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unichrome · 1 year ago

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The biggest heist that almost was

Let me tell you about the most insane bank heist that is going to sound like I'm just leaking the script for the next American hacking movie. The goal? Steal one billion USD. And it all began with an email and a printer, which as we all know is where problems usually start. Another weapon in this heist was... Weekends and time zones.

As usual, no prior computer science education needed.

What happened?

On the morning of February 5th 2016, a printer had stopped working in the central bank of Bangladesh (Bangladesh Bank). But it wasn't just any printer, it was the printer responsible for printing all the records of the multimillion transfers going in and out of the bank. When the poor employees finally won the printer battle and had it resume normal operation, they saw a very concerning account transfer in the records that was coming out. The bank had an USD account in the USA, at Federal Reserve Bank, with approximately 1 billlion Dollars in it, and the Federal Reserve Bank had received instructions to drain almost the entire amount. In the records that came out in the printer, the American bank had attempted to urgently message the Bangladesh bank regarding this transfer, but couldn't get through to them. This was because the hack had actually started the day before, Thursday 4th, at around 20:00 Bangladesh time, when the bank was closed. However, USA had just started their day, giving the American bank plenty of time to follow through with the instructions from the Bangladesh bank to drain their entire account while they were closed. And that wasn't the end of it, as weekends are from Friday to Saturday in Bangladesh, meaning that the Bangladesh bank headquarters in Dhaka wouldn't discover this withdrawal until Sunday morning. That's when they immediately tried to reach the American bank, which of course didn't work as over there it was Saturday evening, and the American weekend is from Saturday to Sunday, meaning that they wouldn't be reachable until Monday.

You see what I mean by the hackers using time zones and weekends, finding the perfect time for the American bank to execute their orders while Bangladesh discovers the withdrawal several days too late, and again several days too late for Americans to be reachable. But it didn't stop there with their timehacking.

The money had to go somewhere from the American bank, and it would be stupid to send it directly to the hackers own account without laundering the money first. So they had set up four different bank accounts in the Philippines, using fake names and credentials. Why the Philippines? Because the Lunar new year was on Monday the 8th, which is a holiday and holiday means no bank activities in either Bangladesh or the Philippines, buying the hackers even more time. As a final act, they messed with the printer responsible for printing transaction records, adding another few hours to their schedule. Moon and stars really aligned perfectly for this plan.

But how did they do it?

It all began one year prior, in January 2015, with an email sent to several employees at the Bangladesh Bank. The email seemingly contained a job application from a person who didn't actually exist, but who was very polite in his request for a position at the bank, with a link to his CV and cover letter. Naturally this link led to a document with a little surprise gift - malware. Since the heist happened, at least one of the recipients must have clicked the link, and successfully deployed a RAT - Remote Access Trojan, malware that lets you control a computer from the comfort of your own home, as well as a toolkit with various malware to move from computer to computer, avoiding discovery, and covering their tracks.

From there, the hackers slowly made their way through the bank offices network, one step at a time to avoid setting off alarms, looking for any computer that had control of the banks SWIFT setup. SWIFT lets banks transfer large amounts of money between themselves and other banks connected to SWIFT. And as soon as they found one of those computers, they stopped. They didn't need to hack SWIFT in the traditional sense of the word - since they operated in a bank computer, the SWIFT-software assumed they naturally had to be bank employees. However, one of the parts of the malware used in the heist was for manipulating the SWIFT system, as the hackers weren't physically there to press anything. Additionally, since they were laying dormant for the time to strike, they needed to keep an eye out for SWIFT updates that could detect any tampering with the system, and adapt accordingly.

Then they waited many months for the stars to align on February 4th, 2016.

There were 35 transfers made by the hackers from the American bank account, totaling almost 1 billion USD, but there were two of these tiny little seemingly insignificant details that prevented this from becoming the worlds largest bank heist in history. The hackers biggest enemy became this concept known as “words”.

The Philippine bank accounts were all located in the same RCBC Bank office on Jupiter Street in Manila. And this would be the hackers downfall, as USA had sanctions put on an Iranian cargo ship called Jupiter. Since the transactions went to a recipient that contained the word “Jupiter”, it created a security alert in the Federal Reserve Bank that the employees needed to investigate. When they saw what was going on, they managed to stop all but five of the initial 35 transactions, thus “only” roughly 100 million USD made it to the Philippines. The Bangladesh bank requested to reverse the transactions, but since the money was in the Philippines, they would need bureaucracy in form of a court order to reclaim the money, and we all know that's not a 5 minute project. It was when Bangladesh filed the court order in late February that the case became public (since court orders are public documents) and the news broke to the country.

Once in the RCBC bank accounts, the money arrived on Friday the 5th and was immediately moved again. First the 100 million was converted to local currency, and some of it was withdrawn in cash, while the rest was sent off to other hacker-controlled locations. And this is where the second tiny little detail cut off even more of the hackers precious payday. 20 million USD had been sent to Shalika Foundation, a charity organisation in Sri Lanka. But, once again the hackers worst enemy - words - decided to strike again. A typo was made in their transaction, sending the money to “Shalika Fundation”, and a bank employee who must have had their morning coffee spotted this typo and rejected the transfer and kept the funds frozen. This left the hackers with 80 million USD.

✨Now comes the money laundering!✨

There was a second reason for choosing the Philippines as deposit zone; gambling is legal and the casinos had no money laundering regulations imposed. The accomplices of the heist booked private rooms in two casinos located in Manila - Solaire and Midas - and proceeded to purchase tokens to gamble for with the stolen money. Since they played with a room consisting of their fellow accomplices, winning was not really much of a challenge. Then the tokens could be exchanged back to money that would now be clean. To avoid suspicion, they didn't gamble all of the money at once, but over the course of several weeks gambled away the dirty money to clean money.

Who was behind it?

It's normally difficult to pinpoint where the more sophisticated hacking groups come from. Oftentimes, they will leave false clues behind that points to another group so they will face more trouble instead of the group that did it. They may even place clues from several different groups, just to mess with the analysts. It's also quite common to simply “steal” a way of working from another group, or use a leaked/stolen tool from another group (criminals aren't safe from other criminals, especially not in this business) - there are new malware coming out all the time with code that is just a slight modification of a well-known malware actor that had their source code leaked or simply had hired the same programmer. Or they may leave no clues as to who was behind it. Attribution to the guilty part is usually the single most difficult mission in IT-security - often it's just pure guesswork with little to no solid evidence to back it up, if you're lucky there's circumstantial evidence.

This case was no different. The first clue came from the IP the bad guys used to connect to the Bangladesh bank from. It was located in Pyongyang, North Korea. But, as I mentioned, this is not a conclusive verdict, as the IP may simply be planted false evidence to throw the analysts off their track. After the heist, the hackers used a data-wiper to scrub as much of their malware off the bank systems, but they didn't succeed in deleting all of it, some of the tools were still present, including the wiper.

Due to the scale of this operation, it caught the attention of every single IT-security person and IT-security company worldwide, who all of course wanted to know who and how they did it. With the remaining malware, a joint effort was made, comparing malware code to other malware code for similarities. Some was found in Poland, after an analyst noted the similarities from another suspected North Korean hack. Some was found in another infamous North Korean hack targeting Sony Pictures. More and more signs pointed towards the same actor. Some were false leads, the hackers seemed to be wanting to implicate the Russians did it, but failed quite miserably at that, just sprinkling random Russian words into the malware and making it way too obvious it was a ruse.

You may not believe this, but the North Korean government has one of the most notorious hacking groups in the world, known as the Lazarus Group. Some of its more well-known adventures include an extremely data-destructive hack of Sony Pictures (as punishment for releasing “The Interview”), creation of the ransomware WannaCry which was used against many targets worldwide (including hospitals), and various attempts at gathering information from governments and government-affiliated corporations all over the world. And, of course, this heist.

Eventually, after months of collaboration all over the world, the final verdict fell on North Korea, and specifically one of their programmers. His name is Park Jin Hyok, and worked for Chosun Expo - a front company for the North Korean government, located in Dalian (China) who used the funds of the fake corporation gained from legitimate programming jobs from customers worldwide to create the malware and plan the heist with all of its expenses. Of course he wasn't the sole person involved in this project, but it's the only person we know was in it.

This particular heist had been meticulously planned for several years, and Park Jin Hyok had moved to Dalian, set up fake IDs and built a network of contacts there to avoid suspicion. However, he didn't manage to delete all of his online footprints, and became the number one suspect when his internet activities suddenly came from Pyongyang, North Korea.

Additionally, several Chinese business men - many associated with the casino industry in China's Macau territory - were also charged and arrested for assisting with setting up the gambling rooms and coordinating the money laundering process. One unknown Chinese business man managed to get away with 31 million USD of the 80 million that remained after the heist, and as you would expect, he was never to be seen again.

With the middlemen from China paid off, not much remained of the original 1 billion to North Korea. But the heist has fascinated the whole IT-security world nonetheless.

