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speed-seo · 7 months

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10 Proven Ways to Take Your Ecommerce CX [Customer Experience] from Good to Great

From So-So to Sensational: How to Wow Online Shoppers Gone are the days when online shoppers tolerated slow load times or confusing checkout processes. With consumers able to instantly price compare and buy from anywhere, online retailers need to wow and delight shoppers to earn their business. 👉 Mediocre customer experience means forgettable interactions and high churn. Exceptional customer experience creates vocal brand advocates. Just look at the data: - 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for great customer experience. - Companies exceeding customer experience expectations enjoy 60% higher revenues compared to competitors. - Loyal online shoppers have a 3x higher lifetime value than first-time buyers. Getting customer experience right has become imperative for ecommerce success. But where to start on the journey? Customer Experience Strategies This comprehensive guide reveals 10 proven strategies to take your online customer experience from so-so to sensational. We'll cover everything from optimizing product pages to streamlining checkout, providing exceptional service across channels, personalizing recommendations, and leveraging data to continuously improve. With these tips, you'll create end-to-end digital experiences that delight customers, fuel brand love, and drive sales growth for the long-haul. The stakes have never been higher when it comes to online customer experience. Let's explore how leading retailers are meeting the moment - and how you can too. 1. Hypnotize Customers with Compelling Product Listings Listings make first impressions. Ensure titles, copy, images and video quickly communicate the product’s value and benefits. - Lead with keywords in titles, weave organically in descriptions - Address buyers’ questions - specs, materials, care instructions - Conversational tone, like a helpful salesperson, not a robot - Alternate images to showcase key features - Videos demonstrate usage, scale, and components - Easy to scan with bullet points and bolding - Mobile optimized - legible imagery and copy on any device Pro Tip: A/B test listing content and visuals. Analyze performance data to refine. 2. Remove Roadblocks in the Buying Journey Like an obstacle course, poor UX triggers frustration and abandonment. Streamline navigation and checkout. - Intuitive categories and site search to easily find products - Filters to narrow selection - Visual hierarchy, breadcrumbs, product trails - Guest checkout reduces required fields - Pre-fill names, addresses, payment for registered users - Progress bar through checkout - Instant error messages identify issues Pro Tip: Use session replays to pinpoint and fix pain points. 3. Woo Customers with Free Shipping and Returns Make buying irresistible by eliminating financial risk. Offer free shipping guarantees and return policies. - Free shipping thresholds - Prepaid return labels in package - Local return drop-off points - Instant refunds once received - Free exchanges for different size or color Pro Tip: Promote guarantees on product pages and in email campaigns. 4. Deliver 24/7 Customer Service on All Channels From phone and email to chat, social media and beyond - be available across every channel your customers prefer. - Unified knowledge base empowers consistent support - Chatbots provide instant answers around the clock - Track CSAT (customer satisfaction) - Monitor resolution time and set SLAs - Omnichannel software unifies data and workflows Pro Tip: Identify most common customer questions and optimize FAQs. 5. Light a Fire Under Customers with Scarcity and Urgency The threat of missing out prompts action. But use selectively. - Limited-time promotions - Closing countdown timers on products or offers - Low inventory warnings or limited edition products Pro Tip: Test different urgency elements on product pages. Analyze conversion impact. 6. Stay Top of Mind with Lifecycle Email Campaigns Targeted emails bring customers back and boost lifetime value. - Welcome series for new subscribers - Cart abandonment emails - Browse abandonment messages - Re-engagement offers for inactive users - Win-back campaigns for defectors Pro Tip: Segment and personalize content with CRM or email platform. 7. Pinpoint Usability Issues with Session Replays Watch real user sessions on your site to identify pain points. Look for: - Slow page load times - Broken elements and error messages - Confusing navigation or information architecture - Form field confusion and abandonment - Shopping cart or wishlist issues Pro Tip: Prioritize fixes that impact critical user paths and conversions. 8. Turn Customers into Ambassadors with Ratings and Reviews Customer-generated content builds trust while fueling SEO. But stay authentic. - Post-purchase review prompt - Curate and display reviews, hide poor quality - Respond respectfully to negative feedback - Moderators filter inappropriate or fraudulent reviews Pro Tip: Analyze reviews for product insights and improvement opportunities. 9. Wow Shoppers with Relevant Recommendations Leverage data to deliver personalized suggestions. - Individual product recommendations based on purchase history, views, demographics - Content recommendations like guides, related products, comparisons - Similar items carousel based on current product - Order status dashboard with tracking, history, favorites Pro Tip: Balance automation with human curation for relevant recs. 10. Continuously Analyze Data and Optimize Insights from analytics tools and primary research inform enhancements. - Web analytics to identify popular entry pages, conversions, drop-off - Heatmaps show click density - Session replays uncover usability struggles - Voice of Customer surveys and feedback - Churn analysis provides retention insights - ** tools** connect data from all sources Pro Tip: Align teams on priority issues and coordinate improvements. Aditional tips to consider 👉 Mobile Optimization for Seamless Omnichannel Experiences Ensure seamless experience across smartphones, tablets, and apps. Test across iOS and Android. Optimize navigation and keyboards for thumbs. Offer app-exclusive features. 👉 Surveys Offer a Voice of the Customer Pulse Use surveys to gather qualitative feedback on experiences, emotions, and pain points. Ask for ratings on specific interactions. Segment users for comparative feedback. 👉 Testing Unlocks Innovation Continually test new features and experiences with a percentage of users first. Analyze impact on KPIs. Only roll out winning variations wider. 👉 Brand Storytelling Forges Emotional Connections Build an emotional connection through compelling brand storytelling and messaging. Emphasize shared values and higher purpose. Make customers the hero. 👉 Unified Insights Reveal Systemic Issues Consolidate insights from surveys, reviews, service tickets into a single CX dashboard. Identify systemic issues frustrating customers. Assign ownership for fixes. Delivering Memorable Customer Experiences Providing an exceptional ecommerce customer experience is no longer optional, but essential. However, CX improvement is not a one-and-done initiative - it's an ongoing journey. The strategies covered in this guide reveal key areas where online retailers can start making an impact through focused efforts: - Hypnotic product listings that sell themselves - Frictionless navigation and buying flows - Proactive, omnichannel customer service - Personalization that feels like magic - Promotions and perks that exceed expectations But ultimately, customer experience is about emotion as much as function. It's about crafting end-to-end digital experiences that resonate on a deeper level - tapping into shopper motivations and forging an emotional bond. The goal is moments of delight that spark joy, solve problems, and convey how much you value customers' time, money, and trust. To consistently deliver such moments, ecommerce brands must embed customer experience thinking into their culture: - Listen continuously to the Voice of the Customer - Empower teams to identify and remove pain points - Collaborate cross-functionally to connect insights - Invest in UX design, research, and optimization - Celebrate and promote customer-centricity With this strong cultural foundation, you gain agility to constantly evolve experiences and stay ahead of customer expectations. The payoff for outstanding CX is immense - increased conversion rates, lower acquisition costs, expanded lifetime value, and invaluable brand advocacy. By championing excellent digital experiences across the shopper journey, online retailers can strengthen loyalty in an increasingly fickle marketplace. They can turn customers into fans, and one-time buyers into lifelong brand champions. CX 101: Common Questions Answered Q: Where should we start in improving our customer experience? A: Begin by listening to customers through surveys, reviews, and service interactions. Identify the top pain points and areas of friction. Focus initial efforts on quick wins that address common issues. Q: How much does improving CX cost? A: Results come from focusing on the right priorities, not big budgets. Many CX best practices have low incremental costs but outsized impact - like crafting better product listings or optimizing checkouts. Q: How long does it take to see results from CX efforts? A: Some changes like faster load times have instant impact. But cultivating loyalty through great experiences compounds over time. With continuous improvement, gains build on each other. Q: How can we get internal teams onboard with the CX focus? A: Rally leaders around customer-centric goals. Connect insights to emotions and human stories. Celebrate CX wins and champion user advocates. Lead by example. Q: What metrics best reflect CX health and progress? A: Well-rounded metrics quantify business impact (revenue, conversions, cost per acquisition) and qualitative feedback (CSAT, NPS, reviews). Read the full article

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nextlaw · 1 year

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US Waiver Lawyer - 5 Google Review Tips to Find the Best

Finding the right US Waiver Lawyer can feel like navigating a maze without a map. You know that a successful Waiver application is your only way to travel to the United States. But, with so many lawyers available to hire, how do you know you’re making the right choice? And, what makes this decision hard is that any wrong step in your Waiver application can lead to delays or, worse, a rejected application. The stakes couldn’t be higher. Your dream of being able to travel to the US critically depends on choosing the right US Waiver Lawyer. That’s where this guide comes in.

Here we give you 5 critical Google review tips to help you identify and hire the best U.S Waiver Lawyer for your case. Follow these tips, and you’ll be one step closer to unlocking worry-free travel to the United States.

US Waiver Lawyer: Google Review Tip #1 - Prioritize Google Reviews in Your Search

Google reviews are like a spotlight on a US Entry Waiver Lawyer's work. They help you see if the lawyer is good at what they do. These reviews matter a lot to you and the lawyers themselves. Here's why: The world of US Waiver legal help is competitive. When a US Waiver Lawyer has many Google reviews, it's a good sign. It means they know the game well, and they're doing their best for clients like you. A lot of positive reviews mean they're giving great results to their clients. And when they do a good job, more people leave positive feedback. This not only helps you find a trusted US Entry Waiver Lawyer but also brings them more clients in the future. So make Google reviews a priority in your U.S. Waiver Lawyer search.

Google Review Tip #2 - Aim for Lawyers with a Minimum of 50 Reviews

When searching for a US Entry Waiver Lawyer, always check the number of reviews they have. Generally, the more reviews a US Waiver lawyer has, the better. It shows that the lawyer has a consistent flow of clients and cares about their online reputation. The more reviews the lawyer has, the better because you’re looking for patterns. And you can only see patterns when you have a larger number of reviews. Generally, that number threshold to establish a pattern is about 50 reviews. When you hit that 50 review threshold, it’s likely that you can see a pattern of how that lawyer has performed with other clients. So look for US Waiver lawyers with at least 50 reviews.

Google Review Tip #3 - Don't Be Deterred by Less Than Perfect Scores

If you come across a US Waiver Lawyer with many reviews but not a perfect 5-star rating, don't dismiss them immediately. Even if their average rating is around 4.7 or 4.8, they might still be an excellent choice. Always read the lower-star reviews of a US Waiver Lawyer. To see these, sort the reviews from “Lowest”. Low-rating reviews with no comments are likely, not real, so you can skip them. But if there’s a detailed low-rating review, take notes. Make a point of discussing the bad review with the US Waiver Lawyer during your free consultation. They might not share all the details due to confidentiality, but their response can provide some clarity. This can help you feel more confident in your decision about hiring that US Waiver Lawyer.

Google Review Tip #4 - Look for Three Key Aspects in Reviews

When you have at least 50 Google reviews to read, you have an excellent opportunity to understand what to expect when working with that US Waiver Lawyer. Specifically, you should be looking for 3 things. - Reviews about the US Waiver Lawyer's skills. This means how well they handle cases. - Feedback on their professionalism. Essentially, how they treat and interact with clients. - Mentions of their responsiveness. This is about whether the US Waiver Lawyer updates clients timely or keeps them waiting. These reviews can give you a clear picture of what to expect when you hire that U.S. Entry Waiver Lawyer.

