#the great marketplace of ideas etc etc

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

“My sense is that Meghan's market is more of the TJ Maxx demographic.” Interesting assessment of Meghan’s market. From a business perspective, brands who end up at TJMaxx, Marshalls, etc. (owned by the same company TJX) are typically bought in due to 1) supplier has made too much (overstock) and it isn’t selling 2) it’s getting close to the end of its expiration dates (close out) and it sold in at a much cheaper cheaper price to TJX. She’d still need a regular place to sell before she tries to offload (usually at a much lower margin / maybe even a loss) to TJX. I’m basing this on my experience with working in food industry and resorting to these retailers for the same reasons.

Exactly my point. The TJX brand is the end of the line for so much product and merch these days (especially fast fashion) that it's inevitable Meghan's products will end up there if this turns into the deal she wants to be. The key thing is that she needs product first. That she launched without a real product is very telling.

To me, what I think it says is that she's not getting the investors or partners that she wants so she launched ASAP to use the media's hype as part of her negotiation or recruitment strategy. (In addition to taking advantage of Kate's absence, of course.)

I made a suggestion in an earlier post that Meghan's competitors are the socialite/influencers that are launching their own brands or already have brands. A great many of those brands use print-on-demand dropship merch. They save on overstock storage and production fees by only keeping a limited selection in stock and marking up their own prices to cover "demand."

I see Roop heading in that direction. If they can't find a distribution vendor (e.g., Kohls, Target, Macy's, etc.), they'll do dropshipping but at such low quantities they always sell out - which is the same tactic Meghan uses when she wants to be a fashion influencer (she wears something already heavily discounted and with so little stock that she can take credit for "selling out").

What is interesting, and why I think Roop has a good argument for exclusivity with TJX companies, is Rae Dunn. Most of her product is sold exclusively through TJX and she has a deal with a company called Magenta Inc., an online retailer that's thought to be behind Rae Dunn products in places like Amazon and Walmart.

So there's precedent for Meghan/Roop to sell exclusively with TJX, with perhaps a side deal for an online storefront like Magenta offers. But that's not the audience or market Meghan wants (even though she herself is the "wine mom" elder millennial motivational-quote-spouting stereotype that buys Rae Dunn and shops at TJX stores so it's a natural fit). She wants Roop in luxury marketplaces that prices out the very people who would actually buy Meghan's product.

She's stuck between a rock and a hard place. I think she realizes it now while watching the metrics on social media plateau from a total lack of engagement and total absence of content (hence throwing Mandana under the bus in Page Six). Which is surprising. Given the way she rolled out Sussex.com with the IG Vancouver kickoff - four or five days straight of new Sussex content and material - I expected the same thing with Roop; 1st day - social media launch, 2nd day - lunch papwalk, 3rd day - product launch, 4th day - "checking out my product" charity visit/papwalk, 5th day - Netflix cooking show promo, and so on.

I know, I know. Stop giving her ideas. I'm trying!

[byoldervine]

I saw you've mentioned you used your Minecraft world to make lore for your book? How does that work?

I used to stream my Minecraft world on Twitch and my first city was a desert city called Porphyria

I made a massive cave underneath a desert temple I found close to a city and turned it into a library as my first project. It took a while but was really fun, and now I had a cool base where I kept my enchanting stuff

From there I continued to build up the city with loads of houses, a marketplace, a long river winding through the city that kind of guided the flow of the structures, etc etc

I also came up with the constraint that I couldn’t use any plants or whatever by making up the cursed desert thing via a funny soul sand shrine one of my friends built near my temple; it was only like seven blocks and could’ve easily been taken down but it was funny and lead to the idea of the desert being cursed. The shrine itself hasn’t made it into the Byoldervine lore but the idea of it being a seed came to mind at one point and then that turned into the idea of ‘Fallow roses’ (Wither roses) being the only thing that grew in Porphyria - and then from there the idea of the Fallow itself became obvious

And then since everything was so grey and yellow and beige and stuff, I started adding lots of wool and stained glass and stuff like that wherever I could, which gave me the idea of glass decor all around Porphyria to compensate for the lack of real plants and natural colours

So from just mucking around building a fun city in Minecraft, I came up with the lore for Porphyria, the Great Library buried under the temple, the Fallow and all the lore that came with it such as its curse and the Fallow roses, the lack of plant life and all the colourful overabundance of stained glass, aka one of the city’s main exports

Really just let yourself play around and have fun while making your setting feel more real as you build it; inspiration might come to you and set in when you least expect it, or even sprout up from just random silly nonsense

[wikipedia-main]

i think there's the idea that fishtanks are really expensive and hard to take care of but there are lots of ways to set up tanks that aren't like that- even if you often kill things or have difficulty remembering to care for them ! and im bored right now so im just gonna, write about how you can do that

what you'd need:

a glass or acrylic tank

dirt & sand

rocks, driftwood, & other decor (optional)

heater, filter, light

plants

testing equipment

you can get a tank for really cheap off facebook marketplace or craigslist or ebay! and you can use just about any dirt, as long as it doesn't have pesticides/herbicides (unfertilized organic garden soil is great). sand is easy to find at pet stores, but it's expensive--you can get silicate play sand or pool filter sand for cheaper (just make sure it doesn't have calcium in it). you can test rocks you find on the ground for tank safety with vinegar- if it bubbles, then it'll leach calcium (undesirable, messes with water parameters) and if it doesn't, it's fine to use ! (if you're worried about Things on them, you can boil them for a few minutes.)

heaters, filters, and lights tend to be cheap if you just go for rudimentary adjustable ones. you can get shop lights and an outlet timer at any department store. plus if you know an aquarium hobbyist, chances are they'll have extras

same thing with plants, too ! if there's an aquarium hobby group near you then that's a great way to get free stuff. tanks are like little gardens so there's usually lots of plant clippings that would otherwise get thrown out. plus, free creatures that hitchhike on them !!!

another super cool way to get rocks, sand, dirt, wood, leaves, plants etc is to just ! go to a stream or lake ! preferably one that's distanced from roads and you know isn't super polluted. i picked up some water cress off the side of a hiking trail and now i have a really cute sprawling thing growing that i got FOR FREE!!!!!

testing equipment is gonna be expensive, but it's often a one-time purchase. liquid tests are more time consuming than paper strips, but more accurate. you might also need dechlorinator (more-so if your tap is treated with chloramine; chlorine evaporates but chloramine doesn't) (you can find that out by looking up your local water treatment report). other small items that r helpful: plastic tubes/hoses for siphoning water in/out, pipettes, tweezers, tiny scissors, buckets, and (depending on ur tank) liquid fertilizer, root tabs, and mineral mixes.

what's cool about this: setting up a tank with a layer of dirt covered by sand (you can do 1 inch dirt + 2 inches sand or 1.5 inches dirt + 1 inch sand) and then adding a bunch of plants will make a tank that needs less maintenance !! if you get the water parameters stable and have a good amount of plants and tiny creatures (worms crustaceans etc), then lots of fish (not all though) will be healthy and can mind their own better !! it's a balance ofc but once you strike it suddenly you can go a month without looking at it and nothing changes. life is beautiful

anyway thats!!! it. i love you <3

[mathysphere]

