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#ive been on the internet since i was six years old if im not followed by a friend im convinced they dont ever want to talk to me again
leathermouthlives · 8 months
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mitski we're really in it now .
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idolizerp · 5 years
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LOADING INFORMATION ON B.RITE’S MAIN VOCAL IM CHANGMIN...
IDOL DETAILS
STAGENAME: N/A CURRENT AGE: 24 DEBUT AGE: 19 TRAINEE SINCE AGE: 15 COMPANY: Koala.T ETC: this member has become known as the nation’s little brother for his variety work
IDOL IMAGE
Here’s a boy who embodies the image that B.rite is meant to give off - vibrant, pure and energetic. Changmin stays true to his given name - Sunshine. The energy that he radiates, even offstage, is something that pulls people in. From the moment he stepped foot into Koala.T Music headquarters, they knew that he had a place in their new up and coming boy group. He had the youthful, boyish and vibrant vibe that they wanted the group to give off. His personality was one of the biggest reasons why he had debuted in the first place. Sure, his voice was amazing, but they couldn’t capitalize off of a voice with a shitty personality. They could, however, capitalize off of a bright personality and a mediocre voice. Luckily for Changmin, and everyone else, they had hit the jackpot with him.
The public seems to eat up everything that Changmin does. All he has to do is give the camera a sweet smile and everyone watching on the other side of the screen will melt down to their shoes. The main vocalist is too sweet to take advantage of this though. He loves his fans, and he doesn’t want to use his natural charms against them. Koala.T doesn’t see any issue in trying to use his sway over the public for their own benefit. Changmin has become something sort of a cash cow for the. He’s always asked to be on variety shows and to do CFs and brand endorsements. Of course the label accepted most, if not all of the offers that came his way. Anything to get B.rite’s name out there even more than.
Despite being the nation’s little brother, there are a lot of people who dislike him, more specifically the people who bias one other person in the group and no one else. They tell him all the time that he’s nothing but an attention seeking brat who takes all opportunities from his group members. The love outweighs the hate though, and because of that, Koala.T continues to send him off to shows several times a year just to make sure that he, and in return B.rite, remain successful and relevant.
As one of the older members of the group, he does feel a certain responsibility for everyone. He may not be the most responsible member of the group, and he can act a bit childish from time to time, he knew when the right moment to grow up was. There are several times where he can be seen speaking for the whole group at award shows and during interviews, something that brings him more support and loving compliments. At this point, it feels as though no matter what Changmin does, he’ll always be seen as a golden boy in the eyes of Koreans, but he doesn’t particularly care. He preens under the praises and absorbs them. Not many people are aware of his need to be appreciated constantly, something that came as a result of his mother’s constant praises. If he’s not being praised, he feels as though he’s letting not only his mother down, but everyone else as well, and that’s another depressive slump he never wants to step foot in again.
IDOL HISTORY
I.
The year is 1995 and the month is July, the beginning of summer vacation for two soon-to-be students in their last year of schooling before going off to university. A couple since their first year of high school, the two have been through quite a lot with each other, things that have only made their relationship grow strong and resilient. Or so they thought. The beginning of August is when the two of them decide to come clean about the girl’s pregnancy. Yuri is only eighteen at the time, but she’s ready to accept full responsibility for her actions. Kiyoung? Not so much. He doesn’t want to be a father yet, and he tries fruitlessly to get Yuri to agree to having the pregnancy terminated, but to no avail whatsoever. Yuri is set one hundred percent in her ways, and there’s nothing he or anyone can do to deter her from having her baby.
Her parents, both God fearing and conservative people, aren’t happy in the slightest when they hear the news of her pregnancy. Neither are Kiyoung’s parents, and they immediately come together to pull the two teens apart. Yuri’s heartbroken, of course. She wants to raise her baby with her boyfriend, forming a small, tight knit family so they can all grow together. Her despair grows even more when her parents tell her that she’ll be staying on the countryside with distant relatives until she gives birth. She tries to turn to Kiyoung for help and support, but he’s already turned his back on her, moving on with his life as a single teenager. Heartbroken, she moves on to the countryside without looking back, a bitter taste of resentment in her mouth.
II.
It was a chilly morning when Changmin came into the world. The sun hadn’t even risen yet, and because of the far distance from his relative’s house to the nearest hospital, he ended up being a home birth. From the moment he was born and she laid eyes on him, Yuri loved her son with every fiber of her being. The fact that he looked just like his father, with the exception of his eyes and lips, didn’t matter to her. No matter how much contempt she had for his father, she never allowed it to murk up her feelings towards her child, whom she named based on the fact that he had a bright smile and eyes just like the sun.
During his childhood, and to present day, she swore that he never cried as a baby. That he came into the world smiling like he was wise beyond his years. Changmin, a child at the time, would laugh at his mother’s words, not believing in them in the slightest, but they weren’t far off from the truth. Changmin was a happy baby, and he turned into an even happier child. The first few years of his life were spent going to preschool and helping out on his relatives’ rice farm, up until he was six years old and his mother landed a job as a secretary in Busan. Despite not having a college degree. She was an intelligent, hardworking woman, but what put her above the other applicants was her beauty, the point that drove her employer to actually hire her.
They packed up their few things and moved to the city, his mother finding a cozy, albeit tiny, apartment. It was an open concept apartment, the living area serving a dual purpose as a sitting space and their bedroom, while the kitchen and bathroom was only a few feet away. It was small, but it worked for them. Even though he didn’t have much growing up, he never once lost his sweet smile and sunny disposition. He had his mother, the woman who provided more than enough love and affection for him that he needn’t want for anything. Birthdays and Christmases were uneventful, no presents were exchanged, but the time they spent with one another was priceless and it made Changmin happy.
III.  
All throughout his life, even without him realizing it, music was very much so prominent. His mother sang to him constantly throughout his childhood and into his adolescence. Yuri’s dream was once to become a singer herself, but her dreams came to a screeching halt once she birthed Changmin. She couldn’t become a professional singer, but what she could and did do was pass on her love of singing to her son. Changmin had been blessed with quite the voice himself, him quickly realizing his talent for it at a young age. He wanted to take vocal lessons, had asked his mother about them for years, but no matter how she tried to swing it, she just couldn’t afford them. So she did the next best thing.
Every night when she got off from work and Changmin completed his homework, she would take him to the local internet cafe so he could watch singing lesson videos online. Every weekend they would do the same, although they would spend the entire day there because they didn’t have work nor school. After months of doing that, Yuri began to encourage her son to stand in the middle of the cafe and sing. At first he was too nervous to do it on his own, so she would stand and sing with him. Eventually he gained the confidence to sing on his own, and he started singing in the cafe a few times a week.
Unbeknownst to him, he had gained the attention of a high school girl while singing. She was the daughter of an employee from Koala.T Music, and she told her father about the strange, but talented, boy who would spend his weekends singing at the cafe. With his interest piqued, the older gentleman went to go see what all the fuss was about, and he wasn’t disappointed with what he saw. He could sense something in Changmin, something that Koala.T could capitalize on, and he didn’t hesitate to approach both him and his mother before they could leave the cafe.
It was like a dream come true for the fourteen year old, who had dreams of becoming a singer much like his mother. His mother, understanding of how he felt because it was how she too had once felt, gave him the okay to follow through with an audition the following month.
IV..
The audition process was easy, but the training process wasn’t. He went through hell during his years of training, trying to prove himself and grow as an artist. Criticism wasn’t something that he took very well, especially since he had never really experienced harsh criticisms before. When he would sing with his mother, Changmin always received praises, or gentle criticisms. Yuri had always been considerate of his feelings. The vocal trainers at Koala.T weren’t so easy on him. When he began training, people were actually pointing out the flaws in his voice and telling him what was wrong with how he sang and how to fix it, and he didn’t take that well at all. He took constructive criticism as people judging him, and it began eating at him.
He soon began to lose the passion he had for music, because he began to feel as though he couldn’t do anything right. But that made him push himself harder and faster. Eight months into his training had passed, and he had pushed himself so hard that he had a several vocal strain and had to be put on vocal rest for three months, something that pushed him into a deep depression. He started to blame himself for everything that went wrong. Maybe if he was good enough, none of this would have happened.
Despite his poor state of mind, he continued to stay upbeat and bright. He didn’t want anyone to see his struggles, especially his mother. Around that time, Yuri had started dating a man. A wealthy man who treated her well and gave her the world, and Changmin didn’t want to ruin that for her by reeling her into his problems. She was happy, and he refused to interfere with her happiness. He had already been the cause of her giving up her dream, he didn’t want to ruin her life even further.
Slowly but surely his vocal cords began to heal, and he was able to get back into training. The final three and a half years of his training went relatively smoothly, on the outside that is. For some reason, he couldn’t break himself out of the habit of shutting down whenever he received harsh criticism. He knew that he had to learn how to get over it, but it was just too hard for him. Instead of asking for help, much like before, he decided to just cover up and ignore the problem with smiles and a cheery attitude.
V.
After five long and grueling years as a trainee, Changmin was finally awarded the chance to debut. Even if he wasn’t obligated to take it, he would have anyway because he felt as though he deserved it after everything he had gone through. Being a debuted idol was different from being a trainee. A good different. Changmin very much so preferred his life as an idol to his life as a trainee. He could interact with fans, put himself out there more, and find out where he fits in the industry. It was all a learning experience, even after nearly five years of being an idol.
When he first debuted in July of 2015, Changmin wasn’t sure what to expect. He knew that he and his members had trained long and hard enough to be ready for life as idols, but he didn’t know how well received they would be due to the fact that their concept was going in the opposite direction of what most boy groups were doing at the time. Like most periods of time in his life, Changmin was happy. B.rite’s concept was right up his alley, being something that he was quite comfortable with. For him, it wasn’t a concept, it was who he was. It was easy for him to take on the role of bright and quirky because that was just who he was as a person, and fans were able to see that clear as day since day one.
Another thing Changmin hadn’t been expecting was how easily and eagerly he was accepted when it came to promoting B.rite on variety shows. His first time on a variety show was enough to prove to everyone that he was nothing short of a natural when it came to being on camera. It was quite easy for him to turn on his charm and make not only the audiences at home, but the MCs swoon and melt under his aegyo and cheeky puns.
As more releases came and more promoting schedules followed, there were times where networks would offer B.rite a chance to promote on their shows by making appearances, but the catch was that one of the members of B.rite who attended had to be Changmin. He brought in a lot of views, and the general public loved him. More often than not, if the group was going to make an appearance, Changmin would be there front and center, charming the hearts of audiences across the nation.
That didn’t make some people happy though. Anti fans of B.rite, or even solo fans of certain members of the group, would leave nasty comments about Changmin online, claiming that he was hogging the attention and the spotlight from his group members. There was a swarm of hate from antis surrounding him regarding his very frequent appearances on television coming from online forums and social media, while netizens and the general South Korean public had nothing but positive things to say about the idol they had knighted as the Nation’s Little Brother.
Despite the passing time, Changmin hasn’t changed. He’s the same, smiling, bubbly boy that he was twenty years ago, and that is a big part of the charm about him that keeps drawing people in. It’s what makes him the perfect candidate for variety shows and brand endorsements.
The vocalist wants more than that though. He wants the opportunity to showcase his voice outside of B.rite. Being a singer is what he’s always wanted, and he’s been itching to push Koala.T into allowing him to release solo material, but he knows that’s just a dream waiting to get shot down. His value lies within his star power regarding variety, and Koala.T isn’t going to allow him to step out of the lane that has proven to work best for him.
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eddiespagheds · 6 years
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reddie youtuber au!
okay i know its been forever since ive posted my writing but i have a lot instore including a little prequal too this oneshot! i wrote this based off of a headcanon by @billdenbroughsponytail !! you should go check it out and show jenn lots of love!! i really hope yall like this!!
word count: 1348   
ships: reddie
fluff cause im a sucker for it
Richie Tozier and Eddie Kaspbrak were both well known internet sensations, and have been for about 6 years now. Surprisingly enough their strong relationship of of 5 years began because of it. They now live together with their teams in a huge house where they film their Youtube videos.
Richie has a reaction channel that he uploads to every Monday and Wednesday while Eddie is an MUA that uploads every Tuesday and Thursday, and they upload daily vlogs everyday except for Sunday on a conjoined vlog channel they have. The happy couple wouldn’t be able to do any of this without their amazing crew that just so happens to be their best friends. Richie’s crew consists of Stan his editor, and Ben his writer while Eddie’s crew consists of Mike his editor, and Bill his writer, and Beverly films for both of them.
One day, all seven of them sat in their large office discussing video ideas for this week.
“I don’t know of a look I haven’t done yet Ben, it’s easy to run out of ideas rather quickly after doing this for six fucking years.”
Everyone just sat there staring at Eddie because it wasn’t like him to snap at someone like that, especially not Ben.
“Eds, maybe we should take a break for a bit, you’re starting to get really stressed” Richie began massaging Eddie’s shoulders almost instantly calming him down.
Eddie apologized to Ben before leading everyone to the living room where they ordered take out, and watched an old Friends rerun while simultaneously being on their phones.
“Have you guys seen James’ Twitter poll about shaving his eyebrows?” Bev laughed not even looking up from her phone.
“That’s it! I could tweet out asking what I should do for my next video!” Eddie practically jumped from his spot on the couch to go get his laptop, and he opened up Twitter when he returned.
“Okay, how does this sound? ‘Hey guys, tweet me some ideas for things you want to see in my video for Thursday!’” Eddie looked around the room, and saw approving faces reassuring him that his tweet was good.
About two hours later Bev grabbed the camera and began filming Eddie and Richie for the end of their vlog of the day.
“So, Eds here is about to reveal what you guys want his video to be about.” Richie said doing finger guns to the camera. “Okay drumroll please” He continued, switching to an impression of  a ring leader. Bev turned the camera around, catching everyone stomping their feet and patting their laps.
“Well the majority of the people that responded are saying that they want to see the ‘Boyfriend does my voiceover challenge!’” Eddie said letting out a small giggle.
“Cute, cute, cute!” Richie was pinching Eddie’s checks as he spoke. “Hope you guys are ready to see the best damn voiceover in Youtube history” Richie sloppily kissed Eddie;s cheek, both of them laughing the whole time.
“Okay, that’s a wrap from us! See you guys tomorrow, please like and subscribe down below. We’re Reddie’s vlogs and we’re out!”The two said at exactly the same time since they had memorized their outro ages ago.
The following day they began to film Eddie’s video that was featuring Richie. The two sat in Eddie’s office that he always filmed his videos in. It had a pastel pink background, and a bright white table with a few mirrors on it. On both sides there were shelves filled with wigs, brushes, palettes, and so much more. There wasn’t a script for the video because Eddie could handle his intro, and the rest was going to be Richie saying whatever dumb shit came out of his mouth. Since Richie was going to be doing his voiceover Eddie just had fun doing his makeup while talking to Richie and Bev as she filmed the whole thing. It took Eddie about an hour to complete the look, and then he filmed his intro afterwards.
“Wanna film my intro with me?” Obviously Richie said yes because he was practically incapable of saying no to Eddie.
“Hello everyone, it is me Eddie K your favorite MUA, and with me I have Richie the trashmouth Tozier” Eddie spoke at a rather fast pace that made Richie let out a small laugh which only made Eddie laugh.
“I asked you guys on Twitter what you wanted to see for this week’s video, and surprisingly enough, you all wanted to see this idiot do my voiceover.”
Richie smirked to the camera before speaking.”And who am I to disappoint?” Richie winked to the camera, and Eddie only laughed the whole time.
“So, without further ado, let’s get into the video!” Eddie smiled as he watched Bev turn the camera off. Richie and Bev then made their way to Richie’s office where they would film the actual voice over portion of the video while Eddie waited in the living room.
* * * * * * * * * *
“Look at my Eds waving at the camera, looking all cute and shit. So, first he’s putting on lotion to keep his skin nice and soft and all that shit. Wait a minute...that’s my lotion! I used it with his mom last night.” Richie paused the video to wink at the camera before continuing the video. “He’s pouring some tan shit on the back of his hand, uhh i think it’s foundation or something like that. Now he’s fucking pounding it into his face with this marshmallow looking thing.” He stopped the video again and turned to the camera putting on his best Australian accent. “Aye, here we have one of the rarest of makeup marshmallows, completely edible, but hard to swallow.” Both him and Bev started laughing before Richie played the video and continued. “Now he’s putting some lighter tan shit under his eyes, probably to cover up the eye bags he gets from fucking me all night long. Now he’s putting on dome powder that’s whiter than Stan the man! I bet you could snort that shit. Holy shit look at my boy kill the game! Look at that contour. Y’all bitches can’t even spell contour. Is he putting shimmery eyeshadow on his cheeks??? What the fuck Eds.” He put on a bad British accent before speaking again. “Look at the lad, bringin’ out his eyes!” He chuckled a bit before averting his attention back to Eddie. “Oh my God, my Eds looks so fucking good with shimmery eyeshadow, it brings out his beautiful chestnut eyes quite nicely. Now he’s putting some black shit on his eyes. Ooh, look at the flicka da wrist, aye, look at the flicka da wrist. Yes look at my spaghetti man! Ohh I know what this is, it’s mascara. W-what is that orange thing? Why is he putting it up to his eye? Eds on’t do it, it’s an orange clockwork torture device! Oh, wait...nevermind, he just made his eyelashes look better. Look at all of those lipsticks he has. Ahh yes, he is choosing the red lipstick to symbolize spaghetti sauce because he is my Eddie spaghetti...I love him so much. And now he is spraying some shit that looks like water on his face. Wow he is gorgeous, look at his cute smile while he’s waving with his little hands aww.” Richie finished gushing over Eddie, and turned off all of the equipment before exiting the room, and Bev followed him out.
“Thanks again for doing this Rich.” Eddie said from where he sat on the sofa when he saw Richie appear in the living room.
Richie walked up to where Eddie was, placing a soft kiss on his lips before speaking. “Anything for you spaghetti.”
That Thursday the video was released, and it was a huge success. People have always loved seeing Eddie and Richie together, and that was very obvious based on the amount of likes, view, and positive comments that the video got. Bev and Bill had been telling them to do more videos together for months now, and maybe they’ll do just that.
let me know if you wanna be added to my tag list!
@trashmouths-love-to-cuddle @wlwrichie @eddiehoney @lovely-eddie-it @lovely-kaspbrak @kingsteve-more-like-dadsteve
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sanhatation · 6 years
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ri’s thicc 2017 reflection post !
its still quite a few hours away from 2018 for me but i just wanted to take this time to reflect on my absolutely Lovely 2017!!! yay time 2 get sappy as i word vomit and overshare about my year on tumblr.com !!!!
thank you loads to all of my LOVELY followers !!!!!!!!! yall are the cutest, make my day on the daily ! i wish you the best 2018 that the world can offer !!! stay healthy, take time for yourself, love yourself, love others, and be kind! 💓💓
this Riley Rant here, is gonna be here for me than anything. like a Fat journal entry !! and i am an Oversharer so here she goes [jeopardy music]
to begin, i have met and befriended so many amazing people on here this year and WOW!!!!!! lovely and supportive and talented, beautiful aroha friends??? it doesnt get better than that!!!!! i would attempt to tag all of u but yall know who u are ;)) im endlessly grateful to those of you who have really made being on here worth it. heck ya sometimes im like “why do i even spend time on here” but then!!!! idk sunny comes swingin in with just a heart full of love or sara comes swingin in with her eggs or marian comes swingin in with her rare pairs or j comes swingin in with her baking posts and thats not even HALF of it !!!!! seriously.....love you guys tons.
to my friends who i have had the pleasure of remaining your friend this year and getting closer to u !! i love you. i really dont know how yall handle me especially 2015/2016 me?? a MESS! yall are the REALEST. again, yall know who u are ;)) i hope we can continue to talk and have fun in 2018, i wish yall the best. 
and lastly....heres a THICC shoutout to my six shining stars. 
as for me as an individual, 2017 was a freaking Whack year. it was incredible....dare i say, iconic. and now its time for.....RILEY’S 2017 HIGHLIGHTS !!!!!! (also includes: the sucky parts bc even those allowed me to grow !)
- man, did 2017 start out pretty rough when my country decided it was a good idea to elect a freakin cheeto for president. however! i had the lovely opportunity to attend the women’s march at my capital the day before inauguration !! and it was powerful!!!! truly an experience ill treasure forever!
- binch....thank u Winter Dream for my whole life. tbh i wont forget sobbing at my best friend’s house when it dropped. thank u Miss Again Dance Practice. thank u Miss You & Me MV. thank u Miss Cotton Candy Choreography. thank u. 
- ah.....when some pinhead started that tr*mp chanting at a basketball game lol! so iconic that we made the new york times! gotta love that....
- OMG !!! HOW TO SUCCEED !!!! an absolutely amazing experience. granted, the male lead was a Snake, but i had a blast. Rosemary will forever be close to my heart and ill always cry a little when i hear Brotherhood of Man or Paris Original !! such an awesome opportunity. i learned a frick ton about myself as a performer. i improved a ton in acting and dancing, and also came to learn that i am very good at receiving instructions and memorizing lines quickly. i learned that i need to work on some of my facial expressions and i also learned some of my habits ! i miss u Queenie H2$ :’’)
- had my first tap dance performance ever??? i really enjoyed learning tap, and i hope to pick it back up in the future !!!!
- BIIIIIINCCH i had the opportunity to visit my sister in korea!!!!!!! wow.....truly the BEST week of my entire year, maybe even LIFE! i went to the dog cafe, the sheep cafe, mcountdown, the lunar festival kick off, gwanghwamun palace, dongdaemun, shopped a ton around hongdae, ate food by the han river, visited namsan tower (but not without getting lost), hit the noraebang TWICE, walked into a private Fantagio board meeting, ate delicious chicken on a STIIICK, ran in the rain, ordered delivery mcdonalds, had the BEST fried chicken, met a bunch of monks, was led around dongdaemun by a very old korean man, SAW EUNWOO AND DOYEON AND RECEIVED MUCH LOVE AND NEARLY DIED, hit the convenience store literally every day, snuck out, GOT A WAVE FROM KEY :((( , bought Winter Dream and lots of skin care products and lots of cute clothes, had the clearest skin ive ever had in my life, went to a buddhist temple, witnessed a drunk man fall into the splits inbetween the ground and the subway, ran up and down 1000 subway stairs, fell in love with a man named Peanut, drank too much banana and strawberry milk, sobbed my face off at the festival as korean grandmas bowed to me, tried tons of new foods (including the nastiest bowl of cheese ramyun ive ever had in my life), bought lots of socks, rode an airplane for......like 40 hours in total? literally the best week of my Life
- had my junior vocal recital ! it was a cute girl. i felt my acting had really improved since sophomore voice recital !! 
- had prom on my 17th birthday and had a jolly good time !!! my mom made my dress and i felt like a Stunner
- dream pt. 01...she rly is that Bad Bih. best era. miss her loads. none of us ever deserved her. 
- les mis !!!!!! two whole weeks.....another Best Time. i learned so much, made so many lifetime friends, had a blast, sang my heart out.....such a freaking good time. i miss her
- got to spend the ENTIRE summer with momo!!!!!!!!!!! literally the ENTIRE!!!!! and what did we do? hit the park, watched lemonade mouth and fantastic beasts and starstruck and that random unicorn movie, made the Best slime, made that ICONIC weki meki video, laughed a ton, cried a ton, stayed up all night for the sunrise, stayed later for the sunset & thunderstorm, walked home in the pouring rain & lightning (IT IS VERY WET), went to the beach, met many dogs, got me hairs cut, befriended that Cat, and went to a painting class
- cabin week !!!!!!!!!!! whatta lovely time
- my brother’s wedding !!!! honestly? my best outfit of the year... had a bangin time. his wife is truly a cutie and i love her tons!
- there was that Mess in august and i still feel sorry to those who felt hurt because of it. i learned a lot about how things especially on the internet can be easily misunderstood and misinterpreted, so u gotta be EXTRA careful with your words ! 
- through that i also came to accept that u cant get everyone to understand or like u, and tbh that is okay for now. all we can do when we make mistakes is try to understand & learn, apologize, and try to better ourselves. and sometimes even when u do that, u still may not be liked. and thats okay. as long as you are trying your best and recognize mistakes, its all good. 
-skinny dipped at girls time wow what a freaking TIME
- woah dude i dropped out of my arts school lmao!!! the BIGGEST change in my life since 2014.;..wow! i dont even have the words to say how much stress was lifted off of me and i love senior yr !!!!
- momo came to CT!!!!!! 
- seeing svt live !!!!! but tbh the best part was seeing momo, “I LOVE A MAN WHO CAN SEW”, “I!!!!!!!!!! LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JIHOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”, “IM UNDERAGE”, and when Mo BLASTED to that other line
- LAKE COMPOUNCE LMAOOOOO I LOVE JIHOON PT2!!!!