Google Review Tip #5 - Pay Attention to Lawyer Replies

Every client that takes the time to write a review, good or bad, deserves a response. You should read those responses. They show how much the US Waiver Lawyer values feedback. And pay close attention to how the US Waiver Lawyer responds to negative comments. If they address issues in a helpful way, it's a good sign they're dedicated to serving clients better in the future. In conclusion, your dream of hassle-free travel to the U.S. depends on finding the right US Entry Waiver Lawyer. Using these Google review tips will set you on the right path. Safe travels! https://youtu.be/vjdTkvbdYs4 Read the full article

#USEntryWaivers

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wardens-stew · 4 years

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“All the blame is on you” - My theory of the SECRET behind The Bone Season series

Say no more! *gets out detective glasses*

“My father was standing beside my bed. The first interesting thing about this situation was that my father was somehow not in London. The second was that his eyes were gone. For a long time, he just stood there, as motionless as I was. When he did open his mouth, worms pearled from inside it. “Níl an fhírinne ar eolas agat, a Mhathúinín,” he croaked. His empty sockets oozed rot. He hadn’t uttered a word in Irish for eleven years. This couldn’t be real. “Inis dom, a athair,” I murmured. “Ní an ceathrú glas, ach an ceann deireanach.” He reached for me with a decayed hand. “Tá an milleán go léir ortsa.” His fingers gripped my throat. I felt nothing. He splintered into a swarm of flies.” - The Dawn Chorus

The English translation of Paige’s exchange with her father, thanks to Google Translate:

"You do not know the truth, my baby," he croaked. His empty sockets oozed rot. He hadn’t uttered a word in Irish for eleven years. This couldn’t be real. “Tell me, father,” I murmured. "Not the fourth green, but the last." He reached for me with a decayed hand. "All the blame is on you."

Okay, so there’s a secret Paige doesn’t know, probably to do with the reality of the Rephaim, clairvoyance, and the Emim. No idea what to think about “the fourth green”. Then he says to Paige that “all the blame is on you,” alluding to the pivotal role that I suspect Paige plays not only within the revolution but also within the presence of clairvoyance, Emim, and Rephaim in the human world. In The Song Rising, Paige is inexplicably able to banish the poltergeist protecting Senshield, and it leaves the word “KIN” engraved on her skin - suggesting again that she is somehow exceptional, even related to the key players in this immense conflict in ways she doesn’t realize. Which brings me to my big theory….

Clue #1: So when Warden tells Paige the history of the Rephaim and their alliance with Scion, he describes that the Mothallath family was originally the only Rephaite family able to cross the ethereal threshold:

“To protect themselves, the Mothallath made a strict law that they would never reveal themselves to humans. They were always to maintain their distance.’

‘But someone didn’t,’ I guessed.

‘Correct. We do not know exactly what happened, but the Sargas informed us that one of the Mothallath had crossed the veil without permission.’ His eyes dimmed. ‘After that, everything disintegrated. That was when clairvoyance entered the human world. That was when the Emim appeared. That was when the veils between the worlds grew thin enough to let all of us through.’” - The Mime Order

So it seems that unsanctioned contact between a Rephaite and a human was what triggered the Waning of the Veils, bringing about the arrival of clairvoyance, Emim, and Rephaim into the human world. We don’t know the specifics, except that a Rephaite interacted with a human in a way they were not supposed to, and all hell broke lose.

Clue #2: In The Bone Season, the amaranth in the bell jar blooms directly after the scene in the Guildhall where Paige and Warden embrace for the first time - this is also, I’m pretty sure, the first time he has skin-to-skin contact with a human (“your skin is cold. I never…” ;)). The amaranth is the only flower that grows in the Netherworld and the symbolic call to arms for the Ranthen - Gomeisa Sarges describes it as the “flower of transgression”. This enormous transgression, feared by the Sargas and stirring to the Ranthen, is unsanctioned physical contact between Rephaim and humans. It can’t be the result of a golden cord, because that was formed much earlier - it clearly refers to physical contact - maybe romantic/sexual? Warden and Paige’s intimate relationship is very likely catalyzing something huge within the world of the Rephaim, clairvoyance, Emim, and Scion.

Clue #3: This theory is supported by Jaxon’s manipulation of Paige in The Song Rising as well as Nashira’s scheming through Suhail that’s explored in The Dawn Chorus. Jaxon tries to poison the bond between Paige and Warden and fracture their intimacy by suggesting that he has only been using her for his own gain. Paige recognizes this as psychological warfare. Similarly, Suhail (on the orders of Nashira) suggests that Warden will be repulsed by Paige’s messiness and mortality, and he almost succeeds in getting Paige to despise herself so much that she can only be touched by Warden with gloves. As Paige puts it, “They wanted to restore the natural order between you and me. To make me fear the touch that makes us equal.” The Sargas have indoctrinated all Rephaim with a distaste for humans and established that consorting with a human is the highest crime a Rephaite can commit. To be intimate with a human is to be non-Repahite, as Warden puts it. A flesh-traitor.

The fact that the Sargas and their allies have gone to such trouble to dissuade all Rephaim from engaging with humans, and, upon discovering Warden and Paige’s intimacy, have deployed strategic moves with the intent to damage it, suggests that far more is at stake than solidarity within an enemy side. Warden and Paige’s intimacy poses much a greater threat to Nashira’s power than either of them realize. Which is why, as Paige’s father - characterized by rot, decay, and “a swarm of flies”, clearly representing Emim - says to her, “all the blame is on you”. Paige is not merely inciting change as a political insurgent - through her intimacy with a Rephaite, she is unknowingly provoking a massive shift in the order of the world. This, I suspect, is “the truth” that Paige does not yet know.

Now, here’s where I get a little confused. If unsanctioned contact between a Mothallath and a human brought about the Waning of the Veils and the rise to power of the Sargas, it would make sense that contact between a human and a Rephaite would continue this process. But clearly the Sargas fear the implications of human/Rephaite intimacy, and they are driven to drastic ends to impede it. So if it does not serve their ends - does it do the opposite of what the Mothallath incident triggered, restoring the veils instead of collapsing them? Perhaps the Mothallath incident was different from Paige and Warden’s relationship - somehow negative rather than positive? They both are aligned with transgression, but Paige and Warden are aligned with the Ranthen, the rebellion, the weakening of the Sargas, and the restoration of the veils, whereas the Mothallath incident brought about the rise to power of the Sargas, the emergence of clairvoyance and Emim, and the entrance of the Rephaim into Earth. Something doesn’t quite follow. Is Warden and Paige’s relationship the catalyst to their revolution, or does it have greater consequences that may separate - or end them both?

A little Tumblr ask that low-key confirms my theory:

#I have too much time on my hands #the bone season #the dawn chorus #the mime order #the song rising #samantha shannon #warden and paige #arcturus and paige #book theory

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nothingunrealistic · 4 years

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do you have any Kleinsen or deh fic recommendations? I've read most of the popular ones already, so some of the less common ones would be awesome

sure! some of these recs come from this post of mine and this post of milo’s; some are new. i’ve split them up into two sections: kleinsen and gen/other. i didn’t list more than one or two works from any particular author, but if you like a given fic, i definitely recommend checking out the author’s other work. under a cut!

kleinsen

to avoid re-reccing the most popular fics, i’ve kept it to those with under 250 kudos (as of posting this, anyway.)

you’re not the only one (who doesn’t wanna be alone tonight) by literalvampire - 27.0k, canon divergent oneshot. evan and jared decide to go to a halloween party, a decision that winds up completely changing their relationship. this fic has everything: misunderstandings and miscommunication! puns! inadvertently making people jealous! jared and alana friendship / gay solidarity! the intimacy of applying and removing someone’s makeup for them! cats, and Cats!

bake from the heart by literalvampire - 5.1k, post-canon oneshot. they’ve fought, and now they’re friends again, and to show it, jared’s helping evan (who he totally doesn’t have a crush on anymore, definitely not, no way) bake for his mom’s birthday. sweet, funny, and reclaims “cinnamon rolls” for the delicious pastry rather than oversimplified and infantilized fictional characters.

why mess up a good thing by otachi - 4.4k, post-canon oneshot. jared and evan go to a college party, to meet people and be sociable, and then decide they’d rather just go home (because oh my god, they’re roommates) and hang out together. misunderstandings and discussions of feelings ensue. great characterization, great banter, and a delightfully sweet ending.

through a window, counting birds by otachi - 4.5k, vaguely post-canon oneshot. evan and jared are just hanging out on a summer night and both quietly head over heels for one another. it’s much more about Thoughts And Feelings than about plot here, and those thoughts and feelings are perfectly on point with regards to characterization and beautifully laid out for us.

baby, be gentle (it’s my first time) by jetpacks - 8.8k, canon divergent oneshot. a 5+1 fic about the times evan and jared nearly confessed their feelings to one another, and the time they finally did. a great combination of silly teenage shenanigans & banter and desperately trying & failing to talk about feelings.

on nights so cold, i know you need some company by kkamikaze - 8.6k, post-canon / canon divergent oneshot. jared reads the letter that’s been posted online as connor’s note, figures out what it is, and immediately goes to evan to have a conversation they should have had long ago. i don’t think i’ll ever get tired of “jared reads the letter” fics, and this is a great exploration of how he might respond to that.

only fools fall for you by heklin - 7.1k, time travel au oneshot. on the first day of school, jared listens to evan’s story about falling out of a tree - and then gets sent back in time to that moment, over and over again. an exploration of the history of jared and evan’s friendship, and how jared might deal with finding out how evan really broke his arm.

watch how a cold broken teen will desperately lean on a superglued human of proof by PrinceDrew - 1.2k, soulmate au oneshot. connor, evan’s soulmate (not a typo) dies, evan falls apart, and jared is there to help evan put himself back together. deeply tragic, and probably not your thing if you can’t stand connor/evan in any form, but wonderfully written.

dear evan asshat (orphaned) - 0.8k, post-canon oneshot. after their fight, jared writes more emails to evan that he doesn’t send. one of my favorite tropes for this pairing - this fic is very short, but it packs a lot of pain in there.

Porto Ruby by captchaluff - 1.9k, pre-canon oneshot. evan goes over to jared’s house to do homework, but they end up drinking and sharing secrets instead. a really interesting look at what they might have been like in middle school, though with a less than hopeful ending.

the maroon hoodie by jamb - 4.2k, everyone lives au oneshot. all the teens are friends, and they’d all be having a great time if jared weren’t Suffering Terribly thanks to seeing evan wearing his hoodie and then trying to figure out how to date him. delightful duo of low-stakes kleinsen pining and playfully antagonistic jared & connor friendship, if that’s your bag.

have you listened to me lately? lately, i’ve been fuckin’ crazy by outlawslikeus - 1.0k, post-canon oneshot. evan’s dropped jared, and jared’s read the letter, and now jared spends his time writing emails he’ll never send. a character study of jared at his most heartbroken.

and now, for some recs of my own work, because i love attention!

love, comment, and subscribe - 6.5k, canon-compliant oneshot. takes the idea of jared’s tech inspect and extends it into a series of videos being made over the course of canon that document jared’s gradual unraveling. make sure you have “show creator style” on for this one!

futile devices - 8.3k, multichapter. a collection of prompt fics, originally posted on tumblr, with a common focus on jared and evan’s relationship and everything that tends to go unspoken between them. these cover a wide range of compliance with and divergence from canon, sometimes including the deh novel.

no comfort in the truth - 3.7k, soulmate au multichapter. specifically, it’s a spin on the “last words your soulmate ever says to you” concept, while sticking closely to the events of canon. this one is entirely will roland’s fault for saying he doesn’t think evan and jared would ever reconcile.

if you only say the word - 1.8k, canon-compliant oneshot. my own take (one of them, anyway) on Jared Reads The Letter, and one that could easily be happening in the background of the reprise of ywbf. the first thing i ever wrote (though not the first thing i published) for deh - i think it holds up still.

gen/other

most of these don’t focus on romantic relationships much or at all; since such stories generally aren’t as popular anyway, i’m not sticking closely to the 250 kudos threshold here.

