#Enough For You series: wishlist wednesday

[imaginedreamwrite]

wishlist Wednesday: when enough for you!jake and reader were kids, they would show each other’s wishlist for Santa before mailing them.

One christmas Jake got everything he wanted but reader didnt.when they got back from break reader was teased mercilessly because Santa didnt bring her as many presents as the other kids

so jake vows to make sure reader got everything she wanted every christmas going fowsrd

“It doesn’t matter.” It mattered to him. “I got enough.” You had acted like it didn’t bother you and maybe it hadn’t bothered you, but it sure as hell bothered Jake. He couldn’t blame your parents, they had done all they could and they were proud, they wouldn’t have accepted help even if they may have needed it.

Jake vowed to do better, he promised himself that he would never be ridiculed like that again, and he promised that he would never let you feel like that again. It was why he has spent so much time with you while Christmas shopping, because he paid attention to everything you had paid attention to and held for a while, wondering what it would be like if you could have afforded it.

You didn’t know that Jake was planning on buying it for you at a later date. You didn’t know that Jake was going to give you everything you wanted, you had remained good company for him while he tried to find the perfect gift for his mom.

Every year, Jake would continue the tradition of getting you anything you wanted, but you had gotten smart. You had kept the tradition of going with Jake when he shopped for his parents and his sister, but you hadn’t paid much attention to any of the gifts yourself, thinking that t would stop Jake from spoiling you. As if that would stop Jake from treating you like his princess as if that would stop jake from showering you with presents. He knew; he always knew.

When Christmas had rolled around again, and again it was time for you and Jake to go shopping together, you hadn’t said a word, you had kept your list inside your head without uttering a word to a single living soul. The day had progressed as it usually had, Jake buying you an iced latte despite the snow blowing outside and then you would do half the shopping in the morning, Jake would insist you go to lunch and he paid, and when he had finished the day off completing the rest of the list.

You, in all your confidence, thought you had him stymied. You thought this was finally the year where you would win one over on Jake, and when Christmas morning had come all those weeks later and it was time to exchange gifts, you were excited about your victory.

“This is for you,” your gift was personable, it was a photo book of your favourite memories of the two of you, something that may not have had great monetary value but it was meaningful.

“I always knew you liked me,” Jake had beamed, his smile radiant as he opened the present and looked through the pictures, pouring intense speculation into every image.

“You’re my best friend, Jake. Of course, I like you.” you had truly thought you won, and you were eager to celebrate your victory when yet again, Jake Jensen had caught you off guard.

“I love you.” He had whispered against your ear as he sidled up to you and pulled you into his embrace moments before your gift started to wiggle, and a furry black head had poked out of a red bag, two deep brown eyes staring at you.

“A puppy? You got me a puppy?”

“You think you pulled a fast one on me,” Jake crooned in your ear, barely able to hold onto you as you broke free from him and crawled onto the floor, your hands already full of the pup as it wiggled free from the bag, “I know you, princess. I know you’ve wanted a dog since you were ten.”

“Jake Jensen,” when you looked at him your arms holding the excited puppy, he surely thought that he had never known what love was before this moment, “you are…unbeatable.”

“I was going to ask you to marry me,” he mumbled under his breath, confessing his true devotion while you were unaware, “but that can come next Christmas, princess.”

[queswipocalypse]

My name is Que and I’m a stitchaholic

So I figured I might as well make a blog for the 2020 WIPocalypse. I’ll be posting to the FB community as well, probably.

This is my intro post.

Hi, I’m Que and I’m a stitchaholic. I got this curse from my mother. It’s generational now. I participated in WIPolcaypses a long time ago, but I found it again and I thought I would participate in a better way.

For those of you off Tumblr, you can find my stuff on Instagram, quetzalzotz. Also, if you do want to follow me here, I follow back from my main, @perilsperil​ and my more active F/O blog, @quesselfships​ where you can see all my Pokemon cross stitch thus far.

Anyway, I have a whole Excel sheet of projects I want to do. I tend to pick based on my mood at the time, so I don’t have a list of “goals” exactly. But I’ll list one or two from each category I’d like to at least start this year.

However, I do have 6 projects on the go currently. I have 5 categories, based on my 5 needle minders, plus one year long SAL. These are the latest pics of I have of them, and might not be the most up to date, but close enough. I’m fighting off a cold, deal with it.

1. Religious Art...well, really anything kinda pagan. Currently this slot is filled with my Egyptian Gods Sampler by Clouds Factory

Start wishlist: Alcyone of the Pleiades, Mother Maya, Forgotten God

2. Pieces that use a few flosses. I Was running out of categories ok. This slot is filled with a piece by @shitpostsampler​ about Economics. As an accountant who took two years of economics, it is a true statement.

Start wishlist: Alien Ouija board, Lying on the Floor Spiritually

3. Pokemon! I am making a pokemon for each of my f/os. Currently I’m working on Snorlax. This one doesn’t have a wishlist, as going forward I’m going to letting followers of my F/O blog pick next projects after successfully guessing which Pokemon and for which F/O they are for.

4. This slot is for pieces that are in a series. This is the piece I worked on for my new years stitchathon as well, The Water Goddess by Joan Elliott.

Start wish list: Probably my Pagan holiday wheel of the year pieces and I can swap them out on my altar.

5. Other largeish projects. Again, low on categories. This is my latest start, the Chonker Chart!

Start wishlist: Game of Thrones sign, despite how bad S8 was. Circle of Friends, Mermaid of Atlantis

And finally, my weekly SAL, which updates every Wednesday, the Peppermint Purple Blackwork sal. This is  the first motif and I’ll post each one here every week as I finish.

