crafted message in them. Knowing how powerful this approach is, however also how busy agencies typically are, we’re now imparting social media outreach programs which can be utilised on their personal, or in aggregate with our different social media posting + marketing packages. You may read approximately those over here. 2/ inspire humans to message your fb page and be responsive! When you have a fb page, humans have the ability to message your page. Possibly people are already messaging your web page. However the question is, how responsive are you? In my revel in, quite a few businesses mean well, however are quite slack in this department. In one breath they’ll let you know they want greater commercial enterprise, but inside the subsequent whilst you politely point accessible are quite a few unanswered messages sitting in their page inbox once you’ve activated their web page, the reasons come thick and speedy, usually about being busy. But right here’s the factor. Surveys have validated that humans opt for messaging over phone and e-mail. Reflect onconsideration on it. Phone and e mail are both quite flawed as communique mediums. With smartphone, you’re typically restrained to phoning a business for the duration of their nominated business hours. Which inspite of the quality intentions isn’t continually feasible. Lots folks do our ‘life admin’ early inside the morning, and late a night time, or just when ever we get a second in our busy lives. And that’s now not to mention cellphone mazes and the thrill of being ceremoniously reduce off. And electronic mail? Well you ship one, and maybe in an afternoon or , possibly even per week, you get a reaction, however they haven’t responded your question otherwise you’ve were given extra primarily based on what they’ve advised you. Evaluate this to messenger where if you’re both online on the identical time (even in case you’re answering them from the consolation of your property in your pyjamas), you’re successfully having a actual time stay chat. Which is right for all events. You’re there to answer any questions they will have and hopefully get them over the line/provide a great customer service, and that they sense listened to, replied to, and may now make a choice on whether or not they desire to interact with you for commercial enterprise. Personal. Instantaneous. Direct. And the truth of the matter is customers frequently flip to facebook as they understand that they’ll get a faster reaction than e mail or telephone. Fb recommends aiming to respond in the hour, mainly with neighborhood corporations in which the decision to come and ‘go to’ you may be made inside a brief time frame. Say for instance which restaurant you might dine at this night. If you don’t get returned to them in time, you run the chance of pretty certainly losing the business. Three/ bear in mind a chatbot marketing campaign of a few kind to get human beings ‘opting in’ to hear out of your commercial enterprise thru messenger

open rates on messenger are insane. Whilst you send emails in your database, you could fortunate to get 10-20% open price. Examine that to an on average open rate of 80-90% on messenger and the answer is clear on wherein the nice area is to message your clients. Messaging via your facebook enterprise page is non-public, direct and immediate. So how do you get humans ‘opting in’ in your messenger machine? Essentially anybody who has messaged you in your facebook page, you're able to pick up and preserve to have a conversation with. But in case you actually need to take things up a notch, we’d notably suggest talking to us approximately getting you started with one in every of our remark to bot chatbot campaigns. We’ve run pretty some of those now and that they have all worked a treat. The formulation is pretty simple – offer up a prize of cost, get us to set you up a comment to bot campaign the usage of our third party software program, and launch! To whet the appetite, right here’s a few current outcomes from campaigns we’ve run for clients:

Interested? Discover extra about this provider right here. 4/ create your personal li or facebook companies

yet every other manner to conquer the algorithms and get non-public together with your customers is to establish a linkedin or fb institution. Having your own fb institution has many benefits apart from getting private with your customers and beating the algorithims too. You may additionally:

announce offers

obtain instantaneous feedback from polls

construct believe through imparting fee

cross stay to a small group

and greater! Precis

so there you move. Plenty of approaches to speak together with your potential and modern clients in more direct, private  Digital Marketing Company in Bath and applicable ways. Whether you use on or greater of these strategies, based totally on our enjoy, they’re in reality well worth giving a pass if you want to try to beat the algorithms and diversify your strategy from the ‘pay to play’ environment that may be a business page on social media.

Follow On:  Facebook & Twitter

Connect With: Linkedin

Subscribe On: Youtube

[jeremystrele]

11 Affordable, Emerging Painters To Start Collecting Now!

11 Affordable, Emerging Painters To Start Collecting Now!

Art

by Sally Tabart

‘Sunday Morning’ by Lucy Roleff.

‘Satin and Blueberries’ by Lucy Roleff.

Artist and musician Lucy Roleff in the studio. Photo – Kim Landy.

‘Heirloom’ by Lucy Roleff.

Left: A Window. Right: Gemini by Lucy Roleff.

Lucy Roleff

Inspired by objects and arrangements in her daily life, Melbourne based Lucy Roleff taught herself how to paint from YouTube videos! Describing her style as ‘painterly realism’, Lucy likes to paint simple, domestic spaces that straddle the worlds of familiarity and grandeur. ‘I really enjoy the meditative practice of mixing colour and laying down brushstrokes’, she says. ‘There’s also a particular pleasure that comes when a painting starts to work – it’s very special!’

As if being a supremely talented painter wasn’t enough, Lucy is also a classically trained folk musician and composer! There’s a melodic feeling to her still life scenes as well – you can almost hear music drifting through an open window just out of frame. Dreamy.

Price point

Ranging from $780– $2,400

Where to find it

A TDF Collect solo show later this year… stay tuned!

Artwork by Bronte Leighton Dore.

Artwork by Bronte Leighton Dore.

Artwork by Bronte Leighton Dore. Right: Portrait of artist Bronte Leighton Dore. Photo – Robin Hearfield.

Artwork by Bronte Leighton Dore.

Artwork by Bronte Leighton Dore.

Bronte Leighton Dore

Bronte Leighton Dore paints landscapes, still life and portraits.  Her works are spontaneous and gestural, with an intuitive use of colour. Citing nature as her primary inspiration, Bronte’s work captures the ‘immersion of being in a moment’.

As a shortlisted artist in the prestigious 2019 Wynne Prize (the Archibald Prize’s cousin for landscape painting), Bronte is certainly on the rise!

Price point

Smaller pieces are $1,100 while the large scale works are around $4,800.

Where to find it

A solo show at Martin Browne Contemporary in April and Edwina Corlette Gallery in November.

Artist Charlotte Alldis in her Brunswick studio. Photo – Amelia Stanwix.

Artwork by Charlotte Alldis.

Artwork by Charlotte Alldis.

Charlotte at work in the studio. Photo – Henry King.

Charlotte Alldis

Young Melbourne-based artist Charlotte Alldis likes to make a mess. ‘My work is playful, silly and imaginative’, she describes. ‘It involves storytelling of characters and feelings’. Wobbly flowers, sunbeams and rainbows in wonderfully bright colours are frequent guests in her paintings, murals and textiles, bouncing into each other and welcoming the viewer with big grins and sleepy, starry eyes. 

Look out for a more in-depth profile on Charlotte and her work on TDF in next few weeks!

Price point

Varying depending on size and medium.

Where to find it

Charlotte and two of her best friends recently started their ‘Making A Mess’ workshop series for people to come together and explore mark making, constructing and creative expression, all free of judgement. Keep up with them via their Instagram.

Artwork by Charlie Ingemar Harding.

Artwork by Charlie Ingemar Harding.

Portrait of Charlie Ingemar Harding. Photo – Tim Hardy.

Charlie Ingemar Harding

Charlie Ingemar Harding’s artwork feels both casual and serious at the same time. There is a sincerity in his paintings – these are works that don’t immediately announce themselves, but draw you in the more time you spend with them. Like a comfortable conversation, without many words exchanged.

Working across a variety of different mediums, from oil paintings to raw textile compositions, It’s hard to pigeon hole Charlie’s style into a specific genre, because it changes all the time. At the moment, he’s found himself consumed by textile works. ‘The works are large and immersive, whereby the viewer can traverse freely across vast areas of material until reaching a loose thread or seam solidified in composition,’ he explains. ‘They sit in space, unobtrusive, quiet, breathing in and out contemplative air.’

Price point

Varying dependent on the work.

Where to find it

Charlie is building a body of textile works that he plans to show in the near future. In the meantime, keep up with him on Instagram. 

Artwork – Elynor Smithwick.

Artwork – Elynor Smithwick.

Artwork – Elynor Smithwick.

Artwork – Elynor Smithwick.

Elynor Smithwick

It’s hard to believe that Elynor Smithwick only graduated from her Honours year at the Victoria College of the Arts in 2019!

Her quiet, intimate oil paintings have a nostalgic quality about them – places that you might have been before, or scenes that feel a bit familiar. ‘The settings are usually in a time and place you can’t quite put your finger on’, Elynor tells. In her last two bodies of work, she’s looked to old family photographs as her anchor. ‘Usually I find my inspiration in small things, looking out windows, going on walks, returning somewhere, closing my eyes’, she says. 

Price point

Around $400 – $800

Where to find it

A group show of 12 painters at George Ponton Gallery, opening on May 20th. A joint exhibition in Mount Buller showing works created on a six-week residency from the Mount Buller Residency award, opening July 18th. And, a group show at Stockroom Gallery showing works created in Kyneton under the Macfarlane Fund residency, opening November 14th

Emma Currie working on a large piece in the studio. Photo – Amelia Stanwix.