I remember when the news of this case dropped to the IT-security world, who all wanted to take part in the hunt. It was a very fun time, we were all sitting at the edge of our seats waiting for the next update. I hope it was at least somewhat exciting for you too to read about, and thank you for reading this long post! If you liked it, please consider reblogging as it motivates me to write more. You may also like malware stuff I've written about before, such as Stuxnet or just plain evil malware that is a threat to our daily lives.

As always my inbox is open if you have any questions.

#datatag #bangladesh #heist #lazarus #north korea #malware #security #Bank #Hacking #Cybersecurity

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dalekofchaos · 5 months ago

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Fantasy Booking:WCW never goes out of business

In March of 2001, AOL TimeWarner sold off WCW and all it's trademarks, championships, many of it's wrestlers and their entire tape library to the World Wrestling Federation. This happened, because on top of WCW's declining ratings in the Monday Night Wars (thank you SO much Vince Russo), AOL had no interest in airing wrestling on TNT anymore.

So now, we explore an alternate timeline of events, where Eric Bischoff and Fusient Media, beat the WWF in purchasing WCW from AOL TimeWarner in spring of 2001.

So now, Bischoff has basically paid out of pocket to keep WCW out of the hands of the uncaring WWF and it's monster of a CEO. So, what now? Well, WCW would most likely be nearly broke at this point, and would have very little money left to spend. Many lower-card wrestlers would likely get benched, and weekly shows would ALL get cancelled. This includes: Nitro and Thunder!

WCW would be forced to do what TNA did initially in our timeline: do PPV's ONLY, until they could find a new channel to air their weekly programming. Now, it just so happens, that later that same year, the WWF's flagship show: Monday Night Raw, would leave it's traditional home: the USA Network, to begin a four year stint on Spike TV. The USA Network experienced a HUGE loss with this change, and that's where WCW would step in. WCW even in it's worst days, were getting higher weekly ratings than TNA did in it's PRIME. So, needless to say, a now wrestling deprived USA Network, would pick up Nitro and the Monday Night Wars would be BACK ON.

Throughout all of this, Scott Steiner and Booker T, would likely remain on top of the mountain in WCW. Due to many wrestlers getting released, the WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team titles would likely be retired, as would the Hardcore title. With Nitro's re-airing, WCW bring back the Television championship, which is put on the line in a tournament which is won either by a creatively deprived mid-carder (Billy Kidman), or a promising rookie (AJ Styles).

Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash would most likely NOT return to this new WCW. Instead, like many other wrestlers, they would sit at home and let their AOL TimeWarner contracts expire and would most likely join the WWF in early 2002 like they did IRL. Sting on the other hand, I could imagine returning to weekly programming, along with Diamond Dallas Page. DDP was willing to join the WWF IMMEDIATELY after WCW's cancellation IRL, so I think he'd come back to WCW instead of waiting it out. As for Sting, WCW was his home and he refused to join the WWF for many years. I think his loyalty would shine through, and he'd return as well.

Rey Mysterio Jr would wait out his contract like IRL and would get offers from both WWF and WCW. He'd agree to return to WCW, only if they gave him his mask back. Whether Bischoff agrees is up to him and him alone. Hopefully he lets him have it back.

AJ Styles, at least I HOPE, would remain employed by WCW. I think at this point in his career, Styles wouldn't dare leave a company like WCW, that could really help him get a foot in the door. His tag partner, Air Paris, would most likely be released. I think anyone could see Styles potential even this early on, and he'd be worth keeping in the long run. Hopefully, Bischoff would agree with me on that.

WCW's ratings would DEFINTELY increase throughout the 2000's. They'd actually be able to compete with WWE in my opinion, both because fans started losing interest in WWE frequently throughout the decade, and WCW has a LOT more legitimacy as a company than TNA did. TNA lost the second Monday Night War so definitively, because people couldn't take them seriously. WCW with it's rich history, is a very different story.

Now, when considering WCW in the long run, we have to sit back and ask ourselves, what wrestlers would NEVER join WCW? Well, here's a list of wrestlers I think wouldn't be on the table for WCW:

The Undertaker - Similar to Sting with WCW, Taker is a WWF man through and through. There's no WAY he would ever jump ship.

Kane - Same reason as the Undertaker.

Stone Cold Steve Austin - Austin would hold a grudge against Eric Bischoff for his unjust firing in 1995 while he was out with injury. Even when he walked out on the WWF in 2002, Austin wouldn't be caught dead on WCW programming.

The Rock - Rock's loyalty to the WWF would remain intact. The WWF made him a star, and he wouldn't forget that. Plus, WWF would finance his early films like IRL, making him a WWF-lifer.

Eddie Guerrero - Guerrero hated the way he was treated in WCW, hence why he left them in 2000. Would be unlikely to ever return, even when WWF briefly fired him.

Chris Benoit - Benoit also left WCW in a huff in 2000 for the same reasons as Eddie. Even being crowned WCW World champion, wasn't enough to keep Benoit around, so I see no reason why he'd budge.

Randy Orton - Bob Orton Jr never went to WCW during the Monday Night Wars, and I couldn't imagine him doing so in the early 2000's either. So therefore, his son Randy, would only get his wrestling career opportunity in WWE.

Batista - Had previously been rejected from the WCW Powerplant, and was told he would never make it in the business. Batista would NEVER forget that, and wouldn't think twice about joining and staying with the WWE instead.

Daniel Bryan - William Regal and Shawn Michaels trained him to wrestle. He would of course want to join them in WWE.

The Miz - WCW wouldn't even let him in the door, let's be honest.

I'm sure there's plenty of other people I'm missing, but for now let's go with this.

Now, I do believe WCW would operate somewhat like TNA did in its early years. Apart from the PPV-exclusive format WCW would operate with throughout most of 2001, it would also likely feature a lot of the same wrestlers. However, it's also important to note, that TNA would NEVER exist in this timeline. Jeff Jarrett formed it because WCW shut down and he knew WWF wouldn't want him after what he pulled in 1999. So, he formed TNA, so he'd have a non-WWF promotion to call home. In this timeline, WCW never closes, so Jarrett remains in WCW and TNA is never formed.

In 2004, Brock Lesnar would be picked up by WCW. Brock left WWE IRL in 2004, because they're schedule was too much for Brock to handle. WCW prided itself in it's lighter schedule, and Brock would be the biggest free agent in wrestling. Lesnar would agree, on the condition that he be given extended periods of inactivity in order to pursue the NFL (and later UFC), which WCW would agree to do. Anything to get Lesnar. In fact, I'd bet that many UFC fighters would join WCW. Eric Bischoff has a real appreciation for MMA and other contact sports, and we'd likely see a lot of UFC/WCW cross-promotions.

WCW throughout the 2000's, would also likely hire all the big indie stars not signed by the WWE. CM Punk is a definite in my opinion. Although, I could also imagine Punk joining WWE instead, since Paul Heyman was the one who vouched for him, and Heyman was in WWE, NOT WCW. However, if WCW values wrestling (which it normally did), then WCW would come knocking on Punk's door.

Samoa Joe would be a definite yes for WCW. I'm honestly surprised Joe ever went to WWE, considering how rude Jim Ross apparently was to him early in his indie career. With no TNA, Joe would go to WCW and would quickly rise to the main event.

Kurt Angle would likely join WCW in 2006, after leaving the WWE like he did IRL. He'd be a MAJOR signing for WCW, and would definitely help further boost ratings.

Other people I could imagine joining WCW throughout the years include:

Bobby Lashley

Drew McIntyre

Seth Rollins

Jon Moxley

Lance Archer

Big Show

AJ Lee

Charlotte Flair

Gail Kim

Awesome Kong

Cesaro

Jay Lethal

Richie Steamboat

Again, I'm sure I've missed a lot of people, but these ones all stick out to me personally.

Some effects WCW's presence would have on WWE, include the fact that Evolution would never be formed (at least not in the same way). There's a VERY real chance that Triple H and Shawn Michaels could both have joined WCW, if Hall and Nash had decided to stay in WCW. If not, then Ric Flair definitely would've stayed in WCW, and Evolution might not have happened at all.

Another thing is that John Cena might never have become a big deal. WWE came very close to firing Cena, and there's a chance that because of the butterfly effect, Stephanie McMahon never discovers his rapping ability, and Cena is fired. If that's the case, Cena probably wouldn't have gone to WCW, since they wouldn't see much value in a kid who at the time, had no visible charisma and was fairly average in the ring.

Cody Rhodes also never would've joined WWE or formed AEW. Dusty Rhodes and Goldust would've stayed in WCW instead of joining the WWF, and thus Cody would be trained in the WCW Powerplant and debuted on Nitro in 2007. Cody would be treated a LOT better than IRL, and would've become one of WCW's biggest players of the 2010's. No mistreatment by WWE, means no Stardust, no American Nightmare, no AEW, and no run in WWE period. Cody would be WCW-bound for life.

The Hardy Boyz would also be WCW-bound. Jeff was fired from WWE in 2003 after refusing to go to rehab. He'd be a hot free agent that WCW couldn't possibly pass up. Matt would join him in 2005, when WWE fires him for his online post about Edge and Lita's affair.