[crazyblondelife]

This & That for May

This & That posts are my favorites because I get to share the things I’m excited about, wanting to experience, wanting to buy and more importantly, wanting to eat!

I’m still in the midst of my May madness and calling myself the chaos coordinator, which feels very accurate right about now!

My birthday was last Wednesday and it was wonderful…Baldy and I tried a new restaurant in Greensboro NC called White & Wood! It was beyond fabulous and will definitely be a go-to spot for us. My gift from Baldy was a set of crystal chime bowls which I’ve been wanting for quite a while. The sound these bowls make for meditation, is beyond relaxing! Now…I just need to learn to play them!

This past weekend was filled with wedding activities for our friends daughter who got married on Saturday…the bridesmaids luncheon was here on Friday and the beautiful wedding was Saturday evening. Sunday we had a quiet Mother’s Day with family which was just what I wanted.

I’m deeming this week the unofficial start to my year long birthday celebration. This is the last decade of my 50’s and I intend to make it the best year ever. My real birthday day was beyond crazy all day long (until our nice dinner) . The whole week was actually very crazy but…this week, Baldy is out of town until Friday and I’m filling my time with all things that feed my soul!

I had an appointment later today for a Morpheus 8 appointment. Morpheus 8 is similar to micro-needling but goes much deeper. I combined the Morpheus 8 with IPL laser and it’s hard tell any results yet because I’m still red and splotchy but it looks much better this morning. I’ll be able to wear makeup today and do anything I want. Improvement will happen over the next few days and I have two more treatments after this!

Some of you may know that I did the Halo laser recently… I’m going to be completely honest and say that I didn’t see any results which was very disappointing and expensive. If you are considering the Halo, I would recommend checking into it before you jump in.

The month of May seems to have gotten busier than the holiday season, but the promise of summer is around the corner and I couldn’t be more ready!

Here are a few things I’m loving right now…enjoy!

Movies, Netflix, YouTube

July 15 can’t come soon enough…that’s the date that Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris will finally be released and I will see this movie on that day! “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is the enchanting tale of a seemingly ordinary British housekeeper whose dream to own a couture Christian Dior gown takes her on an extraordinary adventure to Paris.”

This sounds like an absolute dream of a movie! and I can’t wait to see it! Watch the trailer below!

I have not yet seen season one of Julia…it is on my list for June, but there is rumor that season 2 is coming soon. It seems like a good binge worthy show to watch this summer! I’ve read My Life in France and and Julie and Julia and I can remember watching Julia Child on PBS when I was a child and loving her. Several years ago, my daughter gave me a vintage copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and it is one of my prized possessions. I’m fascinated by the life of Julia Child because not only was she an amazing chef, she was also fiercely independent and a woman who lived life on her own terms. I know this series will be worth watching!

Products

I was recently gifted these products from Nécessaire and they have turned out to be amazing! I love them so much that they are already almost gone and I’m definitely going to buy them again!

I’ve used many brands of collagen over the last several years and this one from Bella Grace is my favorite so far! Be sure to check out the website to learn more!

Home

Serena & Lily is more than just furniture and accessories…it’s a true lifestyle brand inspiring a beautiful, serene way of living! I have quite a wishlist from Serena & Lily and the table pictured above is definitely on it! I can imagine setting this beautiful table for every outdoor occasion and I’m sure if it was on our patio, I would have many more parties than I do now!

Shop a few of my favorites at all price points below…

It’s time to switch up our bed for summer and I just ordered this Camellia Ivory Scalloped Duvet Cover Set from Crane & Canopy! I think the white will give the room a light and airy feel for the warmer months ahead!

Summer

I’m sure that by now you all know my love for the Quilted Koala Brand! Quilted Koala is a woman owned company and they make fun handbags, beach bags and accessories! You will certainly always stand out in the most stylish way when you carry a Quilted Koala bag! I was fortunate enough to have been gifted this amazing beach bag and as a result, I was inspired to do a “What’s in My Beach Bag” Instagram post where I shared my favorites for a day at the beach!

Food

Lemony Tortellini Soup with Spinach & Dill via Bon Appetite

I’m making this over the weekend…it looks so delicious!

I’m continuing my coaching program which lasts for another. 21 days! I’ve learned so much and can’t wait to share more! Journey of Becoming begins again on June 15 and this time will include more video which was a request from the ladies who joined last time. As I continue to learn and let my curiosity lead me, I will only make this program better. I’m also offering a shorter program which will start on June 1. I’ll have more information available about that program very soon! Have. agreat day!

[dailyeconomicsnet]

AI technology driven e-commerce platforms – boon or bane for consumers?

AI Technology:

Remember a time when salespeople used to go door to door selling products? From then on, technology has grown leaps and bounds only to make buying products convenient, affordable, and cost-saving for consumers. No doubt, all 3 play a crucial role in making our busy lives more comfortable. While on the one hand, we should thank technology but on the other, are we aware of how this is impacting us? Are consumers exploiting the technology, or is technology influencing the consumers? Is AI technology – a boon or a bane? Read on to see if you can arrive at a decision.

In the first series of the article, we understood what AI technology is and saw a quick glimpse of how retailers leverage AI technology using consumer buying patterns. In this article, let us explore the consumer side of the story. How are the e-commerce platforms impacting consumers like you and me?

