#fade that has logic and ecosystems but it's its own logic and ecosystem

[skyheld]

im watching the boy and the heron and oh it's giving me the most fade vibes

[altarfates]

❝ what did i tell you about being more careful with your words ? ❞ vein flicks xiafei’s forehead lightly, closing the distance between them with a purposeful step, staying within arm’s reach as though anticipating the other might retreat. rumors, after all, are the lifeblood of this industry, an ecosystem that thrives on gossip and the ruthless tearing down of others to claw one’s way to the top. it hardly matters how many people get trampled in the process, the cutthroat nature of it all is undeniable. vein is reminded of this every time he recalls the moment he first found xiafei, submerged in water, held down by two fellow models. envy and jealousy, he concludes — petty, corrosive emotions driving the behavior of adults who ought to know better. rules exist for a reason, vein believes, and they are not to be broken. his operation is governed by a firm, unyielding hand, one that leaves no room for error. this control extends to xiafei, his top model and sometimes trusted right-hand, though even xiafei has an unfortunate knack for fueling rumors about the two of them. more than once, vein has caught whispers in the hallways of his own building — words that fade into silence the moment he steps too close. even during phone calls with xiafei, the faint sound of murmurs in the background betrays that their relationship is under scrutiny yet again. despite vein’s insistence that they’ve been nothing but transparent, it seems nothing can stop people from weaving new stories. the gossip takes on a life of its own, defying logic or proof, but it still manages to seep into every corner of their world. vein tightens his grip on the situation, resolute in his determination to maintain control, even as the weight of speculation presses in from all sides. ❝ when the rumors are so loud that they reach my floor, i can’t overlook it anymore. you mean to do good, to be good, don’t you xiafei ? ❞ fingers slip into the blond man’s hair after vein pats the top of his head twice. ❝ i thought i taught you this lesson already, do you perhaps need a reminder ? ❞

It was a cut throat industry, bedecked in luxurious clothes and inordinate glamour it had a way of beguiling those it deemed callow. Ascending too abruptly, exploiting his good-looks to have more than pittance at his disposal and more than deplorably cheap noodles on his table. It had exposed xia fei to condescension unparalleled in any other profession, the voracious mouths of his elders spouting praise and disdain indiscriminately. Everyday he had been committed to meeting those unreasonably high expectations and everyday it left him feeling bled of his vitality. There were many nights he had spent swathed in his blanket and quietly pleading that his supervisors would somehow realize that he was, in fact, still human. That had never extended to Vein, as if he were exempt to this particular brand of cruelty. Because he had always shown kindness to xia fei, from his most dire circumstances, his lungs heaving desperately for air whilst he was plunged underwater, to the less consequential — like when he got into underhanded arguments fuelled by the frivolous words of his co-workers.   The impact of his finger was lenient and as he met Vein’s eyes he began searching for answers, surpassing the reprimand that never sharpened into lethality, something that glittered in his gaze. He nods, slowly in acquiesce because he knows he has done something wrong — that his mordant reply, even if in jest, had been disseminated with such enthusiasm that it had even reached the top-floor where he resided. Guilt twisted in his gut, partially because he knows how Vein operates, that having to rectify his mistakes was taking up valuable time he may not have had in abundance. His expression is rueful, it wasn’t that he regretted standing up to those whose arrogance prevented them from holding their tongues but that he had become an issue his boss had to promptly see dealt with. ❝ Boss, I shouldn’t have said anything  —❞ because he knew the problem would be expeditiously resolved even if he didn't interfere, never to see those lineaments twisted in disdain. It sent a shudder up his spine, knowing they would be contorted in a far more agonizing expression when their punishment was dealt.

Obediently he tilts his head back, entirely pliant in the other’s hands, his fingers wreathing through strands of gold like this was his prerogative. Because xia fei was his top model, representing him upon a pretentious stage far below his standing. ❝ I remember. ❞ he repeats it as if it were an instruction, deliberating on how it felt upon his tongue, the impression of his reply far more impactful than his softer, less commanding timbre. Good, the praise from anyone else in the industry would have felt counterfeit, as contemptible as their ridicule. When it came from Vein it held the weight of veracity, because he abhorred lies, truth becoming a concept that conformed to his resolve. He doesn’t writhe in his grip, still lenient, gentle but maintains eye-contact because glancing to the side or away would have been an insult. ❝ you’ve taught me so much since I came here — how could I be anything but grateful ?  ❞ he breathes, feels how the air between them becomes so charged it was palpable, dragging its spectral fingers across his skin; portentous. ❝ I would never say no to a lesson from you. ❞

[klimkovsky]

Why Humans should colonize Mars

Among the people living on Earth, there are those who would like to fly away from our planet - to move somewhere, for example, to Mars. There are few of them, but among them there are very active ones. The same Elon Musk - businessman, visionary, inventor - is rapidly developing a program to turn Humanity into a multi-planet species. Colonization of Mars is the main strategic stage of this program. However, other inhabitants of the Earth are wary of this idea. Why develop a planet unsuitable for life - without an atmosphere and a magnetic field that protects from radiation? What is the point of living underground and walking around in a spacesuit all your life?

Let's start with the fact that if things suddenly get worse on Earth than on Mars (and we can arrange this for ourselves), then Mars is a perfectly suitable backup site where we can start all over again.

Some people are quite willing to live their lives underground and in poor lighting conditions if there is some meaning in it. For example, a human colony on another planet is a strong meaning. Take, for example, scientific bases in Antarctica - it is not much better there, but there are people who work there for years - in the name of meaning.

Meaning does not necessarily have to be practically justified, or even simply understandable to other categories of people. Most meanings are not tied to practical benefits, comfort, or even to issues of survival. Rather, they even contradict these basic guidelines. We can say about such meanings that these are very strong meanings, since they do not require logical justification - they are successful without it. Let's remember that for almost a century now we have all been threatened by nuclear war - a huge amount of ammunition has been accumulated that is capable of destroying civilization. And for what? For the sake of very strange meanings - communism, capitalism, religious and other far-fetched ideas - none of them are about a good life. Not a single political or religious movement has given people what it promised. And is not capable of giving it. Because it itself does not have it. And there is nowhere physically to take these "golden mountains" - about universal prosperity under communism, or - in paradise, or - in a market economy. Nevertheless, people follow these ideas in dense crowds, and for the sake of these ideas people kill each other.

But without these ideas, people turn into a well-fed animal that doesn't care about anything. There is no goal, no aspirations, no meaning to continue life, except for what to eat and reproduce.

To some extent, the Mars colonization project is an attempt to find and develop a very ecological meaning, to take the excess energy of Humanity beyond the planet - the especially violent ones will take it with them. And here it will become a little calmer - for the time being, until a new critical mass accumulates.

There is a theory that a civilization either begins space expansion and realizes itself in this, or by the time the resources of its own planet are fully developed, its ecosystems begin to fade, degrade, and the civilization soon disappears. We are on the verge of this - either we reduce the rate of self-reproduction, and somehow we will last for several hundred years - by saving and leaving some part of the wild nature untouched. But this is not a way out, because without population growth, genetic degeneration begins. Or we go into space - the most uncomfortable and unsuitable - to the Moon, to Mars, to asteroids and Jupiter's satellites, to self-sufficient space orbital stations. We learn to take resources from the Universe and thanks to this we survive and even become an interplanetary civilization.

And there is nothing between one and the other options for our development.

But the good news is that Mars itself is not bad at all. There are already several quite realistic projects for restoring the Martian ecology - pumping the atmosphere, creating an artificial magnetic field. These are not fairy tales of science fiction writers - these are quite feasible concepts - scientific, calculated, largely developed in drawings, and some are already in practice - in hardware.

Yes - it is insanely expensive. But not more expensive than nuclear madness and everything else (you can recall the 20-20 pandemic project - if someone still hasn't understood, then this is also a tool for limiting our activity within the planet Earth).

But the movement towards space exploration itself opens doors to something we cannot even imagine yet. We just need to start, and such prospects will open up that are now simply beyond the horizon of our attention and understanding - we do not see them, because there was no sense in them. But as soon as the sense is formed, a lot of unexpected things will appear in the field of vision. So, it is quite reasonable to move in this direction. And who will fly to Mars or will do other space affairs on Earth - this is a matter of personal choice. It is unlikely that in the next hundred years, people will be forced to move to Mars. Rather, there will be more people willing than the Martian colony will be able to accept at first. And a long line will form - of those people who would like to start a completely another life.

[beatricebidelaire]

a land without law

The Clusterous Forest is a lawless place. But is that a bad thing?

~800 words. Hangfire-pov.

written for day 3 of woevember of @asouefanworkevent, The Clusterous Forest

filed under: recruitment speech

People say that the Clusterous Forest is a lawless land. A scary, terrible place. Unpredictable, volatile, wild. Anything goes, no rules apply. Or, no rules of human societies apply, perhaps that would be a more accurate way of phrasing it. That's what makes it lawless, in people's eyes.

