#it bothers me so bad you claim to be awesome and supportive and educated but ur education is all ‘terfs dni’ on tumblr posts

[p2iimon]

why does nobody on the internet know what being a fucking terf is. terf doesnt just mean transphobe or wed just call them transphobes. that alpha male on twitter isnt a fucking terf you arent going to argue effectively to your audience

[hypocritehero]

This is my Spooky Santa gift for @heartfulmind! I got a little ahead of myself with this project and wasn’t able to completely finish the fic in time for the deadline;;; But I have scattered scenes written out for later in the timeline!!! I just have to actually string them together into another chapter… @_@;;

(Thanks again @icypyre for putting this event together!)

Title: Transceiver

Ship: Shinsou/Female Background Character

Word Count: 3,351

Chapters: 1/?

The air in the classroom feels heavy. One wouldn’t think these twenty students had just made it into the most prestigious school in the nation with the amount of gloomy faces filling the seats, but the fact of the matter is that a good portion of them had applied for another course entirely.

Is that really all General Education was created for? To hold the overflow of rejected Hero hopefuls?

Tsunagi hopes not. She’s one of the few who didn’t even bother with the Hero Entrance Exam. With a Quirk like hers, she knew she didn’t stand a chance against whatever crazy test UA was sure to cook up- but she didn’t apply for Support or Business either. There’s more ways to help people, to help heroes, than just giving them things to punch harder or promoting their brand.

Like now. The amount of disappointment in the room is enough to suffocate the few sparks of excitement and hope flickering in the dark atmosphere. That just won’t do. There’s no teacher yet, so Tsunagi feels free to go all out.

“HEY!” She slams the oversized door shut behind her and lets out a boisterous greeting. “Why’s it look like a funeral in here?! Did someone die? Am I dead?” She waves her hands in front of her face to check for transparency, then points at the closest occupied desk. “Do I look dead to you?”

The boy looks absolutely baffled by her sudden question. His voice comes out uncertain and high, “Uh- No?”

“There you have it!” Tsunagi places her hands on her hips and surveys the classroom like a Queen looking upon her kingdom. “I’m alive, and I’m pretty sure so are all of you. This isn’t the end of the line, not by far. It’s only the first stop!”

Her sheer volume is starting to gather attention. She waits patiently for the mood to turn over slowly like a wave, muddy thoughts becoming alert in confusion and apprehension. There’s some annoyed looks as well for disturbing the peace, but some sacrifices must be made.

“If you’d given up already, you wouldn’t even be sitting here, right? There’s nothing more stupid than turning around to go home when you’ve already left the house, so you might as well give it your all!” She punctuates her impromptu peptalk with two thumbs up- the ultimate finisher move!

But the disappointment lingers. Tough crowd…

“Couldn’t’ve put it better myself,” a deep, muffled voice remarks from behind. She jolts and spins around with a short yelp. The man standing at the door is tall and intimidating in his deep red cloak and gas mask, but the class breaks out into awed murmurs at the sight of him.

“It’s Snipe!”

“I heard all the teachers here were Pro Heroes but-”

“-our Homeroom teacher is Snipe?!”

“Awesome!”

Just like that, the tide shifts all at once, dismay and irritation erupting into excitement. That more than anything is what impresses Tsunagi the most. So this is the aura of a Pro… She can’t sense anything from him but calm determination- oh, and is that an inkling of amusement?

“That’s right, I’m Snipe. I’ll be your Homeroom teacher from now on.” Snipe takes his place at the front of the class, spurs jingling with every heavy footstep. “General Education might not sound like much, but that doesn’t mean you can slack off. Everyone at this school follows the same motto. I’m sure you all know what that is?”

Tsunagi recognizes a hype call for what it is. She punches her fist into the air, “Plus Ultra! Go beyond!” A few other students even chime in at the end as well, much to her delight.

Snipe tips his cowboy hat towards her, “That’s right, miss. You ought to take your seat now, by the way. Class is in session.”

Oops. What was her assigned seating again? The number totally flew her mind! Everyone else is already sitting though, so it must be the last empty desk there. She jogs over and swiftly slides into her seat, casting a glance to either side of her to check out her neighbors. Two boys; one with an extremely strong jawline, the other with eyebags that could probably hold all his school books.

Jawline’s nerves pop when she makes eye contact and waves, and he jerkily turns to face the front of the class. Cute. Eyebags doesn’t even acknowledge her at all. He’s one of the stubborn few still mired in his own murky emotions. She could tell that from a mile away even without her Quirk. What a sour face!

Snipe is just going over the entrance ceremony lineup and orientation handouts, nothing too important, so she focuses all her attention on Eyebags. Her Quirk is technically a one way street- she can only sense other people’s emotions, not make them feel hers- but she’s sending out pay attention to me vibes as hard as she can think them.

Impressively, he doesn’t even glance at her once, even when they all get up to form a line for the opening ceremony. This one is going to be a tough nut to crack…

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“You kind of remind me of a nutcracker!” Tsunagi places her lunch tray down on the table with a decisive clack. This is a good table; there’s a nice view out the window and everything. She decides to claim it as hers- for now, until she finds a better spot.

“…Excuse me?” Jawline, who was already occupying said table, responds to her comment belatedly. His aura is a little confused, a mixture between shock and affront, like he’s not quite sure how to take her words. That’s normal.

“You know, because of all this.” She gestures to her own decidedly smaller and narrow jaw in explanation. “Is that your Quirk? Do you, like, have a super bite strength? Like an alligator?”

“No…” Jawline answers slowly. “I can make ‘all this’ turn to metal though, so maybe I could crack a nut. Never tried before.”

“Ooh, even better.” Tsunagi snaps her disposable chopsticks and they split down the seams perfectly even. Nice. That’s a good omen, right? “You probably tried out for Hero Course with a Quirk like that, huh? I heard there was robots though. That must have been super tough.”

“Yeah… It was…” Jawline looks down at his tray, his wide mouth downturned into a frown. Woops. Must have still been a sore spot. It is only the second day, after all.

“I’m Kantoshi Tsunagi, by the way!” Tsunagi sticks out her hand across the table like a Western businessman. “I’ve got an empathy quirk, just in case you were wondering.”

“Ah… I’m Agito Koutsuchi.” Agito stares at her hand before taking it hesitantly. They shake and she makes sure to grip firmly to give off a good impression. First impressions are important- at least, that’s what her dad always said. “I’m guessing you didn’t take the practical then?”

“Oh, no way!” She forms an X with her arms and shakes her head. “I don’t even want to be a Hero. At least not like that.”

“Not like that?” 

“Yeah. I want to be a therapist for Heroes! So I figured I should go to a Hero school, right? Get lots of practice ahead of time.” She taps a finger to her temple with a self-satisfied smile. Yeah, she’s pretty much a genius.

“Right.” Agito looks more amused than bemused now, which is always a good thing in her books. His aura is looking a lot warmer. “Are you studying psychology then? I didn’t know we had any classes for that kind of thing.”

“Oh, we don’t.” She shrugs nonchalantly. “I’m just, like, kind of winging it?”

“…You’re ‘just kind of winging it’…”

Tsunagi is getting some major ‘judgey’ vibes off this guy. She pouts. “Hey, not everyone has their entire life mapped out as a first year! Sheesh. You’d grind your teeth a lot less if you learned to relax a little. Did you know I can hear you doing it from where I sit?”

“Hey-!”

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“Why are you staring at me?” It takes three days for Shinsou (she learned Eyebags’ name by sneaking a peak at his handout) to finally crack. During the layover between Math and English he stares back at Tsunagi with dead eyes, no less intense despite the listless boredom permeating his aura. She can’t really sense anything else off him.

Maybe he really is just looking for something to do? She holds his gaze for a long, extended moment of silence. He blinks.

“Aha!” She slaps one hand against the desktop and points at him with the other. “You blinked first!”

“I didn’t think it was a contest,” he says dryly. “Does it really count if I wasn’t looking back until now?”

“It totally does, don’t be a sore loser,” she replies with a dismissive wave of her hand. A small jolt of surprise goes through him. Interesting. She leans in closer. “So you noticed? And you didn’t even think to say ‘Hi’ to your Class Prez?”

The title is new, but she’s taking every opportunity possible to flaunt it. Honestly, no one else was really vying for the position… Still, a win is a win!

“…You’re still talking to me,” Shinsou says instead of answering the question. It kind of sounds like he’s talking more to himself than her. “Why?”

Tsunagi raises an eyebrow. “Should I not be?” 

Shinsou rubs at the back of his neck and glances away, his aura fluctuating agitatedly despite the strained smirk on his face. “Heh. If you have to ask that, that probably explains it.”

Okay, the mysterious cool guy bit is already getting on her nerves a little bit. She squints at him with an extended, suspicious hmmmm.

“Do you have like, a contagious disease or something?” He stares at her flatly and she taps her nose before trying again. “Is it your Quirk?” The second guess earns her another emotional jolt, even as his expression persists. Bingo. “It can’t be that bad. What is it?”

Ectoplasm glides into the room just then. Shinsou swiftly turns to face the front again, lips pressed into a thin line.

Wait. Is he really not going to answer?!

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Tsunagi ends up making a game of it. It’s a good way to kill time between classes- and an excuse to talk to/at her aloof neighbor. Sometimes she even ropes Agito into it for some fresh ideas. He seemed reluctant at first, but as Shinsou seemed to bear their increasingly wild guesses with surprising patience, he’s been really getting into the spirit of the game.

“Do you curse people to die in seven days if you speak more than two sentences at a time?” Agito suggests from across Tsunagi’s desk, leaning on his forearm to see around her.

“Ooh, good one!” Tsunagi snaps her fingers. “But what about when he read that passage out loud for English? It’s been a week since then, and nobody’s died yet.”

“They wouldn’t allow me on campus if I had a Quirk as dangerous as that…” Shinsou mutters without looking up from his notes.

“True… What if it’s a love curse though?” Tsunagi waggles her eyebrows with a lecherous grin. “I could believe that. Are you all cool and jaded from breaking so many hearts because of your Quirk?”

