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casuallyimagining · 4 years

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Mutual Feelings

Jeon Jungkook x Reader

Summary: Jungkook is nervous because you haven’t told him you love him; you have an important question for him. Genre: fluff Notes: Part of the Long Term Couples series. Read more here

If, last year, someone had asked Jungkook if he was cool with being in a relationship with someone who seemed physically resistant to saying the words ‘I love you’ in a meaningful way, he would have said absolutely not. Jungkook’s a patient man, but even he has limits. He likes to feel solid in his relationships, likes to not have any questions left on the table. He thinks he’s an open book, and he likes his partners to be the same way.

When he let those three words slip out not even a month into your relationship, he had mentally kicked himself. He had thought it was too soon, but he was trying to reassure you and they had tumbled out of his fat mouth before he could stop them. As it turned out, he hadn’t stopped saying them since.

You, on the other hand, had somehow gone from the cheerful ‘I love you’s whispered between friends to not saying it at all, not even after he had said it, and not ever since. He had grown so used to them during your six years of friendship that going six months without felt a little empty.

You weren’t ready. It was a big step for you, and he understood. He just wished he knew if there was any way for him to help you want to take that step. That, coupled with the fact that intimacy beyond kissing was off the table meant that Jungkook was more unsure in this relationship than he had ever been before.

This was all so new. He’d had girlfriends in the past, but in the years of knowing you, he’d never heard you talk about anyone significant in your life. He wasn’t sure if you’d never dated anyone, or if you’d never dated anyone that mattered, but at this point, he wasn’t sure that was important. Your friendship meant the world to him–you meant the world to him–and he was just so worried about losing that.

So he was second guessing himself constantly. Was he wrong to tell you he loved you so soon? Did he make a mistake in assuming you would want to see him both at work and at home every day? Had he been too forward when he drunkenly asked you out? Not forward enough the next day when you confronted him about it? Did he make enough time for you? Was he letting you know how he felt often enough, or was he smothering you?

Jungkook had thought that he had known you so well back when you were still just friends, but now… he had trouble reading you. He supposed that it was because you wouldn’t outright tell him how you felt.

Although, it wasn’t like you didn’t love him. Hearing the words would be nice, but the fact that you didn’t say them didn’t mean you didn’t feel them. And Jungkook definitely felt loved.

He felt it when he pushed himself too hard at rehearsals and performances. Not only were you there to take care of him, you scolded him for not taking care of himself. He knew you appreciated his work ethic and dedication, but the fact that you could hold an ice pack to his neck, pet his hair, and yell at him all at the same time honestly made his heart swell.

And he felt it when he screwed up his heel in London. You were there, distracting him from the pain before the concert, and helping pick him up when it was over. He had been devastated to not be able to perform, to be confined to a chair on stage, but having you dote on him afterwards almost made it better. And while you weren’t dating at the time, Jungkook knew that you wouldn’t hesitate to do the same thing again, since every time there was even the threat of an injury, you were at his side.

It was there when he had showed up on your doorstep with a dog and you had just gone with it. He had rightfully expected some pushback, but he hadn’t quite expected just how quickly you had agreed. He prepared a speech! He had rehearsed that speech the whole way from the pet store to your apartment! But he loved that you trusted him enough to take in his dog, he loved that you were comfortable enough around him to be spontaneous like that, and he loved that, even in just the couple weeks that you had Kimchi, you had fallen in love with the puppy. He may have paid the adoption fees, but you both knew that Kimchi had quickly become your dog.

He felt it when you jumped to defend him, like his own personal knight in shining armor, fighting for his honor. It didn’t matter if it was something you saw on Twitter, one of the other guys, or even himself–you got heated about it all the same. You had a secret account on almost every social platform just to yell at people on his behalf. You would playfully scold the guys when their teasing got a little too intense. And you always stopped him when he got too down on himself. In fact, you had been the one to first introduce him to the “you shouldn’t be mean to my best friend” rebuke.

He even felt it in how fiercely competitive you could be. Jungkook loved that you could go from defending him in one breath to threatening to smother him in his sleep in the next. He had gotten you into Overwatch, and he had expanded his gaming repertoire based on your tastes, and honestly he was never happier than he was curled up in bed playing video games with you, and at this point, he was convinced that you felt the same.

It was there in the late night texts you sent him when the two of you spent the night apart, and in the early morning phone calls he received the following morning. It didn’t matter if the two of you were in different timezones, you always texted him goodnight. And while he might not always be awake enough to respond, he had started looking forward to those short messages. And then the next morning, he was always happy to answer the phone when you called, even if you woke him up with the call. There was something about your cheerful ‘good morning!,’ especially if he knew it was three in the afternoon for you.

So while he definitely would prefer to hear you say it, Jungkook supposed that he could wait a little longer, because your actions spoke louder than any words.

He thought about this as he worked, the task of washing that night’s dinner dishes mindless enough that he could safely let his mind wander without risking too much. You, too, were in your own little world, drying the dishes and bopping around to the music blasting out of the little bluetooth speaker you kept in your kitchen.

Dinner had been tense that night. Not because anything was particularly wrong–or, at least, Jungkook didn’t know of anything that was wrong–just because you seemed incredibly nervous, and he wasn’t sure why. But the entire time you helped him cook and while the two of you were sitting in front of the tv watching YouTube videos and eating, he could feel the nervous energy rolling off you. He wanted to ask, but every time it crossed his mind, it didn’t seem like a good time.

The song changed, Jungkook smiled at the opening notes to “My Time” wafting out of the speaker. He loved that you loved his music. You grabbed the wet skillet off the counter as you started to hum along, and he watched you out of the corner of his eye. Once it was dry, you placed the skillet on your stove–you used it for everything, so he supposed you never saw the need to properly put it away.

You continued to hum as he let the water out of the sink, the dishes finally complete. With a sigh, you tossed your towel down on the counter and leaned against the cabinets below, watching him rinse the last of the bubbles down the drain.

“So I’ve been thinking.” Jungkook noted the hint of nerves in your voice. “And, I mean, you’re totally allowed to say no to this, I just figured I’d ask-”

“Babe. Breathe,” he joked, flicking some water off his hands in your direction. You giggled, leaning away slightly from his attack. He placed a hand on your hip, tugging slightly and pulling you closer. His other arm snaked around your waist as soon as you were close enough, holding you loosely against his body.

“I was wondering,” you started again, placing your hands on his chest and playing with the soft fabric of his t-shirt. “If maybe you wanted to move in?”

Jungkook could feel his heart start to pound in his chest. He was sure that you could feel it, being as close as you were. Was this what you were nervous about earlier?

“I mean, you’re over here most of the time, anyway. And Kimchi’s here.” You glanced at the brown and tan dog napping under your breakfast nook. “I know the dorm’s convenient, so if you want to leave some stuff there, that’s fine. But I wanted to offer.”

He couldn’t help the goofy smile spreading across his face. Honestly, Jungkook hadn’t expected your relationship to move this far this quickly. But he wasn’t complaining. At this point, a good majority of his clothes were at your apartment–he still had the bag tucked into your closet, but he had also lost count of the number of hoodies and sweatpants and t-shirts he had left here that he just hadn’t bothered to take back to the dorm. His laptop was here, his PS4 was here, his dog was here, you were here, and really, that’s all he needed.

“Sure.” He nodded, his eyes meeting yours. You looked happy, which only made his smile grow. He could feel his face start to heat up, and for a second, he felt like a teenager again, confronted by his noona crush. It was weird–and a little fitting considering the song that was still playing–for him to realize that he had never had that experience in school. “I would like that a lot.”

“Yeah?” Jungkook nodded, his hand covering yours on his chest. “We’re going to need new furniture.” Your eyes sparkled as you said it, and he couldn’t tell if you were joking.

“Please tell me you didn’t just ask me to move in so you had an excuse to get a new couch.”

You hummed, one of your hands tangling in the long hair at the back of his neck. You smiled at him–it was innocent enough, but he could see mischief in it, too. “Not at all.” Your lips brushed against his softly. “But if we could celebrate the occasion with a new couch, who am I to argue?”

Jungkook laughed and buried his face in the crook of your neck. He felt it then, too, standing there in your kitchen, your arms wrapped tightly around him. You didn’t need to say it, not yet at least. He knew.

You loved him. And the feeling was absolutely mutual.

Read more of the series here

#jungguk x reader #jungkook x reader #jung kook x reader #jungguk #jungkook #jung kook #bts #bts x reader

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askovertherainbowblog · 5 years

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Do you ever feel like your government is actively working to institute a theocracy right under your very nose, and all anyone can seem to do is tweet? (I’m not knocking the art of the well-placed tweet, by the way. Case and point the account pictured above.)