Caterpillar Cross Stitch recently launched their own subscription-based browser-based pattern maker, 'love it stitch it' (very cool and impressive! subscription model seems kinda sketchy, but I'll have to try the demo later)

there's also a connected, cross-stitch-specific pattern marketplace launching with it, though, which seems even more ambitious and intriguing--

(rambley thoughts after the break!)

the idea is that you make a design with the pattern software, and can then import it directly into the marketplace, right? that's clever. the subscription is way overpriced for the software, though (unless it ends up being better than WinStitch & PCStitch put together, which.......... may actually be possible*)

as someone who lives & breathes cross-stitch, I really dig the site's specific focus-- I like that each listing has built-in forms for sellers to list stitch count, stitched area, and type of pattern (black-and-white, color-and-symbols, etc), I like that PDFs are automatically stamped with the buyer's info, and I like that you can sort by, say, 'full coverage'.

also, it looks like their fees are less than etsy's! that's nice, too. a really good selling point, for buyers and designers both.

also also, you don't have to subscribe to the design program to sell patterns on the marketplace, though there is a discount for those who do.

the big problem: the marketplace is a ghost town right now. looks like there's 4 pages of listings, about 40 patterns per page, so ~160 patterns total. their instagram says they launched in May of last year; I don't have any frame of reference for how fast this sort of thing should get off the ground, but if I were them right now I'd probably be banging on the doors of every pattern designer I knew to try and get them on board.

Actually, it'd probably be smart to reach out to, say, mid-size designers-- people who are already selling patterns on etsy (and therefore have a catalog they could copy over), but don't already have their own dedicated shop website. heavily advertise the lower fees, and try to convince designers to direct people to the loveitstitchit listings. neither site has any exclusivity restrictions, so the sellers could keep the etsy ones up, too, and not miss out on the larger reach etsy has.

anyway, I'm definitely gonna keep an eye on this! it seems wicked ambitious, and I'll admit I'm not sure if I believe it'll get off the ground. it'd be nice if it did, though! And I'll have to try out the pattern designer once I'm done putzing around with the Amiga emulator.

*they are great programs and I do love them, but you can tell that PCStitch hasn't been updated since 2018. Conversely, you can also tell that WinStitch has been updated continuously since 1990.

[burgerdrome]

Are you still a fan of Warhammer? I hope it’s been long enough that you aren’t scared of this restarting anything but like, I’m a fan myself and everyone I know is also one, and your article gave me some uncomfortable feelings of “what’s the woke way to enjoy this” lol

Hello! Thank you for the delightful question and thank you also for allowing me to be part of the authentic Tumblr experience of receiving an inbox message from a questionable username.

So I guess I think the question about whether there's a "woke way" to enjoy Warhammer is an unhelpful way to think about it (or about anything). It's okay to enjoy a pretend game about silly clanking armoured men just in the same way it's okay to enjoy a pretend video game where you drive a car over the speed limit.

I think a lot of leftists get caught up in ethical hand-wringing and sort of paralysed by how to move forward with something but the reality of participation in a capitalist system is that while you can be conscientious about your choices, at the end of the day you still have to, you know, make those choices. There isn't a perfect way to do it - there is no ethical consumption under capitalism!

One of the great things about the Warhammer hobby - hell, just about all tabletop gaming hobbies - is that the companies who make the products simply cannot stop you from buying them, building them, and playing with them in the way that you want. The fact that Warhammer (hell, D&D too, etc) is essentially imagination layered on top of painted bits of plastic means that the barrier to entry, and the conditions under which a corporation can control your entry, are astonishingly low.

But of course this means that a huge chunk of potential profit is going missing. One of the big ways that Games Workshop - hell, just about all tabletop gaming companies, really - has tried to maximise their profits in recent years has been to attempt to normalise the idea that to "play Warhammer" is to engage in brand loyalty rather than personal creativity - in other words, to own as much of your potential hobby ecosystem as possible.

Purchase your official Warhammer model from the official Warhammer store (good luck getting a pre-order from a local games store which has been deliberately understocked!), clip it from the sprue using official Citadel clippers, glue it with Citadel plastic glue while you're watching the official Warhammer Plus "loremasters" show, basecoat it with Citadel spray, make sure to play it using the new rules we released 3 months ago and which we will update in another book in 3 months time (which you will need to buy, you don't want to miss out!) etc, etc, etc. Deeply tiresome shit.

(Illustrative side note: Recently I saw a post on Facebook marketplace with someone saying "Can someone sell me a pair of Citadel clippers, my last ones broke!" Someone immediately responded to recommend going to buy a pair at Bunnings for $5, and the person legitimately had to be convinced that they were the same product and weren't going to, in some way, "hurt" the models.)

Of course while GW has a long history of trying to trick baffled Christmas aunties into buying spray paint from their stores for $30 instead of from Bunnings for $10, when I got into Warhammer in 1997 DIY creativity was explicitly encouraged and that was pretty much the whole point - Games Workshop literally published books telling you to go to construction sites to find basing sand, to repurpose old cardboard boxes to make buildings and walls, to use guitar strings to make power cables, to write your own missions, to invent your own Chapters (with rules to do so), to build your own characters and leaders, etc, etc. And I did! And it kicked ass.

The old codexes are full of examples of people scratchbuilding whole terrain sets, converting up models for characters that GW couldn't be arsed to provide - that sort of "make it your own! exercise your creativity!" ethos was baked into the very DNA of the hobby, and it has always stuck with me, even as GW has tried to backpedal away from it and focus on "how well can YOU paint OUR kits?"

So now for me I look at Warhammer the same way I might look at an art supply store. Yes I can buy one particular brand of paint or one particular brand of canvas when looking at doing up a new watercolour, but ultimately it's about picking what I think is going to allow me to exercise my creativity the most, or what I enjoy working with.

And when I do throw dice (I am a busy full-time employee with a mortgage and now mostly play small scale Kill Team skirmish games) I play against extremely chill people who have straight-up 3D printed accessories or whole models, or play in my local games club on old Malifaux terrain on a third party game mat, or whatever.

I buy all my models second hand online or purchase out-of-production things at swap meets. I use third-party paints and brushes, and 3D print up conversion parts that I need which I purchase online. I engage with the hobby on my terms and look at it as a way to express my own creativity, or as a series of building blocks to assemble in whichever way I see fit, because that's what makes me happy. Ultimately Games Workshop's colour schemes, lore, etc are (and only ever can be) suggestions - the only difference is that they used to explicitly tell you as much and encourage you to play around, and now they strongly encourage the opposite.

This isn't to cast shade on anyone who just buys GW models and paints them with GW paints or whatever. Doing that isn't somehow a fascist act or a one way ticket to Cancel Jail. They make some nice fucking models! And tbqh their Contrast paints are the best in class for that sort of thing (Army Builder "Speed Paint" ones suck ass).