Research by the World Retail Congress organization (www.worldretailcongress.com) says 35% of google product searches by consumers turn into a transaction in 5 days. India is expected to see the highest online growth rate between 2018-22.  Out of the top five countries with the highest online shoppers, four are in Asia. The E-commerce industry is a hotbed for building wealth in the upcoming years.

Did our Jeff make fair use of it? What happened to his online store? Did Seema move to the online platform to buy milk? If you don’t follow anything I just said, read the first part of the series Artificial Intelligence powering the golden era for Retailers – Part – 1 real quick!

Trust me. You will enjoy this article much better!

For those who have read part 1 of AI technology, you would remember how Jeff leveraged the AI technology and built his pricing strategy. Let’s see what happened to Jeff, Seema, and Dinesh in 5 simple scenes like the first part!

Part 1 Conclusion: What happened Jeff after he launched his online store?

We ended part 1 with Jeff launching his promotion campaign for his new online store.

Seema grabbed the opportunity and took up a 1-year subscription. Within a month Jeff’s promotion went viral in the neighborhood. Although Jeff sold milk at a lesser price than the price, he sold at his store. His customer base grew to an average of 3,000 active subscriptions. At the end of the year, his sales shot through the roof, and he ended the year earning nearly five times more. At the same time, Dinesh, who was not inclined to move ahead with technology, lost his customer to Jeff, and his sales nosedived to the bottom.

Scene 1:  Sunday – Fast forward three years since Jeff opened his online store for selling milk

On a fine Sunday morning, Seema opened the newspaper while going through the technology news section. She was amazed to see “Amaze Online Platform” valued at 100 million dollars, and there it was Jeff in a crisp suit beaming with pride about his flourishing business. Seema took some time to come to terms with what she had just read. The person who sold milk in a small convenience store is now on a newspaper headline with the title “Upcoming Businessman.”

Seema had moved to a different city a year after Jeff opened his online store. After that, she had not followed Jeff’s story until she saw him on the newspaper cover. After reading the newspaper, she got very curious about how Jeff made this happen. She opened her laptop and searched for “Amaze Store Online.”  She discovered that the Amaze store now not only sells essential commodities, but the categories had expanded to electronics, apparel, daily household, and the list went on.

Scene 2:  Sunday- Seema curious to explore other categories to buy online

Seema remembered the convivence of buying milk online. She was eager to check out what “Amaze Online Store” had to offer now. She quickly browsed through some categories, and some dresses caught her attention. She was impressed with the collection and variety “Amaze Online Store” had. She promptly created her login through Facebook ID and added few to Wishlist, hoping to buy them.

After the initial excitement subsided, she pondered over the quality and fit of the dress. No matter how good they looked in the picture, she was not entirely confident about moving the dresses from Wishlist to the cart. She was tired fighting this thought, and finally, she decided to close the browser and get on with her day.

Scene 3: Monday – Introduction to Nudge theory and Seema typical working day

“A ‘nudge’ is a term used to describe any change in the environment which steers an individual’s behavior predictably while preserving their freedom of choice. It is not a push, nor a shove, but a gentle nudge.”

The following day Seema went back to her work. She had completely forgotten about the dress she wanted to buy.  She opened her g-mail to check her emails, and there she finds an email from the “Amaze Online Store,” asking if she would like to finish her shopping, and in bold, there was a callout saying a 15% discount on the first purchase. There was also an underlying message on her Wishlist products, “Selling Fast.”

Seema was “Nudged” twice if you noticed.

15% Discount to lure her back to the site

“Selling fast” message to create a sense of scarcity (Remember, we always value scarce things).

These nudges were enough for Seema to open the site again and move a product from “Wishlist” to the cart. Just when she was about to check out and pay for the dress, she was surprised to see additional add-on costs such as “shipping,” “tax”. These costs were equivalent to discounts provided. Seema was just not convinced about buying the dress. Despite an additional nudge of “10 People looking at the dress” flashing. Seema just abandoned the cart.

Scene 4: Tuesday – Seema can’t get the dress out of her head

As compared to the casual browsing on Sunday, Seema had invested a lot of time on Monday thinking she would buy the dress. Unable to completely let go of the thought, Seema opened Instagram casually and was scrolling through the updates. Just when she thought she had forgotten about dress; she sees an ad for the same three dresses with the message “flash sale” Buy 2 to get 30% off! This is a classic “Nudge” tactic to create a sense of “Limited Time Offer.”

Finally, 4th nudge did seem to work. Seema again launches the website to purchase the dresses and be done with it! But there was another message called out on the website shop for “Rs 4,999 and get an Rs 899” worth of dress free + avail free shipping!

Seema was now just Rs. 1,779 away from getting another Rs. 899 worth of free products. She had one more dress in her Wishlist that was “Rs. 1,800”. Precisely the difference amount she needed to get an additional Rs. 899 worth of products.

While Seema was processing all this information, there was “Nudge 6”, Amaze store now was showing all “Affordable Fashion Products from Celebrities” that were available to be shopped within Rs. 1,700/-.

Scene 5:  Wednesday – Seema choice validation by peers, influencers, and celebrities

Seema was still feeling overwhelmed by the information and promotion. She decided to put shopping off for a while as she had a birthday party to attend. To Seema’s surprise, her favorite dress that she was thinking of buying, one of the guests was wearing the same dress. She noticed that everyone in the room was talking about her.

The following day, she opens Instagram to see all the photos from the party uploaded to Instagram. Guess what, the girl wearing the dress Seema had liked, received the maximum likes. The comments section was overflowing with compliments.

