#can you tell my knowledge of what apps people use stopped in 2016? be honest

[seasononesam]

team free will 2.0 + phones | template

[inkykeiji]

Hi lil Pixie!!!💕💕💕 I hope you’re doing well, I wanted to know your thoughts on something..

I work as a hostess in a restaurant, and there is this older guy customer that comes in pretty often. He’s kind of sketchy and the waitresses don’t seem to like him and I can see why, he told me he’s been watching me for a while and he always asks me personal questions. The other night he tried to get my phone number and followed me around the restaurant telling me he would pay me more money (for unspecified work) if I leave the restaurant and worked for him and some other old man that wants to meet me. He said he’s rich and is “trying to give me my big break”.. My manager wasn’t really able to help me out since he’s a customer.. but I was curious if something like this has happened to you? I am sorry for the long ask

hi anon bb!!! <33 i’m gonna tw this just in case & answer under a read more!

**ALSO if ANYONE ELSE has dealt with issues such as these i am begging you to come forward and share your experience and tips with us, please!! <33

tw: harassment, creepy men

so i want to preface this with saying that this particular situation has never happened to me before, thus i am quite ignorant on the subject and all of the advice i’ve given you in this answer are just things that i personally would do to ensure my safety. but take it all with a grain of salt, and please check out the links i’ve included at the end, as well!! <3

first of all, sweetpea, i am so sorry that’s happening to you. that is EXTREMELY creepy and unsettling, and i literally have anxiety FOR YOU just thinking about it. i’ve never worked in a restaurant so thankfully i’ve never experienced an encounter like that. i’ve had men follow me all the way home begging me for my number, which was already pretty scary, and one of them attempted to get into my building (thankfully our security guard was there to stop him!), and i’ve had men follow me in their cars while i’m out on a run, so (on some level) i understand that creepiness for sure!!!

however, these experiences are much different from yours, because this guy is literally coming into your place of work, meaning you’re kind of trapped there for the duration of your shift, and because he isn’t “technically” doing anything wrong (as in, apparently anything that your manager could kick/ban him from the restaurant for) there isn’t much anyone can do. which sucks royally, because what he’s doing IS wrong; it’s almost like a type of micro-harassment—going into someone’s workplace and making them visibly uncomfortable + asking inappropriate questions IS WRONG. that’s not a normal thing to do. FOLLOWING SOMEONE AROUND at their job is quite literally harassment, full stop. in my opinion, it’s total bullshit that your manager couldn’t do much, because in my opinion that should absolutely be grounds to kick someone from the establishment.

and i have to be honest, i’m very surprised that your manager can’t do anything on the basis that this man has been harassing and bothering MULTIPLE workers. anon babie i would take this to HR if you can. i’ve literally never worked in a restaurant so i have no idea how this works, but YOU DESERVE TO FEEL SAFE AND COMFORTABLE AT WORK, and if you don’t, then it is your workplace’s job to help fix that. telling your manager was a good first step; it’s important for them to know! i’m assuming you’ve done this already, but if you haven’t, i’d let your other coworkers know as well (whichever ones you trust and especially those who are experiencing the same thing). make everyone aware of this, because it is serious. everyone needs to know who he is, so if he comes in asking or calling for personal information (such as your next shift) everyone knows not to give it out. i’ve heard of cases of people like this calling the place of employment and acting as a family member—make it known to everyone you work with that your family/friends would never do this, and that you’re not comfortable with anyone giving out that information.

be aware of your surroundings, always. i’m sure you always already are, but please sweetpea be extra careful. carry some sort of defense with you, if you can/if you feel comfortable with it. always let someone trusted know when your shift starts and ends, and if you plan on coming straight home after that or not. if he stays until the end of your shift, have someone walk with you to your car (even then like, we really don’t want this dude knowing which car is yours/what car you drive) or to the bus stop, or begin carpooling with coworkers. if you can, have someone else pick you up from your shift. it’s absolutely disgusting that we have to put these measures in place, but unfortunately this is the reality of the world we live in. in the few experiences where i have had a man follow me, i’ve made some very stupid mistakes (such as going straight home instead of to a public place) because i literally go stupid from fear. it’s so difficult, but try to keep a clear head if you find yourself in one of these situations, and i think all of the suggestions above may act as preventative measures as well. downloading one of those panic apps for your phone that sends like a text or something to trusted contacts in your phone may be a good idea as well!!!

on top of that, if you get stuck speaking to him, be very careful with what you say. we don’t realize just how much information we can accidentally reveal about ourselves through conversation, so be conscious and aware of what you’re saying and try not to give him any important or personal information.

but i want to make this very clear: if this man continues to ask for your number, or continues to ask you to ‘work for him’ after you have explicitly told him you are not interested, THAT IS HARASSMENT. that is absolutely grounds for banishment. if your manager won’t do anything, take this a level higher, to whoever is above your manager. this is NOT okay, and we can’t just let it slide.

ah this is such a tricky situation, but it’s also very scary and i want you to be as safe as you can. i’m so sorry i can’t give better advice; again, if ANYONE else has any advice on how to deal with this, or has experienced a similar situation, i am begging you to jump in and share your tips and knowledge with us.

anon bb i have attached a few links that may be helpful!!!

https://www.inc.com/lolly-daskal/10-tips-for-dealing-with-workplace-harassment.html

https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/how-to-handle-sexual-harassment-from-a-customer-57809

these last three are a little more general and kind of more for employers, but i wanted to include them just in case, because i feel like there’s some helpful information in there as well!! aaah truly i’m so sorry i’m so unknowledgable on this, i hope this all helps at least a little <333 please stay safe out there my sweet friend!!

https://www.employmentlawyernewyork.com/news/latest/employer-liability-for-harassment-by-customers.html

https://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/2016/03/04/what-hr-must-do-when-customers-harass-employees/

https://resources.workable.com/third-party-harassment-policy

[tonycuseoblog]

Dirty Laundry: Part 1

In this post, I am going to begin the process of airing my dirty laundry. Since there’s quite a bit of it, I’ve decided to do it in categories, over the course of a few posts. This post features what I’m calling ‘sexual’ and ‘emotional’ secrets.