Ring of Honor would still exist, but probably wouldn't rise to prominence like IRL, since ROH became popular because of WCW's demise. When WCW shut down, people yearned for an alternative to WWE. But now, WCW is still around and thus ROH is a lot more obscure. If WCW got to a point of getting rich again, I could imagine them buying it out like Tony Khan did IRL. The wealth of talent ROH could provide WCW with would be INSANE.

Now, if CM Punk DID join WCW, then he never would've retired in 2014. He would be likely treated a little better, get no staph infection, and would remain active throughout the entirety of the 2010's. He'd probably never marry AJ Lee sadly, although I could imagine Lee going to WCW, since WWE's women's division was AWFUL for a long time. Then again WCW's wasn't that much better honestly, though hopefully that would change in this timeline.

The nWo would absolutely be revived at some point, with new members. CM Punk would be a FANTASTIC nWo leader.

The WWE as a whole, would probably be a better overall product. Vince wouldn't get an inflated ego from purchasing both ECW and WCW, and would still operate like he did in the Attitude Era. WWE would still lose viewers after the deaths of Eddie and Benoit. WWE would still go PG and despite the ongoing Monday Night Wars, Vince McMahon CLEARLY has mental health problems in real life, so it wouldn't stop him from micromanaging. WWE would remain out of touch with it's fans and continue pushing wrestlers that fans don't like. With Edge, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Undertaker and Batista all leaving WWE in 2010 and 11, plus with Cena possibly never becoming a main eventer, WWE suffers a LOT in the early 2010's, helping WCW gain even more fan support with better promos and matches.

WCW would form a working partnership with NJPW, which would really help them even more, since it would get them wrestlers like Kenny Omega, Shinsuke Nakamura, Jushin Liger, Jay White and Kazuchika Okada to perform on Nitro. Just IMAGINE THAT.

By today, WCW would be more popular than WWE and AEW in our timeline. It would get millions of viewers a week, and WWE would likely become a shell of it's former self. The wrestling landscape is a lot healthier, with viewers and performers having a different place to watch/wrestle, that was actually on WWE's level. TNA suffered because it was a lesser promotion, with a short history, and a roster of WWE's leftovers. Plus it was run by Vince Russo and Dixie Carter. Ugh.

WCW surviving would've been the best thing possible for wrestling as a whole. We can blame Vince McMahon, for yet another thing he robbed the world of. Thank you so so much Vince. We REALLY appreciate it.

The current champions for WCW are as follows:

WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Cody Rhodes

WCW United States Champion: Seth Rollins

WCW Women’s Champion: Charlotte Flair

WCW World Television Champion: AJ Styles

WCW World Cruiserweight Champion: Adam Cole

WCW World Tag Team Champions: FTR

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nesiacha · 21 days ago

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The scars of a toxic past are starting to surface help

I have always been very fearful (I have never hidden this flaw) so when I am confronted with some kind of more or less serious danger I run away. There is very recently some news that paralyzes me and yet it is "nothing" and it is a problem that could be avoided: apparently, an old "acquaintance" of mine that I knew when I was a teenager and he was an adult and who was a tyrant towards me (it was only years later that I realized that) and who yelled and insulted in unacceptable terms at times deliberately without ever apologizing (he told me in his own words when I could not solve an exercise "you are going to shit and if you do not cry it is because you are really brave" and obviously I collapsed within twenty minutes that followed). The worst thing is that he was subtle, he only said good things about me to my parents, so knowing that I was going through a hard time with my parents, I told myself that he was not so bad and I met his other students who were always nice to me (which did me good because I was very lonely and depressed) or a member of his entourage (who was very good to me), allowed me to do a good activity that I could not have afforded, cited me as an example in a period where I was constantly put down ( and he know that). This kind of evil is worse than the school bullies who harassed me because most of them were at least frank in this kind of evil and they were young, they did not realize the harm it did (most of them became good people even if we will never be friends because they never apologized but otherwise we could get along well). With him it was much worse, he is an adult I went from kind words, gifts like offering me good food then to horrible words and terms for which he never apologized. It was a vicious and tiring cycle. I only realized that he hurt me when I took a year to do therapy years later. I never dared to tell my parents because I think they would say that I was being dramatic. After all they said the same thing at the beginning when I complained about school bullying or the lack of friends I had. I love them and believe me they protected me from so many things but I know that I could not count on them and I never told them this part of my life. Of course he never did me any harm that is reprehensible by law compared to what a certain "friend" did to me on my years on the (the equivalent of middle school in the USA) . But less than this event I remain amnesiac on certain points and I cling to it. And she does not know my phone number or my address unlike him. There I do not know what to do. He knows my phone number and the address of my parents (they could say my address). He found me on social media addresses even though I never gave him my address on social networks ( and I never make any publications or at least fews, never post photo on me , not information about me) . I do not want to see him again and it risks difficult to avoid him if he asks my parents for news ( and my parents like him). I know that he can no longer hurt me but I am still afraid. Maybe he does not want anything at all. I hope so. I only recently came out of my long depression which rotted my adolescence and my beginning of adult life (a few years ago). I do not want to go back there.

#post #to supress #im scared

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leothil · 2 years ago

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actually the rating is very bad. As someone that is a ratings guru I can tell you the ins and outs of how ratings works for specific networks. You listed WWE Raw on the USA network that is cable my friend which is a whole different monster, also a sports telecast. 911 on the other hand is a procedural drama on one of the big 4 networks. The Big 4 consist of Fox, ABC, NBC and CBS. The Big 4 will cancel shows if they're not performing up to par and I think Fox is at the point with 911

Listen, dude (gn). You sent me five asks telling me things I already know about tv ratings saying I asked for it, which I absolutely did not, and trying to argue that Fox is disappointed and on the verge of cancelling 9-1-1, which is definitely not true.

As you can see here, 9-1-1 is at the top of the 2022-2023 average for FOX's scripted shows. Even adding in the non-scripted shows, it's doing quite well:

Reality tv is a big ratings draw, this is a well-known fact, but networks will not want to bind themselves to only one kind of show either.

Let's take a look at ratings over all networks:

Huh, would you look at that. Not too shabby by our little weewoo show! Note also the overall big dips in viewers year over year - this is not a problem isolated to 9-1-1, it's happening all across the board.

None of these ratings hold a candle to what news shows and stuff like MLB, NFL and NBA can draw for big games, but network execs are well aware of this, and trying to compare those are like comparing apples to oranges. But I did take a look at how the NBA game last Monday did on ESPN anyway: 0.59 in the key demo.

And I did compare it to RAW, for the simple reason that RAW also airs on Mondays at 8PM. We can compare it with the other big wrestling show too (as their ratings is a topic I'm more than familiar with), if you like: Smackdown on FOX on Fridays, latest numbers are a 0.63 rating, while nothing else on tv (not just cable or network, all of tv) was above 0.43.

Saying FOX is anywhere near cancelling 9-1-1 for their ratings is a ridiculous statement. Now, you are right in saying (in another of your messages) that procedural shows are at risk of the original actors wanting to move on and/or dragging out the story far longer than would be ideal, but I don't think we're at that point yet with 9-1-1. We'll know more come May when show renewals take place (and I think some of the main actors' contracts as well), but it's no use speculating about anyone leaving as there's been no indication of that yet.

Also no offense, but calling yourself a ratings guru is hilarious and makes you sound like a pro wrestling twitter user that whines in Bryan Alvarez's mentions every week when he posts the WWE and AEW ratings.

#for anyone confused by the numbers: i'm working on another post that goes into more detail regarding what the different ratings mean #and how they're measured; so that's coming #ask frida #anon #911 ratings

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wjmc2023 · 1 year ago

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WJMC FULL EXPERIENCE

Sunday

I arrived at George Mason University around 12:30 to my dorm to see that my roommate was already moved in, then I went to The Hub to check in with the leader of my group to make sure she had all of my information. From there on, I talked to a few people in The Hub and made quite a few new friends, then we went on a tour of the George Mason campus.

The food was great, but our speaker Savannah Behemann; a WJMC alumna, former Congressional Reporter for USA Today, and currently is the Senate Correspondent for National Journal.

She spoke on the significance of journalism, especially in the wake of backlash directed towards the field along with disputing disinformation. She also spoke on how competitive the field is; a company rejecting an article of hers but not letting it get to her, but rather going to another one that would carry her story.

I thoroughly enjoyed one of her overarching themes of her speech highlighting the importance of humanizing your story and asking yourself “why should I write this?” and “why would someone read this?”. It’s one of the core values that I find in journalism which is the reach.

She also spoke on taking opportunities and putting yourself out there for potential future employers to see. The need for networking with people in the journalism field and keeping your options open.

Monday

On Monday, we went to Planet Word to check out the museum, and see Doni Holloway, producer of the podcast "Why is This Happening?" and multi-media journalist. The best part of his speech was the story of him meeting Hoda Kotb when he was younger and she wrote a note to him that read "See you at 30 Rock!" it really struck a cord with me because I too met Kotb a few years ago and managed to get a picture with her after she hosted The Today Show.