Seema could not decide if the dress made the girl look beautiful or the complete set of accessories, matching shoes, make up that she was wearing! Social validation is also a kind of “Nudge”. Some other types of these “Nudges” are reviews by influencers, likes, and comments by friends, celebrity endorsements.

Today e-commerce platforms are paying tons of money to Celebrities, to people with the highest numbers of followers, influencers to flaunt their products, and repeatedly keep tagging the brand and posting images of the products on social media.

So, does Seema finally gives in and shops for the whole look, or does she wake up and realize before she spends more money than she has? If a brand or e-commerce platform can pay Rs. 2.18 crore for a single post. You can only imagine how many people on Instagram, seeing the post by celebrities, are ending up buying the product.

In Summary, the e-commerce industry is thoroughly using consumer behavior data coupled with AI technology to ensure every ad, every nudge message, every promotion on the site gets customers one step closer to sale. And it is working, the reason I say that is because today Amazon has valued 1 trillion dollars, Flipkart at 24 billion dollars, and Jio Retail at 55 billion dollars. The list can go on.

But what about us as consumers, is our earnings growing exponentially? Are we spending more than we are earning due to the e-commerce industry? Are we shopping more than we did a decade ago?  The answer to all and more in the final part of the series! Stay tuned to know how AI technology is driving your purchasing patterns.

References:

https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/technology/the-flipkart-story-a-timeline-of-funding-from-2007-to-2017/595740/#:~:text=2010%2D11%3A%20Flipkart%20raised%20%2420,company%20then%20was%20%241%20billion.

https://www.gqindia.com/get-smart/content/how-much-priyanka-chopra-jonas-makes-per-post-on-instagram#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20list%2C%20Priyanka,2.18%20crore%20approximately)%20per%20post

https://blog.edesk.com/resources/ecommerce-marketing/

https://www.convertize.com/how-nudging-boosts-sales/

https://www.worldretailcongress.com/__media/Global_ecommerce_Market_Ranking_2019_001.pdf

https://www.emarketer.com/content/global-ecommerce-2019

https://www.walkersands.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Walker-Sands_2018-Future-of-Retail-Report.pdf

https://www.merkleinc.com/thought-leadership/digital-marketing-report[2]

https://blog.edesk.com/resources/ecommerce-marketing/

https://www.convertize.com/how-nudging-boosts-sales/

https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/03/17/shopping-cart-abandonment

[donttalkaboutfightclub]

25 36 72 106

25: Actor/actress you trust enough to watch whatever they're in?

Samuel L. Jackson, hands-down

36: My current obsession?

All of the pop punk bands I loved when I was 13 tbh lmao right now it’s Panic at the Disco, because I’m buying tickets on Friday!!

72: If I won the lottery, what would I do?

Buy a ton of high end makeup that I currently can’t afford. Purchase everything off my amazon wishlist, all at once. A new phone. Stash at least a few thousand away for the future. And then dump a ton into local charity efforts tbh

106: Last time I cried?

Wednesday, I think? I watched 9-1-1, the Fox series, and... damn. Shit got real lmao

[haleyfury]

Top Five Wednesday is on a summer hiatus and there will not be new topics over the next three months. However, I’ve decided to still participate in T5W a few times this summer and choose topics from before I joined the group back in 2017.

Everyone loves a good recent additions to your TBR post, but today’s post is all about the books I wouldn’t mind adding to my personal book collection. All the puns intended, I have pretty good shelf control. I am very fortunate enough where I receive ARCs from publishers and bookish events, and I have always been an avid library user. And let’s not forget that I am constantly running out of bookshelf space. I think I am going to do a post about my book buying habits somewhat soon, but in short, I really only buy books when:

It’s written by one of my all-time favorite authors

I read an early copy and absolutely need a finished one

It’s a book that sounds like something I know I will love

My library doesn’t have it-I’ve acutally gotten better about this one by using my iPad more and borrowing ebooks from the library.

I’ve decided to include many different types of books in this Top Five Wednesday post , including some hard-to-find books, ARCs, and books inspired by cover lust.

You’d Be Mine by Erin Hanh- I probably look up Erin Hanh’s You’d Be Mine on a weekly basis in my library’s online catalog, in hopes that it will one day be on order. So many of my fellow bloggers have loved this 2019 gem, and I’m so sold on its country music premise. If my library doesn’t order this one, I plan on buying it the next time I have a Barnes and Noble discount or I may put it on my birthday wishlist.

I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman- Alice Oseman’s I Was Born for This hasn’t really been available here in the US. This one will likely come from a Book Depository haul or buying it secondhand on Amazon. I really loved Radio Silence so I have relatively high expectations for I Was Born For This. I also have this book on my predicting my 5 star reads list so that’s also another incentive in getting my own copy.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern- I think every blogger and their best bookish friend has this one of their wishlist. Unpopular bookish opinion here, but I was not the biggest fan of The Night Circus when I read it in 2017. However, not only does the excitement over Erin Morgenstern’s second book have me intrigued, but I absolutely love the premise. Almost any book that features books or libraries always has me sold. I think The Starless Sea will be the true test on if/how much I enjoy Erin Morgenstern’s writing.

The Toll (Arc of a Scythe #3) by Neal Schusterman- Another ARC so many of my fellow bloggers would love to have their hands on. I was a bit bummed that ARCs of The Toll were not available at Book Expo, because  I am still reeling from the ending of Thunderhead! If there’s any series you should not be afraid to pick up because of the hype (previously like me), it’s the Arc of a Scythe series because these books are that good—so good that I am more than ready for the final book to break my bookish heart.