Buying little toy dolls from companies (at least companies which aren't openly funding genocide) is only a problem if we do so uncritically or treat those little toy dolls as sacred idols and allow them to consume our personalities. That's when you end up with weird right-wing 40K Lore Youtubers with aquila tattoos.

[gardenofsubjectivity]

READ BEFORE INTERACTING

Hello! This is my intro, FAQ, and DNI. Please respect that when viewing my blog.

Name: Just my username or an abbreviation. I have no interest in getting close or forming friendships with anyone online- just to share ideas and opinions I have. So, a nickname is unnecessary.

Age: Adult, but not comfortable giving personal info.

Pronouns: I don’t care.

DNI

Do not interact if you are a minor. At all. I discuss and reblog adult topics and don’t want minors exposed to it. Please respect this.

Do not interact if your intention is to bully or harass. I am totally up for disagreements and discussion! That’s how the marketplace of ideas works! I just don’t want to waste time with unproductive conversations. Thank you.

FAQ

Are you a paraphile?: No. I’m not diagnosed with any paraphilias or paraphilic disorders, nor do I identify as one. I am a kinkster but not a paraphile. I just find the attitude society has towards them to be very unempathetic and want a space to show that even non-paraphiles can have compassion for those who are different.

Do you think children, animals, or dead bodies can consent to sex?

No. I do not. I personally find it morally wrong to engage sexually with any of these groups. The idea heavily disturbs me and I do not advocate for the “liberation” or “freeing” of these groups sexually. Children are not mentally developed enough to consent, and there is documented tangible harm caused to them when this happens. Animals are not mentally developed enough to consent, and there is documented tangible harm caused to them when this happens. Dead bodies have no ability to consent and having sex with them brings great harm to the family/loved ones of the deceased- not to mention it can cause great mental harm to the living, as the vast majority of people don’t seem to like the idea of being touched once they’re dead. It can make dying an even scarier experience. It’s also dehumanizing to reduce dead bodies as objects, as I’ve seen a few people say.

Again, no. I don’t think they can consent and they shouldn’t be victimized by anyone- paraphile or not. (And, yes. Non-paraphiles can sexually abuse these groups. Whether that be for the feeling of power, ease of access, etc.)

Are you proship?: If I had to be labeled as one or the other I’d be considered a proshipper. I use the proshipper tags and interact with the community. So, if you want to label me as a proshipper then that’s fine. However, I don’t personally identify myself under that label. There’s a lot of reasons for this, but it would be too long to type out on an already large introduction post. So, I’ll just say my beliefs on the subject.

I do believe that art is a place that’s meant to explore complicated feelings and the human condition. That includes dark things and aspects of life that make us uncomfortable. Unless there are tangible victims (such as published sexual art depicting real life identifiable children, art that is purposefully meant to be a threat to someone else ((even implicitly)), drawings that use things like CSEM for reference/tracing etc.) then it’s morally fine imo. No one, and I mean no one, should ever be harassed, doxed, or otherwise harmed because they made art that is simply offensive to someone. This applies to things I’m even offended about, like certain political artists or particular fetish art.

What is your contact stance?: Certain paraphilias and/or paraphilic disorders can’t be explored to its most literal extent without a victim being involved. For example, ped🅾️philes can’t have sexual relations with children without creating a victim. Obviously I am against that. However, they can explore this part of themselves via ethically-made art, an adult partner in consensual sexual roleplay, etc.

Honestly, I would much rather people have an outlet for their desires rather than let them build and build and build until it becomes an issue to not just themselves but others. I mean, how many times are we going to see anti-gay politicians for example turn out to be gay? (1, 2, 3) And no, I don’t think that paraphiles or people with paraphilic disorders are inherently LGBT, nor do I think there should be paraphilias added on the LGBT acronym like “LGBTP” or “LGBTZ”. I am simply saying that repressing one’s sexuality is unhealthy imo.

Said opinion is based off of data. For example, there have been multiple studies showing that countries with easy access to pornography of any kind have significantly less sex crimes committed than countries who don’t. (1, 2) (And no, I am not a supporter of CSEM being legal or anything like that obviously. I am simply presenting data to show the effects of pornography and outlets. Instead of these countries allowing the victimizing stuff, I think they should only allow victimless forms of it.)

So, I would say I believe paraphiles should be able to have contact with consensual adults, art, etc. as an outlet for their desires. But now with the real thing unless it is a victimless paraphilia like plushophilia or objectophilia for example.

Are you pro-recovery? I find this to be difficult to answer because there are certain implications with the question I don’t agree with. This would be like asking “Are you pro-recovery?” in reference to someone with an anxiety, depressive, or schizospec disorder. I want people to have easy access to resources if they’re struggling, and let’s be honest, almost all paraphiles are struggling in one way or another. At least from what I’ve seen. But what I hear when seeing “pro-recovery” is “Do you think paraphiles should be ‘cured’?” You can’t “cure” paraphilias in the same way you can’t “cure” the disorders I listed above. You cant “recover” from them because they aren’t going anywhere. People recover from events that happen to them, people recover from trauma, people don’t recover from things hardwired into their brain. (1)

Do you believe everyone who consumes “problematic”/taboo fiction (sexually or otherwise) wants to do those things in real life?

No. I don’t. As much as I think more people are interested in taboo art than many would like to admit, I don’t believe that is the only reason why someone would be into the “weird” stuff. There are many reasons. Trauma, neurodivergence, early life experience that weren’t necessarily traumatic, things you’re just born with, and many other reasons I don’t even know. It’s a complicated topic, but I think art is not always literal and two people can look at the same piece of art and get two completely different experiences and interpretations of it. In the same way playing violent video games doesn’t make you violent, but violent people may gravitate more to those games; consuming taboo art doesn’t make you a paraphile, but paraphiles may gravitate more to those art pieces.

Do not interact if you are a minor. At all. I discuss and reblog adult topics and don’t want minors exposed to it. Please respect this.

[prabhatjairam]

Resources for Second-Hand Books and Equipment

Every one of us wants to learn something new, something different, with each passing day. To improve our knowledge and gain useful ideas, we tend to read books and novels. A book plays a magnificent role in each learner’s life. It enhances brain power and increases IQ levels.

Besides, students who are book lovers want to purchase novels, comics, or magazines in their very short breaks. However, some books and novels are so expensive that not everyone can afford them. To overcome this issue, one can use second-hand books. It may cost half the price of new editions. By buying second-hand stuff, readers can buy more books with their saved money. Used books provide the same feeling and equal satisfaction. 

Let’s take a quick review of second-hand book resources as this blog post delivers basic information for those who are in search of used textbooks.

Places where you can find second-hand books and equipment

If you’re looking for used books and equipment, you can find cheap and affordable items in the hidden corners of the places mentioned below:

Darya Ganj Sunday Market, Delhi

The book market in Darya Ganj is only set up on Sundays. It is a famous place to buy second-hand books. The market is up and ready by 9 a.m., from Golcha Cinema to Delite Cinema. It has a wide variety of books and other study materials that vary in price. Whether you are a school student or a college student, you can get everything from novels to books, and that too at cheaper rates. Indeed, this book market is a paradise for any book buff, as it offers endless options.