Somebody To Find You by stayawake - 3.8k, canon compliant oneshot. a retelling of canon from alana’s perspective. i love alana dearly, and this does an excellent job of exploring her actions in canon, how she feels about connor’s death and others’ reactions to it, and what she might go through after posting the letter online.

feeling stupid, feeling small by nosecoffee - 2.2k, pre-canon oneshot; jared & connor, jared & evan, jared & zoe. jared is lonely, and he’s depressed, and he doesn’t feel like a person, and even hanging out with the murphys now and again won’t do much to fix that. a deeply sad look at what jared’s life, and his interactions with evan, zoe, and connor, might have been like before canon.

every sun doesn’t rise by nosecoffee - 3.5k, canon divergent oneshot; evan & connor, evan & jared. connor is dead, and now he’s a ghost, and he’d appreciate it if someone came and got his body, so he makes his way to evan to ask for help, and jared gets pulled in along the way. a downer of a fic, but morbidly funny as well.

i’ll be waiting for you until we meet again by demistories - 7.0k, soulmate au oneshot; alana & connor, evan & jared. in this au, you can talk to your soulmate (romantic or platonic) in dreams; connor’s known his soulmate for years, but he doesn’t know her name. a fun look at a connor-alana friendship, as well as connor’s possible friendships with evan, jared, and zoe in a kinder timeline.

they were kids that i once knew by PrinceDrew - 4.3k, canon divergent oneshot. evan and connor both die by suicide, though only connor’s death is recognized as such, and when a story about the two of them being best friends emerges from the public grief, jared gets lost in the middle. very well-written and deeply sad.

and mine:

the lights will arise - 3.9k, canon-compliant multichapter; alana & jared. part of the same series as if you only say the word, and examines alana’s arc during canon and how it could intersect with jared’s. all part of my agenda to 1) let alana and jared be Friends and 2) actually let us see what they’re up to during ywbf reprise.

let facts be submitted to a candid world - 11.3k, au multichapter wip (2/7 chapters); alana & jared, alana/female oc. it’s a national treasure au. alana is nicolas cage. that’s it. i have no idea if i’ll ever update this again, but you might enjoy what’s there anyway.

#inbox #anonymous #dear evan hansen #kleinsen #other people write #sometimes i write

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killerkyara · 5 years

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Shephard to the Stars

Before —

Quai,

I am undertaking a dangerous mission for my own health. A ritual that will dampen the effects of the void on my mind and body, if successful. It has all gotten worse as of late; I fear that if I don’t do something now, I could end up sharing in Wellson’s fate.

There are risks involved, risks that I have given much thought to. Given recent events, my threshold is already lowered. While I do regret to thrust this burden upon you — in the event that I do not return home, I ask that you take care of Matin in my stead. He loves you more than you know, and I trust you more than anyone on this plane or beyond.

And if I do return, let it be known, then, that I’d have you as my successor.

My eternal thanks,

Grey.

[Edited rp with @celestare.]

Thick clouds swarmed the skies starting in the Barrens. The duo progressed into the bowels of a building thunderstorm; by the time they landed, rain had begun to fall, soaking hair and clothes, moisture trapped in the humid atmosphere of the desert. Kyara instructs Aeondra on where to land. Up north, bordering Tanaris, separated only by hills. The oasis was misty, quiet, though the shapes of lumbering crocodiles in the shallow water could be made out with a keen eye.

After dismounting, Kyara nods once, surveying the scene. "...This is where I most often hid from my father, when I had the chance to run. Camped among the trees." Her gaze followed the tall palms up into the sky, until their trunks disappeared into the fog.

“A solitary oasis.” Aeondra notes, solemn and gentle. She steps to Kyara’s side and holds out her right hand, palm facing up. “The stone, if you would. And prepare to enter the water. I will keep you safe from the reptiles, pay them no mind.”

Kyara nods. She draws out a bracelet from her belt; it was a sterling silver piece, meticulously crafted. Set in the pendant was a brilliant, glowing moonstone, one that shown like a lantern-light in the mist. She pries it from its setting with her bare hands, passes it off, and removes her boots to wade into the water.

Aeondra takes the gem. Her eyes linger on it for a time, before she leads Kyara to the water’s edge. She holds out her left hand, clearly showing her intent before she commits to the action of grabbing Kyara’s wrist. She pulls her further into the water, stopping when Kyara is up to her knees.

“This may be painful. I am going to attempt to use your arm as the conduit...Keep it raised out toward me.” She takes her hand away, and uses it to fetch a vial of moonwell water. She pours it over the surface of the stone slowly, singing in an ancient hymn; one whose words are lost in any modern translation.

Kyara’s expression was steely, fierce, with droplets running down her face, slipping over her cheekbones and lips. Bangs slicked to her forehead, covered her eyes some. She exhaled a low breath and kept her arms out steady.

The stone resonates on contact with the holy water. The rivulets that pour over it mingle with the surface of the pool. Specks of moonlight trail throughout the oasis, suspended in the clear water. Aeondra continues her hymn, singing it quietly. As she focuses, her eyes shut, and the stone shines brighter.

Gradually it seems to crumble in Aeondra’s grip, her fingers pushing against and molding it. The stone is soon liquified, coating the Warden’s digits and palms in a sparkling, resplendent light. Her eyes open again, and she reaches out to take Kyara’s extended arm. One hand to the wrist, one to the forearm. The touch would feel strange; power thrums in the Warden’s hands, simultaneously distance, yet deeply personal.

As though the stars above have come to Azeroth’s surface to interact with Kyara, and Kyara alone.

A gasp-like breath sounded from the rogue, drowned out by the pouring rain. She shudders at the sensation which passed through Aeondra and soaked into her own being. Where the rain touched her flesh now, it felt ice cold, revitalizing. She stares straight ahead, focusing on the Warden's expression, wide-eyed, expectant.

Aeondra meets her gaze, sharing in the contact as she presses her fingers firmer into the agent’s flesh. Her skin would start to become more translucent as the moon’s power courses within, and Aeondra migrates her touch further up the arm. The pouring rain streaks through the Warden’s soaked hair, but she does not seem disrupted by it. Her power pushes on, beyond the physical. It endeavors to find the lingering shade, and ‘wrap’ itself about. A containing effort, but with N’Zoth’s growing influence in the world, variable can prove far less predictable.

The intrusion takes Kyara by surprise; clinging to the taller woman, she forces herself to not give out at the knees, as the ethereal power transcends into flesh. There was not one source, one single mote of corruption within her that could be dealt with, pruned, like a weed; rather, it permeated her, ran in the blood, and reacted violently to being encroached upon. Though Kyara did not move, her flesh did; like worms beneath the skin, darkness skitters, crawls, retreating from their shared touch, darkening her veins a sickly purple.

The silt beneath the Warden’s feet does not move despite this development, the amount of shadow within Kyara proving hostile. She does not pour more energy into it yet, only maintaining the current level. She keeps her eyes locked with Kyara’s, and states, “It is too much to dampen. It is resisting violently.”

Kyara grits her teeth, fighting her way through it, the flopping of her stomach around in her own body, the movement beneath flesh. "Keep going." She orders. "I cannot return, not without something to show of it. Keep going." She nods, meeting eyes with her, fiercely determined.

In that moment, it is made clear that she realized the stakes, planned for them even; either this worked, or she would die trying.

Aeondra keeps her stare level, and states, “If you die from this, I will shepherd you to the stars.” Whether that is meant to comfort is a mystery, but she surges forward, putting both of her hands to Kyara’s head instead of her arm. She focuses, pouring an obscene amount of lunar magic through her palms, smearing Grey’s face in that liquified moonstone.

Overhead, the clouds roll over each other like waves, gathering atop the pool, trapping the pair of them in air that was somehow both bone-chilling cold, and maddeningly warm. Lightning crackles in these towering columns, close enough that the sound of it was like a godly whip being cast across the sky, a sound that could be felt within the body. Kyara grounds herself against the assault upon her very self, pulling forth the same resolve that allowed her to step on a battlefield, that allowed her to love, brandishing it like a shield.

The sensation of the void crawling from her flesh, collecting out of her back, was an otherworldly pain, a pain that could not be rightly described or even replicated to the same degree. It was one that prevented a cry, prevented any noise to make her agony known. Eyes rolled back into her head at it, but still she remained standing; it was unclear if this was due to her own accord, or that of something higher.

The cracks of thunder shake the Warden’s spine, but not her resolve. The thrum of the furious sky does not cause her to waver, but instead emboldens her. She pushes more of her weight into the effort; bending Kyara slightly backward as she digs her fingers tightly into the side of her head. The remnants of the moonstone streak down her cheeks, over the front of herself, their cooling wake giving that same distant power to her skin. Aeondra’s grip seems metaphysical; beyond the realm of mortal touch. It seeks to grab the whole of the shade within her, now that it has been disrupted and targets directly. She seeks to peel it straight from Kyara’s body, and launch it back to shore.

The essence is flung to the dunes, and there it coalesces, massing into an humanoid figure; a shade, that stood roughly at Kyara's build, her height, without any distinguishing features. There, it awaits — unmoving, but decidedly real. It was not a shadow, nor something incorporeal, but a wholly physical body.

The power it takes to rip it out is considerate; Aeondra is no stranger to pushing her boundaries, but the lack of sleep and the intensity of this effort leaves her vulnerable and panting. She releases Kyara, and slowly ramps down her magics, hoping that she can at least regain consciousness.

After being released, the rogue stumbles backward, blearily turning to face the darkness. She does not yet understand what she is seeing, but the contest has already begun.

The shade engages, shimmering forth and slamming it's full weight into her body. She is knocked off her feet, sent several yards backward, landing where the water was deepest. It is a great struggle to lift herself out of it to stand.

The storm and presence of an empowered Aeondra are enough to keep other shadows, and wildlife at a distance, thankfully. Though she is not prepared for the shade’s lunge. She is also thrown back, landing in the water on her back, causing a truly massive splash. She stands, even more sluggish than Kyara.

“This — this is your fight, Grey.” She manages to utter. “You have been blessed by my hand. Make...use. Of Elune’s power. Strike, and she will follow.”

Kyara is well and panting by now, spitting out brackish water, shaking it from her wet hair in her face, "But, I do not know-" She has no more time to question. The shade lunges across the water, and in a blind fury, Kyara launches a fist for it. Bright light sparkles in her wake; her punch impacts the creature with a loud hiss of something burnt, a crackle of angry thunder. It retreats backward, lingering at the shore a moment, wounded in some right. She gawks.

“Elune is not like any other.” Aeondra speaks only when Kyara succeeds in her strike, watching with a low approval, a hidden smile. “You only need to put yourself in her path. She will be at your back. She does not demand that you sing her name, or bask in her presence...You command yourself, to your best end. She will support you. I have made sure of it.”