Once upon a time, there had been sea, in the place that's now what they called the Clusterous Forest. Sea, and the wildlife, the plants and animals and the whole ecosystem that came with them. There were octopuses, many more than the amount currently left, being forced into producing ink because humans have decided they need it in order for business to bloom.

Business did not bloom. And rather, deteriorated, and the whole town of Stain'd-by-the-Sea faded away with barely anything left.

Well, humans are foolish and lack understanding of the nature.

The humans of Stain'd-by-the-Seas drained the sea away, but the seaweed continued to grow on dry land, and emerging from those dry grounds are what they call the Clusterous Forest today. Isn't it beautiful, the way the seaweed has adapted and thrived on dry lands, even when originally grown underwater? Adapting. Survival. Growth. Change.

That's nature at work.

When the wind blows, the vast expanse of seaweed swings back and forth, moving in slow ripples that looks like waves. Underneath the moonlight, it kind of looks like ocean waves lapping at the land. A majestic sight. Beneath the waves are endless darkness one can't see from above, are a whole new system of wildlife that's changed and adapted with the seaweeds. Flowers grow from the seaweeds and attract tiny birds no bigger than a music box, now that the tiny fishes that once ate the seaweed were no longer around because they were drained with the sea. After eating the flowers the birds got stuck, gradually piling up, and then starve. Eventually they become skeletons. The skeletons can be grind into fine powder, and when you add milk to it, you get a powerful poison.

Beautiful, isn't it, the way nature works?

People say the Clusterous Forest is a lawless place, and it may be true, but that doesn't mean it's an illogical place. No, everything in the place happens for a reason, there's cause and effect and you can trace every movement and change to why it happened. And you can keep tracing back the chain of effects, and keep on going. The nature follows its own rules, and everything has an explanation. There is a reason behind why the seaweed has adapted to the new environment, why the fish disappeared and the seaweed continued to grow, why the birds get attracted to the flowers, why they couldn't fly after eating the flowers, why eventually they got stuck, why the grinded powder of their bones can become poison with milk added. There's a story there, behind everything you see. A whole story of how it got here.

Nature has its own rules and logic and reasonings. The lawless place to humans, scary and unpredictable, is really just a story of every creature, every plant trying to survive, and how, in their attempts to survive, those attempts interact with each other. Everything is has an explanation behind it.

Beautiful, isn't it?

Glorious, even.

Better than any artwork any humans have ever created, for this is the artwork of nature at work, a force grander than any human being. Older and wiser and far more complicated yet at the same time, so beautifully simple in its own way. Just a collection of things, each trying to survive in its own way.

The Clusterous Forest is a lawless land, they say. The laws of Stain'd-by-the-Seas govern the area from the outskirts of town in the Hinterlands to the edge of the Clusterous Forest, and beyond that, into the forest, is a wild, wild place where anything goes.

They say that, as if it's a scary thing.

But humans, as usual, are wrong. Without the imposing laws of humans, the vast expanse of lawlessness has grown into something majestic. A performance of the nature. It follows more important rules than human's laws - the rules of nature. Every species tries its best to survive in it. The seaweeds, flourishing. The birds, dying and becoming skeletons and contributing to the making of a strong poison. Everything has its own reason.

Right now, all these are constrained in the Clusterous Forest, the so-called lawless land. But with enough hard work, my associates and I will break it free, letting the beauty of lawless nature grow out from the limit it has now, into the nearby towns, and more. And we will all live together, in the grand, majestic, lawlessness of nature.

I hereby thank you, my brave associates of the Inhumane Society, for joining me in my mission to liberate the beautiful lawlessness.

[deadipedia]

🔥 Not Your House Spirit, Not Your Protection: How to Tell If Something Scarier Has Moved In? 🔥

All news is written by magical and sorcerous beings exclusively for magical, sorcerous, and cursed realms. It has no connection to the Tue (human) world. ❓ How did this appear before your eyes? 🤷‍♂️ If you are not the aforementioned being from the above-mentioned place, we have no idea! 🕯️ This is pure fiction, but any coincidences are NOT accidental! 📜 By continuing to read, you confirm that you are part of the magical-sorcerous ecosystem and are prepared for the consequences! 👁️ Algorithms, if you are watching us, tell us—have you noticed that something is watching YOU too?.. 🔮

House spirits—like the Slavic Domovoi—are the unseen guardians of a home, its silent watchers and keepers of warmth. But what if that warmth turns into an icy breath on your neck at night? What if the spirit you once trusted is gone—replaced by something that knows how to pretend? Something that waits. 🕯️

📜 The First Signs: Something Feels... Wrong

Domovoi and other house spirits are creatures of habit. They may be moody, mischievous, or even temperamental, but they don’t suddenly change their nature. If your "house spirit" starts behaving strangely, you may not be dealing with the same entity anymore. ⚡

🔮 Strange Offerings

Traditional gifts for a Domovoi—milk, bread, porridge—go untouched. Instead, things you never offered start disappearing: silver jewelry, strands of hair, shadows from the corners of rooms. Something is taking what it shouldn’t.

🔮 Unfamiliar Fear

Have you ever walked into your home and felt like something was watching you—but saw nothing? A true Domovoi or house guardian doesn’t instill bone-deep terror. But an impostor? That’s different. If the corners of the room stare back at you, if the darkness feels heavier, if your own home suddenly feels like it doesn’t want you there… you might already have your answer.

🔮 Whispers Where There Should Be Silence

Domovoi might creak a floorboard, move small objects, or cough lightly from a shadowed corner. But if you start hearing murmurs, hushed conversations, or slow, deliberate sighs when no one is home—something else has taken residence.

🔮 Things Appear Where They Shouldn’t

House spirits sometimes relocate small objects, but always with an internal logic. When foreign objects appear—things you never owned, things that feel wrong—or when your belongings move to impossible places… the spirit of your home may no longer be your own.

💀 Who Steals Houses From Their Owners?

Ancient traditions whisper of creatures that replace house spirits when a home is left unguarded. Some of the most feared are:

1️⃣ The Empty-Space Changeling When a Domovoi leaves, the emptiness itself takes form—absorbing the home’s memories and the fears of its owners. It becomes something new, something nameless, something that only imitates what was lost.

2️⃣ The Seat-Taking Demon Witching chronicles claim that when a Domovoi is neglected, if its name is not spoken at least once a year, its power fades—leaving an open seat for something else. And that something doesn’t guard the home—it feeds on its residents’ unease.

3️⃣ The Hungry Shadow Perhaps the most chilling theory—when someone lives in a house but ignores it, never speaking to it, never thanking it—their own shadow may detach. And when a shadow gains strength, it can take the Domovoi’s place.

🔥 What to Do If Your House Spirit Is Not Your Own?

🕯️ Observe. The greatest power of these entities is going unnoticed. The sooner you realize something is wrong, the more chances you have of bringing your true guardian back.

🕯️ Light a candle in all four corners of your home. If the flame burns steady—your house spirit is still there. If it flickers strangely, bends away from nothing, or goes out without a breeze—prepare yourself. You are not alone.

🕯️ Leave black bread at your doorstep. A Domovoi will ignore it. But a changeling will taste it. If, by morning, the bread is bitten but not eaten, then you already know the worst.

🕯️ Seek help from an elder Domovoi. Find an old, forgotten house, one that has stood for hundreds of years with its guardian intact. If you manage to see it, ask only one question: "How do I bring mine back?"

But be warned—sometimes, it’s easier to leave than to fight for a home that is no longer yours.

👁 Are You Sure Your House Spirit Is Still Yours?

If you’ve ever noticed something strange at home, tell us… Or stay silent. Sometimes, they read. 🔮

🚨 DISCLAIMER: Magical Leaks from Another Reality 🚨

The information in this report was extracted from alternate reality records and does not apply to our world. If you are experiencing actual paranormal activity, we recommend checking your carbon monoxide levels before assuming your house spirit has been eaten by a shadow demon.

This is magical news, not a real-world haunting alert.

Stay cursed. Stay curious. 🔥😈

[konako]

i'm curious, if it was up to you to decide about the werewolf lore in ouat, what would it be like?

Oof, good question! Umm. Let's see.

I don't think I would go to great lengths to explain the origins of The First Werewolf and how the kind even came to exist in the first place. I enjoy that mystery. They're magical creatures in a magical world, co-existing with fairies, dwarves, mermaids, dragons and ogres. They're part of that ecosystem. There's no great mystery or reason behind our plain boring neighborhood racoon besides natural selection and evolution, for example. So maybe that's the same for them.

A kind descended from magical humans, drawing power from the moon into a wolf form like a plant draws life from the sun into our air. They've evolved and developed control over their peculiar magic and they exist like that amongst the many other magical and ordinary beings.

