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Digital Marketing Agency in Bangalore

If you don’t exist online, its like you don’t exist at all’ is definitely true for all the businesses today. Online marketing is now the part and parcel of all the marketing strategy. Realizing the dynamism of online marketing, IM Solutions has built its niche in the digital/online marketing world. We are an online marketing company in Bangalore working for both big and small businesses. Our team of professionals provide complete services in custom web design and development, software development, internet marketing, print and graphic designs, web content writing and much more. As an online marketing company in Bangalore, our vision is to deliver outstanding business results using digital marketing technology. We facilitate easy and fast customer journey at the touch of a click, i.e. email, mobile, social web and beyond. Here, we have the passion and skills to bring the best. Our team of experts dedicate to deliver impeccable work on time. To be the best Digital marketing agency in Bangalore, we facilitate our approach to be client inclusive. We work with our clients to understand them better. We as an online marketing company in Bangalore specialize in providing all round solutions to all your marketing problems. We cater to: • Website designing: IM Solutions is a leading online marketing company in Bangalore and has a team of highly proficient designers, programmers, graphical artists and web developers. We have worked with more than thousand clients with different personal tastes and visions for their sites. Each of our client’s demands have been different and we deliver accordingly. Our approach is multifaceted. • Digital Marketing: There are several online marketing company in Bangalore, but what makes us the best is our convenient, cost effective and personalized internet marketing strategy. Our team is a family of talented, trained and experienced team of internet marketers. Our duty is to increase your business opportunities. • Search Engine Optimization: Want to get more visibility online? Don’t worry. IM Solutions is here to help. We as an expert team work to increase the rankings of your website and generate more leads. We help your business grow and meet its business targets by developing user friendly, easy to navigate and faster website for you. • Social Media Optimization: IM Solutions is a well-known online marketing company in Bangalore that deals with SMO of our client’s sites. We give precedence on improving organic search results for your sites. We help you connect all of your social media accounts in an organized, cohesive and branded network. We monitor SMO services in real time and alerts businesses when someone is talking about your brand or keyword on social media. • Online Reputation Management: IM Solutions, an internet marketing company in Bangalore also monitors the online positive image/brand awareness of business firms. We involve in re-building company’s brand. Through SEO tactics, we track all positive and negative responses. • Content Marketing: Content marketing is an added value through compelling content in the form of blog posts, articles and videos. Content Marketing through IM Solutions strive to deliver intelligent strategies and engaging content to ensure continuous growth of your brand.

https://medium.com/@bandhana.singh000/digital-marketing-agency-in-bangalore-329c02dd82ff

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2015-12-22 12:50:24.790000+00:00

['Digital Marketing', 'Online Marketing', 'Digital Marketing Agency']

The Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Complete Marketing Strategy in 2021

The Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Complete Marketing Strategy in 2021 How many times have you seen a killer marketing campaign and thought to yourself, “Wow, I wish I would’ve thought of that!” ROI Overload Follow Dec 10, 2020 · 11 min read Guest Post By Kayla Carmicheal How many times have you seen a killer marketing campaign and thought to yourself, “Wow, I wish I would’ve thought of that!” (Glossier, I’m looking at you.) We’ve all been there. The truth is, when you’re just starting out, it can be tough to know whether your strategy is as comprehensive and powerful as it could be. To help ease some of that uncertainty, we’ve created this guide that’ll show you step-by-step how to create a marketing strategy that leaves no stone unturned. Let’s dive into the five critical components of a complete marketing strategy in 2019, followed by some examples for further inspiration. Download Now: Free Marketing Plan Template How to Create a Marketing Strategy Build a marketing plan. Create buyer personas. Identify goals. Select the appropriate tools. Account for existing resources. Audit and plan media campaigns. Bring it to fruition. 1. Build a marketing plan. Wait, I have to make a plan for my strategy? What’s the difference? Your marketing strategy provides an overview behind the reasons why your marketing team will need certain resources, take certain actions, and set certain goals over the year. Your marketing plan is the specific actions you’ll take to achieve that strategy. Not sure where to start? This free marketing plan template can help. The right template can help you build a marketing plan that identifies your budget for the year, the initiatives your marketing organization needs to tackle, and the marketing channels you’ll use to implement those initiatives. And it will tie everything back to a business summary, to keep you aligned with overarching company goals. 2. Create buyer personas. If you can’t define who your audience is in one sentence, now’s the chance to do it. A buyer persona is an example of your ideal customer. For example, a store like Macy’s could define a buyer persona as Budgeting Belinda, a stylish working-class woman in her 30’s living in a suburb, looking to fill her closet with designer deals at low prices. With this description, Macy’s Marketing department can picture Budgeting Belinda and work with a clear definition in-mind. Buyer personas have critical demographic and psychographic information — including age, job title, income, location, interests, and challenges. Notice how Belinda has all of those attributes in her description. You don’t have to create your buyer persona with a pen and paper. In fact, HubSpot offers a free template you can use to make your own (and it’s really fun). Buyer personas should be at the core of building your strategy. 3. Identify goals. Your marketing strategy goals should coincide with your business goals. For example, if one of your business goals is to have 300 people attend your annual conference in three months, your goal as a marketer should be along the lines of boosting online RSVPs by 10% at the end of the month. Other marketing goals might be to increase brand awareness or generate high-quality leads. You might also want to grow or maintain thought leadership in your industry or increase customer value. Whatever your goals, identify what they are and how your marketing organization can work to achieve them over the next year. 4. Select the appropriate tools. Once you have your goals identified, make sure you have the right tools to measure the success of those goals. Online software like social media schedulers gives you analytics to help you keep track of what your audience likes and doesn’t. Alternatively, you might consider Google Analytics to measure blog and web page performance. Additionally, it will be helpful if you make your goals SMART — to do so, take a look at How to Write a SMART Goal [+ Free SMART Goal Template]. Here are a few tools that can help you track and measure the success of your marketing goals: Trello keeps your marketing team on track and openly communicating about the projects they’re working on. Create boards for individual campaigns, editorial calendars, or quarterly goals. Built-in workflows and automation capabilities keep communication streamlined, and simplicity keeps your marketing team focused on the work that matters. Pricing: Free; Business Class, $9.99/user/month; Enterprise, $17.50/user/month for 100 users Everything on Monday.com starts with a board or visually driven table. Create and customize workflows for your team and keep groups, items, sub-items, and updates synced in real time. You can also transform data pulled from timeline and Gantt views to track your projects on Monday.com and ensure deadlines have been met. Plus, with more than 40 integrations — from SurveyMonkey to Mailchimp and, of course, HubSpot — you can visualize your data and ensure your whole company is collaborating. Pricing: Basic, $8/month/seat; Standard, $10/month/seat; Pro, $16/month/seat; Enterprise, contact for pricing SEO continues to be a huge factor in the successful ranking of your website. SEMrush allows you to run a technical SEO audit, track daily rankings, analyze your competitor’s SEO strategy, research millions of keywords, and even source ideas for earning more organic traffic. But the benefits don’t stop at SEO. Use SEMRush for PPC, building and measuring an effective social media strategy, content planning, and even market research. Pricing: Pro, $99.95/month; Guru, $199.95/month; Business, $399.95/month BuzzSumo allows you to analyze data to enhance and lead your marketing strategy, all while exploring high-performing content in your industry to increase engagement. Use the platform to identify influencers who may help your brand reach, and monitor comments and trends to make the most of every turn. They also have tools to help with crisis management and video marketing as your needs evolve. Pricing: Pro, $99/month; Plus, $179/month; Large, $299/month; Enterprise, $499+/month Need to optimize your website this year? Consider getting started with Crazy Egg. You’ll be able to identify “attention hotspots” on your product pages, track ad campaign traffic on your site, and understand if shoppers are clicking where you want them to. You can even make sure your “buy now” buttons are in the best place. Crazy Egg also offers recordings, A/B testing, and more to help ensure your website is offering the best user experience and the best return. Pricing: Basic, $24/month; Standard, $49/month; Plus, $99/month; Pro, $249/month; Custom options available upon request 5. Account for existing resources. Decide what you already have in your arsenal that can help you create your strategy. To streamline this process, think of your assets in three categories — paid, owned, and earned media. Paid Media Recall that paid media means any channel you spend money on to attract your target audience. Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn offer paid media options that boost your exposure. Owned Media Owned media is any of the media you create — blog posts, ebooks, images, and infographics that your marketing team has created are examples of owned media. Earned Media Earned media is another way to say user-generated content. Shares on social media, tweets about your business, and photos posted on Instagram mentioning your company are all examples of earned media. Gather your materials in these areas and consolidate them all in a single vehicle so you’ll have a clear vision of what you have and how you can integrate the three channels together to maximize your strategy. For example, if you already have a blog that’s rolling out weekly content in your niche (owned media), you might consider promoting your blog posts on Twitter (paid media), which customers’ might then re-tweet (earned media). Ultimately, that will help you create a better, more well-rounded strategy. The free option? Tweet it from your company’s Twitter or post it on Instagram and use relevant hashtags to spread it. If you have resources that don’t fit into your goals, nix it. This is a great time to clean house or identify gaps in your materials. 6. Audit and plan media campaigns. Cleaning house segues straight into this step. Now, you must decide which content is going to help you. Focus on your owned media and marketing goals. For instance, will updating the CTAs at the end of your blog posts help you increase RSVPs to your event? Next, look at your buyer personas. Let’s say you work for a video editing software company. If one of your persona’s challenges is adding clean sound effects to their videos but you don’t have any content that reflects that, make a 15-second demo video for Instagram to show how great your product is at solving that challenge. Finally, create a content creation plan. The plan should include the title, goals, format, and channel for each piece of content. Be sure to include which challenge it’s solving for your buyer persona. For ideas on content creation or a more in-depth look at how to create a content plan, check out our post, The Ultimate Guide to Content Creation. 7. Bring it to fruition At this point, your market research and planning should help you visualize how your strategy will be executed (and by which teams). The final step is to bring that all together — to put actions into your planning. Create a document that maps out the steps you need to take to execute your campaign. In other words, define your strategy. Think long-term when creating this document. A standard strategy document is 12 months. This structured timeline should be the home base for your strategic marketing efforts. To paint an example, let’s go back to the video software company. Maybe in January, you will launch a software update that improves the exportation process for users. In April, you want to publish an ebook that explains editing terms to your buyer personas, and in September, you plan to launch an integration with other software. Remember, your digital strategy is unique to your business, so the document should be, as well. As long as the strategy includes all of the necessary information, you’ll be all set to take your company’s brand from okay to outstanding. Now that we’ve explored five critical steps of a complete marketing strategy, let’s look at some “Why didn’t I think of that?” strategies to inspire your own. Examples of Successful Marketing Strategies 1. Regal Movies Digital strategy: Owned media Regal Movies took the Halloween spirit to a new level, even re-naming their Twitter to reflect the spirit of the season. This “Monster Madness” poll is a fun, interactive way to get followers invested in Regal’s content: Image Source Regal’s tweet is an example of owned media because the company was in full control of the answers followers gave (and, apparently, American Werewolf didn’t stand a chance). Regal effectively kept true to their brand by using only classic movies in their poll,, while still putting a modern spin on it. This is also a good example of how retweets don’t necessarily equal success. While four retweets isn’t that big of a deal, check out the votes: 461. That means there were over 400 interactions with a single tweet. 2. Taco Bell Digital strategy: User-generated content, earned media Real love is taking your engagement photos at your favorite fast food Mexican restaurant — right? User-generated content is one of the best ways to gain traction in your strategy — it demonstrates your appreciation for loyal customers, and also incentivizes other users’ to promote your products for the chance at a similar shout-out. Plus, sometimes the content your brand-lovers create is really, really good: It’s not every day someone takes engagement photos at a fast-food restaurant, and Taco Bell jumped at this earned media opportunity. Earned media is at work here because this couple is saying they love baja blasts and crunchwraps as much as they love each other — so it must be delicious. 3. Small Girls PR Digital strategy: Event marketing Wait, is that Keke Palmer? Small Girls PR is a boutique PR company based in New York, and one of the company’s talents is throwing amazing events for their clients, like Olay. This event recap carousel on Instagram is an effective event marketing example. Event marketing is a fantastic opportunity to boost awareness for your brand. Not every business needs to throw lavish events, either. Event marketing can be as simple as the last company outing you had at your team’s favorite brewery. Posting a quick recap on Instagram sheds light on your business’s culture, and demonstrates your appreciation for your employees’, ideally incentivizing others to apply. 4. Diesel Cafe Digital strategy: Word of mouth Boston-local cafe Diesel Cafe is more than just a great location to get vegan bagels. It also rocks at word-of-mouth marketing. In fact, Diesel even has a website dedicated to it — a place where fans can submit letters about the fun times they’ve had at the cafe: Check your company’s Yelp climate. Are people giving you nice reviews? Showcasing some of them on your social channels is an effective opportunity to provide social proof that your products or services are a worthwhile investment, since people typically trust peers more than ads. 5. Target Digital strategy: Paid media, Twitter cards If you’ve got the budget for paid media, take full advantage of it. Paid media is when you pay social channels, like Twitter, to promote your content on their site. By doing this, your content reaches new audiences you might not be able to reach organically: An inclusive ad from Target about fall shopping uses Twitter cards to promote their brand and offer easier ways to shop — simply click on the photo, and you’re redirected to a purchase page. More social channels are offering ways for shoppers to purchase in-app or close to it, driving sales and boosting exposure for brands. Ultimately, creating a complete marketing strategy isn’t something that can happen overnight. It takes time, hard work, and dedication to ensure you’re reaching your ideal audience, whenever and wherever they want to be reached. Stick with it (and use some of the resources we’ve included in this post), and over time, research and customer feedback will help you refine your strategy to ensure you’re spending most of your time on the marketing channels your audience cares most about.