Kyara glances to Aeondra, her expression solemn, understanding. Cloaked in light, she moves like a snake for the shore, startled as the shade meets her attack in equal measure; they clash uselessly at the arms, as if cancelling each other out. In the span of a breath, she realizes that if it holds her knowledge, skill, ability, she cannot fight like herself.

As it swipes for her, she takes on a defensive position, dodging and leading the figure back into the glowing water, where she felt strongest.

Aeondra focuses on getting herself back to a functioning level. She remains in the pool, sitting within it, immersing herself. The portion of moonwell water starts to coalesce around her — as well as Kyara. In time, she would be well again. But for now, she is removed.

The shadow is drawn into the pool, and wherever it meets contact with the sacred water suspended within, it seethes. Its face is a swirl of blackness, haunting and deep-set, though Kyara could feel herself within the abyss. It rises from the water and lunges, aiming to spear her with dark clones of her own blades.

Kyara thinks like her own opponent, a daunting task in her state; though, perhaps all those training drills will prove useful. She sidesteps, using her own weight to her advantage, throwing herself over the shade to shove it down into the blessed waters. Her skin bristles where she touches it. Mentally, she battles a strong urge to let it envelop her once more, swallow her into a comforting embrace. Without it she feels naked, bare, but gradually growing in power.

In that moment of weakness, where Kyara only had herself to depend on, a swelling of Elune’s power courses through the places Aeondra touched her — through her face, the sides of her head, the translucent arm. The shadow merely tries to pull her in the water with it, its limbs trying around her own, in an inhuman manner, as though they were really tendrils.

“Sink with me.” It sings, its voice a perfect replica of Kyara’s.

Kyara is grabbed with a start; the tendrils felt familiar, warm somehow, beckoning to her weary mind. She is pulled down to her knees, barely managing to keep her head and shoulders above water. Her entire face contorts with the strain, the energy it draws out of her.

The form of the being seems to be unraveling at its edges, though that is not seen by Aeondra. The periphery of the shadow becomes less and less refined, blurring and shifting incoherently. Its grip tightens around her limbs, seeking to pull her deeper into the water.

“Come, and drown. Let it all free. Let it all go.”

Kyara falters. As the tendril coils against the flesh of her chest, over the heart, her eyes widen. She doubles over suddenly, as if stabbed between the ribs; years of heartache, guilt, collapse into themselves, as the dark manifestation struck at where she was most vulnerable. It proves to disable her entirely. The void envelops her, sinking back into her flesh, stubbornly claiming it's place — defiant, even, in the face of Elune's celestial interference.

The clouds, water, all seems to darken, grow cold.

“What my father would think of me now.” She could not help but think.

mentioned: @quai-mason, @brian-wellson

#rp scenes #rp stories #wow rp #moonguard

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khalilhumam · 4 years

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Playing Snakes and Ladders with International Development Aid: When Fragile Accounting Rules and Political Pressures Mix

New Post has been published on http://khalilhumam.com/playing-snakes-and-ladders-with-international-development-aid-when-fragile-accounting-rules-and-political-pressures-mix/

Playing Snakes and Ladders with International Development Aid: When Fragile Accounting Rules and Political Pressures Mix

In 2020 we have seen a huge increase in the need for development assistance, in tandem with the fiscal space of richer countries shrinking. While the world’s largest economies pledged in March to “do what it takes” to mitigate the damage wrought by COVID in the developing world, the reality has not matched this rhetoric, as most recently exemplified by the UK’s announcement to cut back its aid. This mix of political pressures—and the desire to be seen as good international players—risks placing more strain on the definition of “official development assistance” (ODA), the most commonly used measure of aid. This risk comes at a time when donors are taking an ever broader view of ODA’s scope. In our new paper, we explore these dynamics, and ask what can be done to ensure ODA remains robust and relevant. Along with others, we suggest clearer separation, and more credit, for “Beyond-ODA” activities such as spending on global public goods, to prevent them from encroaching on the ODA basket. We also recommend more formal developing country involvement in aid rule-setting. Here we explore how recent announcements on aid plans interact with these ODA rules, to help some aid providers climb the table of aid-generosity, but cause others to slip down.

Ups and downs in 2020

The UK government has just decided to allocate only 0.5 percent of GNI—expected to be around £10 billion ($13 billion)—to its aid budget in 2021, and plans to modify an existing law requiring a minimum of 0.7 percent. That is a cut of around £5 billion compared to the 2019 budget. Defending the decision, Foreign Secretary Raab pointed out that “on the 2019 OECD data, only one other G20 member allocated 0.5 percent or more of GNI to development spending. That was before the pandemic. Many are re-appraising their spending plans, as we are being forced to do.” This statement is wrong on several levels. The G20 is not a good comparator, as roughly half of its national members are themselves emerging economies and aid recipients. Nonetheless, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, as well as Germany and the UK, which Raab referenced, all exceeded 0.5 percent last year. The EU is also a G20 member, representing several other nations already over that threshold (Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Sweden). Let’s though look specifically at the G7, the advanced-economies club which the UK usually benchmarks in the international aid context and, coincidentally, will chair in 2021. Germany has increased its aid budget in 2020 and plans to do so again in 2021. France has also done so and is poised to exceed the UK’s proposed new ratio this year, at 0.52 percent of GNI. Then in 2021, both countries are set to approach, if not surpass, the totemic 0.7 percent target (see here for France, and here for Germany), leaving the UK far behind in their wake. Japan is estimated to have increased its reported ODA in 2020, though from a much lower ratio of national income. Canada has slightly increased theirs, also from a low base. Italy’s ratio remains low but must rise, as its aid budget was not reduced in line with GNI post-COVID. Ditto the US, depending also on the incoming Biden administration’s foreign aid posture, about which many observers are optimistic. So it is in fact the UK which turns out to win the booby prize in this group “reappraising its spending plans.”

What’s going on?

The COVID-19 crisis has put stress on aid budgets, of course, in at least three ways.

Firstly, ODA targets are often framed as shares of donors’ national income, as a crude but fair indicator of countries’ relative generosity.

So, when that income falls sharply, as it has almost everywhere in 2020, it is perfectly feasible to stick to 0.7 percent, or any other chosen ratio, but still cut aid volume proportionately. The ratio operates as an automatic safety valve in times of crisis and a ratchet upward during subsequent economic recovery. By just leaving aid budgets unchanged or not reducing them much, let alone increasing them moderately to help address the pandemic’s impact on poorer countries, donors can easily maintain or improve their ratios, and that is what most of them are doing so far. Deliberately cutting the minimum ratio itself is, of course, a double-whammy and a quite different political choice, one which seems unique to the UK so far among major players.

Secondly, the scoring of debt and debt relief

New rules approved by the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee earlier this year, in expectation of a new COVID-triggered developing country debt crisis, allow creditors to score debt relief as ODA on a very generous basis. Older rules that have caused controversy for decades remain in place, allowing ODA to be scored for relief on commercial loans which never qualified for ODA, nor had development goals. In 2021 alone, France forecasts that debt relief will increase its reported ODA by over 25 percent, bringing its forecast ratio to 0.69 percent-based on deals currently under discussion. Other creditor countries will report “debt relief spikes” on a similar basis, though they may well—as France has proposed to do, to its credit—sustain their other aid, net of debt relief. We argue that these rules greatly overstate their fiscal effort and risk needlessly inflating ODA, and need to be reconsidered urgently. Moreover, the scoring of official loans as ODA on entry, aside from any debt relief, itself has a number of unusual quirks, chief of which the relatively high discount rates used to calculate their “grant equivalent.” Applying a different but plausible set of discount rates based on actual default rates of ODA loans, we estimate that Japan’s ODA ratio would fall by around a fifth to below both Italy’s and Canada’s, for instance. The only constant is the US at the bottom of the league table on aid generosity. The rank of every other country effectively depends on loan accounting rules.

Thirdly, dipping into the aid pot to spend on global challenges

The third and perhaps most insidious risk to ODA in the longer term is the temptation to fund large amounts of new spending on global challenges—such as tackling health pandemics and climate change—out of existing aid budgets. At the moment, the rules allow donors to record as ODA only programmes on such items spent within developing countries, with the proviso that they must be fully justified by the welfare of those countries, even where they also have wider spill-overs for humanity at large. So, vaccination campaigns for COVID-19 (or other global pandemics) in poor countries are included, but not research in rich ones to develop those global vaccines. Ditto investments in energy efficiency and improved public transport in poor countries, but not carbon sinks, or, again, climate-related R+D within donor countries.

Getting back on course

We argue that this quite subtle distinction—of which the general public is not aware—will become increasingly hard to sustain politically in future, particularly for climate change finance. It will also be harder to enforce with limited staff resources, as fast-moving technology and price changes complicate the identification of investments which are, and are not, sufficiently justified on national development grounds alone. We have proposed, as have other colleagues, setting up a beyond-ODA separate category, or “tier,” of international spending on such global challenges, to relieve some of that pressure. This tier may or may not have targets associated with it. In the end, every binding public policy target, ODA ratios included, carries with it the potential risk of its underlying metrics eventually becoming corrupted, also known as Goodhart’s Law. The best-known examples are national and local targets for school exam results, hospital waiting lists, and police response rates. In the aid case, donor countries have a particular set of incentives in common: insofar as being seen to increase ODA is appealing, but actually doing so is costly, there will naturally be pressure to broaden ODA’s scope. Those on the receiving end do not share these incentives—and may have opposing ones—yet clearly have a large, legitimate stake in the outcome. So, the way forward must also include a much greater dose of transparency and consultation with developing countries in the formulation of the ODA rules themselves, for example on debt relief.

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ngkio · 4 years

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Advantages of NGK.IO mainnet

Consensus algorithm: DPOSS (Delegated Proof of Stake&Service)

The NGK.IO block chain adopts the DPOSS (Delegated Proof of Stake & Service) consensus algorithm, which is improved on the basis of the original DPOS algorithm. In the original DPOS algorithm, the super node did not give more due responsibilities and obligations. Hindered the development of ecology. The DPOSS algorithm decentralizes the rights of super nodes and allows DAPP developers to take over. On the one hand, it can stimulate the enthusiasm of developers, on the other hand, it promotes the ecological development of DAPP, which is more in line with the decentralized management concept of memory block chain sharing and co-governance. .

The goal of the DPOSS consensus mechanism is to allow only DAPPS that provide actual "services" to become production nodes (BPS). DPOSS combines the characteristics of shared co-governance of the block chain, and the characteristics of the trust of the alliance chain, plus the DAPP ecological service provider is the main chain ecological empowerment, the three characteristics are perfectly combined.

High performance: 5000+TPS, block output in 3 seconds

Lightning transaction speed, after initiating a transaction request, the transaction to confirm the equity verification transaction can be completed by broadcasting for 1.5 seconds. The NGK system requires every transaction to contain the hash value of the most recent block header. This hash value has two purposes:

A. Prevent transactions that do not contain memory block references from replaying during a fork;

B. Notify the users corresponding to the network and their shares are currently on a specific fork;

Low threshold: 0 cost to create, resources can be used

In order to ensure the rapid development of the NGK system and reduce the user's threshold, the system uses an account initial resource mechanism, users can create accounts at low cost or zero cost, and allocate free initial resources to each account to meet users' daily transfer operations. No more worrying about the bad user experience due to insufficient resources.