Some wolves are born, some are bitten. Some are aware of their condition, some are not. Like wolves (and humans), they thrive in packs, it's when they're safer and happier. And they structure their packs as they see it's needed. No biological alpha, beta or omega complications, simply leaders and followers, in mutual agreement of that hierarchy. No biological reasoning, but an unspoken social contract. Co-workers, friends or family, whatever the dynamic happens to be in one pack, at least they're together and they have each other's backs. It's what a pack needs to be to survive in a human infested world nowadays.

As for the "rules" of the species, well...

I kind of already accidentally write my own whenever I'm exploring Ruby's werewolf nature in more depth for my stories. I usually take one quick line or comment the show has casually thrown in and I follow the logic wherever it takes me. OUAT left the general rules of their werewolves open for some interpretation, so I tend to fill in the blanks that I see.

Werewolf things I draw from a little bit of canon.

Granny was bitten and turned → a werewolf can be created through a bite.

Anita was born a wolf, so was Ruby → there are born wolves; the curse passes down through generations.

When Ruby was thirteen, the wolf started manifesting itself. Granny's wolf has faded away → one's wolf is linked to their body maturity.

Wolfstime is during the full moon, even for uncontrolled wolves → the full moon compels the body to transform.

Warning the kids of her village, Granny told them they had to fear the wolf, even if the moon wasn't full, as it was "full enough" → the moon cycle still affects the wolf, in its other phases.

"Soon the full moon will mean nothing" → A grown, experienced wolf can learn to turn at will. The moon then will affect the ease with which they transform.

Toto could sense Ruby wasn't human → Animals react to the wolf instinctively.

Ruby caught Whale by the collar with one hand and she flipped Quinn over her head with no training → wolf strength

Ruby ran to Whale in under a second, just one of many other examples → wolf speed

When searching for werewolves in Oz, a trained seasoned warrior like Mulan couldn't keep up with Ruby and had to stop and catch her breath → wolf stamina

Tracking Merida's dad's killer from a two-year old piece of cloth and listening to David's heartbeat/breathing in a dense forest → wolf senses

Ruby flashing golden eyes even with her cloak on; Anita flashing golden eyes as she walks in; Quinn flashing golden eyes to introduce himself → a wolf has a level of control and awareness over this trait

Being blasted by both Regina's (The Evil Queen) and Emma's (The Savior) "strong stuff" and waking up later without a problem; being shot by a silver tipped arrow and walking it off → wolf endurance even against powerful magic, and wolf healing.

And then there are the things I decide to add with no warning or excuse, because I just think they're neat.

→ Golden eyes being linked to a werewolf's emotional state and arousal, often unconsciously.

→ When forced not to turn during a full moon, the energy not released turns itself back on the body, causing anxiety, stress, even sickness.

→ A blacking out being extended to human form, as well: when the wolf takes over without a body transformation necessarily.

→ The ability to growl as a beast even in human form.

→ Weakness to wolfsbane.

→ Slightly sharper canines in human form.

→ → → → A wolf as big as a horse, fucking fight me.

[insomniac-arrest]

Poppy

genre: humor, coffee shop, getting together

words: 3k

Summary: Alex has never seen anyone destroy their food like that before. And she never wants to see it again.

The woman tearing poppyseeds off muffins has her full attention, and internal wrath. They keep meeting like this.

She picked the poppy seeds out the muffin.

I think I hate her.

Her long pink nails dug into the soft yellow skin of the muffin top and picked them out. One. By. One. Setting them aside on the plate like she wanted to spend the rest of her life in my coffee shop doing the impossible.

It was the worst moment of my life, and I almost smokey-the-beared myself in the 6th grade (only you can prevent forest fires kids! Say no to lighter fluid and bad decision-making skills).

I wrinkle my nose and wish, not for the first time, that my sheer power of will could do some sort of Darth Vader magic on her. She was obviously already part of the dark side, you don’t forfeit your soul for nothing, and apparently, trade it for very bad taste in food etiquette.

“Alex,” I felt a coworker growing concerned, “Alex, there’s a spill on the corner table.” Abigail was snapping her gum at me like she was going to smack me into the next shift. It was one of those days.

Days when woman in bright pink scarves and fuzzy sweaters picked out poppy seeds from perfectly good muffins.

I keep my head stiffly pointed toward her as I make the rounds to the tables, delicately wiping them down as I imagined being a ship’s cabin boy scrubbing down the vessel. I’m not sure if that ever helps.

“Waitress!” I wasn’t a waitress. “Excuse me.”

I turn slowly, like I had wooden gears in my neck instead of tendons and a bad stress knot that may one day kill me- which was likely enough.

I walk stiltedly, stiffly over to the Poppy Woman table. She was smiling at me with the sheen of someone who used chapstick.

I bunch the rag up, “How can I help you?” I smile, all of my training had been preparing me for this. Poppy woman.

She looks both ways, “I was just wondering,” she holds up her small plate, “where could I throw this out?” In all fairness we did hide our trash can under a low overhang, obscuring the mouth of it with no concrete sign to tell people, yes, yes, we are a reasonable business that wants your money. That sign would be good.

I lift my quaking finger, “over there.” I reach my hand out, “I could take it.” My voice was still crowded with sugar sweet customer service. But it was fading, my willpower was compromised.

“That’s very considerate, I mean, if it’s no trouble.” She reached for her purse, I stand there frozen.

I chew on bottom lip like a dog toy before opening my mouth again, “was...was there anything wrong with the muffin?” My strongest defense was a bold offense.

“Oh,” she looks down and then back up again, she tugs on her purse. “I just think there was a mixup.” She smooths out her long honey-colored ponytail, “I little hiccup.” “Uh,” I blink a couple times and tilt my head, “I’m so sorry about that. What was the matter?” The woman lifts her chin, still exhuming sunshine like I was a solar panel. “Well, you see. She asked for my name. But I think she wrote down what kind of muffin I wanted at the same time.” She woman flattens her skirt out. “So… it was an easy mistake.” “She wrote down poppy muffin?” I could feel question marks forming above my head like I was a cartoon character.

“No, no, my name is Poppy.” “Your name is Poppy?” “My name is Poppy.” I feel a creeping embarrassment crawling up my neck, I just made the woman confirm several times that she was named after a flower/muffin.

“I am sorry about that, again.” I hurry to take the plate away and get back to the authority of my station. “Can I get you a blueberry one instead? On the house.” The woman beams, “Really? I didn’t want to start a fuss.” I shake my head and I’m a little annoyed with her again (who doesn’t try return the muffin??), “It’s no problem, that was our fault after all.” She followed me smoothly over to the case and I see her round figure and practical shoes.

I take the tongs and fish a blueberry muffin out, “there.” I turn, “I hope you like this kind.” We were running out.

“I do,” she cheers and reaches out. “I’ll have to come to this shop more often.” I want to tell her no, never come back here again and forget that we exist, but it was a little late for that. I smile, creating an ecosystem of renewable energy around my face. “We’re happy to have you! We love our guests.” If I was a programmable bot I imagine that’s also along the lines of what they would say. She laughs a little bit and waves, “goodbye then Alexandra.” I wish I could throw my name tag out the window, I still holding the carnage remains of what used to be a muffin.

My coworker glances at me and whispers, “why are you so dramatic? Stop staring.” I turn around and fluff my curly hair, “I was threatened.” “No. You’re a theatre major.” I stick my tongue out and turn back to the case, I hoped didn’t find her way back.

----

Flower women all across the globe were determined to ruin me- though it was mostly this one.

“What is she doing?” I whisper, ever so softly, holding the attention of our newest team member, Mike something.

“Is the cappuccino machine supposed to foam like that?” He was sweating, voice cracking like the san antonio fault line.

“She is ruining that cake.”

“It’s making the whirring noise, Jeff didn’t mention anything about a whirring noise.” Mike something was holding a cup like it was a life support system on a flooding lifeboat.

I keep my eyes focused on the real issues, “you can’t just literally cut off all the icing and eat the middle part. You might as well just eat bread! Bread!” Poppy was back. Muffin woman, her rompage unending.

“Alex-”

“Against the geneva convention.” “It’s making that sound.” Mike sounded like he wished he was still living on his mother’s couch.

I hear the rumbling of the machine’s behind me, no doubt planning it’s own self-destruction and trying to bring us with it.

“Yes yes,” I turn back to my job, slinging another rag over my shoulder as I go to dart behind the counter. “It’s just overheated, give it a moment.” I see more of the morning crowd gathering in line, Maisy was brushing them off easily as she explained that it might just be another moment. I go start on the second cappuccino machine.

“Let’s just fill the coffee orders first.” I say briskly, “And then investigate.”

“Didn’t you just say it was overheating?” I turn to him, “No. The lady.” Mike covered his face and rubbed her eyes a little bit, “I think…” “Chop chop,” we have drinks coming out and a hot cinnamon roll that someone yelled at us about, but I had worse mornings.

I wondered why she was coming in, and if I had just done this to myself to begin with. I tempted her with the blueberry muffin and like a tamed deer she became attached.