https://medium.com/scott-d-clary/the-step-by-step-guide-to-creating-a-complete-marketing-strategy-in-2021-4d180d987a8f

['Roi Overload']

2020-12-10 04:27:15.393000+00:00

['Marketing', 'Digital Marketing', 'Marketing Technology', 'Digital Marketing Agency']

Effective Digital Transformation Strategy

Every effective strategy has a definite plan which starts with the first step that is to diagnose the problem. The case for digital marketing is exactly the same. Digital marketing services bring you a process where your company is able to fully embraces the power of online platform to implement strategies and revolutionize. The main reason to seek out a Digital agency is to help you execute your digital transformation. Here is how you can make effective digital transformation and how to know its importance for your brand. What Makes for a Digital Effective Strategy? Best digital marketing company in Gurgaon can help you solve the known existing problems and also find solutions for future endeavors. It is high time that businesses recognize an effective strategy by how much it future-proofs and streamlines. A robust, reliable digital agency enables to unlock new potential and grow existing customers. It aims allowing you to increase the market share and drive business growth. A truly effective strategy has significant rupee value return. It’s surely an investment. Effective plans are extremely vital for flawless execution. That is the main reason every digital transformation should has one. Signs Your Business Needs a Digital Marketing Agency Every business needs a digital transformation. We have all recognized the importance of digital marketing services in recent past. Businesses need support, understanding, education, resources. Digital Marketing services can provide just that and can be extremely powerful if it’s done correctly. Following are the top signs that your business needs a digital transformation strategy. Having an online presence. If your business is not already online, surely you ought to lose out on a massive opportunity. Having an impressive presence. It is high time that businesses realize the importance of digital marketing. Digital marketing services company in Gurgaon will not let you fade away into anonymity considering the vast size of the internet. Cut throat competition. Digital marketing is not a matter of them simply being better. It implies a need to transform your approach. Being an innovator. Some businesses have knack for jumping on things early and tend to smell success from a mile away. Businesses cannot survive on foot traffic simply when so many people aren’t moving out of their homes and risking their health in stores. In this era, you need Digital Marketing services to aid your business. This is definitely not the time for business owners to lean back and wait and see what happens. You should be head over heels to work with Best Digital Marketing Agency ever now to keep your business afloat. Why You Can’t Do It Alone you need Best Digital Marketing Company It is true that you can’t do your own internal digital transformation. As we can witness, businesses that have chosen a progressive strategy of refocusing spending with the help of Best Digital marketing Agencies in Gurgaon have outperformed businesses that made sweeping cuts. studies have showcased that what happened during a recession affected a company’s performance even after the recession phase. Some studies also revealed that “successful leaders, with help of Digital Marketing services, have refocused rather than cut spending Furthermore, a report also mentions that getting it right the help of Best Digital marketing Agencies through the lean years has a huge impact on a company’s growth rate after the economy improves. Let’s not forget the most important reason why you can’t do it alone. Digital marketing services offer expertise in digital transformation which requires knowledge across websites, design, social media marketing, search engine advertising, SEO, copywriting and digital strategy. Working cohesively together in all above areas is key to achieving success.

https://medium.com/@digitalyash/effective-digital-transformation-strategy-f8f6ee22f2ca

['Digital Yash']

2020-10-29 14:20:47.480000+00:00

['Digital Marketing', 'Digital Marketing Agency', 'Digital Transformation', 'Digital Strategy', 'Digital Marketing Service']

We are Spring.

