#source: amy whittle

[cryptidvoidwritings]

instagram story: Aug 4 and 5, 2023

[white-cat-of-doom]

A busy and noteworthy two show Caturday for the first week in Taipei, Taiwan (29 July 2023), with two Demeter cover debuts!

Lucy Rice performed the evening show and Sophie-Rose Middleton the matinee.

Congratulations to the both of them!

With Katie Hutton as Rumpleteazer, Johnny Randall as Mistoffelees, Taryn Donna as Cassandra, and Nathan Zach Johnson covering Munkustrap.

Sophie-Rose has now covered all of her roles, plus a few additional Toms! With Lucy Rice, Lydia Gerrard, Quinlan Kelly, and Benjamin McMillan.

Katie also squeezed in some photos with Saverio Pescucci as Alonzo, Petra Ilse Dam as Bombalurina, Anita Louise Combe as Babygriz, and Matt Krzan as Munkustrap, along with Sophie-Rose covering Demeter.

Matt Krzan seems to be leaving his role as Munkustrap, and I have a feeling that Russell Dickson will be taking over for the final few weeks, seen here with Oliver Ramsdale and his Admetus makeup.

Amy Louise Whittle is bright and cheery as Jennyanydots, and Saverio Pescucci as Alonzo was determined and ready for the big day!

Intermission Kitty time fun from Gavin Eden as Skimbleshanks and Matt Krzan as Munkustrap. (Source)

[speedofsoundsketches]

Yikes, this is a complex question to answer.

Jolt took almost a year to reach the final look and required a large amount of conceptualizing after the first drawing of her on the left.

Here are a few tips that I gathered while taking on this huge job as condensed as I can possibly make it.

1.) Know the Purpose of your Character

Every character introduced into the Sonic game series has a reason for why they exist to serve the story. Jolt has a very distinct reason for who she is and her powers. The most obvious purpose, as most are aware, is her connection to Shadow.

Basically, I thought about how the story will take place, what kind of goal is she attempting to achieve, how she interacts with the other characters (which helps in defining her personality) and this guided my process.

There were well over a dozen different designs and I almost settled on a completely different idea of Jolt until I continued developing the story and decided the direction it was going required a complete overhaul in her design and purpose.

2.) Simplify, Simplify, Simplify 

What is a common trait between all Sonic characters from the Video Game series?

All of them have a very specific color scheme and number of colors with very few exceptions.

After studying the main crew, I noted that each have around 4-7 main colors total (Not counting the Shoe sole color).

Sonic - Blue, Green, White, Gold, Red, Peach

Shadow - Black, Red, Gold, White, Tan

Knuckles - Red, Purple, Green, Yellow, White, Peach

Amy - Pink, Red, Gold, White, Green, Peach

Espio - Dark Magenta, Black, Gray, Purple, Yellow, White

Jolt- Mint Green, Magenta, Black, Copper, White, Tan

And when it comes to outfits, I basically just studied how the clothing and look of each of the Ladies emphasized their personalities. A common fan character trait is a tendency to overcomplicate the design, especially with clothes. You need to know when to drop superfluous details that you think look cool now but will give your character away immediately to anyone outside the fandom.  

Jolt had a very complicated look in her first explorations, which is perfectly fine during the fun part of exploring ideas! Once you start whittling it down to the direction you like the most, you have to then take into account how your character would look if they were put right up against the rest of the main cast. They need to look distinguishing and recognizable without looking too different in tone.

That’s also where the silhouette comes into play, which is super important in a series aimed predominately at children. 

A strong silhouette allows you to more easily identify the character from the rest and helps in making them more distinguished. 

While characters of the same species share similar structures, they have enough uniqueness to each individual that you can still tell one from the other.

3.) Draw Test Comics

This is the best way to truly test a character’s design out.

If you think you’re getting close to the final look, start drawing them interacting with the main cast and feeling out how they fit in.

Note here how Jolt had a different hairstyle but she’s looking pretty much like her final design. I learned here how her design limits the different angles or emotions I try to achieve and if the design gets in the way of how she’s portrayed. This meant reconsidering how to make it easier to redraw her over and over again.

4.) Get Feedback from Trustworthy Sources

You want someone who knows what you’re trying to achieve with a character so they can give good insight from a different point of view on how to best convey that character.

My friend @aw0-files is a remarkable designer whos’ opinion I trust so he was subject to a barrage of conceptual art throughout this process. (God Bless him) 

But when he drew her himself (see below), I ended up changing her hair because I liked his ideas and it was more practical. 

There’s a whole lot more that goes into it but that’s about the gist of it. Happy drawing!

(To see more of Jolt and previews of her story, visit the “Shadow and Jolt” tag!)

[uninterruptiblepowerreviews-blog]

The Best Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for 2019: Reviews by Wirecutter

An uninterruptible power supply, or UPS, is basically a surge protector, a battery, and a power inverter (which turns the battery’s stored energy into usable power) wrapped into one unit. The size of the battery dictates how long it can provide power, while the inverter dictates how much power it can output at any one time—often listed as volt-amps (VA) but more easily discussed as watts (W).

A small, inexpensive UPS is great for anyone that wants their home Wi-Fi and Internet to stay online during shorter power outages or brownouts. Unlike traditional phone service that works without power, Internet and digital phone service requires a broadband modem, which may have only a small battery backup—adding a UPS could provide hours of uptime in case you need to reach emergency services.

Larger UPS units with extra power and features can help keep home offices and workstations running during business hours, or for at least long enough to save work and safely shut down vulnerable equipment. If you have a lot of important data on hard drives in a desktop computer or network-attached storage, you may need a UPS so you can prevent your drives from losing data in the event of a sudden power outage. In some cases, a UPS can provide crucial backup power to home medical equipment like CPAP machines for a limited time.

But powering your home theater for a movie marathon during a storm is going to be less feasible and less affordable. If you need long-term power, the capacity to keep appliances like refrigerators plugged in, or to light up your whole house, off-grid solutions like backup generators or professionally installed battery packs are the way to go.

How we picked and tested

We started by considering 93 models from three leading companies: APC, CyberPower, and Tripp Lite. We’ve tested uninterruptible power supplies and surge protectors from these companies in the past, and all the power-product companies have long histories and reputations as reliable. Since a UPS is designed to be used in an emergency, choosing from a reliable brand is crucial to avoid buyer’s remorse at the worst possible time.

To whittle down such a massive list of candidates, we considered the most important factors that go into a great UPS:

Power management: We insisted that any UPS we tested use line-interactive topology, or automatic voltage regulation (AVR), a more advanced form of power management than that used by less expensive “standby” UPS models. AVR means that when power from a wall outlet briefly dips or surges outside of a specified range, a small transformer in the UPS acts like a buffer to compensate without relying on the battery; the UPS switches to battery power only when the transformer can’t handle the variation. This reduces wear and tear on the battery during frequent brownout conditions, prolonging its overall life and providing more-reliable power to sensitive gear like hard drives. Since AVR is available without a huge price premium, it’s a sensible feature to have to get the most from a UPS in the long term.

A UPS without some type of AVR is generally referred to as a “standby” UPS. That’s because the battery is always on standby, ready to jump in anytime the voltage from the wall outlet fluctuates outside a small predetermined range. A standby UPS is fine for many applications, but the battery inside may need to be replaced sooner, and it may not correct voltage fluctuations as quickly as an AVR model. We dismissed any standby models without testing them.

Battery capacity: Most UPS batteries are small, sealed, lead-acid batteries, not so different from a car battery. That makes them much cheaper than the lithium-based batteries in smartphones and laptops, but it’s also why they’re heavier and store less energy.

Manufacturers often publish run-time ratings that outline how long a UPS can keep various wattages running. Since most ratings are based on ideal conditions, we tested our top candidates at two different loads, 50 W and 300 W, to see how they managed in real-world use. Our 50 W load was meant to simulate powering a cable modem and Wi-Fi router. Our 300 W load is closer to a full workstation, as it adds a modern desktop (around 150 W), a 27-inch monitor (88 W maximum), and network-attached storage hard drives (60 W maximum).

Since the batteries will likely start to hold less energy at the three-year mark (and may hold noticeably less energy after the five years) most models we considered have replaceable batteries to extend the life of the UPS. Prices for name-brand replacements range from $30 to $60, and the process is simple enough for a novice to complete in just a couple minutes.

Power output: While battery capacity and runtime measure how long a UPS can supply power, the power output tells you how much it can power at any one time. Most models explicitly include their output in the name or model number in volt-amperes (VA). The smallest UPS models we found with the AVR feature we require output 650 VA, more than enough to run a modem and Wi-Fi router at home. For an upgrade pick, we looked for models with at least a 1,000 VA rating. VA ratings aren’t common in most people’s lives, but they’re power ratings along the same lines as the more-familiar watts (W). For a quick estimation when shopping, you can assume that a UPS’s wattage rating will be about 60 percent of its volt-amp rating. So a UPS rated for 685 VA can probably handle about 400 W. That’s plenty to keep a cable modem (25 W), Wi-Fi router (30 W), and laptop charger (65 W) up and running for a while.

Outlets: All outlets on a home UPS provide surge protection, limiting the amount of extra voltage that could reach and potentially damage anything plugged into them. But generally only half of the outlets will be connected to the battery backup in case of an outage—and are prominently marked as such. That’s why we focused on models that had at least eight outlets total, since you’ll have only four of them in a power outage. In most home offices, this shouldn’t cause a problem, but it does require some planning in terms of making sure the right things are plugged into the right outlets.

Power Quality: For each model we tested, we looked at the power output using a digital oscilloscope provided by Bitscope. This let us see how well the inverters in each UPS converted the DC energy stored into the battery into the AC power provided by the outlets. Specifically, the oscilloscope let us look at two aspects of power quality: which models introduced the least amount of electrical noise into the line, and how well the modified sine wave inverter in each model imitated the kind of power that comes out of a standard wall outlet. For our upgrade pick, we also required a pure sine wave inverter (see the next item).

Pure sine wave power: A modified sine wave (MSW) inverter turns the DC power stored in the battery into the AC power you need coming out of the outlets. Because MSW inverters are less expensive to make and work well for most devices, they’re the the most common type of inverter used in UPS units (including our top pick). But MSW inverters create only a close approximation of the kind of AC power that comes out of a wall outlet—it’s not quite the same. Most gadgets that charge with a power brick (including smartphones, tablets, and laptops) won’t care much, since the power brick does extra conversion anyway. But anything expecting AC power for moving parts like motors won’t work normally on an MSW inverter, and audio equipment can pick up buzzes of interference from them. And some home medical devices just won’t work with MSW power. In any of those cases, you need pure sine wave (PSW) inverters instead.

Pure sine wave inverters, and the UPS models that use them, replicate the smooth wave of power that comes from a wall outlet powered by a utility company. These inverters are more expensive to make and thus less common when it comes to inexpensive or occasional-use power sources. We’ve come across multiple online discussions discussing how to provide backup power for CPAP machines and whether MSW or PSW were better. We reached out to ResMed, makers of a variety of home respiratory care devices, to find out what they recommend. Amy Cook, the company’s marketing director, told us that many of the company’s newer products have power converters or even lithium-ion battery backups available. But if you plan on using a different power source, “older-generation PAPs (S8 and earlier) that are using modified sine wave inverters cannot power their respective humidifiers.” Given the importance, not to mention cost, of equipment like CPAP machines, we’d recommend you opt for a battery backup made by the same manufacturer, if available. If not, we prefer to stick to PSW inverters—like the one included in our upgrade pick—to avoid any problems.

Extra features: A basic UPS doesn’t need a lot of features to do its job, but other features we considered include status displays that show battery charge and remaining runtime right on the unit and power-management software that lets you monitor and manage a UPS (over USB) from your computer. Neither feature is crucial for a UPS in most homes—the power goes out and you know you have limited network or computer time to do what you need to do. But a status display is a nice-to-have feature that can help calm power anxiety, and power management software that works on any operating system future-proofs changes in your setup so that your UPS can be just as useful years down the line as it is the first day you plug it in.

Every UPS from a reputable brand comes with some basic surge protection built in, which is good because you can’t plug your UPS into a surge protector or plug a surge protector into a UPS. Unfortunately, most affordable UPS units don’t offer much protection compared with a dedicated surge protector. In previous tests, electrical engineer Lee Johnson took apart our UPS samples to examine their guts. Based on his assessment, we found that our picks should protect your equipment about as well, if not for as long, as basic surge protectors we’ve tested before.

Our pick: CyberPower CP685AVR

Our pick

The CyberPower CP685AVR is our first choice for anyone who wants a UPS to keep their home network and modem online during short blackouts. Unlike competitors at similar prices, the CP685AVR can compensate for quick voltage sags and surges without switching to battery, which helps prolong the life of the battery and provide more-reliable power. The four battery-backed outlets can keep basic home networking gear running for about an hour, and all eight outlets have basic surge protection to fit plenty of equipment day to day. No setup is required for the UPS to do its job, but anyone who wants to monitor power consumption or manage shutdown settings can do so over USB with a Windows, Mac, or Linux computer—the closest competitors offer software only for Windows.

Most people are looking for a UPS to solve one of three problems in a blackout: powering a digital-phone modem for contacting emergency services and loved ones, preventing damage to something that needs to be properly shut down, or passing the time until the electricity comes back. The CP685AVR can keep a combination of a common broadband modem and Wi-Fi router (about 50 W) on for about an hour. The runtime decreases if you add devices to the other two battery-backed outlets. Even though power outages have increased in some parts of the US in recent years, they tend not to last too long (PDF), so a basic UPS should get you by in even the most unreliable regions.

