#this is mildly to moderately niche

[somespicyshrimp]

i have problems

[kitausuret]

65

65. Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

This question is pending for another ask so I'm gonna answer for this one - I actually have a pending follow-up for Blue Morning that I really want to write, kind of picking up where the above fic left off but... later on? I want to write Flash introducing Felicia to Harry and Liz and it being mildly to moderately uncomfortable because (a) Flash still loves Liz and Harry obviously but also (b) Felicia is awesome and an absolute bombshell and she does seem to really like him!!

I'm just trying to decide if I want to write it from her POV or not, because I think it would be fun to have her confront her own feelings like, "shit, maybe I do actually care about this guy and don't just want to date him to piss off peter parker" or the like. You know how it is. I haven't even started it yet but writing FlashFel has been on my bucket list for pretty much ever.

Also, you know, what is a Spider-Man romance story without some absolute heartbreak in it. Sometimes the polycule falls apart. 🥲

Continuing to write niche content for me, myself, and I.

[infernalhomo]

like i am so conditioned to Shut Up About My Niche Interests when meeting new people, because based on historical experience most normal strangers perceive incoherent monologuing about algae farming or avian ethology or wastewater treatment or deep sea coral reefs as mildly to moderately off-putting and stop talking to you immediately. that even when asked directly what my interests are i'm incapable of answering honestly

so i try to engage people about topics they seem interested in to get a conversation going, except i have no idea how to talk about things i find boring so i just stand there mildly smiling and nodding like a customer service bot until the conversation peters out cause the other person gets weirded out about me having nothing to contribute to the discussion

and then i get resentful that i'm stuck in boring conversations and no one ever wants to talk about interesting stuff and woe is me this party sucks no one likes me. but i never bring up anything i'm interested in as a topic!!!! so how would they know!!!!

[emeraldcreeper]

I love that post that’s like if u think shit sucks and it’s late at night go to bed

[tormvnd]

almost always me getting into something is: getting kind of annoyed with whatever mainstream fandom has latched onto because I was mildly interested to solidly “eh” before seeing people being annoying, finding a niche that is moderately popular enough to meet fun people that everyone is sort of into but only a select group is really into and I get intensely into, and latching onto a character most people are “eh” on and being annoying about them to compensate. It’s my artistic process

[favonlinefinds]

10 Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Website

Ask a marketer or company owner what they would want most in the world, and they would probably tell you “more customers.” What often happens on the wish list of a company after customers? Further traffic to their site. There are several ways you can improve your website traffic, and we’re going to look at 25 of them in today’s post, including some ways to boost site traffic for FREE.

1. Advertise

This one is so clear that we’ll look at it first. Paid search, advertisement on social media and display ads (try our Smart Ads Creator!) are all great ways to draw customers, create your brand and get your site in front of people. Do you just want more traffic, or are you trying to maximize conversions, too? Change your paid strategies to suit your goals? Every one charged,The channel has its pros and cons, but before you reach for your credit card, think carefully about your goals.

As part of your paying search strategy, you would need to aim high commercial purpose keywords if you are expecting that more traffic on your site will also result in more sales. Yes, competition can be fierce (and costly) for these search terms, but the payoffs can be worth it.

2. Get Social

It’s not enough to create quality content and expect that it’s found by others — you have to be constructive. To advertise your content, one of the easiest ways to improve traffic to your website is to use social media platforms. For fast, snappy (and tempting) connections, Twitter is perfect, while Google+ promotion will make the site appear in customized search results and tends to be extremely successful in B2B niches. If you’re a B2C product company, with image-heavy social sites such as Pinterest and Instagram, you could find great traction. More guidance on getting the best of social media ads is available here.

3. Mix It Up

For content marketing success, there is no perfect recipe, considering what others would have you believe. For this cause, change the length and style of the material to make it as attractive to multiple types of readers as possible. For optimal effect, intersperse shorter, news-based blog posts with long-form content as well as video, infographics and data-driven items.

4. Pay Attention to On-Page SEO

Think it’s dead for SEO? Again, remember. It is also important and worthwhile practice to customize the content for search engines. Are you making the most of the Alt Text image? Are you building ties to new content internally? What about definitions of metas? On-page SEO optimization doesn’t have to take forever, and it could help improve the organic traffic.

6. Post Content to LinkedIn

LinkedIn has become much more than just a way for another job to be sought. In its own right, the world’s biggest technical social network is now a valuable publishing forum, which means that you can frequently upload material to LinkedIn. Doing so will increase traffic to your blog, as well as raise your industry profile — particularly if you have a moderate to large following.

7. Don’t Neglect Email Marketing

By content promotion, so many organizations are focused on recruiting new clients that they forget about more conventional approaches. Email marketing can be an effective weapon, and even a mildly effective email blast will lead to a large traffic boost. Please be careful not to flood people in your company with relentless emails for any single update. Also, don’t underestimate the power of word-of-mouth ads, especially from individuals who already love your goods or services. A nice email alert about a new program or product will help you increase your traffic, too.

