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Exploding Topics Pro Review

Are you a content creator, marketer, or business owner? Don't miss out on this Exploding Topics Pro Review.

In this Exploding Topics Pro Review, we break down: what it is, who it is for, how it outperforms tools like Google Trends.

From the dashboard, to pricing plans, pros and cons, we cover it all. Discover how the trend algorithm analyzes consumer signals, giving you a strategic edge.

Co-founded by Brian Dean, this is more than a trend-spotting tool. It's about finding sustainable growth opportunities!

By the end of this Exploding Topics Pro Review you will be able to decided if it's worth it for you and the plan for your needs.

Subscribe, hit the bell, and make sure to check out the Exploding Topics playlist. Don't forget to try out the software for 14 Days using the Trial.

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Mobile Price in Bangladesh – Latest Updates and Best Deals 2024

Looking to buy a new mobile in Bangladesh? You’re not alone. With smartphones becoming a daily necessity for everyone from students to professionals, staying updated with the latest mobile price in bangladesh is more important than ever. The market is constantly changing, with new models launching every other week and price shifts due to global and local factors. Whether you're on a tight budget or eyeing the latest iPhone or Samsung flagship, this comprehensive guide has got you covered.

From brand-specific updates to in-depth comparison and exclusive deals, we’re diving deep into the mobile phone price in bd scene, so you can make the smartest choice possible. Let’s break it all down.

Introduction to Mobile Phone Market in Bangladesh

Growth and Evolution of the Mobile Market

Over the past decade, the mobile industry in Bangladesh has exploded. What used to be a market dominated by feature phones has turned into a hub for Android and iOS smartphones. With increasing internet penetration and widespread access to 4G (and incoming 5G), demand for smartphones has grown exponentially. According to BTRC reports, Bangladesh has over 180 million mobile connections and nearly 60% smartphone usage as of 2024.

This growth has sparked fierce competition among international and local brands. Companies like Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, and Realme have set up solid distribution channels here. Local brands like Walton and Symphony are also fighting for their share by offering value-for-money devices tailored for Bangladeshi users. Mobile price in BD has thus become more competitive than ever, offering more choices at better rates.

But while choices have expanded, so has confusion. Prices differ wildly across platforms, regions, and even stores. That’s where this guide comes in—to help you navigate the mobile jungle with clarity.

Why Mobile Price in BD Is a Hot Topic in 2024

It’s not just tech geeks who care about mobile pricing anymore. Everyone—from students to business owners—is looking to upgrade or buy a new device. With inflation, tax changes, and dollar fluctuations, the new mobile price in Bangladesh is always shifting. Add to that the launch of new models almost monthly, and it’s clear why people search terms like mobile phone price in BD multiple times a week.

In 2024, the importance of having a reliable smartphone goes beyond communication—it’s about productivity, entertainment, learning, and business. A decent smartphone is no longer a luxury; it’s a necessity. And knowing where and when to buy at the best price could save you thousands of Taka.

Factors Affecting Mobile Price in Bangladesh

Import Taxes and Duties

One of the biggest influencers on mobile price in bd is import tax. Bangladesh levies significant duties on imported smartphones, especially those that are fully assembled abroad. These taxes can range between 25% to 58% depending on the brand, phone type, and origin country.

Brands that assemble their devices locally, like Samsung, can offer better prices due to tax relief from the government. Local manufacturers like Walton and Symphony benefit further, offering feature-rich devices at a lower cost compared to imported options. So, if you're seeing a huge price gap between similar phones, taxes are often the culprit.

Exchange Rate and Dollar Impact

Another silent killer of mobile pricing in Bangladesh is the fluctuation in the USD-BDT exchange rate. Since most phones are priced in US dollars internationally, even a small change in exchange rates can cause a significant spike or dip in local prices. In 2024, the rising dollar has pushed flagship phone prices to record highs.

So, before buying a mobile, it’s smart to check the current exchange rate. Even waiting a few days could lead to a better deal if the currency shifts favorably. Pro tip: Subscribe to tech update channels or pages that report exchange-rate-based price changes—it could save you money.

Brand Positioning and Demand

Some phones are just more hyped than others. A new iPhone release or the latest Samsung Galaxy S-series launch can push the entire market pricing up, especially for older models which still hold value. High-demand devices usually carry premium prices for a few months after launch.

On the flip side, phones from emerging or budget-focused brands like Infinix, Tecno, and Lava try to undercut the competition with aggressive pricing. Understanding brand strategy can help you identify whether you're paying for genuine value or just brand hype.

New Mobile Price in Bangladesh – 2024 Highlights

Latest Flagship Phones and Their Prices

Let’s face it—everyone dreams of owning the latest iPhone or Samsung Galaxy. In 2024, the flagship market is buzzing with the likes of iPhone 15 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, OnePlus 12, and Xiaomi 14 Pro.

Here are some average flagship mobile prices in BD as of April 2024:

Brand

Model

Price (BDT)

Apple

iPhone 15 Pro Max (256GB)

2,15,000 BDT

Samsung

Galaxy S24 Ultra (256GB)

1,80,000 BDT

Xiaomi

Xiaomi 14 Pro (256GB)

1,05,000 BDT

OnePlus

OnePlus 12 (12/256GB)

95,000 BDT

These phones come packed with high-end features—flagship processors, OLED displays, periscope cameras, and more. If you want the best of the best, this is the league to play in—but be ready to pay the premium.

Price Comparison – Mobile Price in BD vs Other Countries

India vs Bangladesh: Price Differences

Ever wondered why the same smartphone costs less in India than in Bangladesh? Well, you’re not alone. Many Bangladeshi buyers look toward Indian pricing as a reference—and for good reason. India has a larger tech market and lower import duties, especially since several global brands manufacture locally there.

Let’s compare a few models (as of April 2024):

Phone Model

Price in India (INR)

Price in BD (BDT)

Price Gap

Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro

₹21,000

31,500 BDT

~5,000 BDT

Samsung Galaxy A54

₹36,000

55,000 BDT

~7,000 BDT

iPhone 15

₹80,000

1,35,000 BDT

~15,000+ BDT

Bangladesh has higher import taxes, shipping, and smaller-scale distribution, which all add to the final cost. Also, due to the weak Taka against the Rupee or Dollar, the price difference becomes even more apparent. While parallel imports are an option, they often void warranty and create risk with unauthorized IMEI numbers.

In conclusion, while India might offer cheaper prices, buying locally ensures service, authenticity, and support—which in many cases, outweigh the cost benefits of cross-border shopping.

Global Pricing Trends and Bangladesh Position

Worldwide, mobile prices are dictated by supply chain costs, component availability (like chipsets), and logistics. For instance, during the pandemic and post-pandemic years, global chip shortages caused prices to surge. In 2024, we’re seeing price normalization, but Bangladesh still lags due to slower distribution and high import dependence.

Countries like China and the UAE often get the best pricing due to being manufacturing or re-export hubs. In contrast, Bangladesh, despite growing demand, remains a consumer-only market with limited production, affecting pricing power.

So, while Bangladesh may not be the cheapest, local pricing is becoming more competitive—especially with government incentives to promote local assembly and support digital Bangladesh goals.

Top Mobile Brands and Their Pricing in Bangladesh

Samsung Mobile Price in Bangladesh

Samsung has a strong hold in the Bangladeshi smartphone market, from premium flagships to budget devices. Their local assembly plant in Narsingdi allows them to offer competitive pricing across categories.

Popular 2024 Samsung models and prices in BD:

Samsung Galaxy A14 (4/64GB) – 18,999 BDT

Samsung Galaxy A54 (8/128GB) – 54,999 BDT

Samsung Galaxy S24 (128GB) – 1,34,000 BDT

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (256GB) – 1,79,000 BDT

Samsung phones are known for their durability, great cameras, and AMOLED displays. Plus, their official warranty and service center availability across Bangladesh make them a trusted choice.

Xiaomi Mobile Price in BD

Xiaomi is a fan-favorite in Bangladesh, especially among the youth. Known for value-for-money specs, MIUI software, and camera performance, they dominate the mid-range category.

2024 Xiaomi mobile prices in BD:

Redmi 13C (4/128GB) – 14,500 BDT

Redmi Note 13 Pro (8/256GB) – 32,500 BDT

Xiaomi 13T Pro (12/256GB) – 70,000 BDT

Xiaomi 14 (8/256GB) – 92,000 BDT

Xiaomi also benefits from partial local assembly, making their phones slightly more affordable compared to brands importing fully built units.

Realme and Oppo Price Updates

Realme and Oppo (both under BBK Electronics) are thriving in the Bangladeshi market with aggressive pricing and flashy designs. Realme appeals to gamers and budget-conscious users, while Oppo is known for style, selfies, and display quality.

Realme 2024 Highlights:

Realme C53 (6/128GB) – 16,000 BDT

Realme Narzo 60x (6/128GB) – 21,999 BDT

Realme 11 Pro+ – 39,500 BDT

Oppo 2024 Highlights:

Oppo A17k – 12,999 BDT

Oppo Reno8 T 5G – 39,990 BDT

Oppo Find N2 Flip (Flagship Fold) – 1,15,000 BDT

Both brands offer regular promotional deals online, so keep an eye on platforms like Daraz, Pickaboo, and the official websites.

iPhone Price in Bangladesh 2024

Apple’s pricing in Bangladesh is on the higher end, mainly due to the premium brand tax and full import duties. However, demand never fades. Many users save up or use EMI options to own an iPhone.

Current iPhone prices in BD:

iPhone 13 (128GB) – 94,000 BDT

iPhone 14 (128GB) – 1,05,000 BDT

iPhone 15 (128GB) – 1,34,000 BDT

iPhone 15 Pro Max (256GB) – 2,15,000 BDT

If you’re buying iPhones in BD, always go through authorized Apple resellers to avoid clones or refurbished units sold as new.

Where to Buy Mobiles in Bangladesh

Online Stores – Daraz, Pickaboo, etc.

Online mobile shopping has gained massive popularity in Bangladesh thanks to platforms like Daraz, Pickaboo, G&G, and Robishop. These platforms offer:

Discounts during mega sales (11.11, 12.12)

EMI options

Home delivery

Official warranty support

User reviews and ratings

Daraz, especially, provides detailed filtering options and buyer protection policies, making it one of the top choices for online shoppers.

Physical Mobile Markets in Dhaka and Chittagong

Still prefer the good old way of checking out your phone before buying? No problem. Some top offline shopping destinations include:

Bashundhara City Shopping Mall (Dhaka)

Motaleb Plaza (Dhaka)

Eastern Plaza (Dhaka)

Sanmar Ocean City (Chattogram)

These markets let you touch, feel, and compare phones in real-time. Prices might be negotiable, but always demand a sealed box and company warranty.

Pros and Cons of Online vs Offline Shopping

Aspect

Online Shopping

Offline Shopping

Price

Often cheaper with discounts

Slightly higher

Warranty

Clear from product page

Depends on shop

Product Variety

Vast options in one click

Limited to what store has

Return Policy

Usually 7–14 days

Mostly no return

Delivery

Takes 2–5 days

Instant pickup

If you're confident about the model and specs, online is the way to go. If you’re unsure or want to compare side-by-side, visit the nearest showroom.

Best Mobile Phones Under Different Price Segments

Best Phones Under 10,000 BDT

This segment is great for basic users who prioritize calling, messaging, and occasional social media use. Here are some solid choices:

Itel A49 Play – 8,500 BDT

Walton Primo GH10 – 9,599 BDT

Symphony Atom III – 8,999 BDT

Nokia C1 (2nd Edition) – 9,490 BDT

These phones come with 2–3GB RAM, quad-core processors, and Android Go editions—perfect for light use.

Best Phones Under 20,000 BDT

Looking for a balanced phone with decent performance and camera? These models are ideal:

Xiaomi Redmi 12 (6/128GB) – 18,500 BDT

Realme Narzo 50A – 17,000 BDT

Samsung Galaxy A04s (4/64GB) – 18,999 BDT

Infinix Note 12i – 16,500 BDT

These devices can handle day-to-day apps, basic gaming, and offer large displays and batteries.

Best Phones Under 30,000 BDT

Want near-flagship experience without breaking the bank? These are excellent picks:

Redmi Note 12 (8/128GB) – 26,999 BDT

Realme Narzo 60 (8/128GB) – 28,999 BDT

Samsung Galaxy M14 (6/128GB) – 27,500 BDT

Infinix Zero 5G 2023 – 29,999 BDT

Expect solid cameras, 90Hz+ displays, 5G connectivity, and all-day battery.

Buying Tips – How to Choose the Right Mobile for Your Budget

Specs to Focus on Based on Usage

Buying a smartphone can feel overwhelming with so many features thrown at you—camera megapixels, processors, refresh rate, RAM, storage, and the list goes on. But let’s simplify things based on how you use your phone:

For Basic Users (Calls, Messaging, Social Media):

Go for at least 2GB RAM and 32GB storage

Prefer Android Go edition for smooth performance

A decent 4,000 mAh battery will last the day

For Students and Moderate Users (Study, YouTube, Light Gaming):

Choose 4–6GB RAM and at least 64GB storage

A good MediaTek Helio or Snapdragon 600 series chip

Look for 6.5-inch HD+ or FHD+ displays

5,000 mAh battery with fast charging

For Heavy Users and Gamers:

Minimum 8GB RAM and 128GB storage

Snapdragon 700/800 series or Dimensity 900+

120Hz AMOLED screen preferred

Stereo speakers, advanced cooling systems

For Photography Enthusiasts:

64MP+ primary camera or OIS-supported sensors

Ultra-wide and macro lens support

4K video recording and good night mode software

Always balance the specs based on what matters to you. A flashy design or 108MP camera isn’t useful if the software experience is poor.

Avoiding Fake or Refurbished Phones

Sadly, fake phones and refurbished models being sold as new are a big issue in the BD market. Here’s how to protect yourself:

Check IMEI: Dial *#06# and verify the IMEI on BTRC’s site or the brand’s own checker.

Look for Sealed Box: Don’t accept phones with broken seals or without proper stickers.

Official Warranty Card: Always demand a warranty card stamped by the shop.

Avoid Too-Good-To-Be-True Deals: If the price is way lower than market average, it’s likely fake or refurbished.

Also, steer clear of grey market imports if you want brand warranty or future software updates.

Government Initiatives and Mobile Regulations

Smartphone Registration and IMEI Verification

To fight phone theft and illegal imports, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) introduced the NEIR system. It helps in:

Blocking unregistered phones from local networks

Ensuring buyers get official, genuine devices

Encouraging importers to follow legal channels

Before buying a phone, verify if the IMEI is registered through BTRC’s neir.btrc.gov.bd platform. If not registered, the phone could get blocked anytime—even if it's brand new.

Tax Reliefs and Local Manufacturing Boost

The government has taken solid steps to reduce mobile phone prices and promote local manufacturing:

VAT and Tax Benefits: Brands assembling phones locally pay significantly less in taxes, which is passed down to consumers.

Made in Bangladesh Tag: Samsung, Symphony, Walton, and some Xiaomi phones are now made or assembled locally.

Job Creation & Tech Transfer: These initiatives are also generating jobs and helping transfer tech knowledge to local workers.

So, by buying local or locally assembled phones, you’re not only saving money but also supporting Bangladesh’s economic and tech growth.

Mobile Accessories and Their Prices in BD

Headphones, Chargers, Screen Protectors

Smartphone accessories are just as important, and the right ones can greatly enhance your experience. But with so many cheap knock-offs in the market, you’ve got to know where to look.

Here’s an average pricing table:

Accessory

Price Range (BDT)

Notes

Wired Earphones

200–800 BDT

Avoid under 150 BDT ones

Wireless Earbuds (TWS)

1,200–6,000 BDT

Xiaomi, Realme, Haylou popular

Screen Protector (Tempered Glass)

100–300 BDT

Get 9H quality

Phone Covers

150–800 BDT

Silicon covers last longer

Fast Chargers (Original)

1,000–3,000 BDT

Buy from authorized shops

Always go for original or certified accessories. Third-party products might look the same but can harm your phone’s battery or display in the long run.

Popular Accessories Brands in Bangladesh

Remax

Baseus

Haylou

Joyroom

Ugreen

These brands offer a good balance between price and quality. Look for them online or at authorized outlets for warranty support.

Mobile Servicing, Warranty, and Customer Support in BD

Brand Authorized Service Centers

If your phone gets damaged or starts acting up, where you go for help can make all the difference. Most top brands in Bangladesh now have authorized service centers that offer:

Free repairs under warranty

Genuine spare parts

Software updates

Expert technicians

Popular service centers include:

Samsung Smart Plaza

Xiaomi Customer Care (ServicEngine)

Apple Authorised Resellers (iStore, Gadget & Gear)

Realme and Oppo Service Points

Make sure to bring your purchase receipt and warranty card for fast service.