The rest of the museum was nothing short of fascinating. One of the best parts was the interactive book section where you would place a book underneath a light projector and it would create an animation. Luckily, the camera on my phone works wonders so I could really capture the magic as I turned down the brightness on the screen to reveal the beautiful scene that was projected.

We finished up at Planet Word, and made our way to The White House. It wasn't my first time seeing The White House, but it was my first time seeing it under a new administration. As much power and integrity that single building holds in our country's history, my favorite part was getting a chance to listen to a man speak in front of The White House.

He was posted up at the iconic White House peace vigil. His stand had varying flags of varying countries along with a myriad of global political issues relevant to our time like Julian Assange, climate change, mass shootings, and the war machine.

He talked about the many attempts from the government to remove the vigil, but how they remained triumphant and beat them in the Supreme Court. He also thinks that it's our generations duty to help make the world a better place

After that, we did a tour of the monuments as the day started to turn to dusk. It was my first time seeing the monuments light up in the dark; the coolest one being the Lincoln Memorial.

TUESDAY

On tuesday, we took the bus to the George Mason campus in Washington, DC to listen to a few speakers, Lauren Ober, and Lauren Barron-Lopez. Both of the speakers were amazing.

Lauren Ober is a host of the Spectacular Failures podcast, and an award winning producer for WAMU's magazine Metro Connection. I found her advice about finding your skillset very meaningful. If you don't find your niche or something that you're well versed in (especially in the field of journalism), your experience in the field won't be as enjoyable compared to knowing what you know best.

Another enjoyable aspect of her speech was her belief in going right to the source. Someone asked a question about interviewing people for her podcast, and she said that she practices field reporting; meaning that she meets with the people that she's talking about/interviewing in person whenever she can.

Our next speaker, Laura Barron-Lopez gave the audience a very raw perspective of what it's like to be in journalism, especially for a woman of color. One thing that I very much appreciated was the fact that she wears her hair in its natural curly state; she doesn't water herself down or try to fit in with a certain beauty standard.

There was one quote that she said that really stuck with me, which was "Objectivity makes journalists say difficult things". Things that go against your own biases, but also things that people don't want to hear.

At around 2:00, we went over to the National Press Club to see two more speakers, Nicholas Johnston from Axios, and Alexis Johnson from Vice News. I had been looking forward to seeing Alexis Johnson speak since I have been watching vice for a few years now, and I have seen many of her segments.

Nick Johnston's speech was pretty interesting, he works for Axios News, an online publication that prioritizes brevity in their stories. He talked about building trust with the consumer and delivering news effectively while still maintaining brevity in its delivery along with key details and nuance.

After that was Alexis Johnson, the speaker I was waiting for. She talked about how she started off working at a local TV station doing closed captioning, and she is now a multimedia journalist. Johnson discussed the importance of networking, staying informed, and a very interesting piece of advice; finding a character for a story so the viewer or reader has somebody to relate to when they're getting information from the story.

After her speech, I had time to take a picture with her, and I got her autograph. I asked her a question having to do with facing backlash online when covering controversial topics, she told me that in order to stay safe, make sure to keep your social medias safe and not let bad faith actors get to you.

WEDNESDAY

On wednesday, our first speaker was Anna Layden, a photojournalist based out of Washington D.C. Photojournalism wasn't a career that I had really considered until she showed the evocative shots that she had taken.

She spoke on capturing a certain emotion when she was doing her job, and she also spoke on the hectic nature of being a freelance photojournalist.

Our next speaker was Patrick Money. His speech was on college admission. He talked about what colleges are looking for when it comes to admissions. He spoke on things like extracurriculars and AP & Honors classes and how the quantity doesn't matter to college admissions offices; but rather what the student learned while participating in these activities.

A few hours later, we went to our breakout session speakers. Mine was Donna Harris, a public information officer. She gave us a look at what goes on behind the scenes when it comes to live reporting and public relations. From her speech, I learned about the amount of work that goes into live broadcasting, especially when you're having to contact several different people and organizations in your community.

After the breakout session, I decided to network with Kayla Sharpe, a digital multimedia journalist who has covered many underreported topics around the world. Since my main interest in journalism is political extremism (more specifically the rise of the far right in the west), I asked her how she hones in on a story or issue that not many people may know about so she can get her point across to the reader, and she told me to focus in on one person in the story, to find a character much like Alexis Johnson said.

THURSDAY

On thursday we made our way back to Washington D.C and I went to the African American History museum with a few friends. I had been wanting to go to the museum ever since it was built. The museum had about five floors to it, but we only had time to look at the first floor which was dedicated to the origins of west Africa before the slave trade, and the beginning of slavery.

The most moving part of the museum that we saw was the Emmett Till Memorial. The tragic story of the young boy is enough to bring anyone to tears, but it's the parts that get left out that are especially enraging. Like how his mother got his body out of the Tallahatchie river after he carried a cotton gin fan down to it.

I definitely want to make a trip back down to DC to finish the entire museum, even if it would take the whole day.

After that, we went to the hotel that was hosting our gala. The food that we had there was amazing. Following the meal, we danced for a few hours and then headed back to campus again.

On friday, we packed up all of our stuff from the dorms, and we left. It was bittersweet, I had to leave all the friends that I made throughout the program, but at the same time I had learned so much.

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adultswim2021 · 2 years ago

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Robot Chicken #53: “Ban on the Fun” | October 28, 2007, 2007 - 11:30PM | S03E11

Hello Kitty gets a hairball? Now I’ve seen everything! Folks, that was my favorite bit in the whole episode. Look at me, dismissing it out of hand.

What else does this episode have? A senseless runner where the main dude form 300 says “This. Is. ____! (something other than Sparta)”, a grotesque but just-plain silly parody of the final scene from Rocky, and a sorta-clever sketch that takes place immediately after the fade-out in Thelma and Louise. I didn’t mind any of them too much, but I did not laugh. There’s also a thing where two meth cookers conjure Crystar. I don’t know who that is and I don’t care to find out. Seems like nerd shit to me.

Also notable is the “Scientist Mad With Power” sketch, about the scientist who declared Pluto was no longer planet (then roughly topical) going crazy and also declaring that other things weren’t what they were supposed to be. I sorta liked this one, and feel like it’s maybe the most cohesive idea in the whole show. The punchline is satisfying enough. I didn’t hate this one!

There’s also the memorable “Home Life of the Maytag Repairman”, a take-off of the Maytag Repairman ad campaign. The joke in the ads is that he’s never busy because Maytags don’t break very often. The boredom has driven him to become so mad that he strikes his wife, who leaves him. He blows his brains out, which splatter all over a Maytag dishwasher. This one’s fairly well done as far as Robot Chicken goes, I guess.

The final sketch is Laff-a-Munich, which is a parody of both Steven Spielberg’s Munich (which I’ve never seen; I’m honestly only faintly aware of the real-life events that it portrays) and Hanna Barbera’s Laff-A-Lympics. I grew up on the Hanna Barbera stuff to some degree (mostly by way of VHS best-of compilations), and I actually remember a brief period of time when I tuned in to Laff-A-Lympics repeats on USA Network in the afternoons. You’d think I’d be fonder of this sketch.

I guess I’m either noting a mild improvement in the show, or that I’m a little more used to it. It rarely excites me or makes me laugh, but it doesn’t seem to make me angry like it used to. Even knowing what I know now, I still wouldn’t bother to watch it outside of this blog. There are often sketches on the show where the writing is all-over the place, with jokes that don’t really build on the premise but are just a collection of “funny” things happening. I think the excuse was that the show was meant to feel like a little kid with a short attention span smacking their different toys around in nonsensical scenarios. The show does seem to be a little more focused overall and have more solid sketches. I still mostly don’t like it, though.

MAIL BAG

Please forgive my scattered absences. I actually wrote this post and accidentally saved it as a draft and forgot to queue it. Also, I think daylight savings eve got skipped? No idea why, that one was tumblr’s fault, but if I thought of it I might have gone in and forced it to publish.

I played the new Ninja Turtles brawler game Shredder's Revenge and you can't play as Venus De Milo. You can play as April O'Neil though (the porn star, not the reporter)

April O’Neil does some terrific work. Anyway: I read that the one guy sold his share of the Ninja Turtles to the other guy, and the guy who holds the rights now HATED Venus, and deleted all mentions of her on the official website. There was even like, some blog thing that was meant to keep her in the canon and he DELETED it harshly. HBOMax much?? SEXIST MUCH???

#adult swim #adultswim2021 #robot chicken

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hasufin · 9 months ago

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Here's the thing about the current layoffs, even.

Okay, back in 2001 I worked for Sprint. I was part of the ION - Integrated On-demand Networking - project. You're familiar with the technology: it's what lets you get phone service, TV, and Internet access all on one line.

Now, in late 2001 the tech bubble had burst, and the USA was reeling from 9/11. Sprint admitted they didn't have a coherent marketing plan for their flagship product. So they laid me off. Along with 20,000 of my closest friends. All in one metropolitan area. It was ugly.

