#Putnam Marketing Blog

[katieputnam18]

Free Resources

There are so many cool resources out there for design, marketing, charts, and ideas. I’ve started putting them together to keep myself organized and thought I’d share them with you. Your company needs to have a strong digital presence in this digital world. The best way to achieve online success is by having a solid SEO strategy. SEO can help you increase your organic traffic and get…

[gravitascivics]

CRITQUE OF THE NATURAL RIGHTS VIEW, V

This blog is in the midst of critiquing the natural rights view, the dominant view of governance and politics in the US and as such, the guiding construct that civics education employs to determine its content.  A concern of central importance to this critique, and one in which the dysfunctional nature of the natural rights construct is felt, is in its discouragement of the development of associations in political as well as social settings.

         Again, as with other aspects of this construct, its emphasis on individualism, people are encouraged to regard their own interests as paramount and to the exclusion of any meaningful concern for communal interests.  And with that, its bias to pursue those personal interests, one finds a degradation of what this blogger calls the three “C’s”:  community, collaboration, and cooperation.  

The message tends to be that if one must engage politically, it is to advance one’s self-interests.  Acting politically or even socially, individually or in groups, people are not depicted as engaging in processes to advance truly collective needs, wants, or ambitions.  That is, the collective activity does not transcend the individual beyond that person’s immediate needs and wants.  Regarding this, here is what the late Robert H. Wiebe wrote in the mid-1990s,

 Its focus, modern society’s atomized individuals, has penetrated the farthest into American culture, and among the alternatives still lively in the 1990s its critique envisages the most profound changes.  Although the ties between democracy and the individual have been matters of discussion throughout the 20th century, until well after mid-century almost no one challenged the individual’s right to the central place … Two late-20th-century key words popularly linked with democracy – meritocracy and the market – celebrate the lone achiever and lone decision-maker respectively.[1]

 Is this bias growing or being tamed since Wiebe wrote these words?  Of late, here is a summary statement from a leading medical institution,

 Americans usually view every person as a self-sufficient individual, and this idea is important to understanding the American value system. Everyone is their own person, not a representative of a family, community, or any other group.

You may view this as rather selfish and egotistical, or as a welcomed freedom from the restraints of family, community, social class, etc. Yet, this self-centered attitude prevails in American culture—placing the most importance on the individual, not the group.

Likewise, … Americans do not like to think of themselves as being dependent upon others or as others being dependent upon them. This can affect the boundaries placed on personal relationships, which starts with friendships.[2]

 Not exactly a clarion call for the three C’s.

         This cultural predisposition among Americans makes it difficult to build political and social associations.  An interesting comparative study, one in which the researcher compared, within one nation, two geographic areas in which one is more communal and the other more individualistic, is offered by Robert Putnam.  He studied the civic behavior of Italians and the factors that led to the viability of regional governmental structures.

He noted that the factors of collective behavior in the form of associational arrangements had been crucial towards one of the regions experiencing significantly higher levels of viability and success.  He writes about the socializing effect such arrangements contribute, how they bolster common shared values and symbols of unity, and how they encourage social trust.

This assists in the development of “social capital” – a civil, societal quality characterized as having an active citizenry which is motivated by a public spirit and egalitarian political values, as one would find in a civic community. In his study, he describes the northern regions of Italy having higher levels of this social capital.[3]  Yet in subsequent writing, Putnam warns that the US is shifting away from enjoying healthy levels of that quality.[4]

In its stead, Americans have shifted to a citizenry which is atomized.

 In his 1995 essay, sociologist Robert Putnam warned of the increasing atomization of American society. The institutions of American social capital, he wrote, are on the decline: Attendance at public forums, religious groups, civic organizations, and even his eponymous bowling leagues have been steadily declining since the … heyday of the 1950s American suburban community. The social fabric of America is coming apart on the neighborhood level, wrote Putnam—and it’s only going to get worse.

Unfortunately, it seems Putnam was on to something. In a report …economist Joe Cortright tracks the decline of American social capital over the past 40 years not simply in terms of membership to voluntary organizations, but also through the relationships Americans have with their geographical neighbors. Data used in the report from the General Social Survey doesn’t paint a pretty picture: According to Cortright, the degree to which Americans trust one another is at a 40-year low.

It’s not only trust, but actual relationships, too: Americans now are less likely than ever before to "socialize regularly" with their neighbors. This is the case even in large cities, where you might expect proximity to breed familiarity; the Washington Post notes that population density in major American cities dropped rapidly as primarily white, well-off citizens fled for the extra room (and distance) of the suburbs during the 1950s.[5]

 Not only has this made it more difficult to develop the social capital that Putnam writes of, but it has made it counterproductive to many aims that Americans share.

         It has made it more difficult to formulate effective interest groups among like-minded Americans.  In their individualism, they hold public officials in contempt for the gaps they feel between their individual demands and government policy without the seemingly necessary resources to accomplish effective demand articulation to the system.

         As Gabriel Almond and G. Bingham Powell point out, interest articulation and interest aggregation are important functions to the political system.[6]  These functions must be met by the actions of collectives, not individuals.  The net result is frustration by many in the citizenry for the apparent inaction of government.

         The next posting will add to this notion of discouraged association, but before ending this posting, this blogger would add that an interesting development seems to be happening.  That is, within the radical right, to varying degrees, certain efforts to organize armed groups have been progressing.  One needs to think only of the January 6th insurrection event to note this.  It will be of interest to follow these efforts and note how strongly such groupings are able to maintain loyalty among those groups’ memberships.[7]

[1] Robert H. Wiebe, Self Rule:  A Cultural History of American Democracy (Chicago, IL:  The University of Chicago Press, 1995), 245-250 (emphasis in the original).

[2] “Individualism,” Partners Healthcare, (n.d.) – Founded by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital – accessed February 18, 2023, https://pips.partners.org/life-in-the-united-states/american-culture/individualism.aspx#:~:text=Americans%20usually%20view%20every%20person,community%2C%20or%20any%20other%20group. See more at: https://pips.partners.org/life-in-the-united-states/american-culture/individualism.aspx#sthash.K0bgEruW.dpuf.

[3] Robert D. Putnam, Making Democracy Work:  Civic Tradition in Modern Italy (Princeton, NJ:  Princeton University Press, 1993).

[4] Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2000).

[5] Jared Keller, “Americans Are Staying as Far Away from Each Other as Possible,” Pacific Standard (June 14, 2017), accessed February 19, 2023, https://psmag.com/social-justice/americans-are-staying-as-far-away-from-each-other-as-possible. For another book further expanding this theme, see Robert N. Bellah, Richard Madsen, William M. Sullivan, Ann Swidler, and Steven M. Tipton, Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life (New York, NY:  Harper and Row, Publishers, 1985), dated but worth it.

[6] Gabriel Almond and G. Bingham Powell, Jr., Comparative Politics: A Developmental Approach (Boston: Little, Brown. 1966).

[7] According to one source, roughly three in eight individuals arrested as a result of the January 6th riot have pled guilty.  Is this telling of a significant level of regret in participating in such an event?  Time will tell.  See Alexander Allin, “Just before Jan. 6 Hearing, 3 Capitol Rioters Express Regret, Ask for Mercy (January 9, 2022), accessed February 19, 2023, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/jan-hearing-capitol-rioters-express-regret-mercy/story?id=85290390.

[arcticdementor]

Last year I had an interesting conversation with someone I’ll call the Washington Insider. She asked me why my structural-demographic model predicted rising instability in the USA, probably peaking with a major outbreak of political violence in the 2020s. I started giving the explanation based on the three main forces: popular immiseration, intra-elite competition, and state fragility. But I didn’t get far because she asked me, what immiseration? What are you talking about? We’ve never lived better than today. Global poverty is declining, child mortality is declining, violence is declining. We have access to the level of technology that is miraculous compared to what previous generations had. Just look at the massive data gathered together by Max Rosen, or read Steven Pinker’s books to be impressed with how good things are.

There are three biases that help sustain this rosy view. First, the focus on global issues. But the decrease of poverty in China (which is what drives declining global poverty, because Chinese population is so huge), or the drop in child mortality in Africa, is irrelevant to the working America. People everywhere compare themselves not to some distant places, but to the standard of living they experienced in their parents home. And the majority of American population sees that in many important ways they are worse off than their parents (as we will see below).

Second, the Washington Insider talks to other members of the 1 percent, and to some in the top 10 percent. The top-income segments of the American population have done fabulously in the last decades, thank you very much.

…

So what has been happening with the well-being of common, non-elite Americans? In my work I use three broad measures of well-being: economic, biological (health), and social.

The most common statistics one sees about economic well-being is the trend in per-capita household incomes. This is not a particularly good way to measure economic well-being for two reasons. First, as households became smaller (because Americans have fewer children), the same wage of the primary breadwinner gets divided by a fewer heads, and that yields an illusion of things getting better. Second, as a result of massive entry of women into the labor force, the typical household today has two bread-winners, compared to a single-wage household of fifty years ago. Furthermore, many households today have even more than two wage-earners, because adult children don’t move away. As a result of both of these factors, the time trajectory of household income yields an overly optimistic view of how well Americans are doing economically.

…

The pattern is unmistakable: rapid, almost linear growth to the late 1970s, stagnation and decline (especially for unskilled labor) thereafter. Here’s a more detailed breakdown of men’s wages since 1979, broken down by wage percentile (10th is the poorest, 95th is the richest):

…

Why did this happen? I answer this question in a series of posts, Why Real Wages Stopped Growing (see it in Popular Blogs and Series). The TL;DR answer is that it was a combination of immigration, loss of manufacturing jobs overseas, massive entry of women into the labor force (thus, this factor both inflated household income and, perversely, depressed wages for men), and changing attitudes towards labor. A model incorporating these influences does a pretty decent job of capturing both the turning point of the 1970s and fluctuations afterwards:

…

Another important indicator is availability of jobs. The jobless rate published by government agencies is not a very useful statistic, because it tells us about short-term fluctuations, and excludes people who gave up on the job market. A better measure is the labor participation curve, especially for men:

…

An amusing way to spin this bad news was pointed out by one commenter on my previous post. An NBER article by Mark Aguiar and Erik Hurst, “Measuring Trends in Leisure”, optimistically concluded that between 1965 and 2003 “leisure for men increased by 6-8 hours per week” and that “this increase in leisure corresponds to roughly an additional 5 to 10 weeks of vacation per year.” A closer reading of the article, however, shows that this “leisure increase” was driven by a decline in “market work hours”. In other words, all those extra 10 percent of men with higher school or less, who dropped out of the work force since 1970, are simply enjoying their “vacations.”

…

Panel (a) shows that average stature of native-born Americans grew rapidly until the 1970s, and then stagnated. A real shocker is that for some segments of the population (Black women) it actually declined in absolute terms. Panel (b) shows that there is a clear relationship between economic and biological measures of well-being (it’s further explained in Ages of Discord).

For another health measure, life expectancy, we have a similar situation. Overall, America is losing ground in relative terms (for example, in comparison to robustly growing life expectancies in Western Europe). For some segments of the population the decrease is in absolute terms. Here’s a particularly revealing look at the data:

…

There is a long-term increase in the age of marriage driven by modernization (top panel), so we are interested in fluctuations around the trend (bottom panel). During the periods of increasing well-being (for example, between 1900 and 1960), average age of marriage tends to drop. Immiseration causes it to rise. In fact, an increasing proportion of people doesn’t marry at all. Many of them stay with their parents, and their earnings help to inflate household income statistics.

We know from the work of Jonathan Haidt and others that one of the most powerful factors explaining personal well-being is social embeddedness. Having a spouse is one of the most fundamental ways of being embedded. But a variety of other indicators, collected by Robert Putnam, shows that Americans are becoming increasingly less connected (I’ve written about it in another post).

In short: a variety of indicators show that well-being of common American has been declining in the last four decades. The technical term for this in the structural-demographic theory is immiseration.