Artwork by Emma Currie.

Artwork by Emma Currie.

Artwork by Emma Currie.

Emma painting in the studio. Photo – Amelia Stanwix.

Emma Currie

We first profiled Melbourne-based artist Emma Currie’s work in late 2019, ahead of her inclusion in our end of year show, ‘Art and Artefact’, where her painting was one of the first to be sold! Emma makes abstract figurative oil paintings, using bold, geometric shapes and colours to depict the female form. Dynamic and soft at the same time, Emma’s work is a beautiful balance of hard edges, and feminine fluidity.

‘I’m inspired by the geometric lines found in Picasso’s cubist work, and I often reference Matisse cut-outs’, Emma says of her key references. ‘I also love contemporary Spanish photographer Carlota Guerrero‘s work and find myself drawn to her Instagram feed when I’m feeling creatively blocked.’

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again – Emma Currie is one to watch!

Price point

Anywhere between $800 and $4000 depending on size.

Where to find it

A TDF Collect solo show… just around the corner!

Artwork by Gabrielle Penfold.

Artwork by Gabrielle Penfold.

Left: Portrait of artist Gab Penfold. Right: Artwork by Gabrielle Penfold.

Artwork by Gabrielle Penfold.

Artwork by Gabrielle Penfold.

Gabrielle Penfold

Gabrielle Penfold’s joyful work feels just like drinking a cocktail at sunset on a beach in Italy – bright, carefree and full of potential! Bouncing between still life and landscapes, and sometimes dabbling in abstraction, Gabrielle’s sweet scenes are inspired by traveling to places rich in history and culture. ‘It’s in those places ideas are fed to me’, she says. ‘I will always refer back to my photographs, sketches and books when in the studio.’

Price point

Smaller works start at $800

Where to find it

Contact Gab via her website.

‘Horse-tail sheoak beneath clouds’ by Ileigh Hellier.

’24 hours at Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve’ by Ileigh Hellier.

‘Small Trees’ by Ileigh Hellier.

‘Sky Trees Pool’ by Ileigh Hellier.

Ileigh Hellier

‘I’d describe my work as playful, colourful representations of the Australian landscape’, says Newcastle-based artist Ileigh Hellier. Her smudgy, colourful paintings depict loose representations of the natural world – not just what she sees in front of her, but what’s up in the sky and below the ground. Layers of topography are laid flat in a brilliantly fresh and elegant, yet childlike way.

There’s a little bit of abstract Ken Done present in Ileigh’s paintings – and as it happens, Ken is at the top of the list of artists she admires. Ileigh is a finalist in the 2020 Glover Prize, an annual art prize for landscape paintings of Tasmania.

Price point

Around $300 – $850 (and varied depending on gallery commissions)

Where to find it

You can see Ileigh’s work in the Glover Prize finalist exhibition, opening March 6th at the Falls Park Hall in Evandale, Tasmania.

An abstract group show at Allison Kate Bellinger Gallery in Inverell, NSW.

A show Purple Noon Gallery on the Hawkesbury River, NSW, opening on April 4th. A show at Back to Back Galleries in Newcastle, NSW, opening July 10th.

Artwork by Niah Mcleod.

Artwork by Niah Mcleod.

Niah McLeod

From a distance, Niah Mcleod’s paintings look like broad patterns in subtle gradient hues. Look closer and you’ll notice each tiny dot or line painstakingly pressed to canvas, to form incredibly powerful rippling movements. Inspired by the sky and the stars, water and the earth, Niah’s works are meticulous and moving.

As a mum of two kids, painting is what gives Niah a sense of belonging. ‘I feel like I can show the world just a tiny, beautiful piece of Aboriginal culture’, she describes. ‘I’m also very lucky to learn my native Language (dhurga) and to teach it to my children through painting, and that to me is everything.’

Price point

Between $550 – $14,500

Where to find it

A group show at Kate Owen Gallery in Sydney opening on May 9th.

Artwork by Seth Searle.

Artwork by Seth Searle.

Artwork by Seth Searle.

Artwork by Seth Searle.

Seth Searle

Seth Searle’s oil paintings including portraits, still life and interiors demonstrate excellent control of her medium. Her moody, quiet works elegantly highlight hand gestures, distortions through glass and pattern with apparent ease!

Seth finds inspiration in writers who explore the confines of gender roles, like Maggie Nelson and Virginia Woolf.

Price point

$900 – $1400

Where to find it

Seth will be in a joint exhibition with her good friend Lucy Roleff (see above on this list!) at BOOM Gallery in September.

Photo by Thea Anamara Perkins.

Photo by Thea Anamara Perkins.

Photo by Thea Anamara Perkins.

Photo by Thea Anamara Perkins.

Thea Anamara Perkins

Thea Anamara Perkins explores her identity as an Arrernte and Kalkadoon woman, but her practice also forms an investigation into art-making itself.

Thea brilliantly captures light and a surprising level of detail in the thick, broad brush strokes of her landscapes and portraits. Inspired by the art of Central Australia, she has worked with Tangentyere Artists including Sally M Nangala Mulda over the last couple of years.

‘I think of art as a forum of ideas, and creativity is a way of grappling with the vast abstract world’, says Thea.

Thea was listed for the Archibald Prize in 2019 for her portrait of contemporary artist and family friend Christian Thompson. An incredible feat for an artist still in her 20s!

Price point

Around $2,000 – $3,000

Where to find it

My Imagination group show on NOW until March 14th at Edwina Corlette Gallery.

**Please note that the price-guides quoted here are representative of the time of publication, and may be subject to change. 

[standtoreason93]

Harvester or Gardener?

I have a confession to make. I haven’t led anyone to Christ in over 30 years. I know that sounds unbelievable, bizarre—even borderline lame—but from one perspective, it makes perfect sense.

I want to tell you why I’ve been, by one measure, such a spiritual loser. I also want to show you how what I have to say may radically improve your effectiveness as a voice for the gospel.

First, though, the backstory.

Simple Times, Simple Gospel

I became a Christian during the Jesus Movement in Southern California in the early 70s. Evangelism back then was fairly simple: Share the simple gospel, answer a few simple questions, invite a person to simply receive Christ, pray. And lots did. Not too complicated. Would that were still the case.

That was almost half a century ago. Times have changed. The gospel is not “simple” anymore, nor are the questions people ask. Of course, the gospel is still the gospel. That hasn’t changed, or rather, it shouldn’t change—though more “progressive” types continue to fiddle with it, hoping to tickle postmodern ears.

No, the truth is still the truth. The way people hear it has changed dramatically, though, because the cultural conversation has changed dramatically.

Fifty years ago, Christian words and Christian doctrines made sense to people, more or less, even if folks didn’t always believe them or, if believing, didn’t live them out. Clearly, the doorkeepers of culture back then were increasingly post-Christian, but they had not become anti-Christian, as they are now.

Worse, the hostility nowadays is not just against the gospel—which has always been a “stumbling block”—but against virtually every detail of the biblical view of reality, including what it means to be human, what it means to be gendered, what it means to be moral, even what it means for something to be “true.”

Bestseller lists frequently feature rhetorically powerful offerings challenging virtually every aspect of the Christian worldview. Consequently, in the thinking of the rank and file, the smart folks have weighed in and found Christianity wanting, so they have no reason to give our message a second thought.

Worse, for many, the words of hope we offer are taken as words of veiled hatred of outsiders—bigotry towards those who don’t believe our spiritual views or obey our moral convictions.

In short, the culture has moved on. Unfortunately, our methods have not. They’ve remained largely static. We continue to be dedicated to outdated devices, using Christian language largely unintelligible to non-Christians. People don’t understand our ideas, so they don’t understand our message—which to them seems obsolete, antiquated, and irrelevant.

And that confusion can be spiritually lethal, as Jesus points out.

Road Kill

In Matthew 13, Jesus relates the famous parable of the sower. The first seeds sown, He says, fall beside the road, and birds swoop down and eat them. No mystery here. Hard ground, no growth. Some people just won’t listen. Not too complicated. But that was not Jesus’ point.

In His clarification to His disciples, He explains what He meant. “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom,” He says, “and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road” (Matt. 13:19).

The seed is sown, true enough. It’s “in his heart,” Jesus says. Yet it’s not understood, so it’s easily snatched away by the devil.

By contrast, Jesus tells them, “The one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty” (Matt. 13:23).

So here is the question. According to Jesus, what is the chief difference between the first and the last, between the faithless and the faithful, between the one who bears nothing and the one who bears an abundance? The difference is this: The second understands the message; the first does not. As a result, they’re road kill.

This insight is central, I think, to Paul’s exhortation in Colossians 4:5–6:

Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.

Vital to my point is Paul’s last phrase. Circumstances are unique, and people are individuals. They sit at different places along the continuum between total rejection and complete surrender. If our personal evangelistic game plan emphasizes only the end of that journey—the harvest—then we are not following Paul’s directions because we are not crafting our communication uniquely to each person.

The cookie-cutter approach that worked so well 50 years ago now leaves listeners mystified, dumbfounded, confused—in a word, without understanding—so that the seeds scattered are easily snatched away. The evil one steals the word we have sown because the message itself is largely incoherent. It is not intelligible to many given the unique cultural circumstances we find ourselves in.