Here’s what’s going on in my part of the world, which is Alberta (Commonly known as the bible belt of Canada):

The recently elected UCP (United Conservative Party #UnderHisEye) has, by its inaction, effectively canceled a work group dedicated to eradicating the insidious and abusive practice of “reparative” therapy for LGBT+ persons. Minister of Health Tyler Shandro has claimed on twitter that he told the group they were welcome to continue meeting. However, according to Emma Graney of the Edmonton Journal, his office released a statement that “The working group has disbanded with the change in govt.” AKA, they’re pretending the group (which included a survivor of conversion therapy) doesn’t merit focus because conversion therapy/torture “doesn’t happen here.”

If you dig a little deeper, you’ll see this simply isn’t true. Of course, nobody is coming right out and calling their services conversion therapy. That would be bad PR. The practice is couched in the language of soul-searching, healing trauma, and respecting individual faith. Alberta survivor Kevin Schultz was undergoing private faith-based counseling to realign his sexual orientation as late as 2007. Journey Canada, formerly Living Waters, which claims to help folks “experience Jesus in their sexuality” (kinky?) still operates across Canada.

If anyone is in doubt, the Human Rights Campaign and the Canadian Psychology Association can shed light on why conversion therapy/counseling of any kind is deeply damaging and can even be life-threatening.

The previous NDP government at least gave the appearance of caring about the LGBT community. The UCP gives the appearance of wanting to give the appearance of caring. In any case, I kind of wonder, why not just oh I don’t know BAN CONVERSION THERAPY AS IF WE WERE A CIVILIZED 21ST CENTURY SOCIETY? The UCP certainly hasn’t shied away from taking bold action on controversial issues (eg. lowering minimum wage for minors like a bunch of literal cartoon Scrooge McDucks).

This conversion therapy fustercluck is one move in an alarmingly swift series of policy change plans the UCP has begun rolling out since April of this year. They have also pledged to remove key protections afforded to GSA’s (Gay-Straight Alliances, common “safe space” organizations for LGBT students found in secondary schools). This means teachers could, at their own discretion, be permitted to notify parents if their child joins a GSA. This would obviously defeat the whole purpose of GSA’s and put children at greater risk of abuse at home.

When urged to consult experts on why this was such a monumental mistake, and questioned about the purpose of his party’s decision, premier Kenney had this to say:

"I think it would be very rare [for parents to be notified]," Kenney said. "Probably only [when] dealing with very young kids or kids with unique emotional and mental health challenges."

AKA, he has no idea what the repercussions could be and is speaking in “likelihoods” like some kind of fiendish gremlin under a bridge, desperate to grant you three wishes whose loopholes will ruin your life. (PS: Back in 2006 Kenney bragged about working to repeal a spousal law that allowed gay men to visit their dying partners in the hospital during the AIDS crisis. So that’s the attitude we’re dealing with here.)

If you’re curious about what other draconian policies the UCP has lurking just around the corner you can read up on their full platform, which includes such gems as scrapping the carbon tax, pausing the K-12 curriculum review, pushing for more private health care options, and something ominously called the “climate war room.”

If you, like me, are having some serious Handmaid’s Tale flashbacks right now, you’re not being overdramatic. The erosion of minority and women’s rights at the hands of backsliding democracies worldwide is not some fad. It’s a real thing that is happening all around us while shiny apps are being pelted at us as a distraction.

So let’s move on to what can actually be done. Before I list some ideas, I want to cover a few key points. We’re often advised, as constituents of a district or riding, to take action by writing to our political representatives! Here’s why I think that’s a waste of time: the current political climate is extremely polarized. It’s a buzzword because it’s true. If your MLA is conservative, and you write them a letter urging them to see things your bleeding-heart liberal way... well, why would they care? You’re not even a part of the voter base they’re targeting, and they know it. They don’t need your support. Alberta voters skew overwhelmingly right-wing already.

My advice is to follow the money.

A PAC (Political Action Committee) is an organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates them to campaigns for or against candidates or legislation. Shaping Alberta’s Future is a PAC whose stated aim is to promote a conservative Alberta with Kenney at the helm. In 2018, they raised a whopping $170,000 in two weeks to fund UCP ads. Their financial disclosure documents are pretty lengthy and can be confusing if you don’t know what you’re looking for. That’s why I’ve broken down the info into a list of the major 5-figure contributors, all (you’ll be bowled over with shock to learn) men, most of them members of the Motor Dealership of Alberta for some reason.

For those of us who live in Alberta/Canada, that means we can do the following:

HERE is a link to a form letter addressing major donors to Shaping Alberta’s Future, politely urging them to bring matters of LGBT youth safety to the government’s attention.

HERE is a link to a list of specific donors, their contact information, and contribution amounts. This info can be filled into the indicated sections on the above letter.

Simply print, sign, and mail the letters to the addresses provided. Postage should be fairly inexpensive but if it’s an issue, take a photo of your signed letter and Canada Post receipt and I’ll etransfer you the value of your postage (within reason, guys!). If you can’t access Google drive, I’ll copy the letter to you by whatever method you prefer.

If you’d like to add information to the above list, or offer a correction, please message us or email [email protected].

Additional things you can do (from anywhere):

Spreading the word always helps. Set up an email list or reddit thread. If you’re Albertan, print ten extra letters and ask a few friends to sign them. Pride month is just around the corner: bring a sheaf of letters with you to a parade and throw them in the air like confetti. (You’ll probably get some free condoms for your trouble; nice!)

Donations are not possible for everyone but if they’re possible for you, Youthsafe.net has a list of organizations that could use your support.

Stay vigilant. Read full articles covering both sides of the issues you’re investigating, and investigate in turn the veracity of your sources. Read posts from people you don’t agree with and, as infuriating as it is to have your person-hood invalidated by pseudo-scientific doctrine, pause to digest other points of view before formulating a vitriolic response. I’m not advising moderation (fuck moderation) but I am advising strategy.

Pursue local involvement. It’s tough to sit in front of a news cast in rural Canada and watch women in Alabama have their reproductive rights stripped from them, knowing a small donation to the ACLU is probably the most you can do short of upending your life to go on a march, and that won’t even move the needle much. But everyone, everywhere where voting happens, can march into a town hall and make their voice heard when it comes to the bullshit in their own community. The people around you want to get involved; they’re just not sure how to do it. Give them a means and they’ll stand beside you!

xoxo

#a handmaid's tale of alberta #ableg #conversion therapy tw #toto #lgbt

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yourbrokenmirror · 5 years

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A voice for someone silenced

This is something I'm posting for someone else because they are being slandered on Tumblr and do not even have a Tumblr account. This is her message:

I don’t know if Tumblr has word limitations so I’ll keep the first part brief just in case you have to cut some of this off.

1. I did not say what he says I did in the voice message.

2. I have not gone to anyone in his fc or the fc he left behind.

3. I did not gather evidence for a month to do anything to him.

4. I’m not even on the social media platform he claims I have made posts on.

5. I did not contact his old RP partners to band together to do anything.

6. He will not answer my texts, so it is not me who won’t speak.

I don’t want to have to do this, but he has forced my hand by continuing his defamation of character from behind my back Discord/game chats to a social media platform I am not even on. I would like the readers to know these things:

I have not been a part of any slander done to his name nor have I gone to anyone in his FC or the FC he left behind. He lumped me in with the one who did on his first post when he listed off transgressions and I had no part in it. You can ask them who told them anything if you would like to.

The story of what I said in a voice message keeps evolving to suit the level of defamation he would like to give me. The only truths he has spoken is yes, he did share it with his wife. She confronted me and we spoke like mature adults and even she agrees that I did not say what he is telling everyone I did. I did say “Just so you know, for the last month I have been faking it.” There was nothing about faking loving him. Nothing about faking it to gather information. Nothing about a social media crusade. I didn’t wish to air out any of this, as evidence by my silence on the matter in our mutual social circles. I faked affection. I can’t fake love. Love is something that happens and can stay with you well into years of abuse and even years after you have parted ways. (My past, not Mr. Lebeau.) That said, I still do, and probably will love him deep down for a very long time.

This also brings me to the subject of cheating that he keeps bringing up. From my experience, I was told he and his wife were in an open/online only relationship. I have not gone to his wife about him cheating, as she and I have been friends for quite some time and she knew that he and I were close. I don’t know why he keeps lumping me in with his past partners, but this was not the case with me.

I do not have a Tumblr account, a Twitter account, a Reddit account, or the other myriad social media platforms people use. I’m the part of my generation that doesn’t really see a point in all that. (I even failed at Myspace.) I do not like drama, I do not like personal issues aired out for the entire world to see. I think what he is doing is less-than-mature and the behavior needs to cease.