“…Cool?” Shinsou focuses on that out of all the other things that came out of her mouth. He seems surprised. “Me?”

“Uh, yeah? You’re like, Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Broody over here. Back me up, Agito!”

“You are kind of broody,” Agito admits in an apologetic tone.

“Huh…”

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UA ends up on the news. Despite having the best security out of every high school in the country, there was a bonafide Villain attack at USJ. Even without having been there, the fact that it happened at all is enough to fill the campus with waves of unease. Trickles of frightened conversation drift by Tsunagi’s desk the next morning as the classroom fills up.

“Damn, and I thought that false alarm at lunch was scary…”

“-was technically off campus, right? They couldn’t get in here… right?”

“They should beef up security or something! That just ain’t right-”

Tsunagi drums her pencil against the desk. Tk-tk-tk. As Class President, there should be something she can do to put everyone at ease, but the situation feels so much bigger than she can handle. It doesn’t help that her own stomach is turning and flipping just remembering those mugshots.

If you see these men, contact your local Heroes as soon as possible… Yeah, no, she’d rather never see another Villain in person in her lifetime, thanks.

“…We should do the buddy system.” She’s just thinking out loud, but her VP glances over at her with interest.

“Buddy system? Isn’t that a little kiddish?” Agito inquires. He doesn’t sound entirely dismissive about it though. Tsunagi points her eraserhead at him.

“They teach it to us as kids because it’s important! If something happens to one of you, there’s still someone else to go get help. It just makes sense.”

“When you put it like that, I guess you’re right…”

Tsunagi nods with satisfaction. “That settles it then. I’ll make an announcement during homeroom. Everyone needs to find a buddy to walk home with from now on. That includes you, too, Mr. Lone Wolf!”

“Pass.”

“You don’t get to pass! This is a Presidential decree!”

“You’re only Class President,” Shinsou points out coolly. “Off campus, you can’t really control what anyone does.”

Well, of course she can’t, but he didn’t have to be so obstinate about it. She puts on her most serious face. “This isn’t a drill, you know. A real Villain attack happened, not a practice exercise. Even Pro Heroes can’t be everywhere at once. If you ever wanted to be a Hero, you should recognize that we all have to do our part to keep each other safe.”

Shinsou goes quiet after that. Tsunagi leaves him to his thoughts and works on hashing out a quick speech with Agito before homeroom starts. She can only lead a horse to water, not make him drink it. Whatever decision he comes to, he’ll have to get there on his own.

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The UA Sports Festival is absolutely legendary. It’s hard to believe this is only the turnout for the first years- the stadium is enormous and yet every seat is filled. Tsunagi’s only ever watched it on TV. She never expected to be on the other side of the screen.

Present Mic’s voice was loud enough to rattle her teeth even inside the entry tunnel, but when the Gen Ed students start filing out his enthusiasm dies down considerably. It’s still boisterous, sure, but there’s no pizzaz in the way he lists off rotely, “And following Class B, here come Classes C, D, and E from the department of General Education!”

“Man, they’re treating us like we’re just their foils or something,” Agito complains, not bothering to quiet his displeasure whatsoever. Tsunagi is inclined to agree.

“What a load of…” She swears under her breath. Just because their class wasn’t attacked by Villains doesn’t mean they’re not trying their hardest like everyone else in the Hero Course. She’s seen her peers practicing together in their free time, working out the kinks in their Quirks in the gym, discussing Hero names over lunch-

It just doesn’t feel right to let their efforts get lowkey dismissed like this!

Tsunagi turns to walk backwards, facing the rest of Class C head-on. She claps her hands over her head. “Alright, alright! Everyone, do your best out there! Fight on!” When she turns back around, she catches Shinsou’s eye and winks at him carelessly. “That’s also a Presidential Decree.”

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So, Tsunagi didn’t place in the obstacle race, but come on! An empathy Quirk doesn’t really come in handy against ice and robots and tightrope walking. Honestly, it would have taken a miracle to even make it to the finish line.

And yet Shinsou did- within the cutoff even. She’s not quite sure how he did it. It kind of looked like he got some randos to help him?

…That kind of smarts. If he had a team plan to pass, why not get his own class to help?

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“Midoriya! The match just started… and he’s completely frozen?! He’s got a blank look on his face and isn’t moving a muscle!”

Midoriya isn’t only one. The entirety of Class C is stock still in their seats, eyes wide and mouths gaping in shock.

“…Is that…?” Agito turns towards Tsunagi slowly. She looks back at him with a blooming grin, “His Quirk!“ 

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Tsunagi really isn’t sure what’s happening. One minute Shinsou’s opponent was walking out of bounds, a sure win- then there was suddenly an explosion? And now Shinsou is grappling with a member of the Hero Course. It’s all happening so quickly, she’s on the edge of her seat, heart leaping up into her throat as her classmate is suddenly bodily heaved into the air.

"No!” She can’t help but cry out, even though it’s already too late. He hits the ground before she can even take her next breath and she flinches. “No…” It doesn’t feel fair. He came so far!

“Damn, he got got.” Agito sighs from beside her, slumping back into his seat heavily. It’s right then that she realizes her tunnel vision, her awareness of her surroundings slowly returning to her. It’s strange… She’s grown so used to other people’s ambient emotions vying for her attention constantly, it’s not often that she finds herself so completely caught up in a moment that all she can do herself is feel.

Despite Shinsou’s loss, their entire seating section is lit up with pinpricks of bright, sparkling emotions, a bittersweet ocean of disappointment mingled with awe, of so close yet so far! It’s like being surrounded by a sky of stars, shimmering on the edges of her vision, but she still can’t tear her eyes away from Shinsou.

Shinsou, who refused to tell anyone his Quirk. Shinsou, who was surprised that anyone would even talk to him at all. Shinsou, who fought tooth and nail to make it to the final tournament. His wile and determination is absolutely insane, but his heart is so fragile. He’s just a speck of doom and gloom down on the field and she can’t help but remember the first day they met, how deeply his dejection rooted itself in his soul.

Well, that just won’t do.

Tsunagi rushes out of her seat to lean up against the railing. A stampede of footsteps follow in her wake.

“You were so cool, Shinsou!!” She waves her arm to catch his attention, smile broadening when their eyes meet across the distance. He looks surprised to see them all lined up above the exit gate for some reason. She doesn’t let that deter her and gives him her super special double thumbs up. “Nice job!”

Almost as if her words were the opening to a dam, more praise comes rushing in from their gathered classmates. Everyone is calling out as loud as they can so that Shinsou can hear them over the clamoring audience.

“We were on the edges of our seats, dude! For real!”

“You’re like the star of hope for all us Gen Ed kids!”

“You gave the kid who placed in the top 3 from the obstacle race a real run for his money!”

Tsunagi can’t quite pin down the aura Shinsou is giving off right now. Something bright and delicate… a wavering light that shimmers over the vulnerable look on his face like he’s underwater. For such an aloof boy, he looks overwhelmed now, but in a good way.

“Can you hear them, Shinsou-kun?” Her heart feels heavy and full in her chest. She’s just so damn proud of him. She wants him to be proud of himself, too. “You’re amazing!”

She’ll grind that into his fluffy head until it finally sticks, as many times as it takes.

[dontreadthistrashgarbage]

Pt.3

Seyoon was unpacking all the late night snacks he had gotten onto a blanket at a secluded rooftop. Hearing footsteps he looked up to see Guerin, who looked different than usual. She didn't appear to be wearing any makeup, had her normal stud earrings but had a cute black mask with a white sharp toothy grin. She was dressed in joggers and a sweatshirt with the hood up. He cocked his head at her as she approached.

"I know, I look like shit. But it was late and I'd already gotten ready for bed. You can't expect me to spruce up after that." Guerin guessed at his expression.

"You look fine. Cozy. It's just different. Also you're late." He shrugged and patted the blanket next to him, sitting as he leaned against the wall behind him.

"I got lost..." she grumbled, "I've never been great with directions." She sat down in the spot he indicated, looking over the spread he had brought, "Good grief I thought you just wanted tteokbokki."

Seyoon smiled automatically, "You said you hadn't eaten, and I know how much you like food so I thought I should get some options." Guerin leaned her head in his direction and offered a wry smile under her mask, unable to argue with his logic. "Besides, I got this for us too." He pulled out an additional bag, from which he drew two paper cups, a bottle of soju and two cans of beer.

Guerin raised her eyebrows and sat up straight, "Oh we're drinking too?"

"We have to. It goes well with tteokbokki, fried chicken and jajangmyeon." He shrugged nonchalantly as he began opening everything up and handing Guerin some chopsticks. "Although it's blueberry soju. I thought you might like that."

"How did you figure that?" She asked, sneaking a piece of tteokbokki and pulling her mask to her chin to eat it.

"Well you said before you liked Grapefruit and Plum but I couldnt find it, so I thought blueberry was the next best option." Seyoon shrugged, separating the cups and pouring soju into them, handing one to Guerin and offering his as cheers.

She laughed in response and took her shot, "Honestly I dont know how that train of thought lines up but you aren't wrong." She watched as Seyoon refilled the cups and couldn't keep the grin from her face, "You really went all out for this, it's awesome. Thank you."

He shrugged again, looking up at her and their eyes met briefly before both looked away to select food options, "Food makes things better." He said simply.

"Cheers to that." They both took another shot and then ate in silence for a while.

"So... how are you?" Seyoon asked awkwardly, unsure of how to broach the subject.

"I'm fine, all things considered." Guerin said almost mechanically, "I keep telling people that."

"Okay... but how are you really?" Seyoon asked again, leaning back to look at Guerin. She sighed and set her chopsticks down and didn't speak for a moment.

"Well. What do you know happened?" She asked finally.

"I know you were attacked by that crazy lady. I know you were arrested but you were cleared because of video evidence. I know that she is being charged by the company. But I also know you haven't been with HEET lately." He trailed off.

Guerin reached over for one of the beers. Seyoon cracked it open and put it in her hand, grabbing his as well while she took a sip, leaned back against the wall and looked up at the sky.