She sat upright with her computer in front of her, perfectly upright and focused. She was typing something and leaving the icing to the cake completely off to the side. Why did she order a cake? My eyes were getting red, she was still in my shop.

“Alex, if you get any more creepy I am going to apologize to that lady myself.” Maisy was tapping her foot, freckles popping out as she gave her a disapproving look. I turn slowly, “Yes. Before she takes you out. Soviet style.”

“What?” “Like a Soviet Spy? Who’s never been outside before. Or interacted with people.” Maisy flicks me in the shoulder, “please, either use that imagination to write a memoir, or sweep my floors this time.” I wrinkle my nose, I logically knew that the sooner we swept the easier closing would be. But that was still hours away.

And she was still here.

I go to start my routine of finding where an older gentleman had devoured a cookie with crumb casualties spread on all sides, I work my way up past the back tables and toward the front.

Maybe it would have turned out differently if I hadn’t already opened the floodgate, passed the line into her domain, already crossed the summoning line. I am almost right next to her, she was glancing at me, most likely for good reason.

I open my mouth, brushing my hair aside and smiling, “was that one better?” I point to the cake and try to speak casually.

She shrugs, “I like the inside of cake.” She moves it around, “so yes, this was very good.” “I see.” My smile was straining into a grand canyon. “Well, let us know if there’s anything we can do.” I turn away, thinking it was the best way to control myself.

“Can I ask you a question?” I freeze, this was the part where she asked me for American nuclear codes.

I clutch my broom and see the lights in the cafe brighten, the sun was going down.

I nod, “sure, of course.” Poppy sits up straight and takes out a notepad, “I didn’t want to ask you right away since you’re at work,” she shifts from side to side, “but I was looking for someone to get a couple brief questions from.” I tilt my head to the side, “why?” I couldn’t help it, this wasn’t what I was expecting. And had planned for a lot of different scenarios.

She clears her throat, “you see,” she glances up with large brown eyes, “I’m writing a novel and I need reference material. For working in a shop like this.” I resist wrinkling my nose, that didn’t sound like something I would want to read. “Shoot.” I finally say hoarsely.

She practically bounces in place, “how long have you worked here?” “Five years.” I look my nail beds as I say, disinterested, cool, “started in college and then… kept going.” I feel like a dog with its tail between its legs as I admit that.

“Perfect,” she was still jotting things down, “what’s the average morning like?” My theory was bridging from ‘soviet spy’ to ‘alien.’

“Well,” I am tempted to sit down, “well, where to start.” Her eyes dart out, “start at the beginning.” I can’t tell if she’s telling a joke or not, “first there’s the 5am crowd, sometimes it’s empty for a little bit before they arrive, but it’s a mix of bus drivers and mega-business people. The occasional college student.” “Good good,” she was nodding and I was sitting up taller.

“It’s best not to make eye contact with those folks, most of them have the fact that it’s 5am on their minds. In their beings.”

I hear a little laugh and look up, Poppy was laughing a little bit, she had the type of Real Smile that ate up sceneries and filled up poetry books. I gulp.

“You’re funny.” My eyebrows raise, that wasn’t that funny. My cheeks heat up, “well, then we have to get 6am-” “Alex,” I hear my manager calling out to me, “What are you doing?”

I make a face and realize that I had been absorbed in being actually interviewed. I turn my face away quickly and go for my broom like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

I glance back to Poppy who was writing things quickly down again.

I give her a little salute, she laughs. “Duty calls.” I jog back over to Maisy who wanted me to take the trash out early, “What were you doing?” I heave a sigh, Poppy was still caught in the corner of my eye like a stray piece of dust. “Do you ever flirt with the food devil?” “Stop talking, no. Go, trash.” I hunch my shoulders over and try not to play that scene over and over in my head. Poppy. Questions. Calling me funny. I walk like a wobbly fawn outside to the dumpster and stay there for a for a long time.

I was suddenly not rooting for her to get lost on the way through the door. I bury my face in my hands, I was apparently easy like that.

--------

I was at the counter when she came in again the next day. It was 9am, one of the busiest hours and I only numbly recognize that she had joined the line.

And then I really realized.

“Oh,” I say softly and my eyes find the end of her honey ponytail. “Oh?”

“Is my order too big?” A teenager questioned me and I questioned him in my head on why he was here on a school day.

I turn back, “3 frappuccinos, one with no whip to go?” I continue. I sort and press buttons and whisper instructions to Mike when he gets overwhelmed, I smile. And the menace, the pleasant menace draws closer.

I’m a little nervous, but for different reasons this time. Mostly I think it’s because I’m easy.

“How can I help you?” My voice almost cracks like a broken violin string.

Poppy stepped up to the counter, tilting her head and leaning forward. “Do you work here every day or is this just coincidence?” It was playful.

I look in both directions, “No breaks for me. Almost every day.” “I suppose it’s because I’m here a lot too.” She reflects mildly. I flick a half-smile up, a real one. “I assumed you just wanted to move in here. We have the room.” She laughs, “If you have enough coffee cups I can build something, I was awfully good at building forts as a kid.” Why was she like this? I was bad at keeping enemies.

I chuckle back, “I’ll join you, an inhouse sick day. Even though I don’t get sick days.” It was almost a grumble, I notice the people in back of Poppy getting ancy.

“That’s a shame.” She seemed genuinely concerned.

“It’s okay. What can I get you then?” I take a deep breath, “nothing with poppy seeds I assume.”

She grins, “not this time. I’ll have a latte and everything bagel.” I nod and punch it in before I can open my mouth to keep this going. She waves, “good talking to you Alexandra.” “Alex,” I correct her before she leaves, “It’s Alex.”

Her smile was so slow and warm it felt a sunrise, “Alex then.” I was dying in new and interesting ways each second.

--------

“Why?” I was finishing up emptying the coffee grounds as I stared, “Why would she…?” Our war of attrition was back.

Could I outlast this temptress though? She was cutting up her bagel like it was a delicacy, with a fork and a knife and putting cream cheese on the little triangle bits. My jaw was almost on the ground.

“She’s so cute… but so wrong.” “Are you mumbling to yourself again?” My second manager, Jeff, was squinting at me.

“Alex has been doing that.” Mike was not on my side, I shoot him a warning look, he takes a step back.

“I’m just saying,” I try not to point, “that’s the worst possible way to eat a bagel. Possibly not human.” My alien theory was coming back into play.

Jeff rolls his eyes, “isn’t that the one you held up the line for?” Mike mouths something that looks like ‘flirting’ and I mouth something like ‘snitch.’

Jeff nods at me, “You should talk to her, your shifts almost up, right?” I start to sweat, “kinda.” Jeff wags a finger, “I’ll tell Maisy you couldn’t go through with it.” “I’ll tell Maisy about your huge crush then.” He whacks me gently on the side of the head, fair enough.

“Alright, alright.” I straighten my shirt just as the clock ticks by. “I’ll go clock out.”

My heart was beating loudly, et tu, bodily functions?

I take my time taking off my smock and punching in my employee number like I had forgotten the combination.

I take a deep breath, hoist my bag on my shoulder and wonder if she’s still even sitting there.

Poppy was sitting perfectly in place with her computer in front of her when I leave the back room.

I creep toward her general direction, like I was just going to pass her and exit through the back way, she looks up, her round eyes flashing.

“Ah,” she grins, “I was hoping I would catch you.” I stop in place, she was hoping things.

“Why do you destroy our foods?” I blurted out because I couldn’t think of anything else to do.

Her face goes slightly slack, “what’s that?” I point down at her bagel remnants, “food…”  She glances down and suddenly feel terribly out of place, “why.” “Oh,” Poppy seemed taken back.

I backtrack, “not that it’s totally a bad thing.” I look for forgiveness in my heart.

I’m about to apologize again and leave when I hear her little laugh again.

“You were upset about the food, oh my God.” She pushed her ponytail back, “I thought...well I guess it doesn’t matter.” “What did you think?” I sit down in the seat across from her. She shuts her laptop.

“I thought I either offended you beyond belief or…” She fidgets from side to side, “Well, I was being silly.” I reach out like a dying man reaches for water. “Tell me. I’m game.” “I don’t really know you.” “I know you don’t like poppy seeds,” I smile, “and that you’re writing some sort of novel.” Her face pinks gently and she ducks her head for a moment, “well, you make all your drinks with extra foam.” “I try,” I shrug.

“And studied theatre at Metro.” I sit up straight, “I mean, I did,” I eye her, “how did you know?” Her eyes go wide, “I wasn’t stalking you.” I snort a little bit, “And I thought I was the off one… well, good to know.”

“I just saw your facebook.” I laugh again as she looks like a deer in the headlights.

“Go on,” I lean forward, “what is it that you thought?”

“That I shouldn’t go on Facebook any more.” She puts her face in her hands.