I’d like to offer an antidote based on an insight that suggests a more fruitful approach.

Spadework

I want you to think about an aphorism that’s not especially profound in itself but has profound implications for our approach to sharing the gospel. It’s a truism that has completely transformed my approach to evangelism. Here it is:

Before there can be any harvest, there always has to be a season of gardening.

Fruitful harvest, in other words, is always dependent on diligent spadework: sowing, watering, weeding, nurturing. Here is how I put the point in the new, expanded edition of Tactics:

Before someone ever comes to Christ, there is always a period of time—a season, if you will—when they are thinking about the gospel, mulling it over, wondering whether it might be true. They may be putting out little probes by asking questions. They might even be fighting back a bit. But still, they’re wondering—maybe praying secretly, God, are you real? [1]

That’s what I was doing as a college student at UCLA in 1973. I was testing the waters, asking questions, pushing back, and—eventually—listening. “When this happens in someone’s life,” I concluded in Tactics, “it’s an opportunity for you and me to do some spadework, what Francis Schaeffer called ‘pre-evangelism.’”[2]

The night I finally trusted the Lord—a Friday night, September 28, 1973—my younger brother Mark came to my apartment for a visit, intent on continuing his efforts to bring me to Christ. I cut him off.

“Mark,” I said, “you don’t have to tell me about Jesus anymore. I’ve already decided I want to become a Christian.” It took me a few minutes to peel him off the ceiling, then I bowed my head, confessed my need, pled for mercy, turned my life over to Jesus, and began walking with Him.

There is something in this exchange I do not want you to miss. When I was ready, I responded—no fuss, no pushback, no hesitancy. That’s the way it is with ripe fruit. It’s easy to pick. All it takes is a little bump, and it falls into the basket. The gardening came first; that was the hard part. In evangelism, when the spadework is done well, the harvest pretty much takes care of itself. The first makes the second possible.

This is precisely Jesus’ point in a familiar Gospel text.

Two Seasons, Two Workers

Consider Jesus’ comments in John 4—the well-known woman at the well passage. I want you to notice something Jesus says after that famous conversation that teaches an important lesson that is not so well known.

The disciples arrive on the scene just as the Samaritan woman leaves for Sychar to tell others about the amazing man she’d met at the well. Here is what Jesus then says to the twelve:

Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this case the saying is true, “One sows and another reaps.” I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor. (Jn. 4:36–38).

I had read this passage for years without noticing a critical calculus of evangelism embedded in that conversation. In this exchange, Jesus identifies one field but distinguishes between two different seasons—sowing and reaping, gardening and harvesting. He identifies one team but distinguishes between two types of workers—those who sow and those who reap, those who garden and those who harvest.

For Sychar, the reaping season was at hand. Someone else had done the heavy lifting, but the disciples now had the light labor. They were going to gather the low hanging fruit, the easy pickin’s. Again, the harvest is easy when the crop is ready.

Go for the Gold?

Some Christians are convinced we should try to get to the gospel in every encounter. Go for the gold. Press for the decision. Close the deal. I think the impulse is right-hearted, of course, but it’s wrongheaded; there are problems with this approach.

One, I’ve already alluded to. I suspect we are not spending enough time listening to people long enough to learn their cultural language, so to speak. If we do not first listen to understand their views, how will we be able to communicate in such a way that they will understand ours? If we speak words of truth, but they fall on uncomprehending ears, there will be no understanding. Those precious gospel seeds will get whisked away and, in that conversation at least, the devil will have the day.

There’s another problem. What happens when a massive number of Christians gifted as gardeners rather than as harvesters are presented with a harvesting model of evangelism that’s inconsistent with their spiritual temperament? I’ll tell you. They sit on the bench, inactive, out of play. The idea of pressing someone for a decision—especially in today’s hostile environment—is simply too unsettling, too disconcerting, and, frankly, too frightening.

I sympathize completely. The fact is, most of us are not good closers. Consequently, we never get into the game. And when gardeners don’t garden, for whatever reason, then the harvest suffers. Remember the sluggard from Proverbs. He did not plow after autumn, so he had nothing when harvest time came ’round (Prov. 20:4).

Please do not misunderstand me. Harvesting is critical. There would be no kingdom expansion without it. But there would be no harvesting without good gardening, so without the spadework, there’s no kingdom growth, either. Remember, one sows; the other reaps.

This is why I do not feel compelled to sprint for the finish line if the circumstances don’t warrant it. Instead, I have a different goal.

Lowering the Bar, Raising the Impact

When I’m in a conversation I hope will lead to spiritual matters, I never have it as an immediate goal to lead that person to Christ. I make no effort to get them to sign on the dotted line. I don’t try to “close the deal.” In fact, I don’t have it as a goal to even get to the gospel, though I may end up there.

Do I want that person to come to Christ? Of course I do. Is the gospel necessary for that? Again, of course. It’s the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Rom. 1:16).

Getting to the gospel is not the issue, though. Returning for a moment to the parable of the sower, the problem is the ground the seed falls on. There’s no understanding. The hard ground needs tilling first before the seed has any chance of taking root.

I have adopted, therefore, a more modest goal when I engage others in conversation. It’s one I communicate clearly at the outset of virtually every talk I give to a secular audience. Here’s what I tell them:

I’m here tonight because my life has been deeply changed by an ancient teacher. His name is Jesus of Nazareth. Decades ago while I was a student at UCLA, I began to think more carefully about the claims Jesus made about Himself, the claims He made about the nature of reality, and the claim He made on my own life. After thinking hard on the issues, asking a lot of questions, and doing a lot of arguing, I finally came to the conclusion that Jesus got it right, that He saw the world the way it really was. I realized the smart money was on Jesus, so I began to follow Him.

Then I say something they do not expect to hear. I tell them I’m not there to convert them. “I have a more modest goal,” I say. “I just want to put a stone in your shoe. I just want to annoy you a little bit, but in a good way. I want you leaving this auditorium with something I said poking at you, something that gets you thinking, because I think Jesus of Nazareth is worth thinking about.”

Then I move forward with my talk, whatever it happens to be. I make it clear to them that I’m not in harvest mode. Instead, I’m gardening.

At this point you may be wondering, Does this guy ever get to the gospel? The answer is simple: Of course I do. Then the next question: When do you get to the gospel? Here’s my answer: I get to the gospel whenever I want.

I know that may sound cheeky, but here’s what I’m getting at. I do not feel forced to squeeze the gospel into the conversation in an artificial way simply because someone told me I have to. Jesus didn’t even do that.

Jesus took His time. He carefully weighed His words to be sensitive to His audience and to the unique circumstances He faced. Lots of times He went only halfway. He gave the bad news then let it weigh upon His listeners. Only later—after they were exhausted from shouldering the crushing weight of their own sin—did He say, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). Rest from what? Rest from the burden of the bad news, from the hopeless load of living according to the law. Yes, He got to the good news, but first He gardened.

In the many years I have taught this concept publicly in front of audiences, I’ve watched carefully when I tell them about the importance of gardening before harvesting. I can see in their eyes something slowly beginning to dawn on them.

Here is what the expression on their faces tells me they’re thinking: I can do this. And they are right, of course. They can. Yes, I’ve lowered the bar a bit for them. But a lower bar gets them off the bench and into the garden, and that means a bigger harvest in the long run.

Who’s in Your Garden?

Which brings me back to my original confession, the one that made me sound like a lame Christian, an evangelism loser.

Years ago, I realized I was not a harvester but a gardener. My efforts for decades—on radio and at public events, speaking in churches and at universities, writing books and articles—have all been, largely, to serve a single end: gardening.

The reason I haven’t personally prayed with someone to receive Christ in over three decades is I haven’t really tried. I’m not in harvesting mode because I’m not a harvester; I’m a gardener. And so, I suspect, are most Christians. They just haven’t thought of themselves that way since the option was never really open to them.

There’s something else you need to know, though. You need to know who’s been in my garden.

Does the name J. Warner Wallace sound familiar to you? He’s the legendary cold-case detective who, as an atheist, applied his considerable investigative skills to the eyewitness reports in the Gospels. In the process, he became a believer, then an apologist, and then a bestselling author. You might have read his books: Cold-Case Christianity, or God’s Crime Scene, or Forensic Faith.

Or maybe you’ve heard of Abdu Murray, former Muslim now Christian apologist and current senior vice president with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. You might have read his books, too: Saving Truth, or Grand Central Question, or Seeing Jesus from the East.

You may know of them, but here’s something you probably don’t know aboutthem: They were both in my garden. When J. Warner Wallace was still an atheist, he was listening to our broadcast. When Abdu Murray was still a Muslim, he was listening to me on the radio. And I’ve met many other Christians just like them.

Do you realize what happened? I was patiently—and unknowingly—doing spadework on Jim, and Abdu, and the others, then somebody went into mygarden and harvested my crop. Do you think I care? Of course not; we’re all on the same team. Schaeffer’s “pre-evangelism” was the gardening essential for that bountiful harvest.