As far as evidence goes, I do have a significant amount that would paint a very clear picture about all of this. I did not seek what I have, but it was given to me during the lament of someone who was very damaged and broken by this man. She sought comfort and for someone to understand her pain, without the he-said-she-said. She just showed me. It was during this revelation that I discovered what caused me to send my very angry, very scathing voice message. It was something that crushed me to the core and has had me reeling for over a week. I will not say it here as this is business between Mr. Lebeau and I and I respect him enough not to share it. After this revelation, I reached out to ONE person just to verify only one thing for the issue that had torn me apart. In crying to someone close to me irl, who happens to know him for years, THEY reached out in their own curiosity to find out if the same was true elsewhere in his past. It was confirmed and I was given the information. This happened in less than 72 hours, not a month.

Within 24-48 hours of my leaving him the voice message, I was told about him deleting messages in Discord DMs. I was told he deleted his Tumblr page. I was told he was talking about me to his current FC and the FC he left behind (that I am still in). And I had told none of them. Thus, it seemed to all of us watching this man’s actions that he was trying to hurriedly delete evidence of his transgressions and spread his version of the story to as many people as he could in order to make issues brought forward from those hurt by him to be less credible. Again, I said nothing to his FC or my FC.

I have tried to calm the rage of others. I have held my tongue. I have cried every time I look at the birthday present I ordered for him weeks ago, sitting here in my room, still wanting to send it to him, regardless of it all. I burst into tears randomly. I can’t eat properly. I’m not sleeping well. And just when I think I can breathe again, another post or another person spewing hate for me in Discord gets shown to me and the cycle starts all over again. I just want it to stop.

So if you’re someone he has spread the defamation of my character to, I’m sorry you were pulled into this business that has nothing to do with you. Please understand that there are many perspectives to a situation and hating a person or speaking ill of them when you do not know the entire story is not only wrong, it damages someone who could be innocent.

I presume you will also be reading this, Mr. Lebeau. I will apologize for the profanity in my voice message. It was my moment of weakness and pain and I let it get the best of me. I kindly ask that you cease your false accusations and defamation of my character and ask that you remove me from your posts or take them down entirely.

You can be better than this. I’ve seen in you, a man that wants to be liked/loved/needed/wanted and a man that deserves all of that.

This is not how to be that man.

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womenofcolor15 · 4 years

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Netflix, Hulu & More Support #BlackLivesMatter Amid George Floyd Protests + NFL Interestingly Speaks Out + Joe Biden Calls For Peace

Several big brands are speaking out in solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement as protests for George Floyd continue to sweep the nation. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and several other brands are showing support. More inside…

Tons of big brands are speaking out in solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement amid tense protests that are demanding justice for the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer. It's interesting, as just a few years ago most brands and most of America wanted nothing to do with any #BlackLivesMatter affiliations. Things have changed, likely due to incessant protests, pressure on companies who take black dollars and use black talent to sell their products, and more evidence of injustice that anyone with sense can't ignore.

Netflix, STARZ, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video posted messages on their social media accounts in support of the black community:

To be silent is to be complicit," Netflix tweeted. "Black lives matter. We have a platform, and we have a duty to our Black members, employees, creators and talent to speak up."

"Together we stand with the black community - colleagues, artists, writers, storytellers, producers, our viewers - and all allies in the fight against racism and injustice. #BLACKLIVESMATTER," Amazon Prime Video wrote on Instagram.

HBO and HBO Max changed their Twitter handles to #BlackLivesMatter along with posting messages of solidarity:

TBS and TNT changed their Twitter handles also with the same message.

YouTube has pledged $1 million to support social injustice efforts:

TikTok issued the following statement:

pic.twitter.com/14AeOCP5va

— TikTok (@tiktok_us) May 30, 2020

“At TikTok we deeply value the diverse voices among our users, creators, artists, partners, and employees. We stand with the Black community and are proud to provide a platform where #blacklivesmatter and #georgefloyd generate powerful and important views with over 1 billion views. We are committed to fostering a space where everyone is seen and heard.”

Of all companies to speak out during this time, the NFL had the nerve to address George Floyd's killing - the reason Colin Kaepernick initially took a knee.

Sports analyst Jemele Hill perfectly sums up our thoughts about the NFL addressing George Floyd's killing:

You gotta be fucking kidding me https://t.co/K8vST8IaCo

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) May 30, 2020

The NFL tweeting about what happened with George Floyd is the equivalent of when the CIA recognizes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday. Loved him so much y’all helped to kill him. Get outta here with the bullshit.

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) May 30, 2020

"The NFL tweeting about what happened with George Floyd is the equivalent of when the CIA recognizes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday," she tweeted. "Loved him so much y’all helped to kill him. Get outta here with the bullsh*t."

If we are complacent, if we are silent, we are complicit in perpetuating these cycles of violence.

None of us can turn away. We all have an obligation to speak out.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 30, 2020

Skincare company OLEHENRIKSEN released a statement:

View this post on Instagram

A message from our founder: We all deserve love, respect and safety—no matter our race, gender, sexual orientation or religion. We are donating to the Black Lives Matter movement. Link in bio for ways to show support, including how to spread the word or places to donate if you can. #blacklivesmatter

A post shared by OLEHENRIKSEN (@olehenriksen) on May 30, 2020 at 2:07pm PDT

Former Vice President and presidential hopeful Joe Biden is calling for peace amid the raging protests.

We are a nation in pain, but we must not allow this pain to destroy us. We are a nation enraged, but we cannot allow our rage to consume us. Please stay safe. Please take care of each other. https://t.co/Y224rANwUF

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 31, 2020

"These last few days have laid bare that we are a nation furious at injustice. Every person of conscience can understand the rawness of the trauma people of color experience in this country, from the daily indignities to the extreme violence, like the horrific killing of George Floyd," he said addressing the protests that have swept the nation.

"Protesting such brutality is right and necessary. It’s an utterly American response. But burning down communities and needless destruction is not. Violence that endangers lives is not. Violence that guts and shutters businesses that serve the community is not."

"And I also know that the only way to bear it is to turn all that anguish to purpose. So tonight, I ask all of America to join me — not in denying our pain or covering it over — but using it to compel our nation across this turbulent threshold into the next phase of progress, inclusion, and opportunity for our great democracy."

"We are a nation in pain, but we must not allow this pain to destroy us. We are a nation enraged, but we cannot allow our rage to consume us. We are a nation exhausted, but we will not allow our exhaustion to defeat us," he continued.

You can read his full statement here.

Biden also spoke with CNN's Don Lemon about the protests:

You can't defeat bigotry; it only hides. And when leaders give it oxygen — as Donald Trump has done — it comes roaring back.

We all have a moral obligation to stand up, speak out, and hold people accountable. pic.twitter.com/vES2aIXVGl

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 30, 2020

Forever President Barack Obama and forever First Lady Michelle Obama both released statements on George Floyd's killing:

My statement on the death of George Floyd: pic.twitter.com/Hg1k9JHT6R

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 29, 2020

Like so many of you, I’m pained by these recent tragedies. And I’m exhausted by a heartbreak that never seems to stop. Right now it’s George, Breonna, and Ahmaud. Before that it was Eric, Sandra, and Michael. It just goes on, and on, and on. pic.twitter.com/lFWEtTzVT8

— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) May 29, 2020

And more celebs - Jill Scott, Waka Flocka, Fabolous, Ice-T & Jimmy Kimmel - are speaking out about the protests:

View this post on Instagram

These bitches are egging on destruction, causing destruction and breaking things disguised as protesters!!!!!! How COINTELPRO of them. Do you see?

A post shared by Jill Scott (@missjillscott) on May 30, 2020 at 9:06pm PDT

View this post on Instagram

This Atlanta!!!! That Brown & Black Pride hit different!!

A post shared by WAKA FLOCKA (@wakaflocka) on May 29, 2020 at 6:47pm PDT

View this post on Instagram

Racism is everyone’s enemy!! Racists are the real Opps!!

A post shared by Fabolous (@myfabolouslife) on May 30, 2020 at 9:18pm PDT

If YOU don’t understand why ALL these people are Revolting. You’re possibly part of the problem..

— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) May 30, 2020

Now they wanna take a knee.... I’m done. pic.twitter.com/cSRwK6kfWR

— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) May 31, 2020

Alotta your so called favorite celebrities wont say a Fn word right now... They never have.. And they never will.. Pay Attention.

— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) May 31, 2020

Facts.

My thoughts on George Floyd, the riots in Minneapolis and @RealDonaldTrump's violent stupidity... #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd #ICantBreathe pic.twitter.com/kgFTaMxWoz

— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) May 30, 2020

Photo: Facebook

[Read More ...] source http://theybf.com/2020/05/31/netflix-hulu-more-support-black-lives-after-george-floyd%E2%80%99s-death-nfl-has-the-nerve-to-spe

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katlynnmillerschool · 7 years

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For my final assignment I have chosen Lush cosmetics. Lush cosmetics has amazing products ranging from bath bombs to tooth paste. They are a company that offers all natural handmade products, vegan friendly and 100% against animal testing. They donate money to local charities in the community and help people from all walks of life all over the world.