Third-party Shops vs Company Support

Many local shops offer quick fixes at lower prices—but it comes with a risk. Here's a breakdown:

Service Type

Pros

Cons

Authorized

Genuine parts, warranty support

Slightly more expensive

Local Shops

Cheap, fast service

Fake parts, no guarantees

Online Warranty Support

Convenient scheduling

May take more time

If your phone is still under warranty, always go for official service. For older phones, local shops can be an economical option—but verify reviews first.

Upcoming Mobile Phones in Bangladesh

Leaks and Rumors for 2024 Launches

Tech lovers in BD always keep an eye on what’s next, and 2024 has some exciting phones coming soon:

Realme GT Neo 6

Xiaomi 14 Ultra

Samsung Galaxy A35 and A55

OnePlus Nord 4

Infinix Zero Ultra 2

Most of these devices are expected to feature 5G support, better night photography, and higher refresh rates—all priced competitively for the BD market.

What to Expect from Major Brands

Samsung: More mid-range 5G phones under 40K BDT

Xiaomi: AI camera features and 200MP upgrades

iPhone: Foldable iPhone rumors swirl for late 2024

Realme: Gamers’ favorite line-up with better cooling

Infinix/Tecno: Affordable 5G with huge batteries

If you're planning to buy a phone soon but don't urgently need it, waiting a few weeks for the next release might just get you a better deal or upgraded specs for the same price.

When it comes to mobile price in Bangladesh, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Prices vary based on brand, features, specs, warranty, and of course, where you buy it from. Whether you're a student looking for a budget-friendly smartphone, a professional in need of a flagship device, or someone who just wants a reliable phone for everyday use, Bangladesh's mobile market has it all.

With the government promoting local assembly and regulating imports through IMEI registration, the market is becoming safer and more transparent for buyers. Shopping online on trusted platforms like Daraz or visiting physical outlets in tech hubs like Bashundhara City gives you flexibility, depending on how hands-on you want the buying experience to be.

Most importantly, always keep your personal needs and usage patterns in mind. Don’t just get swayed by what’s trending—get what fits you. Look beyond the hype, compare prices, read reviews, and check the IMEI. That way, you’re not just buying a phone, you’re investing in peace of mind.

Happy phone hunting!

[myblogswesome]

TikTok for E-commerce

In today's competitive e-commerce landscape, a presence on TikTok is no longer a luxury, it's a necessity. This engaging platform boasts features specifically designed to streamline product sales, making it a goldmine for businesses looking to expand their reach and boost conversions.

What is TikTok?

Launched in 2016, TikTok is a video-sharing social media app that exploded in popularity, particularly among Gen Z users. It allows users to create, watch, and share short, quirky videos on any topic. Businesses are catching on to its potential, utilizing it for advertising, brand awareness, and even direct sales.

Creating a TikTok Business Account: A 5-Step Guide

Download the App and Create an Account: Get started by downloading the TikTok app and setting up a new account. personalize your profile with a picture, bio, and links to your other social media channels.

Switch to a Pro Account: Unlock valuable features like analytics, performance tracking, and a link in your bio by upgrading to a Pro (Business or Creator) account.

Embrace Authenticity for Maximum Engagement:

Consumers crave real, relatable content. Ditch the staged productions and focus on creating raw, engaging videos that resonate with your audience. Think "friend sending a video" rather than "polished advertisement."

Engage with Your Audience and Be Consistent:

The key to growth on any social media platform is consistency and audience interaction. Regularly post engaging content (1-4 times a day is ideal) and actively engage with comments and likes. Utilize trending sounds and hashtags to increase your chances of going viral.

Partner with Influencers:

Collaborate with relevant TikTok influencers to gain exposure and tap into their established audience. Consider the Creator Marketplace to discover influencers that align with your brand and target market.

Why is TikTok Perfect for E-commerce?

A Growing Audience: TikTok boasts a massive user base, with a significant portion falling within the coveted Millennial and Gen Z demographics. There's a high chance your target audience is already hanging out on TikTok.

Highly Engaged Users: TikTok users are loyal, with an impressive 91% visiting the app daily and spending an average of 52 minutes immersed in content. This translates to ample opportunities to connect with your ideal customers.

The Power of the Algorithm: Unlike other platforms, TikTok's algorithm can showcase your content to users who don't even follow you. This opens doors for organic reach and brand awareness beyond your core audience.

Welcome to Social Commerce: Selling on TikTok

TikTok offers a seamless social commerce experience, allowing users to discover and purchase products directly within the app.

TikTok Shop: This feature enables merchants to showcase and sell products through in-feed videos, live streams with shopping carts, and a dedicated product catalog tab. Users can make purchases without ever leaving the app.

The Shopify Partnership: The integration with Shopify allows businesses to create targeted video ads, track conversions, and include shoppable call-to-action buttons. Additionally, in-app purchases directly from Shopify stores within TikTok are on the horizon.

Managing the Influx of Orders

With increased sales comes the challenge of efficient fulfillment. Invest in robust shipping software to automate order processing and provide a seamless delivery experience for your customers.

Key TikTok Statistics to Consider

Globally Downloaded: TikTok is the most downloaded app worldwide, boasting over 1 billion monthly active users.

Shifting Shopping Preferences: Consumers are increasingly drawn to engaging, visual content over traditional text-based ads.

The Rise of "Shoppentertainment": TikTok's entertaining format presents a powerful opportunity to showcase products in a fun and memorable way.

Influencer Power: A staggering 61% of consumers make purchase decisions based on influencer recommendations, and many turn to TikTok for product research.

Inspiration Station: A whopping 58% of users discover product inspiration on TikTok, with 67% admitting to being impulse-purchased after seeing something on their feed.

Join the TikTok Revolution

The time to act is now! Create your TikTok e-commerce account today and unlock a world of potential customers eager to discover your brand. With its unique features, engaged audience, and ever-evolving social commerce landscape, TikTok offers a powerful platform to propel your e-commerce business to new heights.

[fancallindia]

What are Best Platforms to Connect with Creators?

The creator economy is booming! From YouTubers to bloggers, podcasters to graphic designers, a new wave of creatives is captivating audiences and building their brands. But being a creator can sometimes feel isolating. That’s where platforms to connect with creators come in – offering a space to connect, collaborate, and level up your creative game.

But with so many options available, where do you even begin? This guide will dive into the most popular platforms, outlining their unique features, who they cater to, and what makes them stand out.

Finding Your Perfect Match: Different Platforms For To Contact Creators

1.Discord:

Discord reigns supreme in the online gaming community, but its versatility extends far beyond. Creators of all stripes use Discord servers to foster vibrant communities around their work. Here’s the beauty: you get complete control over server set-up, allowing you to create dedicated channels for discussions, collaborations, workshops, and even voice chats. Think of it as your own virtual clubhouse for your fans and fellow creators.

Pros: Highly customizable, excellent for fostering close-knit communities, perfect for real-time interaction (voice chat).

Cons: Can require some initial setup effort, relies heavily on building your own audience base.

Who should join? Creators of all types (gamers, YouTubers, streamers, niche communities) looking for a highly interactive and customizable space.

2.Fancall:

Fancall caters specifically to connecting creators (exclusively YouTubers for now) with their fans on a more personal level. It is the only Creator Meet up Platform that facilitates one-on-one video calls between YouTubers and their fans. Fans can browse YouTubers on the platform, schedule calls at their convenience, and have a face-to-face chat with content creators. Creators can set their availability, pricing, and manage their call schedule. Even one Youtuber can connect with another via video call.

Pros: Personalized interaction between creators and fans, opportunity for fans to ask questions and connect directly, potential revenue stream for creators. It facilitates one to one video calls between YouTubers and fans.

Cons: Limited to YouTubers currently

Who should join? YouTubers looking to connect with their fans on a deeper level, offer personalized interactions, and potentially generate revenue through video calls. Fans seeking face-to-face time with YouTubers and a more intimate connection.

3.Mighty Networks:

Mighty Networks positions itself as the “all-in-one” platform for building online communities. Creators can set up membership sites, host courses, offer live events, and leverage built-in tools for discussions and group chats. It goes beyond simply connecting creators; it allows them to create a revenue stream through their communities.

Pros: Feature-rich platform, excellent for building membership communities and monetizing content.

Cons: Subscription-based model, requires more technical know-how compared to some platforms.

Who should join? Creators looking to build exclusive, paid communities with monetization features. Ideal for course creators, educators, and coaches.

4.Clubhouse:

Clubhouse exploded in popularity for its audio-based social networking experience. Creators host live, drop-in discussions on various topics, fostering a sense of real-time interaction. The platform allows creators to collaborate on “rooms,” inviting guests and engaging directly with their audience.

Pros: Real-time engagement, fosters a sense of exclusivity, excellent for podcasters and audio-focused creators.

Cons: Limited to live audio format, discussions are ephemeral (not recorded by default).

Who should join? Creators comfortable with audio-based interaction, ideal for podcasters, speakers, and those seeking real-time discussions.

5.Facebook Groups:

Never underestimate the power of Facebook Groups! While it might seem like an old-school option, Facebook Groups offer a familiar environment to connect over messaging. Groups can be hyper-specific or more general, fostering targeted discussions and collaboration amongst peers.

Pros: Easy set-up, familiar platform for many users, large built-in user base.

Cons: Limited features compared to dedicated platforms, can feel cluttered with ads and irrelevant content.

Who should join? Creators comfortable with a familiar platform, seeking a large user base for easy connection with potential collaborators.

6.Slack:

Slack is a communication powerhouse, often used for internal teams in companies. But its versatility makes it a great option for creator communities too. Creators can set up channels for discussions, file sharing, and project management, fostering a collaborative workspace for their inner circle.

Pros: Efficient communication tools, excellent for file sharing and project management.

Cons: Free tier has limitations on users and storage, feels less community-oriented compared to other platforms.

Who should join? Creators collaborating on projects, requiring strong communication and file-sharing tools. Ideal for agencies, design teams, and those working on collaborative content.

Conclusion:

Remember, building a thriving community takes time and effort. But with the right platform, the right approach, and a dedication to providing value, you can create a space for inspiration, collaboration, and mutual growth. Whether you’re a seasoned creator or just starting out, there’s a platform out there to help you connect, learn, and thrive. So dive in, explore your options, and find your best option.

Article Source : https://www.fancall.in/what-are-best-platforms-to-connect-with-creators/

[aurorafreerose]

Don’t Be Late- Ch 4

Summary: Bakugo and Uraraka have their first “argument”.

Writer’s note: Wrote this listening to Loveeee Song by Rihanna and Biking by Frank Ocean!

Word count: 1,593

Read on ao3!

A badly wrought silence hung in the air as Bakugo and Uraraka made their way back from training.  It used to be comfortable, but now it was overtly disjunct. Bakugo was different; something about him was off-kilter. He would look at her every couple of seconds, perhaps to check if she was looking back, and then immediately look away. He did this a few times, and Ochaco could tell through the corner of her eye. The next time, she turned to face him. The moment her deep brown eyes met a pair of striking vermillion ones, they seemed to want to look at anything but her.

Ochaco was the one to break the silence.

"So, is sparring all you do in your spare time?" Ochaco said cheerily.

"What kind of stupid-ass question is that?" barked Bakugo, as if she ought to have known the answer to that question already. He was back to his usual tough demeanor; the small moment of vulnerability she'd glimpsed had all but disappeared. "How the fuck else am I supposed to become number one?"

"Well, you don't have to spend all of your time working." At this, Bakugo looked aggravated, but he didn't interrupt her.

"I'll go out with friends sometimes," she offered earnestly.

Bakugo didn't look too convinced.

"That's a waste of time if I ever fuckin' heard of one." He was supremely disdainful.

"No, it's really fun! I go out with the girls sometimes. We'll study at Momo's, or shop at the mall, or go for walks-"

"And other times, I'll hang out with Iida and-"

"Let me guess. You like being with that shitty nerd, eh?" Bakugo spat the words out of his mouth hatefully. He hadn't even heard his name, and yet a mere reference to him was enough to evoke such a reaction. She'd forgotten how deep his hatred for Deku really was.

Ochaco's face fell mid-sentence. He was right, of course, but she didn't want to admit it. Not to herself, her friends, or him. Not to anyone.

"I-I mean, of course I do! He's my friend!"

"Why the fuck would anyone would want to be friends with a fuckin' loser like him?"

He'd said it spitefully, but there was a touch of genuine curiosity in his tone.

Ochaco flushed. There were so many things she wanted to say to him. It made her angry. The way he spoke so rudely about her friend, and how he didn't seem to care about what she was saying to him. Her hands curled into fists at her side.

But before she got the chance, they were already back at the dorms.

Bakugo swiftly turned away from her, not bothering to wait from her as climbed the staircase and pushed the door open.

Ochaco was still brimming with anger. She was just trying to make small talk, but of course Bakugo proved to be impossible to talk to. Why did she even try? It's not like she'd ever get to know him. Not in a million years. He always had to be angry. He'd turned what could have been a perfectly nice conversation into a bitter mess. Bakugo didn't even have a good reason for it.

Fuming, she walked up the stairs, entering the common room after him.

The girls' eyes widened in awe as Ochaco described her experience with Bakugo. They were sitting on the couch once more, occupying their habitual positions.

"I wouldn't be surprised if I were you, Ochaco-chan. Bakugo's never been likeable, kero."

Tsuyu said this bluntly, but it was a popular opinion. Jirou, Momo, and Hagakure all voiced their agreement, chiming in with their negative opinions of Bakugo.

Mina, however, was the odd one out.

"I mean, he's not that bad..."

The rest of them stared at her in disbelief.

"I'm only saying that because he's friends with Kirishima-kun and Kaminari-kun, and I'm friends with them, so-"

"But he just said he doesn't really care about friendships!" Hagakure objected indignantly.

"He says that, but you don't know if he means it-"

"Why wouldn't he mean it? I wouldn't put it past him!" Jirou retorted.

As Ochaco had expected (but not hoped), their discussion had turned into a heated argument over Bakugo's hypothetical merits. She let out a sigh and leaned back on the couch, her overworked muscles relaxing as she stretched.

He was so hard to deal with, so frustrating, so, so disrespectful...

But she had to admit, there was something intriguing about him. She thought back to their sparring session, and it sent chills down her spine. The way he wouldn't hold himself back against her. The passion she could feel when their bodies met mid-fight, sometimes on the tips of his fingers, as they fought. That explicit intensity of his in full flare as he made every concentrated effort he possibly could to bring her down. The different aspects of him she'd gotten to see as she wore him down, but he'd discarded any trace of them when he knew she was looking.

He was no easy task, Bakugo Katsuki, but she wanted to figure him out. And she wasn't going to let him go without trying.

After all, that's what Deku-kun would do, right?

She glanced out the window to see Deku practicing with his quirk. His conviction had garnered her fierce admiration, and she always thought of him whenever doing something hero-related. She aspired to be like him, to fight like him and think like him. Thinking about how she felt- well, it made her flustered, because what if he didn't feel the same way? That was why she tried to avoid it, but she knew there was something special about him.

Smiling, she leaned in to join the newest topic of discussion amongst them (How does Aizawa-sensei make his hair float?) with a renewed sense of interest.

From across the room, Bakugou, Tokoyami, Kaminari, and Kirishima were sitting around a table. Bakugo'd made himself comfortable, with his arms sprawled around the cushions to either side.

While the others were engrossed in their conversation (Kirishima had brought up the question of which pro hero had the best costume), his eyes found their way to something else as he reviewed the day's events in his mind.

He hated the way Angel Face talked about Deku. Like he was some kind of fuckin' god or something. Bakugo knew he was better than that damn loser in any possible way, and it ticked him off to see anyone praise him. Let alone someone who'd literally just seen the extent of his abilities, ones that had taken fucking years to hone. You couldn't compare his athletic prowess to whatever the fuck that Quirkless nerd could do, some sloppy shit he'd got together in a few months. It was fucking annoying, and she was lucky he didn't explode on her about it right then and there.

As he watched her talk to her friends, her face lighting up with mirth with every laugh and smile, his anger ebbed to give way for... something else. It was a different kind of feeling, and he wasn't accustomed to it at all. Bakugo momentarily forgot the reasons for his irritation as he found himself examining Ochaco from the opposite side of the room.

"So, Ochaco-chan, eh? It isn't like you to be so preoccupied."

Shitty Hair had interrupted his semi-stupor, and was now looking at him with a knowing smirk on his face.

"Oi, shut the fuck up! I wasn't looking at shit!"

"Sure you weren't..."

The cluster of girls, who were pestering a very flustered Momo over her hypothesized feelings for Todoroki, hushed as Bakugo Katsuki approached them. He didn't bother to ask to talk to Ochaco in private.

"Angel Face."

"Yes?"

"Same time, same place?" He was blushing, this time more subtly, but he attempted to fight it as he stared at the floor, hands protruding out of his pockets.