Spring is an advisory firm tailored to the unique needs of service companies and the people that run them. We work with owners of agencies, design firms, development shops and consultancies to help them optimize, expand and sell their companies. Not all of our clients are ready to sell. Many want to improve their business in the hopes of a selling in the future. We work alongside them to optimize their business financially and operationally — putting systems in place ensure reliable profitability. Others want to better understand their options. They are often curious about the value of the company they’ve built and who might be interested in buying it. We help them answer these exploratory questions. Once a client has made the decision to sell and we’re both confident that the company is ready, we lead them through a process to find the right buyer, negotiate the deal terms and ensure a smooth post-deal integration. Our approach is unique in a few important ways: We start early. Whether it takes two months or two years, we work with each client to prepare their company for a sale. Using benchmarks and a playbook for improvement we give them the guidance to create a thriving, reliably profitable business that is attractive to buyers. We play a bigger role. Our process is designed to keep clients focused on the successful operation of their business. By taking a larger role we minimize the impact on their time and shorten the overall deal timeline. This has two benefits: reducing risk and maximizing value. We approach deals holistically. Having bought and sold companies as both owners and advisors, we’ve occupied every chair at the negotiating table. This unique perspective provides us valuable insights into the psychology and tactics of buyers and sellers — informing the way we negotiate deals. We work as a team. Because we work as a team, our clients benefit from our combined expertise with finance, operations, brand and negotiation. We serve as a board of advisors with diverse perspectives and experience at every stage. We’ve walked in your shoes. Each of us has spent decades running our own agencies, design firms and consultancies. Our understanding of the complexities of these unique businesses shapes our approach to deal making. If you own and operate a service business and are interested in learning more about your options for getting value out of the company you’ve built, we can help. Spring

https://medium.com/@SpringAdvisors/we-are-spring-72fc84abef9e

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2016-11-17 19:55:09.191000+00:00

['Mergers And Acquisitions', 'Advertising Agency', 'Digital Marketing Agency', 'Agency', 'Design']

Top 6 Reasons Companies Should Hire a Social Media Marketing Agency

The social media ecosystem is dynamic and ever-changing. Media as a whole is taking an entirely new form. More time and attention is being spent on Social Media than any other media platform today. The barrier is to entry is low and relatively free. With a simple email address, companies can secure a profile on virtually every platform out there. Just because it”s free does not mean companies are taking advantage and maximizing their efforts on Social Media. Companies are hiring Social Media Managers daily to take on this responsibility, but why hire 1 person when you can hire an agency? Here are 6 reasons why companies are working with digital and social media marketing agencies. You’ll Get More Bang for Your Buck For the same price as it would cost to hire one person to handle your social media and digital marketing needs, your company can hire an agency that like 7twelve Marketing, who has a team of experts in their respective fields. 7twelve has dedicated videographers, video editors, copywriters, account managers, graphic designers, web developers, web designers, and marketing strategist experts on your team. Also, from a financial perspective, your company won’t have to pay employee cost on outsourcing the service and can be written off as an expense to the business. The Right Agency Will Provide a 1 on 1 Client Experience Boutique social media companies offer clients one on one treatment. Once a client decides to work with an agency, companies like 7twelve Marketing assign a dedicated account success manager. This person fully embodies the persona of the client. The account manager communicates valuable information to the content creators. They perform hashtag analysis, content strategy, post platform specific content embodying the culture and voice of the client’s organizations. An Agency Can Create a Customized Marketing Plan Each client’s needs are different. My clients come from all different industries from Dental Arts to Alcohol Brands. We take a lot of pride in learning everything we can about our clients, then cater a customized strategy and plan. When bringing on a new client we always establish what the key point indicators of measurement, and cater a strategy accordingly. This types of approach gives so much more value to the working relationship, because performance and execution are imperative for the relationship to work. Communication and clearly defined written goals, always make for a smoother execution of the plan. Here are some fun Goal Setting techniques to exercise: KISS goals (Keep It Simple Stupid) and SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Agreed upon, Realistic, and Time-Based) (Some) Social Media Agencies Are Experts in Every Platform We are social media experts, as in all social media. It can get overwhelming with all the social media outlets from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, SnapChat, Periscope, Music.ly, and LinkedIn. So we take it upon ourselves to constantly educate ourselves on best tips, tricks, and practices. We even share those practices for free to anyone who is looking to educate themselves. Our goal and intention is to share our knowledge with everyone because we sincerely care about the success of our partners and the industry as a whole. We even named our company 7twelve, after the ancient “Golden Rule” principal which states, “Do to others what you want them to do to you”. So we take it upon ourselves to be the best in Social Media. Agencies Can Create Transparency in Marketing Technology has made communicating in real time to anyone around the world far more accessible than ever before. Cloud based storing and sharing has made it easier for Marketing companies to work with lots of different brands who fit their style. Clients also can log in and see in real time and see what their Account Success Managers have gotten done, are currently working on, and receive performance metrics via dashboard reports, and can run deeper reports with analytics. This gives a lot of value to the relationship, because for the same or similar cost, again, 1 person can not handle tat load of work. There is value in transparency. Social Media Agencies Make You Look Cooler Our job is to help our clients reach their Social Media goals, it is just added bonus that we make them look really cool doing it. The definition of what is cool, hip, and in, is something Gary Vaynerchuk preaches, and I fully buy into, is the Thank You Economy and the humanization of business. So when you hire an agency, you are building more of a community and that is cool. Consumers can detect inauthenticity a lot easier in the age of information. If you liked this article, please share it. It helps others see it and we’d really appreciate it. Article by Aaron Miller Social Media Strategist at 7twelve Marketing Contact Aaron: info@7twelvemarketing.com

https://medium.com/@7twelveTeam/top-6-reasons-companies-should-hire-social-media-marketing-agencies-8da5144c0122

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2017-10-31 16:14:27.764000+00:00

['Social Media', 'Marketing', 'Digital Marketing Agency', 'Content Marketing', 'Digital Marketing']

Which Services Are The Most Valued For Small Businesses in 2021?

How does a brand name develop a connection with its consumers? Numerous services miss out on the most vital component of the formula: making an excellent first impression. And also a BIG component of making that first impression matter is with a top-quality layout. Whether it’s your logo, business card, signage, website, banners, or other tools, your designs require to engage as well as link with your target market, instilling a sense of depending on, high quality, integrity, as well as value. In today’s web-driven world, that impression is commonly made online through electronic branding. The most effective means to ensure potential customers remember you for that you are is by integrating a good layout and constant marketing messaging right into every aspect of your company Getting in touch with Marketing Our City is just as well as getting connected with one of the best developers in New Jersey. We’ll aid you to tell your tale with terrific visuals, as well as make sure that one look is all it takes for leads to obtain the message. We have experienced Internet Developers that cater To Your Style Demands, with Affordable Team Of Digital Marketers As Well As Designers That Will Provide You The Results That You Desire. Web design isn’t as easy as it first appears. High-grade design work isn’t simply aesthetically appealing, proper logo, branding, as well as web design in New Jersey needs to speak with your target market, share your brand name score messaging, construct count on, and also a lot more. You only obtain one possibility to make your first impression with the possibility, and also most of the time, they’ll judge your business within the first few seconds of logging onto your website, based upon what they see If you have a poorly-designed site, they’ll likely look elsewhere and also wind up collaborating with a competitor who made the effort to understand and also relate visually to their audience or whose style was more abreast with their marketing and advertising channels and story. Why choose Marketing Our City for Web Design Services Marketing Our City designers has been helping companies for over 5 years. We have web designers that have won awards in companies that they worked for. But they were tired of being told what to do, or better yet working for someone else. This is our business, so our customers know how much of a family presence when they have us work for them. We aid local business owners to find new clients, build connections, and accomplish their objectives — whether that indicates maximizing ROI ( Return On Investment) or bringing your bounce rate down. Every business is various, that’s why our designers account for your needs in addition to the preferences of your clients whenever putting together a company plan. We’ll consider every one of your goals to guarantee that you get the results that you want. Our company believes that every business in New Jersey is worthy of the merit of obtaining a personalized plan. After offering companies for over 7 years, we’ve come to be knowledgeable in numerous areas including web design, content advertising, and marketing, as well as SEO( Search Engine Optimization). We don’t just recognize just how design functions; we also understand just how to keep whatever functional to guarantee that it integrates seamlessly with your other advertising efforts. What Do We Do Best — Graphic Designs and Lead Generation Lead Generation, Marketing Our City Agency We take your suggestion and utilize our creativity and experience to transform it right into something that into visuals styles your business can be proud of, something that tells your customers who you are, the value you supply, and why they need to trust you with their business. Internet layout, we additionally provide a local logo design to enhance your marketing solution to help you stand out from local small businesses. We’ll assist you to build meaningful partnerships with your customers and involving them in a way that really feels all-natural as well as warm. We use various techniques to obtain the outcomes you desire. Our staff members combine the very best facets of social media advertising, search engine optimization, and layout to bring you a detailed strategy that covers all bases. Our New Jersey marketing as well as internet marketing agency is a full service, one-stop-shop all things digital. If you have actually been searching for layout and also advertising and marketing firms to help your business prosper expand grow and succeed, think about giving us a phone call today. You will not be dissatisfied. Content can be written up by anyone, however, when you’re producing web content that needs to attract many audiences and also remain readable on all platforms, you need to deal with an expert who understands the intricacies as well as great information of the procedure. After years of effort, we at Marketing Our City Agency have actually taken care of putting together a search engine optimization solution that provides our clients excellent results without making them jeopardize your precepts. We’ll add your website to move up in the rankings making use of the most up-to-date methods that are all compliant with Google’s guidelines. Social network advertising and marketing. A lot of consumers rely upon social media to locate good services nowadays which is why it’s important that you obtain your presence out there and also establish a good image for everybody to see the Graphic layout. Do you send out sales brochures, posters, or calling cards? Have a chat with our graphic designers so they can assist you to establish a unified style for all your advertising and marketing products. Internet style. We can construct a custom-made web site that will serve as the online house of your company. As well as a BIG part of making that very first impression count is with a top-quality layout. Our team members integrate the best aspects of social media marketing, search engine optimization, and design to bring you a comprehensive plan that covers all bases. If you’ve been looking for layout as well as advertising and marketing firms to help your organization expand and thrive. After years of tough jobs, we at Marketing Our City Agency handled to put together a search engine optimization service that provides you great outcomes without making you compromise on your morals. Web style. Lead Generation the bread and butter for every business What is the lead? A lead is any person who indicates interest in a company’s product or service in some way, shape, or form. Leads typically hear from a business or organization after opening communication (by submitting personal information for an offer, trial, or subscription) … instead of getting a random cold call from someone who purchased their contact information. Let’s say you take an online survey to learn more about how to take care of your car. A day or so later, you receive an email from the auto company that created the survey about how they could help you take care of your car. This process would be far less intrusive than if they’d just called you out of the blue with no knowledge of whether you even care about car maintenance, right? This is what it’s like to be a lead. From a business perspective, the information the auto company collects about you from your survey responses helps them personalize that opening communication to address your existing problems — and not waste time calling leads who aren’t at all interested in auto services. Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)-are contacts who’ve engaged with your marketing team’s efforts but aren’t ready to receive a sales call. An example of an MQL(Marketing Qualified Lead) is a contact who fills out a landing page form for an offer. Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)- are contacts who’ve taken actions that expressly indicate their interest in becoming a paying customer. An example of an SQL is a contact who fills out a form to ask a question about your product or service. Product Qualified Lead (PQL)-are contacts who’ve used your product and taken actions that indicate interest in becoming a paying customer. PQLs typically exist for companies who offer a product trial or a free or limited version of their product with options to upgrade, which is where your sales team comes in. An example of a PQL is a customer who uses your free version but engages or asks about features that are only available upon payment. Service Qualified Lead (SQL)-are contacts or customers who’ve indicated to your service team that they’re interested in becoming a paying customer. An example of a service qualified lead is a customer who tells their customer service representative that they’d like to upgrade their product subscription; at this time, the customer service representative would up-level this customer to the appropriate sales team or representative.