Bringing in the Sheaves

In the Body of Christ, different people have different gifts.[3] When it comes to working the field, some sow and some reap—as Jesus taught.

If what I have written so far really bothers you—if you think I’m letting people off too easily and I’m not pushing them to get to the meat of the matter quickly enough—you’re probably a harvester. And I’m glad you are. We need you.

If, on the other hand, what I’ve said encourages you, if you’re thinking, “I can do that,” then you are probably a gardener. That would be most Christians, I suspect, and we need you, too.[4]

If that’s the case, if it’s beginning to dawn on you that you might be a gardener like me, then make it your modest goal to try to put a stone in an unbeliever’s shoe. Focus your efforts on giving him just one thing to think about. That’s plenty good for starters.

Don’t worry about the endgame. Instead, get busy doing some spadework. Think about getting into conversations using the game plan outlined in the new, expanded edition of Tactics to help you start gardening effectively.

Remember, you don’t have to swing for the fences. You don’t even have to get on base, in my view. All you have to do is get into the batter’s box, then let the Lord take things from there. That’s the secret—and the beauty—of gardening.

If you do that—if you get off the bench and get into play in simple ways that are friendly yet moderately challenging, I think you’re going to see a dramatic difference in your impact for the gospel.

Don’t ever forget, the more gardeners we have, the bigger the harvest is going to be. Then both “he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together” in the bountiful result.

__________________________

[1] Gregory Koukl, Tactics—A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions, 10th Anniversary Edition, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2019), 18.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Both 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 make this point clearly.

[4] For those concerned that my approach may miss opportunities, keep in mind that the “praying to receive Christ” practice is not part of the New Testament pattern. It entered the life of the church only a few hundred years ago. In Acts, people simply preached persuasively and listeners believed. The Holy Spirit brought conviction that led to humble faith. The closest thing to an altar call in the New Testament was a baptism, but that came after faith, not before it.

[bmgmw]

Homecoming (chapter 2)

I finally reunited with my computer so I could write chapter 2! Apologies for any grammar/punctuation errors. I’m running on 4 hours of sleep after a long work day, so…

Anyway, I think this thing may end up being more like 5-6 chapters instead of the 3-4 that I initially planned…..oops! 

Thanks for all your lovely comments on the first chapter (chapter 1). I don’t really (aka ever) write fiction, mostly just research or poems, so this is all pretty new to me!

Chapter 2: Observer of Humanity

The harsh city streets of Greenwich Village softened as the autumn leaves speckled the asphalt in shades of red and gold. The wind provided an encouraging nudge to the throngs of people moving about with their own individual rhythms to form the city’s unique collective cadence. Mid-rise luxury apartments, renovated 19th century row houses, and NYU’s signature purple flags encircled the downtown neighborhood, inflicting architectural warfare on the ghosts of the Village’s bohemian past. As Riley made her way down MacDougal Street, she passed one such ghost, the cornerside club Cafe Wha?. Home to one of Bob Dylan’s earliest NYC performances, the club still stands today–although rising cover fees and the changing neighborhood landscape have slightly diminished its once bohemian atmosphere. 

But as Riley gazed at the club’s quirky signage over the door, her train of thought wandered to the club’s lesser known history. Observer of humanity, the phrase formed in her mind. Her great-grandmother Rosie McGee was a frequent patron of the club in the 1960s, and although the two had never met, Rosie’s story came to life every time Riley passed by Cafe Wha?. Riley pictured Rosie in a cozy booth feverishly jotting down poetic fragments in her journal, about the nomads she encountered passing through, about the folk artists attempting to get their music and message to travel beyond those four walls, and about the love she found–and then lost–there. Observer of humanity, the thought echoed once more. Riley was fascinated by her great grandmother’s intuition regarding others and her uncanny ability to tap into previously unbroken ground in order to connect so deeply with people. As Riley thought about the people in her own life, she desperately hoped she had inherited even just a small fraction of that talent.   Riley crossed the narrow street, weaving her way carelessly between taxis stalled in traffic, and descended the stairs into the courtyard of Topanga’s. She eyed Farkle and Smackle tucked away at the corner table seated across from each other and deep in quiet conversation. With their eyebrows furrowed and their backs slightly hunched, they emanated a sense of gravity that Riley did not want to intrude upon despite her natural curiosity. From the corner of her eye, she swore she felt them glance in her direction. I’ll say hi later, Riley thought as she made her way to the entrance.

Riley continued on through the door, and the warmth of the bakery enveloped her as she took her place on the orange sofa next to a very relaxed Maya. Maya dropped her feet to the floor from the coffee table and turned to Riley. “So how’d it go? Did Ranger Rick finally show up?” she asked. “Yes,” Riley replied. “You were right. He didn’t forget about asking me to homecoming!” Well, of course I was right. I did help him with this after all... Maya thought to herself. She smiled and revived her best terrible 1950’s educational video accent. “Well, golly gee whiz! Riley Matthews asked to the homecoming dance by that swell lad Lucas Friar! Cheese souffle!” she joked, with accompanying gestures. “Did he bring ya a Yogi on skates, Sally?” The joke had long worn thin, but Riley didn’t have the heart to say anything. Instead, she forced out a slight chuckle.  "No, no Yogi on skates. But lots of my favorite candy.“ Riley tossed a handful of chocolates from her bag to Maya. “I got some for you and Auggie”.

“Thanks,” Maya said, losing both the ‘cheese souffle’ accent and enthusiasm. She couldn’t help but feel weird taking the candy that she had told Lucas to buy, unbeknownst to Riley. Maya slowly unwrapped one anyway, hoping the sweet chocolate taste would overpower her discomfort. “So are you excited? It’s only a week away,” she said.

“Yeah, I’m excited! But I still need to pick out a dress! Want to go to Demolition later?” Riley asked as she took out her mountain of textbooks, grasping them tightly in order to keep in place her scattered notes burrowed in the pages. “Sure. I guess I should get a dress too.” Maya didn’t have a date, but that wasn’t going to stop her from having fun with her friends.  “But I can’t stay long,” she added casually. She glanced at Riley with slight apprehension, hoping Riley wouldn’t ask for a more detailed explanation that Maya wasn’t ready to give. Luckily, Riley was already buried deep into página 72 of her Spanish textbook, trying her best to memorize the long list of verbs for the upcoming quiz. “Caminar…..cantar…..conseguir…..cambier…” “Cambiar”, Maya corrected. “To change.” “Cambiar”, Riley repeated intently. Spanish was not her strong suit and she was glad to have Maya to help her. Riley giggled as she went through the vocabulary list one final time. “Even when I get them right, I still think I sound like Chewbacca.”  She uttered its cry and Maya laughed. “Well if you’re Chewbacca, then does that make me that Han Solo guy then?” Maya asked. She had never seen a Star Wars movie, despite telling Riley otherwise, but she had read enough of the Wiki page at least to pacify Riley when the subject came up. “Sure,” Riley answered, her eyes glued to her textbook. Sudden silence grew between them, teetering the fine line between comfortably studious and tensely awkward. As it slowly evolved into the latter, Maya pushed a tuft of her soft, blond waves out of her eyes and picked up her strawberry smoothie.  "So why do we always order these things when it’s not even warm out? I’m much better at pouring them than drinking them anyway,“ Maya stated, hoping the self-deprecating humor would lighten the mood. She wasn’t quite confident in its success, but it was her go-to method in awkward situations. Riley looked up from her book. "Out of habit, I guess,” she replied. Maya smiled and stretched her feet back out on the table and began to drink her smoothie. Feeling deserving of a study break already, Riley looked over at her friend and did the same. “Ya know, life’s pretty good right now,” Riley said in earnest. 

“It’s–,” Maya began, before she was interrupted by the bakery door being swung open with urgency. Smackle and Farkle stood at the door in tandem. Their expressions had softened since Riley had seen them, although neither looked entirely comfortable. They stood in front of the girls and took a deep breath. “Riley. Maya,” Smackle began, turning towards each girl as she addressed them. She continued on, quick and undeterred. “Farkle and I were just discussing homeostasis— how variables are actively regulated in order to remain constant……like how the plasma ionized calcium concentration level is controlled in our blood via the parafollicular cells of the thyroid, as well as the parathyroid gland.” Smackle paused and looked intently at the two girls. They stared back. Unsure of what to say, they said nothing. Farkle took a half step back and listened silently as Smackle continued. “Sorry, I forgot we’re not all in AP Bio. Let me rephrase.” Maya and Riley exchanged a glance before smiling back at Smackle. They were neither angry or offended, but rather, slightly surprised that Smackle didn’t call them amoeba brained or some other colorful description.  “Yes, Smackle, explain to us lowly peons, please,” Maya said in slow exaggeration. The girls loved Smackle, refreshing honesty and all, and Smackle was used to the girls giving as good ­­as they got. Smackle looked at them warmly and continued. “In biology, an organism being able to regulate and remain constant despite outside changes allows it to maintain life.” The girls nodded. “Okay, that makes sense,” Riley replied. “Yeah, yeah. Science and stuff. But what about it?” Maya chimed in. She knew they were going around in circles to get to a point, and she wanted them to arrive at it sooner rather than later. Farkle straightened his shoulders and looked up towards friends, still avoiding eye contact.  "Smackle and I were talking not just about homeostasis at the molecular level, but at the human level as well.  When the external variables of this world make us go haywire, who is the one that helps us return to homeostasis? Who helps us maintain our true selves even as we grow? “ he recited. For a boy whose eyes typically gleamed when it came to science, there was a dullness to them today. An unusual reluctance replaced the typical ardor in his speech. 