Dr. Blanton’s model puts an emphasis on being tuned-in to the body and the experience when sharing, so along with each “admission” I have written the sensations I’m experiencing and the thoughts and emotions I notice rising in myself.

Let’s get right into it:

1. SEXUAL

Sexual Partners

I have had approximately 30 sexual partners. I am not sure of the exact number because I’ve never kept a running tally. Not that makes me a saint or anything, clearly. For a good portion of my life, I’d say ages 22-29 I was obsessed with women and trying to seduce women. I was lonely and insecure and felt sex and validation would be my path to happiness. During this period, I also slept with two married women without their husband’s knowledge.

Sensations: As I write this, I notice my heart pounding in the back of my chest. I feel clamminess throughout my body.

Thoughts & Emotions: I notice the emotions I have come to label as fear and shame. I worry I will look like a “slut.”

Hook-Ups

During that 7-year stretch, I regularly used the internet and dating apps to meet women. Sometimes these relationships were exclusively sexual. On several occasions, I would meet women with the sole intention of “hooking up” at their home or a hotel room, and then we would go our separate ways. On a few occasions, I traveled great distances just for this reason.

Sensations: I feel waves of energy flowing up and down my legs, and some tightness in my left arm. I find it difficult to breathe.

Thoughts & Emotions: I notice what I’ve come to label as worry. I also notice a feeling of disappointment with myself.

Pick-Up

Around age 22 I discovered the “Pick-Up Artist Community.” I stumbled upon a book that detailed the “Pickup Industry” and was very intrigued by its tales of seduction. Up to that point, I had very little “success” with women and was desperate to learn how to do “better.” Much of the writing and instruction was aimed at quickly seducing women into bed. I felt many of the techniques were inauthentic and rather sleazy. With time, my interest ended. However, for a period of time, I was very keen. I desperately wanted more validation and more sex and was willing to try almost anything to get it.

Sensations: I notice tension in my head, face, and neck.

Thoughts & Emotions: I feel fear and dread. I worry I will be labeled as a “womanizer” and objectifier.

Pornography

Over the course of a few months in my late 20’s I watched pornography and masturbated almost every night of the week. While my viewing is less frequent now, I will still watch and “use” porn from time to time.

Sensations: I am tuned-in to my pulse and heartbeat.

Thoughts & Emotions: I notice the feeling of shame. I worry I will be thought of as a pervert or sex addict.

Vanity

I am very aware of the attractiveness of others, particularly women. While personality plays a part in my attraction, I find I am much more often interested in a pretty face and a nice body.

Sensations: I feel flushing in my face and cheeks.

Thoughts & Emotions: I feel dirty and ugly. I fear I will be thought of as shallow.

2. EMOTIONAL

Cancer

I have been more public about this over the years, but at the time it was happening I was very private about it. I was diagnosed with Leukemia when I was 13, was given a 30% chance of survival - underwent 4 years of intensive chemotherapy, suffered a stroke, collapsed lung, pneumonia, and other side effects.

Sensations: I notice my breath slowing down. I feel a weightedness/heaviness.

Thoughts & Emotions: I notice a feeling of sadness and despair. I notice myself trying to avoid the feelings and to escape the memories of that time.

Depression

I’ve had issues with it on and off since my cancer days. I have in rare moments contemplated suicide, but never seriously and have never harmed myself. I was on and off antidepressants for many years and stopped for good in 2016.

Tears

I am a cryer. This past year I notice myself crying quite regularly. I’d say several times each month, and quite forcefully.

Outsider

I have felt like an outsider for as long as I can remember. Most days I look at other human beings and feel separate from them, almost like I’m a different species. As a result, I constantly feel lonely.

THE TRUTH

Writing what I wrote felt painful. I worry about the backlash. I have a feeling I’ll have to come back and write more about all these things. I have a feeling there’s a long and difficult road ahead of me.

This is not a cry for help. Please don’t text me kind messages saying that I’m not a bad person, or telling me it will all be ok. If you’re shocked, say so. If you think I’m a pig or you’re disappointed in me, call me out.

THE WHY

Some may question the purpose of all this, so let me clarify. I’m doing this for me. I am trying to clear out all my cobwebs. I have accumulated so much shame and guilt over the course of my relatively short life, it’s pathetic.

On a grander scale, I would love to live in a world where we were honest about who we are and what we’re feeling. It seems like pretending to be happy and giving the illusion that your life is always perfect has become the norm. I call bullshit.

And what’s worse, pretending we’re always “AWESOME!” (I hate that word) is doing more to separate us than connect us. How can we expect to connect if we aren’t actually vulnerable with each other? It’s impossible.

I’m going to end my rant here and get off my soapbox because I am 100% guilty of this. Without a doubt, I have spent most of my life thinking I was open and vulnerable but in reality, I wasn’t. There are likely people reading this who know me quite well, and they’re saying, “You’re full of it, Tony.” You’re right. I am. And, I’m trying to change.

This post is already far too long, so let me wrap up by saying this: From now on, I am committed to honesty and vulnerability. I want to live a life of what Neale Donal Walsch calls “complete transparency.” I’ll likely receive some strange looks, judgment, and scorn. And, I’m ok with that. If that’s the cost of real connection, I imagine it will be more than worth the momentary discomfort.

[chiaroscuro-life]

dashed hope, lot #??? - 2016

“Dearest (---),

This is perhaps the first of many letters that I’m writing to you. It’s the Thursday after we went to the Panic! At the Disco concert. I have had the unfortunate experience of watching my life go by in an unfettered blur of color and emotion, so this time, I want to capture as much of it as I can.

Why am I doing this? you might be thinking. This is a bit too cheesy for me, or this is so cliché of a young lover to do. Well, let me tell you. There is too much in this world to be had, and therefore, much too much to be lost in the turning of Earth (shut up, it sounded good in my head). There are things I have told you, will tell you, might tell you, and will never tell you. This is because I have learned that time is sacred and fleeting, but none more so than our memories that fill it.

(Pretty much what I’m going to say is that I’m gonna write shit down so I won’t forget it.)

Let’s take it back to the beginning.