Introduction:

In the early 80’s Mark Constantine and Elizabeth Weir started a company by the name of Constantine & Weir. The company came up with many bath and beauty recipes and were sold to a supplier called “the body shop”. Eventually the body shop padi 11million pounds for the rights of Constantine & Wier’s recipes. With the body shop buying all the formulas Mark and Elizabeth could not open another shop for five years, so they started a mail order company names “Cosmetics to go. The company ended up being sold.

Mark and Elizabeth ended up partnering with Mo Constantine, Helen Ambrosen, Rowena Bird and Paul Greaves and started hand making cosmetic products up stairs and sell them downstairs in the shop. They had been buying fragrances from another company, but found out the perfumes were not always pure so Mark decided he would create the perfumes himself. The launched a competition to give the company a new name and one customer suggested LUSH, which is defined as being fresh, green, and verdant. The name stuck. In December 2010 Mark and Mo Constantine were awarded the OBE in the New Year’s Honours list, for services to the beauty industry.

Why is social media critical to what they do?

Lush Cosmetics is very active on all of their social media platforms. Social media is critical to what they do because that is where they do most of their marketing. They use all of their social media platforms to reach out to their fans and interact with everyone. Their Twitter alone has 325 thousand followers. They also take advantage of Youtube and Instagram because most of their products are known for how pretty they are with all their rainbow colors, so they use these platforms to show how pleasing to the eyes their products are.

What industry are they in?

Lush is part of the beauty industry. They make cosmetic products and self care products. The beauty and health industry is huge and Lush keeps on top of it by using social media accounts and interacting with their fans as much as possible.

What are the norms/standards for social media use in that industry?

The norms and standards for social media in the beauty industry is to promote your products, but not interact very much with fans. Such as Neutrogena which is a company I do not personally use very often but know people who do use their products but they have 47.5 thousand followers on Twitter and retweet some tweets but it does not seem like they interact with their fans very much where as Lush will retweet or even like or reply to comments you have made to them. I think that is a big thing Lush has over other companies in the health and beauty industry is they communicate and interact with people which makes the company feel like a small home town company even if it's a huge world wide company, they still take time to interact with their customers. They also follow a good amount of people back on social media which I always think is a nice touch.

Overall social media use:

From what I can tell Lush has been using social media for a while they have been using Twitter since July 2008, Lush first YouTube video was posted 10 years ago ( 2007) I could not find out how long they had been using LinkedIn or Facebook. I also could not figure out how long they had been using Instagram because I scrolled all the way back to October, 1, 2014 but they there was an error loading and I got frustrated and didn't re try. They show a lot of pictures of their products because they are ascetically pleasing.

What platforms do they use?

Lush cosmetics have every social media account you can think of. They have Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, Tumblr, Pinterest, and they even have a snapchat! So it is very safe to say if you want to connect with Lush on social media you can.

What platform do they use most?

I looks to me that the Lush Cosmetics company are very active on every social media platform. They interact with their fans on everything and post multiple posts, multiple times a day. Their instagram has 3.9 million followers, 1784 posts, and they follow 1,800 people. Their Twitter has 325 thousand followers, 250 thousand tweets, and they are following 5,678 people back.

What are their strategies and/or objectives?

Lush Cosmetics strategies and objectives are clear first and foremost of course they want you to be seeing, thinking about, and talking about their products which is why they mostly post product photos. Secondly and just as important they want to get the message out that people should fight against animal cruelty. I feel like they have a very good balance of both objectives on Twitter. Scrolling through their Twitter history it looks as if they have a photo of a product, talking about a new seasonal product, or posts about #Savebcbears and bill S-214 which will make animal testing banned in Canada, they also have human rights posts such as the Lush staff joining #WalkForReconciliation and a post thinking of Las Vegas victims. So i think their social media objectives are well rounded. They also have a product called charity pot where all the profit from the sales go to a charity or gets put back into the community and the money staying in your town.

Social commerce strategy:

Wail I was researching I came across this article http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/6-key-components-effective-social-commerce-strategy I feel Lush uses a lot of these tactics in social media.

How do they encourage and facilitate influence and impressions?

Lush encourages and facilitates their ideas of helping others and being kind to animals by the use of social media and they way they create their products they are very open about everything they do and you can even go on tours of their factories. Every product is handmade by someone so no two products are exactly alike.

The create engagement through their content and interact with their fans. But most of all Lush relies on word of mouth, i would have never stopped in to the Lush store at the mall if I didn't have a friend tell me how much she loved their bath bombs. I tell people all the time how much I love Lush products and bubble bombs and have turned multiple people on to Lush. In fact even in this class Frances is now wanting to try Lush which I’m super excited for her to try. Word of mouth is so important to a company! They also have user generated videos with reviews of how much they love their products and their favorite ones. There landing page has everything laid out on it and is very easy to use and navigate.

Are there critical relationships with any groups or individuals?

Lush cosmetics has partnered with SO many charities, foundations, and people it's unreal. I will link a page so you can see all of them but some of my personal favorites they have partnered up with are: Redefining Refuge which is a non profit service that helps sexually exploited and trafficked girls,FaunAccion which educates and empowers animal rights activists, and Missouri Prairie Foundation which conserves prairies and promote native plants in communities for future generations. Here is a link to the rest! https://www.lushusa.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Lush-Site/en_US/CharityPot-Partners#sz=15&start=0&pid=partners&sort=new&type=all

Data:

Lush cosmetics has good reviews as a company in general and on individual products. I use a site called influenster quite often. It is a website where you try different products and leave reviews. Lush received 4.73 out of 5 stars based on 12,256 Reviews. https://www.influenster.com/reviews/lush-cosmetics

There are a lot of youtube videos giving reviews. Here is a video of one of my favorite Youtubers talking about her top Lush products: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gN6GAlJdzc

Here is a link to a buzzfeed article top lush products: https://www.buzzfeed.com/sallykaplan/im-a-lush-for-lush?utm_term=.riz33nVnb#.towvv8n89

Here is a link for Lush’s top products which all have reviews and stars. http://www.lushusa.com/best-sellers/

Here is a link for reviews on total beauty: http://www.totalbeauty.com/reviews/brands/lush

Assessment and recommendation:

All and all I think Lush cosmetics has it all they are a well rounded company on and off of social media. They give back to the community and interact with their fans and customers. They are a very “glass door” company you can visit their factory and see how everything is handmade. They also tell you where your money is going when you buy products such as the charity pot products. They have a huge following on all social media platforms and are on every social media platform available. I think it is very interesting they are on snap chat, which most companies are not so that sets them apart.

I don’t really have much advice for them they are doing amazing as a company on and off of social media they have partnered with a lot of groups and foundations and I feel like anyone who knows much about Lush knows they are trying to make the world better and spread their message of kindness for everything.

References:

Lush wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lush_(company)

Lush Twitter: https://twitter.com/lushcosmetics

Lush Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lushcosmetics/

Lush Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/5229458

Lush Tumblr: http://lushcosmetics.tumblr.com/

Lush Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Lushcosmetics/videos

Influencer Lush review: https://www.influenster.com/reviews/lush-cosmetics

One of my favorite Youtubers talking about her top Lush products: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gN6GAlJdzc

Buzzfeed article top lush products: https://www.buzzfeed.com/sallykaplan/im-a-lush-for-lush?utm_term=.riz33nVnb#.towvv8n89

Lush’s top products reviews and stars. http://www.lushusa.com/best-sellers/

Total beauty review: http://www.totalbeauty.com/reviews/brands/lush

Lush mission statements: http://www.lushusa.com/Stories-Article?cid=article_we-believe-statement

Information on Lush charity pot: http://www.lushusa.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Lush-Site/en_US/Charities-Show

Lush landing page: http://www.lushusa.com/

Lush animal testing policy: https://uk.lush.com/article/animal-testing-our-policy

#necsocialfinal #@necsocial #lush cosmetics #lush #social media #cruletyfree #animalrights

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ultratesterthings · 4 years

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The Things Brands Do on Social Media That People Hate

Outrage is the fastest-spreading emotion on social media, according to multiple studies. People love to hate, and they’ll happily hate your brand if you give them the right reason.

Whether you see a raging firestorm of hostile tweets as free marketing or a living nightmare, this post is for you. Turns out there are endless ways for a brand to stumble across the line into irritating, phony or outright offensive behaviour.

Here are our some of our favourite ways to annoy and alienate your followers…

Bonus: Get the step-by-step social media strategy guide with pro tips on how to grow your social media presence.

14 things brands do on social media that people hate

1. Oblivious self-promotion

Yes, brands are on social media to sell. Your audience isn’t going to hold it against you, for the most part. Unless you just won’t stop selling.

Not everything is about you, Cinnabon.

When you’re building your social media calendar try to follow the 80/20 rule: eighty percent useful (i.e., informative, entertaining, awe-inspiring, etc.) versus twenty percent promotional.