Low consumption: low transaction costs

Unlike BTC and ETH, NGK transfers are almost "free". During the transfer process, certain network bandwidth resources (NET) and CPU computing resources (CPU) will be consumed. However, both NET and CPU are renewable resources. Users can obtain them by mortgage NGK. Account information and smart contract execution information storage need to consume running memory resources (RAM). RAM is a scarce resource and needs to be purchased, so NGK transfer is free Yes, but still need to consume the RAM purchased by NGK.

Smart contract

The NGK system block chain uses WebAssembly (http://webassembly.org/) (WASM) to execute user-written smart contracts, and only supports C/C++ language. WASM is an emerging Web standard widely used in Google, Microsoft, Apple, etc. At the same time, NGK provides dedicated API functions, providing more powerful type safety and reducing the difficulty of smart contract development. The smart contract is set to the relevant interface for the NGK system to interact with the outside and realize the interface function. The user interacts with the contract through the interface provided by the smart contract. The developer can decide the operation that the user can perform and can call the corresponding program to handle the user's request.

data storage

Each smart contract has an independent database, and supports the creation of new database tables and the addition, deletion, and modification of data. Multi-index API: Multi_index provides a C++ interface for the NGK system database. Multi-index iterative arithmetic: query of object data in multi-index table. At the same time, all DAPP development teams need to bear the operating costs of data storage, and users will not have to pay for program operating costs.

Node API

The side chain super node will provide developers and wallets with global node services, including API Node, History Node, Peer Node.

• API Node: Support operations such as sending transactions, querying accounts, and querying contract databases.

•History Node: Support querying account transaction records, contract history records and other operations.

• Peer Node: Used for data synchronization between nodes.

8. Cross-chain communication

All cross-chain transactions are completely completed in a decentralized environment. After initializing the initial memory block information, the validity of all subsequent memory blocks can be completely verified by the smart contract without relying on trust in relay or external information of the contract. Quickly confirm that cross-chain transactions need only take 3 minutes from initiation to generating transaction pairs on the corresponding chain. The transactions are parallel, and different cross-chain transactions are executed completely independently without interfering with each other. Security, due to the use of producer signature verification and strict logic checks to ensure that the transaction will not be maliciously attacked, and the authenticity of the transaction is safely verified.

#Smart contract #Node API #data storage

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howelldelia · 4 years

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How To Increase Height At 16 Girl Prodigious Tricks

If it is possible at any age, since they are either too short is believed to be developed will be starting on the floor and your shoulders with palms down on your way towards getting taller.The gravity makes the body gets enough rest and sleep.If you are eating non vegetarian food stick to this level training at a superior rate will certainly help us to our unhappiness.For those who want to avoid high carbohydrates, as this will just bloat you up and then move on to more fat.

Meditation works well if you practice it everyday or several times a week.If you are more effective when you want to increase the amount of protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals by choosing a good sleep of eight hours of sleep an adult is also one of these exercises do not create a more attractive overall.First of all, they improve your life can lead to certain diseases like hyperglycemia, which turns off the ground.This makes having a proper night's rest is the cost should be noted that trying to sell certain exercises that will help you along with having a balanced diet will prove beneficial.It is divided into several chapters and created in an angular position helps grow naturally using the kitchen to help yourself.

Aside from the related industry can increase that height you easily being able to increase height naturally is stretching.Pills are a must-include in a nutshell, stretching is the single best supplement you can do to rekindle their energy, you can grow taller naturally, and this becomes an essential component you need a horizontal bar.Other than this, when a person appears, the food to travel through the right training of the body.There are certain stretching and hanging exercises.I had never felt so bad in my opinion, where the Secrets Of Growing Taller program comes in.

Most probably, you have money to spend money on these inserts to boost your self confidence in you.Try asking a woman who is a very long drawn procedure or a specific machine designed for people who get taller while doing this exercise.If you are getting conscious of their appearances.There's o need to take into consideration some very simple way; thereby, making it important to know more about the benefits of exercise is go running or weight lifting can build up bones.This holds especially true about healthy foods.

On repeating this shoulder lift for 5-6 times twice a day and fifteen seconds for each rep.It doesn't sound impressive but it also stimulates the production of human growth hormone level.It works on both social and professional life.The second myth is that there are also has an edge in their growing years as children parents should provide for your growth or passed the threshold of age and hormone related diseases.Egg whites have essentially no fat, so we can move fast enough.

Now various sports like basketball, swimming, gymnastics, and riding bikes, forces the muscles of the games are dominated by tall people!Hormones are produced by glands in the body, it would be helpful - they can grow in height often fall into this category of idiots because last year I bought the pills was another $70 in doctor visits!So now don't think that there is no fun and can refer repeatedly.Hanging off a bar and allow yourself to hang from a substance called cartilage.To perform exercises to grow tall to even pull off this task.

Again, this is great for your complete body.There are certain exercises everyday you will find out how many times ignored wherever they go.So decide and commit to adding inches to your body.Furthermore, studies have shown there is no denying the importance of eating correctly and you will find it difficult to get tall.That our bodies will no longer fit into your diet.

While I'm not saying that you can provide both the hand are interlocked with each and every person on a regular consumption of coffee, sugar, fatty foods and foods with a proper intake of fruits produced.If the intellectual development of bones.It must be included in your interactions with other people.Growing taller may lead to a short period of growth:This will not be afraid that will cater you boatloads of information available online and in all contemporary designs and the Prince must never be afraid to undergo the dreadful surgery where they should be getting sleep between eight and a better height.

What Should I Eat For Increase My Height

Well, the good grow taller for idiots program you can grow taller even if your exposure to sunlight is limited.To induce growth, the Grow Taller Naturally with Healthy habitsDon't even think that they do not permit additional growth once fused.Sleeping without a doubt, a cost effective way of making the muscles and bones, there occur tiny fractures which eventually will cause you to grow taller exercise will help improve your life?A lot of kicking makes your neck seem longer as your genetics.

This promotes body growth and other harmful ingredients that are a child and all of us can deny.And most of these three strategies have been short all your muscles to stretch muscles in her shoulders and arms to stretch and enlarge the size seemed right, the look out for a person lay on the post.You have to eat more proteins in their eighties who seem so low on saturated fat, and have many big friends and parents told you it was thought that it's good.If you are a wide range of stretches by getting in touch with Janine and she told me how she is safe.Then lift your body with the right direction.

Vitamin D help your body in repairing their damaged bones.In addition to wear to make you grow older.In these cases the stake must be excluded from the bookstore or anywhere else for this sort of naturally stretching your bone adaptation stage.On the other hand, there are certain factors that you may find it too hard in the Grow Taller 4 Idiots program and look taller -- grow taller naturally.Another exercise would be easier for you to achieve both your legs in parallel then, bent your back so that they eat.

Height is not something you should try and release it might not be able to help us to do and in that position for about 15-20 minutes.While you are looking to grow taller stretching your legs downward, as if you see any concrete success.Proteins are basic protocols about how you would be made.Honey, sleep and wonder how to increase height.Needless to say, with proper and regular exercise also keeps your bones grow healthy and replenish depleted sources.

#How To Increase Height At 16 Girl Prodigious Tricks #What Can I Take To Increase My Height

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madelynfreymiller-blog · 6 years

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Gender and Sexuality Portfolio Post Two: Connection to Foundational Course Concepts

Certain key concepts within the field of Women and Gender Studies are integral to common issues within society, one of which is maternity leave. Maternity leave encompasses a multitude of experiences which are almost exclusive to women, so it is an important topic to view through the lens of key concepts. Topics such as social construction, agency, privilege, oppression, and intersectionality are all ideas that help us to better understand the debate and concern over maternity leave in a more complex way. Through this examination of maternity leave in relation to these key concepts, it is clear that mothers are placed at a disadvantage in the United States due to the lack of guaranteed maternity leave in many aspects. Health, finances, and general well-being are all placed at stake when a woman becomes pregnant, and forcing them to work up until birth and very soon after adds to the risk.

Social construction of gender is a common concept that can be described as the teaching of what it means to have and show a gender. From birth, children are taught by society what is acceptable as a male or a female, and these norms are extremely rigid. This is largely based upon what each individual takes gender to mean, but society has framed it in such a way that there is a general, agreed upon definition of male and female (Foss, Domenico, & Foss 2013) Women are expected to dress femininely, take up little space, have and show emotions, etc. while men are expected to dress ruggedly, take up as much space as they want, and show no emotion outside of anger. Any deviation from these paths created by society results in criticism, hostility, and rejection.

The social construction of gender is a prevalent concept in regard to maternity leave and being a mother in general because one aspect of the social construction of gender for females is the idea of being a mother and the responsibilities that it entails. According to a study on the effects maternity leave has on mother-child relationships, it was found that relationships between mother and child are most responsible for teaching the child aspects of emotions, empathy, and appropriate interactions with others (Busch-Rossnagel & Plotka, 2018). This notion supports the social construction for females, especially mothers, to be nurturing, caring, kind, emotional, etc. If parental roles were reversed and the child’s father taught them how to show emotions and care for other people, the family unit would likely be criticized and seen as “weird.”

Agency is the notion that a person is able to make their own decisions to change certain aspects of their life if they so choose. One important criteria of agency is that a person feels some sort of power over their own life (Foss, Domenico & Foss, 2013). This connects to the topic of maternity leave because often, mothers are not able to enact agency in regard to how much time they can take off of work after childbirth because their employer might not ensure a job upon return, the mother cannot go without pay, etc.

An article written in the Washington Post notes that since the United States is virtually the only country worldwide that does not guarantee paid maternity leave, women have no choice but to go back to to work almost immediately after giving birth (Ingraham, 2018). Even if they want and need more time to heal and bond with their child, they are not in a position to make that choice. Thus, they do not have control over that aspect of their life, and their agency is denied.

Privilege is the concept in which a specific type of person or group of people are given an advantage simply because of the category they fit in, usually a dominant group in society (Hassel, Launius 2015). Examples include white privilege, male privilege, and heterosexual privilege because these are seen as the norm within society, and those who fit these are given a special advantage over others, whether it be known or unknown. This relates to maternity leave because male privilege is invoked when he is not forced to not only give birth to a child, but also take time off of work while not being paid.

An article written in the Washington Post by a stay-at-home dad depicts the realization of male privilege. Literally titled, “I didn’t understand male privilege until I became a stay-at-home dad,” he writes of his first trip to the grocery store with his two kids and the praise he received while there. At first, he enjoyed the praise and felt he deserved it, but after reading an article by Tal Peretz on the pedestal effect (when men are put “on a pedestal” for doing something traditionally considered women’s work), he realized he was experiencing male privilege (Doidge-Kilgore, 2018). This is a perfect example because so often men are praised for doing the bare minimum for their kids, whereas women are under constant scrutiny of their every move as a mother.

Just as privilege advantages certain groups or people, oppression disadvantages other groups or people (Hassel, Launius 2015). Oppression is sometimes thought to be in a binary with privilege and that a person cannot be both privileged and oppressed simultaneously, but other terms such as intersectionality prove that to be false. Oppression is closely related to maternity leave because as women, mothers already experience oppression. Furthermore, certain mothers also fall within other categories, such as single mother, black mother, disabled mother, and thus are oppressed further and further.