[ryanmitchelloregon]

Ryan mitchell rex putnam | Best Small Business Tips and Ideas

Ryan mitchell rex putnam - Deciding to start a business can be one of the most exhilarating decisions you make in your life. We are living in a world wherever everyone wants to make extra money and add to his income. Most people have achieved this by acquiring great business ideas. When one starts up a company, he must be ready to meet competition. It is important to note that you would not need to become rich or popular to succeed in business but have to think smartly. But there are a lot of moving parts and many different elements to consider.

Ryan mitchell rex putnam | 10 basic tips essential to start a business successfully.

Tip 1: Get inspired and Love your idea | Ryan mitchell rex putnam

Every business begins with an idea you may have imagined of opening your own business for years, or motivation may have hit you suddenly. Nevertheless of the source, the first step of starting your own business is coming up with a business idea. And as important as your idea, you must in love with the idea.

Tip 2: Do Your Research / learn everything about the business | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

You've recognized your big idea, now it's time to balance it with the reality. Are you truly ready to start a business? Answer the questions below and see what you need to prepare yourself for business. For a small business succeed it must fulfill a need, solve a problem or offer something the market wants.

You can identify this need in many ways by doing research, focus groups, and even trial and error.

Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon | As you search the market, some of the questions can be:

• Is there a need for your anticipated services or products? • Who needs it? (Target Costumers) • Are there other companies offering similar services or products right now? • How is the competition? • Can or how will your business fit into the market?

Tip 3: Make a Business Plan | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

You need a business plan in order to make your business idea a reality. If you expect to seek monetary support from an investor or financial organization, a formal written business plan is a must.

Even if you don't need monetary support, a simple business plan can give you precision about what you hope to accomplish and how you plan to do it.

In overall, your business plan should summary your business goals and the inspiration behind them, as well as your plan for realization of your goals in terms of marketing and funding.

Tip 4: Planning Finances | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

Opening a small business doesn't have to involve a lot of money, but it will involve some investment.

There are a number of methods you can fund your small business:

• With Small business grants • By Financing • With Small business loans • Or Angel investors

You can also attempt to get your business off the ground by bootstrapping, using as little capital as necessary to start your business.

Tip 5: Business Structure | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

Your small business can be an individual ownership, a partnership, a limited liability company (LLC) or a corporation. The business structure you might choose will impact in many factors from your business name, to liability, and how you file your taxes.

You can choose an initial business structure, and with time re-evaluate and change your structure as your business grows and needs to be changed.

Tip 6: The Business Name | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

The name you choose plays a role in almost every aspect of your business, so you want it to be a good one. Make sure you think through all of the possible consequences as you explore your options and select your business name.

Once you have selected a name, there is the need to check if it's trademarked, currently in use and if stills free you will need to register it. A individual proprietor must register their business name with either their state or county clerk. Corporations, LLC, or limited corporations usually register their business name when the creation paperwork is filed.

These days you need to have a website, so please don't forget to register your domain name once you have selected your business name. The best domains and more valuable online are the ones ending with .com.

Tip 7: Licenses and Permits | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

There are a range of small business licenses and permits that may apply to your situation, depending on the type of business you are starting and where you are placed. You will need to inquiry what licenses and permits apply to your business during the initial process.

Tip 8: The Business Location | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

Setting up your place to work is essential for the operation of your business, whether you will have a home office, a shared or private office space, or a retail location. You will need to reflect about your place, equipment, and overall setup, and make sure your business place works for the kind of business you will be doing.

Tip 9: Accounting System | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

One of the most essential systems for a small business is an accounting system. Your accounting system is essential in order to build and manage your budget, set your charges, conduct business with others, and file your taxes. You can set up your accounting system by your own, or hire an accountant to take away some of the work.

Tip 10: Promote Your Small Business | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

As soon your business is up and running, you need to start attracting customers. You'll want to initiate with the essentials by writing a single selling offer and building a marketing plan. Explore as many small business marketing ideas as you can so you to choose how to promote your business most successfully. Completed these business start-up actions, you will have all of the most important small business bases protected, and be prepared for small business success.

15 Business Ideas to Generate Extra Income | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

If you want or need to start a side job because you still need to wait a little bit longer to start your own business, here are 15 suggestions for you.

1. Make money Blogging | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

If you enjoy writing, find a theme you're passionate about and start a blog dedicated to covering that theme and anything else interesting you enjoy to talk about. All you need is a laptop, some time, and inspiration to consistently write. It can start as a hobby and turn into a business over time. Creating a blog is free, but if you want to look professional it can cost less than $ 12 per month.

2. Buying or selling on eBay | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

Thanks to internet there are more opportunities to make money than ever to buy and resell products for extra money. There are lots of people buy at a discount and resell them on eBay for profit.

3. Freelance writing | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

If you're great with words, you might be capable to find some work as an online freelancer. A variety of publications need online content in the form of product, stories, service descriptions, and reports, and if you have the talent and ability, you could easily be the one to create them. Luckily, all you need is a computer and Internet connection to get started. You can start here freelancer.com

4. Social media expert | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

Now a day almost everyone uses Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, but did you know that many companies are willing to compensate people to support them managing their social media accounts and sometimes you can do it part-time from home. If this appeals you, to find social media jobs you can start by writing companies with a social media presence and visiting sites like Elance.com for opportunities.

5. Proofreading and editing | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

Do you have strong English skills and outstanding grammar? You may have chances to work as a proof-reader from home. Marketing for this can be hard; seek out those who might actually be able to use your services and advertise directly to them.

6. Virtual assistant | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

Many companies and individual professionals like having someone who can check and answer their email, organize task lists for them, someone who can update their calendars, and perform other administrative tasks, with minimal communication. The best of being a virtual assistant is that you can offer this service from home with a good Internet connection.

7. Website design | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

If you know a little bit about web design you can approach small businesses in your community, as they could use a very basic web presence to tell others about their business. These businesses usually don't have a large budget for websites and create a great yet simple website is for you, get a bunch of clients from your local community, create sites for them, and maintains them for a small fee. You can easily get enough businesses to have a nice side business of your own with a low investment.

8. Affiliate marketing | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

Certain types of online businesses will pay you to promote their products and encourage sales. If you're interested in learning more, check out affiliate marketing programs such as Click-bank, Commission Junction, and these websites are trustworthy and you can earn money by posting their products in your blog, website or Facebook. The secret of online business is all knowing targeting the right public and marketing efficiently. It can be overwhelming with all the information available online as more than 50% of the information is just a waste of time.

9. Become a business or life coach | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

If you are a good speaker and passionate about the business world and able to inspire and encourage others in a unique way, you could marketing your services as a business or even a life coach. Take your passion and expertise to the next level giving advice and suggest actionable steps people can take to progress their professional and private lives.

10. Start a resume writing service | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

If you're excellent at writing remarkable resumes that in the end result in people getting the job, contemplate advertising those services. Most of your work will spin around writing, editing, designing, and proofreading, so you will only need few supplies outside of your computer and basic software to get started.

11. App Developer | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

Web app development is the creation of application programs that reside on remote servers and are delivered to the user's device over the Internet. Now a day you can do apps with software's you don't really need to be a weirdo to do it, you can be an app developer for Facebook for instance and of course you can do it part-time and home based.

12. Business Consultant | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

If you are high organized and skilled being a good problem solver this job is for you. Companies bring Business Consultant to identify their problems, provide solutions and optimize companies. The only investments are your skills.

13. Data Entry Service | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

Many companies and online businesses require some type of manual information tracking, creating a vast amount of data entry work. Although there are many work-at-home scams related with data entry work, there are a lot of genuine chances available for genuine data entry businesses. If you are an excellent typist with an eye for detail, a data entry business is a great idea for you.

14. Freelance Writer | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

If you have the skill to write and inform people in a certain area, you can write small books or guides and sell them online, the biggest books platform is Amazon.com, where you can display your books for free and when they are sold, you will receive a percentage from the selling. Payments are made every month depending on your sales. Investment is only your time to write and imagination.

15. Internet Researcher | Ryan Mitchell Portland Oregon

The Internet provides a vast amount of information. If you can quickly and efficiently navigate through that wealth of information, and essentially find a needle in a haystack, you can create a very successful business as an Internet researcher. Search for this kind of job online or about a company which is looking for this of service.

I give you only a glimpse what you could do, and these are just a few ideas, but many ideas were left behind.

First of all I advise you to think what you like to do as a hobby or in your free time, why don't you make profit from what you are doing already?

You have the world as your disposal, but for a business to work out the first thing from all things is, it doesn't matter what you intent to do, but you have to love it. If you love what you do it doesn't feel like a job, you will be doing it with joy and this way you will be successful.

There are some side business opportunities that have grown more common in the past few years. And thanks to internet you have much more opportunities, ideas and help to develop your business.

[abbcdailynews]

That will be the Most readily useful International TV System - Al Jazeera, BBC, CNBC Earth, Or CNN Global

The BBC offer an RSS give with Firefox so you can always get probably the most updated news without examining their homepage. I believe it is of good use simply to see what's going on in the world since it's hard to get the TV on what you would like with household in the house. I do not actually follow politics that much but I normally have an opinion of all things. Frequently, I just visit the Sports or Engineering area because with most media, nothing essential generally happens. When was the last time YOU heard about chicken flu in popular news?

More about the site then... On the left you've a small image of the planet split up into different sections. Click on one of these simple sections to go to a focused site for that the main globe. There you will discover applicable media about this region ranging from information to sports and whatever else they could deem newsworthy. They supply pictures and sometimes movie of the big event which may be pretty cool to watch. Like the among the short-term dams at the Three Gorges Dam in China being supplied up.

That type of provides me onto my next point. The BBC includes a specific page to each country on this here planet. Because we are not discussing China, let us set their's there anyway. And voila. Today as you can see, they give you the country's national anthem, an occasion distinct their record, some related hyperlinks, features... Basically, anything else you can need if you are only performing some standard research on a country.bbc-daily-news.com

It was charged while the writing sensation of 2007 and just like the fireworks of the 4th September or the greatest spell of a scar faced wizard it took the headlines. Depends upon gasped at the final pages of Deathly Hallows and number you could claim these were disappointed. JK Rowling had undoubtedly used it again. People had tried to guess the plot but not a single blogger seemed to obtain everything right. Some were really near but the others missed the mark. One of many greatest writers of illusion fiction had performed the Houdini.

Within hours of the distribution of Deathly Hallows, BBC Media in the UK introduced on the web that they'd discovered the successor to Harry, Ron, Hermione and Voldermort. Now as we shut the pages of the final chapter on the Potter saga, one book that is not also published however is apparently quietly moving itself ahead as a contender for the concept of'Hotter than Potter.'

Since the distribution of Shadowmancer in 2004 in the USA and their rise to the top of the New York Times list, GP Taylor has tucked from the radar of the American book scene. Penguin Putnam printed two further publications, Wormwood got to the dizzy heights of #2 on the charts but Taylor's 3rd guide Tersias the Oracle tucked into shops without the campaign whatsoever. It absolutely was as though Putnam just put it on the market as cheaply as you are able to with no description why.

Many of his supporters did not even know the book was published. Adhering to a death risk, Taylor refused to tour in the USA and there have been rumors in the English press he was sad with the way his books had been launched in the US. All in all it served to keep Taylor beneath the radar. Starved of promotion, readers were hard pressed to get the sequels to Shadowmancer and with little action from Common Pictures on the script of the guide Taylor faded completely. He's on report in saying he believed he could be opportunity useless in Books of Question in New York at a signing.

It was only when evidence copies of his newest novel Mariah Mundi and The Midas Box begun to rotate on eBay that folks again began to take discover of the quiet British author. Potter fans hungry for another book to load the emptiness of Deathly Hallows started initially to rapidly blog concerning the subject before they had actually study it. News was sketchy. Taylor's own site had the book outlined as Mariah Mundi and the Ghost of the Prince Regent, but the name was transformed at the final second before the evidence copies were published.

Now it would seem that every one needs to get your hands on a evidence of the book. One New York dealer has already established countless enquires presently and shops in the UK are taking sophisticated purchases therefore customers may protected first editions. Buddyhollywood.com said, "the formula will there be, tried and tested. Young hero, woman sidekick, wicked villain, perilous plan and hurt in the tail ending. Nothing unusual. In the event that you read Tolkien, Lewis and Rowling the exact same units are in use. But like Harry Potter there is anything wonderful in regards to the boy, Mariah Mundi.