Or, another way of thinking about it: your audience is composed of human beings with thoughts and feelings.

2. Too much AI

Speaking of human beings, consider talking like one, too.

According to Pew Research, 66 percent of Americans have heard of social media bots, and 80 percent of those people think bots are bad.

If you’re considering automating your social media—whether it’s a customer service chatbot or a pay-for-Instagram-followers service—take a moment to consider how badly it could go.

Unless a booking assistant bot is actually faster and more convenient than the alternative methods, don’t risk annoying your potential customers.

Even more problematic: using a bot to automate your social media interactions (eg., retweeting certain hashtags or following/retweeting certain users).

Remember when the Patriots’ Twitter account managed to automatically post this image?

Maintain a human touch on social.

3. Non-apologies

Whether you’ve inconvenienced one person or offended millions, take the situation as seriously as they do.

This apology from the Patriots apparently looked fine to the people who approved it, but it missed the mark for two reasons:

A) it dodges blame, B) the language is inadequate given the offense.

Some key ingredients of a good apology:

Accept responsibility

Acknowledge the other person’s feelings

Don’t make excuses

Commit to being better

Try not to speak like a character from Kafka’s The Trial

4. Not listening

Social media is not a billboard campaign. When you’re crafting every post with the goal of actively encouraging engagement, at some point you’re going to receive less-than-positive feedback.

Don’t ignore complaints. Not responding to negative feedback is its own crystal-clear response. Not only can your audience see you cold-shouldering other customers, you’re missing out on an opportunity to transform the situation into a positive experience.

What’s the best way to get fewer complaints? Learn from the ones you do get.

People aren’t shy about telling you what needs to change. To that end, a social listening strategy can help you gauge customer mood across social media platforms, and act on it.

5. Thirsty customer service

Yes, brands need to listen. On the other hand, they need to avoid being creepy and invasive. In other words: if you are a chicken restaurant don’t flirt with people.

Sixty-four percent of customers only want a brand to chime in when they’re being directly addressed. It’s a double standard, but if people are out there talking you up it can be weird if you start chatting back.

6. Automatic cross-posting

Nothing says “I don’t care about this platform or the people who use it” more clearly than a post that was clearly meant for another platform.

This tweet is a perfect example of ineffective cross-posting. Twitter users are never going to click through to see an image on Instagram. (I mean, the load times!) And why would anyone say “link in bio” on Twitter, when you can easily post a link?

At best this tweet looks lazy, at worst incompetent.

Craft a new post for each platform. This isn’t a huge task, it just means small tweaks to caption length, image format, and vocabulary. It’s arguably easier than getting your apostrophes right.

7. Posting clickbait

“The best way to convert a potential customer is by misleading them right off the bat,” said no one, ever.

Yes we love clicks. But there’s a difference between compulsive, mindless traffic and a person who has been encouraged to take the first step in initiating a valuable relationship for both parties.

If you’re exploiting your audience’s lizard-brain to draw them in, they’ll figure it out sooner or later. Probably in micro-seconds. Probably even as they click the link they’re already annoyed at themselves (for falling for it) and you (for making them fall for it.)

This is just not how trust is built.

8. Posting engagement bait

One fraction of a step above clickbait (and still on Facebook’s radar as a spammy practice that the algorithm will seek out and punish) is engagement bait.

Bonus: Get the step-by-step social media strategy guide with pro tips on how to grow your social media presence.

Get the free guide right now! Source: Facebook

Begging for comments, shares, likes, reactions, or votes on any platform is honestly a little embarrassing. Your brand is above this kind of behavior.

There are better ways to encourage engagement, like running an above-board Instagram contest.

9. Acting cool

Ok, this one’s a little tougher.

Yes, some brands have managed to win hearts and minds with snark and weirdness. And some brands have managed to fail utterly:

As @BrandsSayingBAE’s bio states: “It’s cool when a corporation tweets like a teenager. It makes me want to buy the corporation’s products.”

Corporations may be people in the eyes of the law, but having a personality is not a commitment to take on lightly if you’re a brand.

It’s the internet. Someone will always find a way to mock you.

On the other hand, people will mock you if you’re boring, too.

10. Being boring

Dr Pepper Snapple act very serious online, considering they’re a group of people who call themselves “Dr Pepper Snapple.”

In 2017 they were so committed to being boring that they got a Twitter account called @OfficialRCCola shut down. The account had posted several viral tweets and attracted 10,000 followers in two months with its irreverent (and markedly anti-Trump) jokes.

Apparently, Dr Pepper Snapple would prefer to receive zero attention on social media. (Their Twitter account is almost entirely inactive except for the odd verbatim press release.)

Here’s a question for brand experts: at what point does their lack of annoyingness become, in itself, annoying?

11. Using emojis when you don’t know how to use emojis

Remember #ChevyGoesEmoji? Probably not. No one does, except for the poor auto journalists who received the company’s all-emoji press release in advance of the Chevy Cruze.

Turns out that for brands, emojis are a privilege, not a right. Learn how to use emoji in your social media strategy effectively, or spare yourself the embarrassment and don’t use them at all.

Not only was Chevy’s emoji use incomprehensible, the branded hashtag was a non-starter, too. Which brings us to our next point.

12. Using hashtags when you don’t know how to use hashtags

It is actually quite difficult to use hashtags without being just a little, um, basic. Using them in an interesting, smart, effective way? Extremely difficult.

For every successful branded hashtag campaign (brb googling “successful branded hashtag campaign”), there are a dozen self-owning fails: #McDstories #susanalbumparty #loveDP

Over the past few years, most brands have learned, often by watching other brands crash and burn, to back off on the kind of hashtags that will open up a floodgate of mockery and shame.

On most social media platforms—and Twitter especially, where humour and vitriol go hand in hand—hashtags require an expert hand.

For instance, using hashtags on Instagram in 2018 is very different than using them on LinkedIn, where they were only introduced this year.

Please. Don’t wing it.

13. Being fake

Remember 2013, when the concept of influencer marketing was understood as: a secret cabal of genius psychopath millennials who, for the right price, could make your single chart or your sparkling beverage popular?

These days audiences are more aware of (and resigned to) the fact that every shout-out is bought and paid for.

That said, if you’re going to “partner” with a celebrity for an endorsement, help your audience maintain their fantasy of independent thought.

Authenticity may be the most overused buzzword of the decade, but the concept still requires respect. Once you’ve lost it, it’s not easy to get back.

14. Being tone-deaf

The last point on our list is maybe the most difficult to get right.

According to a Edelman, in 2018 two out of three people identified as belief-driven buyers, meaning they will buy or boycott a brand based on its stance on controversial issues. (That’s 64 percent of people surveyed, which is a 13-point lift from 2017.)

Audiences are holding brands to a higher moral standard than ever before, which means brands aren’t choosing whether to engage, but how.

Risk-averse brands are naturally going to want to avoid the rampant polarization that clouds today’s political conversation. No shame there: check out these twelve ways to promote your “boring” brand.

It’s arguably a better choice than option two: going the faux-woke route and risking a Kendall “Pepsi” Jenner situation: a 21,000 percent increase in mentions over two days, most of them negative.

Meanwhile, there’s a third option: participating in conversations in a meaningful, unambiguous way. This is still going to earn criticism, but since 53 percent of people believe brands can do more to solve social ills than government can, it can also earn admiration.

Like we said at the top, outrage is the most viral emotion on social media. Nike’s genius here is repurposing the pre-existing outrage over Colin Kaepernick’s blacklisting by the NFL (which, in turn, was because of his outrage over police brutality and white supremacy).

Of course, the key is to ride the outrage, not generate it.

Use Hootsuite to avoid making your social media followers hate you. Compose, publish, and schedule posts in advance, engage your audience in real time, and keep tabs on your competition. Try it free today.

Get Started

The post The Things Brands Do on Social Media That People Hate appeared first on Hootsuite Social Media Management.

This content was originally published here.

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shellcard43-blog · 5 years

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We Told You to Watch These 10 Philly Startups—Here’s Where They Are Now

Startups

As 2018 winds down, here’s an end-of-year update on Philly Mag’s 10 Startups to Watch for 2018. The young companies share their biggest accomplishments and challenges, plus their hopes for 2019.

Every Thursday, get the latest dispatches from Philly’s business and innovation community delivered right to your inbox.

As we close out the year, the ten companies in Philadelphia magazine’s 2018 Startups to Watch cohort look back at the biggest accomplishments they achieved and challenges they overcame. In just a few short months, each company sharpened its mission and made key adjustments. In their own words, here’s how:

Amino Payments

Gritty joined Amino’s holiday party at Urban Axes.

New Partners: In a Wall Street Journal article, Nestlé and Bayer announced their use of Amino Payments’ Amino Lens product, which allows them to track digital ad spend in real-time. Since then, we’ve brought on multiple advertisers and adtech partners and has tracked billions of ads and tens of millions of dollars of ad spend for some of the world’s top advertisers.