Muse of Nightmares (US paperback) by Laini Taylor- I know some readers do love the US hardback covers for Laini Taylor’s Strange the Dreamer and Muse of Nightmares, but unfortunately I am not one of them. I have the US paperback of Strange the Dreamer with the UK hardback cover and I may just have to also get the US paperback of Muse of Nightmares, since it will have the orange UK cover.

Top 5 Wednesday is a collaborative group of book bloggers from various platforms who love sharing lists on Wednesdays. The T5W group can be found here on Goodreads.

What recent additions are on your book or bookish wishlist? Share in the comments!

Top Five Wednesday: Recent Additions to My Book Wishlist Top Five Wednesday is on a summer hiatus and there will not be new topics over the next three months.

[dorothydelgadillo]

"My Content Obsessions for 2019" (Content Lab, Ep. 19)

Before we get started, I have an important piece of housekeeping to address -- Content Lab will now be coming to you on Fridays, instead of Wednesdays, at 11:30 a.m., Eastern. 

Ladies, gentlemen, cats, dogs, otters, and squirrels -- it is 2019, and I am back, as is the Content Lab podcast! And man, I am excited.

For the vast majority of the past month, I've lived in a holiday-induced haze of drifting between eating pie and feeling shame about eating said pie while lifting at the gym. So, I am ready to shake off the cobwebs. 

The best part about a new year is that it's a new beginning, clichéd as that may sound. I'm a big fan of fresh starts, so I want to spend this episode sharing with you what's on my mind for the coming year. 

Both with content creation, and for the Content Lab. 

Enjoy! 

Listen to the Episode

What Will Be My Content Obsessions in 2019?

First, I want to think with a more video-first mindset. Or at least with a mindset that embraces video as equally as I do writing.

The obvious reason being that, while there will always be space for the written word, video is one of the most effective (and quickest) ways to establish trust with an audience or an individual, and foster a more human-to-human connection. 

(Also, I after spending more than a week editing Myriah Anderson's utterly inspiring Video for Sales getting started guide -- which just launched this week at impactbnd.com/video-for-sales -- I kind of have video on the brain.)

So, one of my objectives for this year that I'm that I'm particularly excited about is ensuring IMPACT is a best-in-class example of how to use video in your content and marketing. 

As part of that goal -- I'm pushing myself to create more video personally, even though I'm not terribly comfortable in front of a camera -- for email messages, articles for IMPACT, and more. Thankfully, I've got Vidyard GoVideo to help me out with that, which I'm more than a little obsessed with. 

(Learn why I love Vidyard GoVideo.)

Next, I want to be more... open-minded about robots, and how AI will shape the future of what I do as a content creator.

I've always feared the moment when they would design an AI that could flawlessly mimic my writing style and endless devotion to the original Law & Order series. But after learning about what Forbes is doing with AI to empower their writers with a more bionic approach to robots, I'm intrigued. 

For those who haven't heard about what Forbes is doing:

Forbes now uses a CMS called Bertie. Bertie uses artificial intelligence to suggest headlines and propose topics for contributors based on their publication history. 

"That's nice."

OK, here's the "big deal" news.  The team at Forbes is currently testing an AI-driven tool within Bertie that gives Forbes writers a very rough draft to build upon, instead of having them start a new article from scratch. 

In addition to starting copy, this "rough draft" might include links to other resources -- both internally from Forbes, as well as other sites -- and images. 

This is a big, big deal.

I mean, just imagine never having to be bossed around or mocked by a blank screen again. Never having to create something from nothing, because your new best robot friend had already curated some raw materials for the express purpose of empowering you to write something powerful and valuable. 

It's this idea of content creation bionics -- of leveraging AI with a "How can we help humans?" approach, rather than a "How can replace humans?" one -- that I had never considered. 

My only gripe when I first initially learned of this innovation, however, is that it seemed pretty much a luxury of those publishers and media giants with big budgets. 

But yesterday, I was introduced to nDash.co's Content Brief, which is based off a similar model of providing an AI-researched brief on a search term input by a human, that they wish to write about:

I took it for a test drive with the term, "why website accessibility is important for businesses," and within minutes, I received an extensive set of resources in this content brief:

Unlike Bertie, which creates a rough draft, nDash's Content Brief is clearly a robot-aggregated set of statistics, summaries, and links. 

That said, there's enough here for me to keep using it, because it brought together so many resources that I would have had to go out and independently mine for myself. Although, I'll still probably do a bit more research on my own, as well. 

We're living in exciting times, content friends. 

Third, I want to bring more order and focus to the idea of pillar content and topic cluster strategies. 

I don't want to dive too deeply into what I mean by this at the moment, but for now, here is the problem I've identified. Search engines -- particularly Google -- favor websites with a limited number of focus areas. Preferably one. 

While the topic cluster model brings some semblance of order to content strategies that were once completely arbitrary, we're still not too far away from organizations having... well, tons of random topic clusters floating around in cyberspace, disconnected from each other. 

My goal this year is to solve for that in a way that brings even more order to the way we develop content strategies and helps us better network our content for search engine visibility. 

So, stay tuned on that front. 

Additionally, a goal I'm carrying over from last year is to continue to push the boundaries of what it means to create content that's as absurdly helpful as possible.