Riley and Maya’s eyes remained fixated on Farkle, expecting a further explanation, or at least some type of follow up. This wasn’t the first metaphorical science speech Farkle and Smackle had given, and the girls were waiting for the pair to answer their own question as they usually did. But Farkle offered no answer. He turned to Smackle, who stood up and announced simply, "If we are not each other’s regulating factors, then we cannot achieve homeostasis. Based on this scientific fact, Farkle and I have decided it is in our best interest that we separate ourselves on amicable terms. We wanted you to be the first to know”. Farkle nodded silently in agreement, keeping his eyes glued to the floor and his hands glued to his jean pockets. Before either Riley or Maya had a chance to process the bomb that had just dropped in front of them, Farkle and Smackle nodded and left the bakery as quickly as they had come in.

Maya finished the last sip of her smoothie, still not quite sure of what had just occurred. Smackle and Farkle were the most stable relationship of anyone in her class. “What the…? Well Riles, I definitely did not see that coming, did you?…”

Riley absentmindedly shook her head as Maya continued on. But Riley wasn’t listening. She had scooped up her books and bag, and before she knew it, was halfway out the door. I have to go talk to him. She wasn’t sure exactly what to say, or what she thought talking would accomplish, but she could feel every instinct in her body screaming at her to go. This isn’t the Farkle I know, she thought as she entered the courtyard. He was holding something back, though Riley had no proof nor any inkling of what it could be. As she brushed passed the round tables on the way to the stairs, flashes of conversations past rang in her head. “We don’t lie to each other, Riley.” 

Riley accelerated as she went up the stairs and onto MacDougal Street. The evening sun was reflecting off the windows and for a moment, it almost felt like the Village was glowing.

“Hey! Where are you going?” Maya appeared at the foot of the steps, puzzled.

“I’ll be back soon and we’ll go to Demolition, I promise,” Riley replied, eager to keep moving.

“Okay, but what about Lucas?” Maya shouted as Riley walked down the street. 

Shoot. Lucas was supposed to meet them at Topanga’s in fifteen minutes once he finished his baseball practice. Riley fiddled with a strand of her hair as she thought about what to do. She had already not watched his practice, and the thought of ditching him at Topanga’s made her feel worse. She didn’t want him to think she wasn’t excited for homecoming. Feet frozen on the cement, Riley bit her lip. “Tell him, I’ll be back in half hour!” she replied. Pivoting, she continued down MacDougal and unlocked her phone. 

‘hey. can you meet me @ the arch in ten?’ she clicked away with her thumbs with ease. 

The purple doors to Cafe Wha? peered at her as she made her way north towards Washington Square Park. The doors were closed, but she could picture Rosie’s booth clearly. She paused and gazed at the doors for a few seconds longer, hoping this feeling in her gut about Farkle wasn’t just her imagination. She hoped she read him as well as Rosie read the people surrounding her.

Observer of humanity. Riley repeated as the arch of Washington Square Park began to emerge in the distance. Or at least…so I hope.

[contentkart1-blog]

Six Tips to become the best writer

Too manifold writers are interested up by the whole of thoughts of certainly they are entire good.  We are by a wide margin the stunned bunch, aren’t we? But what if generally told this self-doubt was approximately self-destructive? What if there was no such capacity as a “good writer“?

Most people’s definitions of “good writing” vary. What a well known reader loves, another such hates. For concrete illustration, J.K. Rowling, a well known of the virtually popular and most prosperous writers know the score today, is constantly criticized for her novel (too manifold adverbs, sprinkling say). Similarly, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby was called a “dud” by manifold of his contemporaries.

And by its put a lock on nature, this goes for barely about complete other so-called “great” writer.

There are those that comprehend these writers and those that don’t. And as it may be, that’s fully fine. Because as the case may be what it manner forthcoming valuable is no two ways about it just our fashion of truism “I savor this” or “I don’t relish this.” What if there was no such behavior with as “good writing”?

What if there was unattended efficient writing? What would that twist for your and me the next presage we sit sweeping to do our work?

What we often invent of as “good writing” is merely perfectly communicating a act message to a at variance audience. And the first we am with it that, the as a matter of choice we boot gat what is coming to one on mutually our service, which is not to be useful, yet to be clear. Tips for considering a useful, I show effective, writer

There are six apparatus you bounce cell do to be a transcend (ahem, preferably effective) writer. The consequently is what I uphold (click the links to am a source of articles on each subject):

   Read. Good writers read. It’s that simple. Words are the lifeblood of considerable writing. There’s no way to merit valuable without oodles of steep input. Get an editor. A valuable writer recognizes he needs help. He can’t do this on his own (neither can you). You crave to gat what 's coming to one luminary to autopsy your exchange of letter, someone you trust. I spell a glimpse editor for starters. 

Capture ideas. A useful writer is consistently gathering all there input. Ideas are leaps and bound for artists and writers. You prefer to have a course of action for collecting them. A great instrument to threw in one lot with you do this is Evernote. Write separately day. This cannot be overlooked. It’s essential. You can’t win useful without practice. Even if only for more or less minutes, you prefer to form every base hit day.  

Rewrite. An essential case of exchange of letter is rewriting, distilling the fluff perfect to sprinkling core carefree that will actually ratiocinate a difference. This is jointly, yet important. Stephen King calls this “killing your darlings.” And for good reason. It ain’t pretty. But it’s necessary. Get inspired. Hard to affirm, for all that there’s a pattern of the writing fashion that is mysterious. You can’t take perfect responsibility why you create. A good writer knows at which point to gat to the top herself to the Muse. She knows advance is love breathing for the imaginative spirit.

Here are 6 ways you that will make you a good writer.

1. Get Clear

Before you sit all over but the shouting to devise (anything), invite yourself: Why am I writing?

What’s the desired odds that you desire mutually this particular distant of writing?

Are you mail to flash someone’s morning? Motivate your husband and wife to head am a source of strength facing the ring abaftwards a crushing defeat? Encourage folks to charge “yes” to your dressed to the teeth meeting time?

The excellent exchange of letter tends to have one approach, lusty intention. Choose it—and commit.

2. Get to the Point

In the enrollment world, scantiness is gold.

If you’re struggling to merit to the relate, amount to be asked a second to search for pot of gold about the human (or people) that you’re exchange of letter to, and entwine a roadmap for yourself by filling in the consequently statements:

The direction I am exchange of letter is:

What I please you to recognize is:

What I want you unrest is:

Get those three points sweeping pat. Then hint to them as you set up to retrieve yourself on track.

3.Strip it Down

Albert Einstein back said, “If you can't confess it to a six-year-old, you don’t comprehend it yourself.” Imagine that you’re mail for a sounding board of thick kids—impatient, plainly distracted, mutually zero parity for jargon.

You cut back practice—out in the heartfelt world—by having no ifs and or buts conversations mutually kids. Try explaining to a child what you defeat a source of income, for starters. You’ll shepherd, indeed quickly, if your elevator urge is gat a handle on something and intriguing—or not.

4.Write From Your Happy Place

Ever advice how when you’re stressed unsound and annoying to “force” yourself to coin a phrase something remarkable, it at the point of never works?

Research shows that getting yourself directed toward a fruitful, complacent state—think: apprehension a shower—is the sharps and flat to creativity-on-command. When your bulk is experiencing a dash of dopamine, that’s when those a-ha! moments (“Ooh! I’ve got the full recommendation for my presentation!”) work oneself to the bone to happen.

5.Give Yourself a Time Limit

For close but no cigar people, the longer you fuss during an end of rainbow of mail, the mediocre it gets. When you have a behave reason for writing and feel prosperous and enjoyable, your willingly draft is regularly best. There’s no crave to endlessly nibble it over.

Clearing on the wrong track your inbox, for example? Give yourself a has a head start limit—say, two minutes using email—to act like a wet blanket yourself from slipping into analysis-paralysis.

6.Use the 7 Magic Words

“All I prefer from you comeuppance now.”

Kick these shouting match up to the eclipse of your co incidence, as in:

“I’m so boiling that you’re in working order to am a source of a mannerism at our intermittent conference.

All I has a passion for from you right shortly is the title of your frequent, a headshot, and your bio.”

These seven abracadabra words gave all one got your primer an approach assignment, and announce them at ease.

[judewatkin917-blog]

Why Opt for A Career In Accountancy?