And I will say, I do blame management. I don't know how you get so far on a product without having any real idea how to sell it or what to do with it. They didn't need to do it that way. Yet, I will also acknowledge: they didn't have the ability to keep us all. Nor even most of us. That massive layoff was the result of a business need. They were in a corner and found they had a LOT of engineers doing work which Sprint no longer needed to have done.

That is emphatically not what is happening right now. About a month before Google did their previous round of layoffs, I was in serious discussion with them for a position. I did a lot of prep work, built a portfolio for them, did a couple of rounds of interviews. Not gonna say I totally impressed them, but it looked reasonably promising. And then they just up and ghosted me. Now, I'm used to that: it usually means "We offered the job to someone else, but if they turn us down or don't work out, we still want to keep you as an option, so we're gonna leave you in limbo." (I was also told by someone in Google that their upper management is pretty hostile to telework and I'm generally opposed to moving within a really generous signing bonus).

THEN they did layoffs. And those layoffs included a lot of people in the specific group I'd have been working. Okay, NBD. This is fine.

Now, one thing I heard was that those layoffs came as a complete surprised to the victims. Like, they'd get in to work, be working, and suddenly their logins would stop working. Some of them were on vacation (a lot were on maternity leave, which is sketchy AF) and couldn't log into their email to learn they'd been laid off.

A couple of weeks later Google reached out to me again to see if I was still interested.

So.

They didn't want to hire me. They laid off people doing the job I would be doing. And then they wanted to hire me to fill the position which they'd just vacated.

What's the different? Well, with Sprint we knew about the impending layoffs months in advance. There was a solid month of very intense horse trading among managers as different groups fought over how many people they needed working for them to keep the lights on. It was planned.

Google, though - and this is representative of other recent layoffs from what I'm told - simply told business groups "reduce your headcount by 25%. You have until COB today." And that was it. It wasn't about a business need. It wasn't planned. It had NOTHING to do with what the workers were doing, how well they'd met their objectives, anything. It was entirely a ploy to juice their stock price.

Now, time was, layoffs were seen as a sign of weakness. If a company did layoffs, that meant they had an uncertain future. Now, for some fucking reason, layoffs are strength. Even when they're unplanned chaos and they immediately have to fill those positions because it turns out they needed those people. It still makes stockbrokers cum for some stupid reason.

Obviously, I told Google to stuff it. Why would I want to work for a company that does idiotic layoffs?

every single time

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jyndor · 3 months ago

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i forgot united states people are the center of the universe. so because usa people are stupid, it makes poor representation of other internationals acceptable? that it doesn’t matter if its objectively incorrect, idolizing white men is actually a super progressive and leftist thing to do?

hablas español? because all you ever have to do to find info is search his name on twitter and ig and the people tear him apart. he’s already supporting our new evil president because she was backed by the old one. everyone who care about our country knows this. but again I forgot monolingual usa is the center of the universe

celebrities blow and are self-serving liberals, yeah I mean who is shocked? not me since I already didn't think diego luna is some pinnacle of representation like you think I do or something lmao

I don't have twitter anymore, I don't go on instagram - not everyone looks for news on social media lmao. and I was looking for any spanish-language (I read alright but speak and write very poorly) news source and not finding anything. which is why I asked if you had any sources because maybe there are sources I wouldn't know to read or look at - after all i am not mexican. all I found was him saying that him voting for amlo didn't mean he couldn't criticize him, which is both true and also a standard liberal viewpoint

on his twitter I see people talking about his silence on the construction of the tren maya - for those who don't know, this train is harmful to indigenous people as well as the ecosystem and is mostly just good for tourists, not locals. the zapatistas don't fuck with it, the indigenous peoples don't fuck with it, and the environmentalists don't fuck with it.

here's some information on tren maya and why it sucks and why amlo sucks for doing it:

anyway yeah my point was never that diego luna is some leftist king lmao but he has historically been of the left so he should do better. but that wasn't what I was saying anon, I was saying that white us americans (the audience that unfortunately lucasfilm is catering to) will be xenophobic to even a white latino - and what amandla stenberg has experienced in particular has been about a billion times worse because they are a non binary black actress.

like I'm not arguing about the quality of diego luna as representation for mexicans because I'm not mexican, I think there needs to be more indigenous and black latines in media. he did narcos like what are we talking about lmao the guy is not someone I think of as representing anyone other than himself

as far as the united states being a shithole full of dumbasses. yes. this country is selfish and ignorant and unbelievably bigoted. and yes unfortunately us american media companies are mostly concerned about us american audiences. that's the reality, even if it is horrible and fucked up.

anon you're totally right to be upset and angry about that but idk why you're coming at me because I agree with you. I don't like your current girlboss president and I don't like amlo.

also one final note: I'm sorry but one thing about me is that anons lost the privilege of getting the benefit of the doubt years ago with me because of years and years of bullshit anons being full of crap. if you make a claim, you back it up. period. I should not have to go search some shit that YOU tell me about, especially when it is only tangentially related to what the fuck I'm talking about. I'm STILL not seeing a NEWS article or even any sort of investigative reporting about diego luna being corrupt or taking money from amlo. Iirc I saw that years ago his production company took money right? but that was some people saying stuff on reddit.

I'm not saying he isn't, I'm sure he did lmao I don't care about that man I don't care about celebrities and if you've followed me for any time you should know that. I'm just saying I hate I hate I hate the lazy "I'm not google just look it up yourself" answer people give when they make a claim and don't feel like GIVING ANY PROOF for their claim. and especially when we are dealing with different media in different countries why the fuck would I be as familiar with it as someone who is actually mexican? there may be some source I don't know that's good and so how would I find that? this is why I always try to provide articles for people when I make claims. it's on me to prove my point.

anyway anon I agree with you lmao

#asks #answered #anonymous #bro i have a JOB i have to do my WORK lmao

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newluddite · 5 months ago

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Julian Assange the final chapter.

Well he his home in OZ and free of the charges the USA laid on him. So he has managed to prove how utterly bad his judgement is. He spent 7 years hiding in the Ecuadorian Embassy in the UK. They kicked him out as he was a very poor guest. Then 5 years in jail first for violating bail then pending extradition. Oh and there was a rape accusation from Sweden in there somewhere.

He spent 12 years of not being free in fear of facing espionage charges for publishing stolen secrets from US authorities. To be clear he really did the things the US accused him of which are serious crimes.

The person who stole the secrets spent 7 years in confinement and had their sentence commuted by the US President. They got out in 2017. Makes you think that he should have manned up and faced the music. He could have been out years ago. But manning up is not in his nature.

So now he is a hero or martyr or something. Did he actually prove press freedom is paramount? No. He did a deal so everyone could put it behind themselves. The US justice Department gave him a plea deal that effectively let him claim time served in that Embassy and in a UK Prison was time enough. More time than the soldier who stole the data served.

The files were an embarrassment to the US. They showed soldiers committing war crimes. That is also what caused the crisis of conscience leading to the Army Private's theft. The US is not a signatory on the global treaty regarding war crimes. Just saying.

Before he was a hero / martyr he was a hacker who did or claimed to have broken into military and government sites in the US and Australia. He claimed to be an ethical hacker. But he was implicated in the theft of half a million dollars from a bank when he was in his teens. He knew his way around computers and network security.

So back home. Probably will write a book or two and do speaking engagements. Ok fine.

But really stupid decisions over and over again.

#julian assange #bad judgement

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increae · 6 months ago

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Selling on Social Networks on Black Friday - 5 Points of Attention

If you think of selling through social networks this holiday season, it is important that you are eyeing on Black Friday. The annual and traditional event of the United States of America has already spread worldwide, being a fever here too. The date refers to the last Thursday of November, the Day of Thanksgiving.

In the USA, it is a holiday and the next day, Friday - was when many people went to the streets to shop, anticipating the coming Christmas. The date gradually became more popular, and traders began to make specific promotions for the occasion.

Australia is not left out of this sales spectacle, having the participation of 0.6 billion AUD only in the Black Friday of last year, 2019. In relation to 2018, this value represents a 23% increase in profits, which were left with a ticket - an average of $ 208.00. The expressive result gains volume with multichannel services, with social networks being one of them.

Want to make better use of your social networks to sell more on Black Friday? Arrived at the right place and time, enjoy our post!

Why do increase social networks help with Black Friday strategy?

An annual report by We Are Social shows that uk has strong participation in the use of social networks. We are about 26 million Australians, with more than 19 million using their social media accounts. That means 70% of the population.

This means that, when using social networks, your business gains the ability to reach this audience. Furthermore, this is a slice of the increase market that can still expand and be exploited in the future. As proof, we can see these other data brought by the same research.

There was an increase of 2 million users on the Internet, between January 2018 and January 2019. Note that the same number of people also started to be actively involved in social networks, using mobile access (via smartphone) as the main means.

In addition, Australia likes YouTube more as its favourite social network, followed by Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram.