Mundi has missing his parents and it is not known if they are dead. He visited a boarding college in London, from where he was sent at age fifteen to perform in a large and strange hotel in the north of England. All fish out of water material with lots of scary goings to keep you turning the pages.

With lots of'whodunit'placed in (there is a monster at large and an odd field that has the energy to turn daily items to gold and a secret society called The Bureau of Antiquities) that guide includes the large history of CS Lewis and the plot of an Indiana Jones movie. Probably why Hollywood is queuing to have their hands on the rights for the book."

BBC News said on the day of the launch of Deathly Hallows that, "when Harry Potter weighs up his wizard's cloak, booksellers will undoubtedly be trying to GP Taylor's fall discharge, Mariah Mundi - The Midas Box, to help keep the bucks tills ringing."

[laurynstantonus]

Car Accident Lawyer in West Virginia

When you’re looking for sincere legal recommendation, you want a law lawyer whom you possibly can trust. You need an legal professional in Virginia who is approachable and understands your needs.The staff at Moye Legislation Agency are here to help - whenever you want trustworthy, trustworthy advice and expertise.As a household-run enterprise, we strongly imagine in helping our area people and giving an unrivalled level of care to our clients. With places of work in Winfield and Cross Lanes, our devoted team of attorneys serve the Capitol area of Charleston in addition to Huntington and the surrounding areas together with: Boone, Cabell, Kanawha, Lincoln, Mason, and Putnam. For those who’re looking for specialists in actual property law who complete title research in-house, a prison lawyer with many years of experience or an estate, personal damage or family lawyer you’re in the proper place. If you select Moye Legislation Agency as your attorneys, you’re assured clear, concise and straightforward-to-perceive advice and the very best resolution possible. With you every step of the best way, we’re right here to take the stress out of your situation - providing you with actual, actionable answers and results.From your initial consultation, to the decision, your Moye Law Agency lawyer will enable you with every stage of the authorized process. You is perhaps unaware (or not sure) of the authorized options out there to you in the event you’ve skilled a private injury in West Virginia. Struggling a private harm is a confusing, painful time - you’re probably more concerned with making an attempt to heal, paying for medical payments and caring for your loved ones than researching personal harm law. Our group of private injury attorneys on the Moye Regulation Office work across the clock from our workplaces in Cross Lanes and Winfield to assist people similar to you get the justice they deserve.We assist our purchasers in their time of want Lawyer in West Virginia by finding options to their issues that can help put their lives back collectively and give them closure to the trauma they’ve suffered. At Moye Regulation Workplace, our dedicated West Virginia private injury attorneys and staff are sensitive to our shoppers individual needs. We perceive the heavy burden and stress concerned when you've got been injured due to the negligence of others and we'll battle to protect your rights by way of each step of your claim. Divorce is often a irritating and troublesome experience. At Moye Legislation Workplace our attorneys understand the stresses divorce may convey and we are going to supply sound advice at this very tough time. No matter how difficult and upsetting your divorce may be, we will help. Our attorneys can clarify and assist you to work via issues akin to the need for a shared parenting plan, determining applicable ranges of child and spousal support, and equitably dividing martial property. The true property world might be demanding, confusing and troublesome to navigate. Real estate law issues are often sophisticated and require the eye of an skilled legal professional with experience in the industry.Working with each business and individual shoppers, Lisa Moye is your devoted actual property legal professional serving Winfield and beyond.She has years of expertise representing everybody in the real estate chain: patrons, sellers, developers, owners, property managers, financial establishments, investors, contractors, title corporations, and builders. Fashionable motorists are safer than ever with new and improved vehicles available on the market and safer roads to drive on. However, despite all of those improvements the number of automobile accidents continues to rise every year throughout the U.S. There are such a lot of automobiles on the highway that it’s quite straightforward to see why the average American motorist is expected to be in 4 car-associated accidents in their lifetime. Accidents on the highway occur out of the blue and many give no warning. Your drive home from work, the same one you’ve taken a whole bunch of occasions before, may turn into your worst nightmare in a matter of seconds because of another driver’s negligence or perhaps the weather had taken a flip and you your self have been unprepared for an icy road. When an auto accident occurs there may be usually nothing you can do to avoid it - however you possibly can just be sure you’re ready to guard yourself when it does. A successful insurance coverage declare begins on the site of the crash. If you recognize what you’re doing on the scene, then you definately’ll know what to say and do afterwards. Right here’s our fast guide on how you need to go about making your claim and what it's essential know to make your claim move as swiftly as possible.

source https://moyelawoffice.weebly.com/blog/car-accident-lawyer-in-west-virginia

[journeyintotheshelves]

Tuesday’s Treats is a weekly blog post dedicated to newly released books that I’m most excited for. (Books are in no particular order.)

All books featured this week will be released: FEB. 26th

1. Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee: Jeff Zentner (goodreads) (book depository)

A book about friendship, growing up, and campy scary movies, Zentner’s Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee is bound to pull on all the heartstrings, while being lighthearted at the same time. I absolutely LOVED Zentner’s last novel Goodbye Days (check out my review here), so I cannot wait to dive into his latest.

YA Contemporary Fiction; Crown Books/Random House, Hardcover (US)

2. Warrior of the Wild: Tricia Levenseller (goodreads) (book depository)

As her father’s heir, Rasmira trained her entire life so she can become a warrior and lead her people. But when her coming-of-age trial results in her failure, Rasmira is banished to the wilderness. In order to return, her father gives her one task: to kill a god.

Honestly, just give me all the viking-inspired books, please and thank you.

YA Fantasy; Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan, Hardcover (US)

3. The Priory of the Orange Tree: Samantha Shannon (goodreads) (book depository)

Court politics, magic, and dragons…need I say more?

(In case I do, The Priory of the Orange Tree follows Queen Sabran who must have a daughter in order to secure the line of succession, Ead Duryan who is an outsider at court but is the only one standing between Queen Sabran and death by using forbidden magic, and Tané a dragonrider trainee. Each woman has different obstacles to conftront, but as their worlds continue to stay apart, a dark force awakens threatening everyone and everything.)

Fantasy; Bloomsbury, Hardcover (US)

4. Four Dead Queens: Astrid Scholte (goodreads) (book depository)

Keralie is a thief, and a pretty good one at that. Under the supervision of her mentor. Mackiel, Keralie steals items that people can’t get in their own quarters to sell on the black market in the Concord, the area that unites the four quarters. The four quarters — Toria, Ludia, Archia, and Eonia — all focus on different aspects of life, and each is divided from the others with four queens ruling over each region.

During a standard job, Keralie intercepts a comm disk from the House of Concord that shows all four queens murdered. In order to find the murderer, Keralie must team up with Varin, the Eonist messenger who she stole the disk from, and finish his original job and see where it leads.

YA Fantasy; Putnam/Penguin, Hardcover (US)

5. The Beauty of the Moment: Tanaz Bhathena (goodreads) (book depository)

A story about the new girl, hoping to live up to her parents expectations, and the “bad” boy, The Beauty of the Moment follows Susan and Malcolm who, even though their home lives are messy and imperfect, find themselves together as they fall for each other.

YA Contemporary Fiction, Romance; Farrar, Straus and Giroux/Macmillan, Hardcover (US)

6. We Set the Dark on Fire (We Set the Dark on Fire: 1): Tehlor Kay Mejia (goodreads) (book depository)

At the Medio School for Girls, young women are trained for one of two roles: to run their husband’s household, or to raise his children. Though far from perfect, at least their lives will be comfortable and separate from the uprisings suffered by the lower class. Daniela is at the top of her class, but her future depends on no one finding out her secret: that her pedigree is a lie. With forged papers, Dani’s parents pushed her to rise above her station and live a better life. As she nears graduation, she seems to have succeeded and is on the verge of marrying an important politico’s son. But, when she is tapped by a resistance group and is asked to spy for them in order to bring equality to Medio, Dani must choose between living a comfortable life, or fighting for equality and a chance at real love.

YA Fantasy, LGBTQIA+; KT Books/HarperCollins, Hardcover (US)

7. Last of Her Name: Jessica Khoury (goodreads) (book depository)

Literally, give me anything even related to the story of Anastasia Romanov and I will read it, and this one is set in space! I cannot wait to finally read this one. (On Goodreads, Khoury notes that this isn’t a direct retelling of Anastasia — the historical one, not the movie — but is inspired by it. Either way, I’m excited.)

YA Science Fiction, Retelling; Scholastic Press, Hardcover (US)

[marketrevenueba]

Medical Tubing Market Suppliers,Size, Share, Industry Growth, Trend, Business Research Report by 2026

The latest industry analysis report published by Reports and Data offers a panoramic view of the global Medical Tubing Industry and its key segments. The report offers a concise market summary and highlights the key factors influencing market growth. The data & information provided by the report have been obtained through meticulous research on the market. The report takes a close look at the Medical Tubing market’s historical, present, and future scenarios and explains the paradigm shifts taking place in this business landscape. Industry growth rate, consumer demand, supply ratio, industry worth, and several market trends & opportunities are some of the critical factors highlighted in the report. The report throws light on the competitive landscape of the global Medical Tubing market and systematically profiles the leading companies operating in the market. Furthermore, it highlights the principal strategies & initiatives undertaken by these players for business expansion and growth in the near future. Some of the key business growth strategies include partnerships & collaborations, mergers & acquisitions, new product launches, agreements, and joint ventures.

The global medical tubing market is expected to reach USD 12.50 Billion by 2026, according to a new report by Reports and Data. Medical tubing is a kind of tubing that comply with medical industry requirements and standards for various medical or pharmaceutical related applications. Medical tubing is deployed for fluid management and drainage along with anesthesiology and respiratory equipment, IVs, catheters, and biopharmaceutical laboratory equipment, among others.

Key players operating in the market:

Zeus Industrial products, Teleflex, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, Optinova, Lubrizol, Spectrum Plastics Group, Nordson Corporation, Raumedic, Putnam Plastics, and Tekni-Plex, among others.

Get a sample copy of the Medical Tubing industry report @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/sample-enquiry-form/1699

Major factors driving revenue growth of the global materials & chemicals industry are rise in global population, tremendous increase in demand for essential consumer products such as food & beverages, cosmetics, and personal care & hygiene products, and extensive use of chemicals and raw materials in industries including buildings & construction, automotive, agriculture, textiles, packaging, electronics, and several other industries. Other major factors bolstering market revenue growth are increasing focus of manufacturers on using eco-friendly and sustainable materials & chemicals for reduced environmental impact, introduction of organic and highly sustainable chemicals, and increasing demand for high-performance agrochemicals and specialty chemicals.

Global Medical Tubing Market: Regional Segmentation

US

Canada

Mexico

Russia

UK

Germany

France

BENELUX

Rest of Europe

China

Japan

India

South Korea

Rest of Asia Pacific

Brazil

Rest of Latin America

Saudi Arabia

UAE

Israel

Market Segmentation:

The global Medical Tubing market is segmented in terms of product type, application, end-use, and region.

Material Outlook (Volume, Kilo Tons; 2016-2026 and Revenue, USD Million; 2016-2026)

Plastics

Metals

Silicone

Application Outlook (Volume, Kilo Tons; 2016-2026 and Revenue, USD Million; 2016-2026)

Bulk Disposable Tubing

Biopharmaceutical Laboratory Equipment

Catheters

Others

To know more about the report, visit @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/report-detail/medical-tubing-market

Full Coverage of the Global Medical Tubing Market Report:

The report offers in-depth study of the global Medical Tubing market dynamics and offers crucial information on the leading product portfolios, application areas, distribution channels, and technological breakthroughs.

The report offers qualitative and quantitative studies of the global Medical Tubing industry.

The report is inclusive of a detailed overview of the key regional markets of the global Medical Tubing industry.

The report profiles the leading companies in the industry and highlights their financial positions, product offerings, recent developments, and business expansion plans and initiatives.

Request customization of the report @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/request-customization-form/1699

Thank you for reading our report. To inquire about customization or any query about the report, please get in touch with us. Our team will make sure the report is best suited to your needs.  