- my mom, sister, and i took an eight week painting class! i finished two paintings and learned a ton!! honestly a good time
- dream pt. 02.....shes that other Bad Bih....absolutely adore her
- i also learned that its okay to cut people off who are toxic. especially if you have already informed them that they make u feel bad, they are not worth trying to please or keep around. take care of yourself. similarly, its okay to block people, and you dont owe them an explanation
- MADI CAME HOME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! my other half...missed her so much :(((
- riley’s calligraphy christmas !!!!! was so much fun and i loved people’s reactions and i loved learning arohas favorite astro lyrics !!!
- ah...............one of the hardest weeks of my whole life. the pain still lingers, and i know itll hit me again like a boulder the next time we see only four of my angels standing on stage. for four months, i was worried sick about another member, and i even knew he was hurting, that his mental illness was real. my heart aches and there is a piece of it missing, but it will never be replaced. i know you are much happier now, jjong. i love you. 
- and also because of that, i have been able to think a lot about how i live my life. thoughts like ‘am i watching out for my family and friends enough?’ ‘am i listening enough?’ ‘is this funny comment worth it?’ ‘am i happy?’ im trying to be better. to not take things for granted, to only be kind, to always be there for those i love, for those who love me. and i will try my hardest to not complain about small or petty inconveniences. to try harder to be optimistic. 
- christmas was with my whole family for the first time in five years ;;; she was such a cute girl!
and now on to the next act !!!! its called RILEY’S NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS !!!!!!!!!! 
1. lets start with the basic stuff that im 99% not gonna pull through on: keep ur room clean. keep everywhere u go clean, it makes mom upset. eat better, u know there is other foods in this house besides peanut butter and pepperoni and popcorn. 
2. send out at least one Lovely Ask per day. i made this goal sometime over the summer, and i did it for a few months until i started to forget ;; its not that hard, u just gotta remember to do it !! 
3. sis.....quit Procrastinating.......GET ur FREAKING application done...do ur homework the night before lmao! call who u need to !!! write those thank u cards!!!! go get them scholarships!!!! enter that graphic design contest lmao!!! just DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!! time is wasting
4. just be happy 
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his name....is not finn.
at like 2:40 a.m. i meet a guy on grindr. this guy hits on me in the typically angry and abrasive fashion i have designed my profile to solicit from men of a certain variety, and so we get to talking then wind up on camera, me expecting the same shit as usual....in between midnight meeting with strange men in unknown and unsafe places, i get my need to self destruct and overcome the mind numbing boredom of sociopathic lack of fear satisfied by getting even more men off over the internet on camera... and then, last night happened.
his name, is not finn.
its robert. but he gies by finn. finn has four les pauls, recording machines...the works an entire worling fucking studio. lives in middle tennesse but has been to atlanta many times bc HE ACTUALLY PLAYS MUSIC MIDTOWN EVERY YEAR SINCE 2013 im watching the shit behind him on camera, the house hes in, the guitars on the walls, the records hanging around the cords and amps and pedals... and hes alone. he lives alone, its his place. FINN IS 23. thats all. 23. he got into it all, along with a little band that came from Knoxville tennessee in 2009 named 10 Years...who if u follow rock, u have to know. this is a massivelt succsesfull mainstream alternative rock act. one of my favorite bands.
so here we are.
its five a.m. were still talking, not fucking.
about music and art and finns ideas on sexuality not being real.
odd for someone whos telling me they wanna grudge fuck me bc i have extintential philosophers words tattoos up my arm, and then jump from a well worded rape fanatasy back to intellectual artistic expresssionary approach debate and metjod, use, deploymwnt methods and how they more prolifically provide correct walls of sound they assail the sensations of emotions in pattern sufficient to stimulate a response.
and were talking, then its almost six.
finn has to leave for "work" soon.
hes recording one of the three bands he plays in this a.m.
here i am, on cam talking like were actually getting to know, and enjoy knowing who each other are, with this man
a sound engineer for 10 Years touring company.
Actually. what the actual fuck is happening right now.
he looks like youd expect, having seen these guys on t.v and all, hes tall...6'1 not super tall but taller.
hes stocky and has bushy curly short hair and a clean face, complete with black shirts, wrist bands, leather vest/whatever material that is... the typical rock guy look. and youngish. p young looking yeah.
and i could see it all his house was fucking unreal the shit in that house, the music, drum sets . bass processors, computers studio monitors mic stands... and just i forgot about itnall speaking to him for three and a half hours bc he thinks so fucking different from anyone ive met before him. completely challanges every basic assumption of society that he can.
but then has the self discipline to make this all happen by his age. has the real world common sence, the extraverted thinking to handle the nessesary tedium that makes it possible for this creative energy to become something, and be used and marketed and produce a way to live for himself.
he confounds me sideways. these two opposite people, one part myself, one part my opposite???
i almost tell myself he wants it worse then i do, but thats not it, it cant be it. id die for it.
i would do anything. id give anything, go anywhere, crawl to china. id lose anything, live anything, repeat this entire awful miserable unbearable horrific life ive had three times for it.
id do anything anything id go to the ends of the earth id forsake anyone, id suffer any loss to get just a moment of chance
a moment a single opportunity is all id need and i would light a fucking fire so large it would blind everyone involved.
so yeah i want this sound in my head out, and onto an album just as bad as him or anyone so its not that he wants it worse.
so what then? why is this kid able to be me, and then some...and also not be me enough to actually be living the life he is already?
is it bc its not real? is that it? make me feel better. tell me that i am valid since im tragic enough to
have this incredible talent and yet at the same time have it come from something inside so FUCKED that having it means never being known, never heard, never shine bright like the fact of my creative passion could, and be unlived, then die never having spoken to the world like i should have could have would have
bc im valid so. bc im better. make me feel better. tell me its bc i am REALLY fucked. not pretend fucked for the sake of fashion in rock. not forced or mimiced or copied. and thats what he is right bc if not he wouldnt be well enough to make this happen.
but then, i know its a lie.
i wanna believe it, but i know its a lie. a beautiful, perfect lie. bc i know if i got the part out of the way that cripples me, id still have the rest to write from and create from. and still be capable of what i have been since birth.
so...im lazy? am i lazy? internally, mentally lazy? like or just for aomeone who loves to take pride in their pain, am unable to take the pain of change inside that facilitates the construction of a life like finns... what is it? do i just watch finn now and wait for a secret thats never coming?
I HAVE A DREAM. A NIGHTMARE. ALL MY LIFE I HAVE HAD IT OVER AND OVER. IN IT I AM 70 YEARS OLD , THO ILL NEVER REALLY MAKE IT TO THAT AGE, THE IDEA REMAINS THAT MY LIFE HAS COME AND GONE AND IM GREY AND WRINKLED AND LIEING DOWN AS I GASP FOR BREATH AND THEN I SEE AROUND MY BODY FROM ABOVE
im alone. poor. broke. in beggars clothes. in the gutter, in the filthy city streets, in the cold in winter. im that homeless decay you pass for the smell and then i die there. and thats it. thats what i let happen. i let this go on unti, i ran out of time to change it, and i never did a rhing. never made it, never finally got the shit insode out, never began to burn bright, never started playing live, never recorded, never anything. the thing inside i have that i alone see the magnitude of, and would only have ever really shown to anyone through true sucsess, it never MEANT A F U C K I N G T H I N G A T A L L
now in this mornings call with finn, i begin to see that dream take shape in my reality. soon. its creeping with an slythe above its shoulder just behind me. im here alone like this. deluding myself that this little computer screen is somehow a substitute for a real relationship, delluding myself that i actually am this sad imaginary projection i want to be lercieved as in this fake little digital world. making due with this as if its even happening for real . as of anyone or any idea on this small machine in my lap is life, or love, or me, or actual.
but here where my body is, where i cant take a good picture of me to hide my age, where my personality disorders are, where i am weird and different , where i am an addict, where i am unconventional and do things others wont want near them bcmof the risk i bring to myself, where my body is. my real body .... here there is not a fucking person with or like me. i have some temporary help as i stumble foolishly through my fucked circumstamce from my family, that ofc is going aay everyday, as that nightmare i mentioned begins to take shape. bc they gonna die before me unless i take my death into my oen hands and then that nightmare i have will have shaped fully and begin looking me in the eyes.
so, here i am. 10 a.m.
fuck this guy.
hes sexy, he wants me, and hes my type as in in another life serious boyfriend material . no kids, no phobics, trans or homo, no issues seeing me as who i am, and then also my creative and intellectual counterpart. and hes not very far like a w hour drive. and alllllllll so it makes it feel odd bc he seems like the worst thing for me, that only this situation would develope the addition of feelings have no room for amidst my chaos... i need to be LESS in romance with ppl not fucking MORE... or have someone else establish those feelings for me either just either way..bad idea. and so fuck him
mean it fuck this guy.
fuck this finn, robert whatever and fuck his life
fuck his guitars.
like i needed this shit? i needed to see this? needed to know him? or to have him that, weird weird convo for that long ...the longest ive spoken to someone new in years at once , and not even wind up wanting me for a nut before he got off the vam etc... just fuck this shit.
but not that it seems like that with him, im a combo of not romantic at all, and already emotionally spoken for HARDCORE by aomeone i am trying and fightimg with all i can to stop, STOP being romantically attached to.. so.. no new fucked romance crap for me please. i mention it bc it seems like what happens to me usially, and for no other reason then that.
but as for what i am SURE OF WITH FINN..for tnat... F U C K him
reminding me that im more then shit, reminding me that im throwing away things thousands of people never get to have or would kil, to be able to do like i can. remininding me that im more then this 4 a.m. methamphetamine induced desperate attempt to distract myself from throwing myself away, and relive the pain again, once more, one ,ore gimme one more time always...always need one more sex session where i live out how my father never loved or accepted or appreciated me in my own head again, and keep that defining pain in Clear FUCKING FOCUS FOREVER. KEEP IT HERE. KEEP THAT PAIN HERE. RIGHT IN MY ARMS, CRADLE IT, CLOSE TO MY CHEST, CLOSE TO MY HEART , EMBRACE FEED NURTURE IT GROW IT, LET ITS POISON VINES GROW INTO MY SKIN AND FEED ME FILTH HAPPILY, always one more man, one more moment of disrespect, one more instamce of debasing myself to remind me why i ket myself almost die in a hospital last winter, why ill be sleeping in the cold wind again before spring, and why ill never walk right again or run at all. why im this old and sti,, here, remind me why im trapped by my that talent im so thoughtlessly wasting daily, and...
finn reminds me. fuck him.
he reminds me im doing it , in at least part, by choice.
he takes my excuse away. takes away my escape.
lies, inside lies, inside lies..... finn shows up at 3 a.m. when ur only awake to do things like throw away potential of this magnitude and destroy your human body.
invades my momemt of distraction from the truth of how responsible i really am for this now, and reminds me that
its still out there. the chance i wanted, the opportunity to get the music out and realize that potential ratner then become that 25 year nightmare i have in my future currently...
tne hope, the possibility, the chance to burn finally
burn bright like a star, and shine so hard i can be seen for miles and miles by millions of people
its stil, out there.
fuck finn. i didnt need to remember that.
bc i am what i predict, i am what i know i will do. i am what i will and i dont have that other thing he does. common sense, extraverted thinking, strength to rid myself the demons so i can at least get it going. i dont have it, and im to terrified to let go the crutch ive found that gets me by with the maniac mind i carry and endure. i am not him, and i can not gather the strength to face the world without my crutch so i can then rise to the talent i toss in the trash more each day. i wont even consider it. its all ive got here. its all ive found through all this bullshit life thats made it even half way tolerable. and weather for my own better, weather i be to weak to sacrafice, weather i be to cowardice to dare to even attempt, or be to patnetic to for once FOR ONE TIME TAKE SOME PAIN FOR MY BENEFIT RATHER THEN MY DESTRUCTION.... even if its all true and i am very very responsible for how this hapoens here...
its ok.
bc that just makes me real right? and ive got that. and ill have it now, the rest of the way, to finish the ride,
all of the ride. ill have it. the truth, il. have that i was so cursed and gifted by the same thing that it overcame itself in me
and il. have that genuine authenticity, il. have that close as i finish this ride. the rest of the way.
all of the way.
all the
FuCkINg wAy DOWN
down down down down the only place im gonna go
and il. see finn from underneath, and everyone else who heard of or knew me from below
where i will burn in hell
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woodsbane · 7 years
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so ive been tagged in a lot of things but havent been able to do them over mobile so im going to knock them all out rn (and im not tagging anyone specifically but if you want to do any of these feel free to say i did)
tagged by @chairmanmeow-and-church
describe youre writing in one sentence: 
“She tries to write the worlds of magic formed in her head, but only they are only at face value on paper.”
I was tagged by @lesdemonium
how old are you? I’m 18 current job/dream job? My current job is being a cashier at a fast food place but my dream job is to be in a band and to make people happy with music what are you talented at? uh idk. Being nice to rude people? lifting weights?  what is a big goal you are working towards (or have already achieved)?finishing at least one story of mine and to find a job that I love what is your aesthetic? windows down on a sunny day listening to some 70′s song do you collect anything? Business cards and physical memories what is a topic you’re always up to talk about? anything really.  what’s a pet peeve of yours? people dragging their feet and being rude to customers, also not using blinkers/turn signals good advice to give? Learn the beauty of nature and the world bc if you get to cynical over human problems then there is nothing to live for.  recommend three songs? ptx- sing, sun kil moon- alesund, muse- panic station
I was tagged by @mbanewood 
 Last movie you watched: In Theaters: gotg 2 but other than that sky high
Last song you listened to: cell block tango miscast
Last book you read: technically frankenstein but im going to say brave new world

Last thing you ate: pizza

If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be: FRANCE

When would you time travel to:  Well firs off I would go to the library of alexandria and try to get as much knowledge as possible, then go to the 60s/70s/80s for the concerts

First thing you would do with lottery money: Buy a house for my mom and trave

Fictional character you would want to hang with: oh god merlin and then maybe reid and AND SIMON

What was the last fandom you joined: Shadowhunters
Time right now: 10:52 pm
I was tagged by @warlocksrune @softshadowmoon @magnusimon @magnusbanewoods
Rules: bold what’s true
i’m in high school i am in college/university i’ve graduated college/university i like my job i’ve worked a job i’ve hated i’ve never had a job i am shorter than 5’5″ i wear glasses (or contacts) i have a tattoo i have more than one tattoo i don’t have tattoos but i want some i’m vegetarian i have allergies i’m self-conscious about my body (sometimes!) i’m sarcastic when annoyed i’m shy i’ve been called over-emotional i have a strange sense of humour i’m an atheist i have red hair i have blonde hair i dye my hair regularly i wear a piece of jewelry at all times i am an only child i have more than three siblings i have a niece i have a nephew i’ve failed a class i couldn’t choose a favorite song i can speak two or more languages i’ve hugged someone in the last 24 hours i’ve kissed someone in the last 24 hours i have a best friend i’ve known my best friend for more than 10 years i have met a friend from the internet i’ve kissed someone of the same sex i’m in/have been in a long distance relationship i’ve had a one night stand i’ve been dumped more than i’ve dumped someone i’ve cheated on someone i’ve met someone famous i’ve been out of my home country i’ve broken a bone i’ve spent more than six hours straight online i’ve done volunteer work i’ve won a prize at school i have friends who are married i have friends who have children of their own i have been in a wedding party i’ve ridden in a limousine i am a morning person i am a night owl i like anime i like disney movies i like comedies more than action films i like action films more than comedies i always order dessert i hate fast food i can’t cook i enjoy puns i enjoy being alone i read for pleasure i don’t play video games i believe in ghosts i believe in aliens i enjoy conspiracy theories i’ve been somewhere considered ‘haunted’ i’ve stayed up all night for no reason i’ve had a skype call with more than four people i can’t keep secrets i’m good with children i’ve cheated on a test i’ve watched an entire season of something in one day i am wearing something green right now i am wearing something yellow right now i am wearing something purple right now i’ve never tried alcohol i’ve had alcohol while underage i’ve played a drinking game i’m scared of snakes i’m scared of heights i’m scared of clowns i’m scared of spiders i collect stamps i collect comic books i keep old bus/train tickets i have more than three keyrings on my keys i don’t know the words to my national anthem i’ve been to a professional sports game i’ve had my hair cut in the past month i’ve cosplayed i can’t swallow pills i miss someone right now
I was tagged by @mbanewood
name/nicknames: none
gender: female
height: 5″3′
hogwarts house: Ravenclaw
favorite color: burgundy or wine 
time: 11:26 pm
last things i googled: the eagles movie with channing tatum
fictional character you’d like as a sibling: honestly have no idea
number of blankets i sleep with: 1
favorite band/artists: one cannot sacrifice for the manny
dream vacation: ITTAAALLLLLYYY and france and europe in general
when did i make this blog: Well I had a blog since 2012 but i accidentally deleted it this one is new
how many blogs do i follow: 280 something
what do i post about: whatever i want tbh
do you get asks on a regular basis: ummmmm
aesthetics: watercolors, nature, sunlight, stars, all music, and that feeling of ‘home’
I was tagged by @jacelghtwood
Rules: write your url in song titles (pick each song/band once!) and tag ten others.
What do I know? ed sheeran
On my way home- ptx
Ode to sleep- 21p
Dancing queen- ABBA
Slow ride- foghat
Bliss- Muse
Alesund- sun kil moon
Naughty girl- beyonce
Escape (the pina colada song)
I was tagged by @my-nameless-bliss
Rules: List 5 OTPs from 5 different fandoms and tag people to pass it on.
1. Magnus/Alec
2. Merlin/Arthur
3.Stiles/Derek
4.Allison/Lydia
5.Dizzie/Thor
I was tagged by @chairmanmeow-and-church and others
COUNTRIES I’VE LIVED IN → America FAVORITE FANDOM → Shadowhunters and STEREK and many many others LANGUAGES YOU SPEAK → English, very little french FAVORITE FILM OF 2015/ OF 2016 →oh good god I watch too many
LAST ARTICLY FANFIC YOU READ → Dream of Mistletoe by katherynefromphilly SHUFFLE YOUR MUSIC LIBRARY AND PUT YOUR FIRST THREE SONGS HERE → all day and all of the night- the kinks
the devil went down to georgia- charlie daniels band
marionettes- the zolas
LAST THING YOU BOUGHT ONLINE → a tailight for my car ANY PHOBIAS OR FEARS? → being alone/ not doing something that I love (career) HOW WOULD YOUR FRIENDS DESCRIBE YOU? → chill HOW WOULD YOUR ENEMIES DESCRIBE YOU? → what enemies WHO WOULD YOU TAKE A BULLET FOR? → If I ever have kids… IF YOU HAD MONEY TO SPARE WHAT WOULD YOU BUY FIRST? → food tbh, or a tattoo
I think that about wraps it up!! there were some others but those are the ones I have already done in the past
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eradikeats · 7 years
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18 Questions About Music
I was tagged by @and-so-are-you​ who is my husband/soul mate/trash can friend. Follow him for art and soft-goth vibes x
1. Which bands/artist do you own the most albums by? this question goes two different ways for me because i own whole discographies of many artists/groups and, some of these artists will have longer careers than others so inevitably they will have more albums, you feel. reality is that i own literally everything Maynard James Keenan has recorded and released in an official capacity either with Tool, APC, or Puscifer - plus soundtracks he’s appeared on. The Beatles because i took all of my parents collection and ripped it to my laptop. i own A LOT of Bowie and Prince, all of Muse’s albums, every Joy Division/New Order, The Cure, Deftones, White Lies, IAMX, Elbow. generally, if i get heavy into a band i become a collector. 
2. What was the last song you listened to? The Human League - Seconds
3. What’s in your CD/Record player right now? i was listening to Cocteau Twins Heaven Or Las Vegas while i cooked dinner because you can kind of just yodel along without actually focusing on words
4. What was the last show you attended? white lies at music hall of williamsburg last month
5. What was the greatest show you’ve been to? oh jesus. there’s been a few tbh. elbow at reading 2011 was insane because i was back in the UK and a fucking rainbow erupted over the stage while they performed the birds and i totally lost it. a perfect circle at lollapalooza was the time i became someone Other. IAMX in London last year was emotional as shit cause i was coming down from a stomach flu, was with @simonjpg and @and-so-are-you and they played This Will Make You Love Again and wow. Muse’s War Child gig with fuckin DEAD STAR and the whole of the internet erupted asking me if i was ok which, no i certainly was not. i saw Stevie Wonder for free two summers ago which WOW. funny i’m naming legends but once i saw O’Brother open for Biffy Clyro and they blew me the fuck away. i’ve been a fan ever since and i’m so pleased they’re doing really well now.
 i’ve been blessed with some incredible gigs.
6. What was the worst show you’ve ever been to? yikes. ive never been to a show where the band i’ve paid to see are awful but ive suffered some horrible openers, let me tell you. the worst was when i went to see brian fallon and his opener, i literally do not remember who, was so terrible i got a headache halfway through the set and had to leave the entire gig because i was in agony. 
7. What is the most musically involved you have ever been? uh, in what capacity? well. i play violin and am a singer, i sight read better than i sight sing though. sight reading means im kind of okay at piano although my left hand prowess is non-existent, really. but i mean, if we’re being open and honest, i actually am employed in the music industry, so that’s pretty damn involved if you ask me lol.
8. What show are you looking forward to? SO MANY. ive got some huge festivals this year - Gov’s Ball, Glastonbury, and Lollapalooza (supposing i get tix to the latter). elbow in november, New Power Generation at the start of April. who knows what else will get announced - hoping for some official Franz Ferdinand dates (besides their gov’s ball set) or an APC tour. 
9. What is your favorite band shirt? i have this v-neck black shirt from when i saw The Cure last year. the only size they had was xxl and i got it just because im compelled to get shirts at every gig i attend. its honestly the most comfortable shirt i own and i use it as pajamas. 
10. What musician would you like to hang out with for a day? honestly, id love to spend a day with Dan Smith from Bastille. im not even like super, duper heavy into the band (i love them but not how i love many others) i just want to get some sandwiches and talk about movies with him. we’d have so much to discuss. probably would also love to hang with lorde and osmose some of her glamour. 
11. Who is one musician or group you wish would make a comeback? like...from the dead? bowie or prince, full stop. come back and make a new album, Fair To Midland. such a specific, identifiable sound - no one is filling their space now they’re gone. 
12. Who is one band/ artist you’ve never seen live but always wanted to? BOWIE AND PRINCE. im haunted by the time Prince came to NYC when i was in college and i was too fucking poor to see him. rammstein have decided to play an NYC date for the first time in fucking years and i just so happen to be at glastonbury when they’re here (i am bitter). TOOL is on this list but WILL BE REMOVED IN JUNE, CAN YOU EVEN BELIEVE. also, recently lady gaga but specifically during her fame monster years. she came round when i was in college and my housemates went - regret it because she seems like an amazing performer. 
13. Flawless albums? shit. wow. ok. ive got many. Radiohead - In Rainbows, Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes, Prince - Purple Rain, NIN - Year Zero, Cocteau Twins - Heaven Or Las Vegas, White Lies - Ritual (i swear to god, you have no fucking idea how far ahead of its time this album was- it’s six years old and it sounds like it was produced yesterday), Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go, elbow - the seldom seen kid, Ghinzu - Blow, and Echo & The Bunnymen - Ocean Rain - to name a few. i find when you listen to a lot of music, you wind up discovering how much art is really out there which is probably why my pretentious ass has a longer list than most idk
14. How many concerts have you been to, total? please don’t make me count. a very high number.
15. Who have you seen the most live? Muse
16. What is your favorite movie soundtrack? I have three really. The Fountain, A Single Man, and Pride & Prejudice. Also, not films but Braid, Bastion, and Transistor are some of the best video game soundtracks. I can’t really go a month without listening to them. 
17. What was your last musical ‘phase’ before you wisened up? i turned my ‘phase’ into a career, i think we’re shit outta luck on the ‘wisened up’ front. 
18. What is your ‘guilty pleasure’ that you hate to admit liking? i love the shit out of K-Pop. it’s been like a 7 year quiet thing in the back of my mind, but if you want to learn some SHINee/EXO/f(x) moves, i got you!
i forgot im supposed to tag people omg uh ok @zombeesknees because she is my queen and i want to know what she’s into; has @simonjpg done this yet? idk, do this if you want!
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PIN’s: The Future of Private Link Building
1,116 Comments 20 minutes
What I’m going to reveal in this blog post is a strategy that will likely weed out a certain section of the ViperChill audience. In other words, I’m fully aware that this blog post will make a particular type of person unsubscribe from ViperChill and likely never return. It’s certainly not going to end up on the homepage of Inbound.org.