Nai Sarak, Delhi

Another place you can explore in the capital is "Nai Sarak," which is located somewhere between Chandni Chowk and Chawri Bazar. The place is a perfect choice for students as it deals in stationery, books, files, folders, etc. Nai Sarak is a vast book market that is filled with a huge number of retailers and wholesalers. There are ample shops that deal only in second-hand books. You can get both new sequels and old editions for relatively low prices.

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College Street, Kolkata

College Street in Kolkata is famous for its big and small bookstores. It is the world’s largest second-hand book market. The place has a nickname, called "Boi Para". People from different parts of the state flock to the innumerable bookshops along the sidewalk for books. Moreover, Kolkata College Street is accessible by all means of transport, whether it is a bus, train, taxi, or metro.

Flora Fountain, Mumbai

Flora Fountain is popularly and fondly known as "Book Street" by patrons. Every morning at 10 a.m., the blue plastic sheets are removed from the bundle of books, making individuals who are in search of used books welcome. The vendors asked visitors what kind of book they wanted and what genre or author they were in awe of. The moment students tell them, sellers get something of their choice.

Best Online Resource for Used Books

As everybody is busy in the online world. Buying and selling books can be done online. There are an ample number of websites that offer second-hand books that students can easily afford. Some of them are:

Biblio

Biblio is an international digital marketplace specializing in used books, out-of-print books, rare books, new books, and textbooks. Undoubtedly, Biblio is a great supplier of books, offering nearly 100 million used books. Students can find a long-lost favorite and signed book by entering the name of the author and title in the search box that pops up on the side of their screen. Furthermore, the site offers discounts on its inventory to assist children in saving money when purchasing used books.

Quickr

Another website for used books is "Quickr," which has a wide range of academic textbooks, fiction, comics, and many more. On this website, pupils can get refurbished or used books and magazines at low prices. It’s useful for college students as well as those who are studying for the IIT-JEE or any other engineering entrance exams.

If you’re looking for an online education portal, study24hr.com is the best choice. The portal delivers the best facilities and opportunities to its students by providing inspirational videos, mock test papers, question papers, notes, and much more. study24hr.com aims to enhance students’ literary skills and comprehension levels.

Pustakkosh

The Pustakkosh.com store enables students to buy used books online. It is an online textbook rental company that allows learners to save up to 75% on book costs with free delivery. The site offers the convenience of a cash-on-delivery system to its customers. Besides, Pustakkosh provides many other facilities, such as video lessons, free online tutorials, online courses, eBooks, etc.

Amazon.in

If you are a book lover and want a huge collection of novels and books, Amazon.in offers a section called "Local Finds," where you can easily buy and sell used books online. To find your favorite book, use the search box on the website and add the name of the author and the title of the book to get it with ease. It is a well-known platform that serves millions of customers across India.

AbeBooks

Discover a wonderful selection of second-hand copies on AbeBooks. The ex-library books are cheap and affordable on this website. Whether you are looking for big discounts or you want a used paperback, Abebooks.com is an incredible platform to buy cheap books online. Search for science fiction, biographies, children’s books, academic books, and other study materials.

Final Thoughts

Hope all the second-hand book resources listed above will help you find your preferred textbook at reduced prices. Unfortunately, buying used books not only saves money but also makes you more environmentally conscious, forming a good habit of buying used. So, improve your knowledge and skills with second-hand books, as they also deliver the information as same as the new books. Build enthusiasm for buying used books and save lots of resources!

[dgcatanisiri]

Capitalism corruption of video games is the reason that consoles die.

Think about it. I get hardware upgrades allow for new and more interesting and involved mechanics to be introduced, but... Wouldn't it be a great idea for older consoles to still be around in the name of, say, allowing smaller publishers starting up a low-risk place to cut their teeth?

Or, beyond that, there's the obvious fact of how much the studios and corporations just abandon the consoles and the games when a new generation comes along, often with no method of keeping the games functional in the next gen platform. At best, you get like the various marketplaces that let you buy them again, even if your old physical copy is still usable - repairs become more of an expense, and you're usually just told that fixing up a damaged console isn't really worth the expense.

And think about how many computer games have been lost to time, too, due to the same aging hardware issue.

Sure, you can have emulators and such, but especially with the older games - the games exclusive to like the NES, the SNES, Game Boys, PSX, etc. - part of that experience was the controller in your hands as you played on a beat up old TV. Even if you can't recapture the full experience, you could get close if the console was still viable.

God how I HATE this hellscape we're trapped in, mostly because alternatives are VIABLE, but getting them to happen means five billionaires are deprived of like five bucks, and we can't have THAT...

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[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Founded in January 2023, Heresy Press addresses a growing void in today’s literary marketplace where conformity and timidity increasingly hold sway. When authors self-censor, agents select works along narrow ideological preferences, and publishers hedge their bets in order to avoid offending anyone, then literature loses. Heresy Press is here to give oxygen to unfettered creativity and to provide a home for authors and works that are not currently favored through the conventional publishing channels. Fiction in all of its forms is the mainstay of Heresy Press, with adult literary fiction, satire, comedy, speculative fiction, and young adult books leading the charge.

-

“Publishers have adopted a defensive crouch, taking pre-emptive measures to avoid controversy and criticism. Now, many books the left might object to never make it to bookshelves because a softer form of banishment happens earlier in the publishing process: scuttling a project for ideological reasons before a deal is signed, or defusing or eliminating ‘sensitive’ material in the course of editing…. All of this is happening against the backdrop of a recent spate of shameful book bans that comes largely from the right.” (Pamela Paul, New York Times, July 24, 2022)

The new press serves as a real alternative to conventional publishers—both large and small—who increasingly deploy “soft” censorship tactics to avoid landing in hot water over boundary-pushing or “heretical” materials. Instead of adopting a “defensive crouch,” Heresy Press stands proudly for unbounded creativity and fearless expression. We discourage authors from descending into self-censorship; we don’t blink at alleged acts of cultural appropriation; we don’t pander to the presumed sensitivities of hypothetical readers; and we can hardly imagine conditions under which we would consider a retraction. Instead of playing it safe, Heresy Press is unafraid of controversy and criticism. Its ultimate commitment is to enduring quality standards, i.e. literary merit, originality, relevance, courage, humor, and aesthetic appeal. Every serious submission will receive a sympathetic hearing, regardless of the author’s age, gender identity, racial affiliation, political orientation, culture, religion, non-religion, cancellation status, etc. Fiction in all of its forms is the mainstay of Heresy Press, with adult literary fiction, satire, comedy, speculative fiction, and young adult books leading the charge.