Big Moment: In October, our CEO Will Luttrell presented alongside Nestlé’s Global Programmatic Lead Rachel Mervis at a leading industry conference — Programmatic I/O — on one of the major findings from Nestlé’s campaign that allowed them to save over five percent of their campaign budget.

Top 2018 Accomplishments: Raised a $4.5M seed round led by First Round Capital in February; Signed dozens of new partners including some of the world’s leading advertisers, agencies, adtech, and publishing firms; Presented at industry leading conferences like Cannes, IAB Annual Leadership Meeting, Programmatic I/O and CES.

For 2019: We’ll] continue what we’re doing — working hard to make digital advertising efficient and transparent.

Keep up with Amino Payments at aminopay.com.

LeagueSide

Courtesy photo.

Clients and Team: LeagueSide will have its largest quarter in company history adding new clients including Carrabba’s, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Houwzer. We’ve hired two new team members including Dimitry Cohen, Director of Sales Operations, and Shannon Glavin, Software Engineer.

New Product: We’ve rolled out our new Fieldhouse sponsorship platform to leagues and are working on a new analytics dashboard for sponsors.

New Connections: Finally, we had the chance to travel to numerous conferences including Hashtag Sports to meet and collaborate with experts in the sports and marketing industries.

Biggest 2018 Accomplishments: This year, we’ve run 50+ campaigns across 25 states, launched our end to end tech platform, and built strategic relationships with agencies and other players in the youth sports space

Top 2018 Challenges: We spent the early to middle part of the year trying to hit home runs with enterprise-level companies rather than focusing on singles and doubles (yay sports puns). We learned that there are no shortcuts in sales and building a successful company means repeatable and scalable client growth and retention, not an increased focus on big contracts.

Podcast spotlight: We were featured on GrowthCurve podcast on our success as a company and big plans for the future.

For 2019: LeagueSide will be focused on scaling our team, rolling out a couple of national clients (to be announced), our Series A, and a brand refresh.

Keep up with LeagueSide at leagueside.com.

NeuroFlow

Smart Health Innovation Lab graduation. Courtesy photo.

Skills: This fall marked our company’s graduation from the Smart Health Innovation Lab at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital. The program, along with valuable customer feedback, helped to inform the messaging and positioning of our two core products — EngageBH for mental health specialists and IntegrateHealth for medical practices.

Team: More recently, we added key hires in marketing, sales, and product development, bringing our count of full-time employees to 16. As our technology has evolved, so have our client needs.

Top 2018 Accomplishments: Talent is so critical to the maturation process, and we made some critical hires that took NeuroFlow to the next level. Secondly, we moved from the proof-of-concept stage to having two commercially available products. This was important for us as we checked off a third box: raising additional capital. In the fall, we secured $2M to continue to scale the company.

Mission Realized: We’re really proud to have the NeuroFlow mission come full circle. Although the technology serves all populations today, my initial motivation for the company was to help veterans with PTSD. In October, we launched the platform at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia, where we will be studying patient compliance and engagement.

Big Spotlight: Forbes took a deep dive.

For 2019: NeuroFlow has raised $3.25 million to date — a portion of that in Q4 2018 — and we’re very excited to put that capital to work in 2019. In the New Year, we have new product updates in store, hiring, and will be presenting at several major industry events.

Keep up with NeuroFlow at neuroflowsolution.com.

Onyx Valley

Onyx Valley weekly working session. Courtesy photo.

Community: We’ve been actively spreading the message of diversity and representing at various events. Onyx Valley was a community partner for the NorthStar Conference and contributed to The Atlantic’s “Path to Shared Prosperity: Increasing Opportunities for U.S. Workers and Businesses” event. We highlighted the work Onyx Valley does to help students learn the skills to compete in the global tech economy and to increase opportunity and growth in the city. Onyx Valley is now also a part of Black Girl Ventures’ extended community of organizations led by black and brown women after winning second place in their Philadelphia pitch competition.

Field Experience: Onyx Valley Studios (OVS), a student-led design consultancy created to give students real-world experience working with a client, officially launched in August with our inaugural project for Spruce Street Harbor. Students held a kickoff meeting with the Delaware River Waterfront Company (DRWC to discuss their approach to innovation at the park and then went on to practice their field research skills with a trip to the park where they interviewed patrons and employees and observed the environment. Students held weekly working sessions for 12 weeks to complete the project.

Proudest 2018 Moment: After the success of the UX Portfolio boot camp in the spring, students were invited back for a special workshop two months later. I was thoroughly impressed and touched that the students were happy to reunite and get back to learning. The students have already accomplished the main goal of Onyx Valley — building a community.

Biggest 2018 Challenge: Our biggest challenge is resourcing. We want to invest time into each student, but we need more committed volunteers to give them the attention they need. Word about Onyx Valley has been spreading! We get contacted every week by people who want to sign up. We would love to accommodate anyone who is motivated to work hard for a career in user experience, however we are limited in how many people we can take on.

For 2019: The second OVS project just kicked off and is currently underway. We are working with the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Open Data & Digital Transformation to redesign experiences for non-English speakers navigating government services. We are also looking to build our campus presence and assemble our next cohort. We will have campus reps on three local campuses for the Spring 2019 semester.

Next year will also mark the first paid Onyx Valley Studios project. We tell students that there is a value for the type of work they do, so we have secured a paid client project. If you have a business challenge or are looking to innovate at your organization, please visit our website to inquire about becoming a client in the future.

Keep up with Onyx Valley on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

PatientWing

PatientWing’s newest members: L to R: Lili Kueny (born November 2018, daughter of Todd Kueny, co-founder & CTO, and Penn Kueny, director of product); Emily Cubbage and Hana Feiner.

Rebrand: We dropped “VitalTrax” for “PatientWing” and launched a new look for the platform including a new dashboard for study and campaign management.

Team: We added two new team members and recently welcomed Lili Kueny (born November 2018, daughter of Todd Kueny, CTO, and Penn Kueny, Director of Product) to the PatientWing family!

Proudest 2018 Moments: Launching PatientWing Enterprise, more than tripling revenue, growing our team, and acquiring new customers.

Bigger Portfolio: CSL Behring, Stanford Health, and Massachusetts General Hospital are some of our new clients.

For 2019: We plan to continue expanding our customer base, raising funds, and building additional strategic partnerships.

Keep up with PatientWing on Facebook, LinkedIn and PatientWing.

PhillyWisper

PhillyWisper founder Mark Steckel. Photo by Claudia Gavin.

Speedy Expansion: We’re seeing rapid growth in our large building installations, as the rate of inbound requests increases from property ownership groups for condos, apartments and commercial buildings. The response from property owners is strong as they see that adding PhillyWisper service makes their building more attractive. We’ve completed major network upgrades and large high-rise deployments.

Big Step: We rolled out our first Gigabit service and expect all of our new large building roll outs to include Gigabit service. We’re now working on growing our installation, operations, and network teams.

Marketing: To date, we’ve been growing by word of mouth. In Q1, we will start our first marketing campaign.

For 2019: Our mission is to bring better internet to Philly, and we’re working hard to expand our network. We expect to announce new service areas in January. We’ve had lots of inquiries, so stay tuned!

Keep up with PhillyWisper at phillywisper.net.

Penji

Penji team members at the company’s one year anniversary celebration.

Top 2018 Accomplishments: Reviewing the past year has been an eye opening experience. To date we’ve completed more than 10,000 design requests for our customers, opened our Penji Unlimited program to non-profits within the city of Philadelphia for the first time and been nominated as “Best Place for Workplace Diversity in Tech” and “Startup of the Year.”

New Platform: We’re about to launch Penji 3.0. The new platform allows you to create ANY design request in under 3 minutes, get a draft back in 24 – 48 hrs, communicate in real time with your designer, and still only pay a flat monthly rate.

Teamwork: Throughout 2018, our success has been a result of working together as a team. As we move into 2019, we want to become more aligned as a company and further invest in the future of Penji.

Priority: Diversity is an issue that at times is uncomfortable to talk about. At Penji, we embrace our diversity and celebrate it constantly. Earlier this year, we launched a podcast called Shades of Success, where we highlight individuals who are making positive strides within their community. Episodes launch every Wednesday, feel free to check it out here.

For 2019: We will only succeed if we continue to solve large problems and constantly put an emphasis on the customer experience. Our 2019 mantra is to “move boulders together” instead of individually sweeping pebbles to look busy. 2019 is the year for us to align our focus and continue providing unlimited graphic design support at an exceptional value.

Keep up with Penji at penji.co.

RoundTrip

RoundTrip team photo.

Team: Our team size doubled from 12 to 25 employees. We relocated from the Northern Liberties WeWork office to our headquarters in Old City.