However, popularity is not the only factor that must be considered when realizing the share of social networks in sales over the Internet. See these other data that show the social networks with the highest number of audiences for ads.

Instagram, despite being the 2nd favourite social network of Australia, ends up standing out in second place as one of the most profitable to work its sales. In addition, note that the platform was also the one that had the most audience growth for ads, in which Facebook did not grow and Snapchat with -10% engagement.

How to enjoy Black Friday and sell through social networks?

Now you understand the importance that social media has for Black Friday Deals . However, that alone is not enough. It is necessary to prepare and anticipate so that your customers leave satisfied and your store with profits. Let's go to the tips? Follow!

1. Understand your virtual audience

In the previous topic, you followed some statistics on the main social networks in Australia. You may have noticed that there are different percentages for female and male audiences. Data analysis is very important when it comes to understanding your digital customer.

The choice of the social network depends on the morphology of the consumer group, as well as the language used in the content. This alignment between the different platforms and what your audience wants is important to achieve it. In addition to drawing more attention to exactly the people you want: those who will buy from you.

This means that, if you work with teachings, tips and steps, for example, YouTube can be interesting. Your audience will look for videos to follow in real-time what you say, doing the same way without errors. However, in addition, it is important to cross different platforms, as long as they add value to the consumer.

Snapchat is not like Instagram, but it has similar features and less reach. For the example mentioned above, where YouTube will be used as the main social network, it is interesting to add faster videos with Instagram, reaching more users and people interested in the brand.

2. Prepare your profile on social networks

It is a good marketing practice that you align your visual identity on all the platforms you work on. Especially when selling on the Internet during Black Friday. Your consumer needs to know right away that you are participating in the promotion. Furthermore, the strategy serves to attract people only interested in the promotional Friday.

What they want today are discounts and cheap ads, but with a good job done in your store, it is possible to win over this consumer for the rest of the year. In other words, social networks are not only excellent sales options for Black Friday but loyalty and enchantment to reach a wider audience for the business.

Other tips to get your profile calibrated to sell well on social networks:

• put a photo on the account, which may be the store's own logo;

• use colors, fonts and the name Black Friday to make it easier to identify;

• place a link to the website and online store in the biography of the page or profile;

• in the case of Instagram, it is important to use hashtags and Stories so that the public will find your store easier.

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anitabyars · 1 year ago

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NEW RELEASE!

Camden (Pittsburgh Titans, Book #8)

Sawyer Bennett

Release Date: August 1, 2023

Synopsis:

Camden Poe is the last of The Lucky Three, the surviving Pittsburgh Titans who weren’t on the team plane the night it went down. By all outward appearances, he’s adjusted to post-crash life well but inside he’s wrestling with the guilt of living.

The catastrophe that killed the Pittsburgh Titans changed my entire world. My teammates were more than my friends—they were my brothers. I mourned their loss with the rest of the nation but then I did as I’ve been taught… I moved on. I focused on returning to the ice with the newly rebuilt team and put the tragedy behind me. Considering the circumstances, I adjusted well. Or so I thought. Now I’m plagued by nightmares of the crash and my play has suffered as a result. Facing the possibility of losing my place on the team, I need to pull myself together and fast.

My buddy and linemate, Mitch Brandt died in the crash, leaving his wife Danica and son Travis behind to pick up the pieces of their shattered family. After reconnecting with Danica at a support group meeting, I find myself inexplicably drawn to helping her and her son move forward. What starts as two friends finding solace in one another following a tragedy becomes something more, leaving us both wondering if we deserve this chance.

I feel as if I’m walking a precarious line between a man falling for an incredible woman and a man moving in on his dead friend’s wife. But one thing is crystal clear—I’ve found a peace with Danica that I wasn’t sure I’d ever have again. Now I need to find the confidence within myself to push past the insecurities and make sure she knows how important she is to me because if I don’t, I’ll lose the one thing that makes me truly complete.

Get Camden in digital, signed paperback and audio (narrated by Aaron Shedlock & Savannah Peachwood) direct from Sawyer: SHOP the Sawyer Bennett Bookstore

Download Camden at the following retailers:

About the Author:

New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author Sawyer Bennett uses real life experience to create relatable stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From contemporary romance, fantasy romance, and both women’s and general fiction, Sawyer writes something for just about everyone.

A former trial lawyer from North Carolina, when she is not bringing fiction to life, Sawyer is a chauffeur, stylist, chef, maid, and personal assistant to her very adorable daughter, as well as full-time servant to her wonderfully naughty dogs.

If you’d like to receive a notification when Sawyer releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter (sawyerbennett.com/signup).

Connect with Sawyer:

My Review

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is book eight of the Pittsburgh Titans Series and I have been waiting for Camden’s story and this one definitely didn’t disappoint. Full of heartwarming and heartbreaking moments, that are emotional, tender, aspiring and romantic, as this friends to lovers trope brings a second chance of love to a widow and her son. A beautiful story that brings all the feels and emotions that held me captive until the end.

Camden Poe is one of the lucky three players, who weren’t on the fateful flight the night of the tragic crash, that took the entire team’s lives. Although he thought he had grieved and mourned, and accepted that he was granted grace while others were not, as the first anniversary of the Pittsburgh Titans’ plane crash gets closer, he is plagued with more nightmares and they’ve gotten worse. With his job on the line his coach gives him an ultimatum. He must attend the next

support group for all the loved ones and friends left behind, which is now more of a social network where they meet every Sunday afternoon and talk. And that is where he sees her again.

Danica Brandt lost her husband Mitch when that plane went down. In the last year she and her son (9yo)Travis have struggled to put their loss behind them. She stayed in Pittsburgh and continues to go to the Sunday support get-togethers that have helped her immensely, since Brienne Norcross the owner of the Pittsburgh Titans started them.

After struggling with finances after the tragedy, she was thrilled as well as apprehensive, when she was selected to run a new charity Brienne created and named after her brother called the Adam Norcross Charitable Foundation. She will be the face of this new global foundation that is for dependents, professional athletes and support staff, who have either died or become incapacitated and can’t play anymore. And it’s for all sports not just hockey.

When Camden runs into Danica at the get-together he offers to come and help her son with some hockey tips, but he also eagerly accepts her invitation to help her with an upcoming sponsor event for the charity.

Danica is so busy trying to give Travis a good life and work a new career, dating and relationships are far down on her list of priorities. Until on Camden’s 26th birthday, Danica goes to the celebration and when he walks her to her car they almost kiss.

These two struggle with their growing feelings for one another but their chemistry is sizzling. Omg! All the butterflies, giddiness… the excitement of being near each other will have you squirming in your seat. But what will Camden do when he starts to feel guilty? What will his teammates think? You will have to read to find out all the juicy details. Loved these three together!

I received an early copy and this is my honest review.

#sawyer bennett #camden #newrelease #Pittsburg titans series #hockeyromance

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feat-international · 2 years ago

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Ecommerce SEO in Nepal - Why It Is Important For Ecommerce Business in Nepal?

Before we dive straight into eCommerce SEO, let’s get familiar with the term SEO. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. In general, the term SEO refers to the process of optimizing your website to increase visibility when some people search for products or services related to your business in search engines like Google, Bing, and others. Moreover, it is a series of tasks to bring organic traffic to the website. With the increase in digitization and most businesses getting online, the trend of SEO in Nepal has reached a new benchmark. As of 2022, all small growing businesses to well-established organizations are trying to make their online presence better.

With digital marketing services, you can make your online presence better. Among different digital marketing services, SEO has become one of the distinguished aspects of digital marketing in Nepal. Every brand is well aware of the importance of SEO and how SEO will help to get featured on top of search engines.

History of Ecommerce Business in Nepal

In this digital world, people can now get what they want by sitting in a room with a flick of fingers. Modern technologies have made our life much easier. But, did you ever wonder how the eCommerce business came into existence in Nepal?

According to an article published inOnline Khabar, the journey of eCommerce started in Nepal intending to let Nepalese people residing abroad send gifts to their friends and family members. Co-founder of Thamel.com, Mr. Bal Krishna Joshi claims his company to be the first-ever eCommerce company in Nepal. During the late 1990s, he was living in the US and at the same time, he also saw the growth of eCommerce companies like Amazon and eBay. Thus, to execute the same idea, he started Thamel.com, as a business-listing website in 1998. At first, he started his website as a business listing website, to globalize the business shops located at Thamel. In 2000, he converted his company from a business listing to eCommerce. However, the company was only registered in the United States.

Later, Munchahouse.com, which is now changed to Muncha.com was launched in 2000 as the first-ever online departmental store in Nepal. People living in the USA, UK, and Australia used this website to buy and send gifts to their close ones in Nepal. With the development in technology, many e-commerce companies started to come into operation. Similarly, companies like NepBay.com, now changed into Thulo Market launched in 2007. Additionally, other major companies like Sastodeal, Urban Girl, and Daraz also came into existence in the early 2010s.