Heresy Press is committed to freedom, honesty, openness, dissent, and real diversity in all of its manifestations. We resist conformity and instead operate within the Millsian model of the free market place of ideas. But while we stand firmly behind the First Amendment, any speech that is not protected by the First Amendment, notably incitement to violence, libel, targeted harassment, perjury, obscenity, etc. will not be considered for publication. We think of fiction as a realm that needs as much, if not more, freedoms to thrive in than common forms of real-world discourse: “No human endeavor requires freedom as much as creativity does” (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie). Heresy Press will consider contributions that some on this planet might deem blasphemous, politically problematic, inconvenient, or impolite, and it will never engage “sensitivity readers” to screen out such aspects. “All great truths begin as blasphemies” (George Bernard Shaw). Heresy Press and its products and representatives shall not be drawn into the vortex of cancel culture, with its apologies, mea-culpas, retractions, atonements, propitiations, etc. and instead focus on what matters—unfettered creativity and fearless imagination.

Welcome to the world of Heresy Press, where creative freedom holds sway and unbridled imagination rules! The press serves as a platform for all literary voices, including those currently sidelined or silenced (paradoxically often in the name of diversity). Heresy Press is here to offer adventurous readers a bounty of alluring, uncensored, relevant, and achingly beautiful stories.

Heresy Press’s first objective is to uphold the highest standards of literary excellence, insisting that, above all else, the writing be vibrant, the vision free from moralizing ideological agendas, and the material an uninhibited artistic exploration of human quandaries.

Instead of assuming that readers are frail creatures who need to be shielded from any and all potentially offensive, unfiltered, or “triggering” contents, Heresy Press assumes that its readers are resilient, curious, open-minded, and discerning people of any background who want to be swept off their feet by a narrative so powerful, they forget to check their phones for hours at a time. We are confident that our authors can deliver on this promise. Witness the first story published by Heresy Press, Raymond Welch’s flash fiction piece “Bad Girlfriend,” published in this issue of Speakeasy.

Heresy Press is a disruptor, not only in terms of its emphasis on radical creative freedom and its faith in a resilient reading public. We do almost everything differently from conventional publishers, both big and small:

Heresy Press treats authors with respect, which means answering queries and submissions personally, and in a timely manner.

Heresy Press does not prescreen submissions according to identity criteria, and it does not hire Sensitivity Readers.

Heresy Press doesn’t charge for submissions and it will never ask authors to contribute financially to their publication.

Heresy Press pays a generous across-the-board royalty on the net profit of all income streams generated by publications of the press, thereby greatly simplifying and disentangling the often complex and opaque process of calculating payments to authors.

Heresy Press runs a very lean operation with lots of professional volunteerism and little overhead cost, thus generating better returns for authors and progressing at a fast pace.

Heresy Press nimbly negotiates between print-on-demand and print-run approaches while also issuing e-books and audio-books.

--

Essay about the State of Publishing (Part I)

The publishing industry has largely adopted an approach and an outlook that New York Times columnist Pamela Paul has called “a defensive crouch.” Instead of approaching submissions with an eager mindset that goes: “Is it innovative, brilliantly written, daring, fresh, and beautiful?” now many gatekeepers in the world of publishing first raise a set of anxious questions: “Does this author have the right kind of identity, and does it match the identity of her protagonist?” “What will our Sensitivity Readers say to this?” “Is there a clearly identifiable moral center that we approve of?” “Does this story contain any slurs or words that are degrading, regardless of context?”

All of these questions (and probably several more) are intended to ward off potential Twitter-storms and to preempt outrage from thin-skinned readers; significantly, all of these concerns also reflect an obsession with thematic content at the expense of aesthetic considerations:

Authors must write in own-voice. If they portray characters other than members of their own identity group, they are guilty of cultural appropriation. Sensitivity readers stand by to flag any transgressions that agents, editors, and publishers may have missed (or merely suspected).

Authors must take an approved stance on minorities, diversity, transgenderism, racism, guns, immigration, etc., and Sensitivity Readers will make sure that authors stay within the prescribed safe lanes.

Authors must not make anybody uncomfortable by depictions of discrimination, racism, oppression, harassment, or violence, except in explicit condemnation of them, and treatments of Islam are inherently suspect. The Sensitivity Reader’s job is not done until no “problematic” scenes are left standing.

There must be no ideological ambivalence in the text. The reader should not have to wonder whether the author sanctions the views and actions of her characters. Instead, there must be congruence between the opinions of the writer and the conduct and mindset of her literary creations.

With this checklist in hand, agents, editors, publishers, and Sensitivity Readers are placing the focus on what the story is about not how well it is told. Matters of style, of poetics, narrative structure, and aesthetic form are underrated or completely neglected.

The question is how have we ended up here? What has led to this strange, anti-aesthetic climate? I want to sketch an answer to these questions based on my personal experience of the “business” of academic literary criticism.

The current state of affairs in publishing has been long in the making. In essence, it is the result of a paradigm shift in academic/scholarly approaches to literature that started in the 1980s with the rise of critical theory, spearheaded by thinkers associated with the Frankfurt School and French Poststructuralism. Theorists like Foucault, Bourdieu, Derrida, Deleuze and the legions of their followers across the French and Anglo-American academies, shifted the principal attitude from a model that foregrounded the aesthetic and formal properties of texts—as evidenced in the structuralist and New Critical paradigms—to a critical focus that prioritized content over form, focusing predominantly on the expression and rendering of power relations through the medium of language and discourse.

The Marxist thinking of philosophers associated with the Frankfurt School (e.g. Adorno and Horkheimer)—i.e. that all human relations as well as their cultural expressions are manifestations of differential power relations—filtered down into the way literature was treated as a playing field of unequal and essentially inequitable social relations. Hence the birth of the race-class-gender trinity, the literary critical approach that was based on what the philosopher Paul Ricoeur called the “hermeneutics of suspicion.”

Before the wide adoption of that paradigm, literary critics were generally paying homage to what structuralist critic Jonathan Culler defined as the “hyperprotected cooperative principle.” This denotes a sort of contract between reader and author, a bond of trust where the reader approached a work of literature with the conviction that things are arranged the way they were for a reason. Hence, even seemingly incongruous, illogical, or paradoxical parts of the work are there because they were part of the author’s artistic vision, and the critical reader’s job was to figure out how to make sense of the seeming contradictions, tensions, and mysteries within a larger context. Structuralists believed that there were deep mental, societal, and cultural patterns embedded in texts, narratives, myths, traditions, and beliefs, i.e. figurative traces of mental universals and shared human essences or archetypes. Accordingly, their task consisted in unearthing the—often hidden—patterns that inform the myriad different versions, stories, tales, and narratives that are circulating in cultural and literary traditions throughout the world.

This now quaint view of literary interpretation was ditched for the hermeneutics of suspicion sometimes in the late 1980s and 1990s, as critics began to look for signs of the authors’ benighted, socially regressive—and occasionally also adequately progressive—views on matters of racial supremacy, gender inequity, and class warfare. A whole industry, comprising conferences, journals, associations, books, and more sprung up in response to the desire to treat literary texts as compendia of their authors ideological views and opinions, especially in regards to issues of race, class, and gender. Students and future professional literary critics were taught to analyze literary texts for the ways in which they socially constructed, and thus “made” these categories. From being considered a locus of aesthetic pleasure, the text thus morphed into something more closely resembling a crime scene. One may argue that this transition is a symptom of a larger erosion of trust happening on a society-wide scale.