When a UPS battery kicks in during a power outage, it offers better value the longer it can last.

The “AVR” in the model name CP685AVR stands for Automatic Voltage Regulation, one of the power-management features we required. Many inexpensive UPS models don’t include this option, leaving out the transformer and instead functioning as “standby” backups that can only switch to battery. Even APC, a leading competitor, doesn’t offer AVR in any models available for a similar price. The closest competitor that does is the Tripp Lite AVR650UM, which we tested our top pick against.

When a UPS battery does kick in during a power outage, it offers better value the longer it can last. When we tested the CP685AVR with a 50 W load meant to mimic the power requirements of a broadband modem and home Wi-Fi router, it lasted 57 minutes before shutting down. The Tripp Lite AVR 650UM managed only 38 minutes in the same test. Given the similar prices, that’s a lot more value packed into the CyberPower model.

The CyberPower CP685AVR and competing Tripp Lite models have similar maximum outputs, 390 W and 325 W, respectively. There are other similarities, too. They’re nearly identical in size, each with eight outlets. Though all eight outlets offer surge protection, only four on either model are backed up by battery power during a blackout. That’s a common arrangement, and the outlets are clearly marked, so you just have to make sure that your most important gear gets plugged into the right outlets.

The pure sine wave from a residential wall outlet.

Modified sine wave inverters, like the one in the CP685AVR, provide power that mostly works the same as power from a wall outlet but looks very different when examined.

The modified sine wave of the Tripp Lite TLAVR650UM.

The pure sine wave from a residential wall outlet.

Modified sine wave inverters, like the one in the CP685AVR, provide power that mostly works the same as power from a wall outlet but looks very different when examined.

None of the keep-your-network-up models we tested, including our top pick, do a particularly great job of imitating pure sine waves with their MSW inverters, though the CyberPower waveform looked closer to what we’ve come to expect when examining many MSW inverters on an oscilloscope. If you think you might fall prey to the side effects of MSW, check out our upgrade pick below, which produces PSW power instead.

There’s no status display on the CP685AVR, but it’s rare to find a UPS in this price range that has one along with the other features we think are crucial, including AVR and a long runtime. The only feedback you’ll get when the power goes out is a double beep every 30 seconds, and a more-continuous alarm when you have less than five minutes of power remaining. But if your UPS is going to live near a computer, you can see more detail by connecting to it via USB and downloading the free CyberPower Power Panel application. You can use this software to see the battery’s charge and the UPS status, monitor power consumption, change the alarm settings, and even customize certain events like having your computer safely shut down automatically when the power goes out. CyberPower, TrippLite, and APC all offer this type of software for Windows computers, but only CyberPower offers a Mac version.

CyberPower’s AVR Series has user reviews dating back almost 10 years. Although we’ve become wary of user-review averages for some product categories, most users have found the CyberPower offering to be a solid UPS, which is about what you’d expect for a utilitarian device. All three companies we considered for this category—CyberPower, APC, and TrippLite—offer a three-year warranty on any UPS.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The CyberPower CP685AVR is a simple UPS that focuses on providing power at a good price, but that means giving up some conveniences. In particular, it has only one button, which turns the unit on or off. That means there’s no way to mute the alarm that chirps when power goes off unless you attach it to a computer and use the free Power Panel application. Without a way to quiet it, the CP685AVR will chirp every 30 seconds when it’s providing power during an outage. It’s annoying, but a common design for basic UPS models like this one.

Runner-up: CyberPower CP800AVR

Runner-up

If our top pick is out of stock and you don’t need (or want to pay for) the extra output or pure sine wave power that sets our upgrade pick apart, get the CyberPower CP800AVR. It’s nearly identical to the CP685AVR, our top pick: It has the same automatic voltage regulation (AVR) power management we like, similar one-hour runtime when powering a modem and router during an outage, and even the same dimensions and design. The only difference is that the CP800AVR can deliver about 15 percent more power at any given moment during a blackout, which isn’t enough to make a huge difference in how you’d use it.

Since the CP800AVR uses the same size battery as our top pick, it’s no surprise that it lasted about as long in our testing. When fully charged, the UPS powered a 50 W load (similar to what you might need to power a broadband modem and Wi-Fi router) for an hour. As you plug in additional power-hungry equipment, that runtime will go down—all the way to just three minutes (PDF) when fully loaded.

For the CP800AVR, a full load is 450 W, compared to 390 W for our top pick. That’s a small difference, especially since ideal setups will only use half that maximum to help maintain battery life in the long run. That brings the 60 W difference down to a real-world difference of just 30 W—less than what most laptop chargers use. If you need more power during an outage, you’re better off with our upgrade pick, which is rated for 600 W and adds additional benefits like pure sine wave power, extra outlets, and a status display.

The CP800AVR shares the same design and outlets (eight, four with battery backup) as our top pick, the CP685AVR. It also similarly lacks a status display to monitor the battery level, but you can use the CyberPower Power Panel application on a Windows, Mac, or Linux PC connected via USB to monitor the UPS and make minor tweaks like silencing the alarm.

The pure sine wave from a residential wall outlet.

The CP800AVR uses a modified sine wave inverter to turn the DC power in the battery to a rough approximation of standard AC power.

The APC BR700G is a modified sine wave inverter as well, though it does a better job at smoothing out its peaks and valleys.

The pure sine wave from a residential wall outlet.

The CP800AVR uses a modified sine wave inverter to turn the DC power in the battery to a rough approximation of standard AC power.

As was the case with all of the more-affordable UPS models, our runner-up uses a modified sine wave inverter that will work fine for most electronics with a power brick—including phone chargers, laptops, routers, and modems—but may cause problems for sensitive electronics like audio gear or home medical equipment. When we showed the waveforms recorded from our two top picks to Lee Johnson, an electrical engineer with whom we frequently collaborate, he noted slight differences in the two and suggested that the CP800AVR may have some sort of extra filter before the outlet. But Johnson agreed that there’s no evidence that the slight difference would have an impact on most devices. If you’re concerned about that, you need a pure sine wave inverter like the one inside our upgrade pick.

Upgrade pick: CyberPower CP1000PFCLCD

Upgrade pick

If you need more power, more outlets, or to power sensitive electronics like audio or home medical equipment in a blackout, the CyberPower CP1000PFCLCD is the best choice. It costs around twice the price of our top pick, but it can keep a desktop computer setup running long enough to shut down safely, includes an upgrade to pure sine wave (PSW) power, adds an LCD status display to the front and two more outlets to the back, and has an output roughly 50 percent higher when the power goes out. The battery is roughly the same size as our top pick’s, though, so it won’t last much longer when powering the same devices.

Like our top pick, and any of the pure sine wave models we considered, the CP1000PFCLCD uses automatic voltage regulation (AVR). By putting less wear and tear on the battery, AVR should help to extend the overall life. And when it is time for a replacement, name-brand batteries cost around $35 and take a few minutes to swap in without any tools.

The CP1000PFCLCD is smaller than many workstation UPS units, which means that its battery is smaller than what you get with some competitors and won’t keep you running much longer than our top pick given the same load—a 50 W router and modem combo should last around an hour. And while it can handle a desktop computer, display, and a few accessories, in our tests, it could power a 300 W load for only about eight minutes. That’s enough time to shut down computers and hard drives safely, but definitely not enough to keep you working through a bad storm. (The APC BR1000MS, which sells for a similar price, has a larger battery inside and is rated to last around 50 percent longer than our pick, but an annoying flaw kept us from recommending it.) In contrast, the largest CyberPower UPS in this line is rated for nearly twice the runtime of our pick, but at over $200, we’re not convinced it’s a good value or a necessity for most people. With 300 W of gear plugged in, the larger unit is rated to last only 19 minutes, 10 minutes longer than our pick’s rating. My own survey of popular CPAP machines showed that most use between 30 W and 100 W, depending on the settings. That’s a big range, but a CPAP in the middle of it would likely last around 45 minutes connected to our upgrade pick.

The more gear you have plugged in, the less runtime the battery will provide. The CP1000PFCLCD is rated to put out 600 W at any one time, but we never recommend running a UPS at a full load. Not only do you risk overloading it—causing the UPS to shut down, trip its breaker, or in severe cases damage it—but larger loads will wear out the overall battery life faster. Besides, if you put 600 W of gear on this model, the battery would conk out after just three or four minutes.

[livingcorner]

12 Beautiful Pallet Garden Ideas – Roots Nursery

Pallet gardens are all the rage. From veggies and herbs to annuals to succulents, a pallet garden is clever and beautiful! They are wonderfully space-saving so you can surround yourself with a ridiculous amount of plants and flowers. Personally, that’s my goal every year. Here are 12 pallet garden ideas in 4 categories for you to create!

Succulent Pallet Garden Ideas

This gorgeous pallet garden is filled with drought-tolerant, easy to care for plants that look amazing all year, no matter what you put them through. The stained finish just puts it over the top. I could stare at this gorgeous thing all day. (found on Pinterest, source unknown)

You're reading: 12 Beautiful Pallet Garden Ideas – Roots Nursery

I’m a sucker for succulents. I use them anywhere, anytime for any reason. They live indoors through the winter. They overwinter outdoors in pots. They go especially well in fairy gardens. If I’m at a nursery and there are succulents, you can’t stop me from buying 5.

Mainly because succulents pass the brown thumb test.

Yes, I run a nursery, but I’m terrible at growing plants indoors. I started with LOTS of houseplants. If it died, I never bought it again. This approach whittled down my winter lovelies to something manageable. Ficus. Geranium. Begonia. And lots and lots of succulents.

Here’s another gorgeous succulent pallet garden from The Urchin Collective.

Herb Pallet Garden Ideas

The greatest thing about herbs, besides making your food yummy, is that they don’t need a ton of space to grow. Of course, they’d rather be in the ground. I mean, what plant doesn’t? Fortunately, herbs can endure some crowding.

The smallest sized pot recommended for growing herbs is 6″. That’s pretty small.

These pallet herb gardens aren’t even utilizing all the space for soil. They’ve only added bottoms to each ‘shelf’ to hold everything in. All they need now is some rich organic potting soil and some sunlight. (afternoon shade preferred)

This vertical herb garden beautiful and creatively clever! Using chalkboard paint adds such a nice touch. I use this paint to label SO many things. Craft boxes, jars and so much more. Using chalk to label your plants is so fun. Change your herbs and labels as much as you want!  The chalk will probably wash off with every rain if not protected, but it’s so cute, I think it’s worth rewriting!

Another gorgeous herb garden, built by Zina’s husband (slave). The labels on this one won’t wash off in the rain. And it’s just breathtaking. I mean, what craft CANT you pull off with beautiful penmanship?

Jen and her mom (from JenAroundTheWorld) did such a beautiful job building this herb pallet garden, and an excellent job explaining how they did it. I love this rendition of the herb pallet garden because it holds so much more soil for the herbs to grow in. Herbs don’t need a ton of soil, but this design gives it much more space to spread. They laid the pallet flat to plant the garden and let it sit flat for about 2 weeks to allow the soil to settle. When the roots start to put on some growth, they place the new beautiful pallet garden upright into a vertical garden.

Read more: 10 Best Beginner Plants

If you’re worried about chemical leaching, or the idea of filling the whole pallet with soil turns you off, here’s a clever little twist! Just use the pallet as shelves for your pots to organize your herb garden! This idea was featured by Jen from PinkWhen. I love how compact, organized and adorable it is as a display. (More about chemically treated pallets below).

On the other end of the spectrum, if you’re very handy, you can create this beautiful standing herb planter, shown here by BonniePlants. This particular planter was not created with a pallet, but if you’re short on wood, you can pull one apart and put it back together like so. If you’re not handy but love this design, you can buy one like it.

Vegetable Pallet Garden Ideas

Everyone loves a vegetable garden. But most people think you need a huge garden to grow them.

Not the case.

I’m actually pretty surprised at how little space can grow so much produce. I’ve seen this in square foot gardening.

I’ve also seen volunteer tomato seeds sprout in the most unimaginable places. The corner of a wood chip pile on a driveway? And it grew like crazy. Who knew?

You can create some breathtaking vegetable gardens with pallets. Take a look at this beauty featured at Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival. I absolutely love the use of multiple pallets to create height and I’m amazed at how well those babies are growing.

What about fruit?

Just LOOK at this gorgeous strawberry pallet planter by LovelyGreens Who wouldn’t LOVE to look at that every day, and have yummy strawberries to boot! Berry Smoothies anyone? I’m down for that.  You can view the instructions on Tanya’s website. Or you can watch her build it on youtube.

if you’re worried about treated wood, or leeching chemicals, here’s some advice:

Most wood  pallets will have an IPPC logo, since they oversee internationally-shipped pallets. Pallets that ship overseas are the ones usually treated or fumigated to prevent the spread of invasive pests. Here are the marks to look out for (they should be near the IPPC logo):

HT – This means the pallet was heat treated, possibly with harmful chemicals.

MB – This indicates that the pallet was fumigated with methyl bromide, a toxic pesticide. Pallet makers are phasing out methyl bromide, but you may still see this mark on some older pallets.

You can also educate yourself to recognize what pressure treated wood looks like. Head to your local home improvement store and poke around the lumber section. Pressure treated wood looks different from untreated wood, and once you see the difference in color, it should be pretty easy to spot.

Flower Pallet Garden Ideas

Flowers are the prize of everyone’s garden. And anyone can grow them.

Annual flowers, again, don’t need immense root systems to grow well. Just good potting soil, sunshine and keep an eye on the water.