"S-sure!" Ochaco wasn't expecting Bakugo to be the one to schedule their next meeting, but it left her slightly grateful at his willingness to reach out. She was blushing too now, her friends not even bothering to hide their giggles.

He walked away, taking care to rearrange his features into the same haughty expression he usually wore.

"I told you he wasn't that bad!" Mina exclaimed, poking Ochaco in the side.

"I mean, it's pretty good for Bakugo-kun," Momo chimed in, grateful the conversation was no longer revolving around her.

"He was so awkward, Ochaco-chan! Didn't you notice?" Hagakure asked.

"W-what? I didn't think he was awkward! He seemed normal to me!"

They continued to banter back and forth, and the topic shifted to pestering Jirou about Kaminari not long after.

Ochaco couldn't stop replaying every detail of their fight. She buried her head in her pillow, desperately trying to assuage her mind, but every last kick, punch, and dodge were on loop in her brain. She tried to think of Deku instead, which was much more comforting. Thankfully, it worked as she drifted off to sleep.

Or so she thought. Her mind wandered back to when Bakugo had her pinned against the wall, when his body was right against hers. She felt like- searching for the words to describe it, she settled on a prey being hunted down by a predator.

Had she... enjoyed that? No, of course she didn't! Why on Earth would she have been enjoying it? Oh, if Deku could see her now... he'd be reviled. She let out a long sigh. She had more important things to think about.

[wrestlingisfake]

I watched the Dark Side of the Ring documentary on Chris Benoit so I thought I’d add some details they didn’t get into.

The double murder-suicide happened to occur while WWE was building up a storyline where Vince McMahon had “died” in an exploding limousine.  The June 25, 2007, edition of Raw was scheduled as a 3-hour special (Raw was usually a 2-hour show then) featuring a public “funeral” for Vince, with plot twists meant to lead into a conflict over his will and a secret heir.  (This was later re-worked into the “Vince has an illegitimate son” storyline.)  Obviously plans changed. 

It still would have been possible to do a show similar to the Eddie Guerrero tribute, with fans in attendance, the whole roster doing a ten-bell salute, and feel-good matches without storylines.  WWE had a grim talent for doing that sort of thing on short notice.  The fact it was an empty arena, with a handful of people throwing to clips and pre-taped comments, was unusual.  I’ve always wondered if Vince mentally gave up on the show, simply because the signature storyline of the year--hours away from a major story beat--was suddenly unsalvageable.

Once it became clear that Chris had killed Nancy and Daniel, WWE took heat from the media for doing the tribute show.  I think the public felt WWE should have either known more about the case before the show started, or limited discussion of the topic until more information became available.  To a non-fan at the time, it probably seemed feasible to run a tasteful “in memorium” graphic and run a normal show, and save the full-throated tribute for later.  That would have been unthinkable inside the WWE bubble, though--fans would have been offended by anything less than the prompt tributes Owen Hart and Eddie Guerrero received.  Also, as noted, a “normal show” would have been the scheduled funeral for Vince, which was obviously a no-go.

I’ve heard that the news started to report the possibility of homicide that night, during the show.  I wouldn’t know, because I heard the news when I got home from work and got sucked into memorializing Chris, just like WWE.  I was certain the family must have been killed by a gas leak or something.  “Weird Al” Yankovic’s parents had died from carbon monoxide poisoning in 2004, so that kind of thing was fresh on people’s minds.  I can totally believe the WWE crew didn’t consider the possibility of foul play, because I didn’t seriously consider it until the following day, when the police officially ruled it a double murder-suicide.

I think the decision to “erase” Benoit can be traced to the frustration Vince probably felt when he had to address the situation all over again on the June 26 ECW show.  Vince loathes being put on the spot over things he believes are not his fault and beyond his control.  I’m not saying he was totally heartless about the tragedy.  But in his mind it’s wrong that thing like that should force him to scrap his storylines in favor of a tribute show, or that he should have to apologize for doing the tribute show he didn’t really want to do in the first place.  He wanted to get past this, once and for all, and formally striking Benoit’s name from the record let him feel control over the situation.

It’s worth noting that the “censoring” of Benoit has not affected his appearances on countless hours of WWE Network footage, or his name appearing in various title histories.  It’s also worth considering that, even if WWE personnel were “allowed” to talk about him, they’d likely have nothing to say at this point.  It’s fairly unusual for WWE to extensively reference anything 13 years after the fact.  They’re free and clear to talk about Eddie, but they don’t bring him up much either, except to say he’s dead and he did a frog splash.

I’m not sure the documentary adequately explained the issues with unprotected chairshots, or the danger of the flying headbutt, especially for non-fans who know pro wrestling is fake but don’t understand how it works.  Many pro wrestling spots are only “safe” in the sense that the wrestler can take the full impact but still get up and pretend to fight.  If a guy could hit his head on something and keep going, the business had no need to figure out a way to make it safer or easier.  Eventually the mentality was that if you couldn’t take that punishment, you were weak and the damage would either toughen you up or force you to quit.  Of course, this changed a lot after 2007.

So did the Wellness Policy.  Today’s fans may be bewildered that Chris Benoit could pass a drug test with so much testosterone in his system at the time of his death.  The missing piece of the puzzle is that the policy was only introduced to combat the bad PR over Eddie, and was not seriously enforced until the Benoit story exposed it as a joke.  Basically, after Eddie WWE wanted to look like they were preventing another tragedy, and after Benoit WWE realized that it was in their best interests to actually prevent another tragedy.

I was surprised the documentary touched on Nancy Benoit’s history with Kevin Sullivan, without mentioning the fringe theory that Sullivan was the “real” murderer.  At the time, Sullivan was perceived as holding back Chris’s career in WCW, and it was easy to cast Chris as the good guy who overcame adversity and Sullivan as a jealous, bitter has-been.  People who wanted to find some other villain in the Benoit murders found it easy to turn to Sullivan, and his silly 1980s Satanic heel gimmick added fuel to the fire.  The idea that Sullivan could outwit the Fayette County Sheriff's Department but somehow fail to account for the sleuthing skills of pro wrestling fans is, as ever, preposterous.

The documentary was a little vague on the “glass ceiling” politics in the 1990s.  The key is that the WWF tended to want to make stars out of bigger guys (6 feet and up, 250 pounds and up), and WCW tended to want to make stars out of guys that had been stars in the WWF.  Benoit and his closest friends were generally viewed as solid technicians but too bland and/or small to be at the tippy-toppy level.  They got a boost from the hype about them jumping from WCW to WWF.  But once the Monday Night Wars were over and WWE was the only game in town, guys like Benoit and Eddie Guerrero were kept at a certain level, while a new generation of big muscly guys (e.g., John Cena, Batista) kinda leapfrogged over them.  That’s not to say Chris and Eddie didn’t have their big moments in the sun, but there was always a higher level just out of reach for them.

That political context likely affects how fans feel about the Benoit case.  To this day there are fans who act as if the primary injustice is that WWE won’t acknowledge Chris’s existence.  For years, being a Chris Benoit fan meant arguing that he was underrated and overlooked by the capricious powers that be, and I think some fans reflexively view his legacy as an extension of that struggle.  They want everyone to admit that Chris was, despite the murders, an excellent pro wrestler, as if anyone ever disputed that.  They want Chris to be inducted in the Hall of Fame so WWE will play his entrance music and give him his due, without confronting Chris’s role in preventing that from happening.  They wish Chris had gone out like Eddie, because Eddie’s tragedy was at least a clean and pure expression of grief and veneration.  Chris Benoit denied us that expression, but it’s easier to blame someone else.

[madhukumarc]

What are affiliate marketing content ideas?

Affiliate marketing is a great way to monetize a website or blog and generate income. Content is a key part of any affiliate marketing strategy, so it's important to come up with creative content ideas that will engage your audience.

“People buy from people they trust and they trust people they like” – Garrison Wynn

Here are the top 5 ideas for affiliate marketing content that you can use to boost your income:

1. Product Reviews: Write reviews of products that you're an affiliate for and include an affiliate link so readers can purchase the product. This is an effective way to showcase the features of the product and help readers understand why it's worth buying.

This can be a great way to attract readers and encourage them to click through and make a purchase. You should also be sure to include keywords in your blog post that are related to the product or service, as this can help with search engine rankings.

2. Tutorials: People love watching video reviews because it gives them a better understanding of the product and how it works. Create tutorials related to products you're an affiliate for, such as how to set up the product and use it effectively.

This helps readers understand the value of the product and can also give them ideas for how to use it in unique ways.

3. Interviews: Interview people who are experts in the field related to the product you're an affiliate for. This helps establish trust between you and your readers, as they can see that you're collaborating with thought leaders in the industry.

4. Comparison Posts: Compare two or more products that you're an affiliate for, such as by comparing their features, pricing, and customer support. This can help readers make an informed decision when choosing which product to buy.

5. Lists: Create lists of products that you're an affiliate for and explain why each one is a good choice. You can also create lists of resources related to the product, such as tutorials, reviews, and interviews.

Pro-Tip: If you're good at doing keyword research, you'll have a wealth of content ideas at your disposal to use for promotion and other purposes. 

You can use resources like Google Keyword Planner, Exploding Topics, Answer The Public, Also Asked, and other premium SEO tools.

These are top notch ideas among the many for affiliate marketing content that you can use to boost your income and engage your audience. But, be creative and experiment with different types of content to find what works best for your purpose and audience.

P.S: Visit Digital Marketing Forum for more such insights and specific answers to most [unanswered] questions.

[awaketake]

Exploding Topics Pro Overview

Everything you need to know about Exploding Topics Pro in 4 mins. Including main features, pricing plans and trial.

Missing out on trends? Exploding Topics Pro will help you find trends before everyone else!

This Exploding Topics Pro Overview will start by telling you what are trends and their importance.

Content, products, and ideas that ride trends are easily noticed. People are already desperately searching for those topics.

This surge in interest often means increased online searches, social media discussions, overall engagement and also more sales.

That’s exactly what happened with AI that already existed in 1956 but saw a rise in popularity due to chat bots like chatgpt.

Suddenly every software started to show off their AI capabilities.

To make your campaigns or content more effective you need to incorporate trends and trending topics into your strategy!

[jcmarchi]

Exploding Topics Review: Uncover Trends Before They Blow Up!

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/exploding-topics-review-uncover-trends-before-they-blow-up/

Exploding Topics Review: Uncover Trends Before They Blow Up!

As an SEO specialist, I’m constantly looking for ways to stay ahead of the curve. After all, SEO isn’t just about optimizing for what’s popular right now, but anticipating what’s coming next. It’s about spotting the trends before they become mainstream, so you can create content that resonates when it matters most. That’s why staying on top of emerging trends is more critical than ever!

I’ve heard a lot about Exploding Topics and was excited to do a personal deep dive into it. Co-founded by Brian Dean (an SEO legend!) it’s a game-changing tool that helps you spot trends before they explode into mainstream consciousness!

What I love about Exploding Topics is that (unlike Google Trends) it doesn’t just show you what’s already trending. It helps you identify trends before they even become popular.

While Google Trends is great for giving me real-time data on what’s hot right now, Exploding Topics digs deeper by analyzing the growth patterns of topics over time so I can spot emerging trends that are on the rise but haven’t hit the mainstream yet. This early insight allows me to create content that’s ahead of the curve, giving me a strategic advantage!

In this Exploding Topics review, I’ll discuss the pros and cons, what it is, who it’s best for, and its key features. Then, I’ll show you how I used Exploding Topics to uncover emerging trends, boost my content strategy, and ultimately stay ahead of the competition.

I’ll finish the article by comparing Exploding Topics with my top three alternatives (Trends Critical, Brandwatch, and Talkwalker). By the end, you’ll know if Exploding Topics is right for you!

Verdict

Exploding Topics is an excellent tool for uncovering emerging trends, creating timely content, and staying ahead of market shifts. However, its cost, limited niche coverage, and occasional fluctuations in trend accuracy may make it less ideal for smaller businesses or highly specialized industries.

Pros and Cons

Helps users discover emerging trends before they become mainstream

Provides fresh ideas for timely, relevant content that resonates with target audiences

Stay ahead of market shifts and adapt quickly to changes in consumer demand

Offers valuable information for making informed business decisions

Easy to navigate and understand

Covers a wide range of industries and topics

Provides access to past trend information

It can be expensive, especially for smaller businesses or individual users

The accuracy of trend predictions may fluctuate

It may not cover all niche industries equally well

Some identified trends may lose relevance quickly

The trends are restricted to predefined categories

The starter plan only allows 10 topic searches

The exact sources of trend data are not always clear

What is Exploding Topics?

At its core, Exploding Topics is a massive trend detection engine that uses artificial intelligence to analyze millions of data points across the Internet. We’re talking everything including Google search data, social media, news articles, and online discussions. It identifies trends at least 6 months before they go mainstream!

Trend Detection Algorithm & Data Sources

The Trend Detection algorithm doesn’t just look for spikes in popularity. Instead, it analyzes the growth pattern of topics over time, looking for sustained, organic growth curves.

For example, let’s say you’re researching sustainable fashion trends. The platform can help you spot bamboo fabric as an emerging trend because it shows consistent growth over the years, not just a temporary surge.

Free vs. Pro Versions

The free version of Exploding Topics gives you access to basic trend data and limited historical information. But if you’re serious about trend research, the pro version is worth investing in!

You get daily trend updates, advanced filters, and trend forecasting capabilities which can help spot potentially profitable niches early on. You’ll also get access to Pro features, like Meta Trends, trending products and startups, and API access (in higher-tier plans).

Pro users can also view very new trends peaking in the last 3-6 months, which isn’t available in the free version. Plus, the historical data goes back several years, allowing you to differentiate between seasonal spikes and genuine long-term trends!

Meta Categories

One thing that took me a bit to figure out was how to effectively use the Meta Trends. These are like trend clusters that show you the bigger picture of related topics!

The Meta Trends feature provides a visual representation of umbrella topics and their related subtopics. When you click on a Meta Trend, you’ll see a diagram with an inner ring of popular micro trends and an outer ring of related trending topics.

When exploring Meta Trends, you might discover how seemingly separate topics are interconnected. For example, a broad trend like “Premium Snacks” might include various related trending subtopics, helping you understand the larger market context.

Using Meta Trends can help you identify emerging niches within broader markets and understand the complex relationships between different trending topics. It’s an excellent way to get a more comprehensive view of trend dynamics beyond individual topic analysis.

While the platform is powerful, it’s not without limitations. Sometimes you’ll need to combine its insights with other research tools like Semrush, Google Trends, or other research platforms to get a well-rounded view of emerging market opportunities!

Who is Exploding Topics Best For?

Exploding Topics is best suited for these types of people:

Bloggers and Content Marketers can use Exploding Topics to find fresh, engaging topics with high search potential, discover content ideas that haven’t been extensively covered, and create content that drives traffic.

SEO Professionals can use Exploding Topics to identify low-competition keywords linked to rapidly growing trends, help clients get quick ranking results, and stand out in competitive digital landscapes.

Investors can use Exploding Topics to uncover promising trends and emerging startups and gain insights into untapped market potential.

Entrepreneurs can use Exploding Topics to validate business ideas, spot market gaps before they become saturated, and position themselves to offer groundbreaking products or services.

Industries with Significant Potential can use Exploding Topics to track trends in technology (AI, machine learning, blockchain), e-commerce, marketing, health, and finance.

Exploding Topics Key Features

This platform comes with eight key features.

1. Trend Tracking

When I first used the Trend Tracking feature, I was impressed by how comprehensive it was. It doesn’t just show you what’s trending. It breaks down the growth pattern with detailed metrics!

The Trend Tracking tool focuses on overall growth patterns, search volume trends, and future projections. It provides the following key features for trend analysis:

Historical data going back up to 15 years

Search volume for the previous month and growth over selected periods

Trend forecasting using AI prediction for the next year (in some plans)

Channel breakdown showing where the topic is most popular on social media

Related trends for additional context

2. Trends Database

The Trends Database has become my go-to resource for research. It’s massive (we’re talking hundreds of thousands of tracked topics across dozens of categories!) It also covers 31+ categories including AI, pets, marketing, tech, food, gaming, design, and travel.

What I love most is the filtering system. You can refine the data by growth rate, time period, and type (brand or non-brand).

The database is updated daily, so you have access to the most current trend information. Each trend includes a graph of historical Google Search volume so you can understand the trend’s growth trajectory and stability over time.

Pro users can export this data into CSV files, making it easy to conduct deeper analysis outside the platform.

3. Trend Analysis

For Trend Analysis, Exploding Topics is really good at providing context. It’s not just raw numbers. You get detailed insights about why a trend is growing!

The correlation analysis has been particularly useful.