Never before in my life possessed I experienced everything so psychologically upsetting. They stated that she had actually certainly not uttered a singular phrase yet and they seemed a little bit of interested regarding this. When I got off the phone I thought about if I possessed mentioned the inappropriate point informing her she failed to must speak to anyone however when I picked her up that mid-day the teachers informed me that after her rest opportunity she appeared from herself and conversed away to the teachers, the various other children, the playthings and even herself when nobody will listen. The one-of-a-kind abilities are larger peripheral vision, much higher motion discovery capability, fuller occipital wattles and also greater Idea from Mind if they expose to an authorized foreign language at very early grow older, aspiration in colours (90% people desire in different colors and also 50% from your folks desire in white colored and also black), and also higher spatial ability. Heck, an absolutely in shape individual doesn't also need to use any air freshener or even lotions as well as shower several times a day to odor merely great, but a fatty will have to administer their crap and shower 3+ times a time only to scent satisfactory. Cheating Spouses' Emotions Concerning The Girlfriend And Also The Partner Will Often Adjustment Based On Where They Reside in The Refine: Often, if the connection along with the girlfriend was unable to come to a natural end or to participate in out, the spouse could still be actually puzzled or even mournful regarding this loss, although the relationship never ever stood up a genuine possibility.

I'm certainly never certain ways to articulate my concern when this troubles me. I once told a latest associate and the method she stared at me made me believe therefore alone ... I am okay along with hugs and an evening also find on my own at times longing to be held securely by someone. During my four-hour visit to the native home of the RealDoll, the frighteningly life-like full-body sex toy, I have actually observed mounds from silicon vaginal areas, slabs from removed areolas, headless females putting up off meat hooks, a 2-foot penis and also heads with completely removable skins that affix like fridge magnets. Our team do all loss, and transgression, unless it is actually simply me, and also occasionally I believe that that is actually only me, however it is the through and through turning against God, through frequently declining The lord's Word, frequently substituting God's Word, with that of a private, team, or even religion, that go under the role of God's Name, consequently could be difficult to identify as an adversary, or threat, that is maybe more than likely to be our downfall; that as well as the disheartening effect from people like Prof Richard Dawkins, David Attenborough, Prof Brian Cox, and also alike, or without a doubt our own passion through this World, as well as what that may assure us. You might review how you will point your electricity if you knew that your allocated time in this lifestyle were actually limited - which, naturally, it is actually. You may review what you will be sorry for certainly not having actually carried out or even obtained if that allotted opportunity were actually to finish tonight. These feature the M-1 Rail tram unit (" Gilbert's little choo-choo," one resource poked fun), which weaves through the expanding business district; an on the internet stock exchange for shoes; an in proportion fiber-optic world wide web company that is fit4you-onlineportal.info actually half the cost of Comcast's; and also Rocchi's Grand Festival. Whether straining over monarchy (1 Samuel 8), honor (Luke 14:12 -14), loved ones (Result 3:32 -35), or even amount of money (Result 10:17 -27), need to accomplish the socially appropriate factor instead of to attract attention off the group has actually been a seasonal concern for biblical folks. When to Quit Dealing With Their Feelings & Start Caring For Your Own" discusses how often, family members can acquire thus swallowed by their loved ones' complications that they lose sight of who they are as well as just what they truly prefer.

The absolute most distressing trait is they presume this really issues, like the scores on this internet site actually influence any sort of right-minded individual along with a life as well as deserve dedicating sizable quantities from their time to tighten all of them up.

[perfectirishgifts]

Five Reasons Startup Boards Fail To Add Value

New Post has been published on https://perfectirishgifts.com/five-reasons-startup-boards-fail-to-add-value/

Five Reasons Startup Boards Fail To Add Value

Done right, a start-up board should help to drive growth

Ask any seasoned startup founder and they’re likely to have a horror story about managing a startup board. “I once had a board member who would come into every board meeting and argue an incredibly strong point of view,” recounts Joe Cohen, serial founder of businesses including Seatwave, who now chairs a number of fast-growth businesses. “And then the next meeting he would come in and argue the exact opposite. It was hugely disruptive, but I couldn’t get rid of him.”

Cohen’s experience is not uncommon amongst startups, most of whom start to think seriously about their board once they raise angel or seed funding. Investors are usually offered – or request – a board seat in exchange for their cash, and the increased governance brings a whole set of new responsibilities and challenges – which aren’t always welcome. Many early-stage entrepreneurs feel that they have enough on their plate already, without justifying their decisions in board meetings every month.  

But done right, a board can be a huge asset for founders, giving them access to external expertise, senior experience, and skills that they may lack within their own team. It can help with decision-making, hands-on business development, and act as a driver for growth. Yet, there are a number of common mistakes that founders and directors make, which mean that boards fail to add the value that they’re capable of and, in extreme cases, actually cause more problems than they solve. 

Death by reporting  

A common misconception amongst founders is that the board is a forum for reporting, with no time given to discussion, insight, or planning. Boards do of course have a governance role, particularly when it comes to big decisions around fundraising, budgeting, and M&A. But their real value lies not in looking backward through reporting, but in planning for the future, solving problems, and adding value around strategy. 

Scanes Bentley, an independent chairman and non-executive director, says that this is particularly the case when businesses are at a very early stage. “If they’re a smaller business they want contacts and rainmaking, along with support and advice about raising money,” he explains. “Governance is normally third or fourth on that list. They’re under no obligation to show clear documentation all the time, particularly in the early stages.”

As a result, much of the work should be done between meetings, through an ongoing dialogue with board members about challenges and strategy, while meetings are used to consolidate and finalize decisions. Furthermore, founders shouldn’t expect to introduce anything new in board meetings but should have thoroughly prepared the ground beforehand, to maximize the time they have.

“More inexperienced founders often think that decisions get made at board meetings,” says Cohen. “But actually, the meeting is just about codifying decisions that have already been made and discussing key challenges facing the business. It is never good to introduce completely new information at a board meeting, so don’t send something right before and expect a decision, because it just won’t happen.”

Board overflow

Another common issue is that startup boards are allowed to become too big and cumbersome, as founders bring in more and more investors, all of whom are offered a board seat as part of the deal. 

“I’ve seen up to eight investors on a startup board, plus the two directors before they even think about having an independent non-exec,” says Bentley. “A couple of years ago it was seen as being quite cool to be on the board of a talked-about startup…. but when you’ve got an overloaded board you have a lot of egos and it’s hard to get any value out of it.” 

Experts recommend that around five board members is ideal – an odd number to make voting decisive. Founders should therefore do a regular review of who will really add value as the business evolves and have an honest conversation with their board members about whether the relationship is still working for both parties. And when there isn’t space on the board, but investors are keen to be involved, a good compromise is to appoint them as observers or members of an advisory panel, to limit the number of people who have a controlling role. 

“Board observers are probably the most infrequently used, prized thing that founders can do more of,” says Sujay Tyle, Co-Founder and Former CEO of the recently acquired Frontier Car Group. “You have to invite them to meetings and have them in the room, but you don’t have the complexity of them having to vote, and you still get all the value-add, more than just a typical investor. I would encourage founders to use board observers more liberally than they are probably used to doing.” 

Investor “showboating”

Boards can also become a power game between egos to show who has control, rather than being used as a tool that adds real value to the business. If an investor decides to throw their weight around, founders understandably find it hard to put their foot down and this can lead to them feeling bullied and, in some cases, pressurized into making the wrong decisions for the business. 

According to Bentley, this is often the consequence of having too many board members: “Everybody is trying to be the smartest person in the room, and it ends up being a quasi-management team and it’s hard for the CEO and CFO to push back against these very successful people,” he explains. “And although it’s usually done in a nice way, you often get people trying to showboat and the CEO comes out feeling beaten up, or that it’s a waste of time.”

Board members aren’t there to tell founders what to do, but instead to listen and offer advice, based on the context provided by the management team. Roelof Botha, Partner at Sequoia Capital, who currently sits on the board of Eventbrite, Evernote, and Tumblr, amongst others, had it right when he said: “A board member doesn’t have the nuanced detail, hence should be careful in terms of being prescriptive…. they should be shock absorbers, not amplifiers.”

Ulrich Schmidt, CEO of Pretty Social Media, believes the key to keeping the board under control is to ensure that roles are clearly defined at the outset: “The board should be involved in strategic decisions, for example budgeting for an expansion or a new product,” he explains. “But they shouldn’t get involved in operational or HR decisions. And if they are getting involved in execution then there needs to be clear accountability, and management needs to be in charge.” 

This is something that less experienced board members sometimes struggle to grasp, so first-timers need to listen a lot and ask careful questions. The chairman or independent board member also has an important role to play in helping to control meetings, ensure discussions stay focused, and rein in anybody who oversteps the mark. 

“As an independent, my role is often, initially politely and then less politely, to try to shut down unhelpful conversations,” says Cohen.

Optics over strategy

The above issue can be exacerbated by the fact that startup boards are frequently staffed by the wrong people, often because founders want a ‘name’ on their board, irrespective of how much time that person will put in or how much value they will add. As Kate Zatland, Founder and Managing Partner of Forme Partners, a board headhunting firm, says: “A lot of the time, if you look at venture-backed businesses, it’s quite a lot of optics rather than getting down to what you’re trying to achieve and what’s needed.” 

Instead, startups should think about the skills and recent experience they actually need, based on what their short-term objectives are, for the next 12 months or so. 