New Mission: Our mission has expanded beyond fixing medical transportation to driving better health outcomes.

New Clients: We brought in new clients and partners including Johns Hopkins, NIH, VCU Health, Jewish Federation, Camden Coalition and a Medicaid and a Blue Cross health plan.

Top 2018 Accomplishments: Driving down no-show rates to four percent for partnering hospitals; Expanding into over 17 states including the West Coast, the Southwest, and the Southeast regions in addition to our stronghold in the Mid-Atlantic; and executing on a world-class product that truly solves the transportation barrier so many face.

Big Spotlight: RoundTrip was profiled in the New York Times.

For 2019: We want to establish RoundTrip as the leading digital transportation marketplace for the betterment of health, working even closer with government agencies to remove transportation as a barrier to aging in place, clockwork-like execution through objectives and key results.

Keep up with RoundTrip at www.rideroundtrip.com and at the Introducing RoundTrip Community blog.

Tozuda

Tozuda’s head impact sensors on display. Courtesy photo.

Funding: In the second half of 2018, Tozuda wrapped up a successful Kickstarter campaign raising over $30,000 with more than 150 backers! It was exciting and encouraging for our team to have so many people from various backgrounds, countries, and industries see the value in our sensors.

Upgrades: Our team grew from four to seven and we spent the latter half of the year working on perfecting our manufacturing, assembly, and shipping processes. Tozuda has partnered with Total Mold Services and Eagle Design Group, both located in Pennsylvania, to ensure our manufacturing and assembly procedures are as efficient and infallible as possible.

On Stage: Our founder and CEO Jessie has spoken at a number of exciting engagements and conferences this year, including the DVIRC Manufacturing Summit and the General Business Contractors of America Safety and Technology Conference. Tozuda was named a Stellar StartUp finalist by Philly.com and our team continues to be inspired by the many amazing fellow Philadelphia-based entrepreneurs, engineers, and innovators who motivate us every day.

Spotlight: Tozuda was selected for Folgers’ 1850 Be Bold campaign, and Jessie will be featured in a commercial for the coffee brand coming out at the end of the year. We’re excited by the opportunity to get our first national media exposure!

Biggest 2018 Challenges: The most difficult obstacle our team overcame was with manufacturing and fulfilling sensor orders. Our original suppliers were not as reliable as we had hoped, but we received a lot of support from TMS and Eagle Design to optimize manufacturing and assembly processes. While we are capable of manufacturing in-house, we partnered with TMS to better help us meet demand at scale. We were very eager to get sensors out as soon as possible, but had to extend fulfillment to ensure we weren’t sacrificing quality or reliability for immediacy.

For 2019: We will be heading into fundraising and actively doing our first raise. We’re always looking to grow and spread concussion awareness. Tozuda will also begin manufacturing sensors in volume, and soon we will be shipping sensors out to our generous and patient Kickstarter backers. We will start our first retail store rollout this year, beginning a number of store tests with a sporting goods store. We’re excited about our continued expansion to new states, countries, and industries in 2019.

Keep up with Tozuda on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Source: https://www.phillymag.com/business/2018/12/19/philadelphia-startups-to-watch/

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unifiedsocialblog · 5 years

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The Things Brands Do on Social Media That People Hate

Outrage is the fastest-spreading emotion on social media, according to multiple studies. People love to hate, and they’ll happily hate your brand if you give them the right reason.

Here are our some of our favourite ways to annoy and alienate your followers…

Bonus: Get the step-by-step social media strategy guide with pro tips on how to grow your social media presence.

14 things brands do on social media that people hate

1. Oblivious self-promotion

Yes, brands are on social media to sell. Your audience isn’t going to hold it against you, for the most part. Unless you just won’t stop selling.

Not everything is about you, Cinnabon.

When you’re building your social media calendar try to follow the 80/20 rule: eighty percent useful (i.e., informative, entertaining, awe-inspiring, etc.) versus twenty percent promotional.

Or, another way of thinking about it: your audience is composed of human beings with thoughts and feelings.

2. Too much AI

Speaking of human beings, consider talking like one, too.

According to Pew Research, 66 percent of Americans have heard of social media bots, and 80 percent of those people think bots are bad.

If you’re considering automating your social media—whether it’s a customer service chatbot or a pay-for-Instagram-followers service—take a moment to consider how badly it could go.

Unless a booking assistant bot is actually faster and more convenient than the alternative methods, don’t risk annoying your potential customers.

Even more problematic: using a bot to automate your social media interactions (eg., retweeting certain hashtags or following/retweeting certain users).

Remember when the Patriots’ Twitter account managed to automatically post this image?

Maintain a human touch on social.

3. Non-apologies

Whether you’ve inconvenienced one person or offended millions, take the situation as seriously as they do.

This apology from the Patriots apparently looked fine to the people who approved it, but it missed the mark for two reasons:

A) it dodges blame, B) the language is inadequate given the offense.

Some key ingredients of a good apology:

Accept responsibility

Acknowledge the other person’s feelings

Don’t make excuses

Commit to being better

Try not to speak like a character from Kafka’s The Trial

4. Not listening

Social media is not a billboard campaign. When you’re crafting every post with the goal of actively encouraging engagement, at some point you’re going to receive less-than-positive feedback.

What’s the best way to get fewer complaints? Learn from the ones you do get.

People aren’t shy about telling you what needs to change. To that end, a social listening strategy can help you gauge customer mood across social media platforms, and act on it.

5. Thirsty customer service

Yes, brands need to listen. On the other hand, they need to avoid being creepy and invasive. In other words: if you are a chicken restaurant don’t flirt with people.

6. Automatic cross-posting

Nothing says “I don’t care about this platform or the people who use it” more clearly than a post that was clearly meant for another platform.

At best this tweet looks lazy, at worst incompetent.

Craft a new post for each platform. This isn’t a huge task, it just means small tweaks to caption length, image format, and vocabulary. It’s arguably easier than getting your apostrophes right.

7. Posting clickbait

“The best way to convert a potential customer is by misleading them right off the bat,” said no one, ever.

Yes we love clicks. But there’s a difference between compulsive, mindless traffic and a person who has been encouraged to take the first step in initiating a valuable relationship for both parties.

This is just not how trust is built.

8. Posting engagement bait

One fraction of a step above clickbait (and still on Facebook’s radar as a spammy practice that the algorithm will seek out and punish) is engagement bait.

Source: Facebook

Begging for comments, shares, likes, reactions, or votes on any platform is honestly a little embarrassing. Your brand is above this kind of behavior.

There are better ways to encourage engagement, like running an above-board Instagram contest.

9. Acting cool

Ok, this one’s a little tougher.

Yes, some brands have managed to win hearts and minds with snark and weirdness. And some brands have managed to fail utterly:

As @BrandsSayingBAE’s bio states: “It’s cool when a corporation tweets like a teenager. It makes me want to buy the corporation’s products.”

Corporations may be people in the eyes of the law, but having a personality is not a commitment to take on lightly if you’re a brand.

It’s the internet. Someone will always find a way to mock you.

On the other hand, people will mock you if you’re boring, too.

10. Being boring

Dr Pepper Snapple act very serious online, considering they’re a group of people who call themselves “Dr Pepper Snapple.”

Apparently, Dr Pepper Snapple would prefer to receive zero attention on social media. (Their Twitter account is almost entirely inactive except for the odd verbatim press release.)

Here’s a question for brand experts: at what point does their lack of annoyingness become, in itself, annoying?

11. Using emojis when you don’t know how to use emojis

Remember #ChevyGoesEmoji? Probably not. No one does, except for the poor auto journalists who received the company’s all-emoji press release in advance of the Chevy Cruze.

Turns out that for brands, emojis are a privilege, not a right. Learn how to use emoji in your social media strategy effectively, or spare yourself the embarrassment and don’t use them at all.

Not only was Chevy’s emoji use incomprehensible, the branded hashtag was a non-starter, too. Which brings us to our next point.

12. Using hashtags when you don’t know how to use hashtags

It is actually quite difficult to use hashtags without being just a little, um, basic. Using them in an interesting, smart, effective way? Extremely difficult.

For every successful branded hashtag campaign (brb googling “successful branded hashtag campaign”), there are a dozen self-owning fails: #McDstories #susanalbumparty #loveDP

Over the past few years, most brands have learned, often by watching other brands crash and burn, to back off on the kind of hashtags that will open up a floodgate of mockery and shame.

On most social media platforms—and Twitter especially, where humour and vitriol go hand in hand—hashtags require an expert hand.

For instance, using hashtags on Instagram in 2018 is very different than using them on LinkedIn, where they were only introduced this year.

Please. Don’t wing it.

13. Being fake

These days audiences are more aware of (and resigned to) the fact that every shout-out is bought and paid for.

That said, if you’re going to “partner” with a celebrity for an endorsement, help your audience maintain their fantasy of independent thought.