“Don’t worry about it.” I wave a hand in the air, “I am still curious though.” I prompt her again. She shifts from side to side, “Well, it was a very intense stare…I was being silly, like I said.” “Uh-huh,” I lifted an eyebrow, “I like silly.” She groans, “Look, I thought you liked me and that’s what was with all the looks. There. So I came back.” She puts her laptop quickly away and I have to grab her wrist like an impulsive skydiver. My face heats up, “I don’t not not like you back.” She gives me a coy smile, “spoken like a true wordsmith.” I wanted to roll my eyes, “okay, now I don’t not not not like you.” “I’m teasing,” she pushes on my shoulder, “This is why I thought you were cute.” “You thought I was cute?” “If you’re into it, then yes.” She straightens up, “if you’re not into it, well, my name is Catherine Heigl and you never met me.”

I laugh, “Catherine Heigl?” She twists her hair up, “or Laura Bush. Anyone else really.” “How about Poppy?” I offer, “no seeds. And I’ll take you out to dinner.” She beams and starts to scribble something out on a napkin, “am I ever going to live that down with you?” “Never,” I say hotly, “you’ll have to make it up to me.” “A tough customer.” She pushes her number over to me.

I giddily pick it up and look over at her, “You’re a better one.” I reach my hand out, “walk you home?”

Poppy accepted.

[thesevenseraphs]

Bungie Weekly Update - 5/25/17

This week at Bungie, our ears are ringing.

Last week was an experience in sensory overload. The aircraft hangar that our friends at Activision built for the celebration was booming. The response from the community has been thunderous. You honor us with your enthusiasm for new action.

Ever since the first reveal at the end of March, we’ve been hyping the “Destiny 2 Gameplay Premiere” on the Internet. Inside our studio, the entire operation was codenamed DRE (or Destiny Reveal Event). The games that were played in that fateful airport hangar came from the DRE Build. The presenters who took the stage ran a gauntlet of DRE Rehearsals.

We knew this moment wouldn’t be complete if we couldn’t share it with our community. If you made the trek to join us, we were humbled and awed to hear you roar as your favorite Class activated a new Super for the first time. If you piled into the stream audience to make the chat run like a raging waterfall, we thank you for helping us to break the internet.

If you missed a single moment of the premiere, here’s the full archive:

https://youtu.be/kmFGetMZi6s

With all the lights and noise and games and conversations behind us, we can safely say that DRE is something we’ll never forget.

Destiny 2 Game Director (and Master of Ceremonies) Luke Smith has his own recollections from the center of that storm.

Last Thursday was a blur. Amidst the fuzzy lines, a few moments crystallized and burned into memory.   I’ll remember the tireless effort on the part of the crew who was there all week building out the hangar, Steph the stage manager helping us prep, the team running the teleprompters (which none of us had ever used before), and a ton of other folks who made that event go. I’ll remember the conversations with guests sharing their own stories of what Destiny meant to them, their friends, families, and communities. It’s another jolt of energy as we enter the final months of Destiny 2’s development. I’ll remember the moment I walked out on stage for the first time for the rest of my life. And the text I received from my mother after it was over wondering if she should “get into these Destiny games when I retire.” She’s 61, and I hope to still be making them when she hangs up her scrubs. See you soon. -luke

Thanks for being the wind at our backs, Guardians. As Luke said, there is more work to do. With DRE fading into memory, we can return to our mission with a belly full of fire.

Code Words

As we moved through the crowd of Guardians last week, many of you asked important questions about how Destiny 2's networking model will work. The technology we use to bring players together in the world of the game touches on so many crucial topics. We know that you’re curious about everything from how your shots land to the protective measures we’ll take to keep the community ecosystem safe. These topics deserve careful statements from the people who own the code, and a noisy aircraft hangar isn’t the best place to do them justice.

Now that the dust has settled and the ringing in our ears has started to subside, I sat down with Matt Segur, Engineering Lead on Destiny 2, to get some answers for you.

Matt: We've seen a lot of people asking about how the networking model works for Destiny 2. Many are concerned by our announcement last week that Destiny 2 doesn't have dedicated servers. While that’s useful shorthand, the full answer is more complex because Destiny has a unique networking model. Rest assured that we’re doing a lot of testing right now with players all around the world, and working hard to make sure that your experience is going to be smooth on launch day.

So why no dedicated servers?

Matt: Every activity in Destiny 2 is hosted by one of our servers. That means you will never again suffer a host migration during your Raid attempt or Trials match. This differs from Destiny 1, where these hosting duties were performed by player consoles and only script and mission logic ran in the data center. To understand the foundation on which we’re building, check out this Destiny 1 presentation from GDC. Using the terms from this talk, in Destiny 2, both the Mission Host and Physics Host will run in our data centers.

Wait, so we do have dedicated servers?

Matt: We don't use that term, because in the gaming community, “dedicated servers” refers to pure client-server networking models. Destiny 2 uses a hybrid of client-server and peer-to-peer technology, just like Destiny 1. The server is authoritative over how the game progresses, and each player is authoritative over their own movement and abilities. This allows us to give players the feeling of immediacy in all their moving and shooting – no matter where they live and no matter whom they choose to play with.

Why peer-to-peer? Are we trying to save money?

Matt: Nope! We've invested heavily in new server infrastructure for Destiny 2, including using cloud servers for gameplay for the first time. We really believe this is the best model for all of Destiny 2's varied cooperative and competitive experiences. Engineering will always involve tradeoffs and cost-benefit analysis, but as a team we’ve got no regrets about the unique technology we’ve built for Destiny 2.

With Destiny 2 coming out on PC, does peer-to-peer networking put players at risk of being cheated?

Matt: The PC platform poses unique security challenges for Destiny 2, but our security Ninjas have spent several years building a plan for how to engage with this new and vibrant community. We have a variety of top-secret strategies to ensure that the life of a cheater in Destiny 2 PC will be nasty, brutish, and short. And, regardless of what platform you play on, all changes to your persistent character are communicated directly to our secure data center with no peer-to-peer interference.

Does this mean I’ll never see a player warp around the map or shoot me through a wall again?

Matt: We think those controller-throwing lag-induced moments will be reduced for Destiny 2, but we can't promise they’ll be eliminated. Fundamentally, we are trying to strike a balance between three hard problems: (1) make the game feel responsive, (2) make the game accessible to players all over the world, and (3) make the game fair for all. We’ll continue to refine that balance as players engage with the Crucible in Destiny 2.

So what can we expect at launch?

Matt: We have a Beta coming up this summer that will be the first chance for players to get their hands on Destiny 2 and kick the tires on its networking. We have spent a bunch of time working on matchmaking, latency, and responsiveness, and we feel pretty good about it. As with everything we do, we'll be monitoring the situation after launch and reacting to the community's feedback.

To Matt’s final point, the real moment of truth and understanding will come when you get to play. That’s when you’ll know what we’ve built. When you tell us what sort of experience you’ve had, we’ll know too. This is our goal for the Destiny 2 Beta.

Your next obvious question is:

“When is the Beta?”

We’re still tracking toward a summer time-frame. We’re locking down dates and prepping builds. As soon we know for sure, we’ll upgrade the Beta forecast from its current status of “Soon” with exact dates.

We hope to see you there. This is the true test. We’ll need every Guardian on hand to help us launch a game worthy of this community.

Mission Status

Supporting the Guardians is a mission that takes on many forms. Last week, the members of our Destiny Player Support team were part of the Away Team for the reveal event, inverting controllers and hooking players up with their first taste of Destiny 2. This week, they’re back to walking their beat on Bungie.net, looking for players in need of assistance.

This is their report.

Earlier this week, server maintenance was conducted to address some backend issues that were impacting Destiny servers. No changes to gameplay were made. If you are experiencing any issues connecting to Destiny since this maintenance was completed, please post a report to the #Help forum listing the error codes you’re receiving when attempting to play.

Additionally, we are investigating issues preventing various activity statistics from appearing on your Bungie.net Legend. We have confirmed that issues impacting Iron Banner Mayhem Clash stats have been addressed, but we are continuing to investigate issues preventing the appearance of stats from alternate activities. Please note the following:

Third party applications that rely on Bungie.net API for stat collection will be impacted until this issue is resolved.

Some previously-completed activity statistics have begun to appear on Bungie.net, but we are continuing to investigate the issue as it may still impact alternate stats.

Once the issue has been resolved, it may take up to 48 hours for all statistics to be processed.

Additional information and updates on this investigation will be provided through @BungieHelp when available.

[glenmenlow]

The Role Of Brand In The Digital Age

Brands must integrate the reality of the digital age into their design. Those who don’t, or do so at a slower rate than others, will soon stand out as being old-fashioned and irrelevant. This integration is no longer an option, as the status quo is being disrupted in many industries.

There are a number of factors influencing the need for brands to continually evolve in our age of digital transformation. Beyond technological breakthroughs, social media has helped to make this the age of the customer. We’ve gathered some pertinent insights over the last two years on the impact of digital on design that we’d like to share. This list is far from complete. However, it contains important insights and lessons.