Read More Related Reports:

N-Bromosuccinimide Market  Report

Ferrous Slag Market  Companies

About Us: We are a boutique market intelligence and strategic consulting firm dedicated to make an meaningful impact on businesses across the globe. Our stellar estimation and forecasting models have earned recognition across majority of the business forum across the globe. Our services are arrayed over diverse sectors and industries looking to expand in alternative regions and products.

Contact Us:

John W

Head of Business Development

Reports And Data | Web: www.reportsanddata.com

Direct Line: +1-212-710-1370

E-mail: sales@reportsanddata.com

Blog: https://www.reportsanddata.com/blogs

Report: https://www.reportsanddata.com/upcoming-reports

[parsippanylibrarykids]

By:  Miss Rose, Miss Sam, & Miss Kristen

FICTION

Ahdieh, Renee.  Flame in the Mist. G. P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2017. 416p. (gr. 7-9)  

On the way to the imperial city to meet her betrothed, Raiden, Mariko and her escort are ambushed by the dangerous Black Clan, a gang of bandits that were hired to kill her.  She dresses as a peasant boy to survive, infiltrating their group and eager to find out who hired them.  Mariko impresses them with her wit and connects with Okami, one of the leaders.  While there, she starts to question the truth about her family and her desires.

Albertalli, Becky.  The Upside of Unrequited.  Balzer + Bray, 2017.  340p. (gr. 9-12)  

Molly has had her more than her fair share of crushes but nothing ever seems to come from them, as her twin sister Cassie keeps reminding her.  When Molly makes a connection with Will, Cassie pressures her to start a relationship with him but Molly isn’t so sure that is what she wants, especially as she starts to get to know her coworker Reid and bond with him.  Molly and Cassie’s relationship becomes additionally strained as Cassie starts spending more time with her new girlfriend and not participating as much as Molly would like when they need to start working on their mothers’ long-awaited wedding after gay marriage is finally legalized.

Benway, Robin.  Far From the Tree.  HarperTeen, 2017.  374p. (gr. 9-12)  

After Grace, who was adopted as an infant, becomes pregnant and decides on an open adoption for her baby, she realizes that she would like to learn more about her own biological mother as she struggles with her feelings for her baby and her decision.  Her supportive parents help her with the search and she discovers that she has a younger half-sister who was also adopted as an infant and an older half-brother who has been in the foster care system since he was a toddler.  She connects first with Maya and then with Joaquin, who are struggling with their own issues, which include Maya’s mother’s alcoholism and Joaquin’s feeling that he isn’t worthy of love. The three siblings bond over their search for information on their birth mother and help one another sort through their feelings.

Buxbaum, Julie.  What to Say Next.  Delacorte Press, 2017. 304 p. (gr. 9-12)

When popular and beautiful Kit Lowell starts having lunch with socially awkward David Drucker, everyone at Mapleview High takes notice.  But Kit doesn’t mind especially since David’s brutal honesty is oddly refreshing at a time when she’s struggling to overcome the shock and devastation of her father’s recent passing.  Used to being outcast and ignored, David welcomes the sudden friendship and agrees to help Kit try to solve the mystery behind her father’s tragic car accident.

Cheng, Jack.  See You in the Cosmos.   Dial Books, 2017.  320 p.  (gr. 5-9)

Aspiring astronomer Alex Petroski is only eleven, but he’s already building a rocket to send into space.  Alex and his dog Carl Sagan (named after the real life astronomer), make the journey from their home in Colorado to the Southwest High-Altitude Rocket Festival (SHARF) in Albuquerque to launch his Golden iPod into space aboard his rocket, Voyager 3.  Along the way to SHARF and beyond, Alex meets new friends and captures his adventures in daily recordings on his Golden iPod, in the hopes that other lifeforms will get to hear about what life on Earth is like.

Colbert, Brandy.  Little & Lion.  Little, Brown and Company, 2017.  330p. (gr. 10-12)

After Suzette’s stepbrother Lionel begins to exhibit disturbing behavior stemming from undiagnosed bipolar disorder, Suzette is sent to a boarding school across the country while Lionel receives the treatment he needs.  At school, Suzette has a secret relationship with her roommate but it ends disastrously and she’s not sure she is ready to come out to her parents, even though they are always supportive of her.  While home for the summer, she realizes she has feelings for both her long-time platonic male friend Emil and mysterious new acquaintance Rafaela, which makes her even more confused.  On top of this, Lionel confides in her that he is off his medication and Suzette agrees to keep his secret against her better judgement.  When Lionel runs off during an outing, Suzette is forced to come clean to her mother about everything.

Cook, Eileen.  The Hanging Girl.  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017.  311p. (gr. 9-12)

Skye’s mother believes in all things paranormal, especially psychic abilities.  Skye isn’t a believer, but she has convinced her classmates that she is indeed psychic and gives tarot card readings to her classmates.  A fellow student convinces her to use her pretend skills in the kidnapping of a rich girl, but things go horribly wrong for the kidnap victim and Skye has to stay one step ahead of the police.

Firestone, Carrie.  The Unlikelies. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.  323p. (gr. 9-12)

The summer before Sadie’s senior year of high school looks like it is going to be a dull and lonely one, as all her closest friends are a grade ahead of her and leaving for college.  After an altercation at the farmers market where she works is caught on video, Sadie is lauded as a local hero and invited to be honored along with other teens who have done extraordinary things.  The hero teens form a bond and over the course of the summer work together to help underdogs as best they can.  An unexpected windfall bequeathed to Sadie by her employer aids them in their quests.

Frank, Steven B.  Armstrong and Charlie.  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017.  304 p. (gr. 6-8)  

It’s 1973 and Charlie and Armstrong are starting sixth grade in Los Angeles.  For Charlie it means starting a new school year without his brother Andy who recently died in a tragic accident.  Armstrong is not looking forward to sixth grade either.  He is feeling uncertain and apprehensive about being bussed to an all-white school away from his neighborhood and most of his friends.  Charlie and Armstrong clash at first, but what starts as a fierce rivalry soon turns into a close friendship.

Goo, Maurene.  I Believe in a Thing Called Love. Farrar, Straus & Giroux BYR. 2017. 336p. (gr. 7-9)

Desi is an overachiever who likes to plan things out.  So when she finds herself flailuring (failing at flirting) yet again, she plans the perfect way to get noticed by her crush, Luca, in a good way.  Raised by her widowed Korean father, she grew up with a steady diet of K-Dramas.  With her Appa’s help, she meticulously creates a perfect list for her real-life K-Drama and sets her plan into action.

Green, John.  Turtles All the Way Down.  Dutton Books, 2017. 286p. (gr. 9-12)  

Billionaire Russell Pickett is being investigated for fraud and bribery, currently on the run from authorities and there is a substantial reward being offered for knowledge of his whereabouts.  Because Aza knew his son Davis when they both attended the same grief camp as children, her friend Daisy convinces her to talk to Davis to try to find out where his father is hiding so they can split the money from the reward.  When she and Davis reconnect, Aza develops feelings for him.  Her overwhelming anxiety interferes with her friendship with Daisy and makes it difficult for her to pursue her romance with Davis.  

Lloyd-Jones, Emily.  The Hearts We Sold.  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2017. 381p. (gr. 10-12)  

In a world in which demons are real and they can grant anyone a wish….for a price, Dee Moreno decides that the only way to get away from her bad home life is to make a wish.  Unlike modern myth, the price isn’t a soul, but a body part.  With the news that she won’t have a scholarship come the new school year, she trades away her heart for two years and is enlisted to protect the world by closing the voids that open up to unleash monsters on the world.

Lu, Marie.  Warcross. G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2017.  368 p. (gr. 9-12)

Teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet illegally on the virtual reality game called Warcross.  When Emika needs to make some quick cash, she takes a chance and hacks into the opening game of the Warcross Championships and ends up at the center of the biggest international event.  Unfortunately, Emika gets caught and finds herself face-to-face with the elusive creator of Warcross, Hideo Tanaka.  Instead of arresting her, Hideo asks Emika to play in the tournament and spy on the other players to uncover a security problem.  But Emika’s investigation uncovers much more than just a security breach in the Warcross empire.

McManus, Karen M.  One of Us Is Lying.  Delacorte Press, 2017.  368 p.  (gr. 9-12)

It’s a typical afternoon for five students who are stuck in detention.  By the end of it, though, one of those students, Simon, won’t make it out alive.  When it’s revealed that Simon had planned to expose juicy secrets about the other four students on his gossip app, “About That,” all four of them become suspects in the murder.  Bronwyn (the brain); Addy (the beauty); Nate (the criminal); and Cooper (the star athlete) are forced to confront the allegations brought to light by Simon’s blog.  Though they barely know one another and belong to different cliques, the four band together to prove their innocence.  And yet they were the only ones with Simon when he died.  Did one of them kill Simon to protect a powerful secret or are they being framed by an outsider?

Menon, Sandhya.  When Dimple Met Rishi.  Simon Pulse, 2017.  384 p. (gr. 9-12)  

Dimple Shah is glad but surprised when her parents agree to pay for her to spend the summer at coding camp in San Francisco.  Dimple is passionate about coding and also looking forward to the break from her mother who mostly just wants Dimple to find the “Ideal Indian Husband.”  Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic so when his parents tell him the girl they hope to be his future wife, Dimple, will be attending the same summer camp as him he is eager to meet and impress her.  Needless to say, Dimple and Rishi’s first meeting does not go as planned once Dimple learns the Patels and Shahs played a role in the “suggested arrangement.”  But slowly Dimple and Rishi’s friendships grows into something more and both are forced to confront their conflicting feelings between family obligation and the future they envision for themselves.

Murphy, Julie.  Ramona Blue.  Balzer + Bray, 2017.  408p. (gr. 9-12)

Ramona, her sister Hattie, and her father have been living in a FEMA trailer in a small town in Mississippi ever since Hurricane Katrina destroyed their old home.  Their trailer becomes more crowded once Hattie’s boyfriend Tyler moves in after Hattie becomes pregnant.  Ramona works several jobs to help her family as much as she can and she gets frustrated when people inquire about her plans for the future because all she can envision for herself is continuing to stay right where she is, working at menial jobs just to keep a roof over her family.  When her old friend Freddie moves back into town and encourages her to swim with him and his grandmother, she starts to see that there might just be way out of small town life.  Up until now, Ramona has only ever had romantic feelings for girls but she starts to see Freddie as more than a friend.

Nielsen, Susin.  Optimists Die First.  Wendy Lamb Books, 2017.  228p. (gr. 9-12)    

After the death of her younger sister Maxine, Petula’s family falls apart.  Petula’s mother starts hoarding cats and her father avoids home as much as he can.  Petula has become hyper-focused on all the bad things that could possibly happen to her loved ones and she does her best to keep herself safe at all times.  She has been attending an art therapy program through her school and meets Jacob, who has a robotic arm and his own issues that he has to cope with.  Petula and Jacob form a bond but when she learns about his involvement in the death of a friend, she isn’t sure she can remain on good terms with him.  

Ormsbee, Kathryn. Tash Hearts Tolstoy.  Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2017.  367p. (gr. 7-9)

Tash is of the director of an amateur web-series that goes viral.  Tash loves Tolstoy, and with her best friend, Jack (Jacqueline), they put together a modern production of Anna Karenina entitled Unhappy Families​. With a mention on a popular vid-blogger’s own channel, Seedling Productions starts to reach acclaim in the webseries world, and with fame comes haters. Meanwhile, she’s also coming to terms with the the deepening divide between her older sister and a new, long distance relationship with a male video blogger who doesn’t know she’s asexual.

Perkins, Mitali.  You Bring the Distant Near.  Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2017.  320 p. (gr. 9-12)

In 1960, sisters Tara and Sonia Das are getting used to life in Queens after living in Ghana and London for several years.  While Tara and Sonia adjust to life as teens in America, matriarch Ranee works diligently to make sure her family maintains customary Bengali traditions.  Years later, Tara’s own daughter Anna must leave her beloved home in Mumbai and go to school in New York with her cousin Chantal.  Told in alternating point-of-views and spanning generations, this is the story of the Das women.