Our mission here at IMPACT is to be obsessed with leading those within our community -- readers, clients, whomever -- to success. To make your jobs easier every single day.

So, if I'm not pushing myself to give more, and do more, and show more, then I'm not doing my job. 

That may sound overly simplistic, but we believe that is the core of what it means to be inbound. An innate sense of altruism, where you don't stress about hiding your secret sauce. Instead, you give it away for free. 

I did that with my pillar on how to create a content style guide, and I was nervous. I literally gave away my whole process -- workshop guidelines, worksheets, templates, and all. 

Then, I saw this message in IMPACT Elite, and I was blown away:

My goal is to create more moments like this for myself, and empower others inside and outside of IMPACT to do the same. That's what it's all about, folks. 

Finally, I want to continue to innovate with Content Lab, so it is the most valuable podcast it can possibly be. 

I've already spoken with a few of you and gotten invaluable feedback on what you love about the podcast already, and what is on your wishlist for Content Lab in the future. 

Don't worry, you'll continue to hear interviews with some of the best content brains in the industry, and I'll still be sharing some of my favorite tips, tools, and tricks for being a rockstar content creator. My goal is to make sure I'm doing it in the most helpful way possible. 

With that, happy 2019, everyone! I'm so excited to embark on this new year of content creation together.

Subscribe to the Content Lab Monthly Newsletter

Once a month, I'm going to send you an absurdly useful newsletter will tons of insights, tips, and tools for you to make your content amazing. It's that simple.

Here's what it looks like, so you know what shenanigans you're getting into with me:

So, what are you waiting for? Go to this page and sign-up.

Connect with Content Lab 

Okay, first, you've gotta subscribe to Content Lab on Apple Podcasts. That way you'll never miss an episode! 

Content Lab: Twitter, Instagram

Liz: Twitter, Instagram 

Or you can comment on this episode below! I'd love to hear from you.

from Web Developers World https://www.impactbnd.com/blog/content-lab-goals-for-2019

[aion-rsa]

Harley Quinn Destroys DC Continuity in Anniversary Issue

https://ift.tt/2MMa9wG

Harley Quinn is messing with the DC Multiverse in Harley Quinn #50. We have the inside scoop.

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Interview Marc Buxton

DC Entertainment

Sep 18, 2018

Harley Quinn

It’s Harley Quinn’s world, we just live in it. Harley Quinn is everywhere. From movies to animation to video games to comics to cosplay, Harley Quinn rules the world of pop culture. As if that’s not enough, it’s almost time for Harley to celebrate the 50th issue of her comic book series.

Here to guide everyone’s favorite wackadoo siren through this milestone is writer Sam Humphries and an all-star team of artists. I mean, take a deep breath and check out this line up: Whilce Portacio, Babs Tarr, John McCrea, Scott Kolins, John Timms, Dan Jurgens, Tom Grummett, Brett Booth, Kelley Jones, and more. And with that who’s who of artists, you know this isn’t just any ‘ol Harley story.

Harley Quinn #50 is “Harley Saves the Universe!” and features just about every DC character you can imagine. We’re not kidding, in issue #50, Harley goes cosmic and must navigate the DC Multiverse to save her mom. Along the way, Humphries satirizes every DC icon, era, and genre as he celebrates this Harley milestone. It was our pleasure to sit down with Mister Humphries to discuss the fiftieth issue, his views on Quinn and her world, and his love of the entirety of the DC Universe.  

Harley is certainly one of the most versatile of DC’s pantheon. What makes her fit any genre?

Great question! Issue 50 is a giant-sized answer. "HARLEY QUINN DESTROYS DC CONTINUITY!"

No one has EVER read a comic like this before. Nearly every art jam sequence in the issue illuminates what you're talking about, but Dan Jurgens' sequence in particular is a crystallization of this.

Harley can be true to herself in any situation. She doesn't feel like she has to hold her true self back. She can always be 100% Harley Quinn. Which makes her incredibly versatile. She can go anywhere, fight anyone, team up with anyone, and always be who she is. She can ping pong through any genre, any iconic story, any twist of continuity and, because she's always herself, we get to see all those things through her POV, we get to see it all in a new light. 

And that's Ms. Quinn, thank you.

Speaking of genre, what led to Harley Quinn #50 becoming a big cosmic blowout rather than a Gotham-centric anniversary?

Gotham ain't big enough to contain Harleen the Queen. We had to destroy continuity itself to tell a Harley story worthy of a giant-sized anniversary art jam! And we had to get the biggest artists to draw it, too! Starting with Tremendous John Timms. He's been drawing Harley for awhile, but his work on the framing sequence of this issue is just outstanding. Some of his best work, especially with the colors of Alex Sinclair!

Harley Quinn #50 is more than a love letter to Harley; it’s a love letter to the DC Universe. It feels like you had some unscratched itches when it comes to certain DC characters and other DC genres.

We drove the DC Universe like a stolen car. I made a series of lists, I guess you could call them "wishlists." One was a LONG list of characters I wanted to write or include in some way. Some were obvious, like Wonder Woman. Some were not, like Waverider. Then I also had a list of genres I wanted to play with, everything from "pirate adventure" to "game show." And then the third list was classic DC stories/titles we could twist or build on, like The Death of Superman or The Sandman. Once I had those, I started playing mix and match until I had concepts I couldn't believe. I even had the Six Flags roller coaster The Riddler's Revenge in there, although it didn't make the cut. 