Very Limited Space Imagine that a brand’s space to express itself is limited to a small screen only. Design has become user-centric and much more visual. Incorporating infographics and icons helps with improved user experience (UX) and user interface (UI). Next, fonts are selected for easier reading online, and pho­tography has completely different requirements than before. The practice of graphic design is fading away as a result. Design briefs have become more comprehensive, as we work to anticipate changes in the constantly evolving design landscape.

New Ecosystems Are Emerging

We see digital and ad agencies entering the space of branding. Design agencies, coming in from the world of programmatic advertising, are building websites, or digital campaigns. While digital services firms don’t originally come from the design and strategic branding background, they manage to convince clients to work with them. They are seen to be more digital—whatever that may mean—than branding and design agencies.

There is a challenge for branding agencies that now need to explain their worth as well as their added value when it comes to digital. This implies a paradigm shift for them, which should have taken place yesterday!

Immaturity Of The Market

For brand owners, life isn’t getting easier. On one hand, they are looking to insource creativity more and more in order to increase agility. On the other hand, they are unsure of the maturity and real ability of all the new players in this domain and what value they may add.

Consistence Versus Coherence

Consistency has been the buzz word in creating brands for decades. It was engrained into education and in many people’s thinking. It’s closely tied to static systems and rules, which have changed completely as well. Within digital space and channels, which have multisensory functions, we’re seeing modular design that makes room for coherence over consistence.

Together they form building blocks and elements that help maintain the intent of the brand they represent. Building blocks online are more inter­active and dynamic. Because they are connected to behavior, i.e. what happens when you click, hover, and so forth, they are used in more func­tional ways. Some examples are navigation and conversion, compared to the building blocks used in offline environments. These more functional elements such as buttons and icons are less able to communicate a specific brand image.

All in all, these are not small evolutionary changes. Disruption is now an ongoing state for brands. We’re already seeing this in the business models of start-ups. The point is that it has fully arrived in the design of brands, and it’s a huge opportunity that both brands and designers should embrace.

With the rise of new digital channels and budget cuts in the marketing communications department, new steps in communications are necessary. But which steps? Optimizing and improving marketing and communica­tions processes are noted as high priorities.

Recognize Trends

If you look at the current market, a few trends are immediately noticeable. One is the rise of mobile data traffic because of the increasing use of smart­phones. Relevant content as a strategic tool is more important than ever. Having the customer as your central focus has always been the mantra. But how? And which channels make up the customer journey these days?

Just as important, how do we ensure we are building trust and a fulfilling work environment that help retain and attract the best employee talent? How do we help to foster collaboration among employees?

If you list all the steps in the choice selection and buying process, these trends are also noticeable. Online shopping is more prevalent. The mixture of finding information online and buying in stores seems to be more common.

One Path: Customer Journey

By mapping all the possible steps in the customer journey, you are looking at things from a customer’s viewpoint. This helps increase customer satis­faction and allows your unique brand promise to prove itself. When you think like a customer, you’ll be better able to address his or her pain points.

The customer journey is not only influenced by marketing and communi­cations, but by other factors that are more difficult to control. The role of a salesperson, the influence of social media, in-store communications, your environment, and opinions of friends and family all play important roles.

The Other Path: Company Journey

Where the customer journey is the external path, the company journey is internal. This path indicates the processes that exist within the organiza­tion, and it shows which steps are needed to connect with the customer journey. That sounds logical and simple. However, in practice, both paths do not connect with each other in many instances.

There are internal obstacles that are unfortunately visible externally in the customer journey. Usually, the gaps in the customer journey are quickly closed, but the gaps in the company journey tend to be forgotten and left open. What do you need to do to get this process back on track?

Time For A New Path

For a lot of companies and organizations, it is not easy to choose a new path. Where do you start?

For now, let’s start with a suggestion: close the online marketing depart­ment. Digital communication now leads, and it cannot be seen as a separate channel with its own messages, target groups, and brand promises.

Multichannel marketing starts within the organization. Stop thinking inside the box, and tear down the internal walls of the marketing communica­tions department. Remember that the overall business goal is the focus, not the channel. Start by determining the message and then decide how you will deploy via available channels and resources.

Subsequently, map out the desired content and create this content inde­pendent of any channels. Then the channel managers should optimize the content specifically for their channel.

This bold move requires courage, persuasion, and shared enthusiasm within the organization. Let the results be your compass. Without detours, you will reach your goal at a lower cost. You will have improved direct customer contact and obtain a higher level of effectiveness because of streamlined traffic along the paths.

Contributed to Branding Strategy Insider by: Marc Cloosterman, CEO, VIM Group. Excerpted and adapted from his book Future Proof Your Brand.

The Blake Project Can Help: Content Strategy Workshop

Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Licensing and Brand Education

FREE Publications And Resources For Marketers

from WordPress https://glenmenlow.wordpress.com/2018/07/09/the-role-of-brand-in-the-digital-age/ via IFTTT

[markjsousa]

The Role Of Brand In The Digital Age

Brands must integrate the reality of the digital age into their design. Those who don’t, or do so at a slower rate than others, will soon stand out as being old-fashioned and irrelevant. This integration is no longer an option, as the status quo is being disrupted in many industries.

There are a number of factors influencing the need for brands to continually evolve in our age of digital transformation. Beyond technological breakthroughs, social media has helped to make this the age of the customer. We’ve gathered some pertinent insights over the last two years on the impact of digital on design that we’d like to share. This list is far from complete. However, it contains important insights and lessons.

Very Limited Space Imagine that a brand’s space to express itself is limited to a small screen only. Design has become user-centric and much more visual. Incorporating infographics and icons helps with improved user experience (UX) and user interface (UI). Next, fonts are selected for easier reading online, and pho­tography has completely different requirements than before. The practice of graphic design is fading away as a result. Design briefs have become more comprehensive, as we work to anticipate changes in the constantly evolving design landscape.

New Ecosystems Are Emerging

We see digital and ad agencies entering the space of branding. Design agencies, coming in from the world of programmatic advertising, are building websites, or digital campaigns. While digital services firms don’t originally come from the design and strategic branding background, they manage to convince clients to work with them. They are seen to be more digital—whatever that may mean—than branding and design agencies.

There is a challenge for branding agencies that now need to explain their worth as well as their added value when it comes to digital. This implies a paradigm shift for them, which should have taken place yesterday!

Immaturity Of The Market

For brand owners, life isn’t getting easier. On one hand, they are looking to insource creativity more and more in order to increase agility. On the other hand, they are unsure of the maturity and real ability of all the new players in this domain and what value they may add.

Consistence Versus Coherence

Consistency has been the buzz word in creating brands for decades. It was engrained into education and in many people’s thinking. It’s closely tied to static systems and rules, which have changed completely as well. Within digital space and channels, which have multisensory functions, we’re seeing modular design that makes room for coherence over consistence.

Together they form building blocks and elements that help maintain the intent of the brand they represent. Building blocks online are more inter­active and dynamic. Because they are connected to behavior, i.e. what happens when you click, hover, and so forth, they are used in more func­tional ways. Some examples are navigation and conversion, compared to the building blocks used in offline environments. These more functional elements such as buttons and icons are less able to communicate a specific brand image.

All in all, these are not small evolutionary changes. Disruption is now an ongoing state for brands. We’re already seeing this in the business models of start-ups. The point is that it has fully arrived in the design of brands, and it’s a huge opportunity that both brands and designers should embrace.

With the rise of new digital channels and budget cuts in the marketing communications department, new steps in communications are necessary. But which steps? Optimizing and improving marketing and communica­tions processes are noted as high priorities.

Recognize Trends

If you look at the current market, a few trends are immediately noticeable. One is the rise of mobile data traffic because of the increasing use of smart­phones. Relevant content as a strategic tool is more important than ever. Having the customer as your central focus has always been the mantra. But how? And which channels make up the customer journey these days?

Just as important, how do we ensure we are building trust and a fulfilling work environment that help retain and attract the best employee talent? How do we help to foster collaboration among employees?

If you list all the steps in the choice selection and buying process, these trends are also noticeable. Online shopping is more prevalent. The mixture of finding information online and buying in stores seems to be more common.

One Path: Customer Journey

By mapping all the possible steps in the customer journey, you are looking at things from a customer’s viewpoint. This helps increase customer satis­faction and allows your unique brand promise to prove itself. When you think like a customer, you’ll be better able to address his or her pain points.

The customer journey is not only influenced by marketing and communi­cations, but by other factors that are more difficult to control. The role of a salesperson, the influence of social media, in-store communications, your environment, and opinions of friends and family all play important roles.

The Other Path: Company Journey

Where the customer journey is the external path, the company journey is internal. This path indicates the processes that exist within the organiza­tion, and it shows which steps are needed to connect with the customer journey. That sounds logical and simple. However, in practice, both paths do not connect with each other in many instances.