It all fell into place with an almost unconscious twitch of a thumb over your Tinder profile on my cracked phone screen. I remember it well: I was weeks away from graduating high school, sitting at the back of the muggiest, smelliest, most distinctly unpleasant school bus in a stupid Skyrim T-shirt. The second I tapped the heart, it began a huge chain of events that I in my short, uneventful life would never have predicted. I sent you a message and promptly forgot about you for a month and a half (by know you’d probably know this is typical of me). I even deleted the goddamn app after flimsy liaisons with high school friends, stupid teenage sexuality and heartbreak. It was on a whim I even got it back, and found you’d sent me another message. Another message, by Jehovah. To me. Maybe it was the old self-deprecation coming back, me thinking why would he message me? What is there so special about me that he messaged me back? Perhaps I read too much into it at the time; for all I knew you’d messaged me back on a whim as well. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised and terrified that my metaphorical fishing pole would go slack (oh, that’s so horrible and objectifying, but it sounded cool.)

Let’s take it forward.

Long story short, I had and extra ticket to Panic! and Weezer, lied to my father, and canceled with a friend about 30 minutes before she was due to pick me up when you texted me back. 30 seconds before I met you, I stood at the green Publix railing, overlooking the parking lot, hoping I looked edgy or cool or some shit staring into the sunlight, but in reality it blinded me momentarily to the point that I didn’t register you coming up to greet me for a few seconds. We were both uneasy, curious, definitely shy. To be honest, I always feel that tinge of nausea before meeting with someone and a thousand thoughts race through my mind at once, but this time it was replaced with a sense of…placidity (if that even is a word). You looked a little different from your picture, but I could tell it was you (I cannot tell you how much my friends freaked me out about catfishing, but that’s beside the point). You reminded me of my brother. Your eyes were soft behind your bulky glasses (I smile even thinking about it now), your hair was short in the strict marine cut, and you wore a Pac-Man T-shirt. A fucking Pac-Man T-shirt. Immediately I knew I could let myself be at ease around you. In fact, I think the first thing I said to you was “Just letting you know, I curse like a sailor” and you smiled and responded “I am a sailor.” I won’t deny that it made my heart leap a bit – finally, someone even my goddamn FATHER couldn’t find a problem with. By God, that smile. I’m probably going to repeat so much sappy shit about it later but right now I will tell you it is one of the most beautiful smiles I have ever seen and I want to see it again. It is by no means dazzling, nor ethereal, nor Hollywood (sorry), but it came so naturally and so softly that it reminded me of the feeling when a flower petal catches on the wind, drifts a bit, and gently touches down on an open palm. There’s really no words to describe it, but I can feel it. It’s not like my aunt’s flashing teeth and blazing eyes, nor a half-snarl half-grin my brother shows me. It was soft and welcoming and it drew me impossibly close and much too fast.

We drove in your friend’s truck to D.I. It was black and had an Illinois license plate and you shyly asked if I was more comfortable driving (I almost said yes. I would have killed us both). We made small talk along the way, nothing really important – what do you like to do, where are you from, that sort of small shit. We made an inappropriate joke about your friend Seaman Guzler (or Guzzler, I have no idea.) I wanted to reach out and touch you, but our knowledge of each other was so small and premature that I held back. I’d always been cautious with taking an instant liking to people, but goddamn, this was hard. I kept stealing glances at you the whole way, and I could see that you were too.

We arrived. No fanfare, just small talk about finding our seats. I stopped and asked to take a picture with you. I didn’t know whether I wanted to show it off to friends, keep it for myself, send to you – but it was a perfect picture. I’m looking at it as I write. Our eyes are similar in the way they close against the sunlight. Our teeth present themselves equally. In my eyes, we were happy to just be. Just be. Just be. Just be. I felt no nervousness, no driving need to impress you. You’re the kind of person that I felt I could be in a companionable silence with (but of course I felt awkward and tried to fill every waking minute with conversation). I just wanted to share. Share in our love for the band, for my hometown, even felt like sharing a bit of budding love for me (if that’s not too conceited). I started to like you.

The concert was a blur. Seeing friends, talking about ourselves, laughing at the emo teenagers in the front row, the uncomfortable parents with them, the thirtysomethings that came to feel eighteen again. I learned you played viola and my heart SOARED. I love music as if it were a secondary lover, and finally I had found someone who was the same (we were a bit too alike in some ways). I fell in love with my stand partner for the reason that we shared in a passion reserved for few. In fact, the night after the concert, I took my viola from its case after a month and played it again. It felt so good – almost as good as kissing you – but we’re not there yet.

We watched Brendon Urie steal our eyes, rumble beneath our fingertips, steal our breath. At one point I just completely let go and started dancing and I kept psychically wishing you’d join me. You did, hesitantly. You stood up, then after a while kind of bobbed your head, sneaking a glance at me every time I turned to look at you. Finally you let go just a little more, mouthing along, smiling, clapping, maybe cheering. I wanted to see you let down your hair a little bit (NO HAIR JOKES PLEASE NOW IS NOT THE TIME). Stupid thoughts flooded my mind – make sure he has a good time before he’s gone. Don’t let this one slip through your fingers. You’re going to fuck this up like you have every time. When Brendon said “Love whoever the fuck you want,” I leaned over, grabbed your shoulder and whooped and hollered with the crowd, and I felt your hand on my back. It was gentle. Solid. Warm. And it was over. The concert was over, my breath was gone, but you were still there and I became painfully aware of how I seemed in your eyes. My immediate fear was that I could not dazzle you in the way Brendon had, leave you wanting more and maybe to see me one more time. We talked about music again as Weezer set up. You told me about The 303, and I promised not to judge you for going to see Big Time Rush (I had no idea who they were – I just played along). We stayed for a few Weezer songs after Buddy Holly didn’t play. And then we left – this time, me following you up into the darkness of the stadium. We hit the merch stand – after I thought I lost my credit card you offered to get something for me – which I tried to deny. You bought a flag just as I found that card, and I was terrified of you showing me such a length of kindness that I ignored it and bought one for myself – I don’t know if I’m reading into this correctly, but I panicked.