Have you ever seen how many wax begonias they shove in one hanging pot at the nursery? And they do well all summer. Have you ever uprooted a large annual geranium and taken a look at the size of the root system? It’s pretty minimal for the size of the plant.

A petunia seed fell in the crack of my block patio to the soil below. The blocks are 6″ deep! The next year, I had a plant a foot tall and a foot wide growing through that crack.

Some plants just want to survive and work hard to do so. To quote Jurassic Park ‘life finds a way’. There’s absolutely no reason you shouldn’t do wonderfully growing a flower pallet garden. As with any garden, start with great soil.

Holy Petunias, Amy!!! This unbelievable planter box was built from pallets by Amy over at HerToolBelt. I am SO impressed with how well they grew! Amy has instructions on her blog, how to build the box and keep the plants moist so they actually grow this well. I would follow them exactly

Read more: Snakes

For all you apartment-dwelling flower lovers, there’s hope! Vertical gardens are awesome for apartments. Space-saving, full of plants, and just lovely. My all-time favorite vertical pallet garden was created by Fern over at Life On The Balcony (sadly her site is gone)  Her use of color in this stunning little garden is fabulous. She really has an eye.

Above is a great example of all of the beautiful plants that go well in a pallet garden. I see lots of nasturtium and many different types of succulents. The pale green trailing plant in the middle looks like a licorice plant. (source unknown)

How to Make a Pallet Garden

Here’s a super quick video tutorial below on how to build a vertical pallet garden for herbs. Make sure to pack and water your plants in WELL before standing it up.

Below is another simple way to put together a vertical pallet garden. This time, you take slats from an extra pallet and screw it to the bottom of each ‘level’

Below are full instructions on how annual vertical pallet gardens are constructed at the nursery.

One last video. If you LOVE vertical gardening, this man is brilliant at it.

Alex from Flower Street Urban Gardens has devised a wonderful gardening system that you install right on walls, fences, windowsills, your balcony. If you have a sturdy structure to hold a wire frame, this space saver can grow some plants! It’s perfect for individuals that would rather not bend to work a garden.

Best Plants for a Pallet Garden

Pallet gardens are such great space savers, but they don’t provide much growing space. Shallow rooted plants grow best, so we’ll stick with the following.

All succulents

Most herbs like thyme, parsley, oregano, cilantro, chives, dill, mint, tarragon

Salad greens like leaf lettuce, spinach, kale and arugula

Annual flowers are my absolute favorite for any garden so we won’t forget them here. Special consideration is to be made to find short-growing flowers that will fit in a vertical garden. The best annual flowers for a pallet garden are as follows:

Alyssum

Nasturtium

Wave petunias (regular petunias grow strangely)

Marigolds (look for dwarf varieties)

Lobelia

Verbena

Ivy

Begonias

Impatiens (for shade)

Last but not least, have FUN with your plants. They provide endless possibilities to get creative and surround yourself with beauty. Hopefully, this post inspires a pallet design of your own!

Source: https://livingcorner.com.au Category: Garden

source https://livingcorner.com.au/12-beautiful-pallet-garden-ideas-roots-nursery/

[tillthenexttimedoctor]

Of Engine Oil, Tears and Happiness

”No, it’s an actual tear, but it shouldn’t be...”

Gentle, sometimes violent, but always trying to get to the heart of things, there is an emotional pull to the episodes of series 10. It’s found in Bill’s openness, as her emotions and thoughts spill across her face, her words, her imagination. Rarely has there even been a companion so vibrantly, uncompromisingly and genuinely herself, in every way, no matter what happens.

But it also carries us through story about story, calling for empathy and understanding. It’s getting true the true nature of robots and wishes. It’s believing the best of those held in chains and recognising true monsters. It’s realising the truth about a scary house and about a family. It’s about knowing yourself, holding on to who you are even as falsehoods claw at your mind. It’s about finding your fate, even if it’s portals to other worlds or far away from home on Mars. It’s trusting that even evil is capable of goodness, as long as she wants to.

There’ is beauty in reaching out, even when it is scary. Even when the world has been broken and twisted beyond recognition. There is kindness in everyone. There is hope in tears. And that is why Heather’s story could never end with only a mournful goodbye.

Heather’s story begins with open questions and suspicious behaviour. On a show like Doctor Who, strangeness is the sign of a threat or the beginning of an invasion often enough. From her first appearance on, Heather comes across as a dubious figure. In a crowded lecture hall, she stares straight ahead, no sign that she is even registering the content. Encountering Bill at the bar, no words are spoken, just an enigmatic smile. And through it all, a the bright star in her iris, a curious feature on a show on which being human is optional.

And yet, these moments are undeniably framed as romantic. “The day you fall in love”, the Doctor exclaims as the camera rests on Heather’s face. And there, eyes are meeting, two people drawn to each other across a crowded room by a force that seems bigger than themselves. When Bill meets Heather again, our trust in this set up is tested once more, with an odd request that lures Bill to what is clearly a source of danger. A puddle without rain, a reflection that isn’t quite right, and a girl who first beckons Bill to look and then flees the scene.

Heather she sits in an odd spot between different different expectations. It may look like she is leading our heroine into peril, but she makes a poor evil seductress, too rough around the edges. Every revealed detail make her less suitable for a cute romance, drawn out over small encounters. Although even her last name remains unknown, we are given emotional glimpses. Alienation and discontent. She hates her surroundings and rejects who she is. A star is a defect. Something to be fixed.

Still, the very second Heather catches the glimpse of understanding, she begins to reach out, reach back. One moment, she is rude and dismissive, but an “Are you freaking out about something?” is enough to start confiding in Bill, to show her what she is preoccupied with, to admit that she wants to leave wherever she goes. To grant Bill a “maybe” when she asks to come along. These are the tentative beginnings of a romance, with all its unfulfilled promises, built on just one small moment of human connection.

It takes Heather’s transformation into the Pilot for the puzzle pieces of her isolation to truly fall into place. Stripped down to to her wishes and thoughts, she isn’t pushing the outside world away. Where Where Bill complained that her face betrayed her emotions, Heather’s showed detachment and hostility but hid her unhappiness and longing, those other fragments of her depression. Now she is reaching out, through all of time and space, longing for love. Bill is brave enough to reach back, but does not dare to hold on too long.

Mirrors, reflections, echoes, are a defining and essential theme in the Moffat era, from at least the moment on in which Prisoner Zero tries to hide behind an image created from Amy Pond’s mind. Heather is woven from the same thread that send fragments of Clara Oswald through all of space and time, had the Twelfth Doctor wonder about the familiarity of the face he was wearing, or let the ways in which these two characters were the same threaten the universe in the hybrid arc. Plot, monster, characterisation and theme often come together in one cohesive, beautiful whole.

And so the sad young woman finds a single droplet of engine oil left behind by a spaceship and it consumes her until she too is shaped from flowing tears. But among her handful of scenes and a small number of lines, Heather does not only have her physical nature altered. She does not merely shift her shape. Heather changes genre. As a mirror image, as a perfect reflection caught in a pudde, she responds to context, her purpose in the story, her meaning in a scene.

Heather appears as a monster when people believe her to be one. Met with careful trepidation, there barely seems any life in her. “You’re dead,” Bill says and in that moment, Heather might as well be. Emotionless and relentless in her pursuit, the young woman Bill had a crush on seems to have disappeared for good. When feared, this new creature is full of rage. The Doctor, Bill and Nardole run from her and what follows them is a screeching creature of water and fury.

But as that tone shifts, so does our perception of Heather. The Doctor tells a story about looking for connection the image rising from the water softens. When Bill looks upon her rising face with yearning, it is yearning that reflects back. And when she finally realises the truth, it is that overwhelming sadness that we are left with. It’s a goodbye made out of mirrors, until Heather dissolves into tragedy and leaves behind a single tear. And a joyous smile on Bill’s face, later, reminiscing, a quiet promise that this will not be the final chapter in this story.

“World Enough and Time” and “The Doctor Falls” set a stage that could not be bleaker, years of waiting whittling down bones, the violation of cyberconversion stripping away the flesh. And yet, the reponse could not be louder. Bill, impossibly, holds on to who she is even through her horrific ordeal and claims her soul, her face, her freedom to be herself. Missy proves herself to be capable of goodness in extremis, in a way only Missy could. Nardole proves his strength and wit more than once. The Doctor makes his stand, no matter how hopeless, because it’s right and decent.

There is hope in kindness. There is hope found within us. There is hope in tears. There is hope in humanity, in vulnerability, in the ability to feel pain, in the ability to grieve. In the barren wasteland of a battle, Bill cries, wails, and reality itself holds its breath. Magic is needed and so magic is given. Heather could be a source of suspicion, a romantic interest, a monster, a tragedy. And she can be a fairytale when the world screams for one.

Maybe this version of Heather that we meet now is able to speak to Bill because they now share the same nature. Maybe it is because Heather has learned a thing or two on her travels through all of space and time, too. Or maybe the person she is she kisses Bill, when she pilots the TARDIS, is just who she is when someone is actually willing to see her. Someone who accepts her as the sad, alienated woman and the being of immense cosmic power.

As she steps into the starlight to explore all of time and space with Bill, there is a star in Heather’s eye. It used to be a defect that she wanted to get fixed, a fault she found in herself, a taint. Allowed to be anything, to rearrange the atoms of the universe, it remains untouched. The smile on her face, however, is new.

[kittenplough1-blog]

Taco ‘Bout a Good Time: A Colorful Cinco de Mayo Wedding at Brookview Ranch

Megan + Phillip have quite the love story—their proposal involved the two of them jumping out of a plane together and then a ring was presented at the end. I mean, what?! Well, a year after that epic proposal, M+P said their vows at Brookview Ranch on May 5th. Their photographer, Brooke Borough, shares: Since they were having their wedding on Cinco de Mayo, they knew they wanted to incorporate it into their wedding décor. And they totally did just that—looking through the photos you will see a TON of color and culture, from both Phillip’s side, as well as Megan’s.

Megan is a model for Show Me Your Mumu, so they worked with her to create a custom color, exclusive for her wedding. How fun is that? Brimming with brilliant mustard yellows, tons of bright pink bougainvillea, and rounded out by gorgeous blue hues, we have a feeling you might just fall head over heels for their big day, planned by Karen Marie Events.

The Wedding Party

Isn’t that mustard yellow hue STUNNING?! We dig that Show Me Your Mumu has so many different style options, so your ladies can choose their fave, while still creating a cohesive look.

Note: You might recognize one of the bridesmaids—Bri—from the latest season of the Bachelor (she was the gal with the fake Australian accent).

Megan rocked not one, but TWO gorgeous gowns. The first was this lacy Berta gown from Mon Amie Bridal Salon, and the second (you’ll see later on) was a custom gown from Katie May.

The Bloomin’ Bougainvillea Ceremony Space

Here at GWS, we have a *thing* for bougainvillea… Naturally, our jaws dropped when we saw this brilliant ceremony space with florals by Wildflowers Floral Design.

I mean would you look at all those vibrant pink hues?! GORGEOUS!

Our Favorite Memory From The Wedding

The most memorable part of the wedding was our vows. I still cry every time I daydream about that moment. It was as if the whole world stood still and all I could hear was Phillip's voice; all I could see were his quivering lips and all I could feel was the pride and confidence in his voice as he put his heart on his sleeve. As we walked away as husband and wife, everyone I made eye contact with was crying and everyone’s energy was radiating with such love and joy. It wasn’t just the most memorable moment from the wedding, it was the most memorable moment of my entire life.

Our Musical Choices

Processional: Phillip: Truly Madly Deeply played by a family friend; Megan: In Case You Didn’t Know (acoustic version) also played a family friend

Recessional: No Other Love by Common Kings

First Dance: The Way You Look Tonight by Eric Clapton

Are they the cutest, or what?

Megan tells us: I found my inspiration from the colors and prints at Show Me Your Mumu and spun the vibe and theme off the day of the wedding: Cinco de Mayo. Phillip asked me to be his girlfriend on the 5th, his wife on the 5th, and wore the number 5 on his back his entire career as an athlete. When we realized we would be getting married on the 5th of May, I just ran with it and knew my neutral color wedding palette was going out the door. It wasn’t us anyway. Phillip and I are bright and colorful and we wanted our décor to reflect that.

The Newlyweds

Diggin’ Phillip’s look? How we love a blue suit for the groom! Here are some of our faves:

Unfortunately Brookview Ranch was impacted by the recent Woolsey Fire, but they are rebuilding what was damaged, and they’ll reopen in 2020!

We’re definitely pinning that boho meets glam hairstyle Blushing Beauty created for later!

Let’s Taco ‘Bout This Reception

Taco ‘Bout a Good Time—how cute is this acrylic seating chart?!

Phillip’s uncles crafted the teepee and his step-dad made all the other décor: the fruit stand, the seating chart, the table numbers, any and every wood piece he whittled in his little garage shop.

All of the napkins and pillow for the day were made from leftover fabric from the bridesmaids’ dresses. Such a good way to make sure everything goes to good use + to keep the palette cohesive!

Oh, and those darling soap favors? Megan’s aunt, Jenny, crafted them!