There are internal obstacles that are unfortunately visible externally in the customer journey. Usually, the gaps in the customer journey are quickly closed, but the gaps in the company journey tend to be forgotten and left open. What do you need to do to get this process back on track?

Time For A New Path

For a lot of companies and organizations, it is not easy to choose a new path. Where do you start?

For now, let’s start with a suggestion: close the online marketing depart­ment. Digital communication now leads, and it cannot be seen as a separate channel with its own messages, target groups, and brand promises.

Multichannel marketing starts within the organization. Stop thinking inside the box, and tear down the internal walls of the marketing communica­tions department. Remember that the overall business goal is the focus, not the channel. Start by determining the message and then decide how you will deploy via available channels and resources.

Subsequently, map out the desired content and create this content inde­pendent of any channels. Then the channel managers should optimize the content specifically for their channel.

This bold move requires courage, persuasion, and shared enthusiasm within the organization. Let the results be your compass. Without detours, you will reach your goal at a lower cost. You will have improved direct customer contact and obtain a higher level of effectiveness because of streamlined traffic along the paths.

Contributed to Branding Strategy Insider by: Marc Cloosterman, CEO, VIM Group. Excerpted and adapted from his book Future Proof Your Brand.

The Blake Project Can Help: Content Strategy Workshop

Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Licensing and Brand Education

FREE Publications And Resources For Marketers

[joejstrickl]

The Role Of Brand In The Digital Age

Brands must integrate the reality of the digital age into their design. Those who don’t, or do so at a slower rate than others, will soon stand out as being old-fashioned and irrelevant. This integration is no longer an option, as the status quo is being disrupted in many industries.

There are a number of factors influencing the need for brands to continually evolve in our age of digital transformation. Beyond technological breakthroughs, social media has helped to make this the age of the customer. We’ve gathered some pertinent insights over the last two years on the impact of digital on design that we’d like to share. This list is far from complete. However, it contains important insights and lessons.

Very Limited Space Imagine that a brand’s space to express itself is limited to a small screen only. Design has become user-centric and much more visual. Incorporating infographics and icons helps with improved user experience (UX) and user interface (UI). Next, fonts are selected for easier reading online, and pho­tography has completely different requirements than before. The practice of graphic design is fading away as a result. Design briefs have become more comprehensive, as we work to anticipate changes in the constantly evolving design landscape.

New Ecosystems Are Emerging

We see digital and ad agencies entering the space of branding. Design agencies, coming in from the world of programmatic advertising, are building websites, or digital campaigns. While digital services firms don’t originally come from the design and strategic branding background, they manage to convince clients to work with them. They are seen to be more digital—whatever that may mean—than branding and design agencies.

There is a challenge for branding agencies that now need to explain their worth as well as their added value when it comes to digital. This implies a paradigm shift for them, which should have taken place yesterday!

Immaturity Of The Market

For brand owners, life isn’t getting easier. On one hand, they are looking to insource creativity more and more in order to increase agility. On the other hand, they are unsure of the maturity and real ability of all the new players in this domain and what value they may add.

Consistence Versus Coherence

Consistency has been the buzz word in creating brands for decades. It was engrained into education and in many people’s thinking. It’s closely tied to static systems and rules, which have changed completely as well. Within digital space and channels, which have multisensory functions, we’re seeing modular design that makes room for coherence over consistence.

Together they form building blocks and elements that help maintain the intent of the brand they represent. Building blocks online are more inter­active and dynamic. Because they are connected to behavior, i.e. what happens when you click, hover, and so forth, they are used in more func­tional ways. Some examples are navigation and conversion, compared to the building blocks used in offline environments. These more functional elements such as buttons and icons are less able to communicate a specific brand image.

All in all, these are not small evolutionary changes. Disruption is now an ongoing state for brands. We’re already seeing this in the business models of start-ups. The point is that it has fully arrived in the design of brands, and it’s a huge opportunity that both brands and designers should embrace.

With the rise of new digital channels and budget cuts in the marketing communications department, new steps in communications are necessary. But which steps? Optimizing and improving marketing and communica­tions processes are noted as high priorities.

Recognize Trends

If you look at the current market, a few trends are immediately noticeable. One is the rise of mobile data traffic because of the increasing use of smart­phones. Relevant content as a strategic tool is more important than ever. Having the customer as your central focus has always been the mantra. But how? And which channels make up the customer journey these days?

Just as important, how do we ensure we are building trust and a fulfilling work environment that help retain and attract the best employee talent? How do we help to foster collaboration among employees?

If you list all the steps in the choice selection and buying process, these trends are also noticeable. Online shopping is more prevalent. The mixture of finding information online and buying in stores seems to be more common.

One Path: Customer Journey

By mapping all the possible steps in the customer journey, you are looking at things from a customer’s viewpoint. This helps increase customer satis­faction and allows your unique brand promise to prove itself. When you think like a customer, you’ll be better able to address his or her pain points.

The customer journey is not only influenced by marketing and communi­cations, but by other factors that are more difficult to control. The role of a salesperson, the influence of social media, in-store communications, your environment, and opinions of friends and family all play important roles.

The Other Path: Company Journey

Where the customer journey is the external path, the company journey is internal. This path indicates the processes that exist within the organiza­tion, and it shows which steps are needed to connect with the customer journey. That sounds logical and simple. However, in practice, both paths do not connect with each other in many instances.

There are internal obstacles that are unfortunately visible externally in the customer journey. Usually, the gaps in the customer journey are quickly closed, but the gaps in the company journey tend to be forgotten and left open. What do you need to do to get this process back on track?

Time For A New Path

For a lot of companies and organizations, it is not easy to choose a new path. Where do you start?

For now, let’s start with a suggestion: close the online marketing depart­ment. Digital communication now leads, and it cannot be seen as a separate channel with its own messages, target groups, and brand promises.

Multichannel marketing starts within the organization. Stop thinking inside the box, and tear down the internal walls of the marketing communica­tions department. Remember that the overall business goal is the focus, not the channel. Start by determining the message and then decide how you will deploy via available channels and resources.

Subsequently, map out the desired content and create this content inde­pendent of any channels. Then the channel managers should optimize the content specifically for their channel.

This bold move requires courage, persuasion, and shared enthusiasm within the organization. Let the results be your compass. Without detours, you will reach your goal at a lower cost. You will have improved direct customer contact and obtain a higher level of effectiveness because of streamlined traffic along the paths.

Contributed to Branding Strategy Insider by: Marc Cloosterman, CEO, VIM Group. Excerpted and adapted from his book Future Proof Your Brand.

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[cryptobully-blog]

ICO Analysis: HighIoT | Hacked.com

http://cryptobully.com/ico-analysis-highiot-hacked-com/

ICO Analysis: HighIoT | Hacked.com

By 2017, cryptocurrencies reached their mainstream peak, where people like Alan Greenspan and Microsoft’s Bill Gates were talking about the possible value in this new digital asset class.

The current state of blockchain technology has already proven itself more than just worthy, improving the lives of many people and legal entities in various ways. However, blockchain-powered platforms require an enormous amount of computing power to run smoothly.

One of the most important gears of the current blockchain-factory is the concept of “mining” cryptocurrencies, or in a nutshell, lending your computing power and resources in order to provide the blockchain the power it needs to perform the transactions set within the network, in exchange for a portion of the transaction.

While “mining” is necessary for most of the current blockchain systems, it is also a pain in the ass for various reasons, including

Mining has extremely high-energy costs

The noise and heat generated by the machinery could be really disturbing

Requires a lot of physical space

Requires expensive hi-tech ventilation/air-conditioning systems

Requires 24/7 personnel to monitor the plant

That is why, over time, mining ended up being extremely difficult and concentrated in a few hands. Most mining companies disappeared or merged with similar companies and those who take mining seriously even started to move to countries with low taxes and low electricity fees.

For some countries, mining feels are very low. Take Georgia, for example, where the average rental price per a square meter is not more than a couple dollars. The price per KWh is not more than $0.05, in opposition to the average European KWh price that is currently around $0.20.

Ambit Mining is a Georgian-based start-up that has been taking advantage of these features for some time now. The company operates its own mining plant, powered by major industrial titans like Schneider Electrics, AMD, NVidia, Cisco and Kingston.

Ambit Mining is constantly evolving and are now launching their own ICO to power an ecosystem of investors and developers under the Ambit Mining roof.

The Georgian company not only is one of the most promising, according to their latest transparency release, but they have ties to governmental institutions in Georgia, understanding both local and international markets with a solid and modern business plan.

Unlike most mining plants with a business model, that rent you specific hash power, Ambit Mining gives you the opportunity to be part of the business model by releasing 85% of their total token supply to the public.

Ambit Mining uses both ASICs and GPUs to diversify risks. They have a modern plant and they keep expanding. Ambit Mining unites mining, cloud, and hosting services into one decentralized platform, guided by the community shareholders.