We walked around the tiny strip mall, talking about everything. I learned you were from Denair, you tried cow tipping, you were bisexual, you picked almonds, we both love history, and farming and animals and pretty much a lot of things. You told me about your brothers, who I think you sent a not-so-flattering picture of me to. I worried about your sister for a bit with you, her being only sixteen and trying to take on the world. I realized I wasn’t much different. Maybe a bit older, but with the same thirst for wonder. We talked about so much that at one point I stopped and said “where are we even going?” and it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter as we got into the car and drove off into the darkness at which point you asked me, “Hey, are you a fan of Hamilton?” I knew then some gears somewhere began to turn with a great rusty clamor. We drove home, laughing and singing and cracking jokes, all coming much faster than they had before the sun set. I loved sitting there and joking with you as the lights of the highway flashed past us.

Hamilton was still playing when you pulled up into my driveway – I was afraid you’d let me out on the side of my yard and wave and drive off – but you pulled in, stopped, and looked at me. I remember thinking, this is where something happens that will determine whether you see him again. So I said, like an idiot, “I’d really like to see you again.” You said “me too,” and I leaned in and kissed your cheek and attempted to leave without showing the blush creeping up my cheeks but I had to look back at you. You said, so softly, so simply, “hey, come back here.” And I keep trying to play it out in slow motion, but I can’t. We leaned into each other, so perfectly and fluidly it was as if we’d done it a hundred thousand times before. I felt your lips on mine and they were so gentle and did not try to take over. We melded together. I felt no sparks of electricity, but a sudden warmth and a filling in my chest as we moved against each other’s lips while “Thomas Jefferson” filled the car, but I was momentarily deaf to everything. I opened my eyes a few times, and I thought you were beautiful as you were kissing me. I felt a barrier of some kind shatter into a hundred pieces and we touched each other. You caressed my face, I grasped the back of your neck – I think I dug my nails into you. Sorry, old sexy habits die hard – and your lips were so, so good. I’ve kissed many people in my life. Nothing had ever felt so fitted and lovely – yes, I felt their skin and breath, but never this swelling in my chest before. Even now as I think of it I feel it again and I shiver and I stop whatever I’m doing to look up and smile (I did it at work so much that people stopped to ask me if I was ok because I’d zone out for a few seconds). And there it was –like the concert, like your laughing, you left me wanting more. So much more. Maybe. We leaned our foreheads against each other in a moment so goddamn tender I felt it was too much, so much too soon, but you smiled and said, “Yep. You are awesome.”

I think I said, “I always ask myself what a guy like you sees in a dork like me, but now I think I have my answer.” I remember I kissed you once more as I swung my legs out of the truck and smiled coyly at you and said, “text, me, sailor,” and tried not to look back as I attempted to leave you with the same feeling you left me with. And your headlights did not fade out of my driveway until I went up to my bedroom. I waved, but I don’t think you saw. I wonder if you sat there, still feeling my lips on yours, mind whirling, skin tingling, attempting to process it all just as I did as the lights of your truck moved away and became no more than dots in the distance.

In other words, I think I like you.”

tl:dr, 18-year-old me was a fucking airhead with a dumb fucking crush and learned his first hard lesson that romance is shit and love at first sight is a fuckin Wal-Mart Ad for sad people

[rafi1228]

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Make pretty much any Android app you like (your only limit is your imagination)

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Bored with the same old, same old? Apply for a new job in a software company as an Android developer

Requirements

A Windows PC, Mac or Linux Computer

ZERO programming knowledge required – I’ll teach you everything you need to know

Description

Please note support for this course has now stopped, and that there is a newer version of the course (The Complete Android Oreo Developer Course) available.

In this Android N version of the course I use Android Studio versions 2.0 and 2.1.2, and recommend students do the same.

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Who is this for?

Anyone who wants to learn to code to become an app developer: This is a complete course, just like my Complete Web, iOS and Apple Watch courses. So once you’re up and coding like a demon app developer, it’ll ALSO teach you how to make money from your apps.

Sound good?

It’s also for anyone who wants to understand how computers work: Learning to code is so much more than being able to make apps – knowing how computers work opens news doors to our awesome digital world

  “Rob has a knack for explaining material in an easily digestible way. The mini challenges he presents within his lectures are an excellent way to commit things to memory. The lectures are well paced – fast enough to maintain your interest but not so fast that you get left in the dust!”

  Is this course right for me?

Look: if you’re still not convinced, I urge you to check out my 5* reviews. There’s over half a million of them on Udemy, alone.  No other course on the World Wide Web has achieved such consistent ratings.

Coding and app development is the future. Whether you’ve got plans to create the next Facebook, or you want to get ahead at work and increase your earning potential, I GUARANTEE anyone will find The Complete Android N Developer Course course show-stoppingly useful.

A quick summary of why The Complete Android N Developer Course is the number one resource for budding app developers, like you:

·      Time-tested, quick-to-pick up learning strategies

·      Quality insider tips, that only the pros normally know

·      Home-based learning—so you can go as fast or slow as you please

·      Simple, jargon-free language and HD definition

Who Am I?

I’m Rob.

I run three of the most successful online coding courses on the planet, and I’m so excited to share them with you.

I have a degree in Mathematics from Cambridge University, and am a web and app developer based in Cambridge, UK. Since working as a secondary school teacher for 10 years, I’ve never lost my love for teaching.

Maybe that’s why my goal is so simple: To get as many people benefitting from app development as possible. But more importantly, that my courses are enjoyable and deliver tangible results for you… Today and tomorrow.

These are the things that drive me to keep pushing what’s possible in online learning.

OK, let’s begin…

“Outstanding! Rob delivers high quality content once more. It’s not just the endless content and the clear explanations that you get but more importantly the confidence that you build. A must for any developer.”

          Who this course is for:

Anyone who wants to be an app developer: This is a complete course, just like my Complete Web, iOS and Apple Watch courses. It will teach you how to make money from your apps as well as how to code.

Anyone who wants to learn to code: Java is a fantastic language to learn how to code with.

Anyone who wants to understand how computers work: Learning to code is so much more than being able to make apps – knowing how computers work is your key to a hugely powerful world.

Created by Rob Percival, Marc Stock, Codestars by Rob Percival Last updated 2/2019 English English [Auto-generated]

Size: 4.86 GB

   Download Now

https://ift.tt/2f9G7Dk.

The post The Complete Android N Developer Course appeared first on Free Course Lab.

[technicaldr]

Are Paid or Fake Testimonials Illegal?

Are Fake Testimonials Illegal?