"Yeah. We were worried something might happen again. So part of our plan included recording any more altercations that might occur. Self defense laws are tricky and it's usually one person's word against another. Plus as a foreigner, and a big one, we knew some witnesses might not provide unbiased information." She paused and took another sip, "The boys were so brave, they did exactly as they were supposed to. That woman had some gross stuff in that present too. Police said it was unwashed underwear, a vial of blood, another of spit..." she scrunched her nose, "stuff like that."

"Sounds like you guys have the law on your side." Seyoon said, waiting for more information.

Another sip and pause before she spoke, "Yeah, we do. We're able to press charges. The company is suing her. She might see jail time. They even made me go to the hospital to make sure they had a medical report for the court."

"Wait medical report?" Seyoon looked over at her, surprised, "What happened?" Now that she had pulled down her mask and he was looking closely he saw the cut and slight bruising at the corner of her mouth as she smiled dryly and tapped her cheek.

"I let her hit me. I figured if she looked unharmed and I was injured it would go better for us too."

"You're crazy." He sounded almost admiring as he leaned in closer, "Let me see that, does it hurt?"

"It's fine, I've been hit in the face many times, and she's probably the smallest adult that's ever taken a swing at me. It doesnt hurt at all. OW WHY?" She flinched and cried out as he poked the bruising.

His eyes widened and he let out a snort of laughter, "Doesn't hurt at all?"

"You little shit." She laughed and smacked his hand away from her face, "Of course it'll hurt if you press a bruise."

He giggled again, "Sorry. It does look like it hurts a lot. You should maybe stop letting people hit you in the face."

She laughed, "Well it hasn't always been a choice, this one was though."

"So... there's more right?" He asked after their laughter had subsided.

Guerin avoided his eyes by taking a longer drink from her beer, "Yeah. There's been some blowback. Some false stories have gotten out and theres some people that claim I'm making a bad name for HEET or that I was the one who started it, that I instigated a fight or was being rude to a fan. There's quite a lot that demanded I be removed as manager, actually."

"So they caved?" Seyoon asked disbelievingly.

"Well. Kind of?" Guerin sighed, "I've been temporarily removed. Right now with the case going and the false information it's actually less safe for HEET to be around me in case someone tries to target me. So until things are officially able to be released..." she stopped talking abruptly blinking rapidly, trying to hide it with another long gulp of beer. "It's not like I've been fired. I'm grateful for that. Another company would probably have written me off as more trouble than I'm worth. They have me doing other work right now but... I liked my job. I loved my boys, and looking after them." She couldnt hide the tears running down her face now, and didn't bother to try.

Seyoon floundered, watching her face then looking around before seeing napkins and hurriedly handing them to her. She smiled and thanked him, dabbing her cheeks half heartedly before giving up and chugging the rest of her beer through her tears. With an unconvincing smile she looked at Seyoon, "So that's what I mean when I say all things considered. I'm fine."

He didn't saying anything right away, pulling his long shirt sleeve over his hand, he leaned over and dabbed at her face to dry it. She started to pull away, shocked, but he reached out with his other hand and held her in place. "Hold still." She didn't fight back, he was so close and so handsome she couldn't help but feel somewhat transfixed, despite her stomache dropping and heart pounding, all she could do was freeze until he let her go. He picked up his chopsticks, selected a large piece of fried chicken and put it to her mouth, which she accepted without complaint.

"It's okay to be sad when bad things happen. You don't have to lie to everyone." He paused and added quietly as though he wasn't sure he should be saying it, "You don't have to lie to me."

Guerin choked, "Oh my god." She swallowed as soon as she could and laughed, "Are you using lines on me to seem cool? Is this a drama?" She laughed again.

"Yah." He protested, "I was just trying to be supportive."

Guerin laughed again then fed him some tteokbokki, "You're as adorable as a cicada." She said and pinched his cheek.

"I am so much more handsome than some bug." He protested around the food in his mouth.

"Of course you are." She put a shot of soju in his hand, cheersed and downed hers. He followed shortly.

"Thanks though." She glanced at him, "It means a lot."

He playfully shoved her and stole her chopsticks, which started a whole new bickering fit.

Charlie had been working up the nerve all morning to talk to her boss. It was a privilege to be allowed to be so hands on with animals and she didn't want her boss to think she was taking advantage... but it was such a cool opportunity. She had to at least try.

"Byun Minsoo-ssi." She lead off tentatively. The lead vet looked up from her paperwork. Perhaps she looked stern simply from Charlie's point of view but it was just as believable that she was no-nonsense in everyday life as well.

"Yes? Charlie-ssi?"

"I have a friend who is a manager for an idol group, she is friends with a group called A.C.E and I wondered if they could come behind the scenes to meet some of our animals?" Charlie ventured cautiously.

Minsoo paused for a moment before speaking "A.C.E? Your friend knows A.C.E? And they want to come here?" Her attempt to play it cool was poorly hidden and gave Charlie confidence.

"Yes! I'd like to invite my friend Guerin and A.C.E to come and see what we have. I think it would be an excellent opportunity to promote the zoo and educate on the importance of conservation!"

The normally serious Minsoo beamed at Charlie, "That's an excellent idea. Let's get in contact and organize something."

Charlie did a mental fist pump and hustled off to message her friends.

Deciding to keep the visit informal allowed the planning process to go more quickly. Approval from the higher ups and organizing with Beat Interactive took a few days. Guerin has been allowed to come as a personal guest for Charlie and A.C.E who requested she tag along. Guerin, never passing up a chance to visit the zoo, happily accepted. Charlie hoped it could provide her friend with a genuine mood boost. Guerin tended to internalize her negative emotions but Charlie could tell she wasn't her usual self.

"We'll do formal filming in the behind the scenes areas, but then we'll allow you to do your own self cam work throughout the areas of the zoo the public has regular access to." Minseok explained as A.C.E got last second touch ups.

"What animals are we seeing today?" Asked Chan excitedly. They were in the vet and quarantine areas so it was unpredictable what had been planned for them.

"It's a surprise." Charlie said, the most excited A.C.E had ever seen her.

Byun Minsoo would be taking the lead in speaking for the cameras but suggested Charlie stay by to help handle animals and manage the guests. Minsoo might be strict but she was fair, knowing Charlie wanted to do this with her friends she wasn't going to exclude her.

Guerin was hanging back with Minseok as preparations were made. "Noona do you know what we're gonna see?" Chan tried to wheedle from her, pouting slightly. Guerin stared pointedly away from him.

"Don't pull that cute stuff on me, I can't tell you." Of course she knew what animals Charlie was working with, she couldn't let some aegyo spoil the surprise. Chan pouted more and shook his shoulders in a small tantrum.

"Alright that's enough." Minseok stepped in before Guerin could cave, he redirected A.C.E to the main area so they could begin filming. The recording started with a tour of the facilities, showing equipment and how to accommodate all the different animals they had based on type and size. They explained the importance of training animals to participate in their own veterinary care voluntarily then showed them a video example of a mountain lion presenting for a blood draw, and a gorilla opening it's mouth for its teeth to be examined, or a macaque presenting its arm for an insulin injection. Minsoo continued to talk about the research and breeding that the zoo participated and how it was vital for conservation efforts and how it benefitted animals in the wild.

The boys were perfect guests, asking questions and reacting well. They saw a few animals in the quarantine area, new to the zoo and waiting to be introduced to their new homes. The last area they were taken to was for longer term housing for animals that couldnt be in the usual enclosures. A spot had been sectioned, layered with blankets, plushies and other toys. The boys, perplexed, were instructed to go in and sit down with Minsoo while Charlie disappeared momentarily. She returned with an inauspicious crate, facing it away from A.C.E she opened the door and sat with Minsoo, both grinning for the surprise.

Two young tiger cubs tottered they way out, mowing. The trepidation left A.C.E as they all exclaimed in amazement and adoration. Minsoo and Charlie showed A.C.E how to bottle feed them, then let them take turns.

"Their mother was a first time mom, and she wouldnt take care of them." Minsoo explained as the boys cooed sadly, "It's not unusual for that to happen with new mothers even in the wild. But since we are here we made the choice to step in and help raise them." Once the babies were fed they were left to roam and play. One clambered into Jun's lap and fell asleep, the other playing with a toy with Donghun and Byeongkwan. Jun couldn't control his face, his amazement and joy at being chosen as he got everyone's attention and pointed to the sleeping kitten. Seyoon and Chan scooted near him to pet the sleeping animal. Charlie couldn't stop herself from grinning, Guerin knew at least part of it was Jun's reaction and not just the cute tiger cubs.

Once it was time to say goodbye to the kittens, A.C.E did their formal goodbye with them and the filming for behind the scenes ended. The rest of the staff and guests got an opportunity to greet the tigers as well and once Guerin had her turn she flagged down Charlie as the babies were taken back to their enclosure. After a brief talk with Minsoo who let out a restrained laugh and nod, Charlie and Guerin went to a series of smaller tanks on the opposite side of the room, Guerin returning with her hands closed suspiciously.

"We have one more animal for you to meet." Charlie said with a chuckle. Donghun was the only one with the good sense to he suspicious.

"This is one of my favorite animals." Guerin said with a grin, uncovering her hand and showing a large male Madagascar Hissing Cockroach sitting placidly in her hand. All five boys instinctively recoiled, Chan and Jun exclaiming in surprise. A.C.E's reaction elicited chuckles from most of the staff if they werent busy being disgusted themselves.

"It's okay guys. They're harmless!" Guerin said holding it up. Donghun and Jun recovered the fastest, still looking apprehensive and surprised respectively. Chan was behind Jun, leaning around him curiously but still looking fearful. Beyongkwan, eyes wide, didnt move forward so quickly and Seyoon was the furthest away had a very subtle terror that could only be read in his eyes.