It hardly surprises, therefore, that legions of literary agents and editors are now ensconced in all echelons of the publishing industry who are willing to ditch works of literature, no matter how brilliantly written, on the basis of perceived sins of omission and commission detected on the thematic level of content, character, subject matter, ideological tendency. No wonder, too, that some readers are loudly condemning certain works of literature for their authors’ views, failing to recognize the discontinuity between an author’s own moral (or immoral) views and the characters and events inside the fictional world. If the moralizing approach to literature were to become utterly dominant, then the canon of available literature would shrink to the works of a few unconditionally virtuous, progressive, magnanimous, unprejudiced, and saintly individuals. But what level of riveting, dark, disturbing, funny, and boundary-pushing literature could we expect from such unblemished hands?

The hermeneutics of suspicion has poisoned the appreciation of art, with artists and readers everywhere now paying the price for the prosecutorial approach to literature that has been inculcated into generations of budding literary critics. For the past 50 years, we have failed to teach students to analyze and appreciate the craft of literature as an artistic endeavor and a human striving for profound aesthetic experiences. Attempts in that direction would have likely met with withering scorn by the scholarly community as a new form of “aestheticism.”

There is obviously nothing wrong with having a distinct critical perspective, and it is also true that language is one of the vehicles for encoding and disseminating pernicious stereotypes. However, literature is not the place where we should insert the lever in order to dislodge injustice and rid the world of prejudice. The emphasis should rather be placed on education, on tolerance training, on integration of neighborhoods, schools, businesses, and so on. Instead of purging library shelves of unwelcome books, let’s drive initiatives that strengthen social cohesion through trust-building, dialogue, and compassion. Much more damage than good is done by putting art in fetters over forbidden words and disfavored ideas. This censorious approach is directly counter-productive, since literature is instrumental in broadening minds, enlarging empathy, fostering dialogue, and practicing virtue, albeit vicariously.

Having said, this, I much prefer Oscar Wilde’s aphorism “The telling of beautiful untrue things is the proper aim of Art” to Shelley’s activist dictum about poets being “the unacknowledged legislators of the world.” They are not, at least not in the sense of “legislator” as a person with actual political and legal power or direct socio-economic impact. Poets wield a very different kind of influence–they gift us with soaring diction, they broaden our horizons with new perspectives, and they provide us with deep understanding of ourselves and others via the most effective teaching tool in existence: storytelling. Let’s never lose sight of that.

This is not a plea for uncritical reading. Far from it. But there’s a difference between being an uncritical reader and being a humble, fair, and undogmatic critic. We need more of the latter.

(To be continued)

– Bernard Schweizer (Director Heresy Press)

==

If you're a writer or a reader frustrated by the current stifling orthodoxy of what can be said and who is allowed to say it, you might like to consider a look at Heresy Press.

Note: I have no experience with them, they just crossed my path. Maybe take a look at their full newsletter. YMMV.

[santmat]

Being a Spiritual Survivor in This Land of Illusion - Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts (Sant Mat, Radhasoami, Gnosticism, Mystics, Spirituality, Meditation)

Says Rumi, "Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth."

"Who speaks, after seeing with their own eyes, and teach the method of salvation during life, They are of the stage and stature of Saints, for they reveal the quintessence of the soul." (Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras)

"Seeing that Kal is deluding all the jivas and entangling them in this world and seeing the jivas suffer in this world of Kal, God Almighty sends the Saints into this world to enlighten and awaken the jivas and bring them Home." (Baba Ram Singh)

"Seek to behold the Living One while you are alive, lest you die and seek to see him and be unable to do so." (Gospel of Thomas, saying 59)

"Whoever joins the Immortal becomes Immortal. Whoever delights in the Living One becomes Living." (Odes of Solomon, ode 3)

Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcast - Being a Spiritual Survivor in This Land of Illusion - Listen @ YouTube:

https://youtu.be/52IRCZlzJOQ

Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcast - Being a Spiritual Survivor in This Land of Illusion - Listen/Download @ the Podcast Website:

https://SpiritualAwakeningRadio.libsyn.com/being-a-spiritual-survivor-in-this-land-of-illusion

@ Direct MP3 Download:

https://traffic.libsyn.com/spiritualawakeningradio/Being_a_Spiritual_Survivor_in_This_Land_of_Illusion.mp3

Listen @ Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/being-a-spiritual-survivor-in-this-land-of-illusion/id1477577384?i=1000620991478

@ Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/embed/show/5kqOaSDrj630h5ou65JSjE

@ Google Podcasts:

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzIwNzIzNi9yc3M/episode/ZWMzYzk0NDQtZTM2Mi00N2ZmLWJlM2EtY2U5ODEwYmNiZTk2?sa=X&ved=0CCEQz4EHahcKEwiQ6M3eyIuAAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ

& @ Wherever You Subscribe and Follow Podcasts (Youtube, Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon, Audible, PodBean, Overcast, Jio Saavan, iHeart Radio, Podcast Addict, Gaana, CastBox, etc...):

https://linktr.ee/SpiritualAwakeningRadio

Spiritual seekers are faced with many possible choices and detours along the way. If the genuine seeker finds spiritual sustenance in the luminous wisdom of the saints and mystics, they will reach the first level of satsang (association with eternal truth) and make serious spiritual progress during this life. With such a developing reverence for the higher wisdom of great souls of the ages, one may eventually encounter a living mystic path in the world of today, discover a living gnosis now, a school of spirituality lead by a living one, a living master (Sant Satguru). Today's satsang podcast features reflections about what is playing out in the vast world of spiritual paths and world religions based on the spiritual classic known as the Anurag Sagar (Ocean of Love), how the various planes of creation, states of consciousness and temperaments are all being represented by avatars and archons affiliated with a multitude of paths and practices in the marketplace of ideas, seeking to draw souls to material, astral, causal, or mental regions. Countless are the idols made of wood and stone. Countless are the ceremonies, holidays, and rituals. Countless, the doctrines, the prophecies, sectarian politics and struggles, tethering souls to realms of mind and matter, but what of you, the soul, and the God that is All-Spirit residing beyond these worlds of form and time?

Today, readings from: the Gospel of Thomas (both Greek and Coptic manuscripts), the Odes of Solomon, Kabir (1008 Vani, the Ethical Teachings of Kabir), Soamiji Maharaj (Sar Bachan Radhasoami Poetry), Maharshi Mehi Paramhans (the Padavali), Baba Somanath (a bhajan, mystic poem/hymn), and a satsang discourse by Baba Ram Singh (excerpted from, Seeing The Jivas And Entangled And Suffering In This World Of Kal, God Almighty Sends The Saints To Awaken The Jivas And Bring Them Home, shared during the afternoon of January 20th, 2023).