Yes.

Under 15 U.S. Code § 45, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has the power to stop and penalize parties “using unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce.” This makes it a crime to break official rules imposed by the FTC. And the FTC forbids the use of fake testimonials.

  Dozens of FTC documents explain the details of “misleading advertisements,” but it boils down to a simple Truth in Advertising statement; “When consumers see or hear an advertisement, whether it’s on the Internet, radio or television, or anywhere else, federal law says that ad must be truthful, not misleading.” The FTC had made a number of guides explaining how truth in advertising works in different situations, but fake testimonials are actually illegal under Section 5 of the FTC Act (15 U.S.C. 45).

  Fake testimonials are considered false or deceptive advertising—and therefore against the law—for several reasons. First, they are not based on a real customer’s experience, which a testimonial must be. Second, it misleads the customer. Claiming a happy customer exists when the don’t is misleading in itself, but whatever the fake testimonial claims are also misleading. Third, it encourages customers to spend money on a product or service they otherwise might not, thereby financially defrauding the customer, which is an especially notable offense for the FTC.

  How Do I Get My First Testimonials?

Many businesses use fake testimonials when they don’t have any of their own, often when they’re new. This is a crime, it’s deceptive to customers, unfair to competitors, exposes you to liability, and it’s bad for your reputation. So what can you do instead?

  A System to Get Your First Testimonials Get the free testimonial request toolkit

If you have a new product, try getting your first testimonials before you launch. Talk to your first product testers. These people helped you make the product great, and their input can help convince other customers too. Since you’re giving these people the product for free, make sure you disclose this.

If you have a new business, get your first testimonials with your grand opening event. Set up a kiosk, hand out surveys, conduct a contest or giveaway, or simply ask your first visitors to share their experience. A testimonial collection tool like Boast makes it easy to capture testimonials at your grand opening using a laptop computer, tablet, or smartphone.

If you’re combating bad testimonials or reviews, show that you have fixed the problem and demonstrate it. If you have a business, hold a celebratory event and capture testimonials there. If you sell a product, give away some free samples, but make sure you’re following the rules of honest testimonials. Appeal to your existing customers in an email or social media campaign.

Remember that not all bad testimonials are bad news. Companies with 100% glowing reviews make customers suspicious. A few critical comments will show that you are not using fake testimonials or deceptive advertising.

Are Paid Testimonials Illegal?

Yes, with some exceptions.

Many of the same laws which make fake testimonials illegal also make paid testimonials illegal. There are some differences, however, since paid testimonials can be based on real customer experiences.

The FTC’s “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising” address how 15 U.S.C. 45 applies to testimonials, including paid testimonials. These guides and others lay out legal (and illegal) practices for testimonials or reviews on sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google Business Reviewsand others, as well as any testimonials you use in advertisements, on your website or elsewhere.

According to these guides, legal testimonials must adhere to all of the following;

Made by a real customer or user of the product or service

Based on a real user’s experience

Be an accurate description of expected or normal results

Not influenced by money, gifts, or publicity unless it is clearly disclosed

Not influenced by a familiar or business relationship (such as employer-employee)

Not edited or altered so to change the message

This means paid testimonials are illegal unless; the company or person giving the testimonials clearly states they are being paid and the statement is still true and accurate. The FTC also makes it clear that gifts such as a free trial of the product or service, a gift card, a giveaway, or any other incentive are a “material relationship” that must be disclosed.

While the FTC makes some exceptions for true testimonials that disclose payment, many review sites take a harder stance against this practice. Amazon, for example, does not allow any type of paid reviews. Both the business and the reviewer can be banned from the site for taking part. Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor and others all have strict “no paid testimonials allowed” policies. This includes free products and discounts as well!

How Do I Get Customers to Leave Reviews?

Getting a customer to take time out of their day to leave a review can be tough. Customers have a lot of demands on their time, so how can you compete without a payment?

Go above and beyond. If you truly deliver an exceptional customer service experience and then ask for a testimonial, many customers will oblige.

Forge a relationship. Find out what your customers care about and give it to them. Are they looking for a company with good ethics? Someone with knowledgeable experts? Personal service? Delightful ambiance? The customers that repeatedly buy, visit, or work with you for a long time are the customers that support you and will give testimonials.

Make it easy. Make your customers as comfortable as possible giving reviews. Provide question prompts so they don’t have to search for something to say. Allow them to share a testimonial with just a few clicks.

Ask at the right time. When a customer comes in for an appointment or a regular visit, ask if they have a minute to share their thoughts. Or, if an online purchase was completed, ask for a testimonial when you ask how their experience was.

Be sincere. While paid and fake testimonials rely on deception, real testimonials allow you to just be yourself. Tell the customer what you think of your relationship and why their public approval is important to you.

Have a system and a plan. Testimonials don’t just happen, you have to ask for them. Have a plan and system for gathering and managing testimonials, such as an automated email campaign, an in-person script, or a video app like Boast.

How Illegal Are Paid or Fake Testimonials?

So paid and fake testimonials are against the law, but just how illegal are they? What’s the punishment?

Thousands or millions of dollars in penalties and civil suits.

Each FTC violation is subject to a $10,000 penalty under 15 U.S.C. 45. And it doesn’t stop there; there’s also a fine of $41,484 each day a deceptive ad runs. For many big corporations, this might not be enough to stop paid or fake testimonials. The FTC can and has filed civil actions against larger businesses with judgments in the millions of dollars. The more widespread, deliberate, misleading or damaging a deceptive ad is, the bigger the civil case will be. The FTC can also order businesses to admit to and correct deception, or return money to consumers they deceived. In 2016, Volkswagen had to pay out $10 billion from a false advertising campaign. Though this was due to false product claims and not fake testimonials, it’s a severe demonstration of the litigating power of the Commission.

Besides being against the law, businesses who host reviews and testimonials are also fed up. They’ve changed their terms of service agreements to stop incentivized reviews altogether, and they’ll remove or flag reviewers or businesses who violate the agreements. Amazon sued over 1,000 offending businesses, reviewers and sites in 2015. Yelp did the same, bringing offending companies and reviewers to court for fraud.

Will I Get Caught?

Paid and fake testimonials are illegal, and they can carry harsh penalties. But some business owners still ask; will I get caught?