If you are loyal to Google guidelines, the teachings of blogs like Moz and love playing by the book, then you’ll probably realise with this article that we possess a very different perspective. When I first started my internet journey – where I spent day and night trying to make a living online – I tried and tested more website ideas and angles than you would believe.
Today, I’m still pushing the boundaries to see what works. These boundaries most often pertain to SEO, since it’s what I’ve enjoyed the most over the last 11 years.
I’m in the fortunate position that my business it not tied to some employer who dictates how I have to do things when it comes to promoting web properties. As such, I’m always willing to ignore everything I previously thought about marketing and to be open to new ideas and opportunities.
This blog post details one such opportunity, but I realise it will not be for everyone. Not everyone is the position to implement it for their online business, and even if you are, you may question the ethics of what is coming up.
With that disclaimer out of the way, today I’m going to introduce you to the world of PIN’s. Just before I do that, I want to talk about why I think they’re necessary.
I Predict We’ve Got Four to Five Years Left to ‘Do SEO’ As We Know It
This isn’t some “SEO is Dead” article you see go viral in the SEO blogosphere every six months, but a genuine prediction based on how Google search results have evolved over the last few years.
Google make all of their money via ads so quite simply want more people to click on them (and more often). The less success people have with SEO, the more likely they are to move to Google’s advertising platform.
Long gone are the days when we’re presented with just 10 blue links on a page.
The White Space Between Search Results Has Increased
It’s known that the higher up the page a search result, the more clicks it will receive. Therefore, when organic search results are pushed further down the page they’re going to be receiving fewer and fewer clicks. Not only are they lower down now in mobile results due to spacing, but the change is being tested across desktop results as well.
The search result on the left includes the new extra spacing with the ads taking up far more vertical space than the search result on the right (graphic via SEMPost).
There Are More ‘Featured Snippets’ Than Ever Before
There isn’t much to say on this one besides feature snippets are to be found for millions of search queries in every industry imaginable. What, when, how and why questions are often answered with a featured snippet box.
This not only pushes ‘organic’ search results further down in search results, it also attempts to give you the answer right from the results page. We can argue whether or not it’s useful for searchers, but for SEO’s, it gives new meaning to having the top result in Google.
‘Map Packs’ Completely Changed Local Search Results
Some call them ‘map packs’, some ‘the local pack’ and some even call them the ‘snack pack’. Whatever your term of choice, after being introduced a few years ago SEO’s have been trying to figure out how to get themselves and their clients into the pack to compensate for a lack of expected search results.
After all, these local listings take up a large portion of screen real estate.
I’m not complaining about this change; I’m simply pointing it out. There’s no doubt it makes search results more useful and that is Google’s aim (usually) after all. While Google did reduce the listings from seven to three back in August of 2015, the redesign of the listings with adding spacing means not much changed in terms of organic results being seen.
Those Map Packs Now Contain Ads, Too
We’re not going back to Google updates of a few years ago to make a point about Google evolving. Just last month Google announced that the map / local / snack pack would now include ads, as shown below.
This image is a mockup by Barry Schwartz, though the real thing looks very similar
It’s interesting to follow both PPC and SEO guys on Twitter and see the difference in reaction. PPC guys are over the moon since it gives them more traffic opportunities for their clients and SEO guy’s, well…I’m sure you can guess the reaction.
Based on how Google’s past, it’s not one of surprise.
They Have All The Answers
The knowledge graph was released in May of 2012 and it’s almost disappointing when you don’t see it for queries when looking for quick answers. For example, when I want to see how my football team, Newcastle, have fared against Liverpool, I literally don’t have to click anywhere.
Whether you want to learn about how old someone is, what 12 x 56 is or who discovered Radium, Google has the results right there for you. As a searcher, I love these quick answers, but as an SEO, it’s just one more thing which has lessened the likelihood of people clicking on my website if it doesn’t appear in this box.
They Continue to Make People Scared of Link Building
Google are great at making people fearful of performing any type of SEO. After all, this was the company that introduced the rel=”nofollow” attribute so we could link out to websites without giving them “link juice”.
That isn’t the real headline for the article – I’ve got to have some fun in these serious posts – but Google have publicly cracked down on pretty much everything when it comes to link building. The list includes, but is not limited to:
Guest posting for links
Using directories for links
Utilising private blog networks
Adding links to website themes
Adding do-followed links to widgets
They literally created a ‘no-follow’ tag
That’s not all; they openly share how much human intervention is involved in finding people abusing the guidelines, rather than algorithmic. This tweet speaks volumes.
Anglo Rank was a small network being promoted on the Black Hat World forums.
Just think about this for a second. One of Google’s first employees (and former Head of Web Spam), worth millions of dollars, dedicated his time to actively targeting a tiny little network on some private forum just to scare other people away from doing the same.
The simple fact is that Google can’t figure out with absolutely certainty which links are earned, or bought, or manipulative, very effectively.
Now I’m not taking anything away from Google here. Their company is worth hundreds of billions and mine, well…isn’t. They have undoubtedly created the world’s most sophisticated search engine.
But as I said earlier, it’s far easier for them to get us to police ourselves than it is for them to police us.
Big Brands Dominate the Long Tail
As SEO becomes increasingly difficult and searches are more and more dominated by big brands, the long tail will be the final frontier of search traffic opportunities.
When I said we only have a few years left to do SEO as we know it, the long tail will be where the majority of SEO’s focus their time through on-site SEO changes and content marketing.
While we’ll still have opportunities for SEO to ‘work’, long tail search results just don’t seem to be as diverse as they were in the past. It makes sense to me that Google have some kind of ‘filter’ whereby if they’re not sure what to list for a search result, they simply show more results from an authoritative site to be on the safe side.
Logically, this makes sense, but as an SEO, it could be a worrying sign of things to come. You can see this lack of diversification above in my screenshot of the map packs as well, with Yelp dominating the first three organic search results.
The Lack of Diversity in Search Results Will Only Get Worse
If you’ve only found ViperChill recently then it was likely because of my recent article, How 16 Companies Are Dominating the World’s Google Search Results. It has been shared thousands of times on social media and been read over 40,000 times, making it one of the most popular articles I’ve ever written here.
In the article I highlighted how Hearst Media were using their brands like Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan and Woman’s Day to point footer links to a new website of theirs, BestProducts.com.
That strategy, which would get the rest of us penalised, continues to work incredibly well.
“Just follow the Google guidelines.” Why?
Since that post, I was also contacted by a few people associated with the brands I had featured. One of those people I talked with was Tre who works in the growth department of About.com. I had already mentioned in the article how About planned to spin off into many more verticals over the coming months, which he confirmed.
I admit I’m being a little pedantic with my highlighting, but when you’re Director of Growth for About.com you’re going to share which terms are driving traffic to one site with the team that is in charge of another.
I appreciate Tre’s replies and I’m sure there’s only so much he can say, but About.com’s real goal with their spin-off’s is to no doubt own ten search results, instead of one.
PIN’s: My Version of Fighting Back While I Still Can
When I talked about why I started using private link networks and then continued to use them after Google’s “crackdown”, my primary reason was very simple: Writing quality content and getting ‘whitehat’ links wasn’t working for me. I was being outranked by people with crappy link networks who could build their own ‘relevant’ links on a whim and I decided to fight back.
You could view PIN’s in a similar light. I am utilising them because we’re not competing on a fair playing field, and what is supposed to work is very rarely what ranks, at least in the industries that I operate in.
While I don’t wish to reveal those exact industries, let me give you an example closer to home, with ViperChill.
I will say in advance that this is a search term I really don’t care about ranking for. I have no idea how many times it’s searched for each month and honestly, I doubt it gets many searches at all.
Here are the search results for the query, ‘Future of blogging’.
My site is usually either in 10th or 11th for that term, yet by every SEO standard metric I should be number one.
I have more links to the page ranking than anyone else
I have more ‘domain authority’ than most other pages
My title tag seems more relevant than half of them
Yet in order to get more traffic for this search term, which I think I ‘deserve’ from a 10,000 word article which took me weeks to put together, all I have to do is one thing.
It’s not getting more links. It’s not improving my on-site SEO. It’s not building better connections with influencers.
All I need to do to get my traffic back is to add a sentence to the start of the article which says ‘Last updated: July 25th 2016‘.
This is a search result where how recent an article was posted is more important than whether it’s actually a good page to rank.
I don’t actually have to update the article; I literally just need to make it appear to Google – thanks to that one sentence – that my article was updated recently. This one sentence, this ‘trick’, would bring me back the ranking I feel I deserve. (Though, again, I doubt this even gets searched for. It’s just an example).
This is not theory. If you look at the first sentence of my WordPress SEO guide that’s exactly what I’ve done before, with great results.
This little change is not too dissimilar to what I need to rank in other industries. I don’t need better on-site SEO. I don’t need to build natural links from relevant sites through content marketing. I simply need to add more domains to my private link network and write more guest blog posts.
Yes, these are both tactics that are looked down upon by Google, but they still work incredibly well. In 2014 when I covered Google’s crackdown on private blog networks I did mention that they would now be less likely to care about private link networks.
In my exact words:
What I expect to happen is that Google will ease off looking into private networks. The damage is mostly done.
Why? Because they’ve already made people scared to build them. The best way to deal with people trying to game the system is essentially making us as a community police ourselves so we don’t try to game the system in the first place.
The continued use of private link networks and guest posting for SEO is part of the reason why I will get a lot of criticism from this post. How to implement these tactics more effectively, which I’ll talk about later, will be the larger reason for criticism.
The Approach to Take
One of the first ideas I had when I started out online was to assemble a team of people who could work together to build a huge website. At the time I was following the growth of TechCrunch and Mashable and saw how quickly they were able to grow thanks to having a team of writers.
My idea was to essentially connect a team of people who all worked on one website and in return everyone had a percentage ownership. The logic being that working as a team would result in the site growing faster and even if revenue or a sale price was split, we would have more success than working on our own.
It’s a similar idea a number of ViperChill readers had after reading my last article on the small number of brands dominating Google search results.
While it’s a nice idea, in theory it doesn’t work so well.
Some will want to dictate the direction of a site that others don’t agree with and more importantly, some people will put in far more work than others. If you’re writing more content than others and your articles are getting better traction, you’re going to want to increase your ownership compared to someone barely putting in any effort.
There is another option you can utilise if you wish to team up with others though, and that’s a PIN.
It comes with all of the benefits of creating your own team, without the downsides of worrying about who is contributing what work.
What the Hell is a PIN?
A PIN is a play on the acronym PBN, which is commonly referred to as a private blog or link network.
I’ve received my fair share of critics over the years for talking about PBN’s and their success – and continuing to build them – but there’s a reason I do: They work.
I simply don’t believe that playing by Google’s rules is always going to get me the results I want. In some industries I wouldn’t make the money I do without them. I don’t use them for clients, but do for my own websites.
Going forward, I think PIN’s are going to be crucial to my success in certain industries, and I think they are going to be crucial to a number of people reading this as well.
PIN, stands for Private Influencer Network.
Before you think that just means making some “friends” online and building up your connections, allow me to continue.
I define a Private Influencer Network as a group of people looking to rank their websites in Google in similar industries (but not the same) who work together to help each other reach their objectives.
Essentially, they use any opportunities they have to build links (such as private blog networks, guest blogging, interviews, blogger round-ups) to send backlinks to other people in their network. In return, other people do the same for them.
The end result is that for the work you would do to build ten backlinks, you can get twenty to forty (of the same quality) in return.
A $100,000/m PIN Operating Right Under Your Nose
I first came across a Private Influencer Network a little over a year ago. A few ‘influencers’ in a particular field were using their private blog networks to – quite simply – link to each other.
I didn’t think much of the tactic at the time, until I found another example of this happening just a few months later.
Then three months after that, I found my third example. This time it really got my attention.
A group of just five people (from what I could tell) were ranking in one of the most profitable industries online and undoubtedly making over $100,000 per month in the process. I operate in the niche, which is how I found their collaboration, and know the numbers very well.
This is when I started working on building my own, PIN.
Finally, the idea to write this blog post came to me when I found yet another PIN. One of the members of this network is one of the most well-known SEO’s on the planet and is reading this article. He already “knows I know.”
If you follow the SEO blogosphere, you’ll undoubtedly know who he is.
One of the sites they are promoting also very likely also makes more than $100,000 per month. I’m not involved in the niche, but I know others who are and with the rankings they have, those numbers wouldn’t surprise me.
I reached out to the owner of the ‘money site’ they had all teamed up to promote. I keep a private database of paid link opportunities and one of them costs more than $10,000 per year. I found their website there, so sent the main owner an email.
One months revenue spent on link building is a small price to pay when you’re doing huge numbers thanks to gaming Google.
While some would view four to five guys linking to each other to make more than $100,000/m from a one-year-old website as shady and unethical, I’m personally impressed at how well they are crushing a very competitive niche so quickly.
While there is a chance that a PIN could be “outed”, the last two examples I found were so well put together that I’m almost certain I was the only person who connected the dots.
If you’re not trying to rank in an obvious industry that’s constantly monitored by SEO’s – like blogging and internet marketing – the chances of your PIN becoming uncovered are relatively low. Much lower than having your private blog network discovered.
As you’ve probably already figured out more succinctly than I am at getting to the point, members of a PIN use any opportunity they have to ‘link out’ to take care of their whole team.
While I’ve been fairly slow on the uptake to building my own PIN, I have been slowly building them in a few industries over the last few months and I’m excited to see what the future holds.
I didn’t want to write this blog post until I had a better understanding of how to build and manage them, because managing them is actually the most time-consuming part.
You have to make sure everyone in the network is pulling their weight and giving (and getting) equal opportunities. Opportunities, of course, is code for links.
A Real-World Example of How a PIN Works
One of the websites I find myself checking for ideas and inspiration is Entrepreneur.com.
I recently found an article on the website, published by a contributor and not a staff member, which could serve as a great example for how PIN’s work.
Let me say it in bold (for those just skimming) that the example below is totally legitimate.
I’m highlighting it because it’s natural, but could have been used in a non-natural way.
While the screenshot below might be the longest ever embedded by me into a blog post, there is something much more important that I have to say about it.
There is no specific reason I have singled out this article. It was simply the first article on Entrepreneur.com when I was looking to give an example for this post. Proof of that is the date. This article is going live on July 25th whereas this article I’m featuring below is from July 22nd.
It just happened to be a great example to see a PIN (or what could be a PIN), in action.
I made the article a little shorter than the original (the screenshot was long enough, I know) but you can see the majority of it here. The first thing you’ll notice is four mentions of Weekdone. Unsurprisingly, these are all links to the company that the author works for.
A good guest article, utilised for a PIN, will link to other recommended resources that are connections of the author. The links should be relevant, but also to other people in your network so that you are ‘owed’ a link back.
Now on the surface (without my large logos stuck over the text) this looks like a totally normal article (albeit with a little overuse of linking back to the authors employer). If you do a little more research, you’ll learn that the other two highlighted companies, Zlien and Mavrck, are actually clients of Weekdone.
In other words, Weekdone likely earn some bonus points from their clients for mentioning them in an article on Entrepreneur.com. I see nothing wrong with this and it’s a one-off occurrence so it’s not done for SEO manipulation; I’m just trying to show how a PIN link looks without actually revealing one.
Essentially everything looks natural until you look under the hood. It’s normal for a client to talk about a company they use, as shown below where the relationship continues.
Once again, I’m not saying they’re doing anything wrong here. It was one of the top articles on Entreprenuer.com as I was finishing up this article (the post is only three days old) and happened to make a good example.
The truth is that Entrepreneur.com, along with Forbes and the business sections of the Huffington Post, are great resources to see mini PIN’s in action. The people who write content for these sites generally try to get as much out of writing for them as possible.
They link to their friends, and their friends link to them.
A PIN in Action
I wanted to create a graphic for this section but your understanding of the concept is far more important than your ability to decipher my poor Photoshop skills. Before it gets a little bit crazy, I have assumed that there are just two ‘influencers’ in your private network.
The yellow box is your money website (the website you wish to rank in Google).
The brown boxes are private blog sites you own (optional).
The grey boxes are link opportunities you’ve created through guest posting or similar.
While the graphic is admittedly not the prettiest (I did warn you), the concept is very simple.
Some of your private network domains will point links to the other influencer in your network, as will some of your guest posts on other websites.
In return, the other influencer will do the same for you.
Once you start adding more people to your network, things get a little bit more messy, but the principle remains the same.
When I try to visualise this with four influencers as part of your PIN it gets a little ugly, but here goes.
The golden rule you need to remember is this: If you receive a link from someone from a specific source, you need to replicate the link in kind.
So if you receive a link in a guest post from someone in the network, you need to give them a link from a guest post you write. Essentially meaning that the work you do for 10 links for yourself gets you 30-40 links in return. This number varies because sometimes it’s a bit risky (such as using blog networks) to link out to the same sites which are linking to you but you still receive more links than you would have without your network, for essentially the same work.
The Types of Links Which Are Shared
I originally tried to write these guidelines as if there were four people in a PIN but it became a little bit too complicated to read (and write). Instead, I’ll assume there are only two people in your PIN and show you what types of links you could generate or other ways to help each other.
If there are more people in your PIN, which I highly recommend, then understand that Influencer #1 will sometimes link to #2, while #4 sometimes links to number #3 and so on. It’s basically just varying the following link opportunities to keep things fair for everyone.
The types of reciprocation that can take place.
You can tweet or Facebook share an article from another influencer
You can retweet or publicly thank another influencer for mentioning you
You can utilise a guest post opportunity to link to a relevant quote or article from another influencer
If you use build private blog networks, you can use some to link to other influencers
If you find articles where comments drive traffic to your site, you can inform other influencers
When being interviewed you can link to a relevant quote or article from another influencer
Sharing link opportunities you find on your site they can utilise for theirs
Offering website design advice
Utilising Web 2.0 properties to give links and get the same in return
If performed properly, there is no reason to hide that you have a connection with other influencers in your niche. The only thing you would have to care about is that the obvious mission for having these connections is to help each other’s search engine rankings.
If you are outside of the internet marketing world you don’t really have to worry about other people finding your private link networks, but always keep a few rules in mind to avoid footprints.
Ready to Build Your Own PIN? Here’s My Advice
If you see the benefits of utilising a PIN for your own search engine rankings, and actually getting more than rankings in return, then here’s my advice for setting one up.
A PIN Must Have a Leader
As I mentioned earlier, I didn’t want to write about this topic until I had attempted to do it myself.
My short but relevant experience tells me that there has to be one person (or two at most) who is in control of the group you gather together to make sure that everyone in the team is pulling their weight.
In other words, you need to make sure that the people who are receiving links are doing their part in giving them as well.
The leader must also make sure that members of the team are active. It’s no use everyone playing along for the first few weeks while the idea is hot and then dropping off the map.
Bringing Together Your Team
While some of you may be excited about getting started on this – and some horrified that I’m even talking about it – there’s one important caveat to keep in mind.
Do not bring anyone into your team who has never shown any self-drive in terms of search engine optimisation.
If someone:
Doesn’t already have a website they wish to rank
Doesn’t regularly produce content for their own sites or others
Doesn’t have at least a basic knowledge of SEO fundamentals
Don’t invite them to be part of your network.
I assumed this would be the case from the start of building my own, but I’m even more sure of it after trying to get other people excited about the idea who weren’t actually willing to contribute to the rest of the teams’ success as a whole.
A simple test to see if someone would be right to join your network is to send a candidate over to this article and have them read about this concept for themselves.
If they don’t immediately “get” the idea and they don’t reply with something like “I can see this working well” then it’s not someone you want on your team.
You shouldn’t have to convince anyone to work with you. They should see it for themselves. If they’re against it because of ethical reasons, then that’s totally fine (and understandable) but again, it’s a sure sign that they’re not someone you want in your team.
As far as communication goes, there are a few platforms out there that would be useful.
You could create a Skype group where people get together. I certainly recommend that everyone get on a call together at least some point to make sure you all understand each other’s roles.
Slack is another good option, as you can keep up to date via their mobile app and have a history of previous agreements.
A private Facebook group is another good option.
Both Slack and Facebook allow there to be a leader who can add or remove members to the network.
The platform is really up to you. My only recommendation is not to lay out all your plans in Google Docs ;).
Take One Step Back from Your Current Niche
It should be obvious but I’ll state it anyway: You don’t want to work with people who are targeting the same keywords as you.
However, you still want to connect with people who are in a relevant niche (I’ll give you the chance to connect with ViperChill readers at the bottom of this post). For instance, if you’re promoting your real estate website then it makes sense to team up with other realtors, just not for the same region.
If you’re in the weight loss niche then it makes sense to collaborate and grow your audience with other people in that niche, but target different keywords and / or promote different types of products and services.
Whatever niche you’re in, imagine you’re shopping for that specific industry on Amazon but go back one category to find people to work with. Again, I’ll give you the opportunity to find PIN partners at the end of this article.
Footprints are Hard to Find, But Still Be Careful
From the PIN’s I’ve discovered and the ones I’m working on myself, I’ve found you really don’t have to be too careful when it comes to leaving some kind of footprint. After all, it doesn’t ring any alarm bells when Copyblogger keeps mentioning Problogger or Mashable keep linking to TechCrunch. It’s “natural” and something you can expect from the owners of websites who have developed friendships with each other.
Where you have to be careful is primarily with private blog networks and not creating footprints of clearly linking back and forth to each other from the same sites at all times. Of course, you don’t have to use private networks, but remember for each link you give out, you can get three to four back, so it can dramatically speed up the process of ranking your site.
You Need to Know How the Microphone Works
And how to sing.
One of my favourite authors, Daniel Priestley, said the following in his book The Key Person of Influence;
You don’t need to know how the microphone works, you need to know how to sing.
He was referring to the technology behind the microphone and how, when it was first invented, your time would have been better spent learning how to sing than how a microphone worked, if you wanted to reach a lot of people.
When it comes to ranking in Google, I don’t think that’s the case. You need to know how the microphone works and how to sing.
There are going to be people who worry I’m encouraging armies of people to come together to take over the Google search results.
The truth is that I don’t believe people who can’t sing – in this case, can’t produce great results for search engine users – will have much long-term success.
There’s no point putting all of the work into your PIN if the end result is going to be a crappy website.
The third example of a PIN that I mentioned earlier now easily does in excess of over $100,000 per month. What I didn’t yet tell you is that they built a fantastic resource for their industry. The site doesn’t have many pages (less than 50), but each one genuinely solves a question that a particular searcher is looking for an answer to.
I don’t view utilising a PIN as a way to “sneak” up the Google results and send thousands of visitors to an ad-riddled website.
Instead, I see it as a way to help you start getting great content noticed that could attract natural links once it is.
I mentioned at the start of this article that I would likely weed out some of the audience of ViperChill. I want to make it clear though that I’m not trying to help people with shitty websites rise to the top of Google.
While I believe there is a great opportunity here, it isn’t easy. Turning the concept into reality sounds much easier on paper (or in a blog post).
The truth is that when it comes to making money online, most people are, quite simply…lazy.
They may be excited about this idea for a few weeks but if you’re going to use this to rank in an industry worth ranking for, you should be aiming for keywords that take a few months to get any serious traction for.
Links Aside, The Connections You Build Can Be Invaluable
I’ve already briefly talked about the other benefits this kind of network can have, besides link building.
You can connect with people who have a genuine passion for your industry who in turn spur you on to put more work into your site and help you improve your online ventures. Whether that’s giving advice on your design, your writing, your strategy or anything else.
Working online can seem lonely at times, especially if your offline friends don’t have an inkling to do anything online. When you’re aiming to make money from your web projects it’s nice to find other people on the same journey.
In my future of blogging post a few years ago, one of the most popular on the site, I mentioned how some bloggers had worked together to help grow their respective audiences in the same industry.
TechCrunch and Mashable grew incredibly quickly at the same time while investors were putting more and more of their money into web-based projects. They mentioned each other thousands of times.
Smaller operations – though still huge – like Copyblogger and Problogger would guest post on each others’ sites, promote each other’s products, send traffic to each other via their email lists and essentially enhanced both of their own images through their connection.
I took the time to actually figure out how many times some sites mentioned each other, which you can see in the graphic below.
While links were a key factor in all of these partnerships, I wouldn’t essentially class them as private link building. Most of the links didn’t include any specific anchor text and they weren’t to random affiliate sites or anything like that. All of them were trying to build authoritative online businesses and found someone with a similar passion on the same journey.
While TechCrunch and Mashable were almost in direct competition with each other, they still highlighted the stories that the other site got to first. Michael Arrington later sold TechCrunch to AOL for $25m. Pete Cashmore is still the CEO of Mashable though according to Politico.com, is trying to sell the site for around $300-$350m.