Perkins, Stephanie.  There’s Someone Inside Your House.  Dutton Books, 2017.  287p. (gr. 10-12)    

After an incident at her high school in Hawaii, Makani moves to Nebraska to live with her increasingly forgetful grandmother and start over where no one knows her secret.  When students in her high school start dying at the hands of a serial killer, Makani and her friends investigate.  While trying to figure out who in their small town is behind the slayings, Makani is forced to reveal the secret of how she attacked a friend during a hazing ritual gone wrong.

Poston, Ashley.  Geekerella. Quirk, 2017. 320p. (gr. 10-12)  

Elle grew up watching the sci-fi series Starfield with her late father, but the news that the movie’s version Federation Prince Carmindor is teen heartthrob Darien Freeman has her seething.  An unlikely friendship begins when Darien accidentally contacts Elle when trying to talk to management at ExcelsiCon.  Through her job on the Magic Pumpkin Food Truck and her friendship with her co-worker, Elle decides to go to ExcelsiCon, the Con her father helped created, to win money to get away from her stepmother by entering their Cosplay Contest.

Reynolds, Jason.  Long Way Down.  Atheneum, 2017.  306p. (gr. 9-12)

Will has been taught to live by the Rules of his neighborhood: no crying, no snitching, and always get revenge.  After his brother Shawn is shot and killed, Will has no choice but to get Shawn’s gun and head to where the boy he is certain is the killer lives to exact revenge.  On the elevator ride down, different figures from Will’s life who died from gun violence, including his father and his uncle, get on at each floor and help him figure out what he should do.

Riazi, Karuna.  The Gauntlet.  Salaam Reads, 2017. (gr. 4-6)  

On her birthday, Farah and her two friends get transported into a board game called The Gauntlet of Blood and Sand to rescue her impulsive younger brother, Ahmad.  Inside the game, the Architect created three challenges they have to complete to escape, all the while making sure no one finds out that they’re also trying to locate Ahmad to save him.  If they lose a challenge, they’ll be trapped inside the game forever.  

Roth, Veronica.  Carve the Mark.  Katherine Tegen Books, 2017.  468 p. (gr. 8-12)

Cyra is the sister of the brutal ruler of the Shotet people.  In a world where people develop unique powers called current gifts, Cyra’s is more burden than gift.  She feels and can deliver intense pain and her brother exploits this, using Cyra and her power as a weapon against his enemies.  Akos is the son of an oracle from the planet Thuve.  His gift allows him to turn off the current, so that he is not affected by other current gifts.  When he is captured by the Shotet people, Akos finds an unlikely ally in Cyra.

Ruby,  Laura.  The Shadow Cipher.  Walden Pond Press, 2017.  448 p.  (gr. 6-8)

In the 19th century, the eccentric Morningstarr twins build a dazzling New York City using new technology and impressive machines no one has ever seen before.  Skyscrapers reach new heights and the Underway travels miles and miles below the ground.  When the architects mysteriously disappear fifty-seven years after arriving in NYC, it’s revealed that they’ve left behind the New York City Cipher, an intricate puzzle and treasure map woven into the buildings and machines in the city they created.  By present day, the Cipher still hasn’t been solved.  Tess and Theo Biedermann and their friend Jaime Cruz make one last desperate attempt to solve the Cipher when they learn their beloved apartment building (a Morningstarr masterpiece) has been sold to a money hungry real estate developer with plans to demolish it.

Sanchez, Erika L.  I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.  Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2017. 344p. (gr. 9-12)  

Julia’s older sister Olga is the perfect, dutiful Mexican daughter who only leaves the house to go to her job or attend classes at the local community college.  Julia is rebellious, has a hard time controlling her emotions, and wants nothing more than to leave Chicago and go to college in New York.  After Olga is killed in an accident, Julia’s relationship with her parents becomes even more strained. It isn’t until after Julia attempts to take her own life and has to be hospitalized and then has an opportunity to spend a few weeks with her family in Mexico learning more about her parents and their journey to America that she and her mother and father are able to understand each other better.   She also learns her sister’s secrets and realizes that Olga was not as perfect as she seemed.

Thomas, Angie.  The Hate U Give.  Balzer + Bray, 2017.  444p. (gr. 9-12)  

Starr is a passenger in the car when her friend Khalil, who is driving, is pulled over by the police for having a broken taillight.  Khalil is shot and killed during the traffic stop even though he is unarmed and hadn’t been doing anything wrong.  His death is all over the news and the people in her largely African-American, lower income neighborhood respond very differently than the mostly-white students at the elite prep school she attends.  Caught between two worlds, Starr tries to cope with what she witnessed and get her friends from school to realize what she is going through but even her own family doesn’t quite understand.  

Watson, Renee.  Piecing Me Together.  Bloomsbury, 2017.  264p. (gr. 9-12)  

Jade loves art and language and has dreams of traveling the world someday, even though opportunities for a girl from a low income family seem limited.  She hopes to get picked for her private school’s study abroad program, but when she is called down to the guidance office, she learns that she has instead been selected to participate in a mentorship program for African-American students.  She reluctantly agrees to give the program a try but has a hard time connecting with her appointed mentor, Maxine who is distracted with her own issues.  

Zappia, Francesca.  Eliza and her Monsters. GreenwillowBooks, 2017. (gr. 10-12)

Eliza Mirk fades into the background at school, but online, she’s the creator of the popular webcomic Monstrous Sea.  Within her anonymous world online, she has friends and people that understand her, but it isn’t until she finds out the  new guy at school, Wallace, writes Monstrous Sea fanfiction that she starts to appreciate the real world.  When her parents accidentally share her online identity, she has to not crumble under the pressure of needing to finish her comic, her relationship with Wallace, and her anxiety.

GRAPHIC NOVELS

Chmakova, Svetlana.  Brave. JY, 2017. 248p. (gr. 4-6)  

Jensen’s reality is very different from his daydreams.  He has trouble in middle school with making friends, with his school work, and even just not being left out of activities in Art Club.  Akilah and Jenny, part of the school newspaper, ask for Jensen’s help with a special project about being bullied.  While Jensen doesn’t believe he’s really bullied, the project opens his eyes to what challenges everyone faces in middle school, and that it’s important to be brave and make the changes you want to see in the world by reaching out to someone who seems lonely. Holm, Jennifer L.  Swing It, Sunny!  Graphix, 2017.  224 p.  (gr. 4-7)  

Sunny is having a hard time adjusting to life in middle school and at home without her brother.  Even when Dale comes home from boarding school to visit, Sunny can’t figure out why he seems so different and angry all the time.  Sunny is finding the year really confusing, but despite it all she’s determined to stay positive.  Sunny doesn’t let her sadness get in the way of doing all the things she loves like listening to records and watching her favorite TV shows, General Hospital and Gilligan’s Island.  She even makes a new friend and learns how to twirl a swing flag!

Jamieson, Victoria.  All’s Faire in Middle School.  Dial Books for Young Readers, 2017.  248p. (gr. 5-8)  

Imogene’s parents work at the Renaissance Faire, which is a huge part of the entire family’s life.  Imogene and her brother have been homeschooled but now that she is entering middle school, she is going to start public school.  School proves to be a huge culture shock for her.  Imogene tries to fit in with the popular girls, but ends up isolating her only genuine friend and damaging her relationship with her younger brother in the process.  She figures out a way to make things right, using the skills she has learned from the Renaissance Faire.

Meyers, Marissa.  Wires and Nerve. Feiwel Friends, 2017. 238p. (7-9)   Iko, an android, is out to prove she is more than just a machine by tracking rogue wolf-hybrids for her friend, Cinder. The soldiers have other plans and don’t make it easy for her, even with the help of a royal guard. Iko is forced to confront the fact that while she may feel human, not everyone will see her as anything more than an android.  

NONFICTION

Aronson, Marc & Marina Budhos.  Eyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro and the Invention of Modern Photojournalism.  Henry Holt and Company, 2017.  294p.  (gr. 7-12)

Photographers and reporters Robert Capa and Gerda Taro were both Jewish refugees from Europe who made their mark in the photography world by documenting the Spanish Civil War, with a focus on chronicling the war’s effect on children.

Bolden, Tonya.  Pathfinders: The Journeys of 16 Extraordinary Black Souls.  Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2017.  124p. (gr. 5-8)

In this biographical compilation, readers learn about achievements of some of the less well known African Americans in history who made a great impact.  People profiled include Civil War spy Mary Bowser, race car driver Charlie Wiggins, and mathematician Katherine Johnson.  

Gonzales, Andrea & Sophie Houser.  Girl Code: Gaming, Going Viral, and Getting It Done.  Harper Collins, 2017.  272 p. (8-12)

Andrea “Andy” Gonzales and Sophie Houser met at Girls Who Code and teamed up to make a video game that went viral.  Through the success of their video game, the duo was thrust into the spotlight, inspiring girl coders everywhere.  Girls are so often left behind in the tech industry, and the authors message is to not give up on your dreams and career goals despite the statistics.  Included are resources for readers who are interested in computer science topics discussed throughout the book.

Heiligman, Deborah.  Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers.  Henry Holt & Co., 2017. 464 p.  (gr. 9-12)

This book explores the complex but close relationship of the Van Gogh brothers.  Through nearly 700 letters, the story follows the brothers from their early childhoods, into adulthood as they developed careers of their own, and up to both of their early deaths.  The author reveals the successes, differences and issues that existed between the two brothers.  By becoming an art dealer, Theo made true on a promise made to his brother as a teenager to always support and encourage him, even as Vincent’s mental health deteriorated and issues developed in Theo’s personal life.  Back matter includes a timeline and author’s note.

Slater, Dashka.  The 57 Bus.  Farrar Straus Giroux, 2017.  302p. (gr. 9-12)

On November 4, 2013, Sasha, an agender teenager, fell asleep on the bus.  Richard, another teen on the bus, noticed Sasha’s gauzy skirt and held a lighter to it, thinking the act would startle Sasha and nothing more.  Sasha’s skirt caught fire and burned Sasha’s legs severely. Video footage from the bus led police to find and arrest Richard and charge him with a hate crime.  This book examines what Sasha’s life was like before and after the attack as well as how Richard and his family were impacted by his actions.  Information on the criminal justice system is included, along with information on gender neutrality.

Walker, Sally M.  Sinking the Sultana: A Civil War Story of Imprisonment, Greed, and a Doomed Journey Home.  Candlewick, 2017.  208 p.  (gr. 6-12)

At the end of the Civil War in 1865, more than 2,000 people boarded the Sultana, a steam boat equipped to carry only 376 passengers.  Aboard the boat were Union soldiers who had recently been released from Confederate prisoner-of-war camps where they had been mistreated and endured atrocious conditions.  On the third night into their journey north, the boilers exploded, engulfing the Sultana in fire.  More than fifteen hundred people were killed.  This book describes the tragic event and examines who (or what) was responsible for the disaster and how it could have been avoided.  The book is filled with photographs, maps, a glossary and in depth author’s notes.  

[katieputnam18]

Grow Your Brand on Social Media

Grow Your Brand on Social Media

When you start creating business profiles on social media, it’s not easy to know where to begin. With dozens of prominent platforms and significant competition, many business owners wonder if the effort is worthwhile. Considering that social media platforms there’s definitely an opportunity to gain exposure. However, your success on social media is directly proportional to your social media…

[gravitascivics]

THE WHIG CONTEXT

This posting makes certain assumptions.  Most important, it assumes that the reader has reviewed the timeline this blog offers in a series of postings preceding this one.  It describes the major events associated with the Whig Party in the years roughly from 1830 to 1860.  As the last posting indicates, this blog will proceed to evaluate the federalist nature of that party indicating whether what happened or what the party promoted operationalized or counteracted federalist values.

         Initially, this effort will rely heavily on the work of Daniel Walker Howe,[1] both directly and with the help of a review by Allen C. Guelzo.[2]  To begin, one has to contextualize Howe’s work as a somewhat reaction to a line of thought that attempted to associate the main nemesis of the Whigs, that being Andrew Jackson, to a more popular image.  Previous to Howe’s book, there was an effort to bind the legacy of Jackson to Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal.  