"They're really cool, they're called hissing cockroaches cause they hiss!" She gave the cockroach a light pet down it's back which caused it to take two steps forward and hiss quietly as it protested the contact. The boys jumped again. "So insects dont have lungs, they breath through small holes along their body called spiracles. These guys have evolved to force air out of those holes to make a hissing sound that they use to communicate to each other or even predators! Their mouths are too small to bite us so they're harmless!" She was so enthusiastic in the explanation it couldnt help but draw the boys curiosity. She explained how to tell males from females and how most cockroaches are pests at all and how vital they are to the environment. Eventually Donghun worked up the courage first to touch it when offered. Jun became somewhat enamored and greeted the insect before he touched it, but jumped when it hissed before laughing at his own reaction. Chan actually opted to hold it and Byeongkwan even moved forward but Seyoon stayed in the back.

"Come on Hyung!" Chan called to him, looking more closely at the cockroach.

"I'm just looking at stuff over here you guys go on without me." Seyoon said, pretending to examine equipment near him.

"It is kind of cute." Jun admitted, petting it again, still jumping slightly when it hissed.

"On a scale of Seyoon to a Cicada how cute is it?" Donghun joked causing Jun, Chan, Byeongkwan, Guerin and Charlie to laugh.

[followerofmercy]

Least favorite thing about college:  “This is a safe environment to express differing opinions! We should all strive to be respectful and learn from each other... Unless you disagree with me. Then fuck you :)” 

I’m taking Global Women’s Health, right? It’s awesome for the most part! I have swan dived into feminism and I feel really inspired to make a difference in the world! (Well, differently that I had planned to before.) Some stuff bothers me about the reading and discussion, though. 

I don’t mind the political bias. I don’t think it’s possible to write a truly unbiased piece (regardless of what people claim, and yes that includes me). I do mind people lauding themselves as the spokesperson for an entire group of people (in this case, women) and speaking as the end all be all for their opinions. 

At least in this case it’s hard to say “you just hate women if you disagree with me” because, uh, I am a woman? (There are a lot of arguments that could be made anyway, but I’m omitting them because this is getting long). My experiences differ from the author’s. I think that’s ok. Frankly I’m glad she didn’t have to go through the same things I did/am going through. That being said, please stop speaking on my behalf, and stop acting like nobody in the group you’re speaking for will ever disagree. You know why? That’s how people get shut down. That’s how the mentality that “women like being taken care of!” was so prevalent throughout so much of Western history. 

Example: 2008 US election. Two things I have heard in person. “No black person would ever support McCain,” and “No Christian would ever vote for Obama,” spoken from extreme left and right leaning individuals, respectively. I promise you neither of those statements were true. 

Somewhat related: The biggest thing that bothers me is the discussion we had last week. The gist was that people that grew up in and live daily lives in places with systemic abuse of women probably know better than we do. Every situation is different. The Arab girl whose father was murdered and she was raped for daring to go to school lives in a different setting than the Indian women that are often pressured to commit suicide in shame after being raped, and they both live differently than those that live with female-selective abortion in places like China. The culture, economics, politics, everything plays a part in their unique circumstances, and they will all develop somewhat different solutions tailor-fit to their needs. 

Everyone seemed to be in agreement on this. We all agreed that people experiencing their particular hardships should have the most control over how to proceed... unless the solutions produced looked too much like a political system that the students disliked. Then it was “bad,” “scary” and “the wrong way to do it.” Completely shitting on the ideas agreed to not three minutes prior. 

There are economic systems that I think are inherently flawed - all of them - but I think some are better than others. But you know what? I’m not a lady in West Africa that just underwent female genital mutilation. I don’t get to sit back in my cushy one bedroom apartment in the US and tell her what’s best no matter how educated I think I am. I don’t get to pretend I know more than her because I had a hot take in a classroom, or on the internet, or even if I keep pursuing this and have a panel of professionals listening to my bullshit. Even if she decides to do something that is really contrary to what I believe is best, I need to shut up and color because I believe it’s not my place.  

“Oh, but what about really extreme solutions??? Like, uh, killing all the men!” 

First... That’s incredibly insulting. They’re not stupid animals. Second, if they did have a really extreme solution that was more plausible but a human rights violation... I honestly don’t know. I’m not gonna make some broad statement that THIS IS THE ONE WAY TO PROCEED. I’m ok not knowing everything and I’ll figure it out as I get more information and those situations arise. 

Despite the hypocrisy, I’m gonna see this class through and get everything valuable I can out of it! I’m going to go buy the textbooks and keep them for future reference. I do think these people are wrong about some things, but that doesn’t devalue the things I think are right. They might not respect other people’s opinions but I will, dammit. 

Anyway TLDR: This saying “respect other people’s opinions” (and by other people’s I mean mine) thing is utter horseshit and I don’t think people are going to get anywhere unless they start practicing what they preach. 

[scripttorture]

(1/2) Hi - Thanks a lot for your alternative scenario to my Widowmaker question. :) I'm going to be working on a story involving intelligence/black-ops agencies, and one recurring theme I'm emphasizing is that the tortures done by multiple characters are inefficient, pointless and counter-intuitive. The protagonists' cruelty backfires horribly by hardening the resolve of their victims (and the victims' loved ones); guilty members 'betray' their team by reporting the atrocities to the public...

(2/2) Any useful info gathered by agencies (American, Japanese, Russian & Turkish) is done nonviolently, so torture's done for sadism or to INTENTIONALLY demoralize. Any other ways could you suggest to portray 'enhanced interrogation' as needless and unconstructive? Don't wanna accidentally veer into apologia i.e. implying that torture fails and a time-bomb goes off because 'we didn't torture suspect hard enough'; and I fear that in pop-culture, 'moral appeals' alone won't be convincing enough.

You're right that popculture tends to dismiss moral appeals (usually by buying into apologistarguments) but I think whether they work in a piece of fiction depends on howthey’re written.

 A purely moral argumentis a lot less likely to have an emotional impact when the character it comesfrom is: privileged, unlikely to ever be in danger, has no experience with victims,has no family background connected to atrocities. Anyone who comes across asunconnected can be tarred by the narrative.

 The usual ways that isdone are either by showing the character as a desk jockey with no realpractical experience of the world, showing them as flighty with their head inthe clouds or showing them as using atrocities to score political points.

 Moral arguments comeacross more powerfully when they come from people who have seen and experiencedatrocities, whether it’s in the past or present.

 My English education isprobably gonna show a little here but I’m reminded of Sassoon’s war poetry andhow angrily some of it was directed against the British public and politics-

 ‘You smug faced crowds with kindling eyes,

Who cheer when soldier lads march by,

Sneak home and pray you’ll never know

The hell where youth and laughter go.’

 Moral arguments can beincredibly powerful things in fiction and art. I don’t think we should dismissthem.

 The problem withwriting effective moral arguments infiction is well essentially it’s about how you write.

 In order for somethingto have an emotional pay off it needs to be appropriately built up in the storyand supported by the narrative. And there’s no one simple way to do thateffectively.

 A ‘Big Speech’ can makepeople lose interest but only if it’spoorly written.

 I suppose the way Ithink about successful moral arguments is that you’re trying to write what TVtropes would call a ‘Crowning Moment of Awesome’ (I’d link to that but I’mafraid my readers may become stuck in an internet black hole from which theymay never escape.)

 Doing that effectivelytakes work. It means carefully balancing everything that happens in the storyup until that moment. It means judging howyou’re manipulating your readers’ emotions.

 Any big speech is goingto fall flat if it isn’t backed up by actions and by what happens more widelyin the story.

 The way I’ve tended todo that is by having characters take big personal risks to do what they thinkis right. Because I write a lot of pacifists and because pacifists seem to beparticularly prone to this sort of dismissal in fiction (that their beliefsaren’t practical, that it’ll all get better if they just kill the baddies,etc-) I made a deliberate choice to avoid ‘Big Speeches’ and instead show thesecharacters backing up their words to the hilt.

 Getting the emotionaltone right is key and it’s also one of the hardest parts of writing.

 There seem to a fewmain approaches with torture in particularly. There’s a very stark,minimalistic statement of what happened, similar to an Amnesty internationalreport. In a rich, descriptive narrative that can be incredibly shocking andhorrifying. It’s a sudden shift in how the story comes across and that createsan impact.

 Another strategy is to writealmost the way Alleg does. Keeping the pov very firmly with the victim andputting the reader as firmly as possible in their shoes. That means a lot moredescription but not purely of things like pain. It means appreciating thedetails people notice when they’re stressed and scared.

 Alleg picked up onthings like the cleanliness of the board he was strapped to, the general senseof the crowd around him, the fact some of them were drinking beers while theywatched. That his shirt was used as a gag. The incredibly young age of some ofhis torturers and the way they talked to him (as if it was all a sportingevent). The way Algerian prisoners responded to him, a Frenchmen, who had takentheir side and was suffering for it.

 Pulling back from realworld accounts there are a few other approaches I found particularly effective.They’re more to do with focus thandescription.

 Babylon 5 and Farscapeare two sci fis that have a lot of flaws (and I haven’t re-watched themrecently so I can’t swear that totally accurate portrayals of torture isn’toccasionally one of them-) but they’re all very good at giving the audience anemotional impact from atrocities they show.

 Babylon 5 is set on thetitular space station, a sort of diplomatic way point designed to be neutralground used to navigate political crisis’s. A central plot point is theon-going conflict between the Narn and the Centauri. At the beginning of thestory this is pretty much purely political, Centauri used to occupy Narn butNarn broke free and has since become much more powerful. Over the course of thestory this shifts drastically. The Centauri take over Narn again and begin apolicy of widespread slavery and genocide.

 We rarely see any of this. We do not generallymeet the victims.

 But the consequenceshit the narrative like a hammer.

 We see the Narnambassador go from being one of the most powerful individuals on the station toa refugee there. We see the Centauri ambassador become a pariah. We see attemptafter attempt to help the Narn people from all sorts of sides. It affects everything that happens in the story,warping it.

 Farscape is much morefocused on individuals.

 In Farscape the leadcharacter, Crichton, is tortured repeatedly (and unsuccessfully) by peopletrying to get information on wormhole technology from him. And the narrativetakes the time to show the ways it’s affected him. It does this in privatemoments, when he’s alone or interacting with the people he trusts. Graduallyover the course of several seasons he changes. To the point that going from anepisode in the first season to one in the last makes him almost seem like adifferent character.

