#Demographic segmentation

[marketxcel]

Understanding Consumer Behavior in Marketing: Patterns, Types, and Segmentation

Explore the intricate world of consumer behavior in marketing. Uncover patterns, types, and segmentation strategies to gain valuable insights and tailor your marketing efforts effectively.

[allieinarden]

[onlinemarketingcash4ublogspotcom]

How To Win On Social Media In 2025 Gary Vee Q&A Session- Clip 3

In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, staying ahead of the curve is crucial for brands aiming to expand their reach and engage new audiences. Our latest podcast episode delves into a fascinating insight: images are currently outperforming videos in attracting new users. This revelation is not just a statistic; it's a game-changer for brands seeking to refine their marketing strategies.

The discussion begins with an exploration of how images, as opposed to videos, are capturing a higher propensity of new users. This trend is particularly significant for companies looking to penetrate new consumer segments.

[digitalrhetoricpune]

Demographic Targeting in Google Ads: Best Practices

What is Demographic Targeting in Google Ads?

Demographic targeting in Google Ads enables advertisers to segment their audience based on:

Age: Grouping users into age brackets like 18–24, 25–34, and so on.

Gender: Male, female, or unknown.

Parental Status: Differentiating between parents and non-parents.

Household Income: Dividing users into income percentiles (top 10%, 11–20%, etc.).

This data helps brands craft tailored messages that appeal to specific audience segments, enhancing engagement and driving conversions.

Why Demographic Targeting Matters in 2024

Precision in Ad Spend: With rising competition in PPC, it’s crucial to allocate your budget effectively. Demographic targeting ensures you’re not wasting ad spend on irrelevant users.

Improved Engagement Rates: Ads designed for a specific demographic are more likely to generate clicks, increasing Google Ads ROI.

Enhanced Relevance: Targeting demographics makes ads more relevant, leading to higher Quality Scores and better ad placements.

Customization at Scale: Through audience segmentation in Google Ads, you can personalize ads for different demographics without losing scalability.

Best Practices for Google Ads Demographic Targeting in 2024

1. Combine Demographic Targeting with Audience Insights

While demographic targeting provides broad data, combining it with audience insights, such as interests or purchasing behaviors, ensures highly effective segmentation. For example, targeting “Females aged 25–34 interested in fitness” for a health supplement ad is far more precise than targeting just “Females aged 25–34.”

2. Monitor and Adjust Regularly

Demographics and user behaviors evolve, especially with trends and technological changes. Continuously analyze campaign performance metrics like CTR, impressions, and conversion rates to optimize your Google Ads demographics settings.

3. Layer with Other Targeting Options

Maximize effectiveness by layering demographic targeting with options like location or device targeting. For instance, as a PPC services provider in Pune, targeting “Males aged 25–34 in Pune using mobile devices” for a tech gadget campaign can yield better results than broader targeting.

4. Exclude Irrelevant Demographics

Exclusion is as important as targeting. If your product appeals only to adults, exclude age groups under 18 to prevent wasted impressions and clicks.

5. Align Ad Creatives with Demographics

Ensure your visuals and copy resonate with the target group. A professional, authoritative tone may appeal to high-income demographics, while a casual, fun tone might work for younger audiences.

6. Use Demographics for Remarketing

Segment users by demographics for retargeting campaigns. For example, retarget parents who abandoned their shopping carts with ads showcasing family-friendly benefits of your product.

Mistakes to Avoid in Google Ads Demographic Targeting

1. Over-Reliance on Demographics

While demographics are useful, they’re not the sole indicator of purchasing intent. Complement demographic targeting with keyword optimization, placement targeting, and remarketing to broaden your reach.

2. Ignoring Data Discrepancies

Demographic data in Google Ads might not always be 100% accurate. Regularly compare it with analytics tools to minimize inaccuracies.

3. Neglecting Smaller Demographics

While large demographic groups may yield higher impressions, niche groups can often provide higher conversions due to lower competition.

Key Metrics to Track for Success

To ensure you’re optimizing Google Ads demographics effectively, monitor the following:

CTR (Click-Through Rate): Indicates ad relevance to the targeted demographic.

Conversion Rates: Shows whether the targeted group is completing desired actions.

Cost Per Conversion (CPC): Helps determine ROI for each demographic.

Future Trends in Google Ads Demographic Targeting for 2024

AI-Driven Insights: Google’s machine learning algorithms are becoming more sophisticated, offering deeper insights into audience behaviors.

Integration with First-Party Data: Brands leveraging first-party customer data can refine demographic targeting for better personalization.