As of now, there are more than 40k+ registered commercial websites in Nepal. With the development of digital payment services like eSewa, Khalti, IME Pay, etc, eCommerce in Nepal has grown massively. Even after two decades after its launch, eCommerce in Nepal still has a lot of room for its growth.

Ecommerce Business in Nepal

Ecommerce refers to the sale or purchase of goods or services over a computer network, primarily the internet. The business transaction can occur either as B2B, B2C, or C2C. Moving a few years back, the eCommerce business in Nepal was not that popular. After the COVID pandemic, many eCommerce business companies came into existence in Nepal. As the eCommerce business is getting widely popular, the number of eCommerce websites is also increasing alongside. Thus, the competition to stay at the top of a search result is very high. Thus, to stay at the top of search results, SEO for the eCommerce website is very much needed. Here are some of the top eCommerce websites in world.

Ecommerce SEO is the process of generating organic traffic from search engines like Google, Bing, etc. to your online store. For example, if you use a certain keyword or phrase on a search engine, it displays the top 10 organic results alongside paid ads and Google Shopping ads results. Ecommerce SEO is all about ensuring your product pages appear among those top ten organic search results.

As the competition is high, the importance of SEO for an eCommerce website is inevitable. The various strategy and techniques deployed in eCommerce SEO yield numerous benefits. With the well-planned eCommerce SEO strategy, you can appear at the top of Google’s search results whichincreases brand awareness. In addition to this, the SEO-optimized website brings a better user experience compared to a non-SEO optimized.

Now that we are familiar with the needs and benefits of SEO for eCommerce websites, let’s look at some infographics to visualize more about the needs of eCommerce SEO in Nepal.

According toBacklinko.com, 44% of people begin their online shopping journey with a query in Google.

According to the reports fromSEMRUSH, 37.5% of all traffic to eCommerce websites comes from search engines.

For example, taking a look at Nepal’s largest eCommerce website, Daraz.com.np, 35.6% of traffic on the website comes from the organic search result.

In this article, we will provide an in-depth guide for ecommerce SEO in Nepal. After reading this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn everything about optimizing your eCommerce site, performing proper keyword research to technical SEO to link building process. If you are looking to get more targeted traffic from a search, make time to read this article. We have divided the process into five sections.

Keyword Research for Ecommerce Website

Ecommerce Website Architecture

On-Page SEO for Ecommerce Website

Technical SEO for Ecommerce Website

Link-Building Technique for Ecommerce Website

1. Keyword Research for Ecommerce Website

Keyword research is the first step in defining your SEO goals. Additionally, it is the foundation of every SEO campaign. Keyword research is the process by which you research popular search terms or phrases which people use on search engines like Google, Bing, Baidu Yahoo, etc. The researched keywords are included strategically in the content so that your webpage appears higher on a search engine result page.

You cannot optimize your product and category pages until you have done proper keyword research. For example, every time someone searches by using a keyword or phrase, the search engines must decide which handful of results to display from hundreds of thousands of possible pages. Each search engine has its algorithm which determines the relevant match for every single search. Thus, it is very important to choose the right keyword, so that search engines can match and display your site at top of the search result. Likewise, for eCommerce site keyword research is a very big deal to display your product page on top of search engine page results.

How To Do Keyword Research for Ecommerce Product and Category Pages

Each keyword has different search intent. The search intent can be classified into informational, navigational, commercial, and transactional. Most of the keyword research primarily focuses on informational intent. Although informational keywords have their place in eCommerce sites, you must do keyword research around product searches.

Here is how you can do proper keyword research for your eCommerce site in Nepal.

Yes, it is Daraz which is your top competitor and probably the biggest eCommerce site in Nepal.

Here is how you can perform keyword research from Daraz.com.np

First of all, head over to Daraz and enter a keyword or phrase that describes one of your products in its search bar. When you do, Daraz will provide a list of suggestions around the product’s keyword.

The keyword Daraz suggests tends to be very targeted. It even makes your keyword research task easier as it also suggests long-tail keywords. Additionally, the long tail keyword performs better than the short tail keyword while making a comparison in conversion rate. Not only that, they’re usually less competitive too.

Rinse and repeat the process for the most important product on your site. Apart from Daraz, you can also use Amazon.com, the biggest eCommerce website in the world. Repeat the same process as you do in Daraz.com.np

Likewise, you can also use free Keyword Research tools like WordSteam. To use this free tool, you just enter your keyword related to the product into the tool, then it will provide a list of generic keywords alongside search volume. Similarly, another free keyword research tool that will make your work handy is Keyword Tool Dominator. This free tool is very handy to use and provides both long-tail keywords and short-tail keywords.

For example, when we used the keyword “running shoes” in both Daraz and Amazon, it only gave 8-10 keyword ideas. By using this free handy keyword research tool, you can get up to 50+ keyword ideas.

These are some free keyword research tools that will help you to get a hefty list of keyword ideas. Another important tool that will make your keyword research even easier is SEMrush. However, this tool is a paid tool and it is a little bit different. SEMrush doesn’t generate new keyword ideas for your seed keyword, instead, it shows you the list of competitors that are ranked for the particular keyword.

Selection of Keywords for Ecommerce Product and Category Pages

Now that you have a list of researched keywords, you’re probably wondering which keyword to choose. Here is the simple guide to selecting the best keywords for your eCommerce website.

Before you choose your keyword, the most important metric you should be evaluating is search volume. If the keyword you have selected isn’t searched by anyone, then it doesn’t really matter how well it converts or how competitive Google’s first page happens to be. Having said that, there is no specific search volume recommendation for keywords. The keyword search volume varies from industry to industry. While some industries' keyword has 100 search per month which is also a lot and in other, it might have 10k monthly searches.

To find the average monthly search volume of a specific keyword, you can use tools like Google Keyword Planner or WordStream.

Once you have found a keyword search volume, the next step is to check the competition for the keyword. So, before you decide on a keyword, take a second to see if people using that keyword are ballers or not. To check the competition for any keyword, you can use the Google Keyword Planner. Competition on Google Keyword Planner reflects how many people bid on that keyword in Google Ads. Thus, when it comes to SEO for eCommerce websites, we always suggest sticking with medium to high competition keywords. Likewise, you can also take a reference from Moz’s Keyword Research tool. Put your ideal keyword in the search bar and it will generate the difficulty level for a specific keyword. The higher the difficulty level, the harder it gets to rank in Google.

2. Ecommerce Website Architecture

Website Architecture refers to how information is organized and prioritized on your website. The search engines check navigation, breadcrumbs, URLs, and sitemap to understand the website architecture. Website Architecture is one of the important SEO considerations for any website. Without a doubt, it is also important for an eCommerce website. That’s because an eCommerce site significantly has more pages than an average blogging website. With many pages in an eCommerce website, your website architecture must be properly optimized for both users and search engines to find all your pages.

To maintain the structure of your eCommerce website, you need to follow these two simple guidelines.

No 1 Rule: Keep things simple and scalable

No 2 Rule: Keep every product page three or fewer clicks from your homepage

The infographic below represents things to avoid while setting up your eCommerce website. In this website architecture, the link authority is concentrated on the site’s product and category pages. The website structure should alway be simple. If it is complex and it takes more than five clicks to reach the first product page, then there is huge chance the user changes their mind. According to our rule, all the product pages should be three clicks or fewer from the homepage. Here is an example of proper website structure and user-friend eCommerce website architecture.

3. On-Page SEO for Ecommerce Website

Now that you are familiar with the eCommerce website architecture, we will now move on to the optimization of the website. For an eCommerce website, you need to optimize each category and product page for a better user experience.

Let’s take an example of a perfectly optimized eCommerce page.

Now, let’s break down each segment of On-Page SEO for eCommerce websites.

Title Tag

The first step towards the optimization of your product page is adding a targeted keyword to the page’s title tag. If you are doing this then don’t stop there. Moreover, you can also add modifiers to your title tag which will help you show up for long tail searches.

For example, let’s say your target keyword is, “Nike running shoe”

Instead of adding just your targeted keyword, you should also include common modifiers like best, free, cheap, free shipping, online, etc., that most people use while searching for a product in search engines.

So, your title tag could be something like best Nike running shoes, or best free shipping Nike running shoes.

Likewise, you can also use click magnet words in the title for eCommerce product and category pages. For example, free shipping, sale, X% off, lowest price, etc.

Here is an example of what a title page should look like for a higher click-through rate.

30% Off and Free Shipping Nike Running Shoes

Description Tag

One of the important tasks of On-Page SEO for every website is using a description tag. Unlike title tags, adding click magnet words in the description tags is very important to increase CTR. The only difference is that, with a description tag, you can have more space to include longer phrases.

Here’s an example of how a well-optimized description tag might look

Save 30% on the best Nike running shoes. Get free shipping on all orders. Click here to see all exclusive deals with the guaranteed lowest price.

Keyword Usage in Content

The most important thing about eCommerce SEO is optimizing product and category pages. While the title and description tags boost ranking, the content inside each product and category page is the ideal component for getting ranked at the top of the search engine result page.