That’s a partnership that certainly paid off for both of them. Pete holding out six years on his sale seems to have been a smarter choice, however.
A Facebook Group to Find PIN Partners
For what is probably a very limited time only, I’m giving access to a private Facebook group where people can assemble together to potentially build their own Private Influencer Network.
I don’t want the comments here to be full of pitching opportunities, so let’s take this elsewhere to see what industries you’re working with. To be approved for the group you must leave a comment here with your Facebook name or put your Facebook initials at the end of a comment. Facebook will likely recommend the group to people who have no idea what PIN’s are and I don’t want to do a lot of moderating.
Don’t reveal your exact niche when you start a discussion, just simply zoom out of your niche and reveal a higher category that you would like to work in. You can find the group here (remember to comment to be approved).
Thank you, as always, for reading.
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Comments are my number one indicator as to which posts people enjoyed the most, so your feedback really does help me. If you have any questions, feel free to ask those as well…
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denisalvney · 5 years
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How Jennifer the Photographer Discovered a Love of Strength Training, Lost 20 Pounds, and Leveled up Her Life.
“This is why we do this.”
When I heard Jennifer’s story, I knew I had to share it.
She’s a member of the Nerd Fitness community who for years struggled with things most of us can relate to:
Seeking comfort in sugary foods and alcohol.
A lack of energy and all around feeling of fatigue.
An eating disorder as a teenager that created an unhealthy relationship with food.
Not knowing her next step towards a healthier lifestyle.
Jennifer found herself stuck in this pattern until rock bottom presented itself: divorce.
When bad times strike, it becomes easy to slip further into bad habits and vices.
Jennifer knew this and realized she had to turn her life around.
Six months ago, she did just that.
Today, Jennifer loves strength training and is the strongest she’s ever been. She changed her views on food and nutrition and is no longer intimidated by the kitchen. Jennifer recently completed her first 8k, something she couldn’t have dreamed of doing before.
And oh, Jennifer just came back from an epic photography trip where her new found stamina and strength allowed her to hike mountains to capture some awesome shots:
That’s her!
I’m honored that Jennifer has been a member of our 1-on-1 Online Coaching program since August, and has used our guidance to level up her life!
While strength training and getting comfortable in the kitchen are important, the real success for Jennifer has been with her mindset. She knows she can’t change everything at once and is using one small change to spring into another change and then another, using each as a stepping stone to the next.
This new frame of mind is something we can all learn from.
It’s how Jennifer was able to transform so quickly and lose 20 pounds in a healthy, sustainable way. While it seems like changing everything at once is the quickest way to success, it’s often too stressful and thus abandoned.
However, if you do what Jennifer did, and start with one simple habit like a food journal – it can start improving other areas of your life too.
You don’t need to hear it from me though…
Let’s bring in Jennifer!
HOW JENNIFER THE PHOTOGRAPHER LOST 20 POUNDS AND LEVELED UP HER LIFE
STEVE: Hi Jennifer! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me.
I’d love to hear from you about your past – can you describe a normal day for you before you joined NF Coaching?
JENNIFER: My day was pretty random, with no real set schedule. It would be hard for me to get up in the morning, and then I’d have an unhealthy breakfast – the American South is full of delicious things like biscuits and fried foods. Later in the day, I’d often find myself needing to take a long nap.
Looking back, I did not have any sort of set schedule and spent my days with a foggy brain and zero energy.
STEVE: I hear ya. A super carb heavy and sugary breakfast can send your blood sugar on a rollercoaster for the day. Sometimes a nap is the only way off of it.
What changed? What made you invest in yourself by joining Nerd Fitness Coaching last summer?
JENNIFER: I had a really horrific divorce and hit an all time low. I moved out of my home in Seattle, WA, back to my hometown in North Carolina. Sometimes you just have to escape your surroundings.
I found myself comforting with sugary foods and alcohol. You know, totally healthy antidepressants.
This really started to take a toll on my body.
I had a moment of clarity then, as I realized I just didn’t have enough knowledge or drive to make changes on my own. I’m a believer in the “spoon theory,” which is a metaphor you see around the internet, which helps explain the limited amount of energy we face.
Imagine having twelve spoons handed to you each morning. Every task or difficult scenario takes a spoon from you. Often at the end of the day, you have no more “spoons” to give.
I knew I’d be much more successful with a routine that didn’t require any “spoons” to get to the gym. Instead, I could just start with workouts from home.
It was right about then I decided to give the Nerd Fitness Coaching program a try. I decided I wanted to be told exactly what to do, which again would require less “spoons” from me.
STEVE: I love the analogy of “spoons!” We’ve talked here in the past that willpower can be a finite resource for many. By the end of the day, you really can just be drained. Our philosophy on the subject matches your thoughts on spoon theory. That’s why we always encourage people to design systems that have the least amount of friction and require the least amount of willpower, or “spoons.”
I’m glad you realized this and wanted to create a system where you could start working out from home. You can grow the practice into a gym routine (or not) later. The important thing is finding a system that allows you to start TODAY.
You’ve been with coach Evan now for six months. Can you talk to me a little bit about what he had you do?
JENNIFER: Evan started me out just counting calories, learning about the foods I ate, and getting used to comfortably logging my meals.
I had an eating disorder as a teenager. Hyper-focusing on everything I was eating and logging it all was really starting to trigger a lot of anxiety and bad memories in the beginning.
But I told Evan all of this at our first meeting and he has been very good about helping me completely turn my perspective around about tracking my meals. He told me not to have any judgment about what I was eating, and to view the practice as a scientist collecting data.
That perspective helped (Steve’s note: woo! Science rules!)
For exercise, Evan started me out just taking a walk every day, followed shortly by some basic bodyweight exercises. At first, these were really tough, because I was really out of shape to start. I’d end most sessions a sweaty exhausted mess on the floor.
Then Evan added in more dumbbell exercises (I have a small set at home and borrowed a bench from my family) and I instantly fell in love with those exercises! Evan made sure to add more of those into my routine as well.
STEVE: That’s great to hear Jennifer. It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of strength training.
What’s your routine like now? What else is Evan having you do?
JENNIFER: 5 months in, I’m even more of an avid walker. I walk daily, sometimes over 5 miles, or sometimes shorter if my walking buddies bail on me.
Total flakes (j/k, I love you guys).
I do strength training 3 days a week with a combination of bodyweight and dumbbell exercises.
We just introduced some yoga routines to both help with stress relief and to help with stretching and mobility. I have had some issues with cranky muscles and joints on occasion, which yoga is helping with.
The whole experience has been crazy to me.
I’ve gotten to the point where I enjoy some kind of physical activity every day of the week.  
And fell IN LOVE with lifting weights.
It is damn satisfying to see myself becoming a chick with “guns.”
At this point, I have bigger biceps than my father and brother, haha. I am loving every second of that. It feels so good to be strong and be able to handle things on my own.
As a female, that is even more important to me because society is pretty much built around telling us women that we can’t be strong enough and we cannot do things on our own. I am fed up with that cultural stereotype!
As an aside, prior to joining NF Coaching, I was greatly inspired by Staci’s story and transformation. I like to think I’m following in her footsteps.
STEVE: Yes! I love it. I think everyone should follow a strength training practice: man, woman, child, grandparent, self-aware robot… all of them! I’m really glad you found this new passion.
Also, I’m glad you found inspiration from Staci! Many a rebel around here have also changed their lives after reading about Staci.
You sent over some awesome pics of a recent trip in Scotland. Can you talk to me a little bit about that?
JENNIFER: It was my goal in 2018 to do a hiking trip in Scotland. With Evan’s help, I got enough strength and endurance to do exactly that!
I went on a photography workshop on the Isle of Skye and completed the most difficult hike I have ever done up to a rock structure called the Old Man of Storr. It was one of the proudest moments of my life. I couldn’t have done it without Evan’s help. So I am quite grateful.
I wanted to be able to do the mountain hikes with all my heavy camera gear on my back, without being assigned to the group of folks who couldn’t do as much. I knew I was in no shape to do it originally.
However, Evan and I created a plan, executed it, and boom! Up the mountain I went.
I can do so many cool things with my body that I wasn’t able to do 5 months ago! I power walked my first 8k about a month after starting with Evan. It was hard but I had built the endurance from walking every single day before it.
STEVE: I think it’s so great that you worked towards a goal and then hit it. I often encourage people to try and build up strength for an event. Something like a marathon, a ski trip, or in your case a photography workshop on the top of a mountain.
It gives you something to shoot for, something to motivate you to work out when it seems so much easier to skip it. I’m glad you created a goal for yourself, made a plan with your coach, and then nailed it!
Your physical appearance has changed. What else has changed about you?
JENNIFER: I’ve had vast improvements in my posture which I think in turn has improved my self-confidence.
There’s something about standing straight and tall with your shoulders back that makes you feel a bit like a badass. Someone who can conquer anything the day will throw at you.
I’ve also battled depression for most of my adult life. And while it by no means is cured, the severity of it has been lessened by the daily physical activity and improved nutrition.
All around, today I have the general ability to do more things because I have more energy and focus than I used to.
I still have days when I get overly stressed out and go a bit off the rails with my nutrition and make unhealthy choices. However, I appreciate Nerd Fitness for the “never twice in a row” mindset. It keeps me from feeling like an utter failure if I have a day with too much pizza or delicious cake or something. I just know the next day, it’s time for me to get back on track.
STEVE: That’s so cool! I’m happy “never twice in a row” resonated with you. I think it’s an important tool for preventing bad habits from developing. When people slip up (and we all slip up), it can become so easy to continue. Having a motto that stops this trend from continuing is a game-changer. I’m proud of you Jennifer.  
You mentioned a need to adjust your relationship with food. Can you talk to me a little bit about that? What’s your nutrition strategy like now?
JENNIFER: I’m proud to say I’ve changed my relationship with food. I’ve always used food as a comfort. Knowing this, I was really nervous about even just logging my food. Looking back though, it was such an important first step.
Tracking everything I was eating was eye-opening.
It helped me see what I was putting into my body, which gave me more confidence and determination in the kitchen. As of today, I’ve conquered cooking all kinds of foods, founds healthy recipes I enjoy, and am beginning to work on meal prep. Evan has a strategy for me to plan ahead on food preparation.
Healthy eating really has been a game changer. I am much more clear-headed today than I was six months ago, and I credit nutrition as a huge reason why.
I don’t really follow Paleo or anything like that.
Coach Evan has introduced me more into a “If It Fits Your Macros” style of eating. He really hammered in the thought that I had to eat protein with every meal.
I’ve also drastically reduced my sugar and alcohol consumption, although I’ll still indulge from time to time. Going back to “If It Fits Your Macros,” if I know I’m going to be eating dessert or having some drinks, I’ll plan for it and reduce my calories and carbs beforehand. Again though, I’m doing this less and less. I actually prefer healthier foods now, to be honest.
STEVE: That’s great to hear you say that. We here at Nerd Fitness continuously remind everyone that 80-90% of the weight loss comes down to nutrition. Not only that, but REAL food just makes you feel better. Which will give you more energy to workout. I’m glad that Evan has helped you see a plate of food differently.
What are you still working on? What new habits are you trying to develop?
JENNIFER: I am still establishing a fixed routine for sleeping and waking up, which is definitely something that has been a struggle to do. I have seen improvements though.
I’ve created a pretty solid breakfast routine, prioritizing protein. Oftentimes it’ll be cottage cheese, which I never realized I’d like!
I also have a glass of water upon waking up, which has been a good change.  
Earlier I mentioned I started doing yoga. I’m experimenting with doing it first thing in the morning.
My biggest challenge for creating a successful morning routine is going to bed on time. I would say this is still a work in progress. One habit at a time.
STEVE: Getting to bed on time can be such a critical step. I’ve struggled with being a “morning person” myself, but it really is worth pursuing the routine. Keep at it, Jennifer!
Do you have any words of advice for somebody who hasn’t invested in any program and can’t seem to make any progress?
JENNIFER: Don’t fall into the perfectionistic trap that I did and feel like you have to do ALL the things at once or you are a total failure. No human can dive into deep water before learning to swim.
Trying to do that is like taking a starter character in World of Warcraft and heading straight to a high-level dungeon: you’ll get trampled.
If you cannot commit to a program or feel overwhelmed that’s completely okay. Start small. Pick a small change and stick to that and build onto that routine once you’ve gotten comfortable. This way you slowly mold yourself into the person you want to be.  
I loved RPGs and grew up during the NES and SNES era and building good habits and getting healthy feels exactly like those games in a way. You don’t start at level 99,999 doing max damage to everything. You level up from the beginning and gain spells and abilities along the way and your character slowly evolves into the one you want it to be.
I think the Nerd Fitness “Level Up Your Life” motto is incredibly accurate.
Great change is made by accomplishing many smaller changes. And you’re so much less likely to become discouraged and just rage-quit if you go about change this way.
STEVE: That’s amazing Jennifer. You nailed the whole philosophy on “Level Up Your Life.” Start small, and before you know it you’re a top-level mage slaying dragons with ice spells. Or in your case, climbing up mountains.
Alright, one last question: you’ve already used some of our language, but what makes you a nerd?
JENNIFER: I consider myself a multi-dimensional nerd! If that’s not a phrase I am deeming it thus. I’ve loved video games since I was very small. Loved all the NES and Mario games, as well as the Zelda series and RPGs like Chrono Trigger and the Final Fantasy series.
I’ve played World of Warcraft with an awesome guild of all women for over 10 years.
Shout out to Daughters of the Alliance!
Comics are also a love. My absolute favorite is Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, and pretty much anything else he or David Mack have been involved in. I pretty much love all things nerdy.
STEVE: I do love me some Neil Gaiman too – I actually have Vol 1 of Sandman sitting on my coffee table! Thank you for taking the time to speak with me, Jennifer! All the best!
THE SIX KEYS TO JENNIFER’S WEIGHT LOSS AND LEVEL UP SUCCESS!
In speaking with Jennifer, I realized she had a few great traits which helped her succeed.
Lots of people embark on a fitness journey. Unfortunately, many of them are exactly where they started six months later.
Jennifer is different. In half a year, she’s changed her relationship with food, begun strength training, and has taken an epic trip.
After a rough patch, she used hitting rock bottom to turn her life around.
In speaking with her, and analyzing her choices and decisions, I think there are six traits that set Jennifer apart.
Here’s what we can learn from Jennifer’s success:
#1) JENNIFER STOPPED RELYING ON WILLPOWER
I love Jennifer’s “spoon” analogy. She knew she only had so much energy, only so much willpower, to get things done. So she sought a system that would require the least amount from her:
Instead of buying a gym membership she would never use, she started working out from her home.
Jennifer started with simple bodyweight exercises, a solid strategy to build momentum
Once she got a little more comfortable from working out at home, she starting using dumbbells and a bench press that she had access to. Again, all from home.
Working out and going to the gym are not tied together. If you have limited experience and/or motivation, start by doing simple bodyweight exercises at home. This is what Jennifer did!
Second, know that working out gives you more energy. Which can help give you more willpower. Which can help you embark on other habits like cooking or meal prep.
If you want to head to a gym for exercise, great! I do. However, if you have a hard time motivating yourself to leave the house, it doesn’t have to be the only option.
Starting small requires less willpower, which can help make your actions more likely to become routine.
#2) JENNIFER INVESTED IN HERSELF AND ASKED FOR HELP
Continuing on the theme of limited willpower, Jennifer knew she needed to do things differently. She saw herself with destructive habits that needed to be changed.
Doing it alone seemed impossible. It was hard enough for Jennifer to get out of bed and face the day. She knew that creating a plan and then sticking with it would require a lot of energy. Energy and willpower she was already having trouble coming up with.
So she asked for help. Jennifer wanted “Someone in MY corner to help cheer me on and guide me into a better way of living.” I’m proud that she reached out to us for that someone, and that she made a connection with her NF Coach, Evan.
It’s okay to ask for help! Knowing what to do, how to do it, and how to tell if it’s working requires a lot of energy. Some can do it alone. But many can’t. Asking for help, and then being willing to invest in that help can be a life-changing decision. Jennifer knew this and was willing to take the step to hire someone to create a plan and help her execute it.
I’ve had an online coach myself for 4 years and it has changed my life.
#3) JENNIFER HAD DRAGONS TO SLAY
I love that Jennifer planned a photography workshop in Scotland that required some physical strength and endurance. Hiking up a mountain with camera equipment isn’t easy, and Jennifer knew she’d have to train if she was going to make it.
So she asked for help, developed a plan on how to do it, and followed the plan. And boom! She was able to hike up her equipment for her class.
Having a goal gave Jennifer her “Big Why.”
When Jennifer started logging her food, it gave her anxiety. When she first started working out, she would be exhausted. When her walking buddies bailed on her, she went anyway.
Jennifer did these things because she knew they were part of a plan to get her up the Old Man of Storr in Scotland. Without doing the work, she would never get to the top. She would have to be part of the group that stuck to the sidelines.
Having a goal can provide the “Big Why.” When things get tough (and they will get tough), knowing “why” you are working hard can make all the difference.
Perhaps you want to go skiing with your kids and don’t want to be exhausted halfway through. Maybe there’s a marathon your friends are doing, and you want to go with them. Perhaps it’s practicing pull-ups so you can go tag along with your spouse who loves rock climbing.
Having a “Big Why” can be the key to making or breaking a fitness journey. And what happens after you slay a dragon? You go find a bigger dragon!
4#) JENNIFER STARTED HER JOURNEY WITH SMALL STEPS
Jennifer began with two small habits that most people can start today:
Jennifer started logging her food.
Jennifer started taking a daily walk.
We often advise people to pick a small habit they can imagine sticking with permanently. Once this becomes part of a normal routine, they can think about picking another.
This can be better than planning on “Going full Paleo, start rock climbing, and beginning a ballroom dancing practice.” If you don’t do any of these things currently, it could be very tough to start doing them all at once.
And we all know temporary changes produce temporary results. We want results that last!
That’s why Coach Evan had Jennifer start with small changes she could actually sustain.
For nutrition changes, Evan just had Jennifer track her food.
No judgment. No “eat this, not that.”
Just a log of everything she was consuming. Once Jennifer got comfortable doing this, and only once Jennifer became comfortable doing this, did Evan start to make recommendations for adjustments.
Jennifer also started small with exercises: just a walk.
Walking is a great start for a fitness journey (it’s also a great way to get to Mordor). It’ll get your heart rate up and your muscles moving, and it’s something you can do around your neighborhood. Even just a five-minute walk is a great start. Once you get in the habit of that, you can make take it to 10 minutes or even a full mile. If you start this way, eventually you can be like Jennifer and crush miles each and every day.
After you get in the habit of walking, you can switch to picking up some weights every other day. The habit of walking is easy to adapt to another exercise practice, like strength training.
“Instead of my 2pm walk, it’s now my 2pm bench press time.”
Be like Jennifer and start small. Once the habit is built, you can work to grow it from there.
5#) JENNIFER PLANNED ON WHAT TO DO WHEN SHE FELL DOWN
It brought a smile to my face when I heard Jennifer say “never two in a row.”
It’s a great frame of mind to keep.
Things will come up. You will miss a workout. You will have some beers and eat pizza. You will sleep in and miss your walking groups AM meeting. Your kid will get sick.
When you miss these things consistently, you start creating bad habits. And what you do most of the time is how you create a healthy life.
Missing one workout is okay. Missing two is bad because then it’s really easy to miss three.
Eating pizza is fine. But “once and a while” can quickly become an “everyday” thing. Continue this for too long and then you’re just living off pizza!
“Never two in a row” provides a framework for making sure bad habits don’t develop:
“If I miss today’s workout, there is no way I’m missing tomorrow’s.”
“If I eat pizza tonight, it’s eggs and a little bit of fruit in the morning.”
Create a mindset of stopping these things before they get out of hand. Be like Jennifer and create a plan on what to do when you inevitable stray from the path.
6#) JENNIFER IS HAVING FUN ALONG THE WAY
Jennifer considers herself a work in progress. When you think about it, we’re all works in progress!  She knows this. But she is having fun now, which makes the days ahead seem sustainable.
We are not on a month-long journey. We are in this for the rest of our lives. To make sure we stick with it, we need to have fun! And as I say in this video: we stop thinking in terms of “weeks and months,” and instead start thinking in terms of “days and years”
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Jennifer legitimately loves strength training. You can tell she’s looking forward to one day doing pull-ups.
Jennifer likes eating nutritious food and loves how much energy she derives from those meals.
My favorite part: she views where she’s at as an experiment. She highlights this when she talks about her morning routine and yoga. She’s still not sure how to get the AM just right and thinks a little yoga in the morning might help. She’ll try it to see if it works. If it doesn’t, she’ll try something else.
IN SIX MONTHS, CAN YOU TURN YOUR LIFE AROUND LIKE JENNIFER?
All of us will hit tough spots in life.
Maybe it’s losing a job. Perhaps it’s a sick family member. Or a child that’s struggling in school.
For Jennifer, it was a nasty divorce. At first, she coped in the ways many of us cope: food and alcohol.
Jennifer decided this couldn’t continue. So she sought help. And in six months time, Jennifer has leveled up her life. She can pursue her passion for photography and not be afraid of the literal mountain ahead. She knows the shot at the top of the climb, is not only worth it, but doable.
Where will you be six months from now?
It’s enough time to build some great healthy habits as Jennifer did. However, it’s also a short enough time which can fly by if you’re not looking.
If you’re standing in the same place you were six months ago, think about what you can learn from Jennifer:
Don’t rely on willpower, build systems. Take the path of least resistance. Instead of starting with an hour-long workout program at the gym, start with exercises you can do at home.
Ask for help. You are not the first person who has tried to get fit. It’s okay to reach out to those who’ve had success, or those who have helped others. You don’t have to do this alone.
Have a goal. A “Big Why” can be critical when things get tough. When everyone is ordering pizza, or the gym seems so far away, having a goal can help you remember why you are putting in all the work.
Start small. Don’t try and change every aspect of your life tomorrow. Some can handle this approach, but most can’t. Adopt one habit you can see yourself sticking with and grow it from there.
Plan for failure. Things will come up. Having a motto like “never two in a row” can help prevent one instance of a slip up into turning into a reoccurring habit.
Have fun. Getting fit is not a 30-day experiment. It really is about a lifestyle. Pick and choose things you have fun doing. This will help ensure your new habits are sustainable.
If you relate to Jennifer and find yourself in a tough spot, we can help you turn it around.
Depending on your current situation, our 1-on-1 NF Coaching Program might be just what you need. We help people everyday complete life overhauls.
If you’re trying to get in shape, searching for a new way of eating, or want help developing a strength training practice, we know exactly how to get you there. You can learn more by clicking on the big box below and scheduling a free call with our team!
The next six months will come and go no matter what you do today.
I’d love it if half a year from now, you tell me Jennifer’s story was something you related to. Which inspired you to make some changes.
You started walking every day. You began a food journal. You finally decided to ask for help.
As always, if you do need somewhere to go for help, you know Nerd Fitness will be here.
For the Rebellion!
-Steve
PS: I want to give a special shout out to Jennifer’s Coach Evan, who has been the Dumbledore to her Hermione over these past 6 months. And I’m proud of Jennifer’s success and can’t wait to see what she does next.
If you are somebody that wants to have your own Yoda guiding you in the ways of the Force, check out or 1-on-1 coaching program, and I could be sharing YOUR story six months from now!
PPS: Speaking of success stories…If you’ve had success with any aspect of Nerd Fitness, whether it’s our free workouts, Academy, or Coaching, email us! Send your story to contact(at)NerdFitness(dot)com and let us know so we can share your adventure with the galaxy!
PPPS: We are very grateful to Guinevere’s Mirror, who provided some epic shots of Jennifer for this article.
How Jennifer the Photographer Discovered a Love of Strength Training, Lost 20 Pounds, and Leveled up Her Life. published first on https://www.nerdfitness.com
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deadcactuswalking · 5 years
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REVIEWING THE CHARTS - CHRISTMAS SPECIAL: 9th December 2018
Geez, today was a busy week. Before we talk about the top 10, however, let’s just get the massive elephants out of the way.
CHRISTMAS NONSENSE
It’s the festive season and one way people celebrate the holidays is by listening to its music – usually, Christmas music, of course, and since I review all returning entries that I haven’t talked about yet, sigh... There are seven of these so I’m going to go as quick as possible, but just bear with me throughout this section because I really don’t like Christmas music all that much. Let’s just get it over with.
#39 – “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” – Brenda Lee
This is “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”, a song written by Johnny Marks and released in 1958 in the US, being left on the shelf for four years until its release in the UK in 1962. In 1963, it peaked at number-six and has since re-entered due to digital downloads, with one of its highest recent peaks being number-seven last year. It’s pretty inoffensive rockabilly, with some nice very-50s guitar licks coming in throughout, and some decently-sounding production, but really it’s not anything of internet until that sax solo. That solo is freaking gorgeous, and I’m glad it’s there, because otherwise this would just kind of fall to the wayside. Not sure I like Lee’s voice on here, it comes off as a bit nasal, but it’s not a big deal. It’s alright, I guess. I expected to say RIP here since she was popular such a long time ago, but no, she’s still alive and kicking. Good for her.