For example, you might discover that the rise in “mushroom coffee” is strongly correlated with broader trends in functional beverages and natural nootropics. This kind of insight can help create much more comprehensive content!

4. Trending Startups

The Trending Startups tool is great for staying ahead of industry innovations.

Each startup listing includes:

Company name and description

Founded date

Total funding and latest funding round

Number of employees

Location

Website and social platform links (if available)

It’s an excellent tool for identifying emerging business models and product categories before they hit mainstream awareness.

5. Trending Products

The Trending Products feature saves countless hours of market research. It offers insights into trending products across various categories.

Here’s what sets it apart:

Uses AI and machine learning to analyze data from multiple sources (including Google Search, social media, and e-commerce sites)

Provides growth trends and forecasts for products

Shows top sellers and brands for each product

It also provides monthly sales data for products, average review information, and Google search volume trends to gauge consumer interest.

The tool aims to identify products with long-term growth potential rather than just current bestsellers. You can track products of interest and receive real-time updates on trend data.

6. Meta Trends

Meta Trends might be the most powerful feature for strategic planning. It visually represents umbrella topics and their related subtopics, showing interconnected trends within larger markets.

When you click on a Meta Trend, you see a diagram with an inner ring of popular micro trends and an outer ring of related trending topics. This helps identify fast-growing niche trends within broader markets, providing a list of growing keywords, brands, and products in that niche.

For example, I discovered trending AI chatbots like Yellow AI and Elise AI were all part of a larger meta trend in AI Chatbots. This helped me develop a much more coherent content strategy by providing insights into emerging niches and understanding the complex relationships between different trending topics!

7. Reports Library

The Reports Library offers curated trends and comprehensive analyses delivered weekly. It provides valuable insights that help paint a picture of where markets are heading.

Each report is divided into two main segments:

“Early bird companies”

“Tomorrow’s products today”

In every report, you’ll find:

Four trending products

Four companies making waves

Detailed insights for each trend and company

8. API Access

Exploding Topics offers API access for Pro Business subscribers. The API lets you retrieve and analyze topics in real time, with up to 60 requests per minute.

Key features of the Exploding Topics API include:

Access to trending topics, including descriptions, detection dates, and monthly search volumes

Data on popular e-commerce products, including growth levels and search metrics

Information on trending startups

Historical data going back 15 years, with daily updates

The API can be integrated into existing analytics systems and content planning tools to streamline your workflow. You can even build custom dashboards, create visualizations, and set up automatic reminders or workflows based on trend data.

It’s flexible and easy to use with REST architecture. It’s also managed directly by Exploding Topics for live and accurate data and comes with hands-on support if needed.

Combining These Features

Something I’ve learned is to use these features in combination.

For example, I often start with Meta Trends to identify broad movements, then drill down using the Trends Database, validate with the Products section, and finally use the API to monitor specific metrics automatically. This integrated approach has helped me spot opportunities I might have missed looking at any single feature in isolation.

Just remember that like any tool, these features work best when you have a clear strategy for using them. It took me some time to develop an efficient workflow, but now I can quickly assess new opportunities and make data-driven decisions about content direction.

The real power comes from understanding how these features complement each other. For example, when I identify a promising trend in the database, I can quickly validate it against startup activity and product demand and then set up API monitoring for ongoing tracking. This comprehensive approach has helped me stay ahead of market shifts rather than just reacting to them!

How to Use Exploding Topics

Here’s how I used Exploding Topics to identify rising trends in my niche:

Create an Account

Go to Meta Trends

View All Meta Trends

Select a Trend

Track a Topic

Create a New Project

View Your Project

Select a Topic

Analyze Topic Metrics

View Related Trends

Find Trends in Your Niche

Step 1: Create an Account

I started by going to explodingtopics.com and hitting “Pro” on the top right and then “Sign In.”

After creating an account and signing up for a Pro plan, I was taken to the Trend Tracking tab!

Step 2: Go to Meta Trends

First things first: start with the Meta Trends section which you can find near the bottom of the navigation panel. Instead of getting lost in individual trends, I’ve learned to use this tool to look at broader category movements.

Step 3: View All Meta Trends

To view all meta trends, I clicked “All Meta Trends” on the top right.

Step 4: Select a Trend

From here, I could view all of my meta trends in one place and choose the one I wanted to dive deeper into.

I selected “View Analysis” on “AI Chatbots.”

Selecting “View Analysis” gave me a brief background and analysis of AI chatbots, as well as a chart with two rings:

Inner ring: Micro trends within AI chatbots

Outer ring: Other trends related to AI chatbots

Step 5: Track a Topic

Selecting one of the trending topics presented a graph showing the volume and growth over the past couple of years. Beneath this graph, I could hit “Track Topic” to start tracking it!

When deciding which topics you want to track on Exploding Topics, pay attention to the platform’s trend indicators. Look for trends with:

Steady upward growth trajectories

Increasing search volume

“Exploding” or early-stage status

I’ve had success targeting topics that are just beginning to gain traction but haven’t reached peak popularity. These emerging trends often represent the perfect timing for content creation or business strategy. By identifying trends before they become mainstream, you can position yourself ahead of the competition.

The meta trends on Exploding Topics are an excellent way to discover topics you might think are a single trend but are actually part of a larger movement. It’s a great way to identify niche opportunities within larger markets! If you’re an SEO specialist like me, it’s an excellent way to create content clusters to establish topical authority and really start ranking in the SERPs.

Step 6: Create a New Project

Hitting “Track Topic” opens a small window with existing projects I can add the topic to. Alternatively, I could create a new project, which is what I selected.

Next, I had to give my project a name. I called it “AI Tools” and hit “Create.”

Step 7: View Your Project

Heading over to the “Trend Tracking” tab was my new project and topic! I hit “View Project” to see more.

Step 8: Select a Topic

Hitting “View Project” took me to a page where I could view my topics, growth, and volume within the project. I selected the topic I had just added.

Step 9: Analyze Topic Metrics

This gave me much deeper insights into:

The topics growth over time (up to 15 years!) and project forecast over the next 12 months

What the topic was about

A breakdown of the topic’s activity on each social channel

Key indicators of the topic’s growth, speed, etc.

Step 10: View Related Trends

Below that were trends related to my topic, including their growth metrics.

Step 11: Find Trends in Your Niche

The Trends Database is another excellent tool for finding trending topics in your specific niche. At the top, you can search for specific trends, or look through the different categories.

But don’t just stick to your main niche. Explore adjacent categories too to find even more opportunities!

To find trends in my niche, I selected the “Trends Database” from the navigation menu and filtered through the categories. In my case, I wanted to find more AI trends, so I went to “Technology” and selected “Artificial Intelligence.”

Next, I was presented with tens of thousands of Artificial Intelligence topics I could sort by trends, growth, volume, timeframe, and type (brands or non-brands). I could select any of these topics to get deeper insights and add them to my projects to track over time, or I could export the trend data to a CSV!

The real power of Exploding Topics isn’t just in finding trends. It’s in understanding how to time your content strategy around them.

I’ve found that targeting trends when they’re in the early growth phase, rather than at their peak, usually leads to better long-term results!

Overall, Exploding Topics helped me uncover emerging trends before they hit the mainstream for a competitive edge. By tracking and analyzing trends, I was able to create targeted strategies to boost my content’s relevance and reach!

Top 3 Exploding Topics Alternatives

Herer are the best Exploding Topics alternatives.

Trends Critical

The first Exploding Topics alternative I’d recommend is Trends Critical. I love Trends Critical for its AI tools that simplify turning insights into real-world results! The tool aims to “skip hours of trend research” and offers a unique approach of combining “Trends + AI + Partners = Faster and Better Outcomes”.

Both platforms focus on identifying emerging trends and valuable insights for businesses and individuals aiming to stay ahead of market changes. Exploding Topics casts a wide net across industries, analyzing millions of online interactions to identify trends before they take off. Meanwhile, Trends Critical goes further with insights powered by AI. It offers cross-industry trend integration, real-life trend validation, and customizable tools tailored to specific workflows.

Exploding Topics excels in simplicity, ease of navigation, and providing broad trend insights through predefined categories. On the other hand, Trends Critical offers a more dynamic, AI-driven approach with personalized insights with support for over 50 languages and 40+ AI templates. While Exploding Topics may appeal to those seeking general trends, Trends Critical’s strengths lie in its ability to offer niche, personalized insights and tools for converting trends into actionable strategies.

For a straightforward way to discover broad trends and generate content ideas, choose Exploding Topics. For AI-driven, customizable insights to transform trends into concrete business actions, Trends Critical is the better fit!

Brandwatch

The next Exploding Topics alternative I’d recommend is Brandwatch. Brandwatch is excellent at providing detailed historical context and actionable real-time insights through its advanced AI capabilities. They recently launched an AI-powered React Score that provides real-time brand reputation insights!

Both platforms help identify trends, but their approaches and focus areas differ.

Exploding Topics uses a broad algorithm to analyze millions of searches, conversations, and mentions. This makes Exploding Topics the better choice for spotting under-the-radar trends early. It’s easy to navigate and caters to content creators, marketers, and entrepreneurs looking to stay ahead of emerging markets. However, its predefined categories and limited niche coverage can be drawbacks.

Meanwhile, Brandwatch focuses on comprehensive consumer intelligence with historical and real-time data from 1.7 trillion conversations across diverse sources like social media, reviews, and news. Its AI tools provide deep insights through auto-segmentation, image analysis, and customizable visualizations for large-scale data analysis. Unlike Exploding Topics, Brandwatch offers powerful reporting tools to track and share insights, making it better suited for enterprises.

For a user-friendly tool to spot trends and create timely content, choose Exploding Topics. For a robust platform with deep consumer intelligence and market analysis, choose Brandwatch!

Talkwalker

The final Exploding Topics alternative I’d recommend is Talkwalker. Both tools are designed to help businesses stay ahead of trends, but they approach this goal differently.

Exploding Topics focuses on identifying early-stage trends by analyzing Internet searches and conversations. This is great for finding valuable insights for content creation. On the other hand, Talkwalker excels in social listening, media monitoring, and consumer intelligence. It also comes with comprehensive tools for reputation management and competitor analysis.

Exploding Topics is straightforward and excellent for discovering under-the-radar trends across predefined categories. Meanwhile, Talkwalker offers a broader scope, including crisis management and audience insights. It also uses Blue Silk™ GPT to decode real-time consumer insights and predict future KPIs with high accuracy, among other things. The major difference lies in Talkwalker’s emphasis on real-time monitoring and its ability to connect businesses with influential media partners while Exploding Topics remains focused on trend discovery.

If you’re looking for early-stage trend discovery and niche content ideas, choose Exploding Topics. For real-time insights, social media monitoring, and reputation management, choose Talkwalker!

Exploding Topics Review: The Right Tool For You?

After using Exploding Topics for trend discovery, it’s been an invaluable tool in staying ahead of market shifts and creating content that resonates. The ability to identify emerging trends before they hit the mainstream is something I didn’t expect to be so impactful! I’ve been able to create content around topics that were just starting to gain traction, positioning myself ahead of the curve.

The entire platform is easy to navigate and offers detailed insights, like search volume trends and future projections. I’ve been able to understand not just what’s trending, but why it’s growing. Plus, the Meta Trends feature helped me connect seemingly unrelated trends into larger movements. As an SEO specialist, this has been huge for creating content clusters to establish topical authority.

The only drawback I’d mention is that Exploding Topics doesn’t cover niche industries as deeply as I’d like. If you’re working in a very specialized field, you might find the coverage a bit limited. But for broader trends and content creation, this tool is solid.

If you’re curious about the best Exploding Topics alternatives, here’s what I’d recommend:

Trends Critical is best if you’re looking for AI-powered, customizable trend insights across industries with a focus on real-world applications. It’s a great tool for creating actionable strategies.

Brandwatch is best for enterprises needing advanced consumer intelligence, historical data, and real-time insights from 1.7 trillion conversations across multiple sources.

Talkwalker is best for businesses looking for real-time insights, social media monitoring, and competitor analysis with a focus on media partnerships and reputation management.

Overall, if you’re looking to discover emerging trends early and stay ahead of the competition, Exploding Topics is a must-have. It’s been a game-changer for my content strategy and decision-making, especially when paired with other tools for deeper insights!

Thanks for reading my Exploding Topics review! I hope you found it helpful.

Exploding Topics offers a Free Plan that includes the Trend Explorer, a weekly newsletter with trending topics, and three free Trend Reports each month. Try it for yourself and see how you like it!

Visit Exploding Topics →

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Exploding Topics reputable?

Exploding Topics is a reputable trend discovery tool, earning an impressive 4.9 out of 5 rating on ProductHunt and co-founded by Brian Dean, a well-known SEO expert. The platform has grown significantly, now boasting a database of 779k+ trends and generating $3.2 million in annual recurring revenue, which demonstrates its credibility and value in the market.

Where does Exploding Topics get their data from?

Exploding Topics gathers its data from a variety of sources, including Google Search, e-commerce sites like Amazon, social media platforms, podcasts, and industry publications. This combination of AI and human analysis allows the platform to identify emerging trends effectively.

What is the alternative to Exploding Topics?

Google Trends is a free alternative to Exploding Topics that allows users to see how searches are trending over time, though it requires more manual investigation. The Pinterest Trends Tool is another free alternative that is particularly useful for direct-to-consumer (DTC) businesses looking for product and content ideas.

What is Exploding Topics used for?

Exploding Topics is helps businesses, marketers, and content creators identify emerging trends before they become mainstream by analyzing data from various sources like social media and search engines. The platform provides actionable insights to stay ahead of market shifts, develop strategic content, and make informed business decisions across different industries.

[awaketake]

In this Exploding Topics Pro Demo I'm going to show you all Exploding Topics Pro features.

And how to use those features to find topics, startups and products that sell!

You might have high quality content but if people are not interested you won't see a lot of results.

And It’s hard to figure out what’s currently popping if you don’t have a trends research tool!

Exploding Topics Pro is one of the best tools to find high interest topics, products, business opportunities... before they even become popular.

If you want to see how it works then watch my Exploding Topics Pro Demo. It will paint a better picture than a review.

This Exploding Topics Pro Demo will be perfect if you are thinking about buying it or learning how to use the tool.

[xmasqoo-haineke]

Charlie the Unicorn From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Written, directed & produced by: Jason Steele

Distribution company: FilmCow

Distributed byFilmCow

Release dateNovember 26, 2005

(

Newgrounds

)

January 2006

(FilmCow)

April 30, 2006

(

YouTube

; original)

[1]

January 10, 2008

(YouTube; official)

[2]

Running time4 minutes

CountryUnited States

LanguageEnglish

Charlie the Unicorn is a 2005 Flash animated comedy short film and viral video created by Jason Steele of independent film company FilmCow in Orlando, Florida. The short follows Charlie, a lethargic unicorn, who is taken by two other unicorns on an adventure to the mythical "Candy Mountain." However, as it turns out, the journey is a trap, and Charlie gets hoodwinked by the other unicorns.

Steele originally created the video as a birthday present for his mother; the video was partially credited to her and was released by her under the username "TypeQueen" on Newgrounds, where it rapidly gained popularity. The video was later uploaded onto YouTube by Geoff Swanson, where it gained large viewership and continued to increase in popularity, leading to a series of sequels and spinoffs.

The video was a viral hit, accumulating 67 million views and gaining worldwide praise. A merchandising line was later produced, as well as three sequels and a parody series titled charlie teh unicron [sic]. The first three episodes in the series were released to DVD in 2009 as part of The FilmCow Master Collection.

Contents

1Plot

2Characters

3Production

4Reception

5Sequels, spinoffs, and parodies

6References

7External links

Plot[edit]

In a quiet meadow, Charlie, a unicorn, is resting, before he is awakened by two other unicorns. As Charlie awakes from his slumber, the other two unicorns inform him that they have found a map to the mythical "Candy Mountain," and that he must come with them on their journey. Charlie initially refuses and goes back to sleep. The blue unicorn begins to jump on Charlie, insistent that he should come, and both begin to pester him with details of the mountain, causing him to begrudgingly give in to their demands. The trio begins their journey in a forest, where the two lead Charlie to a Liopleurodon; the two unicorns converse with the Liopleurodon, who supposedly guides them on their quest with a simple roar. The trio then crosses a bridge, much to the delight of the pink and blue unicorns, who repeatedly tell him that they are on a bridge.

When the trio arrives at Candy Mountain, the letters of the CANDY sign come to life and the "Y" sings a song, closely resembling the tune of Klarinettenmuckl-Jodler,[3] (also known as The Clarinet Polka) welcoming Charlie to the mountain and imploring Charlie to go into the cave. After the letters explode, Charlie reluctantly goes into the cave. The other unicorns say goodbye as Charlie is locked inside and knocked out by an unknown assailant. When he awakens in his original spot, he realizes that they have taken one of his kidneys. The video then immediately ends with the credits.