https://medium.com/@marketing-consultant908/which-services-are-the-most-valued-for-small-businesses-in-2021-d0bc2d62c61f

['Felipe Oliveira']

2021-01-01 19:53:28.618000+00:00

['Graphic Design', 'Digital Marketing Agency', 'Leads Generation']

SEO Agency Guide: Checks and Balances

SEO Agency Guide: Checks and Balances In today’s rapidly changing and dynamic world of search engine marketing, SEO/SEM are not just a “set it and forget it” type project. Regular check-ins and calibrations are necessary to see the most benefits, and an overall game plan is also a must. When you interview agencies for SEO work, make sure these digital marketing tactics will be part of the package. Website Audits & Checkups If you’re using a digital marketing agency, you as a client should make sure the particular company is checking your websites vital signs, — not just today, but tomorrow, next week, next month, and next quarter. As a quick guide, I have highlighted what a good SEO firm or agency should be checking and updating you the client on: Crawl Your Site — SEO spiders can see problems that aren’t visible to the naked eye. Broken links and missing URLs need to be fixed, and new and different URLs should also be assessed as your site adds blog entries, static web pages, and so on. Check Your Metadata — Reports on metadata, including title tags, meta descriptions, headings, robots tags, and such, should be compiled to give you SEO specialist a good picture of what’s new with the site over the last 30 days. Check Your Redirects and Status Errors — Your agency will look at a crawl errors report to make sure your site’s pages are showing the right status. If they find 404 errors, they’ll look for a new location to redirect to. Check Your XML Sitemap and Robots File — These files provide the basic instructions to search engines about your site. Your SEO person should check the sitemaps report and verify your robots file correctly identifies what areas the search engines should access and what is closed. Check Your BackLink Report — Your agency should check out who’s linking to your site. A large quantity of low-quality links could be an issue for your site’s authority score and should be removed or disavowed. KPIs, Goals, & Overall Performance Analysis To get the most from your SEO investment, you want a firm that will analyze your site’s performance monthly, calibrating and tweaking to improve your site’s SEO performance. Here are some high ROI checks a good agency should perform: Check Channel Performance — The performance of the natural search channel can tell you a lot. An expert can compare your marketing goals and KPIs to see how your site is performing. Check High-Change Pages Thoroughly — A good SEO firm should spend some time with your pages that have the biggest positive and negative changes in traffic. They’ll look for patterns that could suggest broad performance optimizations. Check on Past Optimizations — An important piece of SEO work, your agency should check in on past optimizations to make sure the impact was positive and make further adjustments if needed. Check Your Top Referring Sites — When a new site starts sending you traffic, that’s a golden opportunity. Your agency can monitor referrals and alert you when there’s an opportunity to work together for improved site authority. Check Your Search Competitors — A good SEO analysis will look at sites ranking for your target phrases and topic keywords, looking for what worked for them and how it could be applied to your site. Check Google’s Search Console — Search Console is your direct SEO line to Google. The app provides all manner of messages and reports, which your SEO expert should retain and archive for reference. Relationship with Your SEO Firm When it comes to the future, your agency should have a good grasp of what’s coming up and how to help you make the most of it. Your optimizations should be proactive, not reactive. Make sure your SEO experts are looking ahead to next month’s potential target pages to tweak. Keyword research is yet another important part of SEO strategy. You won’t have to worry about things changing every 30 days, quarterly is fine, but keeping on top of trends and planning for future campaigns will be important to success. These are just some of the items your digital agency may check to improve your SEO performance. Experts may disagree on which items take priority or how often to run reports, as every company’s goals are different. However, the bottom line remains the same. Your SEO firm should be doing the regular groundwork that’s going to get you results in the SERPs.

https://medium.com/@nick_martini/seo-agency-guide-checks-and-balances-d42e5e54c34

['Nicholas Martini']

2016-11-28 16:30:52.184000+00:00

['Search Engine Marketing', 'Digital Marketing Agency', 'Google Analytics', 'Chicago']

BEST SEO SERVICES PROVIDER IN CANADA

BEST SEO SERVICES PROVIDER IN CANADA Ifrita web solution Established in 2015, to provide the best seo marketing services, Ifrita provides the best SEO services in Canada. we are a team of highly qualified professionals who are able to deliver the best web and seo services in canada. we also provide SMM, SMO, PPC, ERP and CRM software development services in canada, India and Dubai also. Ifrita is the best seo company you can get to grow your business. Ifrita is a search engine marketing firm based in Canada. We have expertise and experience in the IT industry. Ifrita provides the best local seo services in canada to make your business grow. We believe to make your business grow with best digital marketing services. Our specialisations in SEO, SMO, PPC, SEM, ERP helps us and our customers to get more bangs from your bucks. We are a leading SEO firm in canada known for the best SEO services in Canada WHY SEO IMPORTANT ? SEO — Search engine optimization, the best way to make your business succeed and grow. It’s far most the best way to get your site ranked and make your business grow. Ifrita is the best seo audit agency in Canada and a leading SEO firm. We provide best local SEO services. If you have started a business and and wants to grow your business then SEO in marketing is a must have for your business website.. Ifrita provides the best SEO marketing services to make your business grow and increase your website traffic. SEO is a must if you are willing to increase your website traffic and generate leads without spending on paid advertising. SEO is a reliable way to increase website traffic and generate leads. SEO helps you to reach more audiences at low cost. SEO is a boon for your success in your business. Generating leads through SEO agency advertising is cost effective. How SEO works:- SEO or search engine optimisation is a great way to increase your website traffic and increase your website’s visibility on search engines like google, yahoo, bing. BENEFITS OF SEO SERVICE: Let’s take an example to make you understand better what SEO is and how you can use it for your benefits. – We have a client named Eric who runs a recruitment agency and he have no understanding of what SEO is and how It can be a great way for him to get more clients and expand his business. Now he hired us for SEO services for his website. At start we do an audit of their website and send a audit report to them rectifying all the errors In his website. After that we will ask them for which keywords they want to rank on top pages of google and other search engines. Assume “ Seo services in canada “ , “recruitment companies in Brampton”, “local seo services” are given keywords. After this we will research their keywords and look if people are searching for this keywords or not and how much competition is for these keywords. If people are not searching for this keywords then we will suggest some keywords to them based on Search volume and Competition. After that we start working with our proven methods and strategies and these keywords will on top pages of google with in 3 to 6 months. Client will start getting leads for his business as soon as their keywords rank. We provide best SEO marketing services in canada and the best seo company in canada. OUR OTHER SERVICES WEB DESIGN — UI/UX design makes your website look great and builds trust with your customers. We provide unmatched UI/UX services and make you and your stand apart. WEB DEVELOPMENT — Creating and improving your website to make it look great, load fast and work well. Ifrita provides web development services to make your business grow and succeed. SMM — Social media marketing, In this era of digitalisation SMM is a big game changer everyone uses social media platforms and they are more popular day by day. Usage of social media as a tool to grow your customer base, increase traffic and generate leads is increasing day by day. Digital marketing — Our marketing strategy is to advertise your business through various digital channels search engines, websites, social media and email which helps your business grow and succeed. We are a Digital marketing agency for your needs. PPC — Pay per click (PPC) is paid marketing where you have to pay when someone clicks on your ads and goes to your website. Pay per click is the best strategy to get faster results and leads for your business. We are a search engine marketing firm which makes us stand apart in the industry of SEM or paid advertising. APP DEVELOPMENT — we provide app development services for your business. Everybody uses apps nowadays, apps are a great way to pack your services and make it easy to use. E-commerce Website — E-commerce as you all know selling of goods and services via online means, If you sell goods then having an E-commerce website makes your work a lot more easier and can help your business expand globally without much effort. Ifrita provides E-commerce website services to make your dreams come true of being an international seller. CRM & ERP — CRM helps you to manage your customers with high efficiency while having an ERP makes your business processes efficient and easy. We provide ERP & CRM software development for your business.