In simple terms, the picture promoted by such books as Arthur Schlesinger’s, The Age of Jackson,[3] casts Jackson as a champion of the lower classes while the Whigs represented the emerging business upper class.  Howe’s work takes a different slant to describe the Whigs.  

Instead of championing the Eastern elites, bent on obstructing class-leveling plan by Jackson (in the fashion later taken up by Roosevelt’s New Deal), the Whigs are portrayed by Howe as promoting the interests of small businesses and those who advanced them in the role of commercial producers.  

By doing so, Whigs can be seen as transformers, optimistic enablers who seriously went about adopting the messages from religious moralists and thinkers of the dominant (mostly pro Protestant based) denominations.  Of particular preferences were those ideals that bolstered personal transformation and ambitious outlooks of self-advancement (Horatio Alger comes to mind).

According to Guelzo, Howe began his effort to tell the Whig story not from the perspective of a burgeoning economic class seeking political favor, but found their mental landscape – their assumptions, values, and beliefs – a more fertile subject.  And there he found the story of a group seeking to escape what was for them a dreary life that one found on the farm and instead sought one of commerce on a global stage with the promise of it being more alluring, more dynamic, and more diverse.

And with that, the Whigs introduced a more cosmopolitan perspective of the American discourse.  In that description, Howe expounds on several elements. The first is “improvement” as portrayed in the Whigs’ admonishment, at an individual level, to transform oneself and, in turn, with the aim of transforming the national ambition.  

That was an ambition resting on a national perspective (as opposed to local, limited views), on a sense of morality replete with duties (as opposed to equality and rights), and on a commitment to the unity of the nation (as opposed to localism or sectionalism).  In hindsight, with the sectional conflict on the rise – especially over slavery and other issues – one can see a limited lifespan for this party.

One should remember, Jacksonian politics, even if the President riled against South Carolina’s nullification claims, favored states maintaining their prerogatives.  Instead, the Whigs argued for an expanded role for the federal government.  Guelzo writes,

[I]t was the Whigs who advocated an expansive federal government – but it was a government that would seek to promote a general liberal, middle-class national welfare, promoting norms of Protestant morality and underwriting the expansion of industrial capitalism by means of government-funded transportation projects (to connect people and markets), high protective tariffs for American manufacturing, and a national banking system to regulate and standardize the American economy.  Howe’s Whigs were the embodiment … of [the] upward striving, of the triumph of reason over passion, [and] of the positive liberal state … [4]

In short, they opposed Jacksonianism’s exaltation of agriculture, equating of land as the measure of wealth, and the parochial interests and perspectives of subsistence farming.  

The opposing, landed people were for the most part unaffected by a fluctuating economy as experienced with the Panic of 1837, especially compared to those who were more dependent on monetized assets.  The landed contingency cared little for notions of economic transformation, had little use for moral transformation, and saw the purveyors of such morals as questionable characters.  Overall, such messaging and promotion were seen as encroaching on these farmers’ independence and the independence of their localities.

In terms of national politics, such localism supported the Democratic Party with its support of states’ rights.  That party also found its messaging ironically appealing to immigrants, since the party was cast as the anti-middle-class lifestyle party.  So, what developed was a good body of opposing views between Whigs and Democrats as to whose interests should be protected and advanced.

Howe encapsulates these diverging interests:

 To put things very broadly, the Whigs proposed a society that would be economically diverse but culturally uniform; the Democrats preferred the economic uniformity of a society of small farmers and artisans but were more tolerant of cultural and moral diversity.[5] 

Howe’s work affords the Whig legacy a bit of rehabilitation after Schlesinger’s book on Jackson did it so much harm.  While one does not need to be a neo-Whig, one can ascribe to them a more positive role in the development of American thought.

And how does Howe’s depiction of the Whigs, to extent it is accurate, allows one to consider the degree to which the party represented federalist values?[6]  The overall thrust of those values promotes social capital and civic humanism.  That is,

 ·      Social capital means a societal quality characterized by having an active, public-spirited citizenry, egalitarian political relations, and a social environment of trust and cooperation.[7]

·      Civic humanism is defined as a communal bias which holds that citizens are, through the polity, in a partnership.  As such, the individual is disposed to sacrifice personal interest for the common good or, if not, at least arrange for personal interests not to be antagonistic to the common good.[8]

  Recently, this blogger has been introduced to a new term, that being “herrenvolk.”  According to a Wikipedia definition, one has a Herrenvolk democracy when only the majority ethnic group takes part in the government.  Minorities are disenfranchised.  Essayist, Thomas Brown, attributes this view to Jacksonians during those antebellum years.[9]  Whigs represented a more inclusive view through their ideological attachment to a civic humanism and their political impartiality as personal views are called upon to form a sufficient level of social capital.

         So, to evaluate the Whigs based on the information offered in this posting, one can attribute to them a strong federalist bias, especially as it is expressed with a national perspective.  Given how the US originated, of bringing together ever-growing polities – more local arrangements coming together to first form regional entities, then state entities, and finally a national entity – one can readily understand how at each stage certain challenges were faced as common folks were asked to broaden their social views.  The Whigs took on the more inclusive disposition.

This expansion had various elements, including from how it was holistically experienced to how such individual policies – the establishment of a national bank or the imposition of tariffs – to how it affected people’s daily lives.  This blog will review these more individual elements in the next posting.

[1] Daniel Walker Howe, The Political Culture of the American Whigs (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1979).

[2] Allen C. Guelzo, “The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian Politics and the Onset of the Civil War by Michael Holt,” Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association, 22, 2 (2001), accessed August 19, 2021,

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jala/2629860.0022.206/--rise-and-fall-of-the-american-whig-party-jacksonian-politics?rgn=main;view=fulltext .

[3] Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.  The Age of Jackson (Boston, MA:  Little, Brown, and Company, Bay Back Books, 1988).

[4] Guelzo, “The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian Politics and the Onset of the Civil War by Michael Holt,” Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association.

[5] Howe, The Political Culture of the American Whigs, 20.

[6] This blogger, in his published book, Toward a Federated Nation, proposes a hierarchy federalist values.  It takes the following form: Trump Value:  societal welfare (through societal survival and societal health); Key Instrumental Values:  constitutional integrity (as federal liberty), equality (as regulated equality), communal democracy, democratic pluralism and diversity, compact-al arrangements, earned trust, loyalty, patriotism, justice; Operational Values (partial listing):  political engagement, due process, legitimate authority, critical and transparent deliberation (or collaboration), inclusive problem-solving, countervailing powers, privacy, universality of human rights, tolerance, non-violence, responsible ambition, teamwork, consideration of others, economic sufficiency, security, localism, expertise.

[7] Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2000).

[8] See Isaac Kramnick, “John Locke and Liberal Constitutionalism,” in Major Problems in American Constitutional History, Volume I:  The Colonial Era Through Reconstruction, edited by Kermit L. Hall (Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath and Company, 1992), 97-114.

[9] Guelzo, “The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian Politics and the Onset of the Civil War by Michael Holt,” Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association.

[wallpapernifty]

25 Mind-Blowing Reasons Why Trader Joe’s Flowers Is Using This Technique For Exposure | Trader Joe’s Flowers

Trader Joe’s, Costco Wholesale and Whole Foods Market accept been ranked as the top three grocery retailers with top-tier coronavirus bloom and assurance protocols, according to Ipsos Group S.A., one of …

25 Mind-Blowing Reasons Why Trader Joe’s Flowers Is Using This Technique For Exposure | Trader Joe’s Flowers – trader joe’s flowers | Allowed in order to my own blog, on this time I will demonstrate regarding keyword. And from now on, this can be a first image:

The Grocery Store Challenge – Part I – Trader Joes — Erinn King – trader joe’s flowers | trader joe’s flowers

How about image above? is actually in which amazing???. if you think therefore, I’l m provide you with a few graphic once more underneath:

So, if you wish to secure the amazing pics about (25 Mind-Blowing Reasons Why Trader Joe’s Flowers Is Using This Technique For Exposure | Trader Joe’s Flowers), just click save button to save the pictures to your laptop. They are available for down load, if you like and wish to take it, click save symbol on the web page, and it’ll be directly downloaded to your laptop.} As a final point if you’d like to gain new and latest graphic related with (25 Mind-Blowing Reasons Why Trader Joe’s Flowers Is Using This Technique For Exposure | Trader Joe’s Flowers), please follow us on google plus or book mark the site, we try our best to present you regular up grade with all new and fresh photos. Hope you love keeping right here. For some updates and recent news about (25 Mind-Blowing Reasons Why Trader Joe’s Flowers Is Using This Technique For Exposure | Trader Joe’s Flowers) graphics, please kindly follow us on tweets, path, Instagram and google plus, or you mark this page on bookmark area, We try to offer you up-date regularly with fresh and new images, enjoy your exploring, and find the perfect for you.

Thanks for visiting our website, articleabove (25 Mind-Blowing Reasons Why Trader Joe’s Flowers Is Using This Technique For Exposure | Trader Joe’s Flowers) published .  Today we’re excited to declare that we have found a veryinteresting contentto be reviewed, namely (25 Mind-Blowing Reasons Why Trader Joe’s Flowers Is Using This Technique For Exposure | Trader Joe’s Flowers) Most people trying to find information about(25 Mind-Blowing Reasons Why Trader Joe’s Flowers Is Using This Technique For Exposure | Trader Joe’s Flowers) and definitely one of them is you, is not it?

Trader Joe | Flowers – trader joe’s flowers | trader joe’s flowers

Trader Joe's Holiday Heart Palpitations ��� Makeup and .. | trader joe’s flowers

Trader Joe’s – Valentine’s Day Flowers | Patriot Place – trader joe’s flowers | trader joe’s flowers

Top 4 Trader Joe’s Must Buys | Trader Joe’s Dallas – trader joe’s flowers | trader joe’s flowers

5 Simple DIY Holiday Centerpieces – Mommy in Sports – trader joe’s flowers | trader joe’s flowers

Using Trader Joes flowers for DIY arrangement | mallorydawn | trader joe’s flowers

Trader Joe’s Peonies & How to Care for Peonies – The Pink Dream – trader joe’s flowers | trader joe’s flowers

Floral Junkie | Putnam & Putnam Flowers – The Carrie Source – trader joe’s flowers | trader joe’s flowers

Want to buy cheap flowers near you? Try your local Trader Joe’s .. | trader joe’s flowers

Trader Joe's Flowers Deconstructed – Keeping With The Times – trader joe’s flowers | trader joe’s flowers

Gorgeous Fall Trader Joe’s Flower Arrangements – Isnt That Charming – trader joe’s flowers | trader joe’s flowers

Girls' Night Out basket | MOPs Christmas Raffle & Tea .. | trader joe’s flowers

What to Buy at Trader Joe’s- 30+ Products We Love – trader joe’s flowers | trader joe’s flowers

DIY Trader Joe’s Floral Arrangement | Salty Lashes – trader joe’s flowers | trader joe’s flowers

25 Healthy Trader Joe’s Favorites – Kim’s Cravings – trader joe’s flowers | trader joe’s flowers

Trader Joe’s Flowers Deconstructed – Keeping With The Times – trader joe’s flowers | trader joe’s flowers

Trader “Jones” – mom wife simple life – trader joe’s flowers | trader joe’s flowers

Article | Trader Joe’s – trader joe’s flowers | trader joe’s flowers

When the vibes are stressful I can be found in the woods, the garden, the beach, catatonic on my couch, or shooting floral bouquets | trader joe’s flowers

FOCAL POINT STYLING: AROUND TOWN: Fresh Flowers @ Trader Joe's – trader joe’s flowers | trader joe’s flowers

Good deals. Plants/flowers come in decorative pot | trader joe’s flowers

How to Make a Trader Joe’s Wedding Bouquet – trader joe’s flowers | trader joe’s flowers

Trader Joe’s is not your synagogue. But what if? – Jewish .. | trader joe’s flowers

How to Create a Trader Joe's Floral Arrangement – Room for .. | trader joe’s flowers

The post 25 Mind-Blowing Reasons Why Trader Joe’s Flowers Is Using This Technique For Exposure | Trader Joe’s Flowers appeared first on Flower Nifty.

from Wallpaper Nifty https://www.flowernifty.com/25-mind-blowing-reasons-why-trader-joes-flowers-is-using-this-technique-for-exposure-trader-joes-flowers/

[opticien2-0]

How Mamas & Papas and HMV are finding new ways to sell from stores

HMV's Doug Putnam Image: Fabio de Paola/courtesy of HMV

Top500 retailers are finding new ways to sell in the age of Covid-19. The pandemic has forced social distancing on retailers so that even when non-essential retailers reopen their shops next week, those shops will feel very different.