8. Foster a Sense of Community

People like to speak their minds and weigh in on issues they are strongly about, so it is a perfect way to start a dialogue and boost visits to your website to create a community on your blog. Use third party solutions, such as Facebook comments or Disqus, to introduce a robust commenting mechanism or create a dedicated website where guests can ask questions. However, don’t hesitate to manage the culture to guarantee that basic decorum requirements are met.

9. Examine Your Analytics Data

Google Analytics is an indispensable source of data on just about every possible part of the web, from your most famous sites to visitor profiles. Keep a close eye on your Analytics results, and use this information to advise your promotional and content strategies. Pay attention to what the most famous blogs and sites are. To see who, where and when the website traffic is coming from, inspect user info.

10. Get Active on Social Media

It’s not enough to only share content via social media — you still need to be actively engaged in the group. Got an account on Twitter? Then enter with related hashtags in group conversations. Is your viewer leaving your Facebook posts with comments? Answer questions and connect the readers about them. Nothing puts people off faster than using social media as a broadcast outlet — using social media as planned and engaging with your fans in fact.

WRITTEN BY

favonlinefinds

[bump-of-whump]

Whump scale, anybody?

Okay, I know everybody likes to see their faves whumped, but does anybody have like, a ranking system? Or a 1 to 10 scale?

Maybe it’s just me cause my interests are double niche, but I kinda have a scale and it’s uh, kinda like this...

1 = Character I don’t ever care to see whumped

2 = Character I will read/watch getting whumped if I dig the specific way in which they’re being whumped (such as my favorite torture tropes)

3 = Character I don’t usually care to see whumped, but will enjoy if the whump is well portrayed/written, whether it’s my preferred tropes or not

4 = Will accept whump of this character if there is nothing else to find

5 = Mildly enjoys whump of this character

6 = Moderately enjoys whump of this character

7 = Will search for top-tier content for this character

8 = Will enjoy any of whump of this character regardless of tier

9 = Constantly searches for whump of this character

10 = Devours any and all whump content of this character, even less preferable tropes, will create some kind of content for them if none exists

…or something like that. This is a little rough, but this is more or less the way my scale translates. Just curious, but anybody else have a similar approach?

[dentalrecordsmusic]

Live Review: Twosome Fest at the Astoria Hastings (Vancouver, BC), 2.2.19

My personal punk rock vendetta is against the devaluing of the two-piece band. Face it: unless you’re the White Stripes, or maybe the Dresden Dolls before everyone started feeling real weird about Amanda Palmer, nobody gives a shit about your two-piece. There’s this cultural climate of constant dismissal. You can’t possibly generate a big enough sound, just the two of you, regardless of what instruments you’re playing or how you’re playing them. I hate it.

But on 2/2/2019 (the two-est date before 2020), the Vancouver punk scene said ‘fuck it’ to that attitude and gathered for a full night of embracing the twos.

Twosome Fest has percolated in many minds for a long time. Ryan, the bass half of perennial Vancouver favorite AANTHEMS, talked about discussions ranging back years on setting up a show to build community between Vancouver twosomes and display their talents for the rest of our fair city to hear. Justin, “voices/strings” of Pedler, the band that organized the event,  conversationally informed the crowd that though it hadn’t come to fruition until that night, they’d been talking about it for at least two or three years. Apparently, it fell through at least once just because their drummer got tinnitus.

But boy, am I glad they got it together at last and everyone’s ears stayed healthy. Because this was some show.

The six-band bill got started around 9 at the Astoria Hastings, a keystone venue for Vancouver punks. The Astoria’s arcade game machines, a mysterious and vaguely disturbing wall of projected film strips, moderately uncomfortable bar stools, and pleasantly mid-sized stage for a smallish venue set it up as the perfect place to get up to whatever wild nonsense your musical brain can spit out. The black lights make your gin and tonic glow bright blue. It’s a good time.

Vice Girl kicks things off. All photos by Cae Rosch.

The first act up, classic guitar and drums combo Vice Girl, made suitably wild use of fuzzy riffs and the full, driving pressure of their drums. Though Vice Girl contains no girls, they certainly contain the good kind of musical vices: indulgently weird effects, a dark blend of rock and metal influences, and the exact kind of ‘80s horror references we as a community refuse to not love even in anno domini 2019.

Their brand of genre blending, ranging across volumes and rhythms and tones, still paced forward with a steady groove and guitar that occasionally almost droned in its fuzz. They set up the show well for its seemingly conflicting blend of styles across the night. A good beginning.

Double Standards makes it weirder.

Next up, bass and drums combo Double Standards got way up in there. As they finished setting up, bassist Steve announced in a high school principal voice, “Attention audience: please report to the stage.” This was not the strangest thing Double Standards did.