Dynamic Ad Customization: Expect more tools for auto-generating ad creatives tailored to specific demographic groups.

How Digital Rhetoric Can Help

As a trusted PPC services provider in Pune, we specialize in crafting data-driven campaigns for businesses across industries. Our expertise in Google Ads demographic targeting ensures your ad spend delivers maximum ROI.

Explore our PPC services in Pune by visiting Digital Rhetoric. Let’s work together to harness the power of demographic targeting and achieve unparalleled ad performance.

[vivitalks]

The kid puts his hands on his hips. He’s relentless. "Who are you?" "Who are you?" Tony fires back. "I'm Leo Valdez," the kid says. They must not have stranger danger in this part of Houston. "Now you." "I'm a mechanic," Tony says. (Rewrite of the Harley scenes in Iron Man 3, except replace Harley Keener with Leo Valdez.)

a crossover i dreamt up several years ago and am finally posting <3

[the-fallen-blue]

I've been seeing a lot of discourse about the Murderbot casting, to the tune of "Wells says she imagined it as brown"/"the narrator of the audiobook is a man"/"the writing just sounds female, the types of things it notices and cares to mention and the way it puts its sentences together is how a woman would"/"it's canonically agender wtf"/"agender people can look masculine you asshole"/"it's supposed to look big and average that means white male"/"that's your own cultural bias in play and evidence says the average in its universe is brown"/"that's your bias in play there's no ironclad indication what the average is in the Corporation Rim"/"here's every single canon description of Murderbot it has no canon physical attributes other than Tall it could be played by literally anyone Checkmate Atheists" etc etc etc and it all just... misses the point?

No one is annoyed with Skarsgård!MB because "white dude" isn't canon.

They're annoyed because written Murderbot presents a level of identification and recognition for them that "white dude" does not.

Or, in other words: it is difficult to imagine a level of abuse more profound than not having the freedom of your own literal thoughts, consigned to a cripplingly limited and cruel social role from which any deviation is met with brutal pain. And it is all too easy to imagine a demographic who are presumed violent, hostile, and inferior, good only for labor and violence, who must be controlled and denied and unpersoned for the good of the rest. The lines aren't hard to draw, here; Murderbot is deeply relatable to many people who are not (visibly masculine) white men, specifically because they are not (visibly masculine) white men. Because they share with it the experience of oppression, marginalization, and being known on sight as wrong, being punished for the slightest deviance. Because it is not just another in the long boring line of ten thousand thousand grizzled white space marine heroman types; it is the thematic opposite of that.

And yeah duh obviously you can look like a boilerplate white dude and still suffer plenty of oppression, but film is a visual medium. Character design is a crucial part of its language, especially when a specific character is the only example of its type available to the audience. It is a shorthand that the audience will understand as a reflection on the wider setting. Which means that casting Skarsgård is, whether they meant it or not, a subtle statement that the ultimate bigotry in Murderbot's universe is against and about conventional white dudes.

Or in other other words, you cannot refute complaints about Skarsgård!MB with ~canon~ because canon has nothing to do with it. It's a thematic inconsistency, a failure to understand the not the story's text, but its subtext and its place in the wider cultural conversation of sci-fi (or at least to accurately translate those meta considerations to the satisfaction of a decent segment of the audience).

Like you can still yell about how bullshit you think that is if you want. Casting's not that deep or it's an important queer metaphor to pass and still struggle or people have no inherent 'right' to representation or whatever else. I'm not telling anyone what to say or believe. But just understand that that's what you're actually arguing with (or for, for that matter), is all I'm saying.

[toskarin]

sorry to ask, but can you explain your last post to someone who knows nothing about the musician community youre talking about... it sounds like a really really good post if i just understood it better

this is another one of those posts where I'm transcribing a stream of consciousness, so I'll throw in a courtesy readmore

the musician community, as a whole, is much more segmented than the visual artist community

this leads to good and bad things, but generally it allows for more awareness of one's position and an acknowledgement that the needs of an underground folk artist are going to be different than the needs of a composer who receives a name credit. this means there is always going to be heavy pushback when someone tries to impose ethics downward

one element of this is the inward acknowledgement that the monolithic musician community isn't actually real in a way that isn't really mirrored in the visual artist community. besides making music and navigating the financial (and legal) landscape of that, there is very little that intrinsically unites musicians

this acknowledgement allows discussions about concerns among poorer musicians to exist without being completely shut down by someone who has different concerns, because they're not seen as the subject of the discussion unless they are respectfully contributing to it

one big reason for this being possible is that musicians are less respected than visual artists in the professional world