  Here’s how two Top500 retailers are addressing the issue.

  Mamas & Papas

Nursery retailer Mamas & Papas is introducing a new virtual personal shop for those who have, or are expecting, a new baby. Pregnant women are classed as a vulnerable group so even when shops do reopen, they may not want to leave the house to visit them.

  Instead, they can now chat to expert personal shoppers at the retailer over a video call from the shop floor. Staff will answer questions and demonstrate items that callers are interested in, from car seats to pushchairs. One-hour appointments are now available, following a trial, every day from 10.30am to 6pm.

  The retailer is also introducing virtual Parents to Be group session to offer advice on parenting issues, with each session followed by a live Q&A. A new partnership with the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) will see practitioners answer questions on pregnancy and birth over Instagram and offer advice through the Mamas & Papas blog blog.mamasandpapas.com . Antenatal and postnatal webinars are also being piloted. Celebrity influencers from Lydia Bright and Dr Alex George to athlete Jessica Ennis-Hill will share their hints and tips via the Mamas & Papas Instagram account.

  Mamas & Papas marketing director Alex Holt said: ““There’s never been a more relevant time to embrace our community and be there for new and expectant parents.

  “Customers can chat to a real person, in a real store, and get an instant answer to any questions they have from the comfort and safety of their home. The virtual Personal Shop is a first for the industry and a big step forward for the brand.

  “Although we accelerated the launch in response to Covid-19, these digital services will continue beyond the restrictions as they suit the needs of busy parents. Ultimately, it gives parents a different way to engage and shop with us.”

  Mamas & Papas is a Top250 retailer in RXUK Top500 research.

  HMV

Personal shoppers are also taking to the floor at HMV, which is to reopen 93 shops in England and Northern Ireland on June 15, with two new multichannel services. Shoppers can drop off a list of items they want to buy and in-store staff will collect them before packing them ready for collection, a service named HMV list and leave. A ‘ring and reserve’ service allows shoppers to call a shop and reserve an in-stock item that they want to pick up and pay for later that day. The two services add to a click and collect service that is already available for those who want to buy online and then pick-up later.

  Items that are returned will be quarantined for 72 hours before being returned to the shop floor, where social distancing will be in operation and hand sanitiser easily available.

  HMV owner Doug Putman said: “Our teams have been working on plans to reopen since the day we had to close our doors. We’ve redesigned our store layouts so that customers can make their way through the stores, buy what they want and pay seamlessly, while maintaining spaces for those who want to browse while maintaining social distancing.

  “We’ve sought to keep as much of what people love about the HMV and Fopp experience intact and build on the experience whilst ensuring that customers can shop with us comfortably and confidently.”

  Stuart Smith, manager at the HMV Vault in Birmingham, said: “We’re really looking forward to welcoming our customers back into stores. We’ve been through intensive training over the last few weeks to ensure that staff members are fully supported in returning to stores and that customers have the best possible experience. What’s more, with personal shopping through hmv List and Leave and hmv Ring and Reserve, we think customers will find that in many ways their experience is enhanced when they visit us next.”

  HMV is a Top350 retailer in RXUK Top500 research.

  Image by Fabio de Paola/courtesy of HMV

    from InternetRetailing https://ift.tt/3fdAEtn via IFTTT

[lindarifenews]

Social Media in Financial Services: 5 Essential Tips and Benefits

The use of social media in financial services organizations is no longer an option. The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research found nearly all Fortune 500 financial services organizations have active social media profiles.

At the advisor level, Putnam Retail Management found 84% use social media for finance industry business. Ninety-two percent of them said social media has helped them gain new clients.

The average asset gain for financial advisors using social media was $1.4 million in the 12 months before the Putnam survey. The most effective advisors using social media in financial services increased assets under management by 10% in just a year.

Is your financial services organization using social media effectively? If not, you’re losing business to your competitors.

Of course, finding new clients is not the only benefit of social media. And at the same time, there can be plenty of challenges to using social media in a regulated industry. Here’s everything you need to know about developing a social media strategy for financial services in 2020.

Bonus: Download Hootsuite’s annual report on social media trends for financial services and insurance in 2019. Get access to internal benchmarking data for 100+ organizations, extensive interviews with industry experts, and more.

The use of social media in financial services: 5 key benefits

Let’s take a look at some of the important benefits of social media beyond new client acquisition.

1. Get key industry insights

Try using social media for financial services industry research. This is a key way to stay on top of what’s happening in your field. Whether it’s a competitor’s latest product offering or an impending PR disaster, think of social media as an early warning system.

You can learn an incredible amount from what other people (and brands) post on their social media accounts. You can use this particular social media strategy for financial services firms even if you’re not yet sure what you should post on your own accounts. (We’ll tackle that challenge below.)

With social media listening you can learn what’s happening with your competitors, your customers, and your industry. You can see reactions and challenges with new regulations in real time. And you can even see what the “online mood” is about your company and your competitors.

Going deeper, you can start to identify pain points that your products and services might be able to address. Or, maybe you’ll spot common questions that you could answer in a blog or video post.

2. Build brand awareness

Photos and videos are the most common types of Facebook posts for Fortune 500 financial services firms. Instead of driving traffic, financial services brands are using social media to build brand awareness.

This aligns with findings from a Hootsuite survey of financial services marketers, in which more than half (53%) of them said that brand awareness content was their best-performing content type.

Remember that the use of social media in financial services extends well beyond looking for the sale. The first step is getting your name out there. You want to be front of mind when potential new clients are ready to seek out a new financial services firm.

For example, social media can be a great way to extend the reach of event sponsorships. This can build brand awareness among an audience that may not see your ads in the newspaper or on TV.

Chase uses social media creatively to increase awareness of its sports sponsorships. They use live social video and partner with pro athletes to drive conversation using Twitter hashtags.

We're wishing the best of luck to our amazing partner @SerenaWilliams on her first match of the #USOpen today. #ThisMama keeps going ???? pic.twitter.com/gVPSaBwXpk

— Chase (@Chase) August 26, 2019

They also showcase charitable partnerships, again making use of popular hashtags to raise brand awareness.

To celebrate #MakeADogsDay we teamed up with @delawarehumane to invite all you dog lovers to do something special for your furry friend. Have a ????? We’d love to meet it. Snap a photo and share how you’re celebrating today. pic.twitter.com/xVlcaIK12Y

— Chase (@Chase) October 22, 2019

3. Strengthen relationships

Building relationships is one of the most important uses of social media for finance professionals. When it comes to money, everyone wants to deal with someone they know and trust. Social media can help you build that trust.

Interacting with new prospects online is known as social selling. Here’s a quick primer on how it works:

Social media alerts can help you identify important moments in the financial lives of your clients and prospects. For example, LinkedIn is a great place to learn about career changes or retirements.

Social selling is about building relationships that lead to sales in the long term. So, when one of your connections gets a new job, send a congratulations message to keep yourself top of mind. But don’t jump in and try to make a direct sale.

4. Humanize your brand

People want to deal with trusted financial experts. That doesn’t mean they want their financial services providers to be clinical and cold. Social media provides a great opportunity for you to humanize your brand.

For example, Canada’s Tangerine Bank hosts regular #MoneySavvy Twitter chats. These tackle subjects of financial literacy—and they don’t shy away from personal topics.

Q7. Are you on the same page with your partner about money matters? How do you talk to your partner about money, and when do you think couples should have their first talk? #MoneySavvy pic.twitter.com/VH4MqeTvvo

— Tangerine (@TangerineBank) November 13, 2019

Getting your company’s executives on social media can also be a great way to humanize your brand. After all, it can be easier to trust a person rather than an institution.

C-level executives don’t have to stick to dry financial topics. Encourage them to show a bit of personality. Look at Jack Salzwedel, Chair and CEO of American Family Mutual Insurance Company. When he tweets his support for a local contestant on The Voice, he’s making himself human and relatable.

Keep going, Alex! #TheVoice #TeamAlex https://t.co/HuhFbWWPIh

— Jack Salzwedel (@AmFamJack) November 7, 2019

He also shares posts that highlight the company’s charitable and community initiatives.

Bonus: Download Hootsuite’s annual report on social media trends for financial services and insurance in 2019. Get access to internal benchmarking data for 100+ organizations, extensive interviews with industry experts, and more.

Download the report now!

5. Reduce efforts and costs

A Hootsuite survey found 41% of financial services and insurance brands are at the strategic stage of social maturity. Social media use is no longer limited to the marketing department.

Plus, these firms understand how social efforts are driving real business results. Teams and departments are using social media in a coordinated way. Most likely, this involves a shared social media management platform.

A consolidated social media strategy also helps improve your company’s analytics and data. At the same time, it reduces costs.

MAPFRE is a global insurance company with more than 80 official social media accounts. First, they consolidated account management in Hootsuite. Then, they implemented a content library. This made it easy for regional teams to access approved content and assets, reducing duplicate efforts and approvals.

They also started identifying duplicate requests submitted through more than one channel. This reduced customer service efforts and cost.

In less than a year, MAPFRE saw social engagement rise by more than 31%.

Social media in finance 2020 benchmarks

In partnership with Unmetric, Hootsuite analyzed the social media profiles of all Fortune 500 financial and insurance brands. Here are the industry average followers for each social network. Use these to benchmark your own progress:

Facebook

Financial services industry average fans: 1.69 million

Top brand: Visa, 23.16 million fans

As we said above, brand-building photo and video posts are the most common use of social media in financial services. Visa is right on trend with this video post.

Instagram

Financial services industry average followers: 38,595 Top brand: American Express, 386,000 followers

View this post on Instagram

This week we're exploring Lynnhurst, #Minneapolis, a neighborhood south of the city's center. Local eatery @wholesumkitchen offers an array of health-focused food choices from smoothies and juices, to soups, salads and more. Owner, Evan Tepper started Whole Sum as a food truck and settled down in Lynnhurst because of the warm community, including many small business owners who live and work in the neighborhood. When Evan was building his business, he says welcoming American Express "Just made sense!" because of its value to both local and business customers. #AmexWelcomed

A post shared by American Express (@americanexpress) on Nov 11, 2019 at 10:58am PST

This post is a typical example of how American Express uses Instagram. They highlight cardholder benefits. They showcase businesses where people can use their American Express cards. This creates a sense of community among fans and business partners.

Twitter

Financial services industry average followers: 168,936 Top brand: Citigroup, 915,900 followers

In our new #Citi GPS report, we explore opportunities in education: https://t.co/GgH1kBGwOa pic.twitter.com/zNfd4DphgS

— Citi (@Citi) November 18, 2019

On Twitter, Citigroup shares content relevant to both industry experts and Citi customers.

LinkedIn

Financial services industry average followers: 1,850,734 Top brand: Citigroup, 2.19 million followers

On LinkedIn, Citigroup includes more business-oriented content. This is no surprise, since LinkedIn is a business-oriented social network. Citi posts about recruiting programs, mentoring, and other information relevant to potential employees.

YouTube

Financial services industry average subscribers: 22,896 Top brand: Wells Fargo, 284,000 subscribers

Wells Fargo shares many kinds of content on YouTube. Sometimes they share financial outlook reports, sometimes budgeting advice.

They also create web series to keep subscribers coming back. The latest, Empowerful, spotlights young entrepreneurs who have used Wells Fargo products.

Social media strategy for financial services: 5 essential tips

1. Focus on compliance

FINRA, FCA, FFIEC, IIROC, SEC, PCI, AMF, GDPR—all the compliance requirements can make your head spin.