Characters[edit]

Jason Steele plays Charlie the Unicorn, a grouchy lethargic unicorn who is badgered by his two unicorn companions to travel with them to the mythical Candy Mountain.[4] Charlie speaks with a North Eastern American accent. He acts cynical throughout the trip and fails to believe that such a place could be real.[5] To his surprise, the Candy Mountain turns out to actually exist.[4]

Steele also plays two gender-ambiguous blue and pink unicorns, named Lolz and Roffle, though their names are never mentioned and only came to light when the original script was uploaded on his website.[6] They convince Charlie to travel with them to the mythical Candy Mountain.[5] Throughout the video, the two lead him into several nonsensical situations, including receiving directions from a "magical" Liopleurodon and crossing a "magical bridge of hope and wonder".[7] By the end of the video, the trio reach Candy Mountain, where the two and the Candy Mountain marquee letters convince Charlie to enter the mountain cave.[4] Creator Jason Steele has revealed very little about the two in the following Charlie the Unicorn videos for humorous value, most notably their genders and, until March 2016,[8] their names;[9] he claims to believe that his characters are "somewhat scary"[10] and "more interesting"[11] when a small amount of information is revealed about them.

In his first musical role in the Charlie the Unicorn series, Steele performs the singing voice of the Letter "Y",[9] an anthropomorphic letter who resides alongside letters "C", "A", "N", and "D" on the Candy Mountain marquee. He performs the musical number "The Candy Mountain Cave", accompanied by the other letters.

An unintelligible Liopleurodon (/ˌleɪəˈplʊərədɒn/ in the video as opposed to /ˌlaɪoʊˈplʊərədɒn/)[9] character billed as the Magical Liopleurodon was also featured in the video.[7][12] The character (presumably) communicates in his species' natural call, and is called upon by the blue and pink unicorns to guide them to Candy Mountain.[13]

Production[edit]

Independent animator Jason Steele initially conceived Charlie the Unicorn in 2005 as a flash animation test for his mother, who enjoyed unicorn-related conversation.[9] Steele first imagined the video's plotline when he was running around his house, chanting "La la la!" repeatedly, then quickly envisioned the majority of the plotline shortly thereafter; according to Steele, the video's conception happened "all at once; there was no editing."[9] The video is primarily structured around surrealist humor[13]and dark humor. Steele claims that the former was inspired by musician Logan Whitehurst, who frequently communicated with Steele via e-mail and composed the theme song for his 2003 computer-animated short film Secret Agent Bob;[14] he describes the latter as "contrast[ing] to how bright and cheerful" the video's atmosphere is.[15]

Steele drew Charlie the Unicorn using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Flash, and animated it in After Effects and edited in Final Cut Pro.[11] The audio was recorded using Amadeus Pro, and the music was recorded with Logic Pro.[11] The video also contains a musical number titled "The Candy Mountain Cave", featured during the sequence where Charlie refuses to enter the Candy Mountain Candy Cave, sung by the mountain's marquee letter "Y", who is backed by his partners "C", "A", "N", and "D". Although the blue and pink unicorns were originally chosen to sing the song, Steele was unable to use their voices to sing at a rapid pace, and resorted to using the Letter "Y" instead.[9]

Reception[edit]

"

Charlie the Unicorn

proves that something doesn't have to make any sense at all to earn a cultlike following. The animated adventure centers on a group of unicorns venturing to Candy Mountain — "the land of sweets and joy, and joyness" — through the guide of a liopleurodon. Created by animator Jason Steele, the pilot episode gained 46 million views, sparking a series of follow-up adventures."

Time magazine.[13]

Charlie the Unicorn has become increasingly popular since its inception. Following its posting on Newgrounds in 2005, Geoff Swanson of YouTube posted a copy of the video on the website in 2006, where it rapidly gained popularity.[9][16] It reached a total of approximately 8 million views internetwide in 2007.[17] The video climbed to forty-six million views in March 2010.[13][18] It currently has 68 million views on Geoff Swanson's YouTube upload, and 35 million views on FilmCow's official YouTube upload.

Online magazine Salon described the video as "The unlikely adventure of a crotchety unicorn" and stated "We often feel like Charlie the Unicorn. Annoying, brightly colored colleagues poke at us with their curly horns as we snooze at our desk, promising far-off, sugar-coated delights. Do we muster the energy to follow them, hoping some sweet payoff will break the unbearable bleakness of our daily existence? Can they be trusted?"[19] The series has also attracted a number of celebrities, including British television personalityAlex Zane, who has openly considered himself a fan of Charlie the Unicorn,[4] and entertainers Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn.[20] Brian Hamlin of The Hollywood Reporterconsidered the video to be "incredibly dumb and annoying" yet "really funny and weird too full of unicorn joyness and music."[21] In 2009, Time named Charlie the Unicorn number 49 in their list of "YouTube's 50 Best Videos", stating "Charlie the Unicorn proves that something doesn't have to make any sense at all to earn a cultlike following."[13]

Merchandising lines produced by a partnership consisting of FilmCow and retailer CafePress as well as Hot Topic have been launched in response to the video's popularity; the merchandise features various quotes from the video and generally features the pink and blue unicorns, although Charlie appears occasionally, and is sold in several forms including t-shirts, pins, coffee mugs, and bandannas.[22][23]

Sequels, spinoffs, and parodies[edit]

5 sequels have been released: Charlie the Unicorn 2 (2008), Charlie the Unicorn 3 (2009), Charlie the Unicorn 4 (2012), Charlie the Unicorn: The Grand Finale (Part One) (2019), and Charlie the Unicorn: The Grand Finale (Part Two) (2020). On 23 February 2016, Film Cow released a video called "Charlie the Unicorn: The Grand Finale Kickstarter" in which it was announced that there was a thirty minute finale planned. On 24 February, it was announced in a Live Stream of Charlie the Unicorn that if enough money for the finale was raised, then Aubrey Plaza would be hired to voice all of the characters. Steele released the first part of the "Grand Finale" on YouTube on October 10, 2019, expecting to follow it up with five more parts. The second part was released on June 15, 2020.

The cast of Charlie the Unicorn also appeared on May 23, 2008, in the music video for Weezer's single "Pork and Beans". The music video was directed by Mathew Cullen of the video production company Motion Theory[24] and features many internet phenomena, including Charlie and the blue and pink unicorns.[25][26][27] The character of Charlie first appears in a sequence parodying the G.I. Joe public service announcements starring animated versions of the band as children, where the character Gung-Ho of the G.I. Joe franchise appears as their mentor and notably has a tattoo of Charlie on his chest.[25] All three unicorns appear at the end alongside the band and various other phenomena.[25]

On November 22, 2008, as a feature of the YouTube Live streamed event, the cast of Charlie the Unicorn were featured in a short film directed by creator Jason Steele featuring YouTube Live colliding with real life, causing several various memes to come to life, namely Rick Astley making a comeback and the world's weather conditions being altered in favor of raining chocolate.[28] The short sequence was promoted with a forty-three-second video depicting Charlie and the two unicorns attempting to defuse a bomb before being attacked by a large group of seagulls; the short had no connection whatsoever to the video it was promoting other than advertising purposes.[29]

On March 1, 2009, creator Jason Steele released a video to accompany Hot Topic's Charlie the Unicorn merchandising line titled Charlie the Unicorn and the Tomb of Horrors; the video follows Charlie and the two unicorns scaling an ancient chamber inhabited by "The Weasel," a shamanist weasel who has attempted to call upon forces of evil that laid waste to the world ten thousand years prior.[30]

The video "Charlie the Unicorn at Playlist Live" was released on the 28th of March, 2013.

Steele also produced a parody series consisting of four shorts and titled "Charlie teh Unicron". "Charlie teh Unicron" is based around "what the Charlie the Unicorn series would be like if it was written by random internet people".[31] Another parody, "Charlie the Yannicorn" was made in 2013.[32] That same year, during the Detective Heart of America: The Final Freedom Kickstarter, another parody "Charlie the Unitective Heart of America" was released, featuring Heart of America as Charlie. Although not released on FilmCow's main channel, it can be found on a playlist.[33]

Multiple livestreams featuring Charlie answering questions, telling jokes, and just generally talking to the viewers were conducted on the FilmCow YouTube channel as part of a promotion for the finale Kickstarter in early 2016. As of December 2017, only "Charlie the Unicorn's LIVE Oscars Spectacular!" - a stream which ran at the same time as the 88th Academy Awards - has been made publicly available (though unlisted) since the original streams were conducted.[34]

A game titled "Charlie the Unicorn Dating Simulator" and a storybook titled "Charlie the Unicorn: Lost in Dream Space" were released by Steele in 2016. According to Steele, the storybook is "an illustrated side-adventure that takes place a little while after the end of Charlie the Unicorn 2".[35]

References[edit]

^ Charlie The Unicorn. 30 April 2006 – via YouTube.

^ Charlie the Unicorn. 10 January 2008 – via YouTube.

^ "Klarinettenmuckl-Jodler - Franzl Lang".

^ Jump up to: a b c d Potton, Ed (2009-04-18). "Alex Zane on his favourite things". The Sunday Times. News International. Retrieved 2010-08-27.

^ Jump up to: a b Batanchiev, Tula (2008-10-19). "Editor's Column: I'm a believer". The Heights. Boston College. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2010-08-28.

^ Steele, Jason. "Charlie the Unicorn script" (PDF). FilmCow. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.

^ Jump up to: a b Nilsson, Ryan (2009-09-07). "Bruins have fun on the run: Team focused on climbing mountain". Columbia Daily Tribune. Retrieved 2010-08-28.

^ Steele, Jason. "Fathomas (Jason Steele) comments on Reddit". Reddit. Retrieved 13 March 2016.

^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Steele, Jason (2009). Commentary for Charlie the Unicorn, in The FilmCow Master Collection: 200 Years of Excellence [DVD]. Kunaki.

^ Charlie the Unicorn Adult Swim Pitch, in The FilmCow Master Collection: 200 Years of Excellence [DVD]. 2009. Kunaki.

^ Jump up to: a b c Steele, Jason. "FAQ - FilmCow :: Videos and Animations". FilmCow.com. FilmCow. Archived from the original on 2010-08-28. Retrieved 2010-08-28.

^ Armorer, Nakeisha (December 2007). "An online revolution". The Blue Print. Paul J. Hagerty High School. 3 (2): 12.

^ Jump up to: a b c d e Time Staff (2009-03-29). "Charlie the Unicorn - YouTube's 50 Best Videos". Time. Time Inc. Retrieved 2010-08-28.

^ Newitz, Annalee (2000-01-06). "Logan Whitehurst: The John Keats of Nerdcore". Wired. Condé Nast Publications. Retrieved 2010-08-27.

^ Steele, Jason (2009). Commentary for Charlie the Unicorn 2, in The FilmCow Master Collection: 200 Years of Excellence [DVD]. Kunaki.

^ Parr, Ben (2009-05-25). "Top 20 YouTube and Video Memes of All Time". Mashable. Mashable.com. Retrieved 2010-08-29.

^ Steele, Jason (2007-01-15). "Charlie the Unicorn: Nearly 8 million views internet-wide?". Spatula Madness Production Blog. FilmCow. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-08-27.

^ Virginian-Pilot Staff (2009-04-21). "Cultural touchstones courtesy of YouTube". The Virginian-Pilot. Landmark Media Enterprises. Retrieved 2008-05-30.

^ K.J. (2006-05-23). "Charlie the Unicorn: Candy Mountain". Salon. Salon Media Group. Retrieved 2010-08-28.

^ Steele, Jason (2009-04-22). "Llamas with Hats on AOTS". The FilmCow Blog. FilmCow. Archived from the original on 2012-03-17. Retrieved 2009-11-01.

^ Hamlin, Brian (2009-11-15). "A cautionary tale of correspondents and unicorns". The Hollywood Reporter. e5 Global Media. Retrieved 2010-08-27.

^ Youngstrom, Kimberly (2009-06-05). "Viral Video Phenomenon Charlie the Unicorn a Real-World T-Shirt Success - A CafePress Cultural BarometerTM Report". Business Wire. Reuters. Retrieved 2009-08-27.

^ Steele, Jason (2008-03-27). "This post is for you. No, you. Yes... yoooouuuu". Spatula Madness Production Blog. FilmCow. Archived from the original on 2010-03-29. Retrieved 2010-08-28.

^ Anitai, Tamar (2008-05-30). "The Man Behind the Memes: An Exclusive Interview With Weezer 'Pork and Beans' Video Director Mathew Cullen". MTV Buzzworthy. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2009-09-02.

^ Jump up to: a b c Sarno, David (2008-05-30). "Mathew Cullen, director of Weezer's 'Pork and Beans,' shares some secrets". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-05-30.

^ Carlson, Nicholas (2008-05-24). "Weezer understands how to work YouTube: allude to these 24 viral videos". Valleywag. Archived from the original on 2008-05-25. Retrieved 2008-05-24.

^ Staff Writers (2008-05-28). "Spot the memes in Weezer's Pork and Beans". News Limited. p. 3. Retrieved 2008-05-29.

^ Steele, Jason (2009). Commentary for YouTube Live "Charlie the Unicorn" Video, in The FilmCow Master Collection: 200 Years of Excellence [DVD]. Kunaki.

^ Steele, Jason (2009). Commentary for YouTube Live "Charlie the Unicorn Promo", in The FilmCow Master Collection: 200 Years of Excellence [DVD]. Kunaki.

^ Steele, Jason (2009-03-01). "Charlie video now up on HotTopic.com". The FilmCow Blog. FilmCow. Retrieved 2010-09-01.

^ charlie teh unicron.

^ Charlie the Yannicorn. 17 February 2013 – via YouTube.

^ Charlie the Unitective Heart of America. 30 November 2013 – via YouTube.

^ Charlie the Unicorn's LIVE Oscars Spectacular!.

^ Steele, Jason (2016-02-23). "Charlie the Unicorn: The Grand Finale". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2020-04-02.

[aja349945089713]

Product Review: Playstation 2 High School Musical "Sing It" Bundle

The Hemp Network is an MLM based division of Medical Marijuana Inc. Medical marijuana Inc. is actually definitely an Oregon corporation founded in March of 2009 which offers an efficient and secure infrastructure for that Medical Marijuana Industry. Produced of The Hemp Network believe there happens to be growing the need for hemp based products so they are resolving that demand by creating a multi-level marketing model because of distribution.

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[componentplanet]

How USB Charging Works, or How to Avoid Blowing Up Your Phone

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The tech world has finally coalesced around a charging standard, after years of proprietary adapters and ugly wall-wart power supplies. USB-C is in the process of replacing them. But, in a brilliant example of getting exactly what we asked for and not at all what we wanted, USB-C has solved the wall-wart problem by transplanting it. Instead of running around with a collection of manufacturer-specific wall plugs, customers with multiple USB-C devices have to run around with a manufacturer-specific or genuinely-compatible third-party cable.

Ten to 15 years ago, you always had to make sure you had the correct power supply for each of your gadgets. Now you have to make sure you have the right cable for your gadget.  Part of the reason for this problem is another feature that was buffed in USB-C to make it more effective and flexible: USB power delivery.

Not all USB chargers, connectors, and cables are born equal. You’ve probably noticed that some wall chargers are stronger than others. Sometimes, one USB socket on a laptop is seemingly more powerful than the other. On some desktop PCs, even when they’re turned off, you can charge your smartphone via a USB socket. It turns out there’s a method to all this madness — but first, we have to explain how USB power actually works.

New Specifications

There are now five — and soon to be six — USB specifications — USB 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, and USB4. The USB4 spec has been published but isn’t actually available in any shipping devices yet, so there are five USB standards for now. USB 1.0 is old enough that you’ll virtually never see it, so USB2 – USB 3.2 covers the spectrum for most people. Separately from that, there’s USB-C, which is a physical connection standard that devices can use. In a USB network, there is one host and one device. In almost every case, your PC is the host, and your smartphone, tablet, or camera is the device. Power always flows from the host to the device, although data can flow in both directions, such as when you copy files back and forth between your computer and your phone. The descriptions below apply to all versions of USB currently in-use, including USB 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, and their various substandards (1×2, 2×2, etc).

Okay, now the numbers: A regular USB 1.0 or 2.0 socket has four pins, and a USB cable has four wires. The inside pins carry data (D+ and D-), and the outside pins provide a 5-volt power supply. USB 3.0 ports add an additional row of five pins, so USB 3.0-compatible cables have nine wires. In terms of actual current (milliamps or mA), there are three kinds of USB port dictated by the current specs: a standard downstream port, a charging downstream port, and a dedicated charging port. The first two can be found on your computer (and should be labeled as such), and the third kind applies to “dumb” wall chargers.