Says Kabir: "Love is like a deep ocean. Only that lover of God who will dive into it fearlessly shall be able to get the pearl of ultimate happiness. And one who will not be able to muster up enough courage to dive into it, shall remain sitting at the beach. He will remain without love in this world or the next. How will he get the pearls of ultimate happiness then?"

In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami,

James Bean

Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts

Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts

Sant Mat Radhasoami

A Satsang Without Walls

https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com

#santmatsatsangpodcasts #spiritualawakeningradio #podcasts #spiritualpodcasts #spirituality #meditation #satsang #gnosticism #gnostic #pathofthemasters #saints #sants #satgurus #mystics #mysticism #LordofLove #LordoftheSoul #God #Bhakti #Radhasoami #radhasoamiji #radha_soami #radhaswami #santmat #sant_mat #suratshabdyoga #rumi #kabir #maharshimehi #gospelofthomas #odesofsolomon #babaramsingh #babasomanath #scienceofspirituality #scienceofthesoul #gnosis #santtulsisahib #spiritualpaths #spiritualteacher #livingmaster #religion #salvation #liberation #jivamukti #spiritualawakening #enlightenment #spiritualprogress #spiritualgrowth #anuragsagar #applepodcasts #spotify #podbean #youtube #youtubepodcasts

[sam-glade]

Happy WBW!

I saw that you were looking for more people to send Worldbuilding Wednesday asks to so I thought I'd pop into your ask box. What's the most challenging part of worldbuilding for you? How do you deal with the struggle?

Happy WBW, Valerie💜

Politics.

It's the topic I know comparatively little about irl, and I'm always torn between accurately reflecting real world politics (note: I'm writing a setting inspired by 18th century Europe, so not modern), and making it unnecessarily complicated. I recognised that in a novel, especially one that doesn't focus on it, I don't have the space to delve into all the nuance and address all sides of any issue - and every character is biased in their own way anyway. On the other hand, if I simplify it too much, it turns out naive. Ugh.

I tend to run the ideas past my housemate, who knows more about it than me and is a great sounding board for logic and consistency. And I try to read any sources I can get my hands on - letters, gazettes, periodicals (and I was delighted to discover a huge archive of scans of newspapers from that era and region). What I'm interested in is what sort of commentary was common, what actions by the government would be criticised while others considered acceptable, etc. I find that more interesting than secondary sources, which are a bit dry - though I'll use them to get more context or find years that had similar events to what I'm describing. Anyway, I don't want to write paragraphs of exposition in my novels, but the background gossip at a marketplace or in a pub, and that's something that could be sparked by easily available newspapers.

[atelierpapirouge]

Hey papirouge how are you? I was wondering if youd like ideas for a potential next line?? I think once you made a poll or questionaire about it, but lately ive been trying to find clothes and struggle to find what i want (unless is in shein; they have so much clothes and so much variety but i dont want to support slave labor).

hiiii

I'm doing great!! My new job has been very demanding (I'm learning so many new things!!) so I already miss how easily I could keep up with my business schedule when I was unemployed and didn't have much else to do xD I've been slacking biiiig time lately (I have yet to download the shooting pictures the cameraman sent me 🥴)

I don't already have another line planned. papi rouge is a slow fashion brand and I'm not going to release new collections that often. The collection that's going to be released is very spring/summer oriented and I'll pull out new items only for winter season (for warmer outfits).

Yeah I did a questionnaire a few months ago as a market study about what people thought of modest clothing and "Christian fashion". In one of the questions, I asked people why they were struggling to find clothes they were comfortable with, and the replies were very insightful.

SHEIN is often pointed for having "slave labor" but this criticism is extremely hypocrite because guess what? ALL fast fashion brand use slave labor. The single fact you can have tees for 20$ instead of 100$ (which would be their price in a Western country with fair wage and proper worker protection).

Also what people don't seem to understand is that factories work for different clients. That's why factories with slave labor might make clothes for SHEIN....but also Zara, Gap, Hollister, etc. That's why it's ridiculous to call out 1 brand, when many other ones work with the same factory and workers...🥴 Sometimes even high-end/luxury brands use shady Asian factories. I remember a documentary featuring an ox fur factory that was using the same fur for both fast fashion AND a luxury brand (I think it was Max Mara?) - the only difference is that they used the "best parts" of the fur for the high-end brand, and the less good for fast fashion. So this whole "more expensive item" = "better manufacturing condition" narrative is a myth.

But I have some recommendations for fashion brands that I really like :

& Other Stories (my favorite fashion brand🧡 )

COS

Uniqlo (not very fashionable but they have great staple item/basics, knitwear, and the quality-price ratio is great)

EATME (Japanese brand that you can wear only by proxy shop so if you're interested tell me and I'll show you marketplace to buy from them. I LOVE how this brand can pull out LONG DRESSES/WINTER DRESS so well. Truly one of my biggest inspiration)

Tara Jarmon

Sezane

[literaticat]

Can you talk about digital sales a bit? I'm assuming digital refers to smaller presses that don't have a huge infrastructure for print books, but I've also seen digital sales for Amazon and such. Does this mean those sales are literally only for ebooks or audiobooks or am I understanding that incorrectly? Also if an agency has mostly digital sales would you consider that to be "reputable" or would that tell you that they mostly submit to places that don't require submissions from agents?

This is not really my area of expertise -- it's not so much of a "thing" on the kids side. But lemme take a stab at it.

Digital means e-books.

Some large publishers do digital-only books, or digital-first, where they put out the e-book and then maybe do a paperback if there is demand or something? IDK -- point is, e-book is the primary format.

So if you are perusing the "digital" section of Publishers Marketplace and see deals from, say, Montlake, or 47 North, or Thomas and Mercer -- those are all imprints of Amazon Publishing. (Amazon Publishing is very much a real and large publisher, they do not accept unsolicited/unagented manuscripts, they pay advances etc. This is NOT the same as somebody self-publishing by just throwing their book up on Kindle or whatevs.)

Digital is also a space where tiny publishers may find their home -- particularly, obviously, tiny publishers with a Genre focus. Some of these publishers might be totally great. Some of them are basically more like vanity publishers or "you would have been better off self-publishing" schmublishers. Some of them pay nothing or near-nothing but do some kind of profit-share, some of them might be scams where YOU pay THEM. Most do not require agents.

Now - I'm NOT rendering judgement about ANY of these small publishers in particular, because I simply have no idea, but I think it's safe to say that they VARY in quality and some are probably a lot better than others.

So is it a red flag if an agent is doing a lot of digital deals? Not automatically, IF their focus is primarily is adult genre fiction, it would make total sense that they would do some digital deals, and that's not AUTOMATICALLY a red flag. If they are selling to digital imprints of larger publishers or the occasional VERY reputable small publisher... ok.

I'd say it IS a red flag if an agent *only ever* sells to extremely small publishers who don't require agents and seem sketchy. Digital or otherwise.