Most likely, yes.

The FTC’s blog is filled with hundreds of cases they’ve brought against small and large businesses. Big businesses like Volkswagen, small B2C trampoline sellers, B2B freight brokers, marketing companies and many more have all been caught using paid reviews or fake testimonials to deceive consumers, and they’ve paid thousands, even millions of dollars. And there are likely many other cases that don’t make it to the blog.

Many of these cases are first brought to the FTC’s attention by suspicious or angry customers, competitors, third-party websites, consumer protection groups, or local governments. Regional FTC offices and investigators address complaints and sometimes work with local law enforcement or district attorneys to stop deceptive practices on a local level. Third-party sites simply follow users’ trails to track down fraudsters and file civil suits against them or create an automated screening process to prevent fake testimonials.

Customers have also taken notice of paid and fake reviews. Several plugins and apps now exist that will point out fake reviews as customers shop online. These plugins take note of generic terms, grammar mistakes or other common red flags that aren’t present in real, trustworthy reviews.

In essence, if it’s making a difference in customers’ minds, the FTC, other websites, or other customers will notice. And if it’s not making a difference, is it worth putting your reputation on the line for?

Technical Dr. Inc.'s insight:

Contact Details :

inquiry@technicaldr.com or 877-910-0004 www.technicaldr.com

[kansascityhappenings]

Her son died. And then anti-vaxers attacked her

https://embed-prod.vemba.io/vemba-embed.js

Not long ago, a 4-year-old boy died of the flu. His mother, under doctor’s orders, watched his two little brothers like a hawk, terrified they might get sick and die, too.

Grieving and frightened, just days after her son’s death she checked her Facebook page hoping to read messages of comfort from family and friends.

Instead, she found dozens of hateful comments: You’re a terrible mother. You killed your child. You deserved what happened to your son. This is all fake – your child doesn’t exist.

Bewildered and rattled, she closed her Facebook app.

A few days later she received a text message from someone named Ron. Expect more like this, Ron warned. Expect more.

The attacks were from those who oppose vaccination, and this mother, who lives in the Midwest, doesn’t want her name used for fear the attention would only encourage more messages.

Nothing too cruel

Interviews with mothers who’ve lost children and with those who spy on anti-vaccination groups, reveal a tactic employed by anti-vaxers: When a child dies, members of the group sometimes encourage each other to go on that parent’s Facebook page. The anti-vaxers then post messages telling the parents they’re lying and their child never existed, or that the parent murdered them, or that vaccines killed the child, or some combination of all of those.

Nothing is considered too cruel. Just days after their children died, mothers say anti-vaxers on social media called them whores, the c-word and baby killers.

The mother in the Midwest, who wants to remain anonymous, isn’t alone.

Jill Promoli, who lives outside Toronto, lost her son to flu. She believes the anti-vaxers are trying to silence the very people who can make the strongest argument for vaccinations: those whose children died of vaccine-preventable illnesses.

Flu took the life of Promoli’s 2-year-old son, Jude McGee, three years ago. She’s since started a campaign in his name for flu prevention, including vaccination.

“I know that these people are really trying to hurt me, and I understand that the reason they’re doing it is because they want me to stop,” she said.

Anti-vaxers respond

Larry Cook, the founder of Stop Mandatory Vaccination, doesn’t deny that such attacks on mothers of dead children exist.

In an email to CNN, he wrote that members of his group make more than half a million comments on the group’s Facebook page each month.

“Any discussions about parents who lose their children after those children are vaccinated would be minor in number, and even smaller would be the number of members reaching out to parents in private message to share their concerns that vaccines may have played a role in a death,” Cook wrote.

“I do not condone violent behavior or tone and encourage decorum during discussion,” Cook wrote, adding that anyone “who deliberately engage[s] in the politics of advocating for compulsory vaccination where children may be further damaged through government vaccine mandates can expect push back and resistance, alongside knowledgable discussions about vaccine risk in social media commentary.”

Cook said some of the more than 160,000 members of his group have been targets of “harassment campaigns,” and that “police have actually showed up at my members’ doorsteps.”

He added that he’s been threatened and included a screenshot of a private Facebook message that said, “Finally found where you live. Finally I’ll be able to put a bullet in you. You are dead.”

Another anti-vaccination leader blamed the postings on grieving parents’ pages on “infiltrators” who try to “create incendiary situations.”

“I tell everybody that you should look at the person you’re talking to and those on the other side of this discussion and recognize that they care about children, too,” said Del Bigtree, chief executive officer of the Informed Consent Action Network.

During the public comment period at a meeting last month of the US Center for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, more than a dozen people spoke about their concerns about vaccines. Some said they or their loved ones had been injured by vaccines.

“My older son suffered documented illness and regression following vaccination,” said Jackie Martin-Sebell. “These vaccines are not safe for everyone.”

Another speaker, Rilei Cherry, said her son developed autism as a result of vaccines. “We owe it to our children to truly look at the long-term effects of vaccines and be honest about what could happen to our children,” she told the CDC committee.

Despite the speakers’ concerns, more than a dozen studies have shown that vaccines do not cause autism. The American Academy of Pediatrics says “Vaccines are safe. Vaccines are effective. Vaccines save lives.”

The mothers

On May 6, 2016, Promoli put her toddlers Jude and his twin brother Thomas, down for an afternoon nap in their home. Jude had a low-grade fever, but he was laughing and singing when he went down for his nap.

When his mother went to check on him two hours later, he was dead. Promoli said the next few weeks were “a living hell.”

“Having to go in and plan a funeral and find the ability somehow to even take steps to walk into a funeral home, to make plans and decide whether to bury or cremate your child — it was just all so horrifying,” she said.

When an autopsy came back showing Jude had died of the flu, Promoli started her flu prevention campaign.

That’s when the online attacks began.

Some anti-vaxers told her she’d murdered Jude and made up a story about the flu to cover up her crime. Others said vaccines had killed her son. Some called her the c-word.

The worst ones — the ones that would sometimes make her cry — were the posts that said she was advocating for flu shots so that other children would die from the shots and their parents would be miserable like she was.

“The first time it made me feel really sick because I couldn’t fathom how anybody could even come up with such a terrible claim,” Promoli said. “It caught me off guard in its cruelty. What kind of a person does this?”