In the USB 1.0 and 2.0 specs, a standard downstream port is capable of delivering up to 500mA (0.5A); with USB 3.0, it moves up to 900mA (0.9A). The charging downstream and dedicated charging ports provide up to 1,500mA (1.5A). USB 3.1 bumps throughput to 10Gbps in what’s called SuperSpeed+ mode, bringing it roughly equivalent with first-generation Thunderbolt. It also supports a power draw of 1.5A and 3A over the 5V bus. USB 3.2 does not change these aspects of the standard.

USB-C is a different connector entirely. It’s universal; you can put it in either way and it will work, unlike with USB, and like Apple’s Lightning connector. USB-C is also capable of twice the theoretical throughput of USB 3.0, and can output more power. Apple joined USB-C with USB 3.1 back in 2015 with its 12-inch MacBook and new MacBook Pros, and phones soon followed. But there can also be older-style USB ports that support the 3.1 standard.

The USB spec also allows for a “sleep-and-charge” port, which is where the USB ports on a powered-down computer remain active. You may have noticed this on your desktop PC, where there’s always some power flowing through the motherboard, but some laptops are also capable of sleep-and-charge.

Now, this is what the spec dictates. But there are plenty of USB chargers that don’t conform to these specs — mostly of the wall-wart variety. Apple’s iPad charger, for example, provides 2.1A at 5V; Amazon’s Kindle Fire charger outputs 1.8A; and many car chargers can output anything from 1A to 2.1A.

Can I Blow Up My USB Device?

There is a huge variance, then, between normal USB ports rated at 500mA, and dedicated charging ports, which range all the way up to 3,000mA. This leads to an important question: If you take a phone which came with a 900mA wall charger, and plug it into a 2,100mA iPad charger, as an example, will it blow up?

In short, no: You can plug any USB device into any USB cable and into any USB port, and nothing will explode — and in fact, using a more powerful charger should speed up battery charging. We do this all the time with our mobile devices here at ExtremeTech, and we’ve never had a problem.

The longer answer is that the age of your device plays an important role, dictating both how fast it can be charged, and whether it can be charged using a wall charger at all. Way back in 2007, the USB Implementers Forum released the Battery Charging Specification, which standardized faster ways of charging USB devices, either by pumping more amps through your PC’s USB ports, or by using a wall charger. Shortly thereafter, USB devices that implemented this spec started to arrive.

If you have a modern USB device, you should be able to plug into a high-amperage USB port and enjoy faster charging. If you have an older product, however, it probably won’t work with USB ports that employ the Battery Charging Specification. It might only work with old school, original (500mA) USB 1.0 and 2.0 PC ports. In some (much older) cases, USB devices can only be charged by computers with specific drivers installed, but this is now going back nearly two decades.

What About USB-C?

USB-C is a special case. While you won’t blow up your device from plugging in the wrong charger, you can blow up your phone, Nintendo Switch, or other device by using the wrong USB-C cable. How do you know what the right USB-C cable is? Sometimes — and this is the ugly truth — you can’t. In the past, there’ve been spreadsheets dedicated to recording good versus bad cables, but the projects seem to have fallen by the wayside and are now outdated. If you are buying a replacement USB-C cable for your manufacturer-provided cable, we recommend buying from the OEM or an authorized, third-party manufacturer. We covered the initial issues with USB-C in more detail in this article.

What if you already have a third-party cable or don’t have any option but to use one? Even if it works, slow charging speed could be a problem. This is preferable, in the sense that it won’t actually damage any of your hardware. In many cases, your device will only charge at minimum or near-minimum speed as opposed to the fast charging options now supported by many devices. This chart from Android Authority shows how charge speed varies depending on which device you use.

Keep in mind, however, that the consequences can be worse than just slow charging. There are cases of people blowing up devices with the wrong type of cable, and other instances where one device may flatly refuse to work with another device’s USB-C cable for unknown reasons. The assumption, in this case, is that the device is refusing to connect through a given cable to protect itself.

Quick Charging and Other Notes

Many new phones offer some kind of quick-charge capability — often with variable names, the most common being Qualcomm’s Quick Charge that works with Snapdragon-powered phones. The standard evolved quickly and is moving to version 5 at the time of this writing. For quick charging to work, usually you’ll need to use either the power adapter that came with the phone or an appropriately labeled third-party adapter. Otherwise, it will still take several hours to juice up. Quick Charge seems to be fading out of the market with the advent of USB Power Delivery (USB PD), but both capabilities are still supported.

There are a few other things to be aware of. While PCs can have two kinds of USB port — standard downstream or charging downstream — OEMs haven’t always labeled them as such. As a result, you might have a device that charges from one port on your laptop, but not from the other. This is a trait of older computers, as there doesn’t seem to be a reason why standard downstream ports would be used when high-amperage charging ports are available. Most vendors now put a small lightning icon above the proper charging port on laptops, and in some cases, those ports can even stay on when the lid is closed. You may have to check your motherboard or system documentation to determine which USB ports provide the full capabilities you want. A system might only support charging, video playback, or ethernet over a single USB-C port, even if it has 2-3 USB-C ports in total.

Now Read:

USB-C vs. USB 3: What’s the Difference?

Researchers Discover ‘BadPower’ Vulnerability in Fast Chargers That Can Melt Your Phone

Oppo’s 125W ‘Flash Charge’ Can Completely Recharge a Phone in 20 Minutes

Check out our ExtremeTech Explains series for more in-depth coverage of today’s hottest tech topics.

Sebastian Anthony wrote the original version of this article. It has since been updated several times with new information.

from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://www.extremetech.com/computing/115251-how-usb-charging-works-or-how-to-avoid-blowing-up-your-smartphone from Blogger http://componentplanet.blogspot.com/2020/09/how-usb-charging-works-or-how-to-avoid.html

[avaalons]

Chris Evans Fic: Disney Princess Series Part 5 (The Ugly Truth)

You tried to stay calm, frozen to the spot as you were. Nothing moved except your fingers, typing and tapping and revealing article upon article of gossip surrounding you and Chris.

You felt genuinely nauseated: the pictures from Disney captioned with all kinds that just cheapened the whole moment that had really been happening; the body language ‘experts’ pulling up press photos from the premieres and ‘analysing’ them; pictures of you in a line with a long list of ex-girlfriends, comparing your merits to each. But it didn’t matter what angle the gossip-mongerers went for: one clear implication linked them all. You were a gold digger, a social climber, a small time actress intent on furthering her career, an opportunist, ingratiating yourself with his family and you were using Chris to get where you wanted to be.

You sat, flabbergasted, surprised when the tears didn’t immediately start falling, but, you supposed, you were too shocked. This was bad. This undid everything your PR team had tried to achieve in the past few months. They’d worked so hard for you and now you’d ruined it because you just couldn’t resist going on a fucking holiday with Chris Fucking Evans. Why couldn’t you have just said no? It didn’t matter that there was actually no story there, a picture spoke a thousand words and these gossip sites had several.

And you were embarrassed that Chris would now be having to deal with this too. You knew that he liked you, at least in some capacity, but this ‘reporting’ must make things uncomfortable. It assumed things that hadn’t happened, feelings that hadn’t been acknowledged, created a whole story where there wasn’t one and, you had to admit to yourself, you were afraid that this would push him in the opposite direction. That the friendship you had formed would disappear completely while he rode out the storm and let the story die down.

So caught up in your thoughts and what ifs and scenarios as you were, when the buzzer rang to alert you that someone wanted to be let into your building, you jumped and blinked, processing that you needed to move and then doing so, leaving your phone on the sofa.

You pressed the button to accept the call and saw the subject of all your thoughts on the little screen.

‘Hey, it’s me. Want to let me up?’ His voice was subdued and you knew instantly what he was here for.

You could barely even respond, nodding though he couldn’t see you, and simply pushed the button to open the downstairs door, waiting nervously for his knock.

***

Chris had done a couple of things after ending his call with Scott. He’d stupidly googled other versions of the same story, growing angrier with each one, until he’d eventually got on the phone to his PR.

That conversation hadn’t made him feel much better, if he was honest, and he knew he needed to speak to you. He was mortified. This was all his fault. For some reason, he’d decided that now, at thirty five years old and after decades in the business, that throwing caution to the wind was a good idea. He meant it when he told you he didn’t care what anyone thought, but when he’d said those words, he didn’t think you’d be the one being beaten with the tabloid stick. You had always been so reserved and careful when in the public eye and he’d selfishly persuaded you to let your guard down and now here you were: strung up in a list of his exes, full colour pictures of them all with an obscene Top Trumps style comparison of your pros and cons. He felt sick and, honestly, like he wanted to punch things. But first he needed to think about you.

He hovered his thumb over your contact for a few seconds, your smiling contact picture one of the selfies of the two of you he’d taken on his own phone, before darkening the screen, pocketing it, snapping a lead on Dodger’s collar and grabbing his keys.

‘Come on boy, we’re going to pay a visit.’

***

A furry four-pawed creature exploding through your door the moment there was an inch of space wasn’t exactly what you were expecting. As the dog jumped up to say hello and your hands automatically went to tickle behind his ears in greeting, you looked up to see Chris with a small, sheepish smile on your face and a half-shrug in his shoulders.

'Hi,’ he threw out.

'Hi,’ you replied back, unsure about what else to say. Dodger was still stretched up against you, front paws against your stomach, as he nuzzled into your attentive touch.

'Is it okay that we’re here? He’s well behaved, I promise.’

You suddenly registered that Chris was still in the hall.

'Yeah, yeah. Of course. Come in,’ you said quickly, trying to make up for your negligence. You stepped back, Dodger dropping to the floor, and created some room to let man and dog in to your apartment.

You shut the door gently behind them, trying to gather your thoughts before you turned around.

'Do you mind if I let him off the lead? He won’t go on the furniture if I tell him no.’

You took a deep breath, 'It’s fine, honestly. He can go wherever he likes, the sofa’s plenty big enough. Shall I put a bowl of water down for him?’

Chris unclipped his lead and Dodger immediately set about sniffing everything in the room, scoping out his surroundings and gathering information.

'That would be really great, thanks.’

You were happy to have something to do as you headed to the kitchen area of your open plan living space and retrieved a small metal mixing bowl from a cupboard, filling it with water and placing it down on the laminate flooring.

Dodger had his nose in it before you even put it down.

'There you go boy,’ you told him quietly, ruffling the short fur on his head as he lapped at the water enthusiastically.

'He’ll be your friend for life after all this attention,’ Chris smiling voice appeared from the other side of the breakfast bar that separated your kitchen and living space. When you looked up, he was leaning against the counter, watching you and Dodger interact.

'He’s a handsome little guy,’ you complimented.

'Gets more attention than me most days so we’re a good team.’

There was a silence as the real reason for Chris’ visit hung in the air uncomfortably. It was the elephant in the room and you could feel your face burning more and more the longer it went unmentioned.

'Look-’ you broke the silence. 'I’m sorry-’ Chris spoke at the same time.

He chuckled lightly, 'Go on, you first. I guess you’ve seen the tabloids.’

You nodded, your expression serious and you could barely look at him, 'I’m sorry to have caused you embarrassment.’

Chris stood up straight at that, no longer leaning casually against your kitchen counter, 'Wait, what do you mean?’

'Well, just that I know that you normally don’t publicise your life too much and now all of this is implying things that haven’t happened. I know how embarrassing it must be to be connected to me in the press like that, especially the way they make it seem like I’ve pulled the wool over your eyes or something,’ you crossed your arms over your body defensively, struggling a little with your words. Part of you wished he’d just called you, but then, it was good to see him, if this would be the last time, 'So I understand if you want to keep your distance and let it all blow over.’

'You think I’m embarrassed to be connected to you?’ Chris’ voice was disbelieving, 'Sweetheart, I came over to apologise! This is all my fault. I put you in this position: it was me that all but forced you on the trip, me that made you take selfies that day, and it’s me that’s been the topic of tabloid trash for a lot longer than you. I should have known better.’

'Chris, there’s nothing to blame yourself for here. I might be a little bit less experienced in the Hollywood whirlwind but I know how it works. We both do. We shouldn’t really be surprised that this has happened, it was bound to. I was naive to think we’d got away with a few kids asking you for a photo. I walked into this completely willingly. I’m just angry at myself that I let it get this far. All that work my PR have done…’

Chris moved around the breakfast bar and towards you, placing his hands around your upper arms and looking earnestly into your face as he spoke, 'Listen, this will blow over. Eventually someone is going to remember all the mistakes I made, all the stupid things I said in relation to you and remember that it’s me that’s done the pursuing while you’ve been nothing but gracious and professional about the whole thing. I’m so sorry for the spin they’ve put on it, you don’t deserve that. Some of it… well, it makes me feel sick.’

'Yeah, the ex-girlfriend line up was a bit of shock,’ you admitted with a wry smile.

Guilt filled his features, 'I don’t even know what to… I’m just so, so sorry.’

He pulled you into a warm, all encompassing embrace and although you’d had his arms around you for the selfies, this was different. You could breathe in his scent and note how easily your head fit under his chin. Your arms were pinned tight between your bodies, your fingers splayed against his chest as his arms circled you. And it felt… right. It made the articles seem less important all of a sudden. What did they know? They had one set of pictures and a whole shed load of speculation, that was it.

Then something he’d said earlier popped out in your mind and you pulled your head back a little to look up at him, 'Wait, did you say you’d been pursuing me?’

His eyes darted around your eyes, trying to gauge what the best response would be. Your faces were only inches apart and you saw the fractional shift of his gaze towards your mouth before it snapped back up. Your neck and chest felt very warm all of a sudden, heat blooming across your skin.

'You are my friend, first and foremost, and if that was all you wanted, then that is a boundary I would stick to…’

Your breath caught in your throat. He was too close, this was too much, but at the same time you were euphoric in his arms. He’d pulled your walls down so gently, so kindly, that you’d barely even noticed him wiggling under your skin. His lips were right there, his eyes somehow darker as he gazed at you. This was it: he was going to tell you, going to kiss you, and you weren’t going to do anything to stop it. You were tired of the strain of keeping him away, and after this last week of no contact, you knew that your feelings were running deeper than you had ever intended.

'But…?’ you urged him to carry on in a breathy whisper, sensing there was more.

Your breath hitched as one of his hands travelled to your face, ghosting your cheekbone to tuck your hair behind your ear, 'But if you wanted to explore-’

He was cut off by the sharp ringing on his phone and the moment, and spell, was broken. He cursed under his breath, unwinding one arm from you to pluck his phone from his pocket. Glancing at the screen, he apologised to you.

'Sorry, I’m going to have to take this. It’s Josh and with everything going on…’ he waved his hand by way of explanation and you nodded in reply.

'Yeah, go on, of course,’ you were shocked you’d even managed to find the words. You pulled away and out of his other arm as he answered and fled the kitchen as he began his conversation.

Retreating hastily to the bathroom, you looked at yourself in the mirror: eyes glassy, cheeks flushed, lips extraordinarily pink. You needed to calm down, get your head together. Quickly splashing your face with cool water, you took a few deep breaths before patting your skin dry with a towel and replacing it on the rail. There was more to think about than your own desires and wants, the rational side of your brain knew that above anything. But there was an increasingly powerful part of you that thought the worst was over. The exact thing you’d been afraid of had already happened, so why not just give in? There seemed little point now in keeping him at arm’s length: you may as well at least have all the good stuff everyone clearly thought you were getting, if you were getting the negative stuff anyway. Pushing your shoulders back, you left the bathroom and strode back out to the living area.

Chris was still in the kitchen on the phone and, even though he was speaking quietly, you could hear his end of the conversation, punctuated by silences when, you assumed, Josh was speaking. Your presence had gone unnoticed so you sat in the floor in front of the sofa and played with Dodger.

'Yeah, I know that, I do…. but I don’t want to, Josh. This is different, she’s different… this was my fault don’t forget, she’s done nothing wrong… Josh, you don’t need to tell me that, I already know… yes, of course I fucking do… look, I’m sorry… I just… I’m tired of not being able to live my life.’

***

'You should walk away, dude,’ Josh was telling him. The exact last thing Chris wanted to hear, 'I don’t know her at all but is it really worth it? She seems kinda ice queen to me.’

'She’s different Josh, I’m telling you. This is all my fault.’

'Look, it’s not great at her end, is it? I mean, she’s not been portrayed in the most flattering way. If you carry on, this isn’t going to die down. It could be the most selfish thing you’ve ever done.’

Chris winced at that. Josh was brutally honest and for that he was (mostly) grateful but it didn’t mean that it wasn’t painful to listen to sometimes.

'I know, I know.’

'I mean, it depends on the both of you obviously. Do you think she could handle all that? Could she handle everything that comes with dating Chris Evans? Could her career handle that?’

'I… I don’t know,’ Chris admitted quietly, wishing he did.

'I don’t know what to say to you, man. In your position, well, you’ve got to be sure. I don’t think there’s a choice here, is there?’