Phillip being an athlete and our love story revolving around distance and Phillip’s soccer journey—we had to run though a banner for our reception as husband and wife, naturally. ;)

Big congrats to the both of you! Want to see more of the festive celebration? Take look at this video from Wild + Free Films:

photography: Brooke Borough Photography // venue name: Brookview Ranch, Agoura Hills, California, USA // planning: Karen Marie Events // florals: Wildflowers Floral Design // wedding dress: Berta Gown // wedding dress boutique: Mon Amie Bridal Salon // bride's ring: Chase Gregory Jewlers // bridesmaid dresses: Show Me Your Mumu // getting ready robes: Show Me Your Mumu // hair stylist: Blushing Beauty // makeup artist: Beauty by Angela Alessi // groom attire: Its Good Clothing // groom's ring: Chase Gregory Jewlers // videography: Wild + Free Films // tabletop rentals: Red Barn Events // furniture rentals: My Lovely Events // linen rentals: Mia Bella Chiavari // officiant: Jonathan Williams (friend) // photo booth: Red Carpet Photo Shoot // soap favors: Bride's Aunt Jenny // ceremony + reception chairs: Mia Bella Chiavari // reception dress: Katie May

Source: https://greenweddingshoes.com/cinco-de-mayo-wedding-at-brookview-ranch/

[white-cat-of-doom]

Amy Louise Whittle posted a video of herself as Jennyanydots performing the Gumbie Tap back when she was in the UK/International Tour 2019.

(Source)

[douglassmiith]

17 Local SEO Experts You Need to Follow on Twitter

We talk a lot here about how to keep up to date on local SEO Company news, from forums to webinars, and beyond. But what better way to learn than by delving deep into the experts’ realm?

If you’re looking for daily updates on the latest changes in Google My Business, local search algorithm updates, or even upcoming events, then Twitter is the place for you.

To help you build your following list, we’re shouting out 17 local SEO Company experts you need to follow.

And sadly, yes, we did have to whittle this list down to just 17. While Twitter is full of knowledgeable SEO Companys, we’ve opted for the most active, but if you’re looking for even more SEO Companys to fill your timeline with, then be sure to check out our full list of local SEO experts.

1. Colan Nielsen, Sterling Sky

If you frequent online local SEO Company communities and forums, you’ll likely have seen Colan’s face before. A key member of the Sterling Sky local search Dream Team, Colan regularly shares his unique expertise and insights on Twitter.

Colan frequently shares new updates surrounding Google My Business and is always vocal in the conversation around local search. Plus, if you follow Colan you’ll be among the first to see his always-insightful blogs for Sterling Sky and LocalU, such as his recent work on the potential local ranking update.

Just a reminder that GMB is still operating with limited functionality. “Short names and Videos are not currently working. You will need to wait for Google to turn these features back on.” https://t.co/uM03f83Yaa

— Colan Nielsen (@ColanNielsen) May 26, 2020

Oh, and you’ll get to see him demonstrate his impeccable taste in clothing…

Follow Colan on Twitter

2. Claire Carlile, Claire Carlile Marketing

A ray of sunshine in the (let’s be real, sometimes stressful) world of Twitter, this list would not be complete without Claire.

One of the few UK-based SEO Companys, Claire regularly shares her day-to-day experiences on Twitter, using her loyal client base’s work to highlight new findings and the like. 

oooh look – new COVID-19 support posts live in the business profile #GoogleMyBusiness #LocalSEO pic.twitter.com/yKKgH7Y2VT

— Claire Carlile (@clairecarlile) May 21, 2020

Claire is also often among the first to spot new changes in Google My Business, as well as publishing her own in-depth guides to the ever-changing quirks of GMB, or even big changes to SERPs, such as Google’s “Featured Snippets Apocalypse”.

And as a bonus? You might just learn a little something about the wonderful world of British politics while you’re at it!

Follow Claire on Twitter

3. Tim Capper, Online Ownership

Next up, we’ve another UK-based SEO Company to fill your feed with — Tim Capper. As a GMB Product Expert, following Tim is practically a no-brainer.

Like the other people on this list, Tim regularly shares his own knowledge via blogs, mainly specializing in service-area businesses.

This is a timely reminder to hotels to check for any new updates to their attributes in Google My Business.#GoogleMyBusiness #LocalSEOhttps://t.co/hsrqSKypvG

— Tim Capper (@GuideTwit) May 26, 2020

So if you want to know what’s what when it comes to SABs, Tim is the person for you. Or if you’re someone who deals with hotel or hospitality clients, you’ll benefit from Tim’s regular insights into the quirks of hotel GMB listings.

Follow Tim on Twitter

4. Dan Leibson, Local SEO Guide

Following Local SEO Company Guide’s Dan Leibson on Twitter can certainly be a rollercoaster – from wholesome garden pics to impassioned discussions about the latest GMB guidelines. 

I think the humans at GMB support are great. I also think @marissarei13 and AW are great. But the way that GOOG as an organization invests in the GMB/Maps platform is a big ole’ dumpster fire. https://t.co/InczbJOYHf

— Dan Leibson (@DanLeibson) May 15, 2020

Not only does Dan share great insights from the Local SEO Company Guide blog, but he’s always an active participant in topical local SEO Company conversations. Plus, he regularly uplifts and shares the work of fellow local SEO Companys. What’s not to like?

Follow Dan on Twitter

5. Jason Brown, Sterling Sky

If you’re looking to get into the deep, dark realms of GMB spam removal, then following Jason Brown is absolutely essential.

Another member of the Sterling Sky Dream Team, Jason prides himself on bringing GMB spammers to justice – and he isn’t afraid to shout about it.

Seeing cases where I can use “suggest an edit” and mark a listing as temporarily closed. pic.twitter.com/thI17ARSRY

— Jason Brown Dumpster Fire (@keyserholiday) May 26, 2020

And, as another GMB Product Expert, Jason is often among the first to know about any exciting updates. Plus, you’ll get a good few laughs at some of the GMB spam and reviews he finds…

Follow Jason on Twitter

6. Brian Barwig, Sterling Sky

Having worked in local SEO Company for nearly 15 years, Brian is well-seasoned when it comes to the ins and outs of search.

Along with his local SEO Company tweets, you’ll also get a good fill of dog and gardening pics — good for the mind and the soul!

TL;DR – No it does not

Does Creating Backlinks to Your Google My Business (GMB) Listing Help Ranking? https://t.co/6OQPx9y6Vf via @sterlingskyinc pic.twitter.com/mzHkehVvgr

— Brian Barwig (@BrianBarwig) May 26, 2020

Yet another Sterling Sky member, (sorry, there’s just so many of them now!), Brian frequently shares the great blogs they produce, covering the likes of filtered GMB listings and more.

Follow Brian on Twitter

7. Amy Toman, Digital Law Marketing

Another keen GMB user, Amy frequently shares her day-to-day findings and has been quick to share some of the latest Covid-19 updates.

Following Amy on Twitter also means you’re bound to feel uplifted and inspired by her bite-sized short stories about clients’ successes.

Didn’t realize there are two COVID post types. Ok. pic.twitter.com/4UXgQsE3rd

— Amy Toman (@BubblesUp) May 21, 2020

Amy also doesn’t shy away from jumping into topical local SEO Company discussions, so keep your eyes on her feed to glean some exclusive insights!

Follow Amy on Twitter

8. Greg Gifford, SearchLab

For all our visual learners out there, Greg Gifford will be right up your street. Greg regularly shares funny, insightful videos in an effort to help you level up your local SEO Company game.

He also often makes appearances on other marketing podcasts (local and otherwise), so you’ll be sure to broaden your horizons. 

Hey car dealers – did you see Google’s new study about the effects of the coronavirus on shopper behavior in the automotive industry? This week’s video is a quick recap of the important points: https://t.co/tcpzkeFaL2

— Greg Gifford (@GregGifford) May 19, 2020

Finally, if that wasn’t enough content to keep you busy, following Greg means you’ll be among the first to see SearchLab’s weekly interview series, ‘Search & Suds’, featuring an array of expert guests and you’ll get a (virtual) front-row ticket to any SEO Company events you can’t attend, as Greg frequently live Tweets events such as SMX.

Follow Greg on Twitter

9. Andy Simpson, Digital Law marketing agency

If you’re looking for someone to glean real-time insights from, Andy is a great one to add to the list.

Often you’ll see him sharing findings from his own work with clients. He also shares useful tips and tricks, such as recommending tools to step up your SEO game.

Some “Status definitions” to remember #techseo #feeltheneedforspeed https://t.co/WUkGQFMcFe https://t.co/rK45eMH6Nc pic.twitter.com/tWxJCxWvqa

— Andy Simpson (@ndyjsimpson) May 27, 2020

And Andy frequently shows up on local SEO Company webinars and the like, most recently answering audience questions on Tea Time SEO.

Follow Andy on Twitter

10. Joy Hawkins, Sterling Sky

Of course this list wouldn’t be complete without Joy Hawkins – I mean, she’s called the Queen of Local SEO Company for a reason!

Joy heads up the Sterling Sky team, as well as running Local Search Forum and LocalU, which is why you’ll see plenty of insights from all those sources should you follow her.

GMB Insights isn’t functioning properly and isn’t showing data past May 18th. https://t.co/mJS0IsvVye pic.twitter.com/J7mOWNxwbf

— Joy Hawkins (@JoyanneHawkins) May 27, 2020

Joy also regularly answers Twitter users’ questions about common local SEO Company issues, so you’ll get insights you wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere.

Follow Joy on Twitter

11. Mike Blumenthal, GatherUp

Mike’s bio puts it best, “All local, all the time. What else is there?” And his Twitter account definitely lives up to that mantra!

Those who follow Mike get first-person insight into the changes going on in GMB, especially when it comes to reviews. 

New post @GatherUp

Google Review Attributes Expand To New Categories

What do you like about this place? Is now visible on all service type businesses like lawyers & salons not just service area businesses. https://t.co/eGExcVsJOK

— Mike Blumenthal (@mblumenthal) May 20, 2020

As a founding partner of GatherUp, Mike is always quick to share the company’s latest webinars, where they offer deep-dives into all things review-related.

Follow Mike on Twitter

12. Glenn Gabe, G-Squared Interactive

SEO Company Consultant and Search Engine Land columnist, Glenn Gabe is a fount of knowledge, and definitely one to follow if you’re looking to bring more SEO Company insights to your Twitter feed.

Google has explained many times that indexing is tied to quality. If you are seeing a drop in indexation, then try to identify which pages are dropping. If you have pages in sitemaps by type, that can help ID problems. And check “indexed, submitted” vs “indexed, not submitted”. https://t.co/Xau95lTvj9

— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) May 26, 2020

For those more interested in the likes of Google indexing, algorithms, and search patterns, Glenn is a must-follow as he shares his technical expertise on a daily basis.

Follow Glenn on Twitter

13. Carrie Hill, Sterling Sky

The last member of Sterling Sky’s growing team on this list (we promise!), Carrie Hill is full of insights to bring GMB news and knowledge to your timeline.

Not only is Carrie a local SEO Company specialist at Sterling Sky, but she also manages LocalU’s community and events, meaning she’s always eager to share the latest events and talent with her audience.

Has anyone seen a Facebook check-in featured snippet show up in a branded search before like this?

cc: @mblumenthal @Marie_Haynes @JoyanneHawkins @w2scott @ErinJones pic.twitter.com/ncgC0X6Hkg

— Carrie Hill (@CarrieHill) April 28, 2020

Like many of the other names on this list, Carrie is always keen to share the latest updates to hit GMB, so keep an eye on her feed for regular new insights.

Follow Carrie on Twitter

14. Ben Fisher, Steady Demand

First things first, if you’re not following Ben, then what are you doing?!

As a GMB Platinum Product Expert, Ben is always quick to share what he can about GMB and break the news on new features.

GMB News: The Reinstatement form now has the ability to add (proofs) as file uploads. Very handy for uploading PDF’s and screenshots. #localseo @rustybrick pic.twitter.com/kHvTACzzjW

— Ben Fisher (@TheSocialDude) May 20, 2020

He’s also a fellow spam fighting mastermind, and specializes in GMB suspensions and reinstatement, too.

So, should you ever find yourself feeling lost to the whims of Google, Ben might just be able to lend a helping hand.

Follow Ben on Twitter

15. Lily Ray, Path Interactive

Now we venture into the not-so-local portion of this list… but this list would surely be incomplete without NYC-based SEO Company Lily Ray, who focuses mostly on organic SEO Company — from E-A-T to new SERP features.

An SEO Company by day and DJ by night, Lily Ray is not your typical SEO Company. While usually her feed is filled with algorithm news and the like, lately Lily has been putting her skills to admirable use – performing 8-hour long DJ sets to raise money for those affected by Covid-19.

Just one of many ‘interesting’ examples of shakeups from the May core update.

Previously, if you typed “leasing a car,” the top result explained what car leasing is, pros and cons, whether it’s right for you, etc.

Now the top result is firmly about “why you shouldn’t do it.” pic.twitter.com/SPAPlRyf8w

— Lily Ray (@lilyraynyc) May 26, 2020

Plus, if you’re more of a visual learner, Lily often appears on webinars which she promotes via Twitter – so you’ll be the first to get a front-row seat to her insights.

Follow Lily on Twitter

16. Marie Haynes, Marie Haynes Consulting

If you’re mostly interested in Google algorithm updates — the when, the why, the what – then without a doubt, Marie Haynes is the Twitter account for you.

Marie describes herself as being “totally obsessed” with algo updates, and her weekly newsletter ‘Search News You Can Use’ often focuses on these.

The May core update is looking like a big one. It’s far too early to discuss patterns or causes, but we’re seeing clients across several verticals with really nice gains. (Thread…) pic.twitter.com/W2OVIx3YF8

— Marie Haynes (@Marie_Haynes) May 6, 2020

She’s often the first to know about potential updates, and is always quick to share her data findings.

Follow Marie on Twitter

17. Barry Schwartz, Rusty Brick

Again, not strictly local, but Barry is one of the go-to accounts when it comes to seeing the latest news in SEO Company.