#36 – “Merry Christmas Everyone” – Shakin’ Stevens
Now this is where it all breaks down into dread. This song by Shakin’ Stevens is Godawful, mostly because of how painfully manufactured the whole thing is. It’s overproduced Christmas music that is just jolly feelings and nothing else. Those horns that kick in after the first verse are pretty cool, but Stevens doesn’t sound great here – or at least I can’t tell because he’s drowned in reverb – and the choir might as well be a computer for all I care. Also, the sax solo was cool the first time in Brenda Lee’s track, but here it’s just trite, especially when you add those shooby-doo-wops over it. This track was initially the Christmas number-one for 1985, and I understand why, but does it really have to come back every year since 2007 – for over 60 weeks in total? Oh, it peaked last year at #10 too. Let’s hope this upwards trend doesn’t continue.
#35 – “Santa Tell Me” – Ariana Grande
Now for a more recent one from arguably the biggest popstar in the world right now, with her 2014 song that actually failed to chart in the Top 40 initially until last year at #29, and that’s its peak so far... whilst I’ve never been a fan of the cleaner, refined Ariana Grande records, I do have a soft spot for this one. That melody is infectious and the sleigh bells complement the synth bass in a way I didn’t think they would, and it’s not like the drums are all that overpowering here, although a trap skitter would have worked better here (yeah, I know, not something I say often). It’s surprisingly romantic and sensual for a song with Santa in the title, actually, although it’s about men who have wronged her. Anyway, Ariana kills it but what else do you expect from a song from her at this point? It’s a good track, although the final chorus with the choir is really cluttered, just saying, it’s messy.
#30 – “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” – Michael Bublé
This here is Michael Bublé’s cover of traditional Christmas classic written in 1951 by Meredith Wilson, and it’s not great. Obviously, I mean, it’s Michael Bublé, ever since “Haven’t Met You Yet” he’s been utterly useless seasonal radio fodder. Bublé never really sounds bad but he never sounds interesting, and this production isn’t doing him any favours. It’s sickly sweet strings and brass for the most part, with some piano added in there for good measure, after what seems to be way too long of just airy synth, string and guitar noise – that’s really out of place, guys, why is this on the single edit? Ah, what else to say? Oh, right, nothing.
#26 – “Do They Know it’s Christmas?” – Band Aid
Oh, I know it’s Christmas time, alright, this song won’t let me forget it. I could ramble on about how preachy and awful this charity single is but other people have done it better. I just have four short things to say – 1.) this was the most popular song in the UK of the entire 80s. Yikes. 2.) This is the worst thing the Boomtown Rats have had any involvement in. They’re such a great band, hell so are Culture Club. How do Boy George, the Boomtown Rats, Ultravox, Phil Collins, U2, Kool & the Gang, Sting and Duran Duran make something this awful? They’re all absolutely fantastic musicians in their own right. 3.) That synth that kicks in after a while is pretty ugly, not gonna lie, and is unfitting for the condescending Christmas charity single angle they’re going for here – mostly because that’s what it really is. 4.) We’ve remade and reissued and re-entered this song too many times. Let it go, Britain. Please. We’re begging you. It’s for a good cause, and I appreciate how much money it’s raised, but it’s also garbage.
#18 – “Fairytale of New York” – The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl
They use the word because it was the 80s, it’s not meant to mean homosexual and it’s not used in that context – albeit still a negative one – and the climate of Ireland, especially the Celtic punk scene, wasn’t exactly going to care about dropping that slur in their Christmas single. It should still be censored, though, I mean, black rappers saying the N-word is morally okay, but we still mute those, right? Anyway, this is one of the best songs I’ve ever heard. It starts with a beautifully elegant piano melody, with the lead singer of the Pogues, Shane MacGowan, mumbling his way through his verse, but instead of people like Future or Lil Baby, there’s still a lot of sincerity there, I feel, and a lot of soul is put into expressing the lyrics here in the raspy tone that I absolutely love. I’m not going to talk much about the story here mostly because I’m not going to go in-depth, but it’s about a typical love story going awry at some point due to a betrayal. Oh, and the moment the Celtic traditional instruments come in is one of the best moments in music – ever. Kirsty MacColl sounds so lovely here, and the harmonisations in the chorus are fantastic. That flute solo is gorgeous, and the juxtaposition between “you’re a bum, you’re a punk, you’re an old s--- on junk, lying there almost dead as a drip on that bed” and the cheerful instrumental is just hilarious to me, especially since right after “Happy Christmas your a---, I thank God it’s our last” is immediately followed by the bombastic drunk sing-a-long chorus. The third verse is also such a great back-and-forth, man, I can’t even bring to words how much I admire and adore this piece of music. This is the best song I think I’ve ever talked about on this show, by far, but it could have easily not been close if “2000 Miles” by the Pretenders returned this week. We’ll just hope for next week, I guess. Rest in peace to Kirsty MacColl, gone much too young.
#14 – “Last Christmas” – WHAM!
Finally, we have our last Christmas song for this week’s holiday REVIEWING THE CHARTS special. It’s an anti-climactic end, to be honest, because I’m pretty indifferent to this song. It’s pretty 80s, to be fair, so I’ve got to like some of the cheesy falsetto vocalisations from the late George Michael at the start, as well as those repetitive synths that keep themselves from sounding awful by having those sleigh bells and pretty damn nice keys covering them. That chorus is iconic, but the rest of the lyrics are just forgettable. Honestly, it’s a good background song and it’s a well-written, catchy pop track with Michael putting in some good vocals throughout, but, it’s nothing special. Nothing but respect to George Michael, though, rest in peace, he’s a pop legend over here.
Christmas Conclusion
The best Christmas song on the charts right now is easily “Fairytale of New York” by the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, but an Honourable Mention goes to Mariah Carey for “All I Want for Christmas is You”. Yup, that’s still here, we’ll get to that in a second. Worst of the Week goes to Band Aid for “Do They Know it’s Christmas?” You should be ashamed, Bob. Dishonourable Mention is going to Shakin’ Stevens for “Merry Christmas Everyone”. Other Christmas songs you should check out are “Christmas in Harlem” by Kanye West, Teyana Taylor and CyHi tha Prynce featuring Musiq Soulchild (heck, check out the longer version if you wish), “2000 Miles” by the Pretenders, “Stop the Cavalry” by Jona Lewie, “Christmas Lights” by Coldplay, “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” by Tyler, the Creator and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” by DMX. Yes, those last two actually exist. Now, this Christmas section has taken longer and is longer to read than about half of my normal episodes, so I think we should get straight into...
Top 10
Well, this all feels a bit more familiar. “thank u, next” by Ariana Grande is still at the top of the charts five weeks in, and it doesn’t really seem to have much competition.
Ava Max, however, is making a surprise run for the top, up four spots to number-two, with “Sweet but Psycho”. I wouldn’t exactly be complaining if this hit the top either.
“Without Me” by Halsey is up a spot to number-three.
We have a new entry from the most recent X Factor winner, Dalton Harris, with a cover of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Christmas classic “The Power of Love”, featuring James Arthur. I guess awful Christmas songs aren’t going away for that long, huh? Obviously this is Dalton’s first top 10, and Arthur’s fifth.
“Thursday” by Jess Glynne is down two spaces to number-three.
Up a whopping 28 spaces this week to number-six is, you guessed it, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You”. This isn’t its first top 10 turn, and it’s not its peak, but still impressive to reach here nonetheless.
This means “Woman Like Me” by Little Mix featuring Nicki Minaj is down five spaces to number-seven.
“Rewrite the Stars” by James Arthur and Anne-Marie has actually gained nine spaces, surprisingly, and to my dismay, to number-eight, becoming Arthur’s sixth and Anne-Marie’s fifth.
Oh, and if you wanted even worse news, up an even larger 29 spaces is “KIKA” by 6ix9ine featuring Tory Lanez, becoming both their first (and hopefully for 6ix9ine, only) top 10 hit at number-nine. I like the song, but I don’t like Tekashi, to say the least.
We have another new entry at #10 this week with “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart” by Mark Ronson featuring Miley Cyrus. This is Ronson’s sixth top 10 hit and Cyrus’ fourth (yeah, I thought she had more too).
Now, instead of separating what happened on the charts into Dropouts, Climbers, Returning Entries, Fallers and such, let’s separate into two sections: “What Survived” and “What Suffered”.
What Survived
What survived means essentially everything that still managed to chart this week, and I’m actually surprised by how much power some of these songs have. Going in reverse order, I have no idea how “Arms Around You” by XXXTENTACION, Lil Pump, Swae Lee and Maluma managed to cling on despite a 17-space fall to #40. “Promises” by Calvin Harris and Sam Smith is down 16 to #38, “Baby Shark” by Pinkfong is down four to #37, “Empty Space” by James Arthur is down 10 to #34 (why did James Arthur of all people have the strength to stay during the avalanche?), “Hold My Girl” by George Ezra is down eight to #33, “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper is down 27 to #32 (considering both streaming cuts and Christmas bloodbath), “Leave a Light On” by Tom Walker has returned to #31 for some reason, “when the party’s over” by Billie Eilish is down seven to #28 (again, surprised this one’s still here), “Taki Taki” by DJ Snake, Ozuna, Cardi B and Selena Gomez is down eight to #27, “1999” by Charli XCX and Troye Sivan is down 11 to #24, “Polaroid” by James Blue, Liam Payne and Lennon Stella is down 11 to #23, “Let You Love Me” by Rita Ora is down eight to #22, “Better” by Khalid is down five to #20, “Sunflower” by Post Malone and Swae Lee is down seven to #16, as is “ZEZE” by Kodak Black featuring Travis Scott and Offset right next to it at #15, “Funky Friday” by Dave and Fredo is down five to #12, and everything else that’s currently charting is either simply not notable (a drop or climb less than four spaces), in the top 10, a new arrival, a Christmas re-entry or in the top 10. Jesus. Now, what’s gone?
What Suffered
This is a little nicer name for what’s dropped out in the absolute onslaught of Christmas music and new arrivals (all returning and new entries this week total to 12 songs that weren’t on the chart before). This week was an absolute bloodbath, and these are the murder victims. Former #1 “Shotgun” by George Ezra is out from #30, “Advice” by Cadet and Deno Driz is out from #28, “AirForce” by Digdat is out from the #20 debut, “Mo Bamba” by Sheck Wes is out prematurely from #27, “This is Me” by Keala Settle and the Greatest Showman Ensemble is out again from #36, another former #1 “Eastside” by benny blanco, Halsey and Khalid is out from #31, “Happier” by Marshmello and Bastille is out from #32, “I Found You” by benny blanco and Calvin Harris is out from #29, “MIA” by Bad Bunny featuring Drake is out from #35, “Always Remember Us this Way” by Lady Gaga is out from #39, “Goodbye” by Jason Derulo and David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj and Willy William is out from #40 and finally, “Back and Forth” by MK, Jonas Blue and Becky Hill is out from #37. I’d say it’s time to move onto the New Arrivals – but before, I’d like to say that the BBC redesigned their UK Top 40 page, and it looks pretty cool. Anyways:
NEW ARRIVALS
#29 – “MAMA” – 6ix9ine featuring Kanye West and Nicki Minaj
Of course, DUMMY BOY only had a stunted tracking week last week, so we have the effects of the album this week. This is 6ix9ine’s third top 40 hit in the UK, Nicki Minaj’s thirty-seventh (yeah, I know, it’s insane), and Ye’s even crazier forty-third, and to be honest, it’s inoffensive, which is something I’d never thought I’d say about a 6ix9ine song, but, hey, it is what it is. Murda Beatz’s production is pretty cool for what it is, and I do like the eerie synth loop. 6ix9ine’s delivery is lazy and boring – and I still think we shouldn’t let rappers say they kick women out of doors – but he doesn’t last long so when Kanye comes in with that “man, oh my God” refrain it gets so much better. I’m so used to Kanye West’s pop-culture rambling, social media criticism/obsession, somehow relating to women nonsense he brings to nearly every single verse he does recently that I’m used to it, it’s just something I’ve heard before delivered relatively comedically. Nicki’s refrain and verse actually has some work put into it, unlike the dudes’ bars, so yeah, I appreciate that, although her delivery and cadence is exhaustingly blunt and straightforward, to the point where it’s just kind of tiring. There’s some decent wordplay there, I guess. This is okay enough, and pretty much top-tier Tekashi to be honest. “KANGA” also featuring Ye is even better, though.
#17 – “Going Bad” – Meek Mill featuring Drake
Meek Mill and Drake working together is something I expected to happen anyway. Meek and Drake have seemingly squashed their beef and have relaxed after the “Back to Back” situation and their popular 2015/2016 beef that revealed a lot about Drake, specifically his ghostwriting from Quentin Miller, and eventually stressed Meek’s relationship with Nicki enough for them to break up as a result. Oh, and you better believe they mention “back to back” because of course they do, it’s the only funny wordplay they can conjure up, apparently. This is Meek Mill’s first ever top 40 hit in the UK (congratulations) and in stark contrast, Drake’s forty-fifth (yes, even more than Kanye), and his thirteenth just this year (probably and hopefully his last), and it’s mediocre. I didn’t know what to expect because I’ve never really cared enough about Meek to listen to him, but an out-of-tune piano absolutely demolished by some bass while Drake spouts off with stuff like “I got more slaps than the Beatles” isn’t exactly the best first impression. Is there a chorus here, or not? I can’t tell, everything’s just kind of the same until the ad-lib break that’s long enough for Genius to count it as an entirely different section of the song than in Meek’s verse. It was “Interlude” when I looked but it might be “Post-Chorus” now. Yeah, it should be clear I don’t care enough about this song. I do like Drake’s delivery in the hook, though, it’s pretty energetic, but not enough to save it.
#10 – “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart” – Mark Ronson featuring Miley Cyrus
So, yeah, I like this. It starts with some beautiful strings right before Miley Cyrus fades in with her country twang that I’m starting to really appreciate, and those guitars come in to complement her and the deeper bass that I like the addition of, it really contrasts the otherwise pretty light production, that seems to be dramatic but kind of unfitting for the lyrical content about how the world can hurt you but heartbreak is the worst possible thing, because despite the beat’s melodrama it’s too upbeat to really work here, I feel. Ah, well, the hook is pretty memorable, and the orchestral stings is just one little barely-noticeable production quirk that I can talk about, seriously, Mark Ronson puts so much effort into crafting these songs over the years, it’s pretty great. It may be a bit too repetitive and slow for my taste, but, yeah, I can dig this. Good song, just not much to say about it.
#4 – “The Power of Love” – Dalton Harris featuring James Arthur
The girl gets Leona Lewis, the Scouse dude gets Kaiser Chiefs, yet the WINNER gets James Arthur?! Really, James Arthur? Poor dude. You must know you’re an amazingly talented singer when you get James Arthur put on your song and you still make a surprisingly decent winner’s single, hell, even win in the first place. Arthur is such an awful vacuum of talent, I was scared Harris would be affected by this but no, even with my half-bothering with the show this year I can tell he’s been consistently great, and he’s definitely not bad on here either, although the production has no unique charm to it and is just plastic Syco production as you expect, with James Arthur bringing an above-average performance (this means still pretty bad) with his moaning and straining that just pains me to listen to. Seriously, James, let’s have a cactus-to-man talk and let me teach you how to not sound like my dead cat who just popped some Xanax.
Conclusion
Worst of the Week goes to Dalton Harris and James Arthur for “The Power of Love” – at least “Going Bad” has some energy and legitimate soul to it, although Meek Mill and Drake still get Dishonourable Mention. Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus take Best of the Week home for “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart”, and hell Kanye and Nicki made “MAMA” bearable enough for them and 6ix9ine to get Honourable Mentions. See ya next week, where we’ll probably see a few more Christmas songs. Delightful.
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charmerofbees · 6 years
Text
im bored at lunch and doing this bye
WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME? Elaine ******* ********* who tf puts their whole name on the internet??
2. WHAT IS YOUR NICKNAME? Laine, Lainey, Eli
3. BIRTHDAY? Feb 27
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK SERIES?  Um Lady of the rivers/white queen/red queen/white princess by phillipa gregory
5. DO YOU BELIEVE IN ALIENS OR GHOSTS? both absolutely
6. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR? tom robbins and david sedaris and toni morrison. a lot more but those are top three that are drastically different
7. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE RADIO STATION? the only one i listen to is a local alt rock, other than that i listen to my own perfectly curated spotify playlists 
8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR OF ANYTHING? uhhh lavender or salt n vinegar lmao
9. WHAT WORD WOULD YOU USE OFTEN TO DESCRIBE SOMETHING GREAT OR WONDERFUL? abso fab
10. WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT FAVORITE SONG? deadcrush by alt j
11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WORD? reveille
12. WHAT WAS THE LAST SONG YOU LISTENED TO? cornflake girl - florence and the machine cover
13. WHAT TV SHOW WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR EVERYBODY TO WATCH?
MAD MEN even tho matthew weiner die, schitts creek, the office only bc you wont get any memes if you dont, SHARP OBJECTS SHARP OBJECTS SHARP OBJECTS and also the sinner season 1
14. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE TO WATCH WHEN YOU’RE FEELING DOWN?  when harry met sally
15. DO YOU PLAY VIDEO GAMES? just the sims and when im with my friends ill play what they play
16. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR? a stranger breaking in to my house or like a ghost idk
17. WHAT IS YOUR BEST QUALITY, IN YOUR OPINION? i dont judge anyone bc i just dont care what other people do as long as its not harming others. so ive been told im a good person to confide in
18. WHAT IS YOUR WORST QUALITY, IN YOUR OPINION? for sureeeee my need to be right at all times
19. DO YOU LIKE CATS OR DOGS BETTER? my cat is the best living creature, but other than him, dogs
20. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON? summer i need to feel the sun radiating my bones to feel alive
21. ARE YOU IN A RELATIONSHIP? abso not
22. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU MISS FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD? my childood dog and no bills
23. WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND? her name is hailey, my sister and i met her when i was 5 and they were 6 and we’ve been inseparable ever since
24. WHAT IS YOUR EYE COLOR? blue
25. WHAT IS YOUR HAIR COLOR? ash blonde
26. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU LOVE? my sister
27. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU TRUST? my sister and all of my friends
28. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU THINK ABOUT OFTEN? my 12 year old half brother
29. ARE YOU CURRENTLY EXCITED ABOUT/FOR SOMETHING? get to go to baltimore this weekend for a museum trip
30. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST OBSESSION? honestly rn sims 4...its like therapy for me lmao. and my cat. 
31. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW AS A CHILD? i barely watched tv as a child....probs the wild thornberries
32. WHO OF THE OPPOSITE GENDER CAN YOU TELL ANYTHING TO, IF ANYONE? my other best friends john and tyler. we’ve been friends for 16 years 
33. ARE YOU SUPERSTITIOUS? yeah catch me practicing all safeguards 
34. DO YOU HAVE ANY UNUSUAL PHOBIAS? misophobia/phonia
35. DO YOU PREFER TO BE IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA OR BEHIND IT? either idc
36. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HOBBY? not really a hobbie but im v passionate about tarot cards. and i do yoga every morning
37. WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? their eyes were watching god
38. WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? when harry met sally 
39. WHAT MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS DO YOU PLAY, IF ANY? used to play piano but i stopped in high school
40. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ANIMAL? dogs
41. WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 5 FAVORITE TUMBLR BLOGS THAT YOU FOLLOW? thestateonmtv, theocseason4, thehauntedmansion2003....idk any more i check those 3 a lot bc theyre good comic relief
42. WHAT SUPERPOWER DO YOU WISH YOU HAD? invisibility
43. WHEN AND WHERE DO YOU FEEL MOST AT PEACE? i loooove my room. also a small abandoned beach called claiborne.
44. WHAT MAKES YOU SMILE? anything my idiot cat does, tv shows, when i mreally depressed i listen to my brother my brother and me because its mindless
45. WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY, IF ANY? i mean i played volleyball for 3 years BUT i did ballet and modern dance (w some jazz sometimes) for 16 years so that took up almost all of my free time
46. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DRINK? water, green apple kombucha, an oatmilk latte
47. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE A HAND-WRITTEN LETTER OR NOTE TO SOMEBODY? today on a birthday card
48. ARE YOU AFRAID OF HEIGHTS? a little
49. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE? when ppl chew loud it makes me wanna die. 
50. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO A CONCERT? omg tons are you for real lmao
51. ARE YOU VEGAN/VEGETARIAN? uhhh a weird mix of no dairy and no meat but i eat seafood? bc im on the east coast in maryland so you basically have to here
52. WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE, WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP? a lot of things
53. WHAT FICTIONAL WORLD WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE IN? shiiiit idk
54. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU WORRY ABOUT? the future
55. ARE YOU SCARED OF THE DARK? yep
56. DO YOU LIKE TO SING? yes but im not great at it despite having like 10 years training lmao
57. HAVE YOU EVER SKIPPED SCHOOL? in high school i skipped like 50 days a year lmao. in college i was better but def used all of my sick days
58. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE ON THE PLANET? the beach, or st andrews by the sea in new brunswick
59. WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE? summer in st andrews by the sea, somewhere warm and beachy the rest of the time
60. DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? my cat, and at my moms house another cat and a dog, my dad has a dog a horse and a raccoon (?) but i dont go there alot
61. ARE YOU MORE OF AN EARLY BIRD OR A NIGHT OWL? i guess early bird but i love sleep
62. DO YOU LIKE SUNRISES OR SUNSETS BETTER? sunsets
63. DO YOU KNOW HOW TO DRIVE? yes 
64. DO YOU PREFER EARBUDS OR HEADPHONES? earbuds
65. HAVE YOU EVER HAD BRACES? for six years i hated my life
66. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE GENRE OF MUSIC? alternative and classic rock. also i love jazz and blues
67. WHO IS YOUR HERO? i dont have one
68. DO YOU READ COMIC BOOKS? i loved the archie comics as a child...thats why i unabashadly love riverdale
69. WHAT MAKES YOU THE MOST ANGRY? close minded people
70. DO YOU PREFER TO READ ON AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE OR WITH A REAL BOOK? a real book
71. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? art history in college, english in high school
72. DO YOU HAVE ANY SIBLINGS? 2 step brothers, 2 ex step brothers (Were still close), a full sister, and a half brother
73. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT? a latte maker and hair dye
74. HOW TALL ARE YOU? 5’ 9″
75. CAN YOU COOK? yes but i hate cleaning pots
76. WHAT ARE THREE FOUR THINGS THAT YOU LOVE? my cat, lattes, music, my bed
77. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU HATE? uhhhh idk 
78. DO YOU HAVE MORE FEMALE FRIENDS OR MORE MALE FRIENDS? almost an even split
79. WHAT IS YOUR SEXUAL ORIENTATION? i dont really label myself but its definitely fluid
80. WHERE DO YOU CURRENTLY LIVE? maryland
81. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TEXTED? one of my group chats
82. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? ugh on monday in therapy
83. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE YOUTUBER? i dont really have one
84. DO YOU LIKE TO TAKE SELFIES? almost never
85. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE APP? uhhh instagram and huji
86. WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PARENT(S) LIKE? yikes lets not lol
87. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOREIGN ACCENT? mmmm spanish or like...portugese
88. WHAT IS A PLACE THAT YOU’VE NEVER BEEN TO, BUT YOU WANT TO VISIT? mykonos 
89. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NUMBER? 86
90. CAN YOU JUGGLE? no
91. ARE YOU RELIGIOUS? no
92. DO YOU FIND OUTER SPACE OR THE DEEP OCEAN TO BE MORE INTERESTING? deep ocean bc its like... right there
93. DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE A DAREDEVIL? for like 2 years i would accept any dare anyone gave me....until i jumped off a bridge and cracked my ankle. so not anymore haha
94. ARE YOU ALLERGIC TO ANYTHING? an ingredient in contacts and pink eye medication
95. CAN YOU CURL YOUR TONGUE? no
96. CAN YOU WIGGLE YOUR EARS? no
97. HOW OFTEN DO YOU ADMIT THAT YOU WERE WRONG ABOUT SOMETHING? if im actually wrong i will
98. DO YOU PREFER THE FOREST OR THE BEACH? Beach
99. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PIECE OF ADVICE THAT ANYONE HAS EVER GIVEN YOU? no one is thinking about/judging you as much as you think they are
100. ARE YOU A GOOD LIAR? yes but i dont use it often
101. WHAT IS YOUR HOGWARTS HOUSE? uh idk or care tbh 
102. DO YOU TALK TO YOURSELF? very infrequently
103. ARE YOU AN INTROVERT OR AN EXTROVERT? god the most introverted
104. DO YOU KEEP A JOURNAL/DIARY? i loosely keep a tarot journal
105. DO YOU BELIEVE IN SECOND CHANCES? depends on the situation but almost always, no
106. IF YOU FOUND A WALLET FULL OF MONEY ON THE GROUND, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? return it
107. DO YOU BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF CHANGE? sure
108. ARE YOU TICKLISH? yes
109. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON A PLANE? yeah its so weird to me that some people have been haha
110. DO YOU HAVE ANY PIERCINGS? SO when i turned 18 i got lik 7 extra piercings on my ears...they all closed up so now i have my OG two
111. WHAT FICTIONAL CHARACTER DO YOU WISH WAS REAL? anna karenina i think wed be friends
112. DO YOU HAVE ANY TATTOOS? no
113. WHAT IS THE BEST DECISION THAT YOU’VE MADE IN YOUR LIFE SO FAR? staying home for a year and going to community college when my step dad was dying
114. DO YOU BELIEVE IN KARMA? yes totally
115. DO YOU WEAR GLASSES OR CONTACTS? glasses
116. DO YOU WANT CHILDREN? yes 3 girls
117. WHO IS THE SMARTEST PERSON YOU KNOW? my friend kenna
118. WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MEMORY? why the fuck would i say it here
119. HAVE YOU EVER PULLED AN ALL-NIGHTER? yes bc of anxiety
120. WHAT COLOR ARE MOST OF YOU CLOTHES? black
121. DO YOU LIKE ADVENTURES? love ‘em
122. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON TV? yes 
123. HOW OLD ARE YOU? 23
124. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE?  “unable to perceive the shape of you, i find you all around me. your presence fills my eyes with your love. it humbles my heart, for you are everywhere” from the shape of water
125. DO YOU PREFER SWEET OR SAVORY FOODS? savory but i love a good fruit
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Housatonic Massachusetts Cheap car insurance quotes zip 1236
"Housatonic Massachusetts Cheap car insurance quotes zip 1236
Housatonic Massachusetts Cheap car insurance quotes zip 1236
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Cheapest car insurance company?
i am 27 years old have a pretty good driving record with only 2 violations (speeding, and stop sign) in the past few years. i have a 2000 chevy silverado (strip model, 2 wheel drive, nothing to steal on the inside with 120k on in only worth like 3,000) i only want liability no colision insurence. does anyone know what company through experiance gives the best quotes? i onlly need bear minumum on this truck and only drive it part time.""