Chris’ sigh rankled with defeat, 'I guess not.’

'Just do the right thing, move on and forget any of this ever happened, okay?’

'Right. Thanks man,’ Chris hung up and tapped his phone against his chin in thought.

There was no way around it, no matter how many scenarios he tried. If he continued pursuing you, or even keeping up with the friendship, you’d have the press hounding you. Everyone would assume the articles were correct and that social climber label would keep on sticking. The other option was to keep it secret, but how long for? He couldn’t guess. There was no guarantee that when you did go public, the same shit wouldn’t be dragged out again. You didn’t deserve that: to not be able to even go outside with someone you were dating, to be holed up in houses just so you could spend time together. You deserved someone who proudly walk down the street with you, hand in hand, and not have pictures and speculation ruin your life and your career. And, unfortunately, that guy would never be Chris. Being with him, Chris understood, meant compromise and sacrifices and he just couldn’t do that to you.

He looked up and out over the sitting room and saw you, in your pyjama shorts and Beauty and the Beast tshirt, sat on the floor playing with Dodger, asking him to sit and then creeping your hands across the rug to his paws. He’d jump back and go down in to his play bow, tail and tongue wagging, until eventually he lunged forwards in excitement. Chris started to go and drag him off, thinking that normally people didn’t tend to like having someone else’s dog’s tongue all over their face. Then he heard your laughter as Dodger rubbed his nose across your cheeks and chin. He could picture hearing that laugh so easily in the rooms of his own home, inserting into his life like you’d always been there. He wanted to watch sunsets with you under a blanket, and wake you up with kisses on your face in the morning. He wanted to arrive at his mom’s with you for Christmas and he wanted to travel the world with you so he could meet all of your disparate family members. He wanted to be able to buy you little gifts, just because, and pick you up from the airport with a cheesy but funny name card when you’d been away with work. There was an entire future with you he could envisage, but reality was a cruel mistress and he knew he needed to be the bigger man and walk away.

He shuffled through, each step heavy with the knowledge of what he was about to do, hands in his pockets, and stood behind the sofa.

'Sorry about that,’ he told you.

***

'Don’t worry about it,’ you smiled up at him from the floor, Dodger pawing at you to play with him more, 'What did Josh say?’

He let out a deep breath, 'That I’m being selfish, basically. That clearly, being linked to me will have a negative effect on you. I don’t think I could live with that.’

'Oh, I see,’ disappointment instantly welled in your stomach, all your hopes for what was about to happen dashed. This was it. The 'let’s just let things die down, be seen other people, throw them off the scent’ solution to the problem. The problem that was you.

'I’m sorry. You don’t know how much I wish things were different, really. Being 'with me’ in the public eye is, well, it’s shit, quite frankly. There’s so much that press like this could permanently damage for you, and I’m literally the cause of it. I wish beyond anything that it wasn’t like that,’ he was almost pleading. With who, you didn’t know.

You sat quietly, running your hands over Dodger’s belly where he’d lay down and rolled over in front of you. You were so conflicted, left feeling like you had too much to say and not enough, all at once. But really, what was the use? He’d clearly made up his mind, in the exact way that you’d expected before his arrival, and realistically, you knew it was for the best. All of a sudden, you just wanted him gone.

'Okay. So, I’ll see you around?’ You kept your voice and expression neutral, easily done after years of practising keeping your feelings well hidden. You stood up and collected Dodger’s lead from the coffee table, clipping it on to his collar and walking him over to Chris.

'Maybe we can still t-’ Chris began, lamely, but you held up a hand to stop him.

'Chris, if you were about to tell me we can still text, please don’t. I don’t want to be some secret. I’m all for staying under the radar where possible but please don’t insult me like that. I’m an adult, I have adult relationships, where I spend time with people face to face. And that’s not on the cards for us, is it?’

He looked pained. His eyes had a soft, sad expression in them and he held his hand over yours for much longer than was necessary as you passed Dodger’s lead to him.

'Sorry,’ he whispered, 'I guess I better take off.’

You nodded, not trusting yourself with words anymore. This was for the best.

He walked to the door and passed through into the hallway. You stayed on the other side, hand propped against the door frame.

'See you then,’ you said, firmly.

He opened his mouth a few times to speak but eventually decided on just saying, 'Yeah, see you’.

You closed the door behind him, leant your back against the wood and sank to the floor with a long exhale. Resting your head in your hands, you were frustrated and angry with yourself when you felt tears prick your eyes. You hadn’t been anywhere close to being together, so why did this feel so much like a break up?

[rickhorrow]

15+5+5 To Watch 52019

15 TO WATCH/5 SPORTS TECH/POWER OF SPORTS 5: RICK HORROW’S TOP SPORTS/BIZ/TECH/PHILANTHROPY ISSUES FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 20

with Jacob Aere

“Game of Thrones” may be over, but the legend of Brooks Koepka grows. On Sunday, Brooks Koepka hoisted the Wanamaker Trophy and waded even further into fantastical lore. Perhaps USA Today said it best, “For a man almost childishly alert to perceived slights off the course, he moves through the choppy waters of a major like a shark focused on real meals and uninterested in the chum bobbing along the way.” Koepka overcame four consecutive bogeys on his inward nine Sunday – he led by seven strokes as the final round got underway – to beat Dustin Johnson by two shots with a final-round 74. The defending PGA champion, Koepka won for the fourth time in the last eight major championships he has played. He is guaranteed the top spot in the world golf rankings. Sunday’s victory netted him a cool $1.98 million. More importantly, it may have finally cemented ultimate respect and big paydays with potential sponsors. Koepka’s current biggest deals are with Nike and Michelob Ultra, and he doesn’t have an equipment sponsor. Dollar signs behind an equipment deal just went up big time.

It’s graduation season, and we’d like to suggest a gift. Our Sport Business Handbook recognizes the last 50 years as the formative era of the modern sport business industry. As colleges and universities graduate their 2019 classes of aspiring career professionals, this is a rare opportunity to hear from some of the industry’s most influential players. Consider that according to Forbes and PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the U.S. Sports Industry will be an $80 billion annual category by 2022. Job growth across all sports-related industries is expanding at over 12 percent annually — more than double the national job market. In markets like Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Miami, Dallas, Jacksonville, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, sports-related job growth is increasing at or above 20% annually. The global sports industry is estimated to be a $1.3 trillion category. Sports media is the fastest-growing segment of the industry. As a subset of that, legalized sports gambling represents a multi-billion-dollar category poised to grow exponentially, as evidenced by casino and mobile sports betting legalized in Iowa last Monday. So if you have a child poised to join the workforce post college, they could do a lot worse than a career in sports.

The NCAA is opening the door for college athletes to be compensated for their names, images and likenesses. The Washington Post reported that the NCAA is examining how its rules can be modified to allow the change. Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman and Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith will head a new working group on the topic. “This group will bring together diverse opinions from the membership — from presidents and commissioners to student-athletes — that will examine the NCAA’s position on name, image and likeness benefits and potentially propose rule modifications tethered to education,” Ackerman said in a statement. In most scenarios, NCAA rules forbid its athletes from receiving benefits or compensation for their names, images and likenesses from either a school or a third party, including commercial contracts. While the working group will not consider any concepts that “could be construed as payment for participation in college sports,” the NCAA says that its mission is to “provide [an] opportunity for students to compete against other students [that] prohibits any contemplation of pay-for-play.” A final report is due to the NCAA’s board of governors in October.

The Indianapolis 500 will likely be the first time a CBD sponsorship will be featured during an official IndyCar race. The development comes after Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (ASPM) last Thursday announced a partnership with CBD-based sports drink Defy, according to the Indianapolis Star. The product’s name will appear on both James Hinchliffe’s No. 5 and Marcus Ericsson’s No. 7 entry. CBD has been legal in Indiana since March 2018, and the growing CBD industry has the "potential to become a new revenue source for teams." That comes amid plenty of examples of "drivers struggling to find sponsors," including Kyle Kaiser's No. 32 car from Juncos Racing. ASPM Team President Jon Flack said that fellow team sponsors, IndyCar and NBC were "all open to and approved the idea of allowing sponsorships that advertise products containing CBD." Interestingly, while THC level in Defy is allegedly well below the 0.3% allowed, IndyCar drivers can’t drink it because CBD is on the organization’s banned substance list. As the CBD market grows across the country, it is fair to wonder what sponsorship effect it will have on IndyCar.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed legislation "allowing gambling on college and professional sports in Iowa," according to the Des Moines Register. The new legislation  "allows Iowans 21 years and older to wager on sporting events at any of Iowa's 19 casinos and online if they visit a casino once in person to prove they are at least 21." It also "legalizes bets on fantasy sports through websites and apps like DraftKings and FanDuel." The law "does not allow in-game proposition bets on college sports." While the legislation "takes effect immediately, some of the rules still need to be ironed out." The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, which will regulate sports betting in Iowa, previously said that it would "start to develop rules for casinos to implement after Reynolds signed the legislation." Those rules "would likely be implemented in July or August," before college sports and NFL games start. Iowa is only the latest state to allow legal sports wagering, and with every state that signs on, the stakes – and the potential revenues – rise considerably.

The WNBA officially has a new commissioner. Last week, the league named Cathy Engelbert, current CEO of Deloitte and the first woman ever to lead a Big Four professional services firm in the U.S., to the role with a start on July 17. Engelbert, who played college basketball at Lehigh, becomes the fifth top WNBA exec in the league's history, following Val Ackerman, Donna Orender, Laurel Richie, and Lisa Borders. One thing Engelbert "will have to deal with relatively quickly," according to SportsBusiness Journal, is the current CBA, which expired after this season. “Cathy is a world-class business leader with a deep connection to women’s basketball, which makes her the ideal person to lead the WNBA into its next phase of growth,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “The WNBA will benefit significantly from her more than 30 years of business and operational experience including revenue generation, sharp entrepreneurial instincts and proven management abilities.” The WNBA took seven months to name its new leader, but it was worth the wait.

Thanks to an exploding NBA salary cap and a wild NHL postseason that saw many of the league's highest-paid players sent home early, the salary disparity between the two leagues has never been more glaring. Axis Sports notes that not a single player left in the Stanley Cup playoffs makes more than San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns' $10 million — a salary that would rank eighth-highest on the Milwaukee Bucks, alone. Burns' salary would rank seventh-highest on the Portland Trail Blazers; sixth-highest on the Golden State Warriors; fifth-highest on the Toronto Raptors; and just 23rd-highest amongst all remaining NBA players. It's also nearly four times less than Steph Curry's salary ($37.5 million), and more than three times less than Kyle Lowry's ($31.2 million). Additionally, San Jose's Logan Couture is the NHL postseason's leading point-scorer, and he's making $6 million this season…Portland's Meyers Leonard will make almost twice that much ($10.6 million), and he's played a total of 82 minutes in the playoffs. Tellingly, the just-vanquished Carolina Hurricanes’ highest-paid player, Jordan Staal, makes just $6 million — $1 million less than what the Bucks are paying journeyman Ersan Ilyasova ($7 million).

New Orleans winning the lottery capped a wild NBA Draft Lottery night that saw three teams jump way up in the draft order. Winners, according to Axios Sports: the Pelicans (projected to get the No. 7 pick, jumped to No. 1), the Grizzlies (projected to get No. 8, jumped to No. 2) and the Lakers (projected to get No. 11, jumped to No. 4). Losers: The Knicks, Cavaliers, and Suns all had the best chances to land the No. 1 pick (14%), but ultimately ended up with picks Nos. 3, 5, and 6. Having the league's worst record gave you a 25% chance of winning the top pick, with each subsequent lottery pick having a lesser chance of winning. The NBA flattened out the percentages to make it less appealing to have a worse record (aka, "tank"), so the league must be thrilled with last night's outcome. This is exactly what they wanted to see happen. The NBA offseason, and all the drama that comes with it, is officially off to the races. Meanwhile, the playoffs are in full swing.

David Beckham has acquired full ownership of Beckham Brand Holdings by "buying out the minority stake" held by Simon Fuller for around $50 million, according to the Financial Times. The 33% stake in the company, according to SportsPro, had been held by Fuller's XIX Entertainment. The deal gives Beckham and his wife, Victoria, "full control of the company, which manages his partnerships and brands." It contains stakes in Seven Global and David Beckham Ventures, as well as a piece of MLS expansion club Inter Miami. Beckham Brand Holdings was founded in 2014, as Beckham has "built a personal branding empire, partnering with brands such as L'Oreal and Adidas.” Forbes further noted that Beckham is now "truly a global brand," and he "appears to be getting a good deal, buying back his company at just nine times earnings.” While pro sports ownership is the pinnacle achievement for most MLS franchise owners, Beckham is clearly breaking the mold with his Florida MLS team ownership – expect landmark branding deals around that club.

U.S. Club Soccer, a prominent member of the U.S. Soccer Federation and the leading organization developing soccer clubs across America – welcomes Dick’s Sporting Goods as its Official Sporting Goods Partner. The strategic partnership provides U.S. Club Soccer members with a valuable resource for their soccer-related equipment and sporting goods needs. U.S. Club Soccer members will receive special discounts to Dick’s Sporting Goods stores throughout the country and online, while Dick’s Sporting Goods is presented to U.S. Club Soccer’s growing community of members through various digital, social, and on-site marketing efforts. US Club Soccer’s mission is to foster the growth and development of soccer clubs throughout the country to create the best possible development environment for players of all ages in every club. U.S. Club Soccer also prides itself on fostering the safest environment for players in youth sports – to whit, they’ve implemented best-in-class background checks for all registered staff, and require personnel to complete an online injury recognition course, as well as SafeSport online training.

Just-concluded Upfronts detail the power of digital and social media broadcasting. According to Daily Hashtag, YouTube has 2 billion monthly unique users globally, CEO Susan Wojcicki shared at its Brandcast event in New York. The number is up 5% from the 1.9 billion monthly users YouTube announced last summer. Wojcicki said watch time of YouTube on TV screens was more than 250 million hours per day as of March 2019, a rise of 39% in less than a year. In other top lines, YouTube is going to make all original scripted and unscripted programming – including series Cobra Kai and Liza On Demand – available for free, ad-supported viewing starting later this year in post-SVOD windows. Likewise, Twitter announced a deal with Univision Communications that will deliver more sports, news, and entertainment content to its Spanish-language users, including analysis of the 2020 presidential race and soccer highlights. The social media giant also unveiled agreements for content from the Wall Street Journal and Time magazine. New initiatives with previous partners include shows and brand extensions with the NFL, ESPN, Viacom, MLS, Live Nation, and Activision Blizzard. Sports remain a key part of the streaming universe.

The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, home to the Oakland A’s and Raiders, is set to become the Ring Central Coliseum. Belmont-based communications firm Ring Central has sealed a three-year, $3 million naming rights deal for the 56,000-seater stadium, including an option for a fourth year. Ring Central will assume a role last held by Overstock.com, which pulled out of its $1.45 million-a-year deal with the Coliseum after the Raiders announced plans in 2016 to relocate to Las Vegas. Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum will soon become RingCentral Coliseum, as the California-based business communications provider is buying the naming rights and will pay $1 million a year for the "next three years, with an option for a fourth year." As the stadium authority approved the deal, the "name change would go into effect immediately." Even though the Oakland pro sports universe is undergoing seismic change, as the Raiders prepare for their Vegas move and the Warriors head to San Francisco, its signature sports facility remains an attractive target for brands.

La Liga is still exploring the possibility of staging a top-flight Spanish soccer game in the U.S. as part of wider plans to grow internationally, according to Keegan Pierce, the league’s UK and Ireland delegate. The Spanish soccer body signed an extensive 15-year deal with Relevent Sports in August 2018 to roll out a number of initiatives in North America, including the potential to stage a regular season match in the region. Barcelona was slated to take on Girona in Miami in January in the first instalment of that partnership, but the club canceled due to a lack of consensus between the league, the Spanish Football Federation and FIFA. Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu reaffirmed the club’s desire to play La Liga games outside of Spain. La Liga has been taking significant steps in recent years to boost its international profile in an attempt to close the revenue gap to England’s Premier League, including opening offices abroad and launching a global network initiative which sees more than 40 delegates represent the Spanish league in countries around the world. La Liga’s latest financial report released last week showed that revenue has climbed to a record $5 billion.