Got indexing issues, might be related to the Google May 2020 core update. Google doesn’t think it is worth indexing your pages as much any more https://t.co/CZNagKNjef pic.twitter.com/AtiBkkYZMc

— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) May 26, 2020

His concise and timely blogs for Search Engine Roundtable are a great way to get bite-sized knowledge of the week’s biggest events. Plus, Barry usually brings the conversation to Twitter – welcoming discussion and debate on the latest changes to search. He also shares regular video recaps of the latest SEO Company news, so you can catch up on anything you may have missed quickly and easily!

Follow Barry on Twitter

If you’ve got a local SEO Company you want to shout out, leave their Twitter handle in the comments below!

The post 17 Local SEO Experts You Need to Follow on Twitter appeared first on BrightLocal.

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Via http://www.scpie.org/17-local-seo-experts-you-need-to-follow-on-twitter/

source https://scpie.weebly.com/blog/17-local-seo-experts-you-need-to-follow-on-twitter

[laurelkrugerr]

17 Local SEO Experts You Need to Follow on Twitter

We talk a lot here about how to keep up to date on local SEO Company news, from forums to webinars, and beyond. But what better way to learn than by delving deep into the experts’ realm?

If you’re looking for daily updates on the latest changes in Google My Business, local search algorithm updates, or even upcoming events, then Twitter is the place for you.

To help you build your following list, we’re shouting out 17 local SEO Company experts you need to follow.

And sadly, yes, we did have to whittle this list down to just 17. While Twitter is full of knowledgeable SEO Companys, we’ve opted for the most active, but if you’re looking for even more SEO Companys to fill your timeline with, then be sure to check out our full list of local SEO experts.

1. Colan Nielsen, Sterling Sky

If you frequent online local SEO Company communities and forums, you’ll likely have seen Colan’s face before. A key member of the Sterling Sky local search Dream Team, Colan regularly shares his unique expertise and insights on Twitter.

Colan frequently shares new updates surrounding Google My Business and is always vocal in the conversation around local search. Plus, if you follow Colan you’ll be among the first to see his always-insightful blogs for Sterling Sky and LocalU, such as his recent work on the potential local ranking update.

Just a reminder that GMB is still operating with limited functionality. “Short names and Videos are not currently working. You will need to wait for Google to turn these features back on.” https://t.co/uM03f83Yaa

— Colan Nielsen (@ColanNielsen) May 26, 2020

Oh, and you’ll get to see him demonstrate his impeccable taste in clothing…

Follow Colan on Twitter

2. Claire Carlile, Claire Carlile Marketing

A ray of sunshine in the (let’s be real, sometimes stressful) world of Twitter, this list would not be complete without Claire.

One of the few UK-based SEO Companys, Claire regularly shares her day-to-day experiences on Twitter, using her loyal client base’s work to highlight new findings and the like. 

oooh look – new COVID-19 support posts live in the business profile #GoogleMyBusiness #LocalSEO pic.twitter.com/yKKgH7Y2VT

— Claire Carlile (@clairecarlile) May 21, 2020

Claire is also often among the first to spot new changes in Google My Business, as well as publishing her own in-depth guides to the ever-changing quirks of GMB, or even big changes to SERPs, such as Google’s “Featured Snippets Apocalypse”.

And as a bonus? You might just learn a little something about the wonderful world of British politics while you’re at it!

Follow Claire on Twitter

3. Tim Capper, Online Ownership

Next up, we’ve another UK-based SEO Company to fill your feed with — Tim Capper. As a GMB Product Expert, following Tim is practically a no-brainer.

Like the other people on this list, Tim regularly shares his own knowledge via blogs, mainly specializing in service-area businesses.

This is a timely reminder to hotels to check for any new updates to their attributes in Google My Business.#GoogleMyBusiness #LocalSEOhttps://t.co/hsrqSKypvG

— Tim Capper (@GuideTwit) May 26, 2020

So if you want to know what’s what when it comes to SABs, Tim is the person for you. Or if you’re someone who deals with hotel or hospitality clients, you’ll benefit from Tim’s regular insights into the quirks of hotel GMB listings.

Follow Tim on Twitter

4. Dan Leibson, Local SEO Guide

Following Local SEO Company Guide’s Dan Leibson on Twitter can certainly be a rollercoaster – from wholesome garden pics to impassioned discussions about the latest GMB guidelines. 

I think the humans at GMB support are great. I also think @marissarei13 and AW are great. But the way that GOOG as an organization invests in the GMB/Maps platform is a big ole’ dumpster fire. https://t.co/InczbJOYHf

— Dan Leibson (@DanLeibson) May 15, 2020

Not only does Dan share great insights from the Local SEO Company Guide blog, but he’s always an active participant in topical local SEO Company conversations. Plus, he regularly uplifts and shares the work of fellow local SEO Companys. What’s not to like?

Follow Dan on Twitter

5. Jason Brown, Sterling Sky

If you’re looking to get into the deep, dark realms of GMB spam removal, then following Jason Brown is absolutely essential.

Another member of the Sterling Sky Dream Team, Jason prides himself on bringing GMB spammers to justice – and he isn’t afraid to shout about it.

Seeing cases where I can use “suggest an edit” and mark a listing as temporarily closed. pic.twitter.com/thI17ARSRY

— Jason Brown Dumpster Fire (@keyserholiday) May 26, 2020

And, as another GMB Product Expert, Jason is often among the first to know about any exciting updates. Plus, you’ll get a good few laughs at some of the GMB spam and reviews he finds…

Follow Jason on Twitter

6. Brian Barwig, Sterling Sky

Having worked in local SEO Company for nearly 15 years, Brian is well-seasoned when it comes to the ins and outs of search.

Along with his local SEO Company tweets, you’ll also get a good fill of dog and gardening pics — good for the mind and the soul!

TL;DR – No it does not

Does Creating Backlinks to Your Google My Business (GMB) Listing Help Ranking? https://t.co/6OQPx9y6Vf via @sterlingskyinc pic.twitter.com/mzHkehVvgr

— Brian Barwig (@BrianBarwig) May 26, 2020

Yet another Sterling Sky member, (sorry, there’s just so many of them now!), Brian frequently shares the great blogs they produce, covering the likes of filtered GMB listings and more.

Follow Brian on Twitter

7. Amy Toman, Digital Law Marketing

Another keen GMB user, Amy frequently shares her day-to-day findings and has been quick to share some of the latest Covid-19 updates.

Following Amy on Twitter also means you’re bound to feel uplifted and inspired by her bite-sized short stories about clients’ successes.

Didn’t realize there are two COVID post types. Ok. pic.twitter.com/4UXgQsE3rd

— Amy Toman (@BubblesUp) May 21, 2020

Amy also doesn’t shy away from jumping into topical local SEO Company discussions, so keep your eyes on her feed to glean some exclusive insights!

Follow Amy on Twitter

8. Greg Gifford, SearchLab

For all our visual learners out there, Greg Gifford will be right up your street. Greg regularly shares funny, insightful videos in an effort to help you level up your local SEO Company game.

He also often makes appearances on other marketing podcasts (local and otherwise), so you’ll be sure to broaden your horizons. 

Hey car dealers – did you see Google’s new study about the effects of the coronavirus on shopper behavior in the automotive industry? This week’s video is a quick recap of the important points: https://t.co/tcpzkeFaL2

— Greg Gifford (@GregGifford) May 19, 2020

Finally, if that wasn’t enough content to keep you busy, following Greg means you’ll be among the first to see SearchLab’s weekly interview series, ‘Search & Suds’, featuring an array of expert guests and you’ll get a (virtual) front-row ticket to any SEO Company events you can’t attend, as Greg frequently live Tweets events such as SMX.

Follow Greg on Twitter

9. Andy Simpson, Digital Law marketing agency

If you’re looking for someone to glean real-time insights from, Andy is a great one to add to the list.

Often you’ll see him sharing findings from his own work with clients. He also shares useful tips and tricks, such as recommending tools to step up your SEO game.

Some “Status definitions” to remember #techseo #feeltheneedforspeed https://t.co/WUkGQFMcFe https://t.co/rK45eMH6Nc pic.twitter.com/tWxJCxWvqa

— Andy Simpson (@ndyjsimpson) May 27, 2020

And Andy frequently shows up on local SEO Company webinars and the like, most recently answering audience questions on Tea Time SEO.

Follow Andy on Twitter

10. Joy Hawkins, Sterling Sky

Of course this list wouldn’t be complete without Joy Hawkins – I mean, she’s called the Queen of Local SEO Company for a reason!

Joy heads up the Sterling Sky team, as well as running Local Search Forum and LocalU, which is why you’ll see plenty of insights from all those sources should you follow her.

GMB Insights isn’t functioning properly and isn’t showing data past May 18th. https://t.co/mJS0IsvVye pic.twitter.com/J7mOWNxwbf

— Joy Hawkins (@JoyanneHawkins) May 27, 2020

Joy also regularly answers Twitter users’ questions about common local SEO Company issues, so you’ll get insights you wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere.

Follow Joy on Twitter

11. Mike Blumenthal, GatherUp

Mike’s bio puts it best, “All local, all the time. What else is there?” And his Twitter account definitely lives up to that mantra!

Those who follow Mike get first-person insight into the changes going on in GMB, especially when it comes to reviews. 

New post @GatherUp

Google Review Attributes Expand To New Categories

What do you like about this place? Is now visible on all service type businesses like lawyers & salons not just service area businesses. https://t.co/eGExcVsJOK

— Mike Blumenthal (@mblumenthal) May 20, 2020

As a founding partner of GatherUp, Mike is always quick to share the company’s latest webinars, where they offer deep-dives into all things review-related.

Follow Mike on Twitter

12. Glenn Gabe, G-Squared Interactive

SEO Company Consultant and Search Engine Land columnist, Glenn Gabe is a fount of knowledge, and definitely one to follow if you’re looking to bring more SEO Company insights to your Twitter feed.

Google has explained many times that indexing is tied to quality. If you are seeing a drop in indexation, then try to identify which pages are dropping. If you have pages in sitemaps by type, that can help ID problems. And check “indexed, submitted” vs “indexed, not submitted”. https://t.co/Xau95lTvj9

— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) May 26, 2020

For those more interested in the likes of Google indexing, algorithms, and search patterns, Glenn is a must-follow as he shares his technical expertise on a daily basis.

Follow Glenn on Twitter

13. Carrie Hill, Sterling Sky

The last member of Sterling Sky’s growing team on this list (we promise!), Carrie Hill is full of insights to bring GMB news and knowledge to your timeline.

Not only is Carrie a local SEO Company specialist at Sterling Sky, but she also manages LocalU’s community and events, meaning she’s always eager to share the latest events and talent with her audience.

Has anyone seen a Facebook check-in featured snippet show up in a branded search before like this?

cc: @mblumenthal @Marie_Haynes @JoyanneHawkins @w2scott @ErinJones pic.twitter.com/ncgC0X6Hkg

— Carrie Hill (@CarrieHill) April 28, 2020

Like many of the other names on this list, Carrie is always keen to share the latest updates to hit GMB, so keep an eye on her feed for regular new insights.

Follow Carrie on Twitter

14. Ben Fisher, Steady Demand

First things first, if you’re not following Ben, then what are you doing?!

As a GMB Platinum Product Expert, Ben is always quick to share what he can about GMB and break the news on new features.

GMB News: The Reinstatement form now has the ability to add (proofs) as file uploads. Very handy for uploading PDF’s and screenshots. #localseo @rustybrick pic.twitter.com/kHvTACzzjW

— Ben Fisher (@TheSocialDude) May 20, 2020

He’s also a fellow spam fighting mastermind, and specializes in GMB suspensions and reinstatement, too.

So, should you ever find yourself feeling lost to the whims of Google, Ben might just be able to lend a helping hand.

Follow Ben on Twitter

15. Lily Ray, Path Interactive

Now we venture into the not-so-local portion of this list… but this list would surely be incomplete without NYC-based SEO Company Lily Ray, who focuses mostly on organic SEO Company — from E-A-T to new SERP features.

An SEO Company by day and DJ by night, Lily Ray is not your typical SEO Company. While usually her feed is filled with algorithm news and the like, lately Lily has been putting her skills to admirable use – performing 8-hour long DJ sets to raise money for those affected by Covid-19.

Just one of many ‘interesting’ examples of shakeups from the May core update.

Previously, if you typed “leasing a car,” the top result explained what car leasing is, pros and cons, whether it’s right for you, etc.

Now the top result is firmly about “why you shouldn’t do it.” pic.twitter.com/SPAPlRyf8w

— Lily Ray (@lilyraynyc) May 26, 2020

Plus, if you’re more of a visual learner, Lily often appears on webinars which she promotes via Twitter – so you’ll be the first to get a front-row seat to her insights.

Follow Lily on Twitter

16. Marie Haynes, Marie Haynes Consulting

If you’re mostly interested in Google algorithm updates — the when, the why, the what – then without a doubt, Marie Haynes is the Twitter account for you.

Marie describes herself as being “totally obsessed” with algo updates, and her weekly newsletter ‘Search News You Can Use’ often focuses on these.

The May core update is looking like a big one. It’s far too early to discuss patterns or causes, but we’re seeing clients across several verticals with really nice gains. (Thread…) pic.twitter.com/W2OVIx3YF8

— Marie Haynes (@Marie_Haynes) May 6, 2020

She’s often the first to know about potential updates, and is always quick to share her data findings.

Follow Marie on Twitter

17. Barry Schwartz, Rusty Brick

Again, not strictly local, but Barry is one of the go-to accounts when it comes to seeing the latest news in SEO Company.