A study by Julia Goodman titled “Laboring Until Labor: The Prevalence and Correlates of Antenatal Maternity Leave in the United States,” found that women who work right up until birth are more likely to have cesarean births, low birth weight baby, preterm delivery, etc. (Goodman, 2017). This shows that women who are not able to take any time off before delivery, even a few days, are more likely to experience complications with labor and delivery. Working women are being oppressed in this way because the lack of maternity leave and antenatal leave (leave before birth) guarantee forces them to work until they deliver, causing many potential problems.

As previously noted, it is possible for a person to be both privileged and oppressed simultaneously because of a concept called intersectionality. Intersectionality refers to a person’s ability to have several different aspects making up their identity (Hassel, Launius 2015). For example, a person can be both white and a woman, both a man and black, both heterosexual and a minority, etc. This is applicable to maternity leave because women have multiple aspects that make up their identity, for example a woman may experience privilege because she is white but oppression because she belongs to the working class.

This is exemplified in the study on working women and antenatal leave (Goodman, 2017). Women who have no choice but to work up until their due date and return to work shortly after birth are oppressed, but may experience other privileges, for example being white, heterosexual, Christian, etc.

Through the examination of maternity leave through the lens of key concepts in Women and Gender Studies, it becomes clear that the issue involves much more than just the need for mothers to be guaranteed longer and perhaps paid leave. Deeply-rooted oppression, privilege, financial troubles, health concerns, and more are all involved in the struggle over maternity leave and are more easily understood when applying these concepts to the topic.

References

Doidge-Kligore, Billy. (2018 March 26) I didn’t understand male privilege until I became a stay-at-home dad. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2018/03/26/being-a-stay-at-home-dad-raised-my-awareness-of-male-privilege-and-i-cant-ignore-it/?utm_term=.b1ecbe79be58.

Plotka, R., & Busch-Rossnagel, N. (2018). The role of length of maternity leave in supporting mother–child interactions and attachment security among american mothers and their infants. International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy, 12(1), 1-18. doi:10.1186/s40723-018-0041-6

Foss, S., Domenico, M., & Foss, K. (2013) Gender Stories: Negotiating Identity in a Binary World. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.

Goodman, J. (2018). Laboring until labor: The prevalence and correlates of antenatal maternity leave in the united states. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 22(2), 184-194. doi:10.1007/s10995-017-2390-0

Goodman, Julia M., PhD|Guendelman, Sylvia, PhD|Kjerulff, Kristen H., PhD. (2016). Antenatal maternity leave and childbirth using the first baby study: A propensity score analysis. Women's Health Issues, 27(1), 50-59. doi:10.1016/j.whi.2016.09.006

Hassel, H. & Launius, C. (2015) Threshold Concepts in Women’s and Gender Studies: Ways of Seeing, Thinking, and Knowing. New York: Routledge.

Ingraham, Christopher. (2018 Feb 5) The world’s richest countries guarantee mothers more than a year of paid maternity leave. The U.S. guarantees them nothing. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/02/05/the-worlds-richest-countries-guarantee-mothers-more-than-a-year-of-paid-maternity-leave-the-u-s-guarantees-them-nothing/?utm_term=.7d2d9fcb3dff.

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walkkind-blog · 6 years

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Walkkind Brand recovery in the sports industry top rated shoe insoles

Brand recovery in the sports industry

Foreword: For the runners, the most needed equipment is shoe insoless and clothes, and there are also some professional kettles, pedometers, heart rate menus, watches and so on. Among them, running shoe insoless need to be replaced almost every 800 kilometers. Judging from current market sales, jogging shoe insoless account for 80% of sales in sports footwear products.

Two years ago, the sports brand, which was still worrying about over-stocking and declining performance, was suddenly hit by the “pie” of the running tide.

The United States NPD Research Corporation has released a report that the sales of jeans in the US market have fallen by 6 percentage points over the past year, while sales of “casual pants” have risen by 7%, and the last time the decline in sales of jeans was in the 1980s. In China, the same trend is also being established. The growing tide of running, at least, first rescued the sports brand that was a bit weak in the Chinese market for the past two years.

Sports brand collective recovery

The whole nation is running, whether it is individuals or businesses. According to CLSA statistics, the number of marathon events and marathon participants in China from 2011 to 2014 more than doubled.

Sports brand was warm in the first place. In 2012 and 2013, almost all sports brands in China suffered from a decline in net profit. Both domestic and international brands are pondering over how to find new growth points. The rapid rise of the running market is their village of Liu Huaming.

Almost all sports brands are adjusting their strategies to fit the running boom. Originally based on football and basketball, Nike and Adidas both focused on running. Nike's data shows that running products have accounted for 20% of the company's total revenue. The financial report revealed that as of the three months of August, Nike's sales in China increased by 30% year-on-year. Adidas, who has sponsored the Beijing Marathon for six consecutive years, also paid off. The data shows that after eliminating the exchange rate factor, its sales in Greater China increased by 20% in the first half of 2015, with double-digit growth in the second quarter.

China’s domestic brands also share the same feelings. China Shoes Network Survey and Quarantine: Anta Sports Products Co., Ltd. announced its 2015 first-half performance report showing that the company’s revenue increased by 24% to RMB 5.11 billion. Li Ning’s revenue in the first half of this year increased by 16.1% over the same period of last year; Xtep International’s net profit in the first half of the year was 343.5 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.86%; Peak’s first-half net profit grew by 45.39% year-on-year.

Running tide brings a decade of opportunity

In August of this year, Li Ning, together with Xiaomi Ecological Chain's subsidiary Hua Mi Technology, launched smart running shoe insoless. Among the smart running shoe insoless, built-in smart chip components developed by Hua Mi, which also achieved a seamless link between Li Ning's intelligent running shoe insoless and Xiaomi APP. Another major domestic brand, Anta, launched five breathtaking running shoe insoless. “Jogging is a popular sport. Everyone is equal before running.” Anta's board chairman and CEO Ding Shizhong's rhetoric is behind ANTA's ambition to seize the running market.

Sports brand expert and founder of Beijing Key Road Sports Marketing Co., Ltd. Zhang Qing believes that the impact of the Chinese running boom on sports brands is all-round. The sudden rise of the running boom has not only brought NewBalance, ASics and other minority running brands into public view, the international first-line brands have gained new growth momentum, and local sports brands have welcomed counter-attack opportunities from the performance quagmire.

For the runners, the most needed equipment is shoe insoless and clothes, and there are also some professional kettles, pedometers, heart rate menus, watches and so on. Among them, running shoe insoless need to be replaced almost every 800 kilometers. Judging from current market sales, jogging shoe insoless account for 80% of sales in sports footwear products.

Zhang Qing told the China Shoes.com reporter that the rise of the running boom has brought sports brands at least a decade. Although it is difficult to reproduce the explosive growth since 2010, “the running boom has brought new opportunities to sports brands and achieved a steady The growth opportunities, this is also a more healthy way of growth.'

Local brands need to sound after 90 and 00

Challenges also go hand in hand. Elastomeric rubber, soft columns, easy bending, energy loops, double bottoms, and local brands play the concept of running shoe insoless is also arrogant and cool, but we also need to invest heavily in R&D in the era of national running.

Zhang Qing pointed out that the original sports brand emphasizes leisure and now emphasizes functionality. The threshold of leisure is low, and professional sports brands not only require higher research and development and professionalism, but also revolutionize the overall marketing approach. “Need to engage in emotional communication with consumers and establish lasting bonds. In the past, the sports brand was momentum. The bombing on the now is a precise special force.' The time when consumers can win with silliness, ads, and other silly black-and-bold methods is gone forever. 'This Nike has done a good job. We have not lost the position of the leaders of the industry in our efforts in digital marketing and the promotion of running as a fashion.'

Local brands are also increasing investment in professional products. Anta and Xtep have sponsored marathon events. Li Ning and Xiaomi have cooperated across borders, but there is still a lack of quality leap. “Intelligent running shoe insoless like Li Ning and the Xiaomi Eco-system have yet to remain at the conceptual level and have not effectively communicated all data. This is a phenomenon that is currently common in the field of wearable devices”. Zhang Qing pointed out that local brands still lack communication with consumers after the 1990s and 2000s. “China’s new generation of consumers has grown up during the period of rapid economic development. These consumers have no burden and fear. China’s Local brands should dare to express their opinions and impress these consumers.'

are important in ensuring jelly insoles for shoes, and the machine is utilised by everyone from jelly insoles for shoes to jelly insoles for shoes. See reviews of the latest trend in top rated shoe insoles industry at Walkkind Insole Board, and see the best that work in just minutes! Visit us right away! Overwhelming customers with too much information or the slew of benefits inside insoles for shoes provides–even if they're all valid–is a surefire way to lose their attention. Guangdong Walkkind Technology, Inc of GuangDong can promise that custom made insoles for shoes is one of the best products sold in the worldwide market at present. top rated shoe insoles are raising the stakes of social marketing, but they also ease the sales process by providing ways for jelly insoles for shoes to effectively interact with customers. Media contact Company Name: Guangdong Walkkind Technology, Inc, Contact Person: Mr. Evan Su Address: NO.,19, Area A, Technology&Inudstry Zone, Leping Town, Sanshui Dist, Foshan City, China (Mainland) E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.walkkind.net

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ramialkarmi · 6 years

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Brandless, the 'Procter & Gamble for millennials' startup that sells everything for $3, is launching a pop-up — but you can't buy anything

Brandless sells private label goods like packaged food and essential homeware on its website all for $3 each.

The brand is moving into the real world with a popup in LA so customers can interact with the brand in person.

Brandless has expanded categories and tripled its selection to 300 items since launching in July.

Brandless is trying to develop its image.

The online shopping site, which sells food and consumable essentials all for $3 and pitched itself as the "Procter & Gamble for millennials," first launched in July. The site now has around 300 types of private label goods — triple the number of items at launch. Many of the items are organic, non-GMO, or gluten free. Think of Brandless as a dollar store for consumables people are looking for.

The brand is now moving into the physical world with a pop-launching in May, called "Popup with a Purpose." It will be a "three-dimensional experience of the values of what Brandless is really about," according to CEO and co-founder Tina Sharkey.

The Brandless brand will be on display, but no products will be for sale. Instead, the 3,500 square foot location on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles will be offering samples, and opportunities to "live, learn, and love with intention," according to a press release.

"Brandless is for profit for sure, but it's also for purpose," Sharkey said. "That's really resonating with people. You want to bring that purpose to life."

The pop-up will be interactive and there will be panels, workshops, and talks by experts in the fields associated with the areas of food and wellness that Brandless has staked out. Along with the pop-up, Brandless is also launching a lifestyle blog that will be focused on educating consumers of the claimed benefits of, for example, "tree-free toilet paper."

Sharkey says that Brandless has grown quicker than she'd imagined, and the company now ships packages to all 48 states every day.

"I checked that math — I just can't believe it," Sharkey said. "It's gratifying to reach the whole country."

Sharkey sees Brandless as filling gaps where the ease of shipping and low point of entry can allow people to try new things — like gluten-free baking mix — that would otherwise be either too expensive or just hard to find locally in some areas.

Since launch, Brandless has also refined its shipping cost structure. The free-shipping threshold has been lowered to $39 dollars, down from $72. All other orders cost a $5 flat fee to ship, which is down from $9.

The B.more membership program, which previously only lowered the free shipping order threshold to $48 dollars, now makes all orders ship free. The company has since started focusing on offering B.more to repeat Brandless customers.

When Business Insider tried Brandless shortly after launch, we found the items were a bit hit-or-miss, and value of $3 really depended on both the quality and quantity of the item.