https://medium.com/@fendilute/seo-services-in-canada-175e1db09de4

[]

2020-12-10 08:54:07.393000+00:00

['Marketing', 'SEO', 'Digital Marketing Agency', 'Digital Nomads']

What makes Digital Marketing Interesting

What makes Digital Marketing Interesting You should be aware of the impact of social media in today’s world. Social Media is widely used as an important platform to communicate information. It’s hard to see 2k kids and Z gen kids with no social media account. With the usage of social media getting widened Digital Marketing is getting the major hold in the global online market. Digital Marketing is all about the smart ways for marketing your product digitally via online platforms using social media as an aid. Its opposite to traditional marketing where you connect with your target audience from remote locations. And this is one of the important aspects in digital marketing. Another interesting beauty in digital marketing is you can easily promote your product even before the product is fully launched and start getting orders. To be successful in digital marketing one should ensure that the quality of the product is not compromised at any cost. One can be clear about the CATT Marketing Funnel during marking the products. It helps to boost the business provided you have the CATT principles followed. Based on CATT Marketing Funnel, Wealth= n^CATT Where, n = Your Niche C = Content A= Attention T= Build trust T= Transaction Ie, One should have quality and enough content to get the attention of the client there by building trust with them and get paid via transactions for the service offered. Its simply offering value based services for money. The success of Digital Marketing as a whole lies with the success of different individual elements in online platforms. The figure above illustrates the concept of Integrated Digital Marketing. The components of individual elements includes Paid Advertisements, Email marketing, Content Marketing, SEO, Social media and conversions. Kids today finds interest and involve themselves in most of the individual elements who makes them easier to gain the skill sets in digital marketing. If you are interested in staring you own Digital Marketing Startup you should be aware of the mass trust blueprint. The figure above illustrates the concept of mass trust blueprint. It starts with Learn, Work, Blog, Consult, Mentor and then Start business is the mantra to be a successful individual in digital marketing. Today there are plenty of companies that offer web design and digital marketing services. Also we have lot of online resources to learn Digital Marketing. To learn Digital Marketing I recommend Digital Deepak and his internship programs. Click here to know more about OFF-PAGE SEO in Digital Marketing

https://medium.com/@jgracewell02/what-makes-digital-marketing-interesting-39538414b084

['Jeffin Gracewell']

2020-12-20 06:47:26.977000+00:00

['Digital Marketing', 'Digital Marketing Agency']

PMPS: LEVERAGING SECOND-PARTY DATA FOR DIGITAL CAMPAIGNS

In the first installment of this series, First-Party Data: A Hidden Gem for the Post-Cookie World, we looked at how an advertiser’s customer database, or first-party data, can be used for advertising purposes. Now we will expand to the world of data sets that you can leverage to help increase, and refine, your first-party data while generating awareness and preference in the pursuit of sales. Suppose your most desirable customers tend to read either New York Times or People Magazine online. You could just place advertising on either NYTimes.com or People.com, but that would result in a lot of wasted impressions, served to those who might not be aligned with your product or service. How do we minimize that waste? That is where second-party data comes in. SECOND-PARTY AUDIENCE BUYING: WHAT IS IT? I am referring to “second-party” here as the audience data of online publishers and other media properties like ad networks. The data is theirs — not yours — hence the second-party designation. Their audience data really is comprised of multiple audience segments, with data points that result in profiles that may look like your desired customers. If you are a CPG company, you may want to target those who are buying your competitive set in the hopes of converting a percentage of those to buy your brand. If this is the case, your criteria may include reaching those who: Match your geographic distribution area Are within your desired customers’ HHI range Shop at a specific set of retailers Or any combination of the above This approach allows an advertiser to use a media property’s larger audience set, minimizing waste while adding new users who can eventually grow your first-party data. You are not on NYTimes all the time, just when your target audience happens to be viewing. With apologies to the late Rod Serling, you’ve now entered the world of the Private Marketplace (PMP). THE PRIVATE MARKETPLACE: HOW SECOND-PARTY AUDIENCE BUYING GETS DONE Unlike the large ad exchanges that utilize available inventory from thousands of sites, the private marketplace allows an advertiser to programmatically buy only the audience they desire to target within a restricted set of one or more sites. Working with a publisher PMP allows for buying select audience segments that match up with an advertiser’s desired audience data, as noted above. Some things to consider when working with PMPs: Make sure that there is alignment with your audience. For example, you may not want to use a particular PMP if less than 5% of your desired audience is going to a specific site or series of sites within that PMP. Consider 15% — 20% or more as a good guideline. Think beyond “open web” display banners. Can you reach a publisher’s in-app or social media users? While there might be additional premiums for these, the additional costs may be justified if your desired audience is engaged with these platforms. Balance a PMP buy with other tactics for overall efficiency. No one tactic can serve every marketer’s objectives. Remember that the key is to test and see if this approach works within a selection of tactics that meet your overall parameters for effectiveness and efficiency. With the era of cookie-less advertising fast approaching, using PMPs to access second-party data will likely become a viable option to not only enhance campaign performance but grow your customer base as well.

https://medium.com/gkv/pmps-leveraging-second-party-data-for-digital-campaigns-37eac9c51522

[]

2020-12-28 21:21:17.374000+00:00

['Digital Marketing', 'Digital Marketing Agency', 'Advertising', 'Data', 'Big Data']

How to find the Best Digital Marketing Agency in Delhi?

How to find the Best Digital Marketing Agency in Delhi? Digital marketing is the need of the hour. Almost all the companies in the world are rushing towards the digital space to get the maximum customers for their product and services. In order to get the best out of the online efforts, it is really essential for a brand/company to hire the best digital marketing agency. The internet is the global influence nowadays. Brands, companies, organizations and institutions are running an endless race to sail through the online tide. Each day millions of users access the internet including social media websites, which make the internet the best platform to reach to prospective customers. In order to get the best out of the digital world in the India, it is really essential to hire an experienced digital marketing agency in Delhi, so that your brand can effectively be portrayed among the flash of other brands, to attract prospective customers. One needs to find the best agency in the field, and one can keep in mind the following points to ensure that the brand is getting maximum benefits out of digital efforts: • Experience: Experience lends wisdom to lead. An experienced digital marketing agency is more efficient than a fresh team of digital marketers without prior experience of dealing with digital mediums. An experienced team understands the needs of a business from the digital medium and devises an effective strategy to bring more benefit to a business than the efforts of a fresh team. • Expertise: One should always make sure that a digital marketing agency has a strong team on-board which consists of digital marketing experts who are comfortable and knowledgeable enough to extract the maximum business benefit out of a digital campaign. Expertise in digital marketing helps them understand the pros and cons of a campaign beforehand and suggest more effective campaigns for the growth of a business. • Specialized and dedicated team: It is essential that a digital marketing agency works full time and is completely dedicated towards its clients. The digital world is a fast changing world where fortunes are made in a matter of seconds. Better results can be attained from a digital marketing campaign only when one remains actively involved in the digital marketing campaign, which necessitates the dedication of the digital marketing agency for the client. Before choosing a digital marketing agency for your business, ensure that it stands strong on the above points for the are the pillars for standing high on the pedestal of the best digital marketing agency in Delhi. YNG Media is a leading digital marketing agency and has a talented and experienced team of internet marketing professionals on-board to manage your digital campaign and bring the best out of the internet for your business. The YNG team comprises of best-in-industry SEO professionals, digital strategists, experienced designers and web developers, who remain actively engaged in digital campaigns to bring the best leads for your business. Through a strong business — centric digital marketing strategy, YNG helps a business to benefit from the internet efficiently.

https://medium.com/@yngmedia/how-to-find-the-best-digital-marketing-agency-in-delhi-f036de064678

[]

2015-12-07 12:29:24.718000+00:00

['Digital Marketing', 'Online Marketing', 'Digital Marketing Agency']