Average living costs for a UK 16 year old girl on the following things?
Ok, I'm planning to move out at the age of 16 and go study at collage in Poole 3 day's a week and also have a few job's on the go to! I'm looking at roughly the living costs (Rent, food, Car or transport, Car Insurance, TV Licence and Internet Bills ect.) Website links would be brilliant and any advice would also help! Also If I could get any help financially by the government for paying the rent as i won't be earning much, about 7,000 a year? Many thank yous in advance :) I'm figuring the earlier i start budgeting, the better""
Why do we need car insurance anyway?
i know we need it by law, but why is it needed, and i need some estimates on insurance for my first car, honda 2002, pre owned.""
Can i pay Car Insurance with cash without using bank account? (or any other methods?)?
I am hoping to purchase car in a few days, im a new driver. Unfortuantley my account has been closed due to overdraft, i have bad credit. other than a pay as you go credit card.., is there any other methods of payments possible excluding a bank account (in the uk)? Thanks""
Need a quote on car insurance by Norwich Union. Just passed test.?
A friend needs a quote on car insurance. He has just passed his test and is about to buy his first car. All details can be provided to find a rough estamate before he purchases car insurance from yourselves.
What would be more affordable?
a 2003-2004 mustang v6? or a 2006-2007 chevy cobalt? insurance wise. serious answers only please. thanks.
Housatonic Massachusetts Cheap car insurance quotes zip 1236
Housatonic Massachusetts Cheap car insurance quotes zip 1236
When is the right time to buy life insurance?
My son is due on Valentine's Day. Should I already have life insurance, or should I wait until after I get married, which is happening on the 17th?""
Help with Car insurance cost?
ok so im 17 1/2 year old male and ive been driving since i was 15 1/2. As of right now im covered under my parents insurance with Mercury auto insurance and i pay $500 for 6 months of coverage ($1000 a year). I am currently covered for the three cars that my family owns 1996 Acura 2.5 TL (my crappy car) 2008 MBenz C300 (moms) 2011 Mazda 3 (Dads) So heres my question.. My car (the TL) is starting to break down and the cost of service is outmatching the value of the car. So ive been saving up to try to get another car and i am going to put down 40-50% of the money and my parents are gonna pay for the rest. The cost of the car is not the issue i was wondering more about my cost of insurance for the cars that i am interested in. I know that my most accurate response would be from the Insurance companies themselves, but i dont have time right now. I just wanted to know what you guys thought about how much i should pay per month for these cars. So the cars im interested in ( theres alot lol) are: 90's Toyota MR2 (preferably turbo, but i could live without it) Subaru WRX (Non-STI) Nissan 350Z Honda S2000 BMW 330i (coupe only) 00'-04' Ford Mustang GT There are others but i cant remember them right off the top of my head.. I know its gonna be WAY more expensive then what i pay now and that most of these cars are 2 door and 2 seat which will just make it worse. But im really willing to work for it and like i said i pay my own insurance bill. So how much do you think each of these cars cost for monthly insurance? And of the cars listed which would you most recommend?""
I just got pulled over for not having my seat buckle on and I'm wondering how much my insurance will go up?
This is the first time I've EVER been pulled over and I've had my license for a little over a year now. I get good grades and all that stuff so my insurance is pretty low for the average person right now. I'm wondering how much my insurance will go up? SOMEONE HELP! Kinda freaking out here. :p
How much do commercial bus companies pay for insurance?
I have heard that commercial bus insurance is very expensive, but I can't seem to find a website or forum that gives an estimation of cost. Do insurance companies per bus, or per driver, or both? What is the cost average per bus and per driver?""
Is Progressive Auto Insurance a good company?
I have several insurance quotes from State Farm and Allstate, and Progressive beats the price by almost half. But, when something looks to good to be true, it probably is. Is this good insurance? Are they good with claims?""
Will my car insurance go up much?
im planing on buying a new car in the next few weeks, im just wondering, will my insurance go up much? I currenty have a Peugeot 206 GLX 1.4, 2000 reg. I am hoping to get a Vauxhall Corsa S 1.0 ecoFLEX, 2011 reg What other cars should i consider, that are cheap to run/ insure / road tax ectect..""
Does mods affect car insurance?
Hey guys I have a honda civic 2000 and i was going to to add some mods such as an intake and a BOV as well as body kit and other engine modifications. I was just wondering what would happen if i didn't tell my car insurance provider about these what would happen?
Fair insurance for 03CBR600RR?
progressive. 170 a month. average liability coverage and collision and theft protection. im 19 and in the Military...have not taken the MSF course i know this will lower the cost. but interested to know if this is about the average price thank you
Can i survive without auto insurance?
I'm 16 and a half. I live in California. I got my drivers license yesterday. My dad has farmers insurance. Adding me to his plan will double his monthly bill. I am a VERY good driver, i live in a small city, and i never go on the freeway. Is it alright if i drive without adding myself to his insurance plan? i don't think $200/month is necessary. Also, it is not legal to drive in California without financial coverage so if i get pulled over, will i get into trouble?(the car's covered so im partially covered rite?). Thank you""
Motorcycle insurance cost?
thinking about getting a motorcycle and wanted to get an idea of how much the insurance would cost. thinking about either a 2000 rebel or an 06 ninja 250. just want an idea of what to expect.
Car insurance help?!?!?
Im 16 I own a 1991 Mercedes Benz 300se. About 180,000 miles how much would insurance be for me monthly/annually?""
Best New York Insurance?
Ok I'm 19, my mom's thinking of getting a CR-V or an Odyssey and I live in the Bronx so how much would it be for an insurance?? Any cheaper?? I have experience in driving had so many driving practice. Also what if I add another car? Would the insurance be cheaper or still off the roof? I'm thinking about A Miata that cost around $3,000 about 1996 model. Thanks!!""
Cheapest insurance for a vauxhall Astra 1.4 55 reg?
I'm paying round 90 a month for a 1.4 Astra with tesco. Absolute rip off I live in a half decent area and have no claims over 9 years, why is it so expensive, pain in the ****!!!""
""Rental car insurance if you don't own a car, renting over 15 days in california?
I don't own a car so I don't have auto insurance. Visa and Mastercard only seem to cover Collision/Loss Damage Waiver for 15 days. AmEx seems to offer this coverage for 30 days (but I don't have an AmEx card). None of these cards cover liability. Is there a better way to get coverage than buying from the rental car company? Does a homeowner insurance policy cover liability if you damage something or injure someone with a rental car? The Non-owner policies one can buy only cover liability and not LDW/CDW? Any help sorting this out would be appreciated. Please don't reply if you are not knowledgeable on this topic. Thanks.
What old car is cheap to insure for 19 year old?
Hi, I would just like to know what old car is cheap to insure foe a 19 year old male. I have a 1993 vauxhal astra 1.4 GL and insurance for me on this car is over 1500. So if anyone knows of an old car that is cheap to insure for a 19 year old male then please let me know! Thank you!""
College Question about health insurance?
So i am attending a SUNY school and im going for marketing i know longer want to go for marketing but cant switch out of classes, if i decide to stop going to two of my classes out of five will i loose my health insurance because i will know longer be a full time student, or would i still have health insurance because i paid for my courses, please let me know? Thanks""
Does U.S. car insurance (Allstate) cover you in Puerto Rico?
I'm going to be renting a vehicle from Thrifty car rental in Puerto Rico next week and I would like to just use my own insurance for the car. Does anyone know if Allstate covers driving in Puerto Rico? Thanks.
Why does my car insurance keep going up despite NEVER making a claim since I passed my DT In Nov 1992?
Where is my incentive to drive safely.. I might as well protect my NCB and drive like a f++king lunatic.
What insurance group?
I'm interested in the Mazda RX8 but would like to know the insurance group without having to go for a quote. I'm not looking at a specific car just love the cars and am interested.
Can you have insurance on a leased car ? Is leasing a good idea?
I want to have insurance and the car will be a daily driver just around my city .Helppppp
Will geico insurance rate go up from storm damage?
My car got hit from a piece of tree/brances and scratched and dent it a little, will insurace go up?""
Why is the Affordable Care Act proving to be so Unaffordable ..........?
Why is the Affordable Care Act proving to be so Unaffordable for almost all concerned ? The Affordable Care Act has already caused over 4 Million People to lose their Health Insurance Plans because the Plan did not meet the mandates of the accepted Affordable care Act Insurance Plans The Affordable Care Act has already caused and is continuing to cause many thousands of employees to lose their Jobs through layoffs that Businesses/Companies are making in order to reduce the number of Business/Company Employees to below 50 in order that the Business/Company is exempted from having to purchase the More Expensive Insurance Plans that are mandated by Obamacare The Affordable Care Act has already mandated that everyone be enrolled in a Health Insurance Plan with medical benefits that many people don't want and/or don't need and these additional unwanted/unneeded medical benefits have caused many Insurance Plans to raise their Premiums for these additional benefits thereby raising the cost of premiums that Most Health Insurance that Most Subscribers will have to pay more for The Bottom Line is that thousands have lost their Jobs because of the Affordable Care Act + Millions have lost their Health Insurance Plans because of the Affordable Care Act + Millions More have had their Health Insurance Premiums raised in order to pay for the unwanted & unneeded medical benefits mandated because of the Affordable Care Act so.......................Why si the Affordable Care Act proving to be anything but Affordable ?
How long will it take to get a auto insurance check?
I was in a car accident june 3rd, I filed the claim the same day.. talked to the guy doing my claim the next day he said state farm would accept 100% fault so I had to send state farm the police report and some other things they needed and they are suppose to send me check. I faxed all the paper work last Tuesday so how long do you think it will take for them to send me a check? I'm just impatient because I have had no car and had to take all this time off work since I can not get a ride to work and a ride to take my childern to daycare and now my work says if I'm not back by next weekend they will fire me. I called the guy doing my claim just to see how long it normally takes but he never called me back. Any ideas? Thanks!""
Does insurance go with the driver?
If I have insurance on my car does that mean I can drive another car using that same policy without adjusting if its an temporary thing?
Rent insurance for tenants?
I am soon to be renting a property with my fiancee and I want to find out about rent insurance. I found a company online that provides insurance for tenants that pays the rent in case of job loss, etc. but now I can't find it. Do such companies exist, and where can I get such insurance? Can anyone recommend any?""
Housatonic Massachusetts Cheap car insurance quotes zip 1236
Housatonic Massachusetts Cheap car insurance quotes zip 1236
What are my rights? re: car insurance?
I'm a bit short of money at the moment, so on the 31st January i phoned my car insurance company and asked them to suspend my insurance. They told me the direct debit request for February had been sent on the 29th January, which they couldn't stop, and would be taken from my bank account on the 1st February and i would later bee refunded that amount. Today i received a letter in the post telling me they would hold the payment and use it when i continue the policy or use it towards a cancellation fee if I don't unsuspend the policy. The policy ends in June! The reason i cancelled is because im on benefits and just don't have the money to afford this right now. Anything i can do?""
Can I buy health insurance for one month?
I'm 19 yrs old and need health insurance to take a college course but since I'm prn my job dosents offer any to me!!! So is their anything I can do? I only really need it for one month.
Where can I find affordable family health insurance?
Looking to find several health company quotes.
I need insurence to pay for my pregnancy?
I hve NO insurence im only 18 idk how to get free insurance so that i can go to the dr for checkups to make sure my baby is okay or even see my baby in an ultrasound i dont know what a mid wife is and i dont know how im going to pay for the birth of my baby :( help i need answers
Moped/Scooter insurance???
Hi everyone. How much would it cost for me to be insured on this bike? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/125cc-125-cc-Scooter-Moped-Sport-Learner-Legal_W0QQitemZ200232549719QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item200232549719&_trkparms=39%3A1|65%3A7&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.l1308 I am 19 years old and have a provisional driving licence. (I'm just using that bike as an example but that is the size engine I want as I'm going to be traveling quite far to work and is working out a fortune for bus fair). I'm new to this so if you need more information about me or anything else please say. Thanks xx
My landlord requires that my dog be covered by insurance - Suggestions?
I'm renting for a year so I figure I should look into some sort of renters insurance that includes dog liability. My dog is a one year old golden retriever. There are so many ...show more
How much would car insurance cost if you have two tickets?
So I just got my second speeding ticket today... -.- My first ticket was going 58 in a 35... (reckless driving) Ironically my second ticket was 58 in a 35 too... (reckless driving) I am 18 and live in the state of Virginia... I own a 2005 Nissan Xterra SE... Can anybody estimate how much my car insurance is gonna go up? Like how much my insurance will be every month now? I have state farm insurance by the way... If anymore information is need please ask me so I can get the estimates... I'm actually very scared to tell my parents... So I'd just like to know all this information before they do...
Why do men think they are better drivers than women?
because if that were true our insurance wudnt be alot cheaper than theirs?anyone agree?
I just found out i'm pregnant with no insurance?
I just found out I'm pregnant and don't have insurance. I live in California near the Los Angeles/ Orange County line. I am trying to find out if there are any free/low cost clinics I can go to to get checked out? Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Buying health insurance?
im 20 and going into an ems training program. because im not going to college anymore, i wont be on my parents insurance. how do i find an insurance that will cover the meds i take with out paying my left arm? prozac buspar lithium seroquel b/c""
Looking for a site for Affordable Individual Health Insurance?
Hello, I'm looking for affordable individual health insurance online web company.Can you suggest me where can I find cheap and good site for my insurance?I'll be very thankful.""
Where can I get the best Auto Insurance Quotes?
My semi-annual auto insurance renewal is coming up. I've shopped before and I think I'm already getting a damn good rate, but still I'd like to try to get an even better rate. I've tried both Geico and Progressive, and both quoted me over $200 higher per year than I already pay. Any other good suggestions? This would be for coverage in California.""
Do I have to register my car and change my insurance if I am an out of state student in California?
My insurance company told me that I do not need to change my insurance since I am a student living outside of my home of record address. Now, I keep hearing that I need to register and smog test my car in California since I'm currently living there while attending school. If I do such a thing, does that not mean that I will have to change my insurance to California rates? I do not plan on residing in California post graduation, does this make a difference also? Someone please help....""
Getting Car Insurance for an American?
I'm trying to get car insurance for my wife who only recently passed her UK test. She has held a US license for many years (about 6 I think) and drove during that time with insurance and made no claims. However, it seems that some UK insurance companies don't recognise an American license or insurance history which is making the quotes extremely expensive. Up to 1500 for full comp on a basic family car (2003 Vauxhall Omega). Is anyone aware of any UK companies that would recognise her US license and quote accordingly for her driving history rather than treating her like a 17yr old? Thanks in advance.""
Would it be cheaper for me to go on my parents insurance or get my own insurance plan?
I am 16 and go for my license on the 19th of Nov, im paying for it myself. My parents have geico, i called Allstate today to get a quotes and they said about 210, please help!(:""
How much do you spend on your car payment/insurance per a month?
and is it a used or new car?
The cheapest kit car insurance company?
I have a drink driving offence and need a good cheap insurance company for kit cars thanks
Will Ryan's plan force insurance companies to sell to 'granny? Will 'granny' be forced to buy insurance?
For customers at sixty five, health insurance companies will be inclined to not sell to that age group. Can they be forced to do so by the 'government'? Will health ...show more""
Covered California individual plan?
Hello, I am a grad student with no income currently. I'm signing up for covered ca for an individual plan. It is asking for number of people in household, do I just put one for myself or am I supposed to write all family members even though it is for an individual plan? From the research I've done it seems I probably won't be eligible for obamacare and may have to sign up for medicaid. My mother is currently putting me through school and paying for my current health insurance. If I don't qualify for Obamacare couldn't I just sign up with a new plan under my current health insurance provider that my mother will pay for or would it be better if I just went with medicaid? Thanks for your advice.""
Are insurance agencies notified if you don't get a ticket?
i got pulled over but the cop gave me a break. he checked my license and registration in his computer but gave no ticket. will my insurance find out about this or am i safe for now? i have liberty mutual and live in maryland. im a new driver so im really worried my rates will go up even higher
""If you crashed your car into someones, how much would insurance pay out?""
Assuming the cost is 18,000, most of it being for injuries the other party claims to have (<1000 bucks in damage). How much would insurance pay and how much would i have to pay? No damage to my own car. No need for insurance after this because I dont think im going to drive again after hearing the cost.""
LEARNER PROVISIONAL DRIVING INSURANCE?? HELP!!?
Hi everyone, i bought a car today...and i would like to insure myself on a provisional licence (UK ONLY) for my car. I have looked up cheap temporary insurance...but it needs to already be insured by another driver. I am the ONLY driver of this car. I do not want to put anyone else's name on it. I would like to insure it for 2-3 months, as i am nearly ready to pass my test. Can anyone tell me good sites? Ive already been on provisional marmalade and covered learner ....but they can only insure you on someone elses car. I will be the only person driving my car, i am the legal owner. I am only 18 and need something cheap for 2-3 months till i pass my test. Please help! Thankyou!!""
California low income health care aid?
just 18, college student, family currently on medi-cal am i still covered? is it until age 21? what are the ones that allow parental coverage until age 26? what changes will occur to the california healthy families and medi-cal programs with Obamacare? recently received letter putting me in emergency coverage only what does this mean to me and what i am covered for?""
What is the cheapest auto insurance company?
looking for a very affordable auto insurance quote/payment per month. Anyone knows? please and thank you.
Which insurance should i get?
Im 18 and i was involved in a car accident not my fault. well im look to get a new car insurance but i dont know which one to get. I want a low paying insurance, good converge, liability. I would like to know the insurance company and how much a month i would pay. Im think about getting freeway insurance but not sure.""
Housatonic Massachusetts Cheap car insurance quotes zip 1236
Housatonic Massachusetts Cheap car insurance quotes zip 1236
Insurance change help?
i am with geico and i want to go to allstate do i surrender my plates to switch insurance or do i keep the plates and call they and they will transfer me
Estimate for car insurance for 18 year old?
I live in Houston tx, like the top said I am a 18 year old male, I have a 2012 ford mustang v6. It is paid off, and I want to sign over the car from my parents name to mine cause they live in a diffrent city but that means I would have to start paying for insurance. Which is fine but do any of y'all know about how much I would be paying. I will only want liability, or if I can afford it full coverage. I don't want to get quotes from the insurance companies themselves because after that they constantly email call and mail you stuff and its annoying. Anyways thanks for the help""
Re. Car insurance?
Anyone work in insurance buisness? I have 2 cars, my mobilty car and a smaller car. I origionally bought it for my wife as she doesnt like driving my mobility car as its too big. I was advised by insurers to keep car in my name, Using my insurance in my name with my wife as a named driver and my 18 year old son who as of yet cannot afford a car as he is attending college and only gets 30 a week EMA if he attends. My wife and I want to give him the car as a joint 18th and christmas present. Now I am stuck if I hand ownership to him and he is pressured into taking out his own policy, my insurance that I have built up over nearly 35 years will possibly be voided and if I need to insure another car in next 3 years after my mobility car is handed back, I may loose my max NCD. Can I legally keep car in my name also my insurance and make him a named main driver, my wife as second and me as third. I have life threatening illnesses and want to give my kids their own cars. cont'd""
Car Insaurance for 17 year old?
Hi, I have been riding on the road for two years now (or will be when I get a car) I have had a 50cc moped when I was 16 and since turning 17 have a 125cc motorbike. I know that my no claims on bikes are separate but is there a chance I could get insurance cheaper? If so, roughly how much? (If you can could you recommend some cheap and cheap to insure cars, or some things I can do to get the price down? e.g. explanation of black box etc.? Cheers, Kieran.""
Car insurance cost for 17 year old?
Im 17 and ill be needing to pay for car insurence the car and th insurance compnay is in my parents name righ tnow they pay 150. my parents are putting me on the insurance policy and they are making me pay whatever is above 150, how much will i be paying. I live in virginia if that helps""
Which auto insurance company is better? Geico or Mercury? Please share your personal experience.?
Which auto insurance company is better? Geico or Mercury? Please share your personal experience.?
If i got a car as a gift and dont have insurance and a car hits me is that ok?
my friend gave me a car and i dont have insurance, but a guy hit me this morning, will his insurance pay for it?""
""Where is the cheapest place to get auto insurance in st. petersburg, FL 33701?""
Haven't had insurance in awhile, just bought a new/used truck. Just need the basics. Live in st. pete area code 33701.""
Does my boyfriends name have to be on the car title in order for me to be put on his insurance?
I will be buying a car this weekend. I am under 25, so the insurance is outrageous. my boyfriend is over 25. It is a lot cheaper if i just add myself to his insurance. My question is does his name also have to be on my car if i want to be put on his insurance? I was told yes but im not sure.""
Keep insurance if I am selling the car?
I am selling a car that I still have financed. Do I still have to have insurance (full coverage) if I'm selling it and I'm not driving it at all? Ohio Law plz
Why is car insurance so high for young people?
Why is car insurance so high for young people?
""How can i get affordable health insurance, with a low income?""
I work part time,i am physically disabled ,my husb is unemployable,rejected from disability, i have very bad health condition and need health insurance to continue dr.care....How can i get affordable health insurance that won't cost me a fortune? I have gone to the DPA and i was rejected by them. I suffer with depression/(diagnosed bi-polar) ,,disc disease,IBS....i must obtain medical Insurance to continue treatment in order to continue working...how can i get help?""
Is my terrible credit rating going to affect my insurance premiums if I pay monthly?I?
I'm buying a new scooter in the next week or so so I can get to my new job. I've got a terrible credit rating from being over zealous with credit cards and loans. I can only afford to pay monthly for my insurance. Because of my credit rating, is there a chance I'll get turned down to pay monthly and have to pay my whole premium one go? Also, my previous insurance company has cancelled my old policy because I didn't pay the bill. I never recieved any letters or anything saying they were going to do it and as far as I was aware my money was going out as usual. Is that going to count against me as well?""
Can I get cheaper Car Insurance in England if I have 3 different clean Drivers Licences?
South African Licence, Japanese Licence and English Licence, all CLEAN! Can I get cheaper car insureance then?""
Are you required to pay car insurance even if you're not driving?
I'm 17 about to turn 18, I have my level 2 license and live in michigan, I have insurance with AAA and they said I have to pay car insurance even if I'm not driving, I'm trying to save for a car and don't want to pay for something every month that I don't need. So if I'm not driving and don't own a car do I have to pay or is the insurance company just wanting my money?""