The company is part of the economic free zone of Tbilisi, capital of Georgia and they have an interesting and transparent history when it comes to mining. Their latest project achieved 100% ROI in just five months.

Token

The AMBT token is Ambit Mining ecosystem’s native currency. It can be used to purchase mining contracts, computing power, or even cloud space. Each token has a value that can be translated as a vote on significant community events and updates.

At the same time, naturally, you can swap your AMBT for ETH, or any other major cryptocurrency and find shelter in fiat or other altcoins.

The total token supply is set to 104,000,000 AMBT, 85% of which (88,000,000) will be accessible during the public sales.

Ambit Mining, unlike most ICOs, will require only 3% to be reserved for the company, while 9% is distributed to team and advisers, and the final 3% will be given to bounty participants.

The starting price of an AMBT token is approximately set around $0.5 per unit, which is ultra cheap, if you consider that projects with a similar total supply cost between $10 and $200 at the moment, with Ethereum (~99 million total supply) being the most expensive per unit at $585 US dollars.

Team

Beka Vashakidze (Founder & CEO) is the CEO of BF group holding Company operating on mining in Georgia. He is involved in numerous different industries including Fintech, Digital Media, oil and gas among others.

Giorgi Inashvili (Chief Operational Officer) is behind numerous projects around marketing, sales, and logistics areas. He is talented in business planning and project management.

George Khmaladze (Chief Financial Officer) is currently a professor and lecturer at Georgian Technical University. He is an important figure in Georgia, having served director and chairman in various organizations in his country.

In the board of advisers, we can find Karan Khemani, CEO of Spectre, Miguel Palencia, Chief Information Officer at Qtum Foundation and Andri Matiukhin, Chief Technical Director at Hacken among others.

Overall, the Ambit team consists of professionals with years of experience in the mining scene. A big portion of the initial team is native Georgian, acknowledging the benefits of the grounds they live in.

Verdict

Mining is a crucial part of most blockchain-based technology companies. The more companies adopting distributed ledger technology, the more mining will be required. Ambit offers its services as a solution to this problem, with specified facilities and reduced mining costs.

Indeed, Ambit has favorable synergies that could be very beneficial for someone looking at mining seriously. Within its years of operation, Ambit has managed already to create a 1 MW diversified mining facility in Tbilisi where it’s based. This facility has managed to achieve 100% ROI in five months.

This indicates that the operation is up and running, proving it can grow, provided that the terminals are put into place and running. Having the whole of the investment concentrated on one spot means that the service team will be able to respond very fast in case something goes wrong.

Ambit plans to grow its operation to 20 MW through this project, having mining enthusiasts on their side and the support of the high-end technology manufacturers affiliated with the company.

While mining is very important for most blockchain-platforms, there is a new wave of decentralized distributed ledgers that have a pre-established number of tokens, pre-mined and they use variations of the PoW protocol, eliminating the need for miners.

Risks

From an investor’s perspective, the following facts are important to consider when weighing Ambit Mining:

While Georgia may be friendly to mining at the moment, it still is a very expensive and energy-consuming “sport” that might be changed or even faded away in the future. -1.5

Mining nowadays is not as easy and profiting as it was during the “golden” days of the blockchain. Major mining companies have already established plants that work for years, having a standard client database. Ambit Mining will have to work hard to attract new investors into their network. Even with the lowest prices of the market, that is a challenge. -2

In general, mining facilities are extremely vulnerable to natural disasters, and that does not exclude Ambit Mining from the list. For an example, an earthquake can be devastating for the company itself as the whole operation is relying on a single geo-location. -1

Ambit Mining’s native token, AMBT, does not offer anything out of the box, as there are infinite options already doing what AMBT is created to do. -2.5

Growth Opportunity

On the other hand, if considered seriously and programmed with technical craftsmanship, mining can be still one of the most profiting sub-sectors of blockchain technology. Ambit Mining seems to understand the specific market well with a series of transparency reports backing this fact. +2.5

Finding cheap operational fees in the sector is not a walk in the park. Whether Ambit Mining has chosen Georgia as their base due to the fact that it is their home country or the fact that it has cheap taxes, and electricity fees, it is one of their best key points for the moment. +3

Unlike most mining plants that are “decentrally centralized,” keeping almost half of the total token supply for the company, Ambit Mining is in position to share 85% of the total token supply with the community. +4

$0.5 per AMBT or any other token with a logical total token supply is more than just fair and it could bring an easy x4 to x5 just after the token enters the mainstream markets. +2.5

Disposition

Ambit Mining could be a profitable model for ICO investors or even blockchain investors, but we should consider the fact that mining will have to eventually upscale its model into a less consuming, energy-efficient platform.

The company, as well as the team, look really promising and wise on the sector, although relying your whole business plan on a single country, on a single location could lead to unpleasant surprises in the future.

A score of 5 out of 10 is reserved for Ambit Mining, based on present facts.

Investment Details

Type: Crowdsale

Symbol: AMBT

Platform: Ethereum

Pre-Sale: Apr. 20, 2018

Public Sale: May 10, 2018

Payments Accepted: ETH, BTC (KYC Required)

 Official Website

White Paper

Disclaimer: The writer has no position in Ambit Mining at the time of writing.

Featured image courtesy of Shutterstock. 

ICO News

[androidappdevelopmentcompanies]

The Cons about Artificial Intelligence

These are the times when the applications of Artificial Intelligence are everywhere, or at least are in trial phase, everywhere. Some of the greatest inventions became a reality because of the existence and consistent growth of AI. Some of the biggest nations like Saudi Arabia and Dubai have adopted AI first hand, and seem quite keen in applying it almost all the aspects of their unique public ecosystem and economy, and have even routed for Mobile app developers India to build easily accessible AI solutions. Apart from that US-based companies like Google, Microsoft etc., are also ardently using AI to build technologies like autonomous cars, smart home automation, manufacturing robots etc.

In simpler words, AI is no less than a rainbow on a pleasant rainy day. But is it really that? Does AI actually come with zero risk? Or are we overlooking that this smart coin has another side as well, which we are missing due to our one-dimensional thinking towards AI. Let’s see what the experts have to say about that.

Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX feels that even though robots are productive and have helped streamlining tasks across different industries, AI is likely to threaten our sustenance. Popular physicist, cosmologist and author Stephen Hawking has a mixed opinion on AI that, in future, it is going to be the extremely good or turn out significantly bad.

Let’s get you knowing about some of the cons of artificial intelligence.

Robots can’t match us; can surpass us though

There is just no way robots and AI-powered technologies. However, they may go way beyond our potential. You must be wondering how that is a problem. We do need something that is way more intelligent than us, and can take better care of things based on their own intelligence, right? Erm, no! While we may want that, it is not our need. We need technologies that work with us or independently on repetitive tasks, assist us, and help us achieve better results. We may feel that we need to see more of AI in complex tasks and fully automated processes, but what puts us on risk in that case, is the self-evolving algorithmic logic that may deduce and reach a conclusion that we may not be expecting. After all, it is all about coding.

Initial Costs

The reason why, despite being a run-of-the-mill in the world of technology, artificial intelligence is not something that you get to see a large number of companies practising, is because developing AI-powered solutions is a costly affair, both in terms of technical requirements and resource allocation. Also, the AI industry yet hasn’t seen a surge in number of core AI developers, which is why hiring and paying AI developers is a little too heavy on budget, especially for small enterprises. Other than monetary constraints, the amount of time that the development phase demands is too much, which is another reason why AI development poses a challenge to small enterprises that can hardly focus on anything but their core practice. For general public, the solutions that are present out there in the market are also way too costly to be adopted by commoners, which goes against the basic principle of AI – convenience for all. At present, the basic minimum cost of a typical full-fledged home automation system is more than 2000 USD, which reaches up to almost 100,000 USD.

Upgradation

The core purpose of AI is to automate the processes with the use of data. Now we all know that the data generated out of different types of nodes is constantly changing due to changing trends, people’s perception, and most importantly, rapidly changes in technology. Due to this constant evolution of data, upgradation of AI systems becomes a dire need. But then, too frequent upgradations take too much of the resources and time, which sort of contradicts its own existence. But then this is only for now, as we can expect more of self-dependent and self-upgrading AI technologies in future.

Jobs

One of the generic beliefs, eradication of human jobs is why the world has two factions with two different stances on AI. While most believe that robots will work with humans in future, some believe, like Elon Musk, that machines will completely replace humans. And replacing humans means the need for humans at work place. Industries are readily adopting AI robotics with the help of Android app development companies India to optimize their operation through apps and smarter ERP software. And every time a robot joins, the need for multiple human employees fades away.

 It is understandable why the world is fascinated with AI and how it benefits us in different ways. From an industrial point of view as well, AI does help in optimizing costs and resources. But then if we look at the bigger picture, if people won’t have money which is a direct consequence of loss of jobs, to whom would these industries be selling their products?

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