Many advisors and agents now work remotely. It’s critical to have compliance processes and tools to guide their use of social media.

Get your compliance team involved as you develop your social media strategy. They’ll have important guidance on the steps you need to take to protect your brand.

For example, they can explain separating personal and business use of social media. They should also weigh in on what kinds of links advisors share.

It’s also important to have the right chain of approvals in place for all social media posts. For example, FINRA states: “A registered principal must review prior to use any social media site that an associated person intends to use for business.”

2. Archive everything

This falls under compliance, but it’s important enough that it’s worth calling out on its own. According to FINRA, “firms and their registered representatives must retain records of communications related to their “’business as such.’”

Those records must be kept for at least three years.

Hootsuite’s integration with Actiance automatically archives all social media communications and stores them in a secure and searchable database, complete with the original context.

3. Conduct a social media audit

In a social media audit, you document all your company’s social channels in one place. You also note any key information relevant to each. At the same time, you will hunt down any impostor or unofficial accounts so you can have those shut down.

Start by listing all the accounts your internal team uses regularly. But remember—this is just a starting point. You’ll need to look for old or abandoned accounts and department-specific accounts.

While you’re at it, make note of the social platforms where you don’t have any social accounts. It might be time to register profiles there. Even if you’re not ready to use those tools yet, you might want to reserve your brand handles for future use.

SIX is a Swiss finance company. When they conducted a social media audit, they discovered 80 unofficial social media accounts. Among them were dozens of fake accounts on Facebook. Fake accounts create significant risk for financial companies, and can erode public trust.

SIX had the 80 fake accounts shut down. Now, they automatically watch for non-compliant, malicious, and fake content using ZeroFOX. SIX gets 30 to 40 automated alerts every month and initiates one or two content takedowns.

We created a free social media audit template to help keep all your research organized as you tackle this work.

4. Implement a social media policy

A social media policy is a living document. It guides social media use within your organization. That includes accounts for your advisors and agents.

Your compliance, legal, IT, information security, human resources, public relations, and marketing teams should all have input into this document. It will help you maintain a consistent brand identity while reducing compliance challenges.

It will also define team roles and approval structures so everyone understands the workflow of a social post. This clarity upfront can help reduce frustrations that social media in financial services might not move as quickly as it does in other industries.

Using social media for finance industry purposes can also come with security risks. Be sure to include a section in your social media policy that outlines security protocols for the less-sexy aspects of social media. For example, prescribe how often to change passwords and how often software should be updated.

5. Commit to doing it right

The Putnam survey found that an active presence is a critical component of a social media marketing strategy for financial service accounts.

Simply creating a social profile is not enough. Zero percent of the advisors who have only a passive presence on social media gained new assets through social channels.

Compare that to the highest achievers. They brought in average new assets under management of $15.3 million. Eighty percent of those high achievers pay for a premium level of service on a social network, rather than sticking only to free tools.

Training is also an important factor. The high-achieving advisors were much more likely to have received training. They learned from colleagues or a consultant, rather than figuring out how to use social tools by themselves.

Don’t think you need training? Consider that 61% of those Putnam surveyed identified themselves as social media experts. However, Putnam found only 15% of them really were.

And when you’re ready to take your social strategy to the next level, we have the tools to help…

Hootsuite makes social marketing easy for financial service professionals. From a single dashboard you can manage all your networks, drive revenue, mitigate risk, and stay compliant. See the platform in action.

Watch a Demo

The post Social Media in Financial Services: 5 Essential Tips and Benefits appeared first on Hootsuite Social Media Management.

Social Media in Financial Services: 5 Essential Tips and Benefits published first on https://likesfollowersclub.tumblr.com/

[aletman262]

Market researching other illustration tutorials.

Vectips

Vectips is a blog about Adobe Illustrator tips, tricks, and tutorials. It’s run by Ryan Putnam, a talented illustrator/designer, and an exclusive artist at iStockphoto. You can also find interviews of professional designers and excellent monthly roundups of Illustrator resources on Vectips.

Tutorial examples

Create Sketchy-Style Vectors

Create Abstract Backgrounds in Illustrator

Creating Halftone Effects in Illustrator

http://vectips.com/tips-and-tricks/create-chopped-finger-icon/#more-17614

Blog.SpoonGraphics- Free tutorials, Premium 

Blog.SpoonGraphics is the personal weblog of talented Graphic/Web Designer, Chris Spooner. He writes about design-related topics, and his tutorials are renowned as useful and top-notch. Check out the Tutorial section to quickly find Illustrator-related tutorials.

Tutorial examples

Create a Cute Vector Monster from a Pencil Sketch

Logo Design Project Step by Step Walkthrough

How to Create a Vector Safari Compass in Illustrator

VECTORTUTS- £16.99/month

VECTORTUTS is a blog and tutorial website on Illustrator and vector illustration. It’s one of the more recent additions to "TUTS" network which include NETTUTS, PSDTUTS, and AUDIOTUTS. You’ll find high-quality, detailed tutorials on vector illustration as well as excellent roundups.

Tutorial examples

Create a Vibrant 3D Pixel Type Treatment

Illustrator’s Type Tool: A Comprehensive Introduction

Methods for Creating Random Vector Noise

Veerle’s blog

Veerle’s blog, written by  Veerle Pieters, a reknowned Belgian graphic/web designer, posts top-notch tutorials on Illustrator. Check out her Tutorials category archive and Photoshop-Illustrator category archive to quickly find Adobe Illustrator-related posts.

Tutorial examples

Creating simple Art Brushes in Illustrator

Command shape in Illustrator

Recolor artwork using Illustrator’s LiveColor

I decided to look at other promotional websites that feature illustration tutorials, i did this to find inspiration for my own, to make sure I will include the most featured qualities on each of the tutorials, to help me with layout and positioning and to help with pricing. I found when looking on these websites the prices of the tutorials were very poorly shown on screen, in fact for a few of these tutorials even after navigating through pages I still could not find the pricing. Although I need see a few of the tutorials price range- £10/ £20 per month seems to be the average price for illustration tutorials, although as my promotional website will be aimed towards UI and UX designers looking to expand their skills for their own personal use, I feel as though i could stretch the prices a little further. I was considering for my tutorials to be starting on £20 a month, running for 8 weeks long meaning the course will only cost £40 to complete. Although I was thinking of also creating a more advanced class that will hopefully range from £40-£50 per month.

[simplemlmsponsoring]

New Post has been published on https://simplemlmsponsoring.com/attraction-marketing-formula/attraction-marketing/how-to-give-your-customers-all-the-feels/

How to Give Your Customers *ALL* the Feels

I’m going to paint a picture for you, Bob Ross-style – but with more manageable hair.

You’re running a successful business and you LOVE it… most days. You’ve consumed as much data as possible – ravishing every business book, blog, or podcast you can get your hands on. But, even though you’re in demand, you still feel like you haven’t quite pulled it together. You haven’t reached your full potential or accomplished what you know you’re capable of.

I. HAVE. BEEN. THERE. Ooooooh, have I!

This may not be what you *want* to hear, but it’s true – there are some things you just have to learn on the fly, waist-deep in it, figure-it-out-as-you-go style. You can read all the books you want (and you absolutely SHOULD take advantage of any and all resources that speak to you), but at the end of the day, there are certain things you’ll just need to experience firsthand. And, some of these things will be missteps.

I’ll tell you a story. This is living proof that there are situations out there that, yes, you could prepare for, but don’t necessarily know that you *need* to prepare for.

Here goes… When I first moved to Naples, Italy, the kiss on the cheek as a greeting or farewell was no stranger to me. Living in Hawaii, this was pretty commonplace. BUT – and this is a *big* but – it turns out that in Italy, they begin their cheek-kissing on the right. I didn’t know this, and came dangerously close to full-on lip-locking my brand new landlord. Talk about EMBARRASSING.

The lesson here? Sometimes you don’t find out that you’re not in-the-know until you’re centimeters away from your landlord’s mouth. Or, more aptly, you don’t even realize that you don’t know something until it becomes abundantly clear that you, my friend, just screwed some stuff up.

This feeling manifests itself in a lot of different situations – business, parenting, socializing. And it’s OKAY. It really is. I like to say, “Some of us learn by doing, but ALL of us learn by doing something really stupid.”

Throughout the creation and growth of my own brand, I’ve developed some beloved programs to help other entrepreneurs build and scale  their brands. More than three years ago, I launched the Brand Personality Quiz, then created Brand New Brand (my program for entrepreneurs who are just getting started – the dreamers and do-ers who are at less than $100K in revenue, and who want the step-by-step process that I use with my one-on-one clients). Finally…my third baby – and yes, I refer to my programs as my children – is named Brandfluency… and she’s a beaut!

See, you can know your brand archetype and rattle off the logistical to-dos involved in establishing a business, but unless you know your brand inside and out, you’ll always miss the mark. In fact, it’s been scientifically proven (via MRI neuro-imagery) that consumers primarily rely on their emotions when evaluating a brand. This means that their personal experiences and feelings weigh more than any facts, figures, or attributes your company has to offer. Forrester Research even determined that emotion is the #1 driver of brand loyalty in 17 out of the 18 industries they studied.

If that isn’t reason enough to dive headfirst into your brand identity, check this out: Google and CEB performed a study called From Promotion to Emotion: Connecting B2B Customers to Brands. Turns out, B2B brands achieve TWICE the impact using emotional marketing versus business value-based methods.

The takeaway here? Give your customers the feels and they’ll give you 2X the money.

  Alright, let’s pause for a cause.

You might be thinking, “Okay, but how do I have an emotional impact on my customers? What else do I need to be doing?”

Well, we all know that visual components like our fonts and colors have emotional value. But, to hit ‘em right in the feels, you’ll need to dig deeper than that.

Here are a few of my FAVORITE ways to establish an emotional impact with customers:

  Tell them a story! Remember how I told you about the time I nearly sexually harassed my landlord? How did that make you feel? (I know how I felt – humiliated and red – a deep, body-warming shade of red.) But in retrospect, it’s funny. It’s humanizing. It’s relatable. (Maybe? No? Just me?) The point is, sharing personal stories allows you to connect with your audience in a way that surface-level copy and conversations just can’t. If you don’t enjoy embarrassing yourself, like I clearly do, you can share other anecdotes. Make ‘em laugh, make ‘em cry. Just don’t make ‘em leave. Set admirable policies. What kind of rules do you set in place for your customers and clients? Are you accessible 24/7, 365? Or do your clients feel like they’re screaming into a tin can to get in touch with you (and the string broke somewhere along the way)? Being hands-off isn’t *necessarily* a bad thing, and some customers will even prefer it. Just be aware of the emotional impact it has on them. What do you say by saying nothing at all? A great example of setting yourself apart with policies is Nordstrom. They’re faaaamous for their ultra-liberal return policies. In fact, back in the 70s, they allowed a customer to return a pair of dirty, used tires several years after purchasing them. You don’t have to take it that far, but a little flexibility goes a long way. Picture perfect imagery. Pretty, ultra-organized desktops and Instagram-worthy “layflat” images are all the rage these days. (Lookin’ at you, fellow online lady entrepreneurs!) But are they sending the right message for your brand? There may be stronger ways to communicate with your audience, visually.

Are your images inclusive, representing a diverse crowd? Do they show your client in a positive light? Are they indicative of a specific value or belief about your business? … Could they possibly be too generic?

Example: If you’re in the healing industry (or if you own a set of eyeballs and a computer), you’ve probably seen lots of health sites toting images of people in pain or in the process of healing. Seems fitting, right? Welllllll, yes and no. Sure, it makes sense – but is that what your audience *wants* to see? A much more positive impact (and higher sales) could be had by communicating the ultimate outcome or result of working with your company. Show them where you can take them, not where they already are.

Clearly, there are a TON of factors to consider when it comes to reigning in your brand and creating meaningful connections with your audience. Luckily, I’ve got the right stuff, baby! With Brandfluency, we’ll get to the bottom of what on-brand means for YOU and bring clarity to your business.

    The post How to Give Your Customers *ALL* the Feels appeared first on Kaye Putnam | Psychology Driven Brand Strategist.

Read more: kayeputnam.com