 Like Babylon 5 it’sabout consequences. But it’s consequences on a very personal level.

 Unlike Alleg’s accountit’s not, necessarily, from Crichton’s point of view. Some of it is. Some of itisn’t. The audience watches the character deteriorate. But we don’t see himgive up and his responses to a large degree aren’t judged. Just presented.

 You’re showing torturefailing in multiple ways.

 Not resulting in usefulinformation. Negatively affecting torturers/bad guys and causing them to changesides. Making victims more strongly opposed to their enemies (and presumablyacting as a recruitment too and propaganda victory for their own side).

 I think the rest of itcomes down to how you construct the narrative and the emotional tone you put inthe story. I think I’ve covered emotional tone.

 With a story on thekind of scale you’re telling there are going to be characters who support andargue for torture. But you can use the story itself to show that they’re wrong.

 The easiest way to dothat is to show them as…well as delusional as torturers tend to be. Show themclaiming they were responsible forthings the reader knows other people(and non-torture methods) achieved. Show them coming out of a session where allthey ‘got’ was inarticulate noises and claim it was useful. Show their‘information’ being wrong and show that costing their side, in time and lives.

 You’re already doing anawful lot more in your story than most fiction bothers to. I don’t think you’reat risk of accidentally writing apologia.

 This kind of writingadvice is difficult for me because I don’t think there is a one-size-fits-allapproach to writing, narrative style or building emotional depth in a story.

 I think there are veryvery few things that writers should ‘never’ do and I’m very aware that myapproach to writing wouldn’t work for everyone. I spent years strugglingbecause I’d read all these writing ‘tips’ and ‘tricks’ telling me things I‘shouldn’t’ do that were key to someone else’s style and absolutely uselesswhen it came to mine.

 Figuring out what worksbest for the way you write is something only you can do. As is figuring outwhat would work best in the story you want to tell.

 I hope this helps. :)

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[rowingchat]

Coaching your coxswain – yes, you CAN

Bad coxing starts with poor coaching.  Improved coxing comes from an understanding of the best way to instruct.  Few coaches have been coxswains and so take a quick educational guide from a Coxswain, Chelsea Dommert, who found that she was frustrated by the un-clear instructions she got from her coach.  So she wrote the book on Coaching the Coxswain.

A guide for rowing coaches

  As a rowing coach, you’re supposed to focus most of your time on your rowers. That’s normal and acceptable. But there’s a big difference between focusing on rowers, rather than coxswains, and completely ignoring your coxswains altogether. 

When you actually spend time coaching coxswains, you can reduce the number of frustrating races you lose by at least half.

That’s half…at a minimum. Possibly more than half.

Why? 

1. Coxswains make half of all the race-losing mistakes on your team.

Let’s do a little visualization exercise: think back to the last time your boat did worse in a race than it should have done because someone messed up.

Stop. Actually close your eyes and do the exercise. Come on, 10 seconds. 

How did that experience make you feel?

Remember how your heart stopped when you saw it happen?

Remember that heavy feeling in the pit of your stomach?

Remember how you wanted to ram your head against a wall?

When you give your time and energy to training a crew, it sucks to see one wrong movehurt its performance.

What if I told you that coaching just 15% of your crew could reduce the number of times that happens by half? 50% improvement for 15% work – a big win. Well guess what? That’s what I’m telling you. Look, I have numbers to support my claim:

Data on the college crew^ where I cox (from my cox journal entries)

Number of times a coxswain left the lane, hit a buoy, or miscalled* the execution of a race Number of times a rower caught a crab, was not ready at start, or stopped rowing in a race 2008 Fall 4 (6 coxswains) 3 (36 rowers) 2009 Spring 3 (6 coxswains) 4 (36 rowers) 2009 Fall 8 (6 coxswains – 4 by one cox in one race) 1 (28 rowers) 2010 Spring 4 (6 coxswains) 4 (32 rowers) 2010 Fall 3 (6 coxswains) 2 (32 rowers) 2011 Spring 4 (5 coxswains) 4 (32 rowers)

                  ^ It’s a D1 Ivy League crew. It’s a respectable crew. Therefore, I expect that the numbers are not abnormally high or anything.

*miscalled – I don’t mean she missed an opportunity to say the perfect motivational phrase. I mean she failed to call a lengthen after the high strokes and took the boat down the whole course at a 45. I mean she completely forgot to call the sprint or told her boat it was winning when actually it was not. I mean bad miscalls.

Look. Even though coxswains make up only 15% of my team, coxswains are responsible for 50% of those mistake-related losses.

By taking control of your coxswain’s basic training – by involving yourself in coaching her – you can eliminate these. Yeah. Eliminate them. Gone. Poof! Magic.

But you can do even more than that.

You can coach your coxswains to win you races that you otherwise might not win.

That’s because crews cannot make collective changes mid-race by themselves. There is only one person who can act independently to improve the performance of your whole crew in the thick of battle.

It’s…your coxswain.

2.  8 out of 10 of your competitors don’t coach their coxswains – and they’re slower than the crews that do coach their coxswains.

Exactly how many coaches spend time on their coxswains?

I don’t know the answer, but here’s a clue:

Of the coaches who I e-mailed about this article, 22% visited the blog more than once in 14 days. That 22% represents the portion of my sample population that expressed a continued interest in coaching coxswains.

This means that learning to coach your coxswains gives you a jump on 78% of competitors who don’t bother to learn that stuff.

Here’s another interesting statistic. Among the coaches who e-mailed me back about the blog, 67% of them coach for crews in the top 20% of their regional league. Their crews are the crews competing at the national championships.

Coaches at the top crews want more information about how to coach their coxswains.

You guys aren’t waiting for your coxswains to read books or take courses – you’re taking initiative to make your coxswains better. You know it’s important.

So the question is, what’s up with the 78%? Why don’t coaches spend time on coaching their coxswains?

Here are some reasons that I have heard from other coaches.

Let’s go over why these reasons suck.

 “Coxswains cannot impact a race enough to justify coaching.”  See the table above. Coxswains certainly impact the race. Just ask your rowers. Rowers know the value of a good cox, even if they never coxed themselves.  People who use this answer are oblivious about why crews lose races.

“It’s the coxswain’s responsibility to get better on her own.”  This is the “not my job” excuse, as in “Teaching coxswains is not my job – my job is to improve the rowers!”  If this is how your crew operates, good luck. You’re going to need it.  Of course, coaches at the top 20% of crews aren’t doing it this way, probably because this method blatantly rejects an opportunity to improve the crew.  Maybe the coach just doesn’t know how to coach coxswains and doesn’t want to admit it.

“I…don’t know how to coach coxswains.”  Don’t worry! I’ve got you covered. I don’t expect you to know how. If you weren’t a coxswain, you never had the opportunity to learn this stuff.  That’s why I have spent tons of time analyzing and researching this topic both as a coxswain and as a coach. I’ve talked to other coxswains, other coaches, and even rowers.  I’ll do the work, and you’ll learn to be super-effective at making yourself some awesome coxswains.

Of course, if you want an easy-as-pie, step-by-step guide to coaching your coxswains up from their novice year, the book has you covered.

The post Coaching your coxswain – yes, you CAN appeared first on Rowperfect UK.

Related posts:

When a coxswain might be too much of a good thing

GB Junior Coaching Conference – Get the tips they’re getting

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[type2diabetestreatments-blog]

Ask D'Mine: Treating a Diabetic "Junkie," and Considering "Insulinotropic" Foods

New Post has been published on http://type2diabetestreatment.net/diabetes-mellitus/ask-dmine-treating-a-diabetic-junkie-and-considering-insulinotropic-foods/

Ask D'Mine: Treating a Diabetic "Junkie," and Considering "Insulinotropic" Foods

Need help navigating life with diabetes? Ask D'Mine! That would be our weekly advice column, hosted by veteran type 1, diabetes author and community educator Wil Dubois. This week, Wil takes on the issues of doctors seeing "junkies" rather than patients struggling with addiction, and the insulinotropic effect of certain foods on PWDs.

Got your own questions? Email us at AskDMine@diabetesmine.com

Anonymous from Alabama, type 2, writes: I was diagnosed 5 months ago with type 2 diabetes. I assume I've had it for a few years, but I have no insurance and didn't realize how dangerous it really is. I'm now reading a lot more and I'm terrified. My feet and hands are numb most days. Fatigue is a mild word. I finally got in a community free clinic and I'm on 2000 mg metformin a day and was on 15 units of Lantus. I had to stop taking Lantus because it seemed to be making me have withdrawals from the methadone I've been on for five years. Extreme diet change has lowered my numbers a lot, but the doctor seems to be not as concerned as I am, and this really bothers me. And I can't seem to get much info about the methadone and the insulin. Any info you could give, or where or what to do next, or any insight into my situation? Thanks, I'm worried.

Wil@Ask D'Mine answers: It's OK to be worried. Fear can be a healthy emotion, so long as it doesn't rule the day. And, hey, I'm proud of you. You got yourself into a clinic—better late than never—you've made extreme diet changes, you're reading up on your diabetes and you're asking questions!

As to your doctor, well, I'm not so proud of him. I think you might have gotten one of the bad ones. Most docs at free clinics are pretty awesome people who are drawn to helping people in the greatest need. Let's face it, no doc works at a free clinic for the money—this kind of work is among the lowest-paying in medicine.

That said, and there's no delicate way to say this, so bear with me... I think he might see something different when he looks at you than what I see. I'll go first. When I look at you (well, at your email—but I can "see" a great deal in the words people place on a page), I see someone who's had a pretty hard road. I see someone who's suffering a great deal, but trying to improve her lot in life. I see a fellow PWD. Hell, I just see a fellow human being.

And that's good enough for me.