They kicked it off with some high-pitched synth before immediately going hard into loud and fast. They were clearly having a great time, and so were the rest of us. The two of them displayed a headbangingly intense commitment to their sound, somehow combining peculiarly ethereal synth, fast and furious drums that occasionally verged on something almost but not quite approaching funk, and melodic vocals. They possessed the stage, and it was grand.

There should be a joke about Pedler and pedals here, but instead, I’m just impressed by their enthusiasm.

Show organizers Pedler kept the energy going strong. Another bass and drums duo, their stage energy was maniacal and committed. It never let up. Though they cheerfully announced that they hadn’t played a show in weeks and practiced just twice for this one, they gelled like they had some sort of alien mind meld going on.

The surprisingly versatile bass with its delightfully screeching highs and comforting lows and the relentless energy of the drums persisted through some mysterious tech weirdness with an inexplicable hum, and Pedler’s cheerful stage manner and loud as fuck sound persisted in bringing me great joy and renewed energy dead center in a very long night.

Spike Girls were probably like, 80% of the “loud” in the tagline of the event.

The second “Girls” of the night, Spike Girls contained actual girls, which is always refreshing at a punk rock event (and may I suggested boycotting events that do not, just to discover how much your schedule suddenly clears up).

Let me tell you my immediate impression of Spike Girls: they were loud and heavy as fuck. Their stage presence was calm and casual. When they mildly stated, “We’re all about being gay and smoking weed,” I fell in love with their attitude. When their growling vocals and metal-heavy guitar exploded forth from their crust punk exterior, I fell in love with their sound. They showed us the darkest, heaviest sound of the night and they made it seem effortless.

AANTHEMS gets the floor going.

AANTHEMS, two brothers on bass and drums, drew the biggest crowd to the front of the night. They’re a favorite in Vancouver, even if, according to Ryan, they mostly just wait for other people to ask them to play shows rather than booking themselves. It’s for good reason. Even as their sound gets heavier in their more recent work, they’re catchy as fuck.

Together, they keep the kind of tight and fast rhythm that shows itself not only in the sound, but also in its breathless pauses and suspensions. They’re speedy, their lyrics are clear and memorable, and no matter how apparently heavy or light an individual song is, it always has a good beat (and you can dance to it). A fatigued but enthusiastic crowd staggered into something resembling a mosh pit for the first time that evening, which was particularly impressive given that AANTHEMS were the fifth act of the night.

Molten Lava closes it off with an appropriately heavy, slow, warm flow given their name.

By the time Molten Lava, last out of six, had set up, I had fallen asleep on a bar stool between sets. I am only mildly embarrassed by this. It was late and I’m almost 30 and I’m in grad school; you try staying awake past midnight when you live my nerd-ass lifestyle.

That said, Molten Lava fixed it quickly. Their first chord knocked me on my ass (almost) literally. They were big. Expansive. Loud. Their long instrumental passages flowed over you, almost relaxing in their steady weight. They led the high energy show out into an epic denouement - the perfect end to an exhausting but fulfilling night.

These were six very different bands, united in their two-ness and their commitment to loud. But as the show wound down and everyone packed up, I saw the event perform the exact function it was meant to do. Bands had shared equipment all night; now they helped each other pack up and head out. Hugs were exchanged. Hands were shaken. Low, friendly conversation filled the emptying Astoria not only between bands, but between bands and audience.

Twosome Fest united a niche community with a niche interest. And I don’t think it did so for just the one night. Twosome Fest is going to last.

Cae Rosch hugged like three people at Twosome Fest, which is egregious and you should all be impressed. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.

Follow DRM on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Subscribe to the DRM YouTube channel.

[drink-n-watch]

Genre : Josei, Horror, Mystery, Psychological Thriller

Studio: J.C.Staff

I hear a lot of you grumbling about this show. I’m guessing expectations may have been very high at the beginning of this season because people feel let down? Nevertheless, a lot of you seem to be stubbornly holding on. Maybe you see a glimmer of hope. Maybe you have a masochistic side. I’m not sure whether this week helped or hurt from your perspective but for me – it stayed exactly the same…

except it’s a cute Slice of Life now

OK, that’s not entirely true. I do believe Zack and Ray are starting to play off each other a little better. It’s still not quite the synergy I’m hoping for but it’s not as painful to listen to as it was. Still, having another actor to moderate remains extremely helpful. I quite liked Zack unceremoniously carrying Ray around like a prop.

I’m just going to throw at you the jumble of random things I noticed this week. For one, it seems that everyone knows each other. So far every new floor “boss” (or judge…) has called Zack by name and seems to be very familiar with him and his personality. This week we had crazy Cathy, and they were chatting like old friends. Cathy didn’t seem as close to Ray as sackboy was but she didn’t consider her a complete stranger either.

I like the obvious fake sky in her window – it’s a nice touch

Likewise, Zack hasn’t been particularly surprised by any of the new players they’ve encountered and hasn’t ever questioned how they know him. The starting assumption was that people simply didn’t travel between floors and each was completely isolated. Zack having committed quite a taboo in the first episode by leaving his basement. However, that doesn’t seen to be quite the case after all. At least, it’s definitely not the full story.