""I am looking out for a healthcare provider which is also an insurance company located in California, U.S.?""
I am looking out for a healthcare provider which is also an insurance company located in California, U.S.?""
I am pregnant and need maternity insurance. Where do i get it?
I just found out I'm six weeks pregnant, and need maternity insurance. I have not been able to afford regular insurance in the past, but now I am. I've been looking everywhere online, but no answers. I know most insurances consider this a pre-existing medical condition. I'm in northern california. Please help!""
Anyone Know Any Cheap Car Insurance For Teenagers In Michigan?
Anyone know a real cheap place I can get car insurance at in Michigan. I'm 18(also the age which I got my license), I qualify for the good grades in school discount, I drive a 2003 Honda? Any suggestions?""
What am I supposed to do about health insurance?
Originally, my daughter and I had health insurance and everything was fine until more than a few months ago we lost it because there was paperwork I was supposed to send in by a certain date, but I didn't know it, so they cut us off.... well, I applied more than a few months ago for health insurance and I still have yet to hear anything, despite all my efforts to call them and leave numerous messages... I even talked to someone at the front desk and she told me the day I called was the 45th day, which is the last day and then I would hear something from my worker in a week.......well its been 2 months since then and not a word!! I don't know what to do. My daughter is 2 and she needs physical therapy and just really needs to see a doctor.. I started working part time a month ago...my husband is still looking for a job but obviously we cannot afford insurance... this is ridiculous. My daughter should have health insurance by now.. What can I do to get an answer from these people? anything""
Why can't Obama's affordable health act function without coercing people to pay a fine or buy insurance?
Why can't Obama's affordable health act function without coercing people to pay a fine or buy insurance?
Is there a motorcycle insurance company that lets you have full coverage during the summer months?
and limited coverage during the winter months? I live in NY so naturally, I wouldn't be driving during the winter months, so why pay full? Thanks""
What is the cheapest car insurance if you have bad credit and low income?
What to do if you can't afford car insurance
What exactly does general liability insurance cover for a small business?
does it cover theft and breakage?
""Why is there so much hatred towards mandatory health insurance, and none towards mandatory car insurance?""
The health insurance is at least USEFUL. The car insurance is useless crap, IT should not be mandatory.""
I recently moved to Brooklyn and I need to find affordable auto insurance for my car. Any suggestions?
I know car insurance in NY is expensive in general, but any suggestions would help!""
Housatonic Massachusetts Cheap car insurance quotes zip 1236
Housatonic Massachusetts Cheap car insurance quotes zip 1236
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/trying-get-free-motorcycle-insurance-quote-from-william-byers/"
0 notes
Should I be adding my 19yr old daughter to my auto insurance?
"Should I be adding my 19yr old daughter to my auto insurance?
Our 19 yr old daughter let he car insurance laps. My insurance company found out and added her to my policy this will cost an extra $700.00 + for six months. She also kept say all along that she was paying her own auto insurance for the last 6 months. I`v found out this was not true she stopped paying about 4 months ago. So she has been driving with out insurance for  at least 4 months now. Her car is also in her name so I really can`t take it from her. I`m very upset at her for lien I just found all this out the other day.
BEST ANSWER:  Try this site where you can compare quotes: : http://insureinfo.xyz/index.html?src=tumblr 
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hi im all most finished my driving lessons and wondering about the insurance ect i dont wanna spend hours on compere or that putting in details , but wondering if there r any first time drivers out there and give me there thoughts on how i would get a cheap car and cheap insurance Category""
Health and Auto Insurance?
I'm 25 and have no health insurance, and am still on my parents auto insurance. I would like just the basic for both - I can't really afford anything but the minimum. Any suggestions besides 1-800-safeauto? Affordability is the only thing I care about.""
Help with car insurance please help?
i have a 1997 nissan sentry i live in california i have the 15/30/25 on my coverage how much will i save if i change it to 15/30/5 which i believe is only the states quires, and also if i should do it and what is the difference for my medical coverage it says 5000 and and uninsured motorist is at the lowest coverage which is 15/30 please help. Thank you""
What would have more insurance a 2007 dodge charger 3.5l or a 2004 Nissan 350z?
Need to know just overall what would be the better car and what would have better insurance rates
How much is average health insurance in London?
I am a 19 year old female moving to London to be an au pair. I will need health insurance since I will not be living with my parents. About how much will it cost? I have no major illnesses.
Young driver car insurance help?
I am 17 and have a 57 plate 1.4 peugeot 207. My dad took out insurance on it with Quinn direct with me as a named driver while I had a provisional license. It cost 1250, but now I have a FULL license they want a further 2000! What do you all think of this and if anyone has any suggestion of any other insurers that might be cheaper please say. Thanks""
Do you have to be a licensed insurance agent to do this?
Do you have to be a licensed insurance agent to quote Medicare Supplement rates in Texas? Please cite a source of your information.
Car insurance for new drivers?
I'd like to get a car insurance but since i will be buying a new car soon, i'd like to have the insurance for just a few months. Is this possible? if yes, then which company would you recommend and how do i get it? cheers!""
What are some individual health insurance companies?
I have applied to Blue Cross, CAA, Manulife and Sunlife for my epilepsy medication that is costing me way to much per month. But each insurance company excludes any medication for my seizure disorder. What are some other health insurance companies that will accept me (hopefully)?""
Insurance on my car after crash?
my car as in a hit and run accident my car was the hit and run car i wasn't the driver my frined was i want to call my insurance company to get it fixed but i dont want to get my friend in trouble can the insurance company tell where the car got towed from and if i tell them i crashed into a ditch and got it towed will they know
Any websites that can comapre insurance rates for different cars?
I am looking at new cars and this information would be very useful. Obviously rates depend a lot on the person getting the insurance. I am not looking for an exact number, just looking an easy way to compare rates based on different cars.""
How much would I pay for car insurance.?
I am 17 and a half year old; about to turn 18 in less than a month. Ive achieved my high school diploma. My parents are adding me to their car insurance and theyve been driving for more than 30 years. Non of them have received any tickets or have cause in accident. Clean record . we live in London Ontario and we drive 2 cars. a 2003 Dodge Grand caravan and a 2003 Chevrolet Malibu please help me
Motorcycle Insurance?
My father has his own motorcycle. I just got my motorcycle permit. Am I legally allowed to drive it (following the rules of my permit, of course) although the insurance is in his name? State: New Jersey""
Why is it that so many people have to die due to lack of health insurance?
Why is it that so many people have to die due to lack of health insurance?
Car Insurance.?
Does anyone know if there is a temporary car insurance you can get, so you only have to pay for it when you are driving the car. My car insurance is $150/month for plpd(partial), it is the cheapest there is, and my car is only worth around $2000. I only drive my car once a month for a 70 mile round trip. I just think its a lot to be paying $150 for a 70 mile trip. More than $2 a mile just for the insurance seems like quite a bit to me. There is no taxis or public buses where I live, and I dont want anyone else to take me. I am only interested if someone can give me information about the insurance. And a motorcycle wont work. Thanks.""
New driver looking for cheap insurance?
New driver looking for cheap insurance?
Car insurance: Progressive vs. State Farm?
I'm currently with Progressive and have been very pleased with their service: I was in an accident in August and the entire process was very smooth and took little effort on my part. I worked with one local agent, dropped my car off at the Progressive repair center where they had my rental waiting for me, and returned the rental there when I came to pick my car up. Plus I never have to wait long to talk to someone when I call. However, I'm newly married and have found we would save a considerable amount by moving my two cars to my husbands policy with State Farm as opposed to moving his car to my policy with Progressive. Please let me know what type of experiences you've had with State Farm and if you would consider their service as excellent as I have with Progressive. Even if State Farm is cheaper, it won't be worth the savings if their service is crummy. Thanks!""
Why do I have to get car insurance?
Insurance guy lied, my fun sporty little 04 Mitsubishi eclipse gt (5 speed manual v6) was actually going to be $200 more monthly than he said it would be. It was fun to learn how to drive it. But now it's as good as gone (parents were helping with the insurance). Who's to blame? Why do I have to deal with insurance goons to start with? Couldn't there be a better way? In a slightly more perfect world what theoretical system would cut out the goons?""
How much is insurance rate on 97 camaro?
How much is insurance rate on 97 camaro?
Should I be adding my 19yr old daughter to my auto insurance?
Our 19 yr old daughter let he car insurance laps. My insurance company found out and added her to my policy this will cost an extra $700.00 + for six months. She also kept say all along that she was paying her own auto insurance for the last 6 months. I`v found out this was not true she stopped paying about 4 months ago. So she has been driving with out insurance for  at least 4 months now. Her car is also in her name so I really can`t take it from her. I`m very upset at her for lien I just found all this out the other day.
How to go about getting insurance for my husband?
He's 23 years old. Unemployed. HE needs insurance now, and can't be added to my insurance. For one, we'd have to wait until open enrollment in dec. and two, to be honest, it's too expensive to add him. im talking $300 each check. that's insane. I'm browsing the internet, but i am just so lost on where to look. I've heard of Medicaid, but don't know if he'd qualify, or can't find a website. Please. HELP!!!!!""
How much does the car insurance cost every month for a 17 y/o teenager here in US in texas?
with a 2005 neon dodge car? help coz my cousin is goin to get a car this summer. thankx guys
Which is the cheapest auto insurance policy that a company can offer which covers everything?
i own a chevy beat 1.2 LT and need to know the right comparision of d best insurance company policy.pls reply asap.
Car insurance for a 15 soon to be 16 year old?
so i am looking at getting my first car and so i need to be thinking about car insurance and my grade point average is like 2 something. i have american family. any ideas what their rates would be.??
Im 17 and i need cheap insuarnce on a 1.0 corsa?
i live in the uk. my parents are not with me..soo this means i cant be a named driver. how am i gna get cheap insurance.. give me tips and cheap insuance companies websites please..
Anyone know a cheap Health Insurance Cover for myself?
Im single, 27 years old and living in Victoria/Melbourne""
""Under Obamacare, can I switch insurance companies anytime I want?""
I live in California and started new health insurance with Blue Shield on January 1, 2014. But they are awful. Even though I not only applied with them, I was accepted by them, I paid the January premium back in December, and they have already covered two of my prescriptions. But Blue Shield keeps mailing me letters saying I never paid them anything and that they are cancelling my application. My application? I made it past that stage. I am their client, not just an applicant. I can't get an answer from them and I'm worried that as of 1/28/14 I will no longer have health insurance (since that is the date they informed my on 1/24 that they are cancelling my application). So since Blue Shield thinks that I'm not even their client, that they think I never paid them the very first premium which I did and have proof of, can I ditch them and choose a new insurance company or do I have to wait for the next open enrollment? (And when would that be?) (FYI - Blue Shield has never mailed me a bill for February. They just keep mailing me the same bill that was due - and that I paid!!! - back in December that covered me for January.)""
Does anyone know anything about insurance?
just brought a car but im not insured on it yet as i only have a provisional license. Ive got my test the end of this month and this will sound cocky but i ave a feeling i will pass it ok. But if i get insurance now with a provisional license and pay it in installments, if and when i pass my test, Do people usualy have to pay the following 11 months of provisional insurance (at a higher cost) instead of the full license cost, do you get me? kinda confusing..but if you know anything about it from your own experience or something, wil you tell me what insurance people you r with so i can check them out..i live in ireland by the way so dont tell me about english companies please :) like eg.. my insurance is 1500e, i pay say 30e a week or something on a provisional license. opposed to: my insurance is 800e, i pay just 20e a week or something on a full license.. Do i still have to finish paying 1500e instead of 800e? i cant explain it anymore sorry if it not clear..? thanks x""
Good insurance companies for renters insurance in Florida?
I live near Jacksonville in Florida where State Farm does not provide renter's insurance. 1. What companies are good for renter's insurance in Florida? I will need coverage for Hurricanes also since I am in Florida. Geico gave me a rate of 131/year or about 11$ per month with a deductible of 100$. 2. Should I take an inventory of all my personal valuable items(bed, computer, chair/table), send copy of receipts/photos to the insurance company for their records as evidence that I have N items whose total value is M$ before I buy renters insurance from them or I should take an inventory and keep it in a safe place for my records in case i have to submit any claims later on? 3. By replacement cost coverage used in insurance policy ,does it mean if a laptop purchased worth 900 before five years had a config of 1.7GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB disk and a claim is filed now(five years after its purchase) with a purchase receipt of a laptop for the same/similar config(but, whose cost would be 650 as tech products come down in price typically after five years and more so for an outdated config/model), that will be honored? Or, I could get any laptop worth 900(cost of original laptop) today and claim reimbursement for it from the insurance company? I am guessing it is the first scenario, but can someone please clarify? 4. Since my total assets are less than 5K and I don't have a car, is choosing a low deductible of 100$ a good idea? Or, I should hike to bring my premium down? 5. For items, like clothes, utensils I don't have any receipt since they are old(more than three years). Will that be OK in case I have to file a claim? The clothes are mainly 15-20$ pant/shirts I got from Walmart. Thanks""
""Why buy license plates, register car, and car insurance when I saved $3,000?""
Only suckers buy license plates, register car, and car insurance ( which I canceled :) after I got my license ) which I save over $3,000 a year on. I could careless if I crash my car I bought for $350 it is a junker ( which will probably die in the next three months ) and I could just run away without paying a thing. I already have saved over $5,000. CAR INSURANCE DOES NOT MAKE ANY SENSE UNLESS YOU CAN'T DRIVE.""
Actuarilly fair price of insurance?
Suppose that every driver faces a 1% probability of an automobile accident every year. An accident will, on average, cost each driver $10,000. Suppose there are two types of individuals: those with $60,000 in the bank and those with $5,000 in the bank. Assume that individuals with $5,000 in the bank declare bankruptcy if they get in an accident. In bankruptcy, creditors receive only what individuals have in the bank. What is the actuarially fair price of the insurance? What price are individuals with $5,000 in the bank willing to pay for the insurance? will those with $5,000 in the bank voluntarily purchase insurance? (Hint: Remember that there are state law facing individuals to purchase auto liability insurance)""
What cars would you recommend for a 17 year old?
Hi, I would like to get a car when I pass my driving lessons. What types of car are cheap, look good, and are of good quality? cars sold in the uk. If anyone has any answers or suggestions, please post an answer, thank you x""
Im 18 years old and need insurance.. Any ideas?
I need some help.. I'm only 18 years old and living with my boyfriend. We have been together for 5 years. I have been thinking about insurance on myself lately. He has it through his parents but I don't have it at all. I cant afford to much since I only work part time and I'm also attending college as a full time student.
Off roading 4wd insurance question?
Hi all Just wanting to know if when you are 4wding if you have an accident eg :rool the 4wd or flood it or break stuff on it are we covered by insurance and are there any 4wding insurance companies for 4wders only?
Car insurance question?
So I was in a car accident recently, pretty minor, but the damage to my car exceed the value of my car by A LOT Damage total $2500. Car 91 integra, not worth 2500 anymore. The damage to the front end is a lot of cosmetic, but there is also frame damage, ac compressor broken, head lamp broken, and bald spots on the tires from me breaking so fast. First question in an accident were the at party person assumes responsibility of the car and both parties decide to not go through insurance both parties have to come to an agreeable amount right? Seems right, right. Second- If the party not at fault is not happy with the agreed amount and decided to go through insurance instead, but the damage exceeds the value of the victims car, is the responsible parties insurance going to pay out the amount of the damage done, I got 4 estimates or it the insurance going to pay only the value of the car and salvage my title? Second, can the responsible party pay out the amount that is agreed upon and then expect to get the victims (my) car in return? Or is his considered extortion? Cause there is no f-in way I the person who is not responsible for the accident can find a reliable car for 1500 bucks, but could part out, or retire my car, sell my car and get more plus the 1500 she agreed upon. I am afraid that if insurance is involved they are going to total my car out thus costy me hundreds more, then it will be worth nothing and I would not be able to retire it and get money from that or even sell it. Lastly, this person has no right to ask me for my car right, she caused the accident and is responsible for paying for that damage that she cause one way or another. Please help me figure this out.""
Am i entitled to my unused car insurance?
After being with my car insurance company over 10 years now, I've never had a claim in which they've had to pay out. I recently purchased a new car and my rates skyrocketed I ...show more""
How to become a GEICO auto insurance agent in california?
i've been doin alot of research to find this info but they all just have the positive characterisitics of the job. they all just say y i shud become one, not how i cud become one. all i want to know is HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE AND HOW MUCH DOES IT COST to become a GEICO auto insurance agent in california. and where shud i go to learn how? if there's a site that lists all the requirements and such, plz send me the link! of not, that's ok""
Does life insurance effect zombies?
I mean, does it?!? Does life insurance effect zombies? If they come back in a few hours, would the company notice?""
Can my car insurance company do this?
I called my insurance company yesterday to get a quote for a change of vehicle as I was planning to buy a new car. They said my monthly premium would still stay the same and the quote was only valid till end of the day which is fair enough. They said they give the quote on whatever the insurance rate is at the current time so if i was to call another day it could go up but it shouldn't go up that much. So I went to view the car yesterday evening and decided to buy the car. I called my insurance company today and they said it would cost me an extra 350 to get me insured on the car. So i asked them how could it go from nothing to 350 within a day. They come out with the quote is based on the daily rate of insurance and they cant do nothing about it. I wouldn't have mind if it went up by 100 or so but from nothing to 350 in one day is a big jump. Is there anything I can do?
Does this guy need a license and insurance?
Someone's advertising a fitness class in the local park, for 5 an hour. He claims he's a personal trainer. Does he need a license, permission to train in the park because technically he's running a business, and insurance to run the group??""
Insurance rates in EU and russia?
Who can make an advice - how averrage insurance rates (I mean the average cost of Insurence police for, say, compulsory motor insurance, etc) are compared in the EU (France, Germany, UK, Sweden) and Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg)?""
How much Do you pay for Car insurance every month?
and what car insurance you have?
Can i get insurance at 17 in my name?
Can i get insurance at 17 in my name?
Affordable health coverage? Is there such a thing?
Single, living in NYC and I'n looking for a health insurance plan that has a good pharmacutical co-pay and doctor coverage. Can some of you let me know what plan you are on that is somewhat affordable? Thanks!""
Family car insurance cheaper?
Hi, my parents currently have car insurance with a bank. they want to include me into the insurance. is there a family insurance bundle that is cheaper than individual car insurance?""
Should I be adding my 19yr old daughter to my auto insurance?
Our 19 yr old daughter let he car insurance laps. My insurance company found out and added her to my policy this will cost an extra $700.00 + for six months. She also kept say all along that she was paying her own auto insurance for the last 6 months. I`v found out this was not true she stopped paying about 4 months ago. So she has been driving with out insurance for  at least 4 months now. Her car is also in her name so I really can`t take it from her. I`m very upset at her for lien I just found all this out the other day.
1 day or Weekend Auto Insurance?
Hi Guys, I have a car that has no insurance on it since i am not using it any more but still runs good. I need to travel to NY from Detroit this weekend and again don't need it any more there in NY. Are there any cheap Auto Insurance firms that give us auto insurance for the weekend only. Thanks a lot for the help.""
If I buy a new used car will my liability insurance cover this one automatically?
I'm thinking about replacing my current car on which I currently have liability insurance through Progressive. There are two things I'd like to know that I've have trouble figuring out on their website. First, if I replace the car and now only have one car will the old insurance still be applicable to it? If so, for how long and is it equal in liability coverages? Second, if I keep the car I have now so when I buy the new one I have two cars then would the liability cover both?""
California: Smogging an older car?
I have a 1983 Datsun 280zx, and I just got a letter in the mail saying I have to smog this vehicle. I thought there was an age bracket for classic cars that didnt need to be smogged ...show more""
How Can a 17 Year old Teen Afford Car Insurance?
I am a 17 year old guy working on getting my first car. I was thinking possibly a 2000 Pontiac Sunfire, or a 2006 Saturn Ion. I had looked up a few quotes from Progressive and Esurance, and noticed that the semi-annual price was VERY high, way beyond anything my family could afford. I was wondering If anyone knew of a way that I could possibly afford this. Many of the quotes totaled at $800-$1000 per six months. This is outrageously high, and that was just insurance for an adult I had quoted. Adding a teen onto the insurance would be much more expensive. If anyone has any ideas on what I can do to cheat the system per say, or just find a nice and cheap affordable, reliable insurance company I'd be extremely grateful.""
Why should my family's insurance go up if i get a car?
I'm 17 and am currently on my parents insurance plan, so there are 3 of us with only 2 cars. I'm listed on the truck, b/c it has more horsepower. I'm about to buy a '92 Prelude, and they said the insurance would go up about $122 for 6 months. This doesn't seem too bad, but if i'm now driving my own cheap car, why is that a greater risk than driving the truck with full coverage, not just liability? It seems like it should almost go down, because there's a lower chance that i will crash up one of the more expensive/higher hp cars. Is that just the way it works or is there a better option for me? My agent also said my own policy would make it even more expensive, which i could see, because we wouldn't get the multiple driver or car discount.""
Galo Auto & Home Insurance.com?
need to find a cheaper auto & home insurance before july 09 State Farm is droping home ins.? can you please hellp me?
How will USAA Insurance decide how much my car is worth in an accident?
I'm not a member and was not at fault - the liable party was a USAA client. I had a 1996 VW Passat and am waiting to hear if they are going to total it. If they do, how do they determine worth? How soon will I get the money?""
Can I get car insurance for 1.6L at 17?
I'm a 17 year old girl, looking to buy a Mini Cooper hatchback! And a friend said her brother couldn't get insurance for a 1.6L! So I was just seeing if that would be possible for me to insure before I purchase one!""
What is the most common health insurance?
what is the most common health insurance
""Car insurance, Help!?""
I crashed my car into another car, both card sustained minimal damage, I just payed for my car to be fixed without consulting my insurance, is this illegal? And furthermore could I settle a money agreement with the guy I crashed into? is this all legal? Also if the guy decided to go through insurance would someone come inspect my car or inspect his... Basically what would the whole procedure be? I haven't contacted him yet""
Homeowners insurance?
Last night while at my girls house I slipped in mossy stairs and broke my ankle. I need surgery now. I was wondering is her landlord responsible for this? I don't have health insurance and I need my **** paid for. I don't want to sue i just want his insurance to cover me.. do they cover stuff like this and how does this thing work
What insurance company insures Bugatti Veyrons?
I bought a bugatti about 2 months ago and everytime I get pulled over by the cops i get a ticket for no insurance and I can't find a company that covera my cars! Help please
Best Profession For Cheaper Insurance Quotes?
what is the best professions to hold if you are after cheaper car insurance as i am currently self employed or free lance at least what could i stretch my job description to encompass and save some dough?????????
Must all drivers in New York have insurance?
if so then what would be the penalty for not having insurance? & is there a minimum amount of insurance that must be carried?
Im looking for cheap insurance on a land rover series 3 im 17 years old where is the cheapest company?
what is the cheapest insurance company or cheapest option???
Cheap car insurances?
i'm a 21 year old college student driving a 2005 make car- i need a reasonable insurance company any suggestions.. any incentives for being a female and being on the deans list in college?
What's the average cost of car insurance for a 20 year old male?
I'm shopping around for car insurance and I'm trying to get an idea of what's average. I'm a 20 year old male living in Florida with no points on my license.
Where can an 18 yr old get insurance?
I'm an 18 year old male (19 next month) I need major dental work: root canal, filling, crowns, possible extraction Question: Where can I get good dental insurance that covers the above procedures without a waiting period. I need these procedures fast. I need a high annual maximum which I assume comes with a high premium. P.S - I've looked at Aetna, Humana and Delta Dental; they only pay a miniscule fraction of the procedure.""
Is it worth it to take a life insurance?
Is it worth it to take a life insurance?
""Would car insurance be cheaper on a Honda Civic, a Chevy Cobalt or a Ford Focus?
They are 2005 model 2 door coupes. I am 25 years old and this will be my first car. I'm going to have to get full coverage insurance and I haven't had my license for that long. Also does it matter what color the car is? Someone told me that red cars have higher insurance(I'm getting a black car by the way). Thanks!!
Cheapest car insurance?
I'm trying to insure my first car. It's a Rover Metro SI 1.4 auto. I'm 20 years old + am still driving on a provisional lisense. I've held this lisense for 1 year. I'd do around 5000 miles a year when I pass + want third party as the car is only worth 350. I'm also a lady as I know that makes some insurers cheaper. I've tried moneysupermarket.com + confused.com + Quinn comes up the cheapest with a deposit of 109 + then 10 months at 43. However both sites have a big list of insurers that they could not provide quotes for. Does anyone know, or is anyone with a cheaper insurer than Quinn Direct? I live in England, so no American insurers thanks :)""
How a car insurance works? minor car accident?