Got indexing issues, might be related to the Google May 2020 core update. Google doesn’t think it is worth indexing your pages as much any more https://t.co/CZNagKNjef pic.twitter.com/AtiBkkYZMc

— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) May 26, 2020

His concise and timely blogs for Search Engine Roundtable are a great way to get bite-sized knowledge of the week’s biggest events. Plus, Barry usually brings the conversation to Twitter – welcoming discussion and debate on the latest changes to search. He also shares regular video recaps of the latest SEO Company news, so you can catch up on anything you may have missed quickly and easily!

Follow Barry on Twitter

If you’ve got a local SEO Company you want to shout out, leave their Twitter handle in the comments below!

The post 17 Local SEO Experts You Need to Follow on Twitter appeared first on BrightLocal.

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/17-local-seo-experts-you-need-to-follow-on-twitter/ source https://scpie1.blogspot.com/2020/05/17-local-seo-experts-you-need-to-follow.html

[riichardwilson]

17 Local SEO Experts You Need to Follow on Twitter

We talk a lot here about how to keep up to date on local SEO Company news, from forums to webinars, and beyond. But what better way to learn than by delving deep into the experts’ realm?

If you’re looking for daily updates on the latest changes in Google My Business, local search algorithm updates, or even upcoming events, then Twitter is the place for you.

To help you build your following list, we’re shouting out 17 local SEO Company experts you need to follow.

And sadly, yes, we did have to whittle this list down to just 17. While Twitter is full of knowledgeable SEO Companys, we’ve opted for the most active, but if you’re looking for even more SEO Companys to fill your timeline with, then be sure to check out our full list of local SEO experts.

1. Colan Nielsen, Sterling Sky

If you frequent online local SEO Company communities and forums, you’ll likely have seen Colan’s face before. A key member of the Sterling Sky local search Dream Team, Colan regularly shares his unique expertise and insights on Twitter.

Colan frequently shares new updates surrounding Google My Business and is always vocal in the conversation around local search. Plus, if you follow Colan you’ll be among the first to see his always-insightful blogs for Sterling Sky and LocalU, such as his recent work on the potential local ranking update.

Just a reminder that GMB is still operating with limited functionality. “Short names and Videos are not currently working. You will need to wait for Google to turn these features back on.” https://t.co/uM03f83Yaa

— Colan Nielsen (@ColanNielsen) May 26, 2020

Oh, and you’ll get to see him demonstrate his impeccable taste in clothing…

Follow Colan on Twitter

2. Claire Carlile, Claire Carlile Marketing

A ray of sunshine in the (let’s be real, sometimes stressful) world of Twitter, this list would not be complete without Claire.

One of the few UK-based SEO Companys, Claire regularly shares her day-to-day experiences on Twitter, using her loyal client base’s work to highlight new findings and the like. 

oooh look – new COVID-19 support posts live in the business profile #GoogleMyBusiness #LocalSEO pic.twitter.com/yKKgH7Y2VT

— Claire Carlile (@clairecarlile) May 21, 2020

Claire is also often among the first to spot new changes in Google My Business, as well as publishing her own in-depth guides to the ever-changing quirks of GMB, or even big changes to SERPs, such as Google’s “Featured Snippets Apocalypse”.

And as a bonus? You might just learn a little something about the wonderful world of British politics while you’re at it!

Follow Claire on Twitter

3. Tim Capper, Online Ownership

Next up, we’ve another UK-based SEO Company to fill your feed with — Tim Capper. As a GMB Product Expert, following Tim is practically a no-brainer.

Like the other people on this list, Tim regularly shares his own knowledge via blogs, mainly specializing in service-area businesses.

This is a timely reminder to hotels to check for any new updates to their attributes in Google My Business.#GoogleMyBusiness #LocalSEOhttps://t.co/hsrqSKypvG

— Tim Capper (@GuideTwit) May 26, 2020

So if you want to know what’s what when it comes to SABs, Tim is the person for you. Or if you’re someone who deals with hotel or hospitality clients, you’ll benefit from Tim’s regular insights into the quirks of hotel GMB listings.

Follow Tim on Twitter

4. Dan Leibson, Local SEO Guide

Following Local SEO Company Guide’s Dan Leibson on Twitter can certainly be a rollercoaster – from wholesome garden pics to impassioned discussions about the latest GMB guidelines. 

I think the humans at GMB support are great. I also think @marissarei13 and AW are great. But the way that GOOG as an organization invests in the GMB/Maps platform is a big ole’ dumpster fire. https://t.co/InczbJOYHf

— Dan Leibson (@DanLeibson) May 15, 2020

Not only does Dan share great insights from the Local SEO Company Guide blog, but he’s always an active participant in topical local SEO Company conversations. Plus, he regularly uplifts and shares the work of fellow local SEO Companys. What’s not to like?

Follow Dan on Twitter

5. Jason Brown, Sterling Sky

If you’re looking to get into the deep, dark realms of GMB spam removal, then following Jason Brown is absolutely essential.

Another member of the Sterling Sky Dream Team, Jason prides himself on bringing GMB spammers to justice – and he isn’t afraid to shout about it.

Seeing cases where I can use “suggest an edit” and mark a listing as temporarily closed. pic.twitter.com/thI17ARSRY

— Jason Brown Dumpster Fire (@keyserholiday) May 26, 2020

And, as another GMB Product Expert, Jason is often among the first to know about any exciting updates. Plus, you’ll get a good few laughs at some of the GMB spam and reviews he finds…

Follow Jason on Twitter

6. Brian Barwig, Sterling Sky

Having worked in local SEO Company for nearly 15 years, Brian is well-seasoned when it comes to the ins and outs of search.

Along with his local SEO Company tweets, you’ll also get a good fill of dog and gardening pics — good for the mind and the soul!

TL;DR – No it does not

Does Creating Backlinks to Your Google My Business (GMB) Listing Help Ranking? https://t.co/6OQPx9y6Vf via @sterlingskyinc pic.twitter.com/mzHkehVvgr

— Brian Barwig (@BrianBarwig) May 26, 2020

Yet another Sterling Sky member, (sorry, there’s just so many of them now!), Brian frequently shares the great blogs they produce, covering the likes of filtered GMB listings and more.

Follow Brian on Twitter

7. Amy Toman, Digital Law Marketing

Another keen GMB user, Amy frequently shares her day-to-day findings and has been quick to share some of the latest Covid-19 updates.

Following Amy on Twitter also means you’re bound to feel uplifted and inspired by her bite-sized short stories about clients’ successes.

Didn’t realize there are two COVID post types. Ok. pic.twitter.com/4UXgQsE3rd

— Amy Toman (@BubblesUp) May 21, 2020

Amy also doesn’t shy away from jumping into topical local SEO Company discussions, so keep your eyes on her feed to glean some exclusive insights!

Follow Amy on Twitter

8. Greg Gifford, SearchLab

For all our visual learners out there, Greg Gifford will be right up your street. Greg regularly shares funny, insightful videos in an effort to help you level up your local SEO Company game.

He also often makes appearances on other marketing podcasts (local and otherwise), so you’ll be sure to broaden your horizons. 

Hey car dealers – did you see Google’s new study about the effects of the coronavirus on shopper behavior in the automotive industry? This week’s video is a quick recap of the important points: https://t.co/tcpzkeFaL2

— Greg Gifford (@GregGifford) May 19, 2020

Finally, if that wasn’t enough content to keep you busy, following Greg means you’ll be among the first to see SearchLab’s weekly interview series, ‘Search & Suds’, featuring an array of expert guests and you’ll get a (virtual) front-row ticket to any SEO Company events you can’t attend, as Greg frequently live Tweets events such as SMX.

Follow Greg on Twitter

9. Andy Simpson, Digital Law marketing agency

If you’re looking for someone to glean real-time insights from, Andy is a great one to add to the list.

Often you’ll see him sharing findings from his own work with clients. He also shares useful tips and tricks, such as recommending tools to step up your SEO game.

Some “Status definitions” to remember #techseo #feeltheneedforspeed https://t.co/WUkGQFMcFe https://t.co/rK45eMH6Nc pic.twitter.com/tWxJCxWvqa

— Andy Simpson (@ndyjsimpson) May 27, 2020

And Andy frequently shows up on local SEO Company webinars and the like, most recently answering audience questions on Tea Time SEO.

Follow Andy on Twitter

10. Joy Hawkins, Sterling Sky

Of course this list wouldn’t be complete without Joy Hawkins – I mean, she’s called the Queen of Local SEO Company for a reason!

Joy heads up the Sterling Sky team, as well as running Local Search Forum and LocalU, which is why you’ll see plenty of insights from all those sources should you follow her.

GMB Insights isn’t functioning properly and isn’t showing data past May 18th. https://t.co/mJS0IsvVye pic.twitter.com/J7mOWNxwbf

— Joy Hawkins (@JoyanneHawkins) May 27, 2020

Joy also regularly answers Twitter users’ questions about common local SEO Company issues, so you’ll get insights you wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere.

Follow Joy on Twitter

11. Mike Blumenthal, GatherUp

Mike’s bio puts it best, “All local, all the time. What else is there?” And his Twitter account definitely lives up to that mantra!

Those who follow Mike get first-person insight into the changes going on in GMB, especially when it comes to reviews. 

New post @GatherUp

Google Review Attributes Expand To New Categories

What do you like about this place? Is now visible on all service type businesses like lawyers & salons not just service area businesses. https://t.co/eGExcVsJOK

— Mike Blumenthal (@mblumenthal) May 20, 2020

As a founding partner of GatherUp, Mike is always quick to share the company’s latest webinars, where they offer deep-dives into all things review-related.

Follow Mike on Twitter

12. Glenn Gabe, G-Squared Interactive

SEO Company Consultant and Search Engine Land columnist, Glenn Gabe is a fount of knowledge, and definitely one to follow if you’re looking to bring more SEO Company insights to your Twitter feed.

Google has explained many times that indexing is tied to quality. If you are seeing a drop in indexation, then try to identify which pages are dropping. If you have pages in sitemaps by type, that can help ID problems. And check “indexed, submitted” vs “indexed, not submitted”. https://t.co/Xau95lTvj9

— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) May 26, 2020

For those more interested in the likes of Google indexing, algorithms, and search patterns, Glenn is a must-follow as he shares his technical expertise on a daily basis.

Follow Glenn on Twitter

13. Carrie Hill, Sterling Sky

The last member of Sterling Sky’s growing team on this list (we promise!), Carrie Hill is full of insights to bring GMB news and knowledge to your timeline.

Not only is Carrie a local SEO Company specialist at Sterling Sky, but she also manages LocalU’s community and events, meaning she’s always eager to share the latest events and talent with her audience.

Has anyone seen a Facebook check-in featured snippet show up in a branded search before like this?

cc: @mblumenthal @Marie_Haynes @JoyanneHawkins @w2scott @ErinJones pic.twitter.com/ncgC0X6Hkg

— Carrie Hill (@CarrieHill) April 28, 2020

Like many of the other names on this list, Carrie is always keen to share the latest updates to hit GMB, so keep an eye on her feed for regular new insights.

Follow Carrie on Twitter

14. Ben Fisher, Steady Demand

First things first, if you’re not following Ben, then what are you doing?!

As a GMB Platinum Product Expert, Ben is always quick to share what he can about GMB and break the news on new features.

GMB News: The Reinstatement form now has the ability to add (proofs) as file uploads. Very handy for uploading PDF’s and screenshots. #localseo @rustybrick pic.twitter.com/kHvTACzzjW

— Ben Fisher (@TheSocialDude) May 20, 2020

He’s also a fellow spam fighting mastermind, and specializes in GMB suspensions and reinstatement, too.

So, should you ever find yourself feeling lost to the whims of Google, Ben might just be able to lend a helping hand.

Follow Ben on Twitter

15. Lily Ray, Path Interactive

Now we venture into the not-so-local portion of this list… but this list would surely be incomplete without NYC-based SEO Company Lily Ray, who focuses mostly on organic SEO Company — from E-A-T to new SERP features.

An SEO Company by day and DJ by night, Lily Ray is not your typical SEO Company. While usually her feed is filled with algorithm news and the like, lately Lily has been putting her skills to admirable use – performing 8-hour long DJ sets to raise money for those affected by Covid-19.

Just one of many ‘interesting’ examples of shakeups from the May core update.

Previously, if you typed “leasing a car,” the top result explained what car leasing is, pros and cons, whether it’s right for you, etc.

Now the top result is firmly about “why you shouldn’t do it.” pic.twitter.com/SPAPlRyf8w

— Lily Ray (@lilyraynyc) May 26, 2020

Plus, if you’re more of a visual learner, Lily often appears on webinars which she promotes via Twitter – so you’ll be the first to get a front-row seat to her insights.

Follow Lily on Twitter

16. Marie Haynes, Marie Haynes Consulting

If you’re mostly interested in Google algorithm updates — the when, the why, the what – then without a doubt, Marie Haynes is the Twitter account for you.

Marie describes herself as being “totally obsessed” with algo updates, and her weekly newsletter ‘Search News You Can Use’ often focuses on these.

The May core update is looking like a big one. It’s far too early to discuss patterns or causes, but we’re seeing clients across several verticals with really nice gains. (Thread…) pic.twitter.com/W2OVIx3YF8

— Marie Haynes (@Marie_Haynes) May 6, 2020

She’s often the first to know about potential updates, and is always quick to share her data findings.

Follow Marie on Twitter

17. Barry Schwartz, Rusty Brick

Again, not strictly local, but Barry is one of the go-to accounts when it comes to seeing the latest news in SEO Company.