Trump tariffs will impact sports, and sports fans. $11.4 billion. That’s the total value of the footwear imported from China to the U.S. last year as reported by SportsBusiness Daily. About 72% of sneakers imported to the U.S. are from China. The publication quoted CNBC’s Sara Eisen, who said of how the ongoing trade dispute is affecting the shoe industry, “These companies have been diversifying but there’s no denying that a lot of sneakers are still made in China.” So-called “sneaker wars” have long played a seminal role in basketball, soccer, and increasingly, in lifestyle brands popular in the U.S. and elsewhere. This may seem inconsequential compared to the toll expected in other industries like agriculture and electronics. But a prolonged sneaker tariff will have a lingering effect on the athlete pipeline, as those footwear brands have long funded the tournaments young athletes compete in in order to catch the attention of the pro ranks.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. According to multiple New York-type sources, the Mets and Sony Pictures Television have announced a "new partnership that will bring 'Seinfeld Night' to Citi Field" on July 5, in honor of the 30th anniversary of the sitcom's premiere on NBC. Jerry Seinfeld and SNY's Keith Hernandez "will reunite for a day about nothing" before the Mets host the Phillies that night. Adds the NewYork Daily News, the team will "kick off the night with a Jerry Seinfeld co-branded bobblehead, available to the first 25,000 fans who arrive at the ballpark.” Seinfeld "will be on hand for trivia with fans," and actor Larry Thomas -- the "'Soup Nazi' character from the show -- will be greeting ticket-holders on the concourse." Meanwhile, the Dodgers are "also doing a 30th anniversary 'Seinfeld' tribute" that week. To that, we say, “Yada yada yada.”

Top Five Tech

ESPN partners with Caesars for sports betting shows. According to Bloomberg, Caesars Entertainment Corp will have its odds data and branding integrated with ESPN programs. ESPN will put a studio inside Caesars’ Linq Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and build a new series of shows and videos aimed at the sports gambling market. The gaming corporation plans to contribute to programming on the ESPN network, ESPN’s website, and on the ESPN app. The sports betting content on ESPN’s betting-related content includes a few podcasts, segments on shows like “SportsCenter” and “Outside the Lines,” and a full sports gambling show called “Daily Wager,” which launched in March. Nearly a year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling which federally legalized sports gambling, TV networks have jumped on the opportunity to boost their viewership through sports betting as many consumers use other devices and OTT platforms for entertainment.

UFC and Chinese social media platform Weibo partner for a larger overseas profile. According to SportsPro, Weibo will become the official social media partner of the UFC in China. This is the first time that MMA has broken into China with a variety of content for new fans including exclusive interviews, highlights, fight announcements and more. Furthermore, the UFC has built the UFC Performance Institute in Shanghai which is its most robust center to date. Highlights from UFC matches will also be shown and the center which is touted by the UFC as the world’s largest MMA facility. Reportedly, the complex costs US$13 million to build, and is set to open in the second quarter of 2019. There has been a rising popularity of MMA in China partly thanks to its homegrown stars of straw weight Weili Zhang, bantamweight Yadong Song and welterweight Li Jingliang. Getting online in China will help the MMA combat other losses that it may be expecting due to more OTT leagues encroaching in the MMA territory.

Sinclair Broadcasting has a base for sports betting. According to The Lines, Sinclair Broadcasting Corp CEO Chris Ripley plans to eventually allow viewers to place bets right from their screens during live games. The television broadcasting company is already in talks with sportsbook operators about creating in-game wagering for the Tennis Channel and eventually plans to allow legalized gambling on all of its recently added RSNs. All of this comes after news of Sinclair Broadcast Group acquired 21 regional sports networks (RSNs) from Disney for over $10 billion where the company saw its stock rise nearly 30% after the deal had been completed. Down the road, Sinclair expects to generate $1.5 billion to $2 billion in ad revenue from sportsbook operators and companies targeting sports bettors. While Sinclair can’t alter national broadcasts, they could tailor regional programming before and after towards sports betting and create alternate broadcasts similar to what NBC has displayed for teams in Washington and Philadelphia.

VR Color Analysis will be delivered by ex-Pistons’ player Rip Hamilton for the NBA Conference Finals. According to SportTechie, Intel will be the brains behind the production team of the VR broadcast while Hamilton will be accompanied by seasoned NBA broadcaster Stephanie Ready. 2019 marks the second full year that the tech company is a virtual reality broadcast partner for the NBA on TNT. Last year, Intel and Turner streamed seven games in virtual reality during the regular season, and a more than a dozen games during the playoffs. Oculus NBA on the TNT VR app provided fans given access to live games this past year with full-game replays and highlights. Intel streamed 10 regular season games beginning in December, the All-Star weekend, and eight playoff games prior to the Eastern Conference Finals. Now the full series between the Toronto Raptors and the Milwaukee Bucks will be available in VR. Intel has updated their stereoscopic cameras, and in-game statistics to give tech-oriented fans fully immersive and personalized experience.

2019 Women’s World Cup fever finds its way to Snapchat. According to Fast Company, Nike has launched a new Snapchat Lens that allows fans of the U.S. women’s national soccer to try on and buy the team’s new kit before the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France in June. Fans can pick between the home and away jerseys through an AR filter, then a quick swipe-up will take you to nike.com for an instantaneous purchase of the new kits. Nike broke social media waves last year when it became the first brand to sell a product directly through Snapchat by making the Air Jordan III “Tinker” available via special Snap codes. This new AR filter was only available for a day, but the soccer kits prove that women in sport are getting a serious marketing push as it marked the first time that the brand has ever done a shoppable lens for apparel on Snapchat.

Power of Sports Five

McCourty twins honored by Rutgers for their commitment to service. Last week, New England Patriots defensive stars Devin and Jason McCourty returned to their alma mater Rutgers to be honored by the school: the twin brothers received honorary degrees on Sunday, May 19 when they also addressed graduates at Rutgers University as this year’s commencement speakers. “The McCourtys often return to Rutgers to inspire current Scarlet Knights and to lead fundraising events with Embrace Kids Foundation, which helps families whose children are facing cancer, sickle cell and other serious health challenges,” the school wrote on its website. “The McCourtys have also been strong advocates in the fight for criminal justice reform, fair educational funding and racial equality at the federal, state and local levels through awareness, education and allocation of resources.” Three months after the Patriots’ Super Bowl win, the two realized the next honor bestowed upon them. 

Ted Leonsis is the owner of the Washington Capitals, Wizards, Mystics, and Capital One Arena and has a plan to get the D.C. punk band Fugazi back and playing together. Leonsis said that he would compensate the band, and make a major donation to local charities around Washington D.C. in their names. Fugazi hasn’t been playing together since 2003, however the four members were recently reunited due to a museum exhibition called “Action. Reaction. Action: Visualizing Fugazi” at the Lost Origins Gallery in D.C. According to WTOP, the exhibit fittingly explored the impact of the band, both as musicians and activists. Whether or not the punk band reunites, their activism has already raised hundreds of thousands of dollars thanks to their fame and keenness for charity.

Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson honors his late friend through a youth-focused charity. In May, 2016 the shortstop received the terrible message that his best friend Branden Moss had passed away from a shooting. In order to keep his friend’s legacy going, he created Anderson’s League of Leaders. Since the charity's inception in 2017, Anderson and his wife, Bria, have helped organize back-to-school haircuts for kids, provide school supplies, host Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for those less privileged and run free youth baseball camps. There is also a scholarship in Moss’s name, providing $1,000 for students from their high school affected by violence. Anderson is proving to be a role model for kids all over the nation and particularly for African-American kids from the Southside of Chicago. He makes sure to educate youth about the history of black players in baseball while this year he has pledged to donate $500 to his charity for each time that he steals a base during the 2019 season – he’s already at 13, and it’s just mid May. 

"Final Whistle On Hate" charity soccer match drew a crowd of 27,329 to Gillette Stadium. As EPL club Chelsea topped the Revolution 3-0, Bruce Arena was in attendance, with the Revolution set to formally announce that he will be "tabbed with the dual roles" of coach and Sporting Director. It is "not known exactly when Arena will assume his new posts." The match "helped raise funds for organizations that oppose discrimination and hate crimes," according to the Boston Herald. And the Boston Sports Journal noted the event raised more than $4 million, with $1 million each from Chelsea Owner Roman Abramovich and Revolution owner Robert Kraft. 

LeBron James is partnering with Wal-Mart to "feed the hungry and inspire positive change in Akron and across the country." According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, James will be part of the retailer's "Fight Hunger Spark Change" campaign, which "raises money through donations and the purchase of participating products." The effort to date has raised $74 million, providing 749 million meals, with a goal of 1 billion meals. Wal-Mart will "keep the pantry at James' I Promise School stocked with food, toiletries, clothing and basic necessities." James and Wal-Mart will "support each other's education programs" starting this summer with a Back to School campaign. 

[toothextract]

14 SEO Predictions for 2019 & Beyond, as Told by Mozzers

Posted by TheMozTeam

With the new year in full swing and an already busy first quarter, our 2019 predictions for SEO in the new year are hopping onto the scene a little late — but fashionably so, we hope. From an explosion of SERP features to increased monetization to the key drivers of search this year, our SEO experts have consulted their crystal balls (read: access to mountains of data and in-depth analyses) and made their predictions. Read on for an exhaustive list of fourteen things to watch out for in search from our very own Dr. Pete, Britney Muller, Rob Bucci, Russ Jones, and Miriam Ellis!

1. Answers will drive search

People Also Ask boxes exploded in 2018, and featured snippets have expanded into both multifaceted and multi-snippet versions. Google wants to answer questions, it wants to answer them across as many devices as possible, and it will reward sites with succinct, well-structured answers. Focus on answers that naturally leave visitors wanting more and establish your brand and credibility. [Dr. Peter J. Meyers]

Further reading:

Content for Answers: The Inverted Pyramid – Whiteboard Friday

We Dipped Our Toes Into Double Featured Snippets

Desktop, Mobile, or Voice? (D) All of the Above – Whiteboard Friday

2. Voice search will continue to be utterly useless for optimization

Optimizing for voice search will still be no more than optimizing for featured snippets, and conversions from voice will remain a dark box. [Russ Jones]

Further reading:

The Influence of Voice Search on Featured Snippets

Lessons from 1,000 Voice Searches (on Google Home)

How to Discover Featured Snippet Opportunities – Whiteboard Friday

How to Target Featured Snippet Opportunities – Whiteboard Friday

3. Mobile is table stakes

This is barely a prediction. If your 2019 plan is to finally figure out mobile, you’re already too late. Almost all Google features are designed with mobile-first in mind, and the mobile-first index has expanded rapidly in the past few months. Get your mobile house (not to be confused with your mobile home) in order as soon as you can. [Dr. Peter J. Meyers]

Further reading:

How Does Mobile-First Indexing Work, and How Does It Impact SEO?

How and Why to Do a Mobile/Desktop Parity Audit

Internal Linking & Mobile First: Large Site Crawl Paths in 2018 & Beyond

How Mobile-First Indexing Disrupts the Link Graph

4. Further SERP feature intrusions in organic search

Expect Google to find more and more ways to replace organic with solutions that keep users on Google’s property. This includes interactive SERP features that replace, slowly but surely, many website offerings in the same way that live scores, weather, and flights have. [Russ Jones]

Further reading:

Zero-Result SERPs: Welcome to the Future We Should’ve Known Was Coming

What Do You Do When You Lose Organic Traffic to Google SERP Features?

Google’s Walled Garden: Are We Being Pushed Out of Our Own Digital Backyards?

5. Video will dominate niches

Featured Videos, Video Carousels, and Suggested Clips (where Google targets specific content in a video) are taking over the how-to spaces. As Google tests search appliances with screens, including Home Hub, expect video to dominate instructional and DIY niches. [Dr. Peter J. Meyers]

Further reading:

YouTube SEO: Top Factors to Invest In – Whiteboard Friday

A Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up and Growing Your YouTube Presence

Beyond YouTube: Video Hosting, Marketing, and Monetization Platforms, Compared

6. SERPs will become more interactive

We’ve seen the start of interactive SERPs with People Also Ask Boxes. Depending on which question you expand, two to three new questions will generate below that directly pertain to your expanded question. This real-time engagement keeps people on the SERP longer and helps Google better understand what a user is seeking. [Britney Muller]

Further reading:

Infinite “People Also Ask” Boxes: Research and SEO Opportunities

7. Local SEO: Google will continue getting up in your business — literally

Google will continue asking more and more intimate questions about your business to your customers. Does this business have gender-neutral bathrooms? Is this business accessible? What is the atmosphere like? How clean is it? What kind of lighting do they have? And so on. If Google can acquire accurate, real-world information about your business (your percentage of repeat customers via geocaching, price via transaction history, etc.) they can rely less heavily on website signals and provide more accurate results to searchers. [Britney Muller]

Further reading:

The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Taking Full Control of Your Google Knowledge Panels

How to Optimize Your Google My Business Listing

8. Business proximity-to-searcher will remain a top local ranking factor

In Moz’s recent State of Local SEO report, the majority of respondents agreed that Google’s focus on the proximity of a searcher to local businesses frequently emphasizes distance over quality in the local SERPs. I predict that we’ll continue to see this heavily weighting the results in 2019. On the one hand, hyper-localized results can be positive, as they allow a diversity of businesses to shine for a given search. On the other hand, with the exception of urgent situations, most people would prefer to see best options rather than just closest ones. [Miriam Ellis]

Further reading:

The State of Local SEO Industry Report

Local Search Ranking Factors 2018: Local Today, Key Takeaways, and the Future – Whiteboard Friday

9. Local SEO: Google is going to increase monetization

Look to see more of the local and maps space monetized uniquely by Google both through Adwords and potentially new lead-gen models. This space will become more and more competitive. [Russ Jones]

Further reading:

New Research: 35% of Competitive Local Keywords Have Local Pack Ads

What Do SEOs Do When Google Removes Organic Search Traffic? – Whiteboard Friday

10. Monetization tests for voice

Google and Amazon have been moving towards voice-supported displays in hopes of better monetizing voice. It will be interesting to see their efforts to get displays in homes and how they integrate the display advertising. Bold prediction: Amazon will provide sleep-mode display ads similar to how Kindle currently displays them today. [Britney Muller]

11. Marketers will place a greater focus on the SERPs

I expect we’ll see a greater focus on the analysis of SERPs as Google does more to give people answers without them having to leave the search results. We’re seeing more and more vertical search engines like Google Jobs, Google Flights, Google Hotels, Google Shopping. We’re also seeing more in-depth content make it onto the SERP than ever in the form of featured snippets, People Also Ask boxes, and more. With these new developments, marketers are increasingly going to want to report on their general brand visibility within the SERPs, not just their website ranking. It’s going to be more important than ever for people to be measuring all the elements within a SERP, not just their own ranking. [Rob Bucci]

Further reading:

Mapping the Overlap of SERP Feature Suggestions

Make Sense of Your Data with These Essential Keyword Segments

12. Targeting topics will be more productive than targeting queries

2019 is going to be another year in which we see the emphasis on individual search queries start to decline, as people focus more on clusters of queries around topics. People Also Ask queries have made the importance of topics much more obvious to the SEO industry. With PAAs, Google is clearly illustrating that they think about searcher experience in terms of a searcher’s satisfaction across an entire topic, not just a specific search query. With this in mind, we can expect SEOs to more and more want to see their search queries clustered into topics so they can measure their visibility and the competitive landscape across these clusters. [Rob Bucci]

Further reading:

Build a Search Intent Dashboard to Unlock Better Opportunities

It’s Time to Stop Doing On-Page SEO Like It’s 2012

Using Related Topics and Semantically Connected Keywords in Your SEO – Whiteboard Friday

How to Feed a Hummingbird: Improve Your On-Page SEO with Related Topics in Moz Pro

13. Linked unstructured citations will receive increasing focus

I recently conducted a small study in which there was a 75% correlation between organic and local pack rank. Linked unstructured citations (the mention of partial or complete business information + a link on any type of relevant website) are a means of improving organic rankings which underpin local rankings. They can also serve as a non-Google dependent means of driving traffic and leads. Anything you’re not having to pay Google for will become increasingly precious. Structured citations on key local business listing platforms will remain table stakes, but competitive local businesses will need to focus on unstructured data to move the needle. [Miriam Ellis]

Further reading:

The Guide to Building Linked Unstructured Citations for Local SEO

Why Local Businesses Will Need Websites More than Ever in 2019

14. Reviews will remain a competitive difference-maker

A Google rep recently stated that about one-third of local searches are made with the intent of reading reviews. This is huge. Local businesses that acquire and maintain a good and interactive reputation on the web will have a critical advantage over brands that ignore reviews as fundamental to customer service. Competitive local businesses will earn, monitor, respond to, and analyze the sentiment of their review corpus. [Miriam Ellis]

Further reading:

Time to Act: Review Responses Just Evolved from “Extra” to “Expected”

How to Respond to the 5 Types of Google Reviews

Location Data + Reviews: The 1–2 Punch of Local SEO

See more local SEO predictions for 2019 by Miriam in our Q&A!

We’ve heard from Mozzers, and now we want to hear from you. What have you seen so far in 2019 that’s got your SEO Spidey senses tingling? What trends are you capitalizing on and planning for? Let us know in the comments below (and brag to friends and colleagues when your prediction comes true in the next 6–10 months).

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don’t have time to hunt down but want to read!

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