that might sound absurd if you only know of one landscape, but think of how many game (and movie, and tv, and etc. etc. etc.) franchises with identity-defining composers go on to swap out the composer at the first sign of a labour dispute, to very little protest as long as the quality of music isn't seen as dropping

hell, if someone else can copy your style satisfactorily, there's often no fuss at all! this leads to a pretty violent disillusionment with your place in the creative world

even beyond that, there exists an entire industry based around creating a parasitic body of IP landlordism for anyone whose music isn't attached to another product. the musician is, in a way that is deeply and thoroughly beaten into them, a labourer

the visual artist community (until recently) didn't tend to have this disillusionment, so it often follows the sway of its most popular and established members

in fact, the modern visual artist community as a broad cultural body is carved almost entirely from social media discussions that treat the community as one entity. accordingly, becoming established basically requires participation in this online entity

to further poison the well, the position of a visual artist is regularly talked about in spiritual terms rather than labour terms. there is something special that makes you a visual artist. it's the exact mentality that people rightfully made fun of in those ordinary people vs creative people comics. it's the unspoken cultural assumption that natural talent exists, even if most people would deny believing in it if put into explicit terms

while this does feel very good, it means that acknowledging labour-originated conflicts of interest is a bit rude

when a community unites itself around a spiritual core, it can't properly assert "your experiences are not applicable to what is being discussed and you should not be imposing yourself" because, by all metrics, an artist is a fundamentally unique demographic that can speak in all conversations about art

it's a warped form of anti-gatekeeping, a one-way gate through which you can strike down at other poor artists, but not up, enforced from below and framed as a desire for openness

the visual artist community's relative homogenisation of popular consensus is, on the whole, very very very bad for what it does to its norms. it hashes out and legislates within itself with an unspoken assumption that its most prolific members are simply further along the artist lifecycle, and therefore the most trustworthy

discussions with direct parallels ("is it okay to be obviously influenced by someone else's style?") come to much hazier conclusions which lean towards the opinions held by people with the most followers

most egregiously, this manifested in how visual artists react to piracy

the past ten years (in large part because of patreon making viable the paywalling of material behind a regular subscription) have been consumed by arguments about piracy that all seem to terminate in the assumption that piracy is theft, with little stratification of opinion between the hobbyist and professional scenes on this matter

this assumed spiritual core of the community is felt strongly in every conversation. look at the difference in attitudes around the distribution of cracked VSTs and the distribution of brush packs. hell, even on the corporate level, look at the difference in attitudes around pirating DAWs vs visual art programs

even when people are implying an approval of piracy, they find ways to frame it from a position of revenge on a company for something wrong it did, because they still need to conform to the community understanding of piracy as theft

individual visual artists can be (and often are!) more conscious of this stuff, but even then, people react with shock when these visual artists aren't horribly concerned about the possibility of their paywalled work existing on a torrent site

in a word, if you can see the ways these conversation spaces are different and similar, it's all so exhausting

[marketxcel]

What Is Market Research: Methods, Types & Examples

Learn about the fundamentals of market research, including various methods, types, and real-life examples. Discover how market research can benefit your business and gain insights into consumer behavior, trends, and preferences.

[groveraven]

"I'd want a musical guest segment, which I think is what they're slating me for... If I go. I do like that puppet segment they have, the one that Jim Henson guy is doing. I know you have no love for NBC, but let me have an opportunity to meet those puppets," she said softly, her hand briefly passing over Jack's as he squeezed her arm. It was always strange to see that change from Jack Delory to Mr. Midnight. She did like both versions of her friend, but she knew well enough the layers of masks needed to keep this up. Surely it was painful.

Shanna pulled herself away from where she rested against the counter, stubbing her herbal cigarette in the nearby ashtray, feeling calmer than the moments ago when she considered putting it out elsewhere. "I'll see you when you're ready for me to play you out, then," she replied, making her way to the door, lingering in the doorframe for just a moment. "I hope we can, Jack."

“I meant taking a night off post-show bullshit— no need to bite my head off. Down, boy,” Shanna replied with a frown, bringing her cigarette back to her lips. She was beginning to sense that she was overstaying her welcome, that Jack was getting a bit too tightly wound. Briefly, thoughts flashed in her mind of trying to get him out of his head, but one of the few options that stood out was pressing her burning herbal cigarette into his hand and putting it out on him. No, no… she wouldn’t do that to him. Were he someone else baring his teeth at her, even barely, she’d consider it.