Got indexing issues, might be related to the Google May 2020 core update. Google doesn’t think it is worth indexing your pages as much any more https://t.co/CZNagKNjef pic.twitter.com/AtiBkkYZMc

— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) May 26, 2020

His concise and timely blogs for Search Engine Roundtable are a great way to get bite-sized knowledge of the week’s biggest events. Plus, Barry usually brings the conversation to Twitter – welcoming discussion and debate on the latest changes to search. He also shares regular video recaps of the latest SEO Company news, so you can catch up on anything you may have missed quickly and easily!

Follow Barry on Twitter

If you’ve got a local SEO Company you want to shout out, leave their Twitter handle in the comments below!

The post 17 Local SEO Experts You Need to Follow on Twitter appeared first on BrightLocal.

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source https://ift.tt/3cfrHhC source https://scpie.tumblr.com/post/619311452402139136

[scpie]

17 Local SEO Experts You Need to Follow on Twitter

We talk a lot here about how to keep up to date on local SEO Company news, from forums to webinars, and beyond. But what better way to learn than by delving deep into the experts’ realm?

If you’re looking for daily updates on the latest changes in Google My Business, local search algorithm updates, or even upcoming events, then Twitter is the place for you.

To help you build your following list, we’re shouting out 17 local SEO Company experts you need to follow.

And sadly, yes, we did have to whittle this list down to just 17. While Twitter is full of knowledgeable SEO Companys, we’ve opted for the most active, but if you’re looking for even more SEO Companys to fill your timeline with, then be sure to check out our full list of local SEO experts.

1. Colan Nielsen, Sterling Sky

If you frequent online local SEO Company communities and forums, you’ll likely have seen Colan’s face before. A key member of the Sterling Sky local search Dream Team, Colan regularly shares his unique expertise and insights on Twitter.

Colan frequently shares new updates surrounding Google My Business and is always vocal in the conversation around local search. Plus, if you follow Colan you’ll be among the first to see his always-insightful blogs for Sterling Sky and LocalU, such as his recent work on the potential local ranking update.

Just a reminder that GMB is still operating with limited functionality. “Short names and Videos are not currently working. You will need to wait for Google to turn these features back on.” https://t.co/uM03f83Yaa

— Colan Nielsen (@ColanNielsen) May 26, 2020

Oh, and you’ll get to see him demonstrate his impeccable taste in clothing…

Follow Colan on Twitter

2. Claire Carlile, Claire Carlile Marketing

A ray of sunshine in the (let’s be real, sometimes stressful) world of Twitter, this list would not be complete without Claire.

One of the few UK-based SEO Companys, Claire regularly shares her day-to-day experiences on Twitter, using her loyal client base’s work to highlight new findings and the like. 

oooh look – new COVID-19 support posts live in the business profile #GoogleMyBusiness #LocalSEO pic.twitter.com/yKKgH7Y2VT

— Claire Carlile (@clairecarlile) May 21, 2020

Claire is also often among the first to spot new changes in Google My Business, as well as publishing her own in-depth guides to the ever-changing quirks of GMB, or even big changes to SERPs, such as Google’s “Featured Snippets Apocalypse”.

And as a bonus? You might just learn a little something about the wonderful world of British politics while you’re at it!

Follow Claire on Twitter

3. Tim Capper, Online Ownership

Next up, we’ve another UK-based SEO Company to fill your feed with — Tim Capper. As a GMB Product Expert, following Tim is practically a no-brainer.

Like the other people on this list, Tim regularly shares his own knowledge via blogs, mainly specializing in service-area businesses.

This is a timely reminder to hotels to check for any new updates to their attributes in Google My Business.#GoogleMyBusiness #LocalSEOhttps://t.co/hsrqSKypvG

— Tim Capper (@GuideTwit) May 26, 2020

So if you want to know what’s what when it comes to SABs, Tim is the person for you. Or if you’re someone who deals with hotel or hospitality clients, you’ll benefit from Tim’s regular insights into the quirks of hotel GMB listings.

Follow Tim on Twitter

4. Dan Leibson, Local SEO Guide

Following Local SEO Company Guide’s Dan Leibson on Twitter can certainly be a rollercoaster – from wholesome garden pics to impassioned discussions about the latest GMB guidelines. 

I think the humans at GMB support are great. I also think @marissarei13 and AW are great. But the way that GOOG as an organization invests in the GMB/Maps platform is a big ole’ dumpster fire. https://t.co/InczbJOYHf

— Dan Leibson (@DanLeibson) May 15, 2020

Not only does Dan share great insights from the Local SEO Company Guide blog, but he’s always an active participant in topical local SEO Company conversations. Plus, he regularly uplifts and shares the work of fellow local SEO Companys. What’s not to like?

Follow Dan on Twitter

5. Jason Brown, Sterling Sky

If you’re looking to get into the deep, dark realms of GMB spam removal, then following Jason Brown is absolutely essential.

Another member of the Sterling Sky Dream Team, Jason prides himself on bringing GMB spammers to justice – and he isn’t afraid to shout about it.

Seeing cases where I can use “suggest an edit” and mark a listing as temporarily closed. pic.twitter.com/thI17ARSRY

— Jason Brown Dumpster Fire (@keyserholiday) May 26, 2020

And, as another GMB Product Expert, Jason is often among the first to know about any exciting updates. Plus, you’ll get a good few laughs at some of the GMB spam and reviews he finds…

Follow Jason on Twitter

6. Brian Barwig, Sterling Sky

Having worked in local SEO Company for nearly 15 years, Brian is well-seasoned when it comes to the ins and outs of search.

Along with his local SEO Company tweets, you’ll also get a good fill of dog and gardening pics — good for the mind and the soul!

TL;DR – No it does not

Does Creating Backlinks to Your Google My Business (GMB) Listing Help Ranking? https://t.co/6OQPx9y6Vf via @sterlingskyinc pic.twitter.com/mzHkehVvgr

— Brian Barwig (@BrianBarwig) May 26, 2020

Yet another Sterling Sky member, (sorry, there’s just so many of them now!), Brian frequently shares the great blogs they produce, covering the likes of filtered GMB listings and more.

Follow Brian on Twitter

7. Amy Toman, Digital Law Marketing

Another keen GMB user, Amy frequently shares her day-to-day findings and has been quick to share some of the latest Covid-19 updates.

Following Amy on Twitter also means you’re bound to feel uplifted and inspired by her bite-sized short stories about clients’ successes.

Didn’t realize there are two COVID post types. Ok. pic.twitter.com/4UXgQsE3rd

— Amy Toman (@BubblesUp) May 21, 2020

Amy also doesn’t shy away from jumping into topical local SEO Company discussions, so keep your eyes on her feed to glean some exclusive insights!

Follow Amy on Twitter

8. Greg Gifford, SearchLab

For all our visual learners out there, Greg Gifford will be right up your street. Greg regularly shares funny, insightful videos in an effort to help you level up your local SEO Company game.

He also often makes appearances on other marketing podcasts (local and otherwise), so you’ll be sure to broaden your horizons. 

Hey car dealers – did you see Google’s new study about the effects of the coronavirus on shopper behavior in the automotive industry? This week’s video is a quick recap of the important points: https://t.co/tcpzkeFaL2

— Greg Gifford (@GregGifford) May 19, 2020

Finally, if that wasn’t enough content to keep you busy, following Greg means you’ll be among the first to see SearchLab’s weekly interview series, ‘Search & Suds’, featuring an array of expert guests and you’ll get a (virtual) front-row ticket to any SEO Company events you can’t attend, as Greg frequently live Tweets events such as SMX.

Follow Greg on Twitter

9. Andy Simpson, Digital Law marketing agency

If you’re looking for someone to glean real-time insights from, Andy is a great one to add to the list.

Often you’ll see him sharing findings from his own work with clients. He also shares useful tips and tricks, such as recommending tools to step up your SEO game.

Some “Status definitions” to remember #techseo #feeltheneedforspeed https://t.co/WUkGQFMcFe https://t.co/rK45eMH6Nc pic.twitter.com/tWxJCxWvqa

— Andy Simpson (@ndyjsimpson) May 27, 2020

And Andy frequently shows up on local SEO Company webinars and the like, most recently answering audience questions on Tea Time SEO.

Follow Andy on Twitter

10. Joy Hawkins, Sterling Sky

Of course this list wouldn’t be complete without Joy Hawkins – I mean, she’s called the Queen of Local SEO Company for a reason!

Joy heads up the Sterling Sky team, as well as running Local Search Forum and LocalU, which is why you’ll see plenty of insights from all those sources should you follow her.

GMB Insights isn’t functioning properly and isn’t showing data past May 18th. https://t.co/mJS0IsvVye pic.twitter.com/J7mOWNxwbf

— Joy Hawkins (@JoyanneHawkins) May 27, 2020

Joy also regularly answers Twitter users’ questions about common local SEO Company issues, so you’ll get insights you wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere.

Follow Joy on Twitter

11. Mike Blumenthal, GatherUp

Mike’s bio puts it best, “All local, all the time. What else is there?” And his Twitter account definitely lives up to that mantra!

Those who follow Mike get first-person insight into the changes going on in GMB, especially when it comes to reviews. 

New post @GatherUp

Google Review Attributes Expand To New Categories

What do you like about this place? Is now visible on all service type businesses like lawyers & salons not just service area businesses. https://t.co/eGExcVsJOK

— Mike Blumenthal (@mblumenthal) May 20, 2020

As a founding partner of GatherUp, Mike is always quick to share the company’s latest webinars, where they offer deep-dives into all things review-related.

Follow Mike on Twitter

12. Glenn Gabe, G-Squared Interactive

SEO Company Consultant and Search Engine Land columnist, Glenn Gabe is a fount of knowledge, and definitely one to follow if you’re looking to bring more SEO Company insights to your Twitter feed.

Google has explained many times that indexing is tied to quality. If you are seeing a drop in indexation, then try to identify which pages are dropping. If you have pages in sitemaps by type, that can help ID problems. And check “indexed, submitted” vs “indexed, not submitted”. https://t.co/Xau95lTvj9

— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) May 26, 2020

For those more interested in the likes of Google indexing, algorithms, and search patterns, Glenn is a must-follow as he shares his technical expertise on a daily basis.

Follow Glenn on Twitter

13. Carrie Hill, Sterling Sky

The last member of Sterling Sky’s growing team on this list (we promise!), Carrie Hill is full of insights to bring GMB news and knowledge to your timeline.

Not only is Carrie a local SEO Company specialist at Sterling Sky, but she also manages LocalU’s community and events, meaning she’s always eager to share the latest events and talent with her audience.

Has anyone seen a Facebook check-in featured snippet show up in a branded search before like this?

cc: @mblumenthal @Marie_Haynes @JoyanneHawkins @w2scott @ErinJones pic.twitter.com/ncgC0X6Hkg

— Carrie Hill (@CarrieHill) April 28, 2020

Like many of the other names on this list, Carrie is always keen to share the latest updates to hit GMB, so keep an eye on her feed for regular new insights.

Follow Carrie on Twitter

14. Ben Fisher, Steady Demand

First things first, if you’re not following Ben, then what are you doing?!

As a GMB Platinum Product Expert, Ben is always quick to share what he can about GMB and break the news on new features.

GMB News: The Reinstatement form now has the ability to add (proofs) as file uploads. Very handy for uploading PDF’s and screenshots. #localseo @rustybrick pic.twitter.com/kHvTACzzjW

— Ben Fisher (@TheSocialDude) May 20, 2020

He’s also a fellow spam fighting mastermind, and specializes in GMB suspensions and reinstatement, too.

So, should you ever find yourself feeling lost to the whims of Google, Ben might just be able to lend a helping hand.

Follow Ben on Twitter

15. Lily Ray, Path Interactive

Now we venture into the not-so-local portion of this list… but this list would surely be incomplete without NYC-based SEO Company Lily Ray, who focuses mostly on organic SEO Company — from E-A-T to new SERP features.

An SEO Company by day and DJ by night, Lily Ray is not your typical SEO Company. While usually her feed is filled with algorithm news and the like, lately Lily has been putting her skills to admirable use – performing 8-hour long DJ sets to raise money for those affected by Covid-19.

Just one of many ‘interesting’ examples of shakeups from the May core update.

Previously, if you typed “leasing a car,” the top result explained what car leasing is, pros and cons, whether it’s right for you, etc.

Now the top result is firmly about “why you shouldn’t do it.” pic.twitter.com/SPAPlRyf8w

— Lily Ray (@lilyraynyc) May 26, 2020

Plus, if you’re more of a visual learner, Lily often appears on webinars which she promotes via Twitter – so you’ll be the first to get a front-row seat to her insights.

Follow Lily on Twitter

16. Marie Haynes, Marie Haynes Consulting

If you’re mostly interested in Google algorithm updates — the when, the why, the what – then without a doubt, Marie Haynes is the Twitter account for you.

Marie describes herself as being “totally obsessed” with algo updates, and her weekly newsletter ‘Search News You Can Use’ often focuses on these.

The May core update is looking like a big one. It’s far too early to discuss patterns or causes, but we’re seeing clients across several verticals with really nice gains. (Thread…) pic.twitter.com/W2OVIx3YF8

— Marie Haynes (@Marie_Haynes) May 6, 2020

She’s often the first to know about potential updates, and is always quick to share her data findings.

Follow Marie on Twitter

17. Barry Schwartz, Rusty Brick

Again, not strictly local, but Barry is one of the go-to accounts when it comes to seeing the latest news in SEO Company.