Also why aren’t there anymore sentient typewriters? Rachel should have taken it with her. Sure it’s a hassle to carry around but I bet it would have had some nice insights.

Cathy looked like a B model compared to other characters so far. She seemed less detailed and her animation was rougher. Is it just me? On the flip side, light and shadow play remains interesting.

or maybe I’m just a little bored with the harlequin types

Here’s a mildly amusing to neutral fact. It seems that Rachel and I are pretty much the same size. I smell an easy cosplay in my future!

I warned you it was going to be a jumble….So here’s my crazy theory trying to link all this stuff together. I’m not completely sold on it myself but I think it works. Basically this is Rachel’s own personal purgatory or hell. She is the only real character in the show.

There’s a little scene in the OP that shows a person hanging. We only see the legs but from the build and size, it looks a lot like Rachel. Rachel also seems somewhat preoccupied with God and having broken God’s rules. I think Rachel may have killed herself. This entire hellscape is a product of her guilt ridden psyche.

in reality she’s only torturing herself…

This is why she’s harsh on herself. She judges herself quite clearly and worries about sinning but seems indifferent to the wickedness and misdeeds of those around her. She also doesn’t appear particularly affected by their deaths.

She’s the only one that doesn’t have her own floor so far, because the entire building is her domain. The rules don’t seem to apply to her in the same way. And although everyone knows her, she doesn’t recall any of them. My theory is that she is completely unemotional because the other characters represent different aspects of her fracture mind that she’s divorced herself from.

Zack is her savior but as she can’t truly accept that she deserves salvation. As such, her savior is a flawed, stupid, violent murderer who promises to kill her when she outlives her usefulness. Similarly the various villains are extreme representations of her ego and id corrupted by her self loathing and regret.

have dolls ever not been evil?

Danny is her rational self pushed into delusion and obsession. Eddie is her pride and preservation subverted into a yandere extreme. Cathy may be her righteousness gone way out of bounds and doling out punishments with impunity for any and all perceived failings.

This is why Zack can’t leave without her. None of them can. They don’t in fact exist without her or outside of this place. This is also why there are unsettlingly mundane elements all over. The inhabitants are clearly not quite human yet for all their striking appearance, they all remain very possible looking. At most like cosplayers, not like actual monsters.

All the objects and rooms we have seen may act in unusual ways but they remain common things we can all easily recognize and name. There aren’t any odd magical devices or strange contraptions we’ve never seen before. They are all things a young lady like Rachel would easily know about and know how to use. Finally there was that closing quote “A sinner has no right to choice”. Sure there’s a bit of intuitive leaping required but it all fits.

you just have to straighten it out a little

No one is punishing Rachel, no one is keeping her trapped against her will. This is a prison of her own making and she is the one with all the power. She is the only one keeping everyone else here.

Like I said, it’s only a theory and a rather subjective one at that. One of my favorite short stories is Etgar Keret‘s Kneller’s Happy Campers (it was made into a comic book called Pizzeria Kamikaze and a movie called Wristcutters. I own all 3 and love them all, the movie has a great soundtrack). As such, I have an odd fondness for post suicide redemption stories. It’s a peculiar niche…

everyone loves a good niche

I am loving the slideshow…do you guys like it?

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Angels of Death ep 4 – Hairbrained Genre : Josei, Horror, Mystery, Psychological Thriller Studio: J.C.Staff I hear a lot of you grumbling about this show.

[aartimuleict]

Digital Door Lock System Market to be worth US$11,230.0 mn by 2024

An up to date intelligence report compiled at the headquarters of Transparency Market Research (TMR) has projected the demand in the global digital door lock system market to augment at a remarkable CAGR of 34.7% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2024. In terms of value, the digital door locking systems market is estimated to be worth US$11,230.0 mn by 2024, mounting rapidly from its evaluated valuation of US$1,481.8 mn as of 2017. Volume-wise, a demand for 258,101 units of digital door lock systems is foreseen by the end of 2024.

To understand geography trends, Download Sample Report at - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=9770

Local Vendors Eating into the Shares of Global Players

Besides providing figurative analysis into the lucrativeness of different segments of digital door lock system, and revealing demand-potential of important regions and countries, the report has a featured section on vendor landscape. The analyst of this business study has detected a highly competitive scenario, attributing it to the low entry barriers of the market. There is strong presence of domestic and country-wide players as the technology is now quite accessible. These players are expected to continue eating a significant chunk of shares in the digital door locking system market in the near future. That being said, a few well-established and global companies do hold a position of moderate strength over regional and localized players, providing for a diverse portfolio and top-notch technology. The report profiles quite a few prominent companies operating in the global digital door lock system market, including Honeywell International, Inc., Siemens AG, the ASSA Abloy Group, Hitachi Ltd., Cisco Systems, Inc., and Godrej & Boyce.

Going forward, acquisition of promising smaller players is expected to be a key strategy of the market leaders to increase their shares, as it helps them strengthen their supply chain as well as enhances their product portfolio. Pioneering advancements to leverage cloud-based and Bluetooth technologies is also anticipated to be a mode of carving a niche in the market for the financially stronger players.

On the basis of product type, the report segments the market for digital door lock system into keypad lock including magnetic stripe, electric strike, and electromechanical door, and biometrics, which has been further sub-segmented into the recognition of fingerprint, voice, face, signature, iris, and palm. Based on end-users, the digital door locking systems market has been bifurcated into residential, commercial, industrial, and government. Geographically, North America and Europe are currently providing for the most prominent chunk of demand. However, the region of Asia Pacific is primed to generate demand at an above-average CAGR during the forecast period of 2017 to 2024.

Request for covid19 Impact Analysis - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=covid19&rep_id=9770

Mushrooming SMEs Driving Demand

Growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the world, particularly in the BRICS nations, is the primary driver of the global digital door lock system market. These systems enables SMEs to allow grant controlled access to their labor force, which goes a long way towards achieving greater efficiencies. In addition to the mushrooming of SMEs in the commercial sector, the global digital door locking system market is gaining traction from government emphasis on building smart cities. Building and construction companies are now equipping their apartments with modern locking systems to lure newer customers. As the awareness regarding the benefits offered by these system spreads, the market is expected to prosper. On the other hand, high cost of these systems is the most prominent restraint that is holding the market from flourishing.

Key Takeaways:

Global digital door locking system market is estimated to be worth US$11,230.0 mn by the end of 2024

A few players are mildly ahead of the curve in a highly fragmented competitive landscape.

Innovation and strategic acquisition is foreseen as the key modes for greater shares.

The information presented in this review is based on a Transparency Market Research report, titled, “Digital Door Lock System Market (Product Type - Biometrics (Recognition of Fingerprint, Face, Iris, Signature, Voice, and Palm) and Keypad Locks (Magnetic Stripe, Electromechanical, and Electric Strike); End User - Government, Commercial, Industrial, and Residential) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2024.”

More Trending Reports by Transparency Market Research - https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/personal-protective-equipment-market-to-be-worth-us-72-08-bn-by-2025-growth-to-be-propelled-by-rapid-industrialization-states-tmr-854671096.html

[duaneodavila]

Law Firms Finished 2017 Better Than 2016 And Everything’s Still Malaise

The annual report from the Citi Private Bank Law Firm Group is here to break down the financial fortunes of the legal landscape. Did the report reveal any exciting curveballs that will turn the industry on its head and leave firms scrambling to adapt to a new paradigm?

Nope!

No, the 2017 report provides us exactly what we’ve heard every quarter on the quarter for years. Demand is stagnant, billing rates are up, this results in a mildly positive year overall, but ultimately any good news is almost entirely off the backs of the most elite firms and the specialized boutiques while the rest of the Am Law 200 limp along with their growing market weaknesses obscured by the moderately happy top line. The premier industry barometer is looking more like a broken clock that strikes “modest growth” every quarter.

Revenue growth of 4.5 percent was greater than the 3.8 percent growth seen the previous year. Lawyer billing rate increases, improved accrual realization and improved demand (total timekeeper hours), drove revenue growth, which was tempered only by a slowdown in collections.

There’s that improved overall revenue driven by billing rates. Remember when clients threatened that they were finally putting their foot down and refusing to countenance higher rates? That was funny. Top firm billables are as elastic as Laffy Taffy.

A pickup in demand in the fourth quarter also helped to redeem what had been a sluggish year. Demand ended the year up 0.7 percent after being down 0.2 percent through nine months, and compares quite favorably to last year’s 0.1 percent growth.

And there’s the sad demand figure. It’s truly telling when an industry is excited about demand growth under 1 percent. Here’s a quiz: is that passage from the 2017 report or the 2016 report?

It is 2017, but admit it, you thought about it for a second.

Dispersion in performance was also evident between industry segments, based on revenue size. Am Law 1-50 firms outperformed the other segments in revenue, net income and PPEP growth for the second consecutive year. They tied niche/boutique firms for the largest demand growth (1.7 percent), and had the strongest growth in year-end inventory (8 percent), putting themselves in the best position for collections at the start of 2018. And this growth was enjoyed by the largest proportion of firms of any of the segments—with 68 percent reporting growth in demand (up from 53 percent in 2016) and 87 percent in PPEP (up from 83 percent in 2016).

The experience was very different for Am Law 51-100 and Second Hundred firms, which both experienced comparatively weaker billing rate increases along with declines in demand. Indeed, half of the Am Law 51-100 firms reported declining demand, while 60 percent of Am Law Second Hundred firms experienced a decline.

What do you know, the Am Law 51-200 generally took it in the shorts? It’s almost like we’re seeing a trend away from the high overhead model and toward specialized boutiques and increased in-house coverage — both fueled in part by technological advances that allow fewer lawyers to handle previously labor-intensive work — while the most elite firms reap the benefits of clients doubling down on the best in the event they do seek a larger outside counsel experience.

This is why we need the Big 4 to swoop in as the avenging angel of death to feast upon the souls of the Am Law Middle. To see them driven before PwC and to hear the lamentations of their managing partners.

It’s not going to be pretty, but it’s pretty clear that we’ll be writing this exact column every quarter until something drastic happens.

Citi Report: Strong Fourth Quarter Pushes 2017 Financials Past 2016 Results [American Lawyer]

Earlier: Twilight Of The Law Firms: The Big 4 Are Poised To Conquer The Legal Landscape

Joe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

Law Firms Finished 2017 Better Than 2016 And Everything’s Still Malaise republished via Above the Law

[limitless-life-club]

Investing on Autopilot

Investing on Autopilot

You are here because you were looking into online investing and came across this review of the Acorns Investments App. Traditionally, we think of Investing as top-level cash activity.  That's why on the Kiyosaki Quadrant, becoming an Investor is the ultimate goal.  However, a new breed of investment has come to the forefront.  It is called "Spare Change Investing", and is helmed by Acorns. Acorns has hot great success because it puts the concept of "investing" at the reach of anyone with a small bank account and a smart phone.  In this review, we will explain what the platform is, how it works, and explore some pro's and con's.

What is Acorns?

Acorns is essentially a Robo-Adviser.  After you install the app and fund your account, Acorns will handle the investments for you.  In fact, you don't even get to see what Acorns is investing in under your name.  It just shows you your raw data.

How Does It Work?

First, you need to fund your account.  If you opened your account through a friend's invite link, acorns will give both of you a $5.00 cash bonus into your account, BUT you still need to fund it.  Acorns provides an easy method to link your bank account and credit cards to it so that you can make your first deposit, starting from  as little as $5.00 USD. After you fund your account the app will have you create a "financial profile".  It basically has 5 investment modes: Conservative, Moderately Conservative, Moderate, Moderately Aggressive, and Aggressive.  Each category distributes your "contributions" into a series of broad investment categories: Government Bonds, Corporate Bonds, Large Company Stocks, Small Company Stocks, Emerging Market Stocks, Real Estate Stocks, Intl. Large Company Stocks. The level of "Aggressiveness" that you specify within your profile will decide the percentage of your contributions that is allocated towards that category. #gallery-2 { margin: auto; } #gallery-2 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-2 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-2 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

All of this is "Done-For-You", in full "Autopilot".

Cost (Price)

Acorns is not free.  They do have a monthly, recurring charge of $1.00 USD for accounts with a net worth under $5,000.00; and 0.25% for accounts at $5,000.00 USD or above. This means that the cost is actually variable based on the amount you actually send in each month.  If all you invest is 5$ each month, then that $1 is a steep 20%, but if you invest, say, $30, then that 1$ is a rather attractive 3%.  Even at the highest level, above $5000, that 0.25% translates to about $12.5. Acorns also rewards you for referring clients.  Every investor that signs up gets an "Invite" link.  By sharing that link with other people who want to invest in their future, every successful referral will grant both you and your referral with one-time $5.00 USD referral bonus, deposited into your investment account.

Deposits and Withdrawals (Functionality)

The appeal and success of the platform is that you do not need any kind of financial knowledge to start investing.  All you need to do is select an investment profile and send them money.  They do all the work. So how do you send them money? Well, again, the success of the platform lies in the fact that you can configure it so that each time you use a linked card, it will round to the nearest dollar, and transfer that amount into the app's fund.  So if you made three purchases in a day: $4.95, $17.37 and $10.79, the app automatically moves $0.89 cents into the fund.  So if you use your card on a regular basis, your round ups could be $10, $20 even $30 dollars each month, and you probably won't even notice. Although the MAXIMUM round is 0.99 cents per transaction, if you use your card(s) a lot, the app might actually end up investing more than you might be wanting to invest.  If you are a heavy credit user, you might prefer to not use the rounding feature, and instead, use a fixed monthly deposit.  Acorns does not let know you each time it rounds, not it tells you what your current cumulative investment is. In addition, the app will let you straight up deposit money into your fund as a "one-time" investment. Withdrawals are also very easy.  The least amount you must have is $5.00 and it only takes a couple of business days for the withdrawal to post. Caveat: Investing is a long-term strategy that only works if you let your 'profits' compound.  If you cash out every time dividends get paid out, your account will never grow and you'd be missing the point.

 Features

The appeal of the app is actually its lack of features. You link the cards that will fund the account, define your profile, and in theory, you just let go.  Of course, most users will check on their daily balance, and as it grows, they may want to see the potential growth.  But in practice, because its a long-term investment, and its all done in auto-pilot, you don't really have to do much.

Training

Acorns has a really, really nice blog called Grow Magazine.  It has Money Advice, plenty of How-To's for a number of items of interest (Budgeting, Credit Building, Debt Management) and even motivational interviews. That said, Acorns does not give training on investing, and quite frankly, even if they did, the app is designed for hands-off investing.  While their blog has interesting articles, there is no step-by-step training on which portfolios are best to invest in, how to do it, and more importantly, why.

My Thoughts on Acorn

Typically, investment companies only want to work with "serious" investors.  That means they target only people with money.  Tire-kickers, meaning, people who are only mildly interested about investing couldn't really be bothered to learn or take action.  The "Spare Change Investing" niche has changed that.   Now, someone who has NO interest in learning about investing, and who doesn't have large sums of spare cash, can benefit from investing online. Personally, I dislike most "Auto Pilot" and "Done-For-You" offers.  At least, when it comes to the "money-making" niche, 9 out of 10 times, the product is a scam.  Acorns is different in that they are an real investments company.  They have identified a market that targets SPECIFICALLY people with no inclination to learn about investing, and made it not just terribly easy, but terribly affordable. While I am definitely using the app, I do not see it as a 'stream of income', which is how many prospective investors see their investments.  For that reason, I cannot give it full marks. Would you like to give Acorns a try?

It may take a couple of days for the account to get approved.  In any event, once your account is created and linked to your bank out, you should receive the notification that you of the $5.00 reward into your Acorns Investing account.  The next step is to find your mobile phone or tablet (if you are not already on it) and download the app.  You can get the app by looking for it on your app store, or clicking one of the buttons below:

     So, at this point, you should have your account created, linked to your bank, a recurring monthly investment of 5$ is set, and and the app should be downloaded to your mobile device.  Open the app, go to settings and fill out your profile. Please let us know your thoughts on Acorns. I hope this article points you in the right direction, and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out. Read the full article

[aartimuleict]

Digital Door Lock System Market to be worth US$11,230.0 mn by 2024

An up to date intelligence report compiled at the headquarters of Transparency Market Research (TMR) has projected the demand in the global digital door lock system market to augment at a remarkable CAGR of 34.7% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2024. In terms of value, the digital door locking systems market is estimated to be worth US$11,230.0 mn by 2024, mounting rapidly from its evaluated valuation of US$1,481.8 mn as of 2017. Volume-wise, a demand for 258,101 units of digital door lock systems is foreseen by the end of 2024.

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Local Vendors Eating into the Shares of Global Players

Besides providing figurative analysis into the lucrativeness of different segments of digital door lock system, and revealing demand-potential of important regions and countries, the report has a featured section on vendor landscape. The analyst of this business study has detected a highly competitive scenario, attributing it to the low entry barriers of the market. There is strong presence of domestic and country-wide players as the technology is now quite accessible. These players are expected to continue eating a significant chunk of shares in the digital door locking system market in the near future. That being said, a few well-established and global companies do hold a position of moderate strength over regional and localized players, providing for a diverse portfolio and top-notch technology. The report profiles quite a few prominent companies operating in the global digital door lock system market, including Honeywell International, Inc., Siemens AG, the ASSA Abloy Group, Hitachi Ltd., Cisco Systems, Inc., and Godrej & Boyce.

Going forward, acquisition of promising smaller players is expected to be a key strategy of the market leaders to increase their shares, as it helps them strengthen their supply chain as well as enhances their product portfolio. Pioneering advancements to leverage cloud-based and Bluetooth technologies is also anticipated to be a mode of carving a niche in the market for the financially stronger players.

On the basis of product type, the report segments the market for digital door lock system into keypad lock including magnetic stripe, electric strike, and electromechanical door, and biometrics, which has been further sub-segmented into the recognition of fingerprint, voice, face, signature, iris, and palm. Based on end-users, the digital door locking systems market has been bifurcated into residential, commercial, industrial, and government. Geographically, North America and Europe are currently providing for the most prominent chunk of demand. However, the region of Asia Pacific is primed to generate demand at an above-average CAGR during the forecast period of 2017 to 2024.

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Mushrooming SMEs Driving Demand

Growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the world, particularly in the BRICS nations, is the primary driver of the global digital door lock system market. These systems enables SMEs to allow grant controlled access to their labor force, which goes a long way towards achieving greater efficiencies. In addition to the mushrooming of SMEs in the commercial sector, the global digital door locking system market is gaining traction from government emphasis on building smart cities. Building and construction companies are now equipping their apartments with modern locking systems to lure newer customers. As the awareness regarding the benefits offered by these system spreads, the market is expected to prosper. On the other hand, high cost of these systems is the most prominent restraint that is holding the market from flourishing.

Key Takeaways:

Global digital door locking system market is estimated to be worth US$11,230.0 mn by the end of 2024

A few players are mildly ahead of the curve in a highly fragmented competitive landscape.

Innovation and strategic acquisition is foreseen as the key modes for greater shares.

The information presented in this review is based on a Transparency Market Research report, titled, “Digital Door Lock System Market (Product Type - Biometrics (Recognition of Fingerprint, Face, Iris, Signature, Voice, and Palm) and Keypad Locks (Magnetic Stripe, Electromechanical, and Electric Strike); End User - Government, Commercial, Industrial, and Residential) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2024.”

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[danneleighofthedeepbluesea]

Vero: My Thoughts

DISCLAIMER: I do not have this app, and I probably will not get it, due to the fact that it is a subscription service, and I can barely afford YouTube Red. Therefore, my thoughts come from research into what the app is and what it does. I am a communication student and a Grumps fan, and I will predict what will probably happen with so many brands and celebrities seemingly migrating to this new platform.

First and foremost, I assure you that it will attract celebrities and niche brands due to the privacy settings. “Public” and “private” accounts need no longer exist, if Vero works the way it says it does. Users can choose what to share and with whom. This is useful for celebrities because they can choose who is considered a “friend” and who is just a “fan.” They may even be able to sort fans into groups that are more or less sensitive to things like social issues. For example, if a risky joke is made by a comedian, fans who are less sensitive will see that joke, whereas fans of a socially conscious nature will see politically correct content. Vero calls their system more honest, but I actually think that a system like this would allow for some dishonesty. There is a positive to this, though, as Vero would allow users to control who saw their posts, making queer and trans people free to make whatever posts they want, even if they have less tolerant family members following their pages.

Brands can use Vero to find their niches, specifically inviting certain people to follow their pages. Those who are curious (or, perhaps, more loyal) would be willing to move onto this platform and thus receive special content tailored specifically to their interests. Supposedly, brands would have easier interaction with their customers, and be able to see exactly what fans liked, and what they didn’t. If the split is even, brands can create tailored content using the method I described above. Brands also have the option of listing merchandise directly on the app instead of linking out to a different website, creating convenience for its consumers.

However, I am confused and intrigued by their advertised lack of an algorithm. Algorithms track interest of consumers or viewers over time, letting brands or individuals see who is viewing their content, and can provide demographic information so brands and people can “get to know” their audience from afar. Perhaps the potential environment for Vero is expected to be quite small, as it makes for a more intimate experience when users choose to follow a celebrity, ordinary user, or brand, but if the audience grows over time (as Vero seems to expect it to), then I’d be interested to see how effective the interface is. Sorting 4 million people by hand seems tedious to me.

Vero has also stepped away from advertising, choosing to charge their users instead. In the modern world where companies are constantly tracking our interests by mining data from our mobile service providers, the fact that Vero is not willing to do this is a unique step forward. They are choosing not to rely on ad revenue, instead making the platform more like an exclusive club, rather than something everyone can use. This is obviously very attractive to people who are mildly or moderately famous, as they can get away from traditional social media and have a more freeing place to be themselves. Vero also allows the use of music and texts, kind of like Tumblr, instead of being a purely image-based platform like Instagram.

While I think that this lack of advertising (and therefore lack of spying) is a step in the right direction, I am not sure that the user base will grow exponentially. Social media sites that are well established will not be readily abandoned for a “pay as you go” service, and, as has been the biggest complaint so far, the fact that it costs money is a big deterrent.

With that said, do I think that Vero is reaching out to certain entities to draw traffic to their service, perhaps even offering paid sponsorships? My answer is that I think it is incredibly likely. Vero is a business, and it is trying to gain users and traction. Reaching out to well-known properties with established fanbases is one way to do that, and they are likely to see people migrating to the site to follow their favored brands. Do I think it will make other social media sites obsolete? No, I don’t think so. For that to happen, two things need to precede it.

1. Brands, celebrities, and popular users have to agree to cease activity on other social media sites. If the demand is created, fans will have no choice but to flock to Vero if they wish to keep updated on upcoming events or be “in the know” about the goings-on of their favorite people. For YouTubers and other performers, I suspect that those who want to make Vero into their primary and only way of communication would likely pull back “update” content (i.e. information about merch/live shows/book presales/ect.), refusing to post such things on YouTube, or else heavily plugging their use of Vero. (”To buy tickets for tour, visit our Vero page!) However, I see this being a dangerous route to take so early in Vero’s life as an app and brand, because users are still reliant on other social media websites, like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. But if Vero starts to rise in popularity, this is something that could absolutely happen, especially if…

2. Vero becomes free to use for all, forever. This is an important step for any mobile app to take. I don’t know about you, but I am less likely to pay for an app. However, I am very likely to pay for in-app purchases. If Vero is smart, they will negotiate with brands and other sellers on-site to take a percentage of the sales, kind of like Etsy does. This will reduce their cost of business and allow for the app to be made free. Of course, Vero can choose to make additional perks for those who wish to pay extra for a subscription service, like many apps that have a “premium” version.

That concludes my thoughts on Vero for now. As I learn more about the app, I may update this post. For now, let us hope that all of our favorite brands don’t require the use of a paid app. (I couldn’t find how much the subscription even was up front!) These are just predictions, and for some of them, I sincerely hope that I’m not correct in my assumptions.