[godigitalwithus]

All About Graphic Design and Marketing; An Essential Guide

Graphic Design is the heart of every marketing effort. Without a great graphic design, it is not easy to craft strategies that convert!

This artwork is the best at creating a unique space in competitive marketplaces in a short period of time. It doesn’t matter in which market you’re doing business; every industry is heavily competitive, and only the ones that have good design can win the market.

Therefore, a solid visual design strategy is the only thing that builds an unshakeable brand and influences customers easily. Not many people are aware of the power of graphic design. This is the reason many businesses are not getting the results of giants. With the rise of the e-commerce industry, maintaining an online presence becomes a must, and if you're from this industry, then don't wait to get in touch with the best graphic design services agency to get long-awaited recognition.

Today, graphic design and digital marketing work together, and if you miss any of them, you won't get better results. This is the reason we’re here with this article to let you know how graphic design and marketing can do wonders for your online and offline business.

Reasons Why You Need to Implement Graphic Design in Your Marketing

Learn the best reasons to understand the importance of graphic design for your brand marketing.

Enhances Brand Consistency

When it comes to brand identity, consistency is the key, and graphic design is the face of your brand. It is one of the fundamental ways graphic design can help your business to thrive. With the long-term goals of your brand, graphic designs can work within your company culture and communicate effectively with your targeted audience about the mission and values of your organization. It not just supports your brand but also works quite well for your workforce too.

We’re sure that you heard that positive workplaces greatly impact building a strong brand identity, and in order to do this, all you need is to remain consistent with your brand designs.

It Works from Concept to Execution

Many business owners struggle a lot to deliver good results; maybe their marketing and design teams are not working together.

Today, people value designs and visuals more than any other thing. So, if your marketing team is not marketing products with compelling designs, then you're missing out on a big big big opportunity!

If you want good outcomes, arrange a meeting of both designers and marketers and give them the idea to work with each other in order to craft designs that are meaningful, engaging, readable, and captivate the mind of the targeted audience in an effective manner.

Graphic Designs Can Provide a Quick Turnaround

Over 82% of professional marketers use content marketing strategies as their priority. And you should have someone who can design all those assets. As a creative graphic designer for your marketing team, you can leverage the exact potential of your marketing team. It will become easy for your marketers to grab the attention of the audience with creative flyers, brochures, banners, website designs, logos, business cards, etc.,

Works for A Common Goal

We're sure that your business team is working toward a common goal, right? If not then at least make a plan in which your marketers and graphic designers can work together for a common goal, as they both are the backbone of your business.

Despite taking a linear direction, your members should bounce good ideas off of each other. A good design is one that inspires a brand marketing campaign rather than taking direction from it.

Designs Have No Barriers, So Does Marketing

Remember the last time you visited a foreign country; you didn’t know their language; what helped you there?

Obviously, it is images and illustrations. The internet has brought people from all over the world closer as anyone can land on your website or social media pages, don't matter what their location is.

English is an international language, but if a customer is not well versed in the language, he won’t understand your brand idea. This is where graphic design and visuals come into play. A creative graphic design helps you to communicate essential information and attracts a good audience from diverse linguistic backgrounds.

Conclusion

Graphic designers and the marketing team play a huge role in the success of a business, but the thing is, both these need to work together.

When the marketing and designing team works together, they make untiring efforts to create the visual identity with the help of creative logos, banners, ads, websites, and many other items. Graphic designers and marketers both understand the psychology of their audience, which helps them to come up with creative ideas that attract them.

So, if you're looking to get good gains, contact the best graphic design services than click on this link (https://kudoscube.com/graphic-design-service/) and get immediate assistance from expert graphic designers and marketing professionals.

[b2bindianportal]

B2B Portal in India

B2B E- Commerce Platform

The relevance of B2B e-commerce to a company’s marketing and sales strategy is simple. E-commerce websites increase the company’s visibility in the digital world and make it easier for them to reach out to their target audience. Taking into account that the B2B market is a lot bigger than the B2C market, companies have ample potential to achieve success.

It's no longer difficult nowadays, thanks to the accessibility of niche b2b portals that can help business owners get started with an e-commerce website. These portals provide all the support needed for developing, designing and managing an e-commerce website, at a fraction of what it cost traditional entrepreneurs.

The e-commerce websites that are specifically designed for businesses to buy and sell with other businesses, generically known as B2B portals.

There are many benefits that come with using B2B e-commerce, such as reduced overhead costs and a higher customer lifetime value.

B2B e-commerce often has different considerations from B2C sites in terms of design, features, and functionality.

A Complete Guide to B2B E-Commerce Platforms and Strategies Used Today

Introduction to B2B E-Commerce

E-commerce can be defined as buying or selling of wares or services over the internet. Some researchers believe that ecommerce shall replace some of the traditional business models in the future. This is due to the convenience and wide range of products it offers in comparison to physical stores.

B2B ecommerce is a way for companies to buy and sell products or services between themselves without involving third party sellers. Additionally, many b2b businesses are now turning into b2b marketplaces where they focus on developing their own platform instead of selling products from other sellers.

Targeting the Right Audience

A go vertical strategy is a business strategy that focuses on a specific market for a business to grow. By targeting customers in one particular group, the company can hope to grow in that area and keep expanding.

When a company decides to go vertical, they do not want this segmentation to interfere with the purpose of their business. It is important for them to maintain their original idea and goals while adapting them for a specific niche.

A successful go vertical strategy will have all of the pieces necessary for success: it's clear who you're going after, what you're offering them, why they should buy from you, how your product will solve their problem, etc.

How to Make Selling Easier with Automation Tools and Efforts

Automation tools are great for streamlining processes and eliminating unnecessary human efforts. They free up time and also promote efficiency in work. A web automation tool is a software that is used to automate repetitive tasks that can be executed via the web. There are many types of tasks that this tool can help you with, such as filling out forms, collecting data from websites, generating email leads and more. The automation tools used by marketers often include: - Email Autoresponders- Landing pages- Marketing automation software (for example Marketo, Pardot or Nimble)- Web scraping software that can analyse data from websites and extract it in a simple or complex manner (for example Zapier, IFTTT or Google Sheets)

Getting Better Results with Dynamic Retargeting Strategies

Retargeting is an important step in the customer lifecycle for any e-commerce business. It can be used to promote new products, boost sales, and encourage repeat visits.

Retargeting is a type of marketing that reaches out to shoppers with ads based on their browsing history. Shoppers are shown products they've visited before with the goal of generating a sale from the previous visitor.

Some popular retargeting platforms are AdRoll, Facebook, and Google Ads Retargeting (GAR). GAR provides cost-effective ways for e-commerce businesses to target potential customers and increase conversions.

Is Your B2B Marketing Strategy Up To Date?

Having a B2B marketing strategy often means that you have to have an entire team of people (or at least one) in charge of executing it. It also means thinking about who your target audience is, how to find them, and how to convince them to buy from you.

A successful strategy is built from an understanding of the company’s own capabilities and limitations. You need to know what resources you have, as well as what skills your employees possess before putting together a plan.