Twisted logic that relies on scientific lies doesn’t bother Promoli so much anymore. She’s continued with her flu shot campaign, persuading Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to publicize his flu shot.

“I’ve had to grow some very thick skin,” she said.

She said no matter how many nasty messages she’s received — and she says she’s received hundreds — she’ll continue her campaign.

“The work that we’re doing might mean that somebody else doesn’t have to go plan a funeral for their toddler, and that is everything,” she said.

Other mothers have also persevered despite attacks from anti-vaxers.

Serese Marotta lost her 5-year-old son, Joseph, to the flu in 2009, and is now chief operating officer of Families Fighting Flu, a group that encourages flu awareness and prevention, including vaccination.

In 2017, she posted a video on the eighth anniversary of her son’s death to reinforce the importance of getting the flu vaccine.

“SLUT,” one person commented. “PHARMA WHORE.”

“May you rot in hell for all the damages you do!” a Facebook user wrote on another one of her posts.

She says a Facebook user in Australia sent her a death threat.

“She called me a lot of names I won’t repeat and used the go-to conspiracy theories about government and big pharma, and I responded, ‘I lost a child,’ and questioned where she was coming from, and she continued to attack me,” said Marotta, who lives in Syracuse, New York.

Catherine and Greg Hughes, an Australian couple who lost their 1-month old son, Riley, to whooping cough, have also received online abuse. Too young to be vaccinated, Riley relied on herd immunity — the vaccinations of others — to protect him.

But herd immunity didn’t protect him, since the area where the Hughes family lived in Perth has some of the lowest vaccination rates in Australia.

“Riley’s death was a very inconvenient truth for anti-vaccine activists,” Catherine said. “The nasty messages started 24 hours after he died. They called us baby killers and said we would have the blood of other babies on our hands. We’ve been told to kill ourselves.”

The couple started a vaccination campaign, Light for Riley.

Catherine said they still receive vile comments years after Riley’s death.

“[F**k] you, Hughes family,” one Facebook user wrote on the Light for Riley page.

“What a [f**king] evil whore you really are,” another user wrote to them in a private Facebook message.

Another Facebook user was more succinct.

“Please die,” the user wrote in a private message.

“A lot of them come from the position that they have children that were vaccine-injured,” Catherine said. “But a fair chunk of them are just haters.”

The professor

Grieving mothers aren’t the only targets of anti-vaxer abuse.

Dorit Reiss, a professor at UC Hastings School of Law, has received countless vile messages, and as with the mothers, many of the messages are gender-oriented. Over the years, she’s become pretty blasé about it.

“‘Whore’ is pretty normal,” said Reiss, a pro-vaccine advocate who has written extensively about vaccines. “I’ve also been called a [c**t].”

Sometimes Reiss, who is Jewish, receives comments that mention the Holocaust.

One Facebook user made a meme with a photo of her father with “Proud Supporter of the Vaccine Holocaust.” Reiss says her father has nothing to do with vaccines.

Another meme shows a photo of Reiss holding her infant son and it says that Reiss is “FORCE-injecting” her baby with vaccines.

Below the photo is written: “Because one holocaust wasn’t enough.”

Other Facebook users have said her children look sick in photos, and that vaccines are clearly to blame.

“The Boy [sic] appears lethargic,” one user wrote, with “dark circles under his eyes. These are common precipitants of vaccine induced immune damage and suppression, as well as vaccine induced transient ischemic adverse event.”

Of all the various messages from anti-vaxers, Reiss said the one that angered her the most was a voicemail left for her husband on his work phone.

“If I hear or see anything written by your wife after today, I will release your phone number, your work phone number, your work address, her work address, her work phone number,” the caller said, correctly reciting their phone numbers and home address.

The doctors

Three pediatricians who are vocal vaccine advocates have also been frequent targets of anti-vaxers. All three now have security escorts when they speak publicly.

Dr. Paul Offit keeps a fat folder of nasty messages he’s received so that “if someone kills me, my wife can give it to the police.” He does not laugh when he says this.

“Rot in hell you baby killer,” one user wrote in an email to Offit, who is director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and professor of pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

“Go [f**king] kill yourself,” another wrote.

Dr. Peter Hotez at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston is a vaccine researcher who wrote a book about his daughter called “Vaccines did not Cause Rachel’s Autism.”

“You have no morals whatsoever and you know that you are a [f**king] liar. I hope you rot in hell,” one anti-vaxer emailed Hotez, a professor of pediatrics and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor.

Users on the social media platform MeWe discussed an upcoming public meeting Hotez was expected to attend.

“Maybe if we cause him enough stress he’ll have a heart attack before [Wednesday],” one woman wrote, adding, “#sorrynotsorry.”

Dr. Richard Pan, a pediatrician and a California state senator, spearheaded a successful attempt to get rid of vaccine exemptions for personal or religious reasons for schoolchildren in his state. He’s frequently been the target of race-driven abuse by anti-vaxers on Facebook.

He says he’s received thousands of hateful messages from anti-vaxers.

“Chinese garbage,” one user wrote on Pan’s Facebook page, followed by vomiting and devil emojis. “Most ignorant [a**hole].”

“I hope they stone you to death,” another Facebook user wrote. “I’ll make a special trip to happily watch your head crack. The parents of the children you are destroying should each get a chance. Like a nazi piñata.”

Some of the professionals and the mothers interviewed for this story said they reported the abusive messages they received to Facebook. Most of those who made reports said they received an automated response and in the end nothing changed. Others said after they made a report the sender was suspended from Facebook for a short period of time, or their offensive messages were removed.

Others said they didn’t report to Facebook because the process was onerous or they’d heard that it wouldn’t change anything.

A Facebook spokesperson responded to these concerns:

“We try to empower our users with controls, such as blocking other users and moderating comments, so they can limit their exposure to unwanted, offensive or hurtful content. We also encourage people to report bullying behavior on our platform, so we can review the content and take proper action,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.

“We want members of our community to feel safe and respected on Facebook and will remove material that appears to purposefully target private individuals with the intention of degrading or shaming them.”