Your doc, however, sees something else. He looks at you and sees a junkie. Long-term use of methadone is sometimes used to treat chronic pain, but is usually used to treat opiate addictions. A methadone prescription is a red flag. In fact, just like your doc, I'm actually going to assume that's why you are taking it; but unlike your doc, I'm not going to judge you for it. For some reason, some really great docs get hung up over drug use and, like the Grinch, their hearts suddenly shrink. I've seen some pretty open-minded providers act really strangely around IV drug users. So when I read your email I found myself wondering if your doc was really listening to you or if he'd gotten hung up over your past with his brain stuck in a stupid loop about "so she had money for heroin, but couldn't be bothered to pay for her health care, I'm not going to waste my time..."

That's #@$%& BS! I say to your doctor: If you can't accept everyone, regardless of their faults, as worthy of the same treatment, then you don't belong in medicine. The door is over there. Please leave, we have enough real challenges to solve without those kinds of attitudes. I'm sure you'll do just fine in politics.

So I spent most of my spare time the last few weeks trying to see what's known and not known about methadone and Lantus. The answer: not much.

In fact, about all I could find were two reports of photosensitivity in women over 50; and one report of "chills" in a 60-year-old man. Now chills might sound a bit like your "withdrawals." And if it happened to one other person, it sure as hell could have happened to you, too.

The solution? Well, based on my field experience, I've found the various insulins we have to play with are a lot more different than apples and oranges. We tend to think of Lantus and Levemir like we think of Tide and Cheer: hey, the brands are different, but they both clean your clothes. And while it's true that the glucose response profile of the two basal insulins is pretty much the same, they couldn't be made any more differently. Hell, they aren't apples and oranges so much as watermelons and papayas. People who have some sort of oddball trouble with one often do fine on the other. And don't forget we have the old-fashioned NPH as an option, too.

My advice? Go back to your clinic, but ask to see another provider. Look the white coat straight in the eye and be honest about your past and passionate about your future. Be clear about your here-and-now fears. Then ask to try a different insulin, and see if it plays better with your methadone.

Oh, and don't vote for your old doc if you see he is running for Congress.

Paul from Georgia, type 1, writes: I have recently read about foods like milk and wheat causing increased secretion of insulin (insulinotropic effect) above the insulin needed for the carbs in the food. This fact is used to conclude that products containing these ingredients be used sparingly, if at all, in an attempt to prevent obesity and type 2 diabetes. The reason being that these foods cause an overproduction of insulin that leads to storage of excessive carbs as fat. My question is as a type 1 with a negative c-peptide is: will eating these foods have the same effect? My guess is unless they cause a glucose rise above the carb content that I gave a bolus for, there will be no extra insulin unless I give extra insulin.

Wil@Ask D'Mine answers: Well, first off, you and I must be reading different journals, because I haven't seen nor could I find anyone worrying about insulinotropic foods causing weight gain. In fact, just the opposite may be true—they're being heralded as the next great thing in diabetes treatment, and some people think they may even help prevent obesity.

But let's back up and give all our readers some background. Then we'll dissect the issue you read about a little more and I'll take a crack at your question. As you said, insulinotropic is just a fancy-pants cocktail party word for something that causes insulin production. And it's been a known mystery for a number of years that different proteins have different "insulinotropic properties," meaning that they trigger insulin production independent of their glycemic index; the exact opposite of what logic would suggest. WTF?

Back in 2004, a team of Swedish researchers singled out milk as being the most unusual in this regard. After much study the smoking gun was proven to be whey protein, which makes up around 20% of milk's protein (but a whopping 60% of the protein in human breast milk, "food" for thought). Why whey kicks the body in the pancreas more than you'd expect, given its carb count, remains a mystery to this day.

But, but, but: just because it induces the body to produce more insulin than the glycemic index would suggest, doesn't mean it's making your body produce more insulin than it needs. In fact, the extra squirt of insulin from whey has been shown to greatly reduce blood sugar spikes after meals. So much so, that mixing whey into high carb meals has been shown to have a medicinal effect in type 2s. In other words, a natural insulin secretagogue. (One study added whey to a meal of mashed potato and Swedish meatballs, which I find ironic given the original whey discovery came from Swedish researchers.)

Over the last few years, there has been much ongoing research that, quoting another study, "dietary interventions represent a promising therapeutic strategy to optimize postprandial glycemica." Whey as medicine for all that ails you.

In a stretch, I suppose I could see your point about extra insulin moving the carbs into fat storage, but leaving the extra carbs in the blood moves the type 2 into the dialysis center. I don't think these foods are likely to cause greater weight gain because of the extra insulin, nor do I think type 2s should avoid them only out of fear of weight gain. I think anyone who is worried about weight should focus more on eating less, and less on what they are eating. And just to muddy the waters, I'm seeing a lot of research actually supporting whey as an anti-obesity agent, rather than a trigger for weight gain. This has led to whey becoming a popular food supplement, especially for the for body building crowd. It's seen as agent of muscle growth and fat reduction, but like many food supplements, we are lacking in solid science behind this particular claim.

But as to you, my insulin-deficient friend, you're right. An insulinotropic food will not bring your dead beta cells back to life. An insulinotropic substance needs an insulin-producing body to act on.

However, your question raises another: If the "normally" functioning human body produces more insulin for whey than you'd expect it to need... why is that? Frankly, the body tends to know what it's doing. Even though the glycemic index of foods with whey shouldn't demand more insulin, the body provides it, and apparently with good results.

Maybe we should all consider a whey bolus.

This is not a medical advice column. We are PWDs freely and openly sharing the wisdom of our collected experiences — our been-there-done-that knowledge from the trenches. But we are not MDs, RNs, NPs, PAs, CDEs, or partridges in pear trees. Bottom line: we are only a small part of your total prescription. You still need the professional advice, treatment, and care of a licensed medical professional.

Disclaimer: Content created by the Diabetes Mine team. For more details click here.

Disclaimer

This content is created for Diabetes Mine, a consumer health blog focused on the diabetes community. The content is not medically reviewed and doesn't adhere to Healthline's editorial guidelines. For more information about Healthline's partnership with Diabetes Mine, please click here.

Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Type 2 Diabetes Diet Diabetes Destroyer Reviews Original Article

[kristinejrosario]

Blogging in 2017: How to Disrupt and Get Noticed

This is a guest contribution from Sam Warren of Rankpay

I’ve got good news and bad news.

The bad news is this: that boring content you’re probably peddling? It’s not worth it anymore. It has its place, but it’s not going to take you to that next level.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not your fault for going about content marketing like this. We all do. We’ve been taught to.

But therein lies the problem doesn’t it? If we’ve all been taught to do something, and we all “follow the rules”, it stands to reason that it’d be hard to stand out. And boy, is it ever.

Don’t get discouraged though, as promised I have some good news as well.

While it may be difficult, it’s far from impossible to get noticed. You’re just going to have to think outside the box and that’s why I’m here.

I’m going to show you how to make a difference.

From time to time, we all need to brush up on our creative problem solving skills and remind ourselves that it’s OK to be disruptive and take risks.

But before we get there, let’s take a closer look at why we need to think this way in the first place.

Content Marketing Has Grown Into a Monster

It used to be hard to find good writers on the internet. Those that knew how to write an engaging and actionable article made waves quickly and efficiently.

Nowadays, good writers are a dime a dozen. In fact, there are far too many of us.

Back in 2012 Domo presented research claiming WordPress users alone create 347 articles every minute.

The signal to noise ratio is getting worse by the day, and in many cases writers have altogether forgotten why they started down this road in the first place.

Was it

More shares?

Improved search visibility?

Building brand awareness?

Getting email subscribers for remarketing?

Oh well, you probably don’t have time to consider such things. Better write another 500 word article to hit that deadline.

There, there, it’s all right. You’re not alone.

Further, this type of “bulk” content you’ve been taught to produce can still be marginally effective if you’re in a small and uncompetitive niche.

But for those of us fixing to make headway in existing markets, traditional advice just isn’t going to cut it anymore.

What Doesn’t Necessarily Work in Competitive Markets?

Don’t worry, I know you’re curious about what does work. We’ll get there.

But let’s first take a closer look at a few things you’ve probably been taught over the years. I’d challenge you to take a good hard look at each of them, and try to determine what measurable impact they’ve had for you.

Skyscraper Technique

This was popularized by Brian Dean a number of years ago, and it’s still a pretty awesome concept. I don’t want to devalue this opportunity for you, but it behooves us to be cautious and realistic.

Image courtesy: Backlinko

The problem is, after this technique started to make the rounds, many content marketers began investing serious time putting it to good use. As a result of this, unless you’re blogging in an up-and-coming niche, the return on investment often won’t usually be in your favor.

There are any number of cornerstone and evergreen content pieces out there that you’re simply not going to best without putting in an unacceptable amount of time and energy.

This is an “extreme” example, but say you run an SEO service, and you want to rank for the term “How to do keyword research.” Well, Moz is currently ranking #1 for that term. Spoiler alert: their post already has over 5000 links built to it.

The amount of time you’d need to invest in creating a resource that’s actually more useful than a well-established magnum opus with 1k+ referring quality domains, is staggering.

It may occasionally border on impossible depending upon your link-building abilities and social capital.

Tons of boring “recycled” content

Just take a look on Upwork and you’ll see a huge number of gigs looking for “writers” able to produce tons of 500 words articles focused on a small number of keyword variations.

If you’re working in a space that has no recognizable competition, this could get your site on the map. No doubt. But even under those circumstances, you’d still be missing out on so much of what content marketing has to offer.

Guess what? Readers aren’t going to click your article if it’s the same damn thing they’ve read a thousand times already. Recycling and spinning content will simply turn readers off.

Alienating your existing or potential audience is a surefire way to drive your traffic into the ground.

That horrid template you use for outreach emails

Getting published at notable outlets is a big deal for any marketer. It’s also a critical component to making sure you’re get the most out of your content marketing efforts.

But getting a publisher’s ear can be easier said than done. Case in point: the blog I edit at RankPay is a relatively low-key affair, but nevertheless I bet you’d be surprised by the sheer volume of pitches I get from writers looking to get published.