Even though we're DESTROYING continuity, this is also a LOVE LETTER to continuity! No, not just a love letter, but a LOVE SONG, one of those slow funk jams from D'Angelo that you turn up when the lights go low. Continuity is such a weird, singular thing - what is REALLY at the core of continuity? What MATTERS about continuity? The amount of energy in the universe is constant. But every Wednesday, continuity keeps growing without end. HOW?? And finally, why do we love continuity so damn much? These are the questions at the center of Harley Quinn #50.

If only you could have been a fly on the wall during conversations with editors Alex Sinclair and Andrea Shea. You'd understand all the crazy ideas we built on to get to the final insane product of issue 50, a comic where DC continuity is deadzo. Every other page you're gonna say to yourself, "I can't f***ing believe they got away with that!"

  Harley Quinn #50 is also an all-star jam session with a ton of top notch artists. Did you come up with the concepts of the issue first and then find an artist for each one or did you have the artists on board first and then tried to find story directions to match each artist’s strength?

All of the above. It was a really complicated process. We didn't just have an all-star line up of artists, we also had an all-star line up of editors in Alex and Andrea. They put in amazing work to corral everyone, keep the issue on schedule, and keep this wild-ass story straight. 

Above everything else, I wanted three things: I wanted a mix of stylistically diverse artists, I wanted all the artists to have fun, and I wanted them to do something we've never seen them do before. And every single artist grabbed onto the crazy, anything goes spirit of this issue in a gigantic bear hug of love. The Easter Eggs alone will curl your toes! This whole issue is full of surprises. 

Sometimes matching artists with concepts was a no-brainer...like, of course we're going to have Kelley Jones do some spooky, horror-inflected stuff. But he surprised me with the humor he put into it, he's a real stealth comedy artist! Sometimes it was a matter of playing to an artist's loves. I know Babs Tarr has a deep and unyielding love for shojo manga. So I created a sequence where she could let her inner shojo fan run wild. Sometimes it was a bit of personality match. John McCrea is a delight to talk to, a bit of a mischievous guy - I felt like a pirate adventure would suit him, you know? Like he might have been a pirate in a past life!

And other times, we just got lucky. Who knew Brett Booth is not just a dinosaur freak, but an astounding dinosaur artist? Well, Alex knew. But I didn't know when I came up with that sequence! 

It's completely unlike any comic you've ever seen before. It's a writer's dream to be in a huddle with a group of artists like this. They all have my gratitude. 

I really, really need to see your Adam Strange concept come to life on a monthly basis. I just think you should know that.

HA! Thank you. Yeah, Jon Davis-Hunt just did an incredible job on that, didn't he? I am so thrilled he's in this issue - I think The Wild Storm is the finest comic being published by DC right now. So I'm a fan, but I knew we're both WildStorm nerds, so I knew we'd find some common, creative ground together. I'd love to do more work with him, but Warren Ellis would figure out some way to poison me from orbit or something. No thank you!

Talk about the legacy of Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti. This version of Harley by way of Little Annie Fanny has certainly found a lasting direction for the character. 

Well, any milestone like issue 50 is an achievement. But I've been writing Harley for the past five issues, Amanda and Jimmy were writing her for the past FIVE YEARS. So the lion's share of the achievement belongs to them. I tried to pay tribute to Amanda and Jimmy's run by making it a spectacular art-jam issue (something they did a couple times) and by making it as wild and funny as I possibly could. It's a victory lap for them in absentia. Me? I'm just revving up the engines.

Were there any parodies that didn’t make it into the final issue? The Lobo by way of Gaiman was just brilliant.

Oh yeah. Tons. I've got lists of concepts and stories and characters and genres I was hoping to include. A lot of them were too difficult to pull off in two pages, or too obscure, or too hot, or too cold, or whatever. A lot of them sounded like a riot in my head, and then ended up falling flat on the page. So it goes. I'm going to keep the leftovers to myself for future use, but there's one I'll spill the beans on. I wanted to do a Three Musketeers-style sequence with Booster, Beetle, Guy Gardner, Martian Manhunter, Fire, and Ice. But that would have been too much historical research and detail to expect out of an artist for a two page gig. Luckily, Mirka Andolpho was game to include it as an Easter Egg on her pages!

So, the issue ends with a reveal of a very obscure Golden Age character. Why that character?

He's only appeared like six times since World War II. No, not in continuity-time. I mean, he's literally only been in a handful of published comics since the 1940s. I thought, let's shake him up, let him shine in 2018.

So why no Mister J in the final issue?

I've got a Harley/Joker story I really want to tell - a big one, a story that would rewrite the rules of their relationship. I pitched it to DC and they loved it, but for a lot of reasons the time isn't right. All good. You can't rush a story like that. One day...

Where is Harley going next?

After issue 50, she's gonna need a nap. But she's not gonna get one. In brief, here's what's coming up:

- Captain Triumph

- Minor Disasters

- Christmas with the Quinns

- Batman

-THE SEVEN TRIALS OF HARLEY QUINN

To you, who is Harley Quinn?

HARLEY QUINN IS LIFE!!!

Harley Quinn #50 hits stores like an oversized mallet on Wednesday, September 19.

from Books https://ift.tt/2piJaPS

[thebookrat]

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We've hit our final week of Austen in August 2018! I know, I can't believe it either. And I also can't believe that next year will be the 10th Anniversary of All Things Austen every summer right here on The Book Rat! *mind blown* So I know we're all sad to see it go, but let's start the week with your special Austenish paper, hot off the presses! This might be a busy week... so much Austen, so little time!