The spy

Erin Costello, a former bartender and current stay-at-home mom in Utica, New York, is the “Ron” who texted the grieving mother in the Midwest, warning her to expect more anti-vaxer attacks. Costello is an administrator for the pro-vaccine Facebook page “What’s the Harm?”

Costello is one of several vaccine advocates who’ve set up so-called “sock puppet” or fake Facebook accounts and then joins the closed anti-vaxer groups to spy on them.

She said she often sees members discussing posts by parents of sick or dead children, sometimes suggesting that members “educate” those parents by posting on their page.

For example, a member of the anti-vaccine group Stop Mandatory Vaccination said a mother had posted that her baby had suffered seizures after receiving vaccines.

The anti-vaxer urged others in the group to “comment for her to read! I want to win this mom over and she really trusts her pediatrician but at the same time she is scared!”

Another member of Stop Mandatory Vaccination re-posted a post by Catherine Hughes, the mother who’d lost her child to a vaccine-preventable disease, calling for others to vaccinate their children.

“Anyone want to chime in on this post?” the anti-vaxer wrote.

Another member responded, “I feel sorry for the lost baby and her other children but someone needs to inject her with vaccines until she dies.”

A mother’s greatest fear

When she sees anti-vaxers talking about parents in their closed groups, Costello, the online pro-vaccine spy, gets in touch with those parents to warn them they may be getting nasty messages from the anti-vaxers.

When Costello reached out to the mother in the Midwest, she explained why she was contacting her.

“I know you’re likely getting many horrible messages on Facebook right now,” Costello wrote to the mother. “Children such as [yours] are the reason why I do my part to fight for overwhelming acceptance of vaccines as well as fight against the lies and misinformation that are recklessly spread around against vaccines.”

The mother wrote back.

“I appreciate the strong role you take in helping protect families like mine,” she said.

After hundreds of Facebook comments from anti-vaxers, the mother turned off comments on her page, and deleted many of the ones she received.

Some are still in her head, though. She weeps as she remembers the one that was hardest to read.

“The ones that said this was a fake story. That he wasn’t real. That my child didn’t exist,” she said. “Because when your child dies, that’s the biggest fear — that he will be forgotten.”

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2019/03/19/her-son-died-and-then-anti-vaxers-attacked-her/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2019/03/19/her-son-died-and-then-anti-vaxers-attacked-her/

[kacey-ryan-blog]

Our first conversation...

I ended my previous relationship in early December 2016, and a few weeks later I decided to download the okCupid app. I've used okCupid before, which is where I met the last guy I dated. I was a little hesitant on using it, but to be honest, I was super bored and wanted to chat with some new people. I already knew that I wasn't ready to date and I wasn't looking to make a connection with a guy. Guys would ask me what they were looking for and I would tell them just a casual conversation. Of course I've received messages like “you're on a dating app, but you don't want to date – like why are you even here?” First off, if you see in my profile that I don't want to date and that bothers you – MOVE ON. Anyway, I received a message on January 6, 2017 from kaceyryan03 who simply greeted me good morning and introduced himself. I checked out his profile and he seemed like somewhat of a normal guy (you can never be too careful on dating apps) and his self-summary actually depicted an interesting personality. We had the usual conversation that you would normally have when you're getting to know someone. Where are you from? Where do you go to school? What are you majoring in? What do you like to do in your free time? Hobbies? Favorite movies? Etc. He definitely kept my interest – which is somewhat hard to do when I'm not looking for anything in particular except to kill time. We added each other on Instagram first. It wasn't until then that I discovered he's a trans man. He did put “trans man” in his mini description (completely different from the self-summary) on okCupid, but I didn't notice it. All I noticed was that he had an interesting personality and was cute. He then added me on snapchat, which I'm normally reluctant to add someone I don't know. I've had experiences with men sending inappropriate pictures (men, stop doing that – women DON'T like that.) I'm also camera/video shy. I don't like talking on the phone with someone I don't know, nor do I like to take snapchat videos of myself as a form of communication. Kacey was all about sending snapchat videos. Surprisingly, I didn't feel uncomfortable communicating back via video. He came off genuine, goofy, and not a creep. He was actually ranting about how outrageous it is for men to send women messages like “Hey, do you want to fuck? Can I be your sugar daddy? If your left leg was lunch and your right leg was dinner, can I come have a snack between the two?” He basically apologized to all women for those men who treat women like a piece of meat. I thought to myself, “Hey, maybe this guy is the real deal and treats women with respect. That would be a breath of fresh air.” Eventually the conversation about Kacey being transgender was brought up, and he asked me if that bothered me at all. It honestly didn't, which I told him that. I even admitted to him that I didn't realize he was transgender until I saw his instagram photos, because I didn't see the “trans man” description on okCupid. I also told him that I wasn't looking for anything serious, and that I basically wanted to be friends. But hey, whatever happens, happens right? I wasn't expecting to have feelings for Kacey, but I they started to develop over the course of talking, snapchatting, tagging each other in stupid meme posts on facebook...But I'm getting ahead of myself, I haven't even talked about our first date, yet! On a side note, I should probably mention that I wasn't turned off/away when I discovered on Kacey's Instagram that he's transgender. I have never really experienced talking to (let alone dating) someone who's transgender, from my knowledge. So this is completely new and unknown territory for me to be in. I am not confused on how I feel towards him, regardless that he has female genitalia. To me, he is a man. That's how I see him. He has told me before that he will always think that it bothers me that he doesn't have male genitalia. I've told him it doesn't, but I don't think he will ever fully believe me because of the self doubt that he has. It's understandable to feel inadequate because one can't feel whole when they have missing pieces...but the missing pieces don't bother me. I'm more interested in Kacey's mind, personality, definitely his smile, and everything else about him. I'm sure there will come a time if Kacey and I ever talk about having children (I know, I'm jumping the gun here) and there will be some hinderances with that. I believe (if we make it that far) that we'll be able to overcome that situation. You'd think I would at least talk about the stress about meeting the other's family before having babies, but that's just how my mind works. I'm not too concerned with how my family will react. I know certain family members would be supportive...some not so much given the fact that they're old-fashioned and conservative. If Kacey and I decide to pursue having a serious relationship, my family would just have to get over it. I know they love me and I know they'll eventually come around. I'm going to be with someone who makes me happy and brings out the best in me, no matter who they are. -Kat