“At series A to C, you need people who are really going to help advise on a hands-on basis, rather than give a birds-eye view,” Zatland explains. “So, for instance, if you’re talking about European expansion, you wouldn’t get somebody who has global US experience with several exits under their belt. You just need to think about how you conquer Europe.”

Nina Nærby, Managing Director at Leadership Advisor Group, advises startups to map out the competencies they need in the business, based on where the current gaps are, so they can identify board members who complement the current management and investor team. “Once you’ve got your investors, map it out so you can see what competencies you have and what you are lacking. Then with the last couple of board spots you can be really specific,” she explains. 

Schmidt agrees, explaining that he only takes on board members who can contribute something very specific to the company. “We always have something in mind when we’re looking for a board member, whether that’s access to the market, technical knowledge, or access to a partner network. We define a project for them to help with and agree how they will do that and how long it will take, and we hold them accountable against certain targets. We need someone who is working, and if they aren’t working, that they can at least open doors.”

Lack of diversity 

Like any team, company boards benefit hugely from having a diversity of voices involved, however, research shows that 75% of companies between Seed and Series B only include management and investors, without an independent director. And while a lack of independents won’t always be an issue, particularly when founders and investors have a strong relationship, it can make it more likely that the board won’t act in the best interests of the company. 

“Having an independent board director, appointed by the founders, is something I didn’t do early enough,” says Tyle. “These are folks who can bring a tremendous amount of value-add, and you can typically get an industry veteran… and they represent the founders’ interests. So, it’s another advocate for you.” 

Furthermore, even when boards do include independents, there is a tendency to hire from within existing networks, without thinking about bringing in people from a diversity of backgrounds. The result is one-dimensional thinking and poorer decision-making, while Nærby argues it can also increasingly impact fundraising: “It isn’t good to have just British, white, male if you want to attract investors,” she says. 

Like every aspect of starting a business, getting the maximum value out of a startup board can be a steep learning curve, and each founder, or founding team, has to develop their own style and decide what works best for them. But dedicating time to getting it right early on, and then nurturing your top team as the business evolves, will ensure you always have the right support – whether that’s in the boardroom, via Whatsapp, or on Zoom – to make your business the best it can be.

From Venture Capital in Perfectirishgifts

[project1461-blog]

Never look at the top

A Maine logger in the State House wants working people to refocus their attention

“Most of the time what I heard was ‘Shut your mouth and keep your head down or you’ll be made an example of’,” Troy Jackson says. He’s in a suit and tie and seated across from me at a small conference table in the Maine Senate Minority Leader’s Office. We didn’t borrow the key for our meeting or commandeer the first unoccupied office we could find. He is the Maine Senate Minority Leader. Which I take to mean he has since learned not to shut his mouth.

The first and only time I saw him speak he was in jeans and a Maine Loggers union t-shirt, addressing a packed room – lit like a morgue, in the style of American community centers – on a Sunday evening. It was just outside Portland. Friendly turf. To say the crowd was receptive is an understatement. “Troy for governor!” came a shout from somewhere in the back. He had barely cleared his throat.

It makes sense. If the nation is divided, Maine is a miniature model of the divide. In the State House, rank-and-file Democrats are generally from small urban areas. Theirs is an academic liberalism that hasn’t scored a clear victory for working people in a few generations. The conservatives who outnumber them aren’t necessarily picking up that slack; in fact, they’re legislatively worse for working people than the large rural areas electing them probably realize. But they talk like kin, and they’ve tapped a feeling.

To the Mainer who understands that, a rural progressive is almost magic. Hence the receptive crowd. Whether or not he runs for, and is elected, governor – an office now occupied by Paul LePage, the nationally famous two-term “Trump before there was Trump,” an accident of back-to-back three-way races – Senator Troy Jackson represents, to some, the future of the Democratic party in Maine.

Or anyway, he represents an endangered species. Americanus bipartisus. The guy who understands where we’re all coming from. To say our salvation is encoded on his DNA would be too much magic. But the way he talks about his conviction, about where his belief comes from, does ring with a sense of duty we may be losing, and of perspective we may have already lost. We can learn from it, if we get off of social media and out into the Maine woods.

“You can literally see the prosperity line in these woods,” he says, taking out his phone and showing me an aerial photo. The US-Canada border at Saint-Pamphile, Quebec. And he’s right. Success appears to begin where Canada does. In his childhood he saw Canadian labor stream in on H-2 temporary agricultural work visas. Favorable exchange rates and socialized healthcare back home made them cheap, and Maine loggers for hire, according to Senator Jackson, frequently lost work to them.

(I have a passing thought, listening to his story. No one’s proposed a wall on this border. To understand the dynamics of cross-border movement is to better know the racism, I conclude, in what those who live nowhere near a border sometimes choose to care about.)

His logging family, he says, felt the squeeze. He attended strikes with his father where managers told their at-will employees to disperse or find themselves with even less work; the first inculcations of mouth-shut, head-down thinking. But then, as a young man, he made the fateful decision to join friends in a dramatic protest. They went to the border and stood in the way. Foreign workers trying to cross drove a few more miles up the road. And the protesters followed, intercepting them three times before the week was out.

“A lot of folks in Congress weren’t giving us any time,” Senator Jackson says. “They always sent aides. Finally, when we did that, they said ‘Come down, we’ll meet with you’.” That was seventeen years ago. Troy Jackson the veteran public servant reflects warmly now on the naivete of Troy Jackson the first-time candidate, inspired to run by that small triumph.

“The first time, I ran as a Republican. George Bush [41] was a Republican and from Maine. That’s all I knew. I was asked how I wanted to register and I said Republican.” The district was mixed but favored Democrats then. He went door to door and told people what he stood for. “They listened, and they said ‘You’re not a Republican.’ I lost. I ran as an Independent the next time and won.”

And though he says it wasn’t typical at the time for Independents to get on committees, he wanted House Labor badly, and the Speaker relented. The more the committee convened, the more he realized he didn’t want to be an Independent anymore. “Minimum wage came up. Republicans wouldn’t go for it. American loggers having a preference came up. Republicans wouldn’t go for it. The things I thought were important for everyday working people. Republicans just wouldn’t support them.”

He changed affiliation a second time and became a Democrat. It wasn’t a matter of graduated loyalty but of learning on the job. “I wasn’t partisan at all when I ran or when I got in,” he tells me. “Then it became a matter of who was voting for the things I believed in.”

The naïveté has worn off with experience, but the belief hasn’t. Ask him what his issues are and he doesn’t check headlines or a polling sample first.

Student debt. “We’re such a low wage state, people can’t work here and make a living and pay off college debt. My wife is still paying hers off. My son is coming up behind us and we want to help him out. But it’s a generational effort to get out of debt. When [Bernie] Sanders came to Portland last July I had the honor of introducing him. I sat down, my wife was with me, and he immediately started talking about student debt. It’s the only thing you can’t declare bankruptcy on.”

Healthcare. “The Affordable Care Act didn’t go far enough. Some people got relief from it, that’s why Republicans are going after it. They like to keep people on the edge, because when you keep people on the edge they’re less likely to say anything. And we have a bill for prescription drugs that Maine can buy at the same cost as the VA. Drugs in Canada are cheaper. They’re the same drugs. Big pharma talks about safety, but it’s a smokescreen. Some pharma guys just toured the State House the other day. But they didn’t stop by this office. They know better.”

Civic engagement. “We have a student debt bill. A bill to keep the best provisions of ACA if it’s repealed. People need to take an active role in what’s going on here. And get educated on who’s actually working for them. There’s a lot that’s bad for people in the governor’s budget. It’s trickle-down economics. Tax cuts for the rich. Where’s the economic opportunity?”

I can tell when conversation has touched on the senator’s own core values. He’s more natural, more animated. His sentences come faster, easier. It happens twice as often as I’m used to with elected officials, half as often as I’d like to see. I have a sense he’d sooner be back in that Loggers t-shirt. I have a sense he knows who he is. But who to be next is a question that troubles anyone tossed among large forces. I want him to hold on.

I ask him what Democrats are doing wrong. What they could be doing better.

“You have to stand up for working people if you want them to vote for you,” he begins, having already once wondered aloud if the party is torn between its base and its big business ties. “You think they’re uneducated and not paying attention, but they know something’s wrong when they keep seeing premiums go up. When it’s the end of the month and they’re in the red. You need to start reaching out to people across the state. Don’t just cater to the people who show up in the State House.”

“Working people aren’t showing up in the State House,” he says, “because they’re working,” and is momentarily quiet as he perhaps tries to reconcile this observation with his own thunderous charge to the average citizen, a few minutes earlier, to “take an active role.” He knows what stands in their way. Work, sure, but also that old warning: Shut your mouth and keep your head down or you’ll be made an example of.

When he described to me how he’d agonized before finally deciding to take part in that dramatic border protest, I had an idea of how hard a mentality it can be to overcome. But he suggests that the future depends on more people in hard-up places overcoming it. Making that kind of decision. Because otherwise, he predicts, “all they’ll hear from Republicans is ‘Blame everyone below you, never look at the top.’ And that’s what they’ll do.”

I have no idea what he says to hometown constituents when they cross paths at the grocery store and it’s off the record. I’m guessing, more and more, it has to do with looking at the top. And right now that may be all the magic we need.