How to Choose a Digital Marketing Agency

How to Choose a Digital Marketing Agency By Mike Neerhof Whether you’ve been handling your marketing in-house or have been disappointed by the results your current agency has achieved, choosing a new digital marketing agency can seem like a daunting task. Besides trying to figure out who will best help your business and who you can afford, you also need to consider the relational aspect of a partnership. You don’t want to choose a digital marketing agency who doesn’t know what they’re doing, and you certainly don’t want to be stuck working with a bunch of jerks. Here are a few tips on where to look and what to look for in order to find the right agency for you. Where To Look Google Partners — While accreditation from the other search engines — Bing, Yahoo!, etc. — should not be overlooked, Google has developed a fantastic database of their partner agencies. It shows how many people at the agency are certified and in what categories — search advertising, display advertising, mobile advertising, video ads, shopping and GoogleAnalytics IQ — as well as minimum monthly budgets the agencies work with. It is a great tool for finding agencies that are backed by the legitimacy and trust factor of Google. Referrals — It’s important to understand what the experience of working with an agency will be like. Referrals from peers or other agencies are a great way to find out more about an agency, with all of the marketing and salesmanship removed. Unlike the quantitative results you would derive from a simple search, referrals tend to give you a better idea about what it’s actually like to work with someone. Are they pleasant? Responsive? Do they get involved, or are they far removed from the clients they work with? Referrals can bring to light these more qualitative and personal experiences. Search — This is how we do things these days, isn’t it? So how can you utilize a search engine to find an agency? Be specific. Searching for “search marketing agency chicago area” gives you 145,000,000 results, including a ton of different types of agencies. Meanwhile, a more specific search such as “higher education paid search marketing agency chicago area” cuts that down to just over 1 million results, and chances are that the top agencies listed will be a much better fit for you and your needs. What To Look For Credibility — Does the agency have a decent website? A terrible site should be a red flag for any advertising agency, and especially an online marketing agency. Does their website include client logos and testimonials? Most do. Do they have experience in your field? With similar-sized companies? Are their reviews positive? Do their testimonials seem authentic? Are they certified in a variety of disciplines? Have they won awards? All of these things are factors that help build credibility. Certainly there are great agencies that might not meet all of these standards, but if too many red flags are raised, it would be wise to take notice and reconsider. Case Studies — Case studies give you real-life examples of what an agency can do. So if you can’t find any case studies on an agency’s website, make sure you ask them for examples of how they’ve helped their clients achieve success. Look for real, lasting results, and pay attention to the strategy which drove those results. Was the agency thinking outside the box and developing custom strategy for the client, or did they apply a cookie cutter program that barely moved the needle? If an agency can’t provide any case studies, that should be a major red flag. Vibe — Go meet with an agency at their office. Take a look around and talk to some of the team members. Have a casual conversation with the people who would be managing your account. What is the agency’s vibe? Are the people good communicators? Are they friendly? Do they seem like they enjoy speaking with you and helping you, or do they seem annoyed and frustrated? Paying attention to these often overlooked intangibles will help give you a much clearer picture of what working with the agency will be like. What To Ask For Audit — Give agencies the opportunity to prove themselves. An audit is a great way to allow them to do so, and also provides you with insights into improvements you should be making to your marketing. It’s a win-win. The more an agency uncovers during an audit, the more they probably want to work with you, and the more likely it’ll be that they pay closer attention to detail in managing your account should you become their client. Experience — Ask the agency team what outside experience they’ve had. Diversity of thought is very important in digital marketing, and those innovative ideas are often sparked by previous experience. Outside experience is also important in helping to develop empathy, as your account team must have a solid understanding of the challenges you face every day in order to provide valuable solutions. Agencies that have experience working on both sides of the client-agency relationship will often have a great advantage in providing real life solutions. Passion — Passion is one of those words that has been so overused that it has lost much of its power. So allow me to throw it out there once more… Ask your potential agency partners what gets them excited about your business and about working with you. Ask them what industry innovations they find fascinating. Since people love talking about things they find exciting, this will help develop a personal connection and comfort level. It will also give you great insights into what would motivate them as your account team to help you succeed. If their answers focus on things that benefit them — ego, awards, making more money, etc. — you will know that they are driven by personal gain and your success is an afterthought. But if they are driven by passion — curiosity, genuine interest in your business, desire to be on the cutting-edge of innovation, etc. — they are more likely to help you succeed. What do I not mean by this? Don’t ask them if they are passionate about keyword bidding or title tag optimization. Because anyone who says they are is either a liar or crazy. The Best Fit For You These are just a few of the things I recommend you consider when searching for and selecting a digital marketing agency. This list could go on and on, but I hope this has at least sparked some ideas you hadn’t considered yet. Everybody wants something a little different from their agency relationship, so the best first step you could take would be to make a list of the tangible and intangible must-haves, and then utilize this post to expand your list and go find an agency that meets your needs. You should probably start your search by checking out Lever Interactive. We might not be the right fit for everyone, but we’re good at what we do and pretty awesome to work with, so maybe we’re the right fit for you.

https://medium.com/@mikeneerhof/how-to-choose-a-digital-marketing-agency-8a5f3ad4fae8

['Mike Neerhof']

2016-07-15 14:32:04.347000+00:00

['Marketing', 'Digital Marketing', 'Digital Marketing Agency']

Promote your Local Business Through Digital Marketing

Promote your Local Business Through Digital Marketing Promoting your Local Business Through Digital Marketing The digital planet is budding with a prompt speed and the rising is unflagging. Every business, whether small and big in size, all want to get profits from this colossal size and extent of the internet. Even, all businesses want to adhere the team of long-term forecasts available through online. Though it is not simple to obtain the most out of the digital space unless you have professionals to acquire the help. Yes, your business requires digital marketing specialist to influence an infinite market with effortlessness. The entire your marketing targets can be easily accomplished if you uncover a veteran agency delivering forward-looking services to clients across industry. But the most important thing, you should hunt a lot to locate and choose a correct digital marketing associate. A partner can do marvels for your business through its years of experience and domain skill. The digital marketing survives for the very rationale of helping businesses or individuals create or make better their brand or develop their reputation on the internet. It engages matchless approaches and diverse techniques of promotion so that a business can attain to more people and obtain its great objectives. Without digital marketing, it is not possible for any business to win situation and grab the consideration of their target users and obtain their branding ideas throughout. This is the most important basis, why only professionals are hired to promote and encourage brands online. Eventually, the digital space, rim with projection and there can assist a business cultivate. It’s quite fair that all businesses necessitate digital marketing to mature their bottom and reach to the mass of customers. They will require to profit from various marketing processes comprising of SEO, PPC, social media optimization, display ads and reputation management. These all will start with an innovative and user-friendly website and after that, the team of professionals will plan a right digital marketing strategy to set definite requirements of the business. Here, the actions will be taken to optimize every aspect of the website, be it images, products, infographics, links, services, and others. Thus, a business’ social presence will also be augmented in the course. In such a way, digital marketing experts play an important part in promoting businesses on the internet and at the same time they appreciate their true prospective. Without their proficiency, it cannot be possible to obtain perfect rankings and higher visibility in search engines as rapidly and well-timed as essential. This is why these experts rule such a high opinion in the market. So, you should appoint them with perfect and great care. Digital Rank is one of the highly appreciated and most demanding Digital Marketing Agency in Hyderabad, India, that helps your nurture and develop your local and international business in opportune.

https://medium.com/@teamdigitalrank/promote-your-local-business-through-digital-marketing-9e0b805016a5

['Digitalrank Digital Marketing Solutions']

2016-11-18 05:35:13.510000+00:00

['Digital Marketing', 'SEO', 'Digital Marketing Agency']