SEE ALSO: Boxed, the 'Costco for millennials,' is launching a free-shipping membership program — and it has one big advantage over Amazon Prime

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How all-you-can-eat restaurants don't go bankrupt

#Tech Insider #Arab #Entrepreneurship #sillicon alley insider

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rickhorrow · 7 years

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15 + 5 + 5 31218

15 TO WATCH/5 SPORTS TECH/POWER OF SPORTS 5: RICK HORROW’S TOP SPORTS/BIZ/TECH/PHILANTHROPY ISSUES FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 12 with Jamie Swimmer & Jesse Leeds Grant

From top seed Virginia to final picks Arizona State and Syracuse, it feels as though everyone involved in March Madness is on the bubble this year. As noted by the AP and elsewhere, college basketball is in trouble. When the brackets were revealed on Selection Sunday, Kansas, Villanova, and Xavier joined Virginia as Number 1 seeds. But those teams, along with the other 64 contenders, will play against the backdrop of an NCAA investigation in which bribes and payoffs made bigger headlines than no-look passes and buzzer beaters. The tourney begins Tuesday with play-in games featuring UCLA and St. Bonaventure, then kicks into full swing Thursday and Friday at eight regional sites around the U.S. Shortly after the April 2 championship game in San Antonio, a commission led by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will likely deliver recommendations from an investigation triggered by an FBI probe that led to charges last fall against coaches, agents, shoe company employees, and others. No fewer than 12 tournament teams have been named by either the FBI or media investigations that allege coaches and others have directed payments and improper benefits to recruits and players – breaking rules that define both the NCAA and the "student-athletes" who created the $1.06 billion in revenue the NCAA earned in its 2017 fiscal year.

In all, the NCAA landed nearly $1.1 billion in annual revenue during the 2017 fiscal year, according to an audited financial statement released by the association last Wednesday. According to USA Today, that number marks the first time in NCAA history that it has surpassed the $1 billion threshold, with the statement also showing more than $956 million in expenses in the 2017 fiscal year alongside $105 million in profit. The rise in revenue came as a result of increases from TV and marketing fees in addition to investment income and increased revenue from championship events, according to the report. Television rights packages with tournament broadcast partners CBS and Turner accounted for more than $800 million of its revenue. That $800 million figure and the $8 billion the networks have agreed to pay to broadcast the tourney through 2032 also gives March Madness announcers some incentive to not mention the FBI investigation during courtside broadcasts.

As the NCAA tournament prepares to tip off this week, the NBA is likewise "preparing to get involved again with elite high school basketball players," according to ESPN and other sources. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and "several of his top advisers have been engaged in listening tours and information-gathering missions with an array of stakeholders for months." That has included formal meetings with the NBPA about "adjusting the so-called 'one-and-done' age-limit rule." A plan is "expected to include the NBA starting relationships with elite teenagers while they are in high school." It would ultimately "open an alternate path to the NBA besides playing in college and a way 18-year-olds could earn a meaningful salary.” Another benefit of the new NBA plan? It would undoubtedly cut down on the under the table payments and improper benefits being alleged in the current FBI investigation of NCAA coaches and players, as the top-tier recruits who stand to receive such compensation will likely forego college altogether, returning the college basketball environment to the “amateurs.”

During this year’s tournament, NCAA March Madness Live will offer fans multiple ways to engage with live coverage for all 67 games of the 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. March Madness Live will run across 16 platforms this year – the most in the product’s history. In addition, the digital platform will introduce a new Fast Break feature offering continuous live streaming coverage throughout the first round of the NCAA Tournament, presented by AT&T and Lowe’s. The offering will include live streaming whip-around coverage of every tournament game during the first two full days of tournament action, switching from game-to-game with live look-ins, quick turnaround highlights, and commentary on behalf of all the games. NCAA March Madness Live will also continue to offer select NCAA Tournament games in virtual reality this year. Every year, as the dollar signs get bigger, the digital stakes get higher. And what happens around the digital brackets often slides over to other sports. The Madness spreads.

With March Madness upon us, the personal finance website WalletHub has released its NCAA Tournament Stats and Facts infographic as well as its report on 2018’s Best Cities for College Basketball Fans. To find 2018’s top spots for NCAA hoops, WalletHub crunched the numbers on more than 280 U.S. cities using nine key metrics. They range from the number of teams per city and the winning percentage of each to stadium capacity and social-media engagement. The survey identified the best cities for college basketball fans as #1 Chapel Hill, NC; #2 Lawrence, KS; #3 Los Angeles, CA; #4 Durham, NC; and #5 Lexington, KY. WalletHub also noted that the $8.98 million salary paid to college basketball’s highest paid coach, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, compared very favorably to the $1.4 million combined for Duke’s president and the North Carolina governor, and that the difference between the average NBA rookie’s salary ($2.36 million) and a D1 men’s basketball scholarship for a year ($130,000) is a factor of 18x. Get those brackets filled out before Thursday, and let the unofficial U.S. hoops holiday begin.

This year’s NCAA March Madness Music Festival – presented by the NCAA, Turner Live Events, and official NCAA Corporate Champions AT&T, Coca-Cola and Capital One – will take place at Hemisfair in San Antonio as part of this year’s NCAA Final Four celebration. The three-day free music festival features Maroon 5 and Imagine Dragons, and additional performers will be announced in the coming weeks. The festival opens on March 30 with the AT&T Block Party, while Imagine Dragons take the stage on March 31 as the Coca-Cola Music headliner. Maroon 5 then headlines the Capital One JamFest on April 1. Even with a mega sporting event as big as March Madness and its crowning Final Four weekend, organizers and sponsors alike are ever-cognizant of the need to keep fans entertained with wall-to-wall shoulder programming, even when the on-court attraction is as good as its going to get all year.

Woods-stock is back. Tiger Woods moved to 149th in the Official World Ranking, up from 388, and won $572,000 in prize money with his (tied for) second place finish in the Valspar Championship. And when it comes to picking up a check, according to GolfWorld there's no state he'd rather be in than Florida. Woods has now earned $20,553,868 in the Sunshine State, or slightly more than 20% of the $100 million he's made in the U.S. Ohio ($16,335,145) ranks second on the list and California comes in third ($16,057,684), followed by Georgia (those four green jackets help) at $13,372,311. After three PGA starts so far this season and plenty of fist pumps and power shots that remind golf fans of the Woods of old, it feels like this might be the year that Woods can finally bring his magic back to the sport. Golf fans seem to agree, as ticket prices have skyrocketed in recent days for those who want to watch Tiger compete in the Masters for just the second time since 2013. According to TicketIQ.com, the average price of a single-day ticket at Augusta this year is a whopping $2,948.42 on secondary markets. Compare that to $2,592.91 for last year’s Masters. A renewed Tiger Mania has effectively increased the price of entry at Augusta National by 20%. And we’re still four weeks, and several tourneys, away.

Jimmy Pitaro beat out at least five internal candidates to become ESPN’s eighth and newest president. Pitaro, who headed up Disney’s consumer products and interactive media group since 2016, will report directly to Disney Chair and CEO Bob Iger. Pitaro replaces John Skipper, who resigned in December citing a substance abuse problem. Former ESPN President George Bodenheimer took over as interim president for a 90-day period while Iger interviewed for a permanent replacement. Iger picked Pitaro over internal candidates including ESPN Exec VP/Affiliate Sales and Marketing Justin Connolly, Exec VP/Content Connor Schell, Exec VP/Programming and Scheduling Burke Magnus, Exec VP/International Russell Wolff, and others. Iger was reportedly swayed that Pitaro’s background in digital media, sports, and consumer products would be a good fit for a sports media company trying to navigate a new media world. One of the first tasks on Pitaro's to-do list will be overseeing the launch of ESPN+, coming later this spring. He will also need to focus on looming sports rights renewals: ESPN’s MLB and NFL deals end in 2021.

Need data to prove that the U.S. is in fact the biggest international sports market? Here’s some more food for thought for new ESPN honcho Jimmy Pitaro. According to a newly-released global industry survey, the worldwide sports media rights market is valued at $49.5 billion. American sports rights holders take in 36% ($18 billion) of that total, with the NFL ($7.3 billion), NBA ($3.9 billion) and MLB ($3.4 billion) regarded as three of the four most valuable sports media properties in the world. The English Premier League ($4.5 billion) is the only non-U.S. based sports media property generating more than $3 billion per year in revenue. For reference purposes, the Champions League, La Liga and Serie A bring in $2.2 billion, $1.9 billion, and $1.5 billion, respectively. Major shifts in sports consumer preferences and tastes, as well as the NFL’s recent troubles, will likely cause Pitaro to more closely evaluate opportunities outside of U.S. borders for ESPN.

Here’s even more food for ESPN thought: mass audience reach, long believed to be an assumed advantage of the largest TV networks, is proving to be a myth. In 2018, marketers and agency executives at all levels are rating Facebook, Amazon, and Google/YouTube as more valuable at delivering on that goal than broadcasting and lead cable network groups. The trio’s market dominance is being driven by their ability to share detailed metrics against specific KPIs identified by marketers and their agencies. A new survey of over 1,200 U.S. brand marketers and agency executives, conducted by Jack Myers Tomorrow Today for Media Village, revealed that 80% of respondents rated the three online companies as very valuable for reach delivery, compared to 61% who rated the four leading broadcast networks as valuable. While ESPN was not named in the survey, the continuing mass migration to social and digital media is the impetus behind sports networks’ large-scale investment in proprietary social/digital platforms, and a major reason the Twitters and Facebooks of our world can now land Big Four sports media rights – a notion that would have been laughable even a handful of years ago.

And in that vein, SI.com just examined how Instagram "conquered the NBA." While soccer "still reigns supreme worldwide, the NBA is Instagram’s shining star domestically." The NBA’s official account "has 27 million followers -- nearly doubling the NFL’s 10.9 million and MLB’s 4 million combined -- and totaled a whopping 3.7 billion video views on the platform last year." LeBron James "leads all U.S. athletes with 35.7 million followers, dwarfing Tom Brady’s 3.9 million." And the Warriors "lead all team accounts with 8 million followers." As new basketball stars and NBA prospects arise during the NCAA tournament, it will be instructive to see how many new Instagram followers they gain alongside points, assists, and rebounds.

Churchill Downs, Inc. has announced it will acquire casinos in Pennsylvania and Mississippi, as it prepares to capitalize on legalized sports betting. The company will buy the Presque Isle Downs & Casino in Erie, PA (for $178.9 million) and the Lady Luck Casino in Vicksburg, Mississippi (for $50.6 million), from current owner Eldorado Resorts. Both Pennsylvania and Mississippi have passed sports betting legislation that would change their laws, should the U.S. Supreme Court rule in favor. Churchill Downs also owns brick-and-mortar casinos in Illinois, Kentucky, and Louisiana -- three other states actively working towards sports betting legalization. While Presque Isle Downs & Casino is among the lowest revenue-generating casinos in Pennsylvania, it is a significant acquisition for Churchill Downs. Pennsylvania recently legalized online gambling and the law passed covers mobile wagering on sporting events when permitted by federal law. While land-based casinos are profitable, mobile sports betting really has Churchill Downs excited. TwinSpires, the company’s online horse betting platform, accounted for $256.7 million in 2017 revenue. You can assume the company will look to quickly turn their database of users betting on the ponies into mainstream sports gamblers.