First and foremost, don’t be an idiot when you write these emails. Do us all a favor and avoid the common pitfalls.

Don’t misspell names

Don’t address the wrong publication

Don’t pitch junk just to earn a link

Don’t plagiarize

But there’s more to it than just that.

Chances are you’ve read that personalizing is the way to go. It is. But everyone recommends you say something like “I’ve been a long-time reader and I loved your article XYZ”.

While it’s nice that this shows you took the time to copy paste a title as opposed to just bulk-emailing, it still doesn’t win you any points these days. Every publisher knows what you’re doing, and it just makes you seem washed up and disingenuous.

What Does Work Nowadays?

Put simply, thinking outside of the box works.

Tell a story and be creative. Write about something that nobody else has bothered to yet.

Do you know why so many readers are happy subscribers to Seth Godin’s blog? It’s because they’ll never see anything he writes, anywhere else. It’s truly original and, even more importantly, it’s from the heart.

That last part is the key. The internet has made us all a bit more skeptical and increased our awareness of when we’re being “sold” or manipulated. Being genuine and honest is the best way to avoid having this problem yourself.

Develop a unique and authentic voice

Writing in a stiff or unnatural voice is a surefire way to alienate your readers.

Let your freak flag fly! Well, to a degree. Let’s not get carried away.

But the point I’m going to stress here, is that getting noticed demands personality, creativity, and authenticity. With so many talented writers producing quality content, you’re going to need to be different.

There’s often a level of candor that I still “feel” is missing from many popular writers. Perhaps once they reach a certain popularity point they feel they need to button up and follow the rules to be careful not to misstep.

I’m not popular enough to be burdened with high-brow concerns. But that being said, time and time again, being original and authentic gets folks to pay attention.

We all just want to relate to one another and to be heard, whether we’re creating or consuming content.

Actually be creative

While everyone shouts this from the mountaintops, very few seem to practice it.

I don’t just mean “don’t plagiarize”. Honestly that should go without saying. I mean tell a story that your audience hasn’t heard before. Screw the rules! Be creative! Be different!

Image courtesy: Derek Halpern

If you’re in IT, write a cute screenplay about how to better provide tech support. Write a limerick about common troubleshooting solutions. Being original (and often weird) is usually how content goes viral.

“If you’ve ever seen my YouTube channel, one of the first things you might notice is that I look ridiculous in half of my thumbnail pictures. Why would I publish these truly unfortunate freeze frames when I have much better pictures I could be using? The answer is simple: What stands out gets remembered. What blends in gets forgotten.” – Derek Halpern

People want to be entertained and educated. If you can accomplish both at once in an innovative way, you’re truly on to something.

Honest outreach emails

Instead of sounding like just another writer looking to grab a link, try being genuine for a change.

I’ve legitimately landed multiple publication opportunities by opening my cold emails with some variation of the following.

If you don’t know the publication, try being honest that you don’t. Make yourself vulnerable.

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.” ― Brené Brown

It seems risky, but the people on the receiving end of your emails are human beings. In my experience, people respect and appreciate honesty above all else. Trust me, candor is a refreshing treat when you work in marketing and/or publishing.

Putting Disruptive Ideas to Paper

Imagine yourself as a blogging entrepreneur! You’re going to have to take some risks. It’s scary to put yourself out there like this.

But the reality is, you won’t get far unless you “dare greatly”. That’s more wisdom from Brené Brown right there. Seriously, go watch her Ted Talks if you’ve somehow missed them.

It’s all too easy to just phone it in and write the same dribble you’ve been writing for the past few months or years. But let’s make 2017 different. Let’s make a difference this year.

Remember:

Be creative with the content you create

Be authentic with your voice and tone

Be different than your competitors

Be honest with your outreach efforts

You’ll be amazed by the opportunities you earn when you begin to bring these goals in focus.

Sam Warren is the marketing manager and editor at RankPay, a top rated performance-based SEO service, and the proud father of a 10lb chihuahua mutt.

  The post Blogging in 2017: How to Disrupt and Get Noticed appeared first on ProBlogger.

       from http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ProbloggerHelpingBloggersEarnMoney/~3/igx50Rby3iI/

[richardrobertsimsuccessblog]

Blogging in 2017: How to Disrupt and Get Noticed

This is a guest contribution from Sam Warren of Rankpay

I’ve got good news and bad news.

The bad news is this: that boring content you’re probably peddling? It’s not worth it anymore. It has its place, but it’s not going to take you to that next level.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not your fault for going about content marketing like this. We all do. We’ve been taught to.

But therein lies the problem doesn’t it? If we’ve all been taught to do something, and we all “follow the rules”, it stands to reason that it’d be hard to stand out. And boy, is it ever.

Don’t get discouraged though, as promised I have some good news as well.

While it may be difficult, it’s far from impossible to get noticed. You’re just going to have to think outside the box and that’s why I’m here.

I’m going to show you how to make a difference.

From time to time, we all need to brush up on our creative problem solving skills and remind ourselves that it’s OK to be disruptive and take risks.

But before we get there, let’s take a closer look at why we need to think this way in the first place.

Content Marketing Has Grown Into a Monster

It used to be hard to find good writers on the internet. Those that knew how to write an engaging and actionable article made waves quickly and efficiently.

Nowadays, good writers are a dime a dozen. In fact, there are far too many of us.

Back in 2012 Domo presented research claiming WordPress users alone create 347 articles every minute.

The signal to noise ratio is getting worse by the day, and in many cases writers have altogether forgotten why they started down this road in the first place.

Was it

More shares?

Improved search visibility?

Building brand awareness?

Getting email subscribers for remarketing?

Oh well, you probably don’t have time to consider such things. Better write another 500 word article to hit that deadline.

There, there, it’s all right. You’re not alone.

Further, this type of “bulk” content you’ve been taught to produce can still be marginally effective if you’re in a small and uncompetitive niche.

But for those of us fixing to make headway in existing markets, traditional advice just isn’t going to cut it anymore.

What Doesn’t Necessarily Work in Competitive Markets?

Don’t worry, I know you’re curious about what does work. We’ll get there.

But let’s first take a closer look at a few things you’ve probably been taught over the years. I’d challenge you to take a good hard look at each of them, and try to determine what measurable impact they’ve had for you.

Skyscraper Technique

This was popularized by Brian Dean a number of years ago, and it’s still a pretty awesome concept. I don’t want to devalue this opportunity for you, but it behooves us to be cautious and realistic.

Image courtesy: Backlinko

The problem is, after this technique started to make the rounds, many content marketers began investing serious time putting it to good use. As a result of this, unless you’re blogging in an up-and-coming niche, the return on investment often won’t usually be in your favor.

There are any number of cornerstone and evergreen content pieces out there that you’re simply not going to best without putting in an unacceptable amount of time and energy.

This is an “extreme” example, but say you run an SEO service, and you want to rank for the term “How to do keyword research.” Well, Moz is currently ranking #1 for that term. Spoiler alert: their post already has over 5000 links built to it.

The amount of time you’d need to invest in creating a resource that’s actually more useful than a well-established magnum opus with 1k+ referring quality domains, is staggering.

It may occasionally border on impossible depending upon your link-building abilities and social capital.

Tons of boring “recycled” content

Just take a look on Upwork and you’ll see a huge number of gigs looking for “writers” able to produce tons of 500 words articles focused on a small number of keyword variations.

If you’re working in a space that has no recognizable competition, this could get your site on the map. No doubt. But even under those circumstances, you’d still be missing out on so much of what content marketing has to offer.

Guess what? Readers aren’t going to click your article if it’s the same damn thing they’ve read a thousand times already. Recycling and spinning content will simply turn readers off.

Alienating your existing or potential audience is a surefire way to drive your traffic into the ground.

That horrid template you use for outreach emails

Getting published at notable outlets is a big deal for any marketer. It’s also a critical component to making sure you’re get the most out of your content marketing efforts.

But getting a publisher’s ear can be easier said than done. Case in point: the blog I edit at RankPay is a relatively low-key affair, but nevertheless I bet you’d be surprised by the sheer volume of pitches I get from writers looking to get published.

First and foremost, don’t be an idiot when you write these emails. Do us all a favor and avoid the common pitfalls.

Don’t misspell names

Don’t address the wrong publication

Don’t pitch junk just to earn a link

Don’t plagiarize

But there’s more to it than just that.

Chances are you’ve read that personalizing is the way to go. It is. But everyone recommends you say something like “I’ve been a long-time reader and I loved your article XYZ”.

While it’s nice that this shows you took the time to copy paste a title as opposed to just bulk-emailing, it still doesn’t win you any points these days. Every publisher knows what you’re doing, and it just makes you seem washed up and disingenuous.

What Does Work Nowadays?

Put simply, thinking outside of the box works.

Tell a story and be creative. Write about something that nobody else has bothered to yet.

Do you know why so many readers are happy subscribers to Seth Godin’s blog? It’s because they’ll never see anything he writes, anywhere else. It’s truly original and, even more importantly, it’s from the heart.

That last part is the key. The internet has made us all a bit more skeptical and increased our awareness of when we’re being “sold” or manipulated. Being genuine and honest is the best way to avoid having this problem yourself.

Develop a unique and authentic voice

Writing in a stiff or unnatural voice is a surefire way to alienate your readers.

Let your freak flag fly! Well, to a degree. Let’s not get carried away.

But the point I’m going to stress here, is that getting noticed demands personality, creativity, and authenticity. With so many talented writers producing quality content, you’re going to need to be different.

There’s often a level of candor that I still “feel” is missing from many popular writers. Perhaps once they reach a certain popularity point they feel they need to button up and follow the rules to be careful not to misstep.

I’m not popular enough to be burdened with high-brow concerns. But that being said, time and time again, being original and authentic gets folks to pay attention.

We all just want to relate to one another and to be heard, whether we’re creating or consuming content.

Actually be creative

While everyone shouts this from the mountaintops, very few seem to practice it.

I don’t just mean “don’t plagiarize”. Honestly that should go without saying. I mean tell a story that your audience hasn’t heard before. Screw the rules! Be creative! Be different!