Hi, everyone. This morning, I had a minor car accident in the grocery parking lot. A lady's car hit the front seat door on the right side of my car. The lady's car is fine, but my car door got dented. For your information, the lady's car was parked in the parking space and I was backing up behind her side-way when she reversed and hit my car. I think she was careless. Anyhow, We exchanged year, make, mode, plate number, insurance information, personal info(name, phone number) each other. Now, I don't know what would happen if I report the accident to my insurance company, GEICO. If I report the accident, I get repair money for the lady's insurance company? if so, how much would I get from the insurance company? and if it's not enough I have to use my own pocket money? Does this count as my fault and would increase my insurance payment? And, I did not take any photos of the cars at the time. How can I prove the accident if the lady insists the accident did not happen? Sorry, it's a lot of questions. It is my first time ever to get into a car accident since I started driving. I'd really really really thank you if you can please give me your advice or share your experiences. and one more thing, if you get your car to a repair center, how long does it usually take to get your car repaired? I live on California, and it's very inconvenient without a car. Thank you so much for your help. and also I didn't not call the police to file a legal accident report. and I didn't call the insurance agent yet. I'm really worried that I have no proof of the accident. Thank you for your help""
What term life insurance policy should I get for a 60 yr old man?
My father is 60, smoker and taking Zocor. Normal weight. The quotes I have seen for a 10 yr term for $150,000 are $180 a month. Does that seem right? Anyone know a cheaper one? Basically I inherit the house while my relative gets the cash, so it's all fair. I would make the payments and leave my relative as the beneficiary. Thanks""
Full coverage car insurance?
My parents are the primary insurance holders of the car insurance. It is full coverage and the 1st wreck since having this insurance which has been 5 years for this car. I am on the insurance but not a primary driver. I was involved in a car wreck on my car but my friend was driving and I was in the passenger seat. Since it is full coverage what happens? Do they have to have proof that I said he could drive? Or do they just go about and get it fixed and not say anything since the car is under full insurance? I have I clue when it comes to car insurance so of someone could explain everything the best they can it would be greatly appreciated
How much is car insurance be?
I am 15 about to be 16 NO record at all.. I have a 1999 ford escort no wrecks 80,000 miles. I would like to know how much car insurance would be and a tag would be and how much my license would be I live in florida. also are their any other fees?""
Should I be adding my 19yr old daughter to my auto insurance?
Our 19 yr old daughter let he car insurance laps. My insurance company found out and added her to my policy this will cost an extra $700.00 + for six months. She also kept say all along that she was paying her own auto insurance for the last 6 months. I`v found out this was not true she stopped paying about 4 months ago. So she has been driving with out insurance for  at least 4 months now. Her car is also in her name so I really can`t take it from her. I`m very upset at her for lien I just found all this out the other day.
Let's not have universal health care but just make health insurance more affordable?
and have the insurance companies take out take all these pre existing condition clauses. Then we don't have to worry about giving health care to illegals or higher taxes. Does anyone agree with me?
How does auto insurance works?
is the cost of auto insurance determined based on car model, year, or the the car price sold at?""
I'm 16 and Parents Just Bought me a Chrysler 300..... I have to Pay Insurance?
Okay My parents just Got this Car for me. It is Brand new Not payed off... It is Financed and They said before I can drive it I have to pay the insurance. Anybody know of any cheap insurance companys.... I heard of something called an independent agent or something what should I do??? Help Help
How much roughly will my car insurance go up if I make a claim to have it resprayed due to vandalism?
How much roughly will my car insurance go up if I make a claim to have it resprayed due to vandalism?
""If i insure my company car without my company knowing, is it ok if i dont declare my dr10 (dink drive)?""
If i insure my company car without my company knowing, is it ok if i dont declare my dr10 (dink drive)?""
What is a good car insurance for a limited use car?
What is a good car insurance for a limited use car?
Can An unlicensed person buy auto insurance for their car and have other drivers?
My husband owns a car but has no drivers license at this time. He wants to insure his car and have friends drive. Is this possible?
Will my insurance increase of I get a body kit.? ?
Im planning on getting a 1.4 pug 106 and I was going to get a DIMMA kit for it and 205 gti alloys. Will my insurance go up..?
What is the average time taken by an Insurance company to pay out on a car claim.?
I suppose it would depend on the nature of the damage to ones car and also who was at fault. However in my case, my car caught fire from what I believe may have been an electrical fault. It is now a total write off. I realise the insurance company has to carry out it's investigations but how long should this take and how soon would one expect to receive an offer. I made a claim 6 weeks ago and am still being fobbed off with the explanation that the investigations are on-going.""
Cheapest insurance for motorcycle in melbourne?
hi m looking for insurance company that hs cheapest price for me. m 19 yo female, 4years experience on motorcycle. help me pls,,, i think i ll gt for the third party""
AOPA ( A.O.P.A. ) aka aircraft owners and pilots association versus Avemco. Who has better insurance rate?
Which one of these two entities provides better protection for student and private pilots when it comes to NON OWN AIRCRAFT INSURANCE ?
Really Angry ! where can i get cheap van insurance im 18 ?
i been on go compare the cheapest i got was 4600 thats on a 1.9 litre van i think its stupid how can i make a living paying that kind of money out i need my van for work plus its not like its really powerfull its a sh!tty van i wolud not mine if it with a 1.9 sports car buts its a van it sholud be cheaper on vans im 18 do u know where i can get cheaper van insurance plus i got quoted 2600 on a 1.1 car
How much will a teen pay for their own car insurance?
if its a used car that is completely paid for.
Insurance premium increase of 50%?
I had an accident with my RV that was about $1,200.00 on my side and very minor on the other vehicle. The accident was considered my fault and being 1 point and my first ever in over 32 years of driving. My insurance company now has increased my premium about 50%. I am in California and would like to understand the criteria for this increase. It looks like the company will recover the full amount paid in the next premiums. Where can one go to understand this? Thanks""
Insurance Raise after Car Accident?
Does your insurance rates actually go up after an accident? If yes, how many accidents can you have before it increase? OR is it depending on how much the accident is in order for your payments to increase?""
How much is average home insurance; with a pool?
How much is average home insurance; with a pool?
Insurance Premium Increase?
I got into a car accident last month..i hit a BMW that caused it to bump into a Mercedes in the accident. (The accident was on the highway) The Mercedes just has a scratch on the back bumper, and I'm pretty sure the BMW needs to replace the back bumper i hit, and probably some scratches in the front... does anyone know about how much this will all cost for repairs? And does anyone know how high my insurance premium will go up? I'm 18 years old living in CA, with Mercury Insurance.""
Whats the best and cheapest car insurance?
Volkswagen Polo 1. Litre, to drive in the city of London?""
Insurance website says differnt car?
Ive been looking at cars on eBay and looking how much insurance would be for them and I found one car, but when I put the number plate in the insurance website it says that the car is a different make all together. Is this just a glitch in the system or something illegal and I should stear clear of?""
Getting my license in April. Good cars w/ low insurance rates?
I like cars like the Scion tC, Mitsubishi Lancer, ect. Sports cars, but not super nice ones. I'm getting my license in April and will get a car shortly after. I want to get a car like the ones above, but I don't think my dad will want to pay a lot for insurance, but I don't want to get a Jeep, which is what he got my brother and sister since the insurance is low. What are some cars like these that also have good rates for insurance? Price range is any thing lower than $10k.""
Can i collect life insurance after a murder.?
My dad has a large life insurance policy on him and i am the head beneficiary. if he happens to be murdered by some unknown suspect would i be able to collect the money or would it have to be accidental or natural death.
Wondering how much is car insurance?
i am wondering how much is car insurance a month for a small car if you know an estimate please write it down
HOW MUCH can my insurance rate rise up after hitting another car? backing up i hit the front right bumper/ligh
I live in California and I have full coverage on my vehicle currently I am 26yrs old and have about 6 yrs with my Dirvers license and NO accidents or tickets on my record. BUT a lot of people mention that my insurance rates will go really high whn an accident happens. I hit the car behind me it donsnt seem to me a a major accident, but a small one. I need help just an advise to know what to expect, please!! maybe in an expert can advise.or other personal experience by someone?""
Car insurance for a 17 year old?
Hi, ive just passed my driving test and now want a car. The plan was to buy a clio/corsa/punto as i thought they were cheap insurance. When i put them into car insurance comparers though its coming out at like 2500. Even thought im a lad i though it would be cheaper than this. Can anyone suggest where to go to get cheap car insurance or what car to buy were its cheap insurance or any tips any information is helpful thanks a lot xx""
My health insurance paid for medical bills incurred from a car wreck. Can it come after me for reimbursement?
now I have received a settlement from the car insurance. Can the health insurance now collect the money it paid out . If so how long do they have to request the money form me?
Should I be adding my 19yr old daughter to my auto insurance?
Our 19 yr old daughter let he car insurance laps. My insurance company found out and added her to my policy this will cost an extra $700.00 + for six months. She also kept say all along that she was paying her own auto insurance for the last 6 months. I`v found out this was not true she stopped paying about 4 months ago. So she has been driving with out insurance for  at least 4 months now. Her car is also in her name so I really can`t take it from her. I`m very upset at her for lien I just found all this out the other day.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-minimum-auto-insurance-limits-would-advisable-someone-atkinson/"
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ralphmorgan-blog1 · 7 years
Text
Blockchains are the new Linux, not the new Internet
Cryptocurrencies are booming beyond belief. Bitcoin is up sevenfold, to $2,500, in the last year. Three weeks ago the redoubtable Vinay Gupta, who led Ethereums initial release, published an essay entitled What Does Ether At $100 Mean? Since then it has doubled. Too many altcoins to name have skyrocketed in value along with the Big Two. ICOs are raking in money hand over fist over bicep. What the hell is going on?
(eta: in the whopping 48 hours since I first wrote that, those prices have tumbled considerably, but are still way, way up for the year.)
A certain seductive narrative has taken hold, is what is going on. This narrative, in its most extreme version, says that cryptocurrencies today are like the Internet in 1996: not just new technology but a radical new kind of technology, belittled or ignored by by most, which has slowly and subtly grown in power and influence over the last several years, and is about to explode into worldwide relevance and importance with shocking speed and massive repercussions.
(Lest you think Im overstating this, I got a PR pitch the other day which literally began: Blockchains 1996 Internet moment is here, as a preface to touting a $33 million ICO. Hey, whats $33 million between friends? Its now pretty much taken as given that were in a cryptocoin bubble.)
I understand the appeal of this narrative. Im no blockchain skeptic. Ive been writing about cryptocurrencies with fascination for six years now. Ive been touting and lauding the power of blockchains, how they have the potential to make the Internet decentralized and permissionless again, and to give us all power over our own data, for years. Im a true believer in permissionless money like Bitcoin. I called the initial launch of Ethereum a historic day.
But I cant help but look at the state of cryptocurrencies today and wonder where the actual value is. I dont mean financial value to speculators; I mean utility value to users. Because if nobody wants to actually use blockchain protocols and projects, those tokens which are supposed to reflect their value are ultimately well worthless.
Bitcoin, despite its ongoing internal strife, is very useful as permissionless global money, and has a legitimate shot at becoming a global reserve and settlement currency. Its anonymized descendants such as ZCash have added value to the initial Bitcoin proposition. (Similarly, Litecoin is now technically ahead of Bitcoin, thanks to the aforementioned ongoing strife.) Ethereum is very successful as a platform for developers.
But still, eight years after Bitcoin launched, Satoshi Nakamoto remains the only creator to have built a blockchain that an appreciable number of ordinary people actually want to use. (Ethereum is awesome, and Vitalik Buterin, like Gupta, is an honest-to-God visionary, but it remains a tool / solution / platform for developers.) No other blockchain-based software initiative seems to be at any real risk of hockey-sticking into general recognition, much less general usage.
With all due respect to Fred Wilson, another true believer and, to be clear, an enormous amount of respect is due it says a lot that, in the midst of this massive boom, hes citing Rare Pepe Cards, of all things, as a prime example of an interesting modern blockchain app. I mean, if thats the state of the art
Maybe Im wrong; maybe Rare Pepe will be the next Pokmon Go. But on the other hand, maybe the ratio of speculation to actual value in the blockchain space has never been higher, which is saying a lot.
Some people argue that the technology is so amazing, so revolutionary, that if enough money is invested, the killer apps and protocols will come. That could hardly be more backwards. Im not opposed to token sales, but they should follow If you build something good enough, investors will flock to you, not If enough investors flock to us, we will build something good enough.
A solid team working on an interesting project which hasnt hit product-market fit should be able to raise a few million dollars or, if you prefer, a couple of thousand bitcoin and then, once their success is proven, they might sell another tranche of now-more-valuable tokens. But projects with hardly any users, and barely any tech, raising tens of millions? That smacks of a bubble made of snake oil one all too likely to attract the heavy and unforgiving hand of the SEC.
That seductive narrative though! The Internet in 1996! I know. But hear me out. Maybe the belief that blockchains today are like the Internet in 1996 is completely wrong. Of course all analogies are flawed, but theyre useful, theyre how we think and maybe there is another, more accurate, and far more telling, analogy here.
I propose a counter-narrative. I put it to you that blockchains today arent like the Internet in 1996; theyre more like Linux in 1996. That is in no way a dig but, if true, its something of a death knell for those who hope to profit from mainstream usage of blockchain apps and protocols.
Decentralized blockchain solutions are vastly more democratic, and more technically compelling, than the hermetically-sealed, walled-garden, Stack-ruled Internet of today. Similarly, open-source Linux was vastly more democratic, and more technically compelling, than the Microsoft and Apple OSes which ruled computing at the time. But nobody used it except a tiny coterie of hackers. It was too clunky; too complicated; too counterintuitive; required jumping through too many hoops and Linuxs dirty secret was that the mainstream solutions were, in fact, actually fine, for most people.
Sound familiar? Today theres a lot of work going into decentralized distributed storage keyed on blockchain indexes; Storj, Sia, Blockstack, et al. This is amazing, groundbreaking work but why would an ordinary person, one already comfortable with Box or Dropbox, switch over to Storj or Blockstack? The centralized solution works just fine for them, and, because its centralized, they know who to call if something goes wrong. Blockstack in particular is more than just storage but what compelling pain point is it solving for the average user?
The similarities to Linux are striking. Linux was both much cheaper and vastly more powerful than the alternatives available at the time. It seemed incredibly, unbelievably disruptive. Neal Stephenson famously analogized 90s operating systems to cars. Windows was a rattling lemon of a station wagon; MacOS was a hermetically sealed Volkswagen Beetle; and then, weirdly beyond weirdly there was
Linux, which is right next door, and which is not a business at all. Its a bunch of RVs, yurts, tepees, and geodesic domes set up in a field and organized by consensus. The people who live there are making tanks. These are not old-fashioned, cast-iron Soviet tanks; these are more like the M1 tanks of the U.S. Army, made of space-age materials and jammed with sophisticated technology from one end to the other. But they are better than Army tanks. Theyve been modified in such a way that they never, ever break down, are light and maneuverable enough to use on ordinary streets, and use no more fuel than a subcompact car. These tanks are being cranked out, on the spot, at a terrific pace, and a vast number of them are lined up along the edge of the road with keys in the ignition. Anyone who wants can simply climb into one and drive it away for free.
Customers come to this crossroads in throngs, day and night. Ninety percent of them go straight to the biggest dealership and buy station wagons They do not even look at the other dealerships.
I put it to you that just as yesterdays ordinary consumers wouldnt use Linux, todays wont use Bitcoin and other blockchain apps, even if Bitcoin and the the other apps build atop blockchains are technically and politically amazing (which some are.) I put it to you that the year of widespread consumer use of [Bitcoin | Ripple | Stellar | ZCash | decentralized ether apps | etc] is perhaps analogous to the year of [Ubuntu | Debian | Slackware | Red Hat | etc] on the desktop.
Please note: this is not a dismissive analogy, or one which in any way understates the potential eventual importance of the technology! There are two billion active Android devices out there, and every single one runs the Linux kernel. When they communicate with servers, aka the cloud, they communicate with vast, warehouse-sized data centers teeming with innumerable Linux boxes. Linux was immensely important and influential. Most of modern computing is arguably Linux-to-Linux.
Its very easy to imagine a similar future for blockchains and cryptocurrencies. To quote my friend Shannon: It [blockchain tech] definitely seems like it has a Linux-like adoption arc ahead of it: Theres going to be a bunch of doomed attempts to make it a commercially-viable consumer product while it gains dominance in vital behind-the-scenes applications.
But if your 1996 investment thesis had been that ordinary people would adopt Linux en masse over the next decade which would not have seemed at all crazy then you would have been in for a giant world of hurt. Linux did not become important because ordinary people used it. Instead it became commodity infrastructure that powered the next wave of the Internet.
Its easy to envision how and why an interwoven mesh of dozens of decentralized blockchains could slowly, over a period of years and years, become a similar category of crucial infrastructure: as a reserve/settlement currency, as replacements for huge swathes of todays financial industry, as namespaces (such as domain names), as behind-the-scenes implementations of distributed storage systems, etc. while ordinary people remain essentially blissfully unaware of their existence. Its even easy to imagine them being commoditized. Does Ethereum gas cost too much? No problem; just switch your distributed system over to another, cheaper, blockchain.
So dont tell me this is like the Internet in 1996, not without compelling evidence. Instead, wake me up when cryptocurrency prices begin to track the demonstrated underlying value of the apps and protocols built on their blockchains. Because in the interim, in its absence of that value, Im sorry to say that instead we seem to be talking about decentralized digital tulips.
Disclosure, since it seems requisite: I mostly avoid any financial interest, implicit or explicit, long or short, in any cryptocurrency, so that I can write about them sans bias. I do own precisely one bitcoin, though, which I purchased a couple of years ago because I felt silly not owning any while I was advising a (since defunct) Bitcoin-based company.
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viralhottopics · 7 years
Text
How an Army of Twitter Bots Almost Created a Political Pundit
This story was originally published by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit news organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Learn more at revealnews.org and subscribe to the Reveal podcast, produced with PRX, at http://bit.ly/2nUq67u.
Tweets from 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelleys account normally get only a few dozen retweetsat least until Pelley enlisted the services of Jim Vidmar in late March for an episode about how fake news spreads. Vidmar, a social media consultant, bought access to a network of 5,000 Twitter bots from a Russian website and turned them loose on this tweet:
What happens when 60 Minutes investigates fake news? #marchmadness
— Scott Pelley (@ScottPelley) March 16, 2017
And voila: 4,000 retweets within minutes.
Its not surprising that Pelley went to Vidmar, who spent years mastering the art of deploying fake social media accounts, to get the true story behind the bot army accused of bolstering Donald Trumps 2016 presidential campaign. Except for one thing Pelley failed to mention: Vidmars name is as fake as the Twitter bots he helped Pelley purchase.
Vidmars real last name is Denlinger. He often goes by his wifes maiden name when talking to the media about practices that run afoul of the rules of the social media platforms on which he long has made his livelihood.
Amid the scrum of last years presidential campaign, Denlinger attempted to use his own network of Twitter bots to reinvent himself as an influential political pundit.
In January 2016, Denlinger began tweeting from an account with the handle @PoliticsJim. While that account was suspended by Twitter a few months later, its tweets now lost down the social networks memory hole, Denlinger briefly was able to dominate the Twitter conversation surrounding a handful of presidential primary debates.
An analysis by the social media analytics firm Spredfast found that on hashtags relating to the Democratic primary debate Feb. 11 between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, @PoliticsJim had six of the top 10 retweeted messages. During a Democratic town hall the following week, @PoliticsJim scored the biggest tweet win of the night. For a GOP debate a few days later, @PoliticsJim produced seven of the 10 most viral tweets.
Denlingers tweets typically contained simple image macro memes, priming them to be shareable on their own. However, the bots he created popped his message to the top of a trending hashtag, a perk usually reserved for celebrities with large followings. Top tweets about major political events usually come from politicians such as Clinton herself or high-profile comedians such as Patton Oswalt. But Denlinger had figured out how to game the system, and he was riding the bot wave to the top of the feeds of anyone scrolling through debate hashtags.
Denlingers bots had their origin in a program he developed to help gamblers cheat at online poker in the early 2000s. The program, which he hacked together in about a week, scanned what was happening on a video poker app and automatically counted cards, giving players an edge in deciding when to hold em and when to fold em.
What he needed was a publicity plan. If I dont learn marketing to get this in front of the right people, its not going to go anywhere, he said during a phone interview last spring. A lot of people in the tech industry dont understand that concept. They think if they create something great and click submit to the internet, boom, theyll be found.
Denlingers insight about his card-counting software contained the seeds of everything hes done sinceexploiting technical flaws in computer systems to draw attention to whatever he wants to sell. He claims hes developed nearly 200 pieces of software that have sold over 1 million copies and taken on a host of clients ranging from musicians to businesses.
For example, he discovered Twitters official Android app didnt limit the number of accounts you could actively follow per day. Thinking back to his poker program, Denlinger loaded a cellphone emulator on his PC and wrote a script that followed a huge number of accounts at lightning speed 50,000 accounts a day, about one-quarter of which immediately would follow him back. With corporate clients looking to pad their accounts with real followers, Denlinger had discovered a money-making machine.
I made so much money that year, it was unbelievable, he said.
When the Wall Street Journal profiled Denlinger in 2013calling him Jim Vidmarit mentioned the ruse, and Twitter quickly closed the loophole.
In 2015, after selling a pair of startups, a gaming company called BadgeHelp and online task marketplace MyCheapJobs, Denlinger had time on his hands. A longtime political junkie, he turned his attention to following in the footsteps of one of his heroes: political analyst Mark Halperin, best known for insider campaign tell-alls such as Game Change and Double Down.
Thats the kind of journalism that I respect, the kind where you cant tell who theyre going to vote for, Denlinger said. I just want the facts. Thats what Im trying to do with this.
Ive heard so many pundits and so many of these people at CNN and MSNBC and Bloomberg and all these other sources I get information from, he continued. I sit here and listen to the people they drag on that they consider to be experts and Im like, Oh my god. Maybe if I got some attention, I could go on some of these shows.
While Halperin spent a decade climbing the media food chain, starting as a desk assistant for ABC News in the late 1980s, Denlinger saw the current media landscape as eminently hackable. He employed a mass of bots, retweeting everything @PoliticsJim posted. These bots spread the tweets to their followers, but more importantly, they boosted Denlingers tweets to the top of whatever hashtag he wanted to invade.
On social media, nothing draws attention like a crowd, and soon Denlinger was in the mix with political pros.
Using another tool he created, Denlinger identified and followed between 400 and 700 influential human-operated Twitter accounts each day, hoping they would follow him back. Even so, bots dominated the ranks of @PoliticsJims followers. TwitterAudit found that nearly two-thirds of his followers were made of code, not flesh and blood.
Denlinger woke up one morning last spring to find his account had been suspended.
Twitter did not respond to a request for comment, but Denlinger notes that the company rarely detects this type of bot use on its ownespecially when the bots arent obviously shilling a specific product. He suspects a user noticed what he was doing and tipped off Twitter.
He considered starting anew with another account but scrapped the idea.
If I wanted another @PoliticsJim, I could have had one within 20 minutes, he said. I have 50,000 accounts that are over five years old. I could have brought one up, slapped a few thousand followers on it, and there we go, off to the races again.
But the experience had been less than fulfilling. Denlinger had shoved himself into the Twitter conversation, generating hundreds, if not thousands, of interactions on each tweet, but he never broke through the cacophony: He never made it onto political talk shows.
I felt like I had done this big thing online, but nobody recognized it, he said. No one cared. No one understood it. Nothing.
So he went back to selling. Instead of focusing on himself, Denlinger has returned to helping others go viral.Bots can take a piece of content only so far. Pelleys tweet, for example, has amassed over 4,500 retweets so far, but only about 300 likes. The content didnt strongly resonate with actual human beings.
That resonance, Denlinger said, is crucial. Trump may have over 6 million fake Twitter followers, according to TwitterAudit, but Denlinger says those bots arent why he became president. And they are not what made people pay attention to the at least 325 people, places and things the former reality TV star has insulted on Twitter since announcing his presidential campaign nearly two years ago.
When the TV bookers came from 60 Minutes, they werent seeking Denlingers political acumen, asking him to be the next Halperin. They wanted to tap into his social media savvy, his ability to find holes in a system used by millions around the world.
Now Denlinger is playing that to his advantage: On his website, he is offering a 60 Minute Show Special, a one-hour social media consulting session for $60.
Aaron Sankin can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @ASankin.
Read more: http://bit.ly/2nUi6DD
from How an Army of Twitter Bots Almost Created a Political Pundit
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