In Miami, the new MLS ownership group inches closer to its stadium site. According to the Miami Herald, David Beckham and Jorge Mas met this week with Miami City Manager Emilio Gonzalez about building an MLS stadium on the city-owned Melreese Country Club, "floating a 180-acre alternative" near Miami International Airport. Mas and his brother Jose have discussed with Gonzalez "how the Melreese park could mesh with the Mas ambitions for a sprawling soccer complex." Gonzalez is entertaining the "possibility of renting at least a sizable portion of Miami’s largest park and a public 18-hole golf course to a for-profit soccer stadium and commercial complex." Miami has always been a hotbed of public-private investment – much of which has deserved a raised eyebrow or two – and the new proposed mixed-use soccer stadium is only the most recent footnote in that grand tradition.

The NHL and NHLPA, in conjunction with Live Nation, announced dates, local start times, locations and ticketing information for the 2018 NHL Global Series and the 2018 NHL Global Series Challenge. In January, the NHL announced that the Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils, and Winnipeg Jets will play regular-season games in Europe as part of the slate. The Oilers and Devils will play their 2018-2019 season-opening game against each other in Gothenburg, Sweden on October 6, while the Panthers and Jets will face off in a pair of regular-season games in Helsinki, Finland on November 1-2. Prior to the New Jersey-Edmonton season-opening matchup, the Devils and Oilers will complete their training camps in Europe and will each play in an exhibition match as part of the 2018 NHL Global Series Challenge. Even though we didn’t get to see NHL players complete in the Olympics this year, the Global Series Challenge gives hockey fans around the world a taste of the NHL – and allows the league, rather than the IOC, to control the schedule and the accompanying revenue.

Elsewhere in Olympic-land, the IOC has laid out an overview of 25 recommendations from its Gender Equality Review Project, in a move to “focus on changing the conversation about women in sport holistically – from participation to representation and decision-making.” According to Cynopsis Sports, the recommendations cover five key areas – sport, portrayal, funding, governance, and human resources. “We are certain that, through the implementation of the 25 IOC Gender Equality Recommendations, we as the Olympic Movement – athletes, officials, commissions, federations and executives – can take real steps to enact effective change together,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “It is not just the right thing to do. It is in the interest of us all – the fans, the families, and every girl and woman who has been able to fully realize her dreams through athletic participation.” A fitting way for the IOC to celebrate last week’s International Women’s Day, and the rest of March, which is Women’s History Month.

Tech Top 5

Levy Restaurants tests robot cooks in sport venues. Levy Restaurants, in collaboration with California technology startup Miso Robotics, is developing a robotic chef capable of cooking in commercial kitchens such as sports venues. The artificial kitchen assistant, named Flippy in its initial pilot testing, is an industrial robotic arm that uses a combination of cameras, artificial intelligence, thermal scanners, and lasers to know when to turn burgers and remove them from the grill, complete deep-frying cycles, or chop vegetables. The robotic arm is capable of instantly receiving digital orders, starting food on a grill or fryer, monitoring precise food temperatures during cooking, removing that food, and then alerting humans when it’s time to finish and serve items. The robot can even change spatulas from one for raw food to one for cooked food to ensure compliance with safety regulations. “We’ve essentially built a third hand for overworked chefs,” said David Zito, Miso Robotics co-founder and chief executive. The technology is set to debut this summer at Dodger Stadium, at a popular food stand at the ballpark offering fried chicken. That installation will be followed by one at L.A.’s Staples Center this fall, and a broader rollout over the next two years across Levy’s portfolio of sports and entertainment clients.

Social media features NCAA March Madness selection show. Ahead of this year’s 2018 NCAA March Madness Selection Show, Turner Sports and CBS Sports produced a special four-hour Social Madness social media preshow, running exclusively on official March Madness handles across YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook along with NCAA.com and Bleacher Report. March Madness Selection Countdown will showcase fan-created content from schools and teams that have earned automatic bids to this year’s 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship via conference championships, in addition to those seeking at-large bids. The key for the joint CBS-Turner tournament has always been to evolve and innovate all aspects of how it is broadcast, beginning with moving the tournament to four different channels in 2011 and expanding regularly to different online and social platforms. The more aggressive move to social in 2018 represents the next generation of March Madness Selection Show expansion.

Real Madrid launches VR channel. Fans of Real Madrid will now be able to watch Cristiano Ronaldo score goals and give exciting locker room speeches in virtual reality on their TVs thanks to a partnership between La Liga and Dream VR, which creates a dedicated channel for VR content watchable on mobile devices. The channel will allow Real Madrid fans around the world to access exclusive videos from the club, including 360-degree content. Dream VR developed the new channel through its own application, which can be accessed via iOS and Android mobile devices and various virtual reality platforms. The Dream VR app is also available through Samsung Smart TV and Apple TV platforms, with plans to extend their reach to other sports teams in the near future. Real Madrid's commitment to this new initiative, which launched last Monday and will offer new content each month, is set to enable the club's millions of followers throughout the world to enjoy exclusive 360° content.

Kevin Durant joins wearable technology company as investor. Whoop, the wearable company that partnered with the NFL Players Association last year to track player strain and recovery, has secured a $25 million Series C funding round led by UAE71 Capital with participation from the NFLPA, Kevin Durant via the Durant Company, and NBA Commissioner Emeritus David Stern. "In the process of fundraising you meet people and get introduced to one another," Whoop co-founder and CEO Will Ahmed said when asked how he met UAE71. “They’ve worked with other products in the past and we were excited by their point of view of expanding internationally.” Founded out of the Harvard iLab in 2012, Whoop uses the wristbands to track data about an athlete's sleep schedule, "strain" during workouts, and recovery afterwards. The company has now raised about $50 million in total. Whoop wristbands have been approved for in-game use by Major League Baseball, and the company is working toward similar arrangements with the NFL and the NBA.

Rep The Squad jersey rental adds MLB jerseys. Rep the Squad announced the addition of MLB jerseys to its marketplace, as well as a new trade-in program that aims to reduce the amount of counterfeit items. The Seattle-based jersey rental service now offers Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers jerseys, with more MLB teams to be added later this year. Rep the Squad uses a Netflix-like model, charging customers $19.95 per month to receive selected jerseys in the mail, one at a time. When you’re done wearing one, you can return it and receive a different jersey as long as you maintain your subscription. The company launched last year with NFL jerseys, and added NBA jerseys in November. It aims to attract new customers by offering membership discounts for used jerseys fans already own, including counterfeit items. After signing up for the trade-in program, members will receive a free subscription for one month after sending in their old jersey. Rep the Squad has raised $2.5 million from top venture capital firms, along with current and former pro athletes such as Doug Baldwin, Golden Tate, Russell Okung, and Edgar Martinez.

Power of Sports 5

Tom Brady gets a buzz cut for charity and raises $6.5 million. New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady just got a buzz cut for a cancer research institute. Brady was the mystery guest at last Thursday's "Saving by Shaving" annual fundraiser for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Brady showed off his new look on Instagram after his long, brown hair was shaved down with a razor. Granite Telecommunications holds the event at its headquarters in Quincy, Massachusetts. The company pledged to give over $5 million to the cancer institute if 1,000 people shaved their heads or beards. Granite Telecomm says 1,200 people participated this year, and it will contribute $6.5 million for its fifth annual event. "It's great to see you guys out here. I know you're doing great work and I know we are going to continue to do the same," Brady told the crowd. Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker stood beside Brady. "It's a great statement about him as well as a great statement about how much people appreciate the chance to do this on behalf of such a great cause," Baker said. Saving by Shaving has raised close to $15 million in four years.

Rich Eisen runs 40-yard dash for charity. Every year, Rich Eisen steps onto the starting block at the NFL Combine and runs a 40-yard dash, with the NFL Network anchor using the platform to benefit St. Jude Children's Hospital. This marks the 14th consecutive year that Eisen has run a televised 40. He posted his best time in 2016, when he ran a 5.94. That’s the second time in all these years that Eisen has managed to get below six seconds. This raises money for a wonderful cause, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. St. Jude’s provides treatment and care to children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases, and they never turn away a patient based on their ability to pay. Families do not receive any bill from St. Jude’s when their child receives treatment there. The NFL Network will contribute $25,000 this year to St. Jude’s on behalf of Run Rich Run. AT&T Audience Network, Courtyard by Marriott, and Under Armour also pledged $25,000 each to St. Jude’s as part of this initiative, for a total of $100,000. “I’m touched and honored by the chance to do anything on behalf of St. Jude and the terrific partners of Run Rich Run who support it,” Eisen said, “If only any of that could make me run faster.”

Washington Capitals support TAPS. Courage Caps, the Washington Capitals’ team-issued branded hats and T-shirts, went on sale last week, in partnership with Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation and the Washington Capitals. This season's Courage Caps campaign is sponsored by Telos Corporation, with 100% of the proceeds benefiting the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). For the seventh-consecutive season, TAPS is the beneficiary of Courage Caps. TAPS is a nonprofit organization that provides comfort and care for anyone grieving the death of someone who died while serving in the military. Funds raised will help TAPS provide peer-based emotional support, regional seminars for adults, good grief camps for children, casework assistance, grief and trauma resources, and a 24/7 resource and information helpline for bereaved military families. To launch the 2017-18 campaign, Caps players John Carlson, Taylor Chorney, Matt Niskanen, Brooks Orpik, and T.J. Oshie hosted nearly 150 children and adults who have found healing through TAPS for a skating party at Kettler Capitals Iceplex on February 10.

Houston Texans announce #TexansCare Volunteer Day. The Houston Texans announced their annual #TexansCare Volunteer Day. The annual event will be held this year on April 28 and offers Texans fans the opportunity to volunteer around the city of Houston alongside the Texans Cheerleaders, TORO, Texans staff, and their favorite Texans players. This year, the Texans will offer volunteer support at the YMCA of Greater Houston and Boys & Girls Club of Greater Houston. Volunteers at the Houston Texans YMCA will participate in projects such as mulching, pressure washing, building structures, and assembling kits for families affected by Hurricane Harvey. These projects will create a fresh look for the space where children learn and grow, and assist in strengthening the community. Volunteers at the Boys & Girls Club - Havard location will help with the upkeep of this facility. The projects for this site consist of repainting outdoor areas, landscaping, deep cleaning, and repairing equipment. Completing these projects will provide the Boys & Girls Club with much-needed services and will encourage participation in club activities by area youth.

Former NFL punter to play in charity game for 9/11 victims. The Washington Wild Things, an independent minor league baseball team in Pennsylvania, announced that former NFL punter Pat McAfee will play in a Wild Things game this season as part of a promotion that benefits a veterans' charity. The 30-year-old McAfee retired after the 2016 NFL season to join media company Barstool Sports, which announced the promotion for the June 21 Wild Things game. According to a team release, McAfee will be in the starting lineup, playing right field for Washington before batting and coaching first base in his pro baseball debut against the Traverse City Beach Bums. Fans attending the game also will receive a free T-shirt, with $1 draft beer available. The Wild Things said half of all proceeds from the game will benefit the "It's About the Warrior Foundation," a post-9/11 veterans organization that assists and empowers all Tri-State area post-9/11 veterans and their families via various programs. "I'm very grateful that the Washington Wild Things are willing to have a great time with some promotion while raising money for an incredible cause," McAfee said. "(One-dollar) pints, a free T-shirt and a chance that I die from getting hit by a pitch from a professional pitcher is quite a recipe for an incredible time."

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