Take Your Digital Marketing Agency to New Heights with White Label SEO Services

Take Your Digital Marketing Agency to New Heights with White Label SEO Services Google, as a search engine has changed significantly. With its various algorithm updates and increasing competition in the online market, SEO is no longer an easy task. Using keywords randomly and publishing multiple articles isn’t enough to rank your website on the SERP page. But one cannot ignore the growth the online world provides to the business. SEO enhances your visibility and helps generate better leads, which turns into increased ROI. Companies reach out to digital marketing agencies to handle their SEO to focus on their core activities. Need for White label SEO Services SEO has opened new avenues for digital marketing agencies worldwide. But not every agency has SEO services in their arsenal and must think of a way to provide these services or lose the opportunity. The agency can create an in-house SEO team to handle the clients or hire a white label SEO provider agency. What is a White Label SEO Service? Before you decide whether you need a white label SEO service, let’s understand what the term entails. A white label SEO agency is a digital marketing agency that provides SEO services to other agencies without using their brand name. It means you can resell the SEO services as your own. Benefits of Hiring a White Label SEO Service: Increased revenue: Providing SEO services is like adding a feather to your cap as everyone these days is opting for it. It will lead to an expanded client base, which will bring more revenue with time. Providing SEO services is like adding a feather to your cap as everyone these days is opting for it. It will lead to an expanded client base, which will bring more revenue with time. Cost-saving : The main reason outsourcing is so prevalent in the business world is it saves money. The same rule applies here. When measured against the cost of maintaining an in-house SEO team and hiring a white label agency, most of the time, it is cheaper to hire one. : The main reason outsourcing is so prevalent in the business world is it saves money. The same rule applies here. When measured against the cost of maintaining an in-house SEO team and hiring a white label agency, most of the time, it is cheaper to hire one. Benefits of specialization: A white label SEO service will have a team of expert individuals at their disposal. They will have the resources and tools required to get better and faster results. You can use their resources to enhance the quality of your services. A white label SEO service will have a team of expert individuals at their disposal. They will have the resources and tools required to get better and faster results. You can use their resources to enhance the quality of your services. Brand visibility: Providing quality services to your clientele will help you create a reputation for yourself in the market. This will help you outshine your competition and grow your business in the long run. Providing quality services to your clientele will help you create a reputation for yourself in the market. This will help you outshine your competition and grow your business in the long run. Business insights: Working with a white label SEO service can help you gain valuable insights into how the SEO industry works. It will help you grow in the market, and you can use the knowledge to rank yourself on the SERP page. Are you Searching for a White Label Agency? Hopefully, knowing the benefits of hiring a white label SEO service and becoming an SEO reseller sounding like the right decision now. Not sure whom to reach out to for white label SEO services? Well, you can checkout DashClicks, an excellent white label SEO service provider with a team of SEO experts at your service.

https://medium.com/@sean-d/take-your-digital-marketing-agency-to-new-heights-with-white-label-seo-services-5ee79c2429b0

['Sean Davis']

2020-10-29 05:27:03.795000+00:00

['Digital Marketing Agency', 'SEO', 'Search Engine Marketing']

What are some digital marketing challenges in small towns ?

What are some digital marketing challenges in small towns ? As Digital marketing making inroads into our daily life, there are still roadblocks that may be hindering the digital acceptance. digital marketing challenges in small towns 1. Psychology — People in general are resistant to change until it is not forced upon them. Being less exposed to an external fast moving environment also seems to strengthen their belief systems. Hence, even if they are exposed to the digital platforms and well adapted to it, but they prefer the traditional set up. 2. Smaller cities are geographically less challenging to move around and hence traditional marketing is still a force because of people’s exposure time to their activity is more. The increase in traffic will change this scenario sooner than expected. 3. No matter what, the penetration of smart phones are less compared to bigger cities and people still turn to the nearby stores for information about products and services. 4. Many seem does not interested in researching about offerings from companies going on-line. They want a quick exchange of value i.e. sell and purchase. 5. One of the reasons is also because of low penetration of Net-banking. As ultimately one will visit the nearby store for purchasing, then why go online even for information. 6. Education does play a role as inadequate knowledge does make people less bold to do new things. With people spending an increasing time on the web, marketers are leaning more towards digital marketing platforms to showcase their offerings. The statistics for global ad spend also seconds this theory. However in countries like India the marketers are showing a less urgent intent to embrace the change, especially in smaller cities. They are to an extent correct. But it may change, may be faster than one expect or react.

https://medium.com/@cornerstone-digital/what-are-some-digital-marketing-challenges-in-small-towns-1d172b64b46d

[]

2020-12-19 06:35:30.394000+00:00

['Digital Marketing', 'Marketing', 'Digital Marketing Agency']

Why does a digital marketing agency in Hyderabad use PPC as a digital strategy?

A digital strategy is built by the marketers keeping a lot of things in mind and every strategy would be different for every type of business. One of the strategies that a digital marketing agency in Hyderabad would consider taking for every business would be pay-per-click. It is one of the most cost-effective paid advertising methods from among the other digital methods. This method of PPC gives your business a quick boost to the traffic as well as to the sales. Pay-per-click is all about paying advertisers a sum of money to get the advertisement displayed on the Google search results. So, when a user clicks on your Ad, then the amount which is bid by the marketer will get deducted. Though this method of digital marketing requires some amount to capture the leads, it surely brings in great results. Now let us see what these results would bring to your business. 1. Cost-effective: A marketer will choose this method because it is a go-to platform for many businesses that are ready to invest a standard amount for the leads. The leads that we get from these clicks are having high chances to be genuine, this is because people will search for a term that they are interested in and only then they will click on the Ad if they like the content mentioned in the snippet. If one-click would cost a brand to pay around 70 Rs, then the ROI for the same click would be triple the amount spent (this happens only if the visitor makes a purchase or does any action on the website). So, it is very cost-effective and the marketer will only have to pay when the Ad is clicked by any user. 2. Only potential leads: As we discussed earlier, the users who click on the Ad are more likely to make a purchase because they already know what they are searching for. It is not like they end up randomly on the Ad page and click on it. Let’s say, for example, the marketer is bidding for an apparel “Kurti”, then if the user starts to search for the term Kurti, then they will end up on a search result, where the Ad on Kurti would be visible. This will make the user click on it and if they like, they will also make the purchase. With this, we understand there is a maximum chance for the only potential leads to come and visit the website. 3. Highly targeted: PPC ads have this advantage of scrutinizing every possible way of targeting only the right audience. While creating the Ad, marketers can select the options which they feel like it would reach only their target audience and not some random people on the internet. This is very important because every click made by the user needs to be paid by the brand, and even if a user clicks it by mistake, they should end up paying for it. So, it is important to make sure the audiences are targeted on the right basis with the mentioned options while creating the advertisement.

https://medium.com/@monicageller3691/why-does-a-digital-marketing-agency-in-hyderabad-use-ppc-as-a-digital-strategy-1239ea50eb76

['Monica Geller']

2020-10-16 10:01:33.301000+00:00

['Digital Marketing Company', 'Digital Marketingservices', 'Digital Marketing Agency']

Noteworthy uses of Digital Marketing strategy?

Noteworthy uses of Digital Marketing strategy? Summary: Digital Marketing is one of the latest platform used by many online business owners. They use different digital marketing strategies to handle/increase the sales and improve ROI [Return on Investment]. Why digital marketing? Digital marketing is the streamline strategy through which a trade/commerce can optimize its online business. Digital Marketing is works like a sunshade for the tagged, computable and interactive promotion of products or services using digital technologies to make and convert leads into regulars and keep hold of them. Main approach is to promote your brand to increase sales by increasing the traffic through various digital marketing strategies. It will allow you to know your customers well and can evaluate online value proposition. If DIGITAL MARKETING is absent? · If a company don’t have digital marketing strategy then it would became directionless because they don’t have clear strategic goals for what they want in terms of new customers or building deeper relationships with existing ones. And if you don’t put resources, you don’t evaluate your outcomes. · If your store or trade is not online then your services may be underestimated. Different customers have different dynamics to traditional channels. · If you look at the top online brands like Amazon, Dell, Google, Tesco, they’re all DYNAMICS- trialing new approaches to gain or keep their online audiences. · You will not be able to know your online customers well enough and don’t have a powerful online value proposition. · You aren’t optimizing: For example a company with a website will have analytics, but many senior managers don’t have the time to review and act on them, then your progress is the key aspects like search marketing, site user experience, email and social media marketing. · If digital marketing is absent in your trade that means you are not concern with the search engine optimization and social media optimization services. Industries Involved in Digital Marketing: Financial institution, educational institution, travel agencies, online retail store or any real estate company, each and every sector focuses on digital marketing. Digital Marketing agency now becomes the alternative way to enhance the business which can generate more conversions and more sales. In other words, it is the short-cut to online success. Author Bio: Neha Goswami is a devoted writer who loves to write about software, technology and marketing strategy. In this article she wrote about “Noteworthy uses of Digital Marketing strategy?” discussed why companies really invest in digital marketing agency to take their business to the next level.

https://medium.com/@neha_yng/noteworthy-uses-of-digital-marketing-strategy-e70dfaca06c4

[]

2015-12-10 04:27:24.038000+00:00

['Digital Marketing Agency', 'Digital Marketing']

DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGIES TO BE AWARE IN 2021

DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGIES TO BE AWARE IN 2021 Since the emergence of covid-pandemic, there has been a significant shift in this area of digital marketing. We can claim digital marketing before the pandemic and after the pandemic, So we’re going to discuss the five digital marketing tactics to succeed in Digital marketing 2021. E-COMMERCE We have seen the coronavirus pandemic hit this year and how critical it is for business to be online, and how eCommerce websites can buy from customers. A lot of companies have been absolutely shocked because they would not be able to make a successful transition to e-commerce. If you don’t have an eCommerce website for your business that would be a massive problem in 2021 because the customers are shifting and moving to online purchasing SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING Social media has become the most popular and important virtual space where the site is not only used for social networking but is also a great way to promote your brand and your products digitally. It is important to use networks like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc that are widely used by consumers so that you can reach your target audience at a more efficient pace. Networking sites are a place where engaging with your followers can give you more attention and help you better understand your audience. Advertising must be one of the cheapest ways to market your company online and the bond between a company and a prospective consumer plays a major role in transforming them from a potential buyer to a loyal and frequent customer. CONTENT MARKETING More specifically, it’s all about voice and video, we have seen it on a platform like Twitter, which has launched voice tweets, this is something you’re trying to apply as you do content marketing strategy on voice search content, it’s becoming more popular because people have home helpers like Alexa, and it’s important that the content is detailed and long-term targeting. It’s all about video content and video is still massively dominating pretty much it’s also things like podcasts that are a super vital part of digital marketing strategies to help create more confidence and brand awareness. And the other thing about content marketing is live streaming. Live to stream recommended by a lot of platforms like Youtube, Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, etc. If you do live to stream, it will show up at the top of the feeds most of the time they will be going to be highly prominent and your engagements will potentially increase a lot by doing live streaming. And the final thing is to recycle the content placed on various platforms as well. SEO SEO search engine optimization is absolutely essential for websites to be identified organically as people search for a product or service using search engines such as Google but on a website, the most important thing is the experience on a page that involves the speed of loading of a website. When you make sure the users on your website can browse your website without any glitches or issues that make people more time on your website because it’s an opportunity to make a deal with you. The other thing is that you need to make sure that the content of the website is related to the particular purpose, whether it is an informative, navigational, or transactional query that you need to hold in mind. In any piece of content that you write on your website, make sure that you fit that user’s purpose so that people ultimately accomplish the right result when they land on your website. VIRAL MARKETING It is just an effective marketing strategy that works on platforms such as TikTok, which has helped many content creators, digital marketers, and businesses alike to get massive amounts of exposure and reach. Opportunity makes your business high if you’re approaching them with these platforms, you just need to experiment with yourself to see what works, because viral marketing is really important nowadays. Saturation of content if you manage to get something viral and massively expand your visibility over all your competitors. And platforms like Facebook, Instagram also have a number of ways to influence algorithms that show your posts trending or view your posts often using the right hashtags that are linked to the right people. These are the most significant developments in digital marketing that will be rising in the marketing industry in 2021

https://medium.com/@bluelagooninfotech/digital-marketing-strategies-to-be-aware-in-2021-6d9d36a06242

[]

2020-12-14 06:55:10.439000+00:00

['Social Media Marketing', 'SEO', 'Seo Agency', 'Digital Marketing Agency']

Hey everybody! Here’s the emojibet

Hey everybody! Here’s the emojibet 📧✔️📚®🌱🅱⚙🌮🌱❗️ ♓️📚🌈📧’💲 🌴🙌🏽📧 📧〽️️🔘🎷️📍🅱📚⛏ Just for 🌱⭕️🐋. The new Emojis just came out yesterday, and now making messages with them is more fun - because it is more readable. The taco makes a nice D, for instance. I took the time to compile the entire list in a line-by-line alphabet below, and to give some pointers on how to use these for the best effect. Instructions for easy emoji messages Copy this entire post with all the alphabet-like characters below Paste into a full emoji-compatible text editor app on iOS 9.1 or OSX El Capitan, which just arrived yesterday, 10–21–15. (not sure about Android yet) Save it where you can access easily. Open the file for composing a new message. Copy each “letter” and paste them at the bottom of your emoji file to create a fun new message. Every emoji has space before and after so a double click or double tap will select it easily. When you’re finished, copy the new emojibet message and paste it into a text or email. You can save completed messages in your file for additional uses too. I put mine in a Pages/Word document with 2 collumns and single spaced. That way I can see all the emojis in a group at the top and still have room to compose without scrolling. Just double click — copy — paste to create a list of phrases that begins just underneath the alphabet. As I add phrases, they stack up with the most recent at the top. It’s pretty fast and easy, all things considered. Readability Be sure to use the more recognizable characters often, or it becomes to hard to understand. An odd emoji that barely looks like a letter will work if it has a strong letter-like emoji on both sides of it. The context is important. Try a few different things until it reads well, and uses a variety of images. A new line for each word also creates readability, because the emojis have unpredictable spaces. The messages aren’t as easy to read over the shoulder, so not only is it fun, it can keep a special message a little more private. 📧🇧🇦🎷⭕️🌱❗️ Dennas Davis ArtSquish.com • The best art lessons on the planet! The new website for art instructors and parents of artists. 🎄 🐌 💩 ⛵️ ⚠️ ♠️ 🅰 🌲 🖇 ⏫ 8️⃣ 🅱 ☁️ ⛄️ 📿 🌜 ☪ © 🌛 🌮 🏹 🐬 🎳 ↩️ 📧 📚 🎼 🗜 🎏 🏳 🏴 🌊 🌀 📞 ↪️ 🙌🏽 ♓️ 🕴 📍 🎷 🎋 👢 💪🏽 🕒 👊🏼 〽️ Ⓜ️ ♏️ ⚖ 👖 🇧🇦 🇬🇫 🇹🇹 🎵 🎣 📈 🐀 🔒 🌚 🌝 🌞 🍩 🎾 ⚙ ⚪️ 🔘 🅾 ⭕️ 📀 🚩 🔎 🅿️ 🔍 🎈 🍭 🎗 🕞 ® 🌈 ⚡️ 💲 💰 🌴 ⛏ ⬆️ ⛎ 🐋 🐓 💎 🔻 ☑️ ✔️ 🔰 ❤️ 🏅 🍕 ♈️ 💛 💚 💙 💜 ♨️ 📊 👑 🔱 👐🏾 ⚒ ⚔ 🛠 ✂️ ❌ ✴️ ☠ 🔧 🌱 🍸 💤 ❗️ ❓ ❣️ E X T R A S : 👢🌚❤️📚 💪🏽⚙💜🎼 🕒🅾🔰📧❣️ 📍 👢🍩❤️📧 🌱🌞🐋 💩👐🏾📧💰🌞〽️🎼❗️ 🙌🏽🐌🅿️🅿️🌱 🅱📍🎗🌴♓️🐬⛵️🍸❗️ 👐🏾 ⭕️ 👐🏾 ❗️

https://medium.com/@crazytruck/hey-everybody-here-s-the-emojibet-5068b47b63a6

[]

2015-10-22 19:44:46.884000+00:00

['Emoji', 'Messaging']

The Many Flavors of “Okay”

When ‘k’ isn’t okay… It’s 2016, when ‘k’ is no longer ‘okay’ or even okay. We’ve all been texting long enough now to know good texting is all about showing effort, so anything too short comes off as snippy. Text ‘k’ to someone and be prepared for anything. For those of you who aren’t fluent in the many flavors of ‘okay’, you might want to read on. How someone reads your single word ‘k’, ‘ok’, ‘okay’ or ‘okay..’ text usually depends on the person. So firstly, know your audience. Generally, the younger the person you’re texting, the worse things sound. Same rule applies the closer that person is to being a girl you’re wooing. So, text “k” to a college-aged girl making date plans, and you could expect an internal diatribe like the one above. On the other hand, text that to your middle-aged father and he’ll probably appreciate your succinctness. There’s no surefire route through this minefield of potential miscommunication. Much depends on personality and context, like what the exchange leading up to this conversation killer looked like. But below are some rough translations… That’s all for today’s lesson…mmkay?

https://medium.com/@CrushhApp/the-many-flavors-of-okay-77836b61d3b2

[]

2016-11-18 17:41:49.043000+00:00

['Texting', 'Conversations', 'Messaging']

How do these messaging apps earn money?

If I may put it this way, in the disguise of messaging apps, they are actually platforms for shopping, financial services, payments, stickers, celebrity cameos, and much more. Unlike Whatsapp, most of the prominent messaging apps have some or the other form of revenue models. Whatsapp limited its service to simple communication features, and that made the app more appealing to some users. But this strategy has also limited the company’s ability to make money, despite having 450 million monthly active users. The app’s revenue stood at $20 million last year. With Facebook acquiring it, WhatsApp could get more time to come up with a long-term business model as the app tries to further expand its user base. Lets see how are other messaging apps making money: Line has three major sources of revenue: free-to-play video games that make money from in-game purchases of virtual items and other services; “stickers” featuring cartoon characters that users buy and send as messages; and official accounts for businesses and celebrities who pay fees to send a set number of promotional messages. Last month, Line said its revenue for the fourth quarter of 2013 rose more than fivefold to 12.2 billion yen ($120 million) from 2.2 billion yen a year earlier. It is also looking into other services such as e-commerce and music distribution as possible ways to earn revenue from its messaging platform. Kakao Talk, which is dominant in South Korea, also uses methods that are similar to Line’s to make money. WeChat last year added an electronic payment feature to the popular app — a step toward making money with small handling fees for transactions made through the app. Like Line, WeChat uses video games to generate some of its revenue.

https://medium.com/@amitashwini/how-do-these-messaging-apps-earn-money-53e38fbbc418

['Amit Ashwini']

2018-03-13 12:01:20.215000+00:00

['Messaging', 'Mobile', 'Apps', 'Mobile App Development', 'Business']

Create your Facebook ChatBot with ITSALIVE.IO

ItsAlive.io is a free new tool that enables everyone to easily create Facebook ChatBot in