Got indexing issues, might be related to the Google May 2020 core update. Google doesn’t think it is worth indexing your pages as much any more https://t.co/CZNagKNjef pic.twitter.com/AtiBkkYZMc

— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) May 26, 2020

His concise and timely blogs for Search Engine Roundtable are a great way to get bite-sized knowledge of the week’s biggest events. Plus, Barry usually brings the conversation to Twitter – welcoming discussion and debate on the latest changes to search. He also shares regular video recaps of the latest SEO Company news, so you can catch up on anything you may have missed quickly and easily!

Follow Barry on Twitter

If you’ve got a local SEO Company you want to shout out, leave their Twitter handle in the comments below!

The post 17 Local SEO Experts You Need to Follow on Twitter appeared first on BrightLocal.

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/17-local-seo-experts-you-need-to-follow-on-twitter/

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

The first two Democratic debates have come and gone, and now the third is a little over two weeks away. And while the field is beginning to winnow, and a few key endorsements have been locked up in some of the early voting states, interviews with early-state Democratic Party activists I’m speaking with for my book on the future of the party suggest that many have yet to decide whom they’ll champion in 2020. Nonetheless, there is a growing belief among the activists I’ve talked with that members of their community are starting to lean toward Sen. Elizabeth Warren even though no activist has yet committed to backing her.

This is the fifth installment of my series where I interview Democratic activists in New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina, Nevada and Washington, D.C.,1 to better understand who engaged party members in early-primary states are backing for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. I’m interviewing these activists every two months, as research has shown that these activists can be highly influential in deciding who will be the party’s nominee. So in these interviews, I’m trying to learn two main things. First, which of these activists are already committed to a candidate. And second, if they’re not committed to anyone, which candidates are they actively considering. In April, I also started asking respondents who they didn’t want to see as the nominee, and throughout this process I’ve been asking them who they thought other Democrats in their community might be leaning toward as a way to get further insight on how the invisible primary is unfolding.

First up, the activists who have committed to backing a specific presidential candidate. Of the 29 activists who shared their candidate preferences with me in August, 11 say they have made up their minds. (That’s up from nine two months ago, though because not every activist I contact responds to every round of interviews, it’s possible this change is related to who chooses to respond rather than a true change in how many activists are committed.) And of those 11, three support Sen. Cory Booker and three support Sen. Bernie Sanders. As for the other five activists, they’re each backing a different candidate: former Vice President Joe Biden, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro, and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who has since dropped out. (Some activists had pledged support for candidates in previous interview rounds, but because they didn’t respond to this round, they were not included here.)

Among this group of committed activists, only two of these endorsements are new. One respondent pledged their support to Sanders, saying, “Bernie is the O.G. when it comes to progressive policy. Why support Bernie light when you can get the real thing?” The other new endorsement was for Inslee from an activist who cited Inslee’s focus on climate change and years of experience in Congress and as governor as reasons for their support.

I also asked all the uncommitted activists who they’re considering supporting. Fewer activists were undecided in this round than in previous rounds, so the “considering” numbers are somewhat lower than in previous surveys,2 but the relative positions of the candidates haven’t changed much. There is a top tier of candidates who a number activists are considering, which consists of Booker, Buttigieg, Biden, Warren and Sen. Kamala Harris, each of whom is being considered by roughly a third of activists who responded to this round of interviews. Harris and Buttigieg sit at the top of this group with 38 percent (11 activists) each. Booker was at the top of this list in the last survey, but is now third at 31 percent (9 activists). (In the table below, I combined the number of respondents considering each candidate with the number committed to each candidate to show their total support.)

Harris and Buttigieg are early-state activists’ top choices

Share of respondents who said they were considering a candidate or had already committed to support a candidate in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary

Activists considering or committed in … candidate dec. 2018 feb. 2019 april june aug. Harris 61%

–

54%

–

53%

–

52%

–

38%

–

Buttigieg —

–

17

–

29

–

45

–

38

–

Warren 24

–

40

–

35

–

48

–

34

–

Biden 39

–

34

–

21

–

48

–

34

–

Booker 45

–

49

–

47

–

59

–

31

–

Sanders 29

–

29

–

24

–

24

–

21

–

Castro —

–

17

–

15

–

28

–

21

–

Klobuchar 34

–

37

–

26

–

28

–

17

–

Bullock —

–

—

–

—

–

10

–

17

–

Gillibrand 21

–

23

–

26

–

31

–

14

–

O’Rourke 34

–

14

–

15

–

17

–

10

–

Bennet —

–

—

–

12

–

14

–

10

–

Inslee —

–

—

–

12

–

14

–

10

–

Ryan —

–

—

–

—

–

3

–

10

–

Yang —

–

—

–

9

–

7

–

7

–

De Blasio —

–

—

–

—

–

14

–

7

–

Steyer —

–

—

–

—

–

—

–

7

–

Hickenlooper 21

–

23

–

12

–

7

–

3

–

Gabbard —

–

9

–

9

–

7

–

3

–

Delaney 16

–

17

–

3

–

3

–

3

–

Moulton —

–

—

–

—

–

3

–

3

–

Williamson —

–

—

–

—

–

3

–

3

–

Messam —

–

—

–

—

–

3

–

0

Respondents were asked about the 23 commonly mentioned candidates listed above, but they were also provided space to write in candidates not listed.

Source: SETH MASKET, “LEARNING FROM LOSS: THE DEMOCRATS, 2016-2020”

As for the next tier of candidates, between 14 and 21 percent of activists I spoke to (four to six people) say they are considering Sanders, Castro, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock or Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. The other candidates in the table are being considered by no more than three people each. Interestingly, activists who had not yet committed to anyone listed a median of four candidates this month when asked who they were still considering, down from 6.5 in the June survey. That may suggest that activists are starting to whittle down the list of candidates they might support.

As for the candidates activists do not want to see become the Democratic nominee, the rankings haven’t changed much. Although about a fifth of activists I interviewed in this round were committed to or considering Sanders (three people committed and three more considering), even more did not want him to be the nominee — 59 percent (17 out of 29 respondents) said they were opposed to seeing him win. And over half of the activists I interviewed also did not want Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Miramar, Florida, Mayor Wayne Messam, author Marianne Williamson, former Rep. John Delaney or Rep. Seth Moulton as the nominee. But one candidate whose fortunes might be changing is entrepreneur Andrew Yang, who went from one of the top five least-liked candidates in my June survey to the 12th least-liked candidate in August, putting him alongside less polarizing candidates like O’Rourke and Klobuchar. This hasn’t meant Yang is gaining supporters (two activists are now considering him, the same number as in June), but at the very least, several of the activists who were previously put off by him are no longer openly opposed to his candidacy.

Since December, I have also asked respondents which candidate they think Democrats active in their communities lean toward, regardless of their own preferences. I haven’t published the results for this question before, as estimates for have bounced around a lot, but in this survey I noticed that Warren is the only candidate on a clear upward trajectory. In my first three surveys from December to April, few respondents3 thought that Democrats in their area were leaning toward Warren. But by June, five of 28 (18 percent) activists I spoke to said people in their community were leaning toward Warren. And this month, nine of 27 (33 percent) said they thought people in their community were leaning toward Warren, putting her well ahead of all other candidates. This tracks with her rise in recent polling and her strong showing in some early voting states. So even though no activist has committed to Warren, they now seem to view her candidacy as viable and believe it has momentum.

In sum, a majority of the activists I’ve been interviewing are still uncommitted, although there are signs that the field is winnowing. Many activists are only interested in a relatively small group of candidates — Biden, Booker, Buttigieg, Harris or Warren. And Sanders remains a factional candidate among the activists I’ve interviewed, with a respectable number of supporters but also a large number of detractors. Additionally, although none of my respondents have committed to Warren, a third are convinced that others in their community prefer her, so it’s possible that in the coming months, more activists will say they are either committed to Warren or considering her. As for my next survey, it will be done in early October, by which time the September debate may have narrowed down the field because it’s so much harder for candidates to qualify for the third debate than it was for the first two. It will be interesting to see whether this forces some of the activists’ hands and gets them to commit to one candidate (or change their mind).

[biofunmy]

At the First Debate, an Audio Snarl and a Traffic Jam

Halfway through the first Democratic primary debate in Miami Wednesday night, NBC brought on a second shift of moderators — four hours over two nights, you’ve got to conserve your energy. Chuck Todd began to ask a question about gun violence. Then he stopped.

What were those sounds? There was talking coming from everywhere. The previous moderators’ microphones, it appeared, had been left on. Ten potential future presidents smiled and stood puzzled. There were so many voices, no one could make anything out.

The snafu, on NBC’s most-anticipated planned political event of the year so far, forced the network to cut to commercial. But it was also the first debate in a nutshell: a lot of talking, but, with 10 voices hoping not to get lost in the mix, less actual debating.

A degree of overwhelmingness was built into the event long before NBC went into “Please Stand By” mode. The debate had to accommodate, between Wednesday and Thursday, enough candidates to field two baseball teams plus managers.

The Democratic Party took pains to divide the 20 eligible candidates so that there would be no undercard debate. But let’s be real: This was an undercard debate. Or rather, it was a nine-way undercard debate, interspersed with an interview with Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who received few direct challenges from rivals, despite, or because of, being the top-polling candidate in the group.

The tableau of the 10 hopefuls showed how this debate season would be different from those past: diverse in background (not to mention height), with three female candidates on this night alone. Ms. Warren received the first question and, by dint of alphabetical order, gave the last closing remarks.

But in between, there were a lot of guys jostling, and talking over one another, to grab attention.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, looming at one end of the stage, nudged and honked his way into the proceedings like an SUV cutting in to Midtown traffic. Former Representative Beto O’Rourke of Texas gave a lengthy chunk of his first answer in Spanish.

Representative Tim Ryan and former Representative John Delaney called for notice, like hungry birds in a nest. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey carried the attention contest at least in terms of volume, speaking more than anyone else on stage.

There were also attempts to claim lanes, ideological or otherwise. When the governor of Washington, Jay Inslee, interjected to assert his bona fides on reproductive rights, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota wryly pointed out, “There’s three women up here who have fought pretty hard for a woman’s right to choose.” (The third was Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii).

There was a scrambling-for-the-lifeboats energy to the debate, everyone well aware that there will be only so many seats to carry rivals to the more selective debates of the fall. Candidates came with targeted pitches and zingers and catchphrases familiar to the faithful audience. (Ms. Warren got some of the night’s biggest cheers referencing her “I have a plan” mantra.)

It was, nonetheless, a change from the pro-wrestling 2016 debates that introduced Donald J. Trump as candidate. The disagreements were sometimes sharp but not insulting. No one attacked a moderator, and the moderators, while calling out candidates for evading answers, didn’t prod one-on-one fights as sometimes happened in the last cycle.

If a season of debates is like a TV serial — arcs developing over time, each episode drawing on conflicts introduced in the last — this one was a big ensemble pilot with a lot of exposition and some quick sketching of themes, aspirants cramming bits of stump speech into one-minute answers.

This seemed to stifle candidates like Mr. O’Rourke, the former punk band member who favors long windups building to emotional choruses. Notably, the poll leaders did not come in for much direct attack, but — perhaps seeming a more vulnerable or safer target — Mr. O’Rourke did, from Mr. de Blasio and the former housing secretary Julián Castro, who stood out with passionate answers throughout the night.

Even if the debate didn’t shed much light, the stage did. NBC built a high-luminosity arena of technodemocracy, every possible surface glowing, the candidates parked at translucent prisms that glowed blue and winked red when they spoke. (A bit of mixed partisan-color messaging.) The opening backdrop, what appeared to be an elongated, low-rise rendering of the White House — or at least a white house — matched the field: wide and with a lot of room, but with stature only toward the middle of the stage.

It is, of course, a long time before the 2020 election, or even the first votes of the primary. There’s another debate Thursday night, and plenty of time after for the field to whittle itself down to a more manageable size.

In the meantime, the message from Miami to America was: Please bear with us, while we work through some technical difficulties.

Sahred From Source link Arts

from WordPress http://bit.ly/2FC6As5 via IFTTT

[cryptidvoidwritings]

instagram story: July 16, 2023

[theconservativebrief]

President Donald Trump is set to announce his nominee to fill the vacant seat of retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy at 9 pm Eastern time on Monday, July 9. It will be broadcast on multiple networks, including ABC, CBS, and CNN, and you can watch a live stream on C-SPAN.

There’s a chance he’ll tweet it out first, but thus far, he’s held off.

Trump has gradually been whittling down a November 2017 list of 25 possibilities to, reportedly, three finalists: current appellate judges Brett Kavanaugh of the DC Circuit; Amy Coney Barrett of the Seventh Circuit; and Raymond Kethledge of the Sixth Circuit.

The New York Times reported over the weekend that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has nudged Trump toward Kethledge or Thomas Hardiman, of the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, believing they will pose the fewest obstacles to confirmation. Trump almost picked Hardiman to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia in 2017 before deciding on Neil Gorsuch instead.

Vox’s Dara Lind, Dylan Matthews, and Jen Kirby recently wrote about all four judges’ backgrounds, as well as those of a few other candidates still possibly in the mix.

When Trump names his pick Monday evening, it will kick off what’s likely to be a contentious confirmation battle. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has laid out a plan for Democrats to try to stop Trump’s pick, even though Democrats are not in the majority, and Republican moderates Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) will likely come under fierce pressure from both sides for their votes.

There is potentially a lot at stake in the coming years, including abortion rights, healthcare, gay rights, and affirmative action. Whichever candidate Trump chooses, if they’re confirmed, they likely will move the Supreme Court further to the right on those issues and others.

Original Source -> Trump’s about to announce his Supreme Court pick. Here’s when and where to watch.

via The Conservative Brief