Image courtesy: Derek Halpern

If you’re in IT, write a cute screenplay about how to better provide tech support. Write a limerick about common troubleshooting solutions. Being original (and often weird) is usually how content goes viral.

“If you’ve ever seen my YouTube channel, one of the first things you might notice is that I look ridiculous in half of my thumbnail pictures. Why would I publish these truly unfortunate freeze frames when I have much better pictures I could be using? The answer is simple: What stands out gets remembered. What blends in gets forgotten.” – Derek Halpern

People want to be entertained and educated. If you can accomplish both at once in an innovative way, you’re truly on to something.

Honest outreach emails

Instead of sounding like just another writer looking to grab a link, try being genuine for a change.

I’ve legitimately landed multiple publication opportunities by opening my cold emails with some variation of the following.

If you don’t know the publication, try being honest that you don’t. Make yourself vulnerable.

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.” ― Brené Brown

It seems risky, but the people on the receiving end of your emails are human beings. In my experience, people respect and appreciate honesty above all else. Trust me, candor is a refreshing treat when you work in marketing and/or publishing.

Putting Disruptive Ideas to Paper

Imagine yourself as a blogging entrepreneur! You’re going to have to take some risks. It’s scary to put yourself out there like this.

But the reality is, you won’t get far unless you “dare greatly”. That’s more wisdom from Brené Brown right there. Seriously, go watch her Ted Talks if you’ve somehow missed them.

It’s all too easy to just phone it in and write the same dribble you’ve been writing for the past few months or years. But let’s make 2017 different. Let’s make a difference this year.

Remember:

Be creative with the content you create

Be authentic with your voice and tone

Be different than your competitors

Be honest with your outreach efforts

You’ll be amazed by the opportunities you earn when you begin to bring these goals in focus.

Sam Warren is the marketing manager and editor at RankPay, a top rated performance-based SEO service, and the proud father of a 10lb chihuahua mutt.

  The post Blogging in 2017: How to Disrupt and Get Noticed appeared first on ProBlogger.

       Blogging in 2017: How to Disrupt and Get Noticed

[silvino32mills]

Blogging in 2017: How to Disrupt and Get Noticed

This is a guest contribution from Sam Warren of Rankpay

I’ve got good news and bad news.

The bad news is this: that boring content you’re probably peddling? It’s not worth it anymore. It has its place, but it’s not going to take you to that next level.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not your fault for going about content marketing like this. We all do. We’ve been taught to.

But therein lies the problem doesn’t it? If we’ve all been taught to do something, and we all “follow the rules”, it stands to reason that it’d be hard to stand out. And boy, is it ever.

Don’t get discouraged though, as promised I have some good news as well.

While it may be difficult, it’s far from impossible to get noticed. You’re just going to have to think outside the box and that’s why I’m here.

I’m going to show you how to make a difference.

From time to time, we all need to brush up on our creative problem solving skills and remind ourselves that it’s OK to be disruptive and take risks.

But before we get there, let’s take a closer look at why we need to think this way in the first place.

Content Marketing Has Grown Into a Monster

It used to be hard to find good writers on the internet. Those that knew how to write an engaging and actionable article made waves quickly and efficiently.

Nowadays, good writers are a dime a dozen. In fact, there are far too many of us.

Back in 2012 Domo presented research claiming WordPress users alone create 347 articles every minute.

The signal to noise ratio is getting worse by the day, and in many cases writers have altogether forgotten why they started down this road in the first place.

Was it

More shares?

Improved search visibility?

Building brand awareness?

Getting email subscribers for remarketing?

Oh well, you probably don’t have time to consider such things. Better write another 500 word article to hit that deadline.

There, there, it’s all right. You’re not alone.

Further, this type of “bulk” content you’ve been taught to produce can still be marginally effective if you’re in a small and uncompetitive niche.

But for those of us fixing to make headway in existing markets, traditional advice just isn’t going to cut it anymore.

What Doesn’t Necessarily Work in Competitive Markets?

Don’t worry, I know you’re curious about what does work. We’ll get there.

But let’s first take a closer look at a few things you’ve probably been taught over the years. I’d challenge you to take a good hard look at each of them, and try to determine what measurable impact they’ve had for you.

Skyscraper Technique

This was popularized by Brian Dean a number of years ago, and it’s still a pretty awesome concept. I don’t want to devalue this opportunity for you, but it behooves us to be cautious and realistic.

Image courtesy: Backlinko

The problem is, after this technique started to make the rounds, many content marketers began investing serious time putting it to good use. As a result of this, unless you’re blogging in an up-and-coming niche, the return on investment often won’t usually be in your favor.

There are any number of cornerstone and evergreen content pieces out there that you’re simply not going to best without putting in an unacceptable amount of time and energy.

This is an “extreme” example, but say you run an SEO service, and you want to rank for the term “How to do keyword research.” Well, Moz is currently ranking #1 for that term. Spoiler alert: their post already has over 5000 links built to it.

The amount of time you’d need to invest in creating a resource that’s actually more useful than a well-established magnum opus with 1k+ referring quality domains, is staggering.

It may occasionally border on impossible depending upon your link-building abilities and social capital.

Tons of boring “recycled” content

Just take a look on Upwork and you’ll see a huge number of gigs looking for “writers” able to produce tons of 500 words articles focused on a small number of keyword variations.

If you’re working in a space that has no recognizable competition, this could get your site on the map. No doubt. But even under those circumstances, you’d still be missing out on so much of what content marketing has to offer.

Guess what? Readers aren’t going to click your article if it’s the same damn thing they’ve read a thousand times already. Recycling and spinning content will simply turn readers off.

Alienating your existing or potential audience is a surefire way to drive your traffic into the ground.

That horrid template you use for outreach emails

Getting published at notable outlets is a big deal for any marketer. It’s also a critical component to making sure you’re get the most out of your content marketing efforts.

But getting a publisher’s ear can be easier said than done. Case in point: the blog I edit at RankPay is a relatively low-key affair, but nevertheless I bet you’d be surprised by the sheer volume of pitches I get from writers looking to get published.

First and foremost, don’t be an idiot when you write these emails. Do us all a favor and avoid the common pitfalls.

Don’t misspell names

Don’t address the wrong publication

Don’t pitch junk just to earn a link

Don’t plagiarize

But there’s more to it than just that.

Chances are you’ve read that personalizing is the way to go. It is. But everyone recommends you say something like “I’ve been a long-time reader and I loved your article XYZ”.

While it’s nice that this shows you took the time to copy paste a title as opposed to just bulk-emailing, it still doesn’t win you any points these days. Every publisher knows what you’re doing, and it just makes you seem washed up and disingenuous.

What Does Work Nowadays?

Put simply, thinking outside of the box works.

Tell a story and be creative. Write about something that nobody else has bothered to yet.

Do you know why so many readers are happy subscribers to Seth Godin’s blog? It’s because they’ll never see anything he writes, anywhere else. It’s truly original and, even more importantly, it’s from the heart.

That last part is the key. The internet has made us all a bit more skeptical and increased our awareness of when we’re being “sold” or manipulated. Being genuine and honest is the best way to avoid having this problem yourself.

Develop a unique and authentic voice

Writing in a stiff or unnatural voice is a surefire way to alienate your readers.

Let your freak flag fly! Well, to a degree. Let’s not get carried away.

But the point I’m going to stress here, is that getting noticed demands personality, creativity, and authenticity. With so many talented writers producing quality content, you’re going to need to be different.

There’s often a level of candor that I still “feel” is missing from many popular writers. Perhaps once they reach a certain popularity point they feel they need to button up and follow the rules to be careful not to misstep.

I’m not popular enough to be burdened with high-brow concerns. But that being said, time and time again, being original and authentic gets folks to pay attention.

We all just want to relate to one another and to be heard, whether we’re creating or consuming content.

Actually be creative

While everyone shouts this from the mountaintops, very few seem to practice it.

I don’t just mean “don’t plagiarize”. Honestly that should go without saying. I mean tell a story that your audience hasn’t heard before. Screw the rules! Be creative! Be different!

Image courtesy: Derek Halpern

If you’re in IT, write a cute screenplay about how to better provide tech support. Write a limerick about common troubleshooting solutions. Being original (and often weird) is usually how content goes viral.

“If you’ve ever seen my YouTube channel, one of the first things you might notice is that I look ridiculous in half of my thumbnail pictures. Why would I publish these truly unfortunate freeze frames when I have much better pictures I could be using? The answer is simple: What stands out gets remembered. What blends in gets forgotten.” – Derek Halpern

People want to be entertained and educated. If you can accomplish both at once in an innovative way, you’re truly on to something.

Honest outreach emails

Instead of sounding like just another writer looking to grab a link, try being genuine for a change.

I’ve legitimately landed multiple publication opportunities by opening my cold emails with some variation of the following.

If you don’t know the publication, try being honest that you don’t. Make yourself vulnerable.

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.” ― Brené Brown

It seems risky, but the people on the receiving end of your emails are human beings. In my experience, people respect and appreciate honesty above all else. Trust me, candor is a refreshing treat when you work in marketing and/or publishing.

Putting Disruptive Ideas to Paper

Imagine yourself as a blogging entrepreneur! You’re going to have to take some risks. It’s scary to put yourself out there like this.

But the reality is, you won’t get far unless you “dare greatly”. That’s more wisdom from Brené Brown right there. Seriously, go watch her Ted Talks if you’ve somehow missed them.

It’s all too easy to just phone it in and write the same dribble you’ve been writing for the past few months or years. But let’s make 2017 different. Let’s make a difference this year.

Remember:

Be creative with the content you create

Be authentic with your voice and tone

Be different than your competitors

Be honest with your outreach efforts

You’ll be amazed by the opportunities you earn when you begin to bring these goals in focus.

Sam Warren is the marketing manager and editor at RankPay, a top rated performance-based SEO service, and the proud father of a 10lb chihuahua mutt.

 The post Blogging in 2017: How to Disrupt and Get Noticed appeared first on ProBlogger.

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