A giveaway of hand-painted & lettered watercolor bookmarks, to coordinate with the printables from earlier this month!

And speaking of, more printables!

The final sneak peek at Maria Grace's A Proper Introduction to Dragons

And a peek at her recently released book, How Jane Austen Kept Her Cool — as well as a chance to win a copy!

I'll finally get around to sharing my thoughts on this year's group read-along, Longbourn (promise!)

And I'll take a look at some recently released and upcoming Austenesque books on my radar

We'll finally (hopefully) take a look at part of my Jane Austen collection

and maybe, just maybe, hear the story of how I became a tried-and-true Janeite

A Janeite Convo on re-setting Austen in unusual times and circumstances, that has me REALLY, REALLY WANTING some of these books to happen. Pronto.

and one final Janeite Convo, of sorts, to send you off with some Austen read-alikes to while away the time until next AIA!

You may have missed:

A think piece on isolation in Austen's leading ladies, from Lona Manning, along with a giveaway!

Not one but TWO! Janeite Conversations with this year's crop of Austenesque authors, this time on the transition to full-fledged "Janeite," and on dream-casting Austen for this week's Dinner & Movie night!

Speaking of our weekly Dinner & Movie night, it'll be a double feature this Friday, to make up for last Friday's lack of Janedate night, with recipes from Beth for shrub (a weirdly named but delicious sounding drink) and Scotch eggs!

We'll get our 3rd peek at Maria Grace's A Proper Introduction to Dragons, as part of this month's ongoing series (don't forget, you can enter to win both it and another book from the series here and here!)

A guest post from Melanie Rachel on Austen canon and "fanon," along with a giveaway!

Michi does that thing we all do, and judges Austen's books by their covers

Sometimes Twitter is a funny place...

A brief guest post & excerpt of Being Mrs Bennet from Alexa Adams, again, with giveaway!

In need of some Austenesque reads to get you in the mood for AIA? Here are some personal faves and current bargains to feed your reader -- and fill that Jane Austen shaped hole in your heart -- with! Some of these are even free on Kindle Unlimited, but some of these are just flat-out free! If you've read any of them, let me know your thoughts or recommendations in the comments!

                           Not enough Janery going on for you in this first week of AIA? Don’t worry, we’ve got 8 previous years to plunder for awesome Austen posts, In Case You Missed It! Take a stroll through and discover (or rediscover!) things like:

I reviewed (yet another?) book billed as 'Jane Austen meets Friday Night Lights' (who knew this was such a desirable pairing?) -- and this time, I liked it!

Kai talked about the poetry of Austen

and Beth showed us how to make Ratafia cakes

Alexa talked about the perfections of Pemberley

I read some Austen beach reads, like this one, and this one

I gave a longish list of Austenesque books I need to get my hands on, back when I did Wishlist Wednesday -- some of them have made it to my shelves, and even been read!

Deborah Yaffe asked 'What's wrong with Mansfield Park?' to which the screaming answers can still be heard echoing...

We talked about Austen's "doomed ships"

and Danya shared the lessons she learned from Jane

* a selection on newsy bits and bits and bobs for the truly discerning Janeite *

I have a whole post coming for you on some amazing Jane Austen wearables you might want to add to your wardrobe, so keep an eye out for that!

What are some new or upcoming Austenesque books on your TBR or wishlist? Let me know in the comments so I can add them to an upcoming post!

Click here to return to the master list of Austen in August posts!

via The Book Rat

[thebooksareeverywhere]

The Goodreads Book Tag

https://thebooksareeverywhere.com/2017/05/12/book-tag-goodreads-tag/

The lovely Marie over at Kookbookery tagged me to do the Goodreads Tag a while back! I've only just found space in my blog schedule but it looks like a good one. I'm an avid user of Goodreads, so hopefully I'll be able to write an interesting post about using it!

What was the last book you marked as read?

Goodreads | Amazon

As you probably know, the last book I marked as read was Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. Unfortunately, it only received 2 stars from me! If you want to find out my (13) reasons why, click here or go to my last post.

What are you currently reading?

Goodreads | Amazon

I've finally started Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon and I have to admit I'm loving it so far. How could a book blogger not like reading about a girl who posts book reviews on Tumblr?

What was the last book you marked as “to read”?

Goodreads | Amazon

I recently read the first book in the Lorali series (review here), and even though I didn't absolutely love it, I am intrigued enough to want to read the second one!

Do you use the star system?

I do! I used to rate by moons (to give my blog a little unique-ness), but the star system is logical and recognisable. I do like to give half stars sometimes on my blog though!

Are you doing the 2017 reading challenge?

I am! I've been at least 4 books behind since the start of the year, but I'm finally catching up and I'm only two books behind at the moment! I’m aiming for 50 books

Do you have a wishlist?

I wouldn't say I have a wishlist as such, but I treat my to-read list as one. I also have a TBR jar on my bookshelf!

Who are your favourite authors?

Ohh, there are many! It's hard to pick, but here are some:

Stephanie Garber

Rainbow Rowell

Jennifer Niven

Morgan Matson

Sarah Dessen

Have you joined any groups?

I'm part of two groups! The Bloggers Unite group and the Top 5 Wednesday group.

How many Goodreads shelves do you have?

I don't have many actually! I currently have to-read, to-buy, read and woah-amazing-read.

I tag:

Sophie | Mind of a Bookdragon Hannah | The World is Quiet Here Kerrie | Comfy Reading (new follower welcome!)

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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