Looking away, smoke poured out of her nose. Maybe what she gave was different than him, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t sacrificed too; with the layers of acts she put up, it was easy for people to forget how she put her heart on a platter, writing herself into every verse. And that’s how she and Jack differed, with him stamping down his pain and putting on a smile, while she let hers echo in bars and on late night shows. “Don’t jinx yourself, there, or six feet below will be sooner than you think.”

[thefanficmonster]

The Tortured Journalists Department

Declan O'Hara x Reader (Female) [Rivals TV]

Warnings: Age Gap (Reader is 21), Swearing, Emotional Infidelity, SPOILERS for Rivals S1

Genre: Romance, Fluff

Summary: The characteristically prominent electricity that pits journalists against one another also has a magnetic sort of pull that brings them closer. As Declan and Y/N find out the hard way

"Alright, listen to me." Y/N had rushed into the O'Hara residence like spring wind, bringing warmth to a house Declan has felt cold in ever since the departure of his wife.

She headed straight into the kitchen where she dropped several files and folders, splaying them out on the table. It was evident from her pace alone that she'd come with an agenda but that didn't bother Declan. If there was one thing that could stray his thoughts from Maud it was work. And Venturer still required a lot of it.

"It'd be quite impossible to not listen to you, my dear. Especially with such an impressionable entrance." Declan chuckles, taking a drag of his cigarettes as he comes to stand across the table from the girl.

"Good, because I didn't spend an entire sleepless night drafting all this for you to not pay me any mind." She grumbles as she flicks open the folders, flipping past the formality pages to the main course of the idea she's about to pitch.

Y/N is one of the Corinium refugees that jumped ship the second Declan resigned. She was a paid intern and the face of Corinium's 'After Dark' segment focusing on rather scandalous topics and entertainment targeting the young adult demographic. However, with the continuous undermining she felt from practically everyone, she had long been planning to break the chain binding her to the company. The only thing - or rather, person - that kept changing her mind was...well, I think it's pretty darn obvious when you take note of when she finally decided to go through with the decision and leave.

Declan pulls out a chair and takes a seat, leaning forward with his elbows on the table to skim all the files she's laid out for him "I'm all ears, darling."

"You better be." Y/N says with a clap of her hands as she takes a deep breath, "So, I've been thinking, we should set Venturer free from the shadows of Corinium. Because, right now, especially with you as the face of the company, we seem like a bitter revenge attempt. Just an endeavor to bite back at a company that wronged you. Of course, that is not my personal opinion, but-"

"I think it is."

"Hush!" She scolds him as he interrupts her, "I'm far from done."

Declan laughs, smoke curling around him as he lifts his hands up in surrender, motioning for her to continue.

"Thank you." She narrows her eyes, "So, I'll cut to the chase, seeing as how your attention span is one of a fish. My idea is to make Venturer unique in more ways than one. Truly make it our own. And....take down two birds with one stone." She says with a knowing look.

Declan quirks an eyebrow at her, tilting his head to the side, "And what's this second bird you speak of."

Y/N points a manicured nail down to an underlined name he recognizes, "The Scorpion, of course. They have a massive monopoly over London's printed journalism and they don't even know how to use it properly. They have a wide reach and use it to spread gossip and rumors. I can count on all ten fingers the amount of nude pictures I've seen in a supposedly serious paper just this past year. It is abhorrent. That being said, what do you say?"

Declan places a hand on his chin, giving the documents she's put so much thought in a more thorough look. The idea had never even crossed his mind - the Venturer merging two separate branches of journalism, setting in motion a domination attempt of the entire field.

The more he ponders it, the better it sounds, but it doesn't exactly show on his face which makes Y/N feel nervous for the very first time since she started working on the pitch. She hadn't for a second doubted that it would be a good idea but right now she feels rather unsure as she takes in Declan's thoughtful furrowed brow.

"You don't have to give me an answer right away. I know it's a hefty endeavor and you have to consult with Rupert and Freddie and Cameron. I probably should've gathered all of you to properly pitch the idea but I wanted you to be the first to hear it in case it was an utter embarrassment. Again, think it over, and get back to it whenever you-"

"It's genius."

Her rambling comes to an abrupt halt, leaving her slack-jawed and wide-eyed. For a moment, she refuses to allow herself the joy of success, opting to make sure she hadn't misheard him first. "Come again?"

"It's genius." He doubles down on his original statement, "You're a genius, love. Which is why you'll be the leading force behind Venturer Daily." He smirks when he sees her eyes grow impossibly wider, "Like the name?"