There is not exactly the rule set up by Google that your product and category page should contain more than 1000+ words. However, the research found out that the average word count of the top 10 pages has above 1000+ word count. The fact is this, Google wants to know what your page is all about. Thus, the deeper the content you provide, the better Google can understand your page.

While writing an in-depth product description, make sure to add your targeted keyword up to 3-5 times in the content. However, stuffing keywords forcefully in the content won’t do better. Just add the keywords naturally a handful of times to help Google understand what your page is all about.

Keyword-Rich Short URLs

According to an analysis fromBacklinko, there is a clear correlation between URL length and rankings. While analyzing 11 million Google search results, it is found that short URLs tend to rank higher on Google’s first page than long URLs.

Here is what the URL of your product page should look like,

SEO-friendly URL also refers to making the URL keyword-rich.

For example,

For sub-categories, follow the same process. Here’s how your website URL should look like

Then for the product page, you should add your target keyword for the product separated by dashes.

Here’s what the final URL of your product page looks like,

While this may be the best process for optimizing URLs, some eCommerce websites don’t use categories and subcategories in their URLs.

Internal Linking

Internal linking is one of the best practices of On-page SEO. For example, let’s say you have published a blog that has generated a lot of backlinks. Thus, adding a keyword-rich anchor text link from that blog to your product page distributes the authority to the particular product page.

4. Technical SEO for Ecommerce Website

Technical SEO is one of those things that’s important for ALL sites. However, it is twice important for an eCommerce website as it contains a lot of pages compared to another blogging website. Due to a large number of pages, an eCommerce website has a high possibility of facing technical SEO issues.

The important aspects of technical SEO include crawling, indexing, broken link, XML sitemaps, duplicate content, thin content, and site architecture.

How to Perform Technical SEO of Ecommerce Website

To perform a technical SEO audit of an eCommerce website, we suggest using ScreamingFrog. From our point of view, this tool is the handiest and easy-to-understand tool with a lot of audit features.

You can also use other tools likeRaven Tools,SEMrush, andDeepCrawl.

To useScreamingFrogfor your eCommerce website SEO audit, insert the website URL and click start.

Then, it will start scanning all the available pages and report issues that crop up. ScreamingFrog tool will show all the missing details.

5. Link-Building Technique for Ecommerce Website

Link building is the process of acquiring links to your website from other websites. In the context of SEO, these links are called backlinks. It is one of the difficult tasks in the process of SEO. Achieving backlinks from a high-quality website will pass authority to your website which will ultimately help you to rank higher in the search engine results pages.

Link buildingis one of the major tasks in SEO. For example, if you have just started your website and published a great piece of content, it will not earn much authority. Getting backlinks from another trustworthy website will let Google see your site as more authoritative. Moreover, backlinks are essentially votes of confidence for your site. The more backlink you generate the higher chance you get ranked in Google. However, this doesn’t mean that gaining thousands of links from low-quality websites will help you rank on Google.

Furthermore, the backlink can be classified into two types, dofollow and nofollow.

The are many ways to acquire a backlink. Below are some of the major methods to earn backlinks.

Guest Blogging

Manual Outreach

Pursuing Competitors’ backlinks

Reach Out to Event Organizers

Start Your Ecommerce SEO Journey With Feat International

Although Nepal is moving toward digitization, there is still a lot of room to grow digitally. In the context of Nepal, Daraz.com.np is considered the largest eCommerce website. However, there is always fierce competition to stay at the top of Google. Ecommerce SEO in Nepal is really important if you want your business to thrive in this competitive market. It doesn’t matter whether your competitors have already taken abetter positionthan you in the market. With a proper eCommerce SEO strategy, you can make a viable presence on the internet. When you’re visible on search results, more customers get to know your business.

Whether your business is just a small start-up or a well-established company, with strategic eCommerce SEO you can maximize your website visibility and increase sales of the product. The success of every eCommerce website depends on how much sales you are making. Likewise, you can make sales of your brand or product if they can be easily found by the searchers on the internet. With help of eCommerce SEO, it will help online businesses to drive more organic and quality visitors to a website by optimizing them according to their search intent.

Thus, if you are looking for aneCommerce SEO service in Nepal, Feat International is the one-stop solution for all your needs. Being a leadingdigital marketing agency in Nepal, Feat International has a dedicated team to implement various tactics and strategies to get on top of Google. Reach out to us through a contact page, we will help you maximize your business ROI and increase growth.

#ecommerce seo services #ecommerce seo marketing company #ecommerce seo in nepal #marketing #seo in nepal

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whimsicaldragonette · 2 years ago

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Blog Tour & Arc Review: Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

Welcome to the Killers of a Certain Age book tour with Berkley Publishing Group. (This blog tour post is also posted on my Wordpress book review blog Whimsical Dragonette.)

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Publishing Date: September 6, 2022

Synopsis:

Older women often feel invisible, but sometimes that's their secret weapon. They've spent their lives as the deadliest assassins in a clandestine international organization, but now that they're sixty years old, four women friends can't just retire - it's kill or be killed in this action-packed thriller. Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills. When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses paid vacation to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the termination of field agents, and the women realize they've been marked for death. Now to get out alive they have to turn against their own organization, relying on experience and each other to get the job done, knowing that working together is the secret to their survival. They're about to teach the Board what it really means to be a woman--and a killer--of a certain age.

My Rating: ★★★★

*Author Bio, my review, and favorite quotes below the cut.

Author Bio:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Deanna Raybourn is a 6th-generation native Texan. She graduated with a double major in English and history from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Married to her college sweetheart and the mother of one, Raybourn makes her home in Virginia. Her novels have been nominated for numerous awards including two RT Reviewers’ Choice awards, the Agatha, two Dilys Winns, a Last Laugh, three du Mauriers, and most recently the 2019 Edgar Award for Best Novel. She launched a new Victorian mystery series with the 2015 release of A CURIOUS BEGINNING, featuring intrepid butterfly-hunter and amateur sleuth, Veronica Speedwell. Veronica has returned in several more adventures, most recently AN IMPOSSIBLE IMPOSTOR, book seven, which released in early 2022. Deanna's first contemporary novel, KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE, about four female assassins on the cusp of retirement publishes in September 2022.

My Review:

This book was very good. I wasn’t sure what to expect, having never read a Deanna Raybourn book, and I was pleasantly surprised. The story whizzed along at a good clip, the characters were for the most part well-developed and interesting. The pacing was breathless as they raced against time to carry out heists and murder the men who are trying to murder them.

I came to really appreciate Billie, as it was in her POV for the most part, but I did feel that the other three women blurred together a bit and weren’t as distinct as I would have liked.

I very much approve of the casual inclusion of LGBT+ characters and relationships. That always makes a book feel much more friendly, and it was done so naturally that I barely even registered it.

I also really really appreciate that the main characters were 'women of a certain age' and (despite being expert assassins) they felt very authentic. There were many mentions of the plans having to be adapted to their older bodies. Despite it, they still kicked ass. They were competent and capable AND dealing with things like hot flashes and muscles and stamina that weren't what they once were. It made for such a nice contrast to the usual teenagers/twenty-something protagonists I usually read about.

I wasn’t sure at first if I was going to like it. There were a few issues I had with it:

The placement of the ‘past’ sections was sometimes jarring and I occasionally got confused about where and when they were. I did become more used to this as I went along, but it took me out of the flow of the story on more than one occasion.

The action scenes - which, to be fair, were a large chunk of the book - were just a tad too clinical. They read almost like newspaper reports. I don’t know if this is just a style common to thrillers - I haven’t read many of them. I feel like the simple language and not-flowery writing are a staple of the genre, but I’m not sure about the descriptions of fight scenes. As the book progressed this bothered me less and less, however, so it might have improved or I might have gotten used to it.

One thing that did bother me consistently through the book was that it was a tad vulgar for my tastes. I do appreciate the bluntness with which things not normally talked about are discussed among the women, but there were so many instances of descriptions of sexual harassment from their targets (which they had to put up with with a smile which definitely made the targets unsympathetic very quickly). Even more off-putting to me (and more common within the story) was the way that the (many) murders were described. Not just how they looked, but how they felt, how they sounded, how they smelled… I get that they are assassins and yes, they do kill a lot of people over the course of the book, but I just didn’t want that much familiarity with the deaths.

I did appreciate the very feminist slant to it all, and the way the men’s casual sexism was used to increase support for the women. Also the way that the four of them used the ‘old women are invisible’ idea to their advantage in order to further their schemes.  The story was very compelling and I found it difficult to put down. I would also probably read it again and will definitely be recommending it to others.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for providing an e-arc for review.

Favorite Quotes:

And every job was a chance to prove Darwin’s simple maxim. Adapt or die. We adapted; they died.

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Three old women, nodding their heads like the witches in Macbeth. I’d known them for two-thirds of my life, those impossible old bitches. And I would save them or die trying.

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Women are every bit as capable of killing as men.

#deanna raybourn #killers of a certain age #berkley #contemporary thriller #netgalley #arc review #shilo reads #this was a lot of fun #i definitely recommend it #blog tour

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