[coaldustcanary]

2016 Fanfic Masterpost

I’ve seen some posts from folks I follow in a number of different fandoms doing a bit of an end-of-the-year writing roundup, and I really like that idea, so here we are. 

I’ve been fannish for a long time now - over 20 years at this point, which is more than a little terrifying to consider, let me tell you. But my fannish writing has been very intermittent over those years for the most part, and my participation in fandom was relatively narrow, particularly when I was working on my PhD. Through 2014 I wrote, on average, one fanwork a year for the previous 5 years, as usually I could be counted upon to participate in at least one A Song of Ice and Fire and/or Game of Thrones fanfic exchange, but not much beyond that. I also wrote a smattering of fic prior to 2009, much of it lost to the ages besides some random pieces I managed to get up on AO3. (I really need to take some time to go back and properly back-date those older works, oof. And dig up a few more on LJ communities that I couldn’t find when I did my original looking, if I can.)

But in the past year and a half or so I’ve come back to fandom in a much more enthusiastic way than I have since I was a teenager, thanks to falling hard for the Dragon Age games and then faceplanting into Once Upon a Time fandom. And in the past seven months I’ve written if not a lot of fic, definitely more than I have in a long, long time. It’s been a trip, in both good and bad ways, but I’m glad to be doing it.

The master list in chronological order with brief commentary:

Always Already (Dragon Age: Inquisition) Incomplete Planned eventual M rating, nothing above T in the current chapter tumblr link, AO3 link, 6025 words The Academic Conference AU that started it all this summer. I just could not let this headcanon go until I wrote this first chapter. I haven’t touched it since then for a variety of reasons, but even if I never get back to it I’m pleased with the chapter that exists and it got me back writing. It’s meant to be a massive DA:I ensemble AU, with this particular multi-chapter story involving some eventual Female Trevelyan/Cullen Rutherford, but mostly I just want to finish this particular arc so I can just write snippets in the AU every time I need to say something cathartic about working at a university.

Hunger (Dragon Age: Origins) Rated G, Gen, Alistair & Female Brosca friendship tumblr link, AO3 link, 1835 words A short, introspective piece about one of my Dragon Age OCs. When you grow up without enough food, hungry all the time, what happens when the effects of blood magic make you even hungrier? Natia thinks about her life and her choices and finds common ground with her fellow Grey Warden.

Before a Fall (Game of Thrones) Mature, Yara Greyjoy/Daenerys Targaryen, GoT 6x09 post-ep scene tumblr link, AO3 link, 2698 words Written for the Game of Ships Seven Hells Challenge based off of the prompt “Pride”. I watched 6x09 on the Sunday night when it aired and swooned over Yara and Dany’s interaction. I wrote this intimate encounter the following Monday evening in one sitting. I ship Iron Dragon so very, very much. This fic took only about a month to become my most commented and kudosed fic ever on AO3, and I’m pretty happy with it.

Savior Fair - Princess (Once Upon a Time) Rated T, Captain Swan tumblr link, AO3 link, 2501 words My first OUAT fic, based on the August 2016 OUAT positivity challenge that tlynnwords put together. (I put all my pieces for this in a single work on AO3 called Savior Fair, since they’re Emma-centric.) Fluffy CS pillow talk set post-S5 before I’d much looked at S6 spoilers. I like this fic’s premise and flow, but I totally missed the mark with Emma’s voice in it. Her voice is tough for me, but I think I’m getting better.

Savior Fair - Smile (Once Upon a Time) Rated T, SwanFire tumblr link, AO3 link, 938 words My goal with the OUAT positivity fics was to focus on the best parts of Emma’s relationships with other characters. I think Neal is a fascinating character (and though I don’t ship SF, I’ve been a fan of Michael Raymond-James for a long time and I think he brings a lot of interesting nuance to the guy) and I think a lot about the time they spent together and what it would have meant to 17 year old Emma to have someone smile at her and mean it.

Savior Fair - Heart (Once Upon a Time) Rated T, Captain Swan, 4x12 missing scene tumblr link, AO3 link, 1274 words I needed a scene to bridge the gap between the conclusion to the showdown in the clock tower and Emma replacing Killian’s heart in his chest. Just a little feels-laden ficlet. (Apparently the original script had a line in the latter scene with Emma saying she felt strange holding his heart, and Killian replying that she’s already held it for ages, though I didn’t know that until after I wrote this bit, and it tends in a similar direction.)

Savior Fair - Trust (Once Upon a Time) Rated T, Emma & Milah, 5x14 missing scene tumblr link, AO3 link, 1647 words The last of the positivity prompts I got to (August is a tough time with the semester beginning, so much for my ambitions) and the one of which I’m the most proud. I have A Lot of Feelings about Milah and the way she’s treated in a many corners of OUAT fandom, and I’m still really mad about 5x14. Emma and Milah needed more time to talk. So they mostly talk about what they have in common. (And, honestly, Killian is only a small part of their similarities.) I am certain they would be friends, given the chance.

Steadfast (A Song of Ice and Fire) Rated T, Stannis Baratheon/Davos Seaworth, canon divergence/future fic AO3 link, 4071 words I did three fanfiction exchanges due in September this year, and I wrote this fic for thedevilchicken for the Game of Thrones exchange. Despite the name, this one is open to both book-verse and show-verse fics, and this one is an AU of the former. For some reason I seem to really like writing Stannis-as-king future AUs with a Davos POV, and nothing says Stannis/Davos loyalty than a retelling of a shockingly sad Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about a broken toy that is loyal to his distant and unattainable love until he’s melted into scrap. (Spoiler alert: This version has a happier ending.)

Distracted (Dragon Age) Explicit, Anders/Karl Thekla AO3 link, 3094 words Smutty roleplaying with spanking written for green_sphynx for The Black Emporium, a Dragon Age rarepair exchange. Playful and porny PWP set sometime well before everything was terrible in Dragon Age 2.

Starstruck (Agent Carter/Doctor Who) Rated G, Gen, Tenth Doctor & Donna Noble, Peggy Carter & Angie Martinelli tumblr link, AO3 link,  3425 words Written for Grey_Cardinal for the Crossovering exchange. Ten and Donna cause a bit of a scene at the restaurant where Angie works. I quite like the premise of this fic and it was fun to write, though I really ought to have come up with more for Peggy to do in it.

Spectator Sport (Once Upon a Time) Rated G, Gen, Hooked Queen friendship, future fic tumblr link, AO3 link, 1063 words After having a really crummy day a few months back, I asked for some fic prompts (pairings and a word/idea) to take my mind off it and my lovely friends delivered. This is just a little vague future fic based on mryddinwilt’s prompt for Hooked Queen + parenting. However much they viciously snark at one another, I think they understand one another pretty well, too. And the mental image of them enduring discomfort to watch Henry’s high school soccer game was too good to pass up.

Wrapping (Game of Thrones) Rated T,  Yara Greyjoy/Daenerys Targaryen, University AU tumblr link, AO3 link, 1379 words Written for the Game of Ships “Until Hell Freezes Over” holiday/winter-themed event. I’m actually the advisor for a service learning club at my university, and those valiant students get run ragged as they try to finish up the term and also do good for their communities. Somehow I imagine that Dany would be that kind of overachiever, and Yara would just as clearly be her dubious but devoted girlfriend. I’ve been leery before of writing student AUs because I’m a teacher and it feels a bit odd, but I liked this AU a lot and might come back to it for writing more Iron Dragon because I’m sure canon is going to be a shit-show next season.

Clarity (Lucifer) Rated T, Gen, Linda Martin & Mazikeen friendship, 2x07 missing scene AO3 link, 2785 words I participated in Yuletide for the first time this year (yes, I know, I’ve somehow been in fandom for-freaking-ever and never done it before) and I matched on one of my newish fandom delights, Lucifer. Though this fandom is growing and probably won’t be eligible next year, sign-ups were before most of the season had aired, and my recipient, Lenore, requested Linda and Maze having a conversation about Heaven and Hell. Well, without getting too deep in to spoiler territory, canon pretty definitively implied that such a conversation occurred sometime between 2x07 and 2x08, so I decided it needed writing. Linda is my favorite character on Lucifer, and Maze is an utter gift. Writing this was a bit stressful (I was making last-minute edits the night before reveals from a hotel room) but I’m happy to have written it and received some lovely comments from folks, including the recipient.

So, all told, per my AO3 stats page I wrote 32,736 words of fanfic this year, which is far more than I’ve ever written in a year before. I also am starting to get a grip on what my strengths and weaknesses are as a writer, which is pretty wild but also motivating. My general approach to writing has long been “use deadlines as motivation, panic at the last minute, write frantically, throw it at the world like a grenade and take cover” and while I’m a good enough writer for that not to be as terrible as it sounds, I know I could be a lot better if I continue to change my approach to writing and write more frequently and steadily. Honestly, because I’m an academic by trade, this applies to my professional writing as well, and fanfic is good practice for me to refine my writing habits, which have vastly improved this year, even if they’re still not where I want them to be in the end. Here’s hoping I can keep it up in 2017.