The airy laugh that leaves her parted lips carries all the disbelief, worry and uncertainty from her body, giving way to relief childlike excitement that displays itself with a wide grin, "Venturer Daily.....yes, y-yeah, it has a nice ring to it." Her mind is already a whirlwind of potential topics and stories she could report on. How she'd have complete control of all that'd get printed and released into the world for all of London society to read. And beyond - nation wide even.

But then logic and rational thinking kicks in, curbing her thrill, "Wait, don't we have to consult everyone else before making such decisions?"

Declan shakes his head, "With a passionate pitch like yours they'll immediately climb onboard even if they are initially against it. Which I honestly doubt, there are very few downsides for them to pick at."

"Alright, fair. What about my writing? What if I don't have what it takes to transfer the charm I have in front of the camera to a printed page?" She asks, more so wondering aloud rather than actually directing the question to Declan.

Still, he points a scolding finger at her, "Never let me hear you doubt yourself like that again."

The sternness in his voice causes something to stir inside her, like ripples in a still lake that progressively become waves when she sees the intensity in his eyes. Because of course that's how her body reacts to strict praise and attention from a man twice her age that also happens to be her boss.

Her next worry is voiced a little quietly, almost sheepishly, "I don't even have a typewriter of my own."

He doesn't give an instant reply to her raised concern. Instead, he motions for her to wait a moment before leaving the kitchen, heading up the stairs in the foyer.

Y/N is left standing alone in the kitchen with a flushed face and a speeding heart as she chews on her bottom lip in anticipation. Her fingers drum nervously on the edge of the table as she takes a deep breath, willing her heart to slow down and take it easy. All in the hopes of not being let down in the end.

Let down she most certainly isn't when Declan comes back down the stairs, typewriter in hand, and places it on the table in front of her.

"Problem solved. Anything else bothering ya? If there is something, let me know so I can take care of it for ya, alright? You just focus on getting me a newspaper draft within the next two weeks. Sounds good?" He asks, as he stands beside her, hands on hips, spine straight and a satisfied lopsided smirk on his face.

The earlier mentioned waves turn into a full on tsunami.

Y/N runs a gentle hand over the polished black typewriter, her fingers lingering on the golden accents adorning it. "You would give this to me? Are you sure?" She asks, mouth agape in disbelief as he nods "T-thank you....I promise to take good care of it. I'll have it returned in pristine condition as soon as I purchase my own."

Declan immediately shakes his head, clicking his tongue, "Oh no, no, no, darling. It's yours. Yours to keep, that is."

Y/N's disbelief is palpable as she quirks an eyebrow at him, "How could you ever bring yourself to part with something so beautiful." She gathers some of the dust layer that coats the keys, "And something you've had for a long while, no less."

Declan doesn't show it, but his heart clenches as he sees how gentle and almost loving Y/N is to this object that he too feels such a connection to. He'd originally bought it for Maud's birthday a few years back only to earn himself a displeased reaction from his wife who demanded something - in her words - actually valuable as a birthday gift. Seeing someone be as appreciative and admiring of this typewriter as he'd been the moment he saw it returns that same excitement he'd felt when he was preparing to gift it to Maud. This time however, the excitement isn't deflated by disappointment. If anything, it's amplified by seeing it be mirrored in Y/N's eyes.

Eyes that hold such adoration.

Adoration he witnesses morph into something else when her eyes meet his for a split second before she throws her arms around his neck, embracing him tightly. The action stuns him, mostly because it's coming from someone who's not typically openly affectionate but he welcomes it none the less, returning the gesture with a flutter in his heartbeat.

He's unsure of how to describe what he's feeling but a small voice in his brain is condemning him for it. For how good it feels to have someone's arms wrapped around him with undivided affection he hasn't been treated to by his own wife in years.

Speaking of his wife, he catches glimpse of her smiling face framed on the coffee table in the living room. He should feel guilt but he doesn't. Especially not when he remembers that he hasn't been on the receiving end of that smile in a long, long while. The notion causes his arms to tighten around Y/N, his face nestled into the crook of her neck, each inhale filling his nose with the sweet scent of her perfume lingering on her skin and in her hair.

"Thank you..." She whispers as her arms slowly loosen around him. He doesn't even have time to feel disappointed to no longer feel her warmth around him when her lips press against his cheek, sending sparks of electricity throughout his entire body, setting every nerve ending aflame.

Before he's even had the chance to gather his bearings, Y/N has already collected the files and folders she'd brought, leaving them in a neat pile on the table. She picks up the typewriter in her arms, the weight of it evident in the way she's carrying it like an infant - or rather that is a display of the care she feels for the gift.

It's obvious the kiss was an improvised action on her part. There's a solid chance she herself was surprised by it considering how flustered she is now as she's doing everything in her power to leave the O'Hara residence.

"I'll have a draft delivered to you in a couple days." She says hastily, one foot practically already out the door, "I promise I won't let you down."

Declan's arm seems to have a mind of its own as it shoots out and gently grabs hers, stopping her in her frazzled haste to run away. His thumb swipes over the soft cotton of her sweater, allowing her to feel the warmth of his touch on her skin through the fabric. His eyes are warm and inviting, exuding comfort and reassurance she's never been offered by anyone before.

"You could never let me down, darling."

His words might as well have been a physical force the way they knock the breath clear from her lungs.

In another universe, she might be a better woman. The kind that wouldn't kiss her still-technically-married, twice her age boss. But in this universe she has no such restraint.

And clearly neither does he, seeing as how he meets her halfway, their bodies symbolically separated by the typewriter she's cradling - a disappointing gift to one, but a beautiful memento to another.

* * * * *

A couple days later, Declan finds a draft of a newspaper wedged into the side of his front door, waiting for him, a bow neatly tied around it. He reads through it while sipping on his morning coffee, smirking at the bold title - Daily Venturer, a slight variation of the name they had agreed upon.

Y/N's passion is warming the pages in his hand, eliciting genuine emotion and reaction with each paragraph she has written, the word alive on the crisp paper.

He's about to close it when the farewell block of text at the bottom of the last page catches his attention. It's not printed, instead handwritten in beautiful cursive

⋰ May you find my writing even half as beautiful as your own soul, dear reader

May you have enlighten yourself with my words the way you've enlighten my life with your presence

May your heart be warm as the coffee I'm sure you're drinking as you're reading

May all be well always ⋱

Yours only,

~Y/N

[nqueso-lies]

Okay cracking open my PR knowledge for this.

I’ve seen people say that the interviews with Oliver are “scripted” so he knew they were going to ask him about Buddie and that the show wanted them to because 911 is giving them the script for the interview. This is factually incorrect.

The interviews aren’t “scripted” in the sense that a television show is. More so, planned. With each side planning their own way through the interview. Let me explain.

On the journalism side: you have your reporters who figure out what questions they’re going to ask.

On the subject side: you have the PR team working out what questions they think will be asked and prepping the client for that.

Now this is different if it were, say, an exclusive interview. Which this is not. This is Oliver on a press tour, I’ll say why later.

So each side preps for the interview, using this interview as an example, Oliver’s publicist would’ve prepared a list of questions they think will be asked/topics they think will be covered. Then will have some possible responses. It’ll relate back to whatever key messaging they’re trying to get across.

I haven’t seen all the interviews for this tour and not all of them are out yet, but hypothetically let’s say that the key messages that Oliver’s team wants to get across are about the finale, the closeness of the team both on and off screen, and Oliver’s own ventures outside of the show. The responses they create will relate back to these key messages.

They know they’ll ask about Buddie, it has enough traction that any journalist (or assistant) who is doing research will come across it. They also know it’ll get people to watch the segment and have it go viral — which is good for GMA and OS. Doesn’t mean buddie is big, just means it’s loud. So the Pub preps for that. Gives Oliver an idea of what to say. Connect it back to the messaging.

They don’t know what they’ll ask, but they have an idea. Just like the journalists won’t know how he’ll answer, but a good one will have an idea.

GMA is a place you send someone on a press tour if you want attention on something or someone, it has the second highest viewership count for morning talk shows within an age demographic of about 29-42 (going off memory so may be off a year). The Today Show is slightly higher in viewership, but they’re so close it’s nothing. Plus GMA is on ABC. That’s why GMA was chosen, good viewership numbers and ABC connection.

Now, why OS? Without knowing if it was his personal PR team or the show’s, it makes it a little trickier, but it comes down to the same thing. They want eyes on Oliver. Either because with Peter gone they want audience focus to shift more to him, or because his team wants him to be seen by others outside of the 911 bubble. It’s attention, not secret messaging.

But for all the people saying that 911 gave GMA these questions / signed off on these questions / told them to ask buddie stuff, that’s all not true. That’s not how PR works, that’s not how GMA works

ETA: after typing this all up I was able to quickly watch the GMA segments, and I stand by what I said. It’s very clear OS what instructed to bridge back to key points, especially when it comes to talking about Buck and Eddie. He likely was prepped to throw it back to audience taking whatever they want out of the show, which has been a key message in multiple interviews going back basically a season or more. Him calling Eddie straight directly was a part of that.

Thank you, Annie!!!

And not to put Max on your beautiful, knowledgeable ask, but since BoBs seem to only listen to BoB journalists, I'm using this to back you further (although you don't need it ❤️)

[spacelessbian]

I am 100% serious when I say that the way they could make the late night show work in Hacks is revealing how feral Deborah actually is. Like, let her bring work tools, show her fucking demolishing someone's office or taking a chainsaw to someone's tree. Let her race sports cars. Make regular brutal roast segments. Let her explore her sexuality with her head writer. Yeah, she could lose some of the more insecure male demographic, but she would gain tumblrinas and that's what counts.

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

Hello! Off the back of your Welsh letter post, have you ever listened to the Elis James and John Robins podcast? Elis is Welsh and has historically boasted that if he meets a random Welsh person, I.e. on holiday, he can find a shared connection fairly quickly. They've turned this into a feature called the Cymru Connection, where he has 60 seconds to connect to a Welsh caller. I won't spoil his current success rate but it's very funny.

So I haven't, because my personal brand of ADHD means I cannot handle podcasts or radio; but, my husband does! He's friends with both. He's a big fan of Cymru Connection. It's loosely based on a Welsh language radio segment that Welsh comedian Tudur Owen does each week, where a caller phones in and Tudur has to work out what person they mutually know within three questions.

Pleasingly, this used to be a really easy game, but is now becoming harder as young people call in. The reason being, after the 1991 census showed how Welsh speakers had plummeted to 17% of the population, the Welsh Language Act (1993) was introduced which made learning Welsh in schools a legal requirement, among other things. This led to a huge increase in the number of Welsh medium schools, where you learn all subjects in Welsh rather than English, which opened up the opportunity to children from English-speaking homes. There's a whole demographic of Millennial Welsh speakers now, therefore, who don't have any of the traditional connections to Welsh language culture that the game used to rely on. Tudur's hit rate is therefore super high for anyone over 40, but becomes patchy with the Youth; but, it's a sign of how much we've grown. Very pleasing.

[psychotrenny]

While I don't think much of the overall USamerican population cares about the genocide in Gaza, the scale of the recent protests show that it's a pretty important issue for the more progressive and politically active segment*. A segment which assumes a disproportionate electoral importance in a nation like the USA with non-compulsory voting and generally low voter turnouts. Like your "average" Yank might not give a shit about Palestine, but said average Yank wasn't gonna vote anyway. And the people who actively support the Genocide are mostly gonna vote for Trump no matter what; Harris's stance on Gaza did a pretty good job of driving off people who might have voted for her without attracting new support.

It's not as though Trump is very popular; he just managed to maintain some sizeable base of supporters by doing the bare minimum job of a politician and "promising them things they want". Like Trump managed to win this election with fewer total votes than he had in his 2020 loss; you could say that he's "more popular" than Harris but that's really not a high bar. The electorate less voted for Trump and more didn't vote for Harris because why the hell would they? She had nothing worthwhile to offer so Trump more or less won by default. While Gaza wasn't necessarily decisive in this, it certainly fucking hurt especially among the demographics (i.e. Ethnic Minorities, Young People) that Harris was trying hardest to reach. At the very least, a more popular Gaza policy could have made her loss a lot less humiliating.

But the US DP doesn't seem that interested in victory anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter. They get paid for putting on a show, creating a nice distracting spectacle; actually winning seems secondary at best. I doubt they'll learn any lessons beyond "We need to get more Racist". And considering the recent surge in posts to the effect of "I can't wait for White Supremacists to brutalise you as punishment for not Voting Blue", it's a lesson their online supporters are already putting into practice with enthusiasm

*I must emphasise that I'm defining this "segment" very broadly; It's not as though you need an especially principled or coherent ideology to conclude "Explicit Genocide is bad and we should at least dissociate ourselves from it"

[drdemonprince]

I recently learned that bisexuals have higher rates of poverty than gay and lesbian folks -way higher, actually. Do you know of any study or essay that goes into the possible causes? I can only find sources describing the problem, none actually hypothesizing

Nobody knows why, but there are a few competing theories. I think what most of the reports on this subject fail to take into account is that bisexuals are a larger segment of the population than either lesbians or gay men -- and so we're really comparing apples to oranges here, in terms of demographic size and perhaps even variance. Bisexuals are the largest LGBT group and we may see a greater statistical diversity of outcomes within that group than in others.

The prevailing explanation that I've seen is that bisexuals are less likely to find a community "home" -- their identity is less socially legible and visible and so they may be less likely to access LGBTQ resources, forge community ties, or even to really recognize themselves as a member of the community deserving of such things. Not knowing yourself or your people while still being marginalized can be really damaging.

Bisexuals also face the dual vulnerability of both being queer and potentially being in romantic relationships with straight people who are homophobic and will retaliate against them for their queerness. The domestic violence and sexual assault vulnerabilities bisexuals face are doubtless related to their economic outcomes.

Sometimes, these dynamics get misreported as gay men and lesbians oppressing bisexuals, but that's not really the mechanism at work here. It's relationships with cishet men. I believe it was Butchanarchist who pointed out that lesbians face the same rate of domestic violence as bisexual women when they're in relationships with men. Of course, fewer lesbians on average are in relationships with men. So in reality it's the on-average greater proximity with and vulnerability to cishet people that bisexuals tend to suffer from. Gay men and lesbians are sometimes (but far from always!) able to get more distance from their oppressors than bisexuals are. But the oppressors in both cases are the same.

[smugpugchimera]

May I request a moment of your attention please 🙏 I'm heading home from a meetup of a civil rights org I'm participating in. Our curator attended OSCE meetup that concluded the monitoring period on the state of the rights to peaceful assembly in 4 participating countries. She got to hear a lot of first-hand accounts from volunteers and reporters working on the ground gathering the information and represent their local civil right movements. Here's the report itself, I humbly urge you to take a look because the state of freedom of speech all around the all around world is in a very dire right now!

Our curator also had some insights for a few countries outside of the list in this report, so I'll try to make a brief general summary. I'm currently in the process of reading through the report myself, so apologies if some of my recollection is faulty!

I'll start with something you may have already heard, and its the situation in Georgia. The last election has been allegedly swayed by russian interference, much to the dismay of the population. This anti-democratic injustice met heavy pushback and massive protests followed. The reports on the situation, however, have been dwindling. The thing is they're still very much ongoing, and to this day crowds gather Daily to express their unsatisfaction, and their rights to do so are constantly breached, with law enforcers using many disproportionate measures against the civilian population. Some of the things that were mentioned are throwing teargas at the crowd from the rooftops, extended use of surveillance to track and unjustly prosecute the attendees, falsifying charges, and arresting people for them. New laws have been passing (or are in the process of being passed) such as to ban face covering for the protesters. For people who want to escape the sight of the gathering because of injury or teargas there's practically only one escape route: through a "shame tunnel" formed by the law enforcement, where the escapees are beaten as they try to leave the situation. It's fucking bad! Turkey face similar challenges, as the protests of the unlawful imprisonment of the major of Istanbul are ongoing (for the opposition to the Erdogan's regieme). Their history with russia is also quite convoluted. There, the prosecution does not even bother to falsify any charges, arresting people without any excuse or justification at all. Interesting to note the legal framework in Estonia (I think?), as well as in France practically forbids children from peaceful gatherings, which goes in direct violation of the Committee on the Right of Children. France is also notorious for using many disproportionate protest breaking methods against their civilian population. Moldova is in a peculiar situation, currently battling very active russian intervention. Pro-russian segment of the parliament is also keen on passing laws that would result in further restrictions on the rights to peaceful assembly. For example a law that would require the event organizers to practically fund the facilitation of the gathering, that is supposed to be the responsibility of the local government, which would heavily discourage the practice and disenfranchise marginalized demographics from their right to protest. The most striking and downright dystopian was our curator's retelling of the accounts from a volunteer working in Kazakhstan. It should probably not have been that surprising considering the history of their relationship with russia, and the fact that their respective law enforcement organs have extensive intelligence and method exchange, but still. From my understanding, the government monitors any public mentions of possible gatherings (like in general!) tracks the organizations, and imprisons them just long enough to miss the date of gathering. It is freakishly effective. It is also worrying just how omnipresent undercover law enforcement is, the volunteer expressed intense paranoia about being spied on in day-to day interactions. I'm not super experienced in these matters so do with that what you will. I would appreciate additions by people from these countries to share their experience! Our curator said something very profound about how tyrannical tendencies tent to be eagerly shared among governments who seek to suppress their people. That is why it is crucial for us to be alert and informed on the politics of the region, not just the country we reside in! Please, seek out local initiatives, elections, make good use of your democratic apparatus, while you still have it! (if you have it!) While freedom of expression should be a human right, the truth of the matter, that in most of the world, even in "progressive" jurisdictions it is still a big privilege to have it, and are a result of battles that have been ongoing long before our time. Cherish it. Use it. Fight for it.