Authenticity may be the most overused buzzword of the decade, but the concept still requires respect. Once you’ve lost it, it’s not easy to get back.

14. Being tone-deaf

The last point on our list is maybe the most difficult to get right.

Audiences are holding brands to a higher moral standard than ever before, which means brands aren’t choosing whether to engage, but how.

Of course, the key is to ride the outrage, not generate it.

Get Started

The post The Things Brands Do on Social Media That People Hate appeared first on Hootsuite Social Media Management.

The Things Brands Do on Social Media That People Hate published first on https://getfblike.tumblr.com/

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smartoptionsio · 6 years

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[ICO SCOOP] Interview with The Tip Token

A few days ago, we wrote about a possible diamond in the rough we might have found: Simple user handles for crypto wallets ids, an easy way to tip or to send money the crypto way, simply said an everyday token for everyone: The Tip Token. ICOs are often a scam or just bollocks, born in the smallest room. We found this to be different for the idea of this French ICO, led by Nicolas Nups (LinkedIn), who will be my guest today, answering me all the uncomfortable questions my skeptical mind has woven. Welcome, Nicolas!

SMARTOPTIONS: Hello Nicolas, thank you for taking the time for this interview! To be straight with you from the beginning, we won’t hold back with critical questions. Your ICO is going to make crypto payments a) much easier and b) build the option to have it integrated into many websites and portals. Are you already in negotiations with social websites, that think about an integration of The Tip Token?

NICOLAS: Exactly! Thanks to the Short Address Name (SAN) and the widget we are currently developing, crypto payments will become far more intuitive and easy to setup on any app or website.

So indeed, we are currently discussing the integration of TTT on multiple platforms and websites well known from the public. So far, we haven’t received a negative feedback from any company we have approached. For now, we work on releasing a working platform and widget so we can attract more partners. Nonetheless, we have already teamed up with a barbershop in Monroe that will start using TTT as tips as soon as the ITO is over. We have also recently partnered with a blockchain related project called TeraWATT so their users can create simple addresses name using our SAN system. We are currently discussing several partnerships with other cryptocurrencies, one being related to students and universities and another that could spread TTT to hundreds of companies. As a conclusion to this answer, I would like to add that there are countless websites currently offering content for free and that would directly benefit from using TTT; the best example, known by almost everyone, is Wikipedia.

SMARTOPTIONS: Nico, you are a bootstrapped startup with a great vision. How does it feel to compete with all these pre-funded ICOs that spend gazillions in advertising to get the ball rolling? How do you work to get recognized and to spread the word? What are your plans?

NICOLAS: When you launch an ICO, there are 2 cases scenarios: whether you have large funds to spend on marketing, either you don’t. In TTT’s case, we started from scratch with a team of hyper-motivated people but without as many funds as projects, you can see on youtube and on TV on daily basis. However, it doesn’t mean that our work is less valuable. On the contrary, I would say that it is even more motivating to target the top 100 Cryptocurrencies when you start from almost nothing. And I can assure you we will go there! The amazing aspect of TTT is that we don’t come to compete with other cryptocurrencies, we come as a complementary one. Every cryptocurrency can use TTT as a side coin for tipping or simply to create a custom address name instead of the complicated current public keys. To spread the word, we are contacting blockchain related projects and websites and simply introduce our concept. It is currently working exactly as we expected, extending our followers and partnerships daily. Moreover, thanks to our numerous connections in the cryptocurrency world, we have access to exchange listings and to various websites and platforms that will allow us to expand our audience considerably the following weeks.

SMARTOPTIONS: The TTT project consists of the platform that enables us, the everyday cryptocurrency user, to use SANs (like the ability to create a handle and send cryptos to it instead of the lengthy wallet IDs. The idea is as simple as ingenious- how was the reaction of the community so far?

NICOLAS: So far, all the reactions we received were positive and enthusiastic ones. I’m myself a frequent ERC20 tokens users and in all honesty, I’m always lost with which token is stored on which public key. I have to store everything in notes and it is not really convenient. With TTT, I can simply associate my wallet where I store my ether to the SAN “eth.nico” and I don’t need to store the public key anywhere anymore. Who wouldn’t want this for their wallets?

SMARTOPTIONS: The plan of TTT embodies the SANs, widely spread integrations into social platforms and blogs (per widget) and browser games where you can earn tokens by playing them. How do these fields of operation connect to each other?

NICOLAS: Before everything else, The Tip Token is a community token. Our goal is to allow crypto and non-crypto users to communicate and interact easily with each other. Developing games such as Cryptoriddles is a way for TTT to create a synergy between all the members of the community. Indeed, players can earn tokens by playing TTT games that they will then spend on SAN and tips. What is better than earning tokens by playing entertaining games?

We are also working on a new product that will help every new cryptocurrency project. More information to be disclosed about it soon.

SMARTOPTIONS: A user assumed The Tip Token could be a scam and posted a warning on Github. We stumbled upon that when we did our DD before publishing a post about TTT. We can see where he is coming from but did not agree with his points as it lacks any evidence. Can you understand why he estimated your project like this? What will you do in the future to avoid such false assumptions?

NICOLAS: One day, a member of ICOCHECKER team came into our telegram group and started spamming about their article. They did not try to contact us before posting their article nor did they ask us for details or explanations about the project. The first thing we did was giving them a detailed answer, that you can find under their article. After that, we have worked on all the points they have stated, posting pictures of the team and the official company documents on Twitter. However, even after everything was sorted out, they never answered our private messages nor removed their post about these “red flags”. We still do not understand this behavior and we believe they might have a specific agenda we are not aware of. Anyway, we believe anyone can do his due diligence, like you did, and see that we are a serious and competent team.

SMARTOPTIONS: You seem to plan quite a few airdrops, why should users purchase tokens in the ITO, instead of just getting them per Airdrop?

NICOLAS: We currently have one ongoing airdrop offering 150 TTT and ending on the 13th of May and which is only available for the 5000 first registered members. We are only airdropping a small percent of TTT tokens compared to the total circulating supply so only a few people will be able to obtain a few TTT by being eligible to the airdrop. The best way to get TTT definitely remains the participation in the sales.

SMARTOPTIONS: Pease introduce your team to us – with a focus on what they have done, that is relevant to crypto – and what they will do to make TTT a success. Do some of them have experiences with ITOs/ICOs and do you think that you will need a fancy advisor to spread the word?

NICOLAS: We have a highly motivated team composed of people from all around the globe and I’ll give you a small resume of every member:

Jon, our CTO, and co-founder is a talented developer with past experiences in the cryptocurrency world. He has coded TTT smart contract and the token sale smart contract and is also working on the platform. He is also in charge of managing the developing team in charge of the app and desktop products. Jon is the key to TTT’s success.

Faisal, our chief community manager, is managing every social media and is in touch with a lot of potential partners. His past experience as an administrator in crypto telegram groups such as CrowdMachine is a real bonus for TTT.

Nick, in charge of our market expansion in the US, has a lot of connections with websites and industries. He is the one who found our first TTT partner Edges, a barber shop in Monroe, and he is currently in touch with future investors and partners.

Alex, our senior dev, is in charge of a team of several developers. His team has worked on numerous projects, crypto-related and not, and they are in charge of developing and adapting every TTT product on mobiles.

Marc, in charge of the market expansion in the Netherlands, is currently in touch with several potential partners. He has also worked on translating the whitepaper in Dutch.

Phurpa, our system engineer, is working closely with Jon on the website and platform development & hosting.

Jamaal, our website designer, has built TTT’s website and is pushing it everywhere online, expanding our audience.

SMARTOPTIONS: Please explain how you compare to Steemit, where you can also”tip” authors with upvotes- Please explain your project and how it elevates from similar tokens.

There are several tokens and projects that offer a platform where people can post content and earn tips from it. However, what TTT offers is a way for content creator and services providers to earn tips directly from their website and their favorite platform. I believe this is what elevates us from similar projects like Steemit. There are currently no other projects like TTT and the SAN creation associated with the tipping aspect is what makes us unique.

SMARTOPTIONS: Which major events do you plan to (besides the roadmap) once the token hits the exchanges?

NICOLAS: We have a lot of surprises coming. The one that will help spread the word about TTT will be the “tip your city” campaign. We haven’t officially announced it yet so this is an exclusivity!

We will invite everyone to tip their favorite city SAN (“Paris”, “London”, etc.) and all the TTT collected will be used to organize an event in the city with the most tips. Depending on the funds, we plan on organizing a music festival sponsored by TTT.

SMARTOPTIONS: That is a neat idea! I hope we will be invited to this show. Nicholas, thank you for your time, and for clarifying our questions, regarding The Tip Token.

The Tip Token is currently in its seed funding phase and you can find more information on their website.

The post [ICO SCOOP] Interview with The Tip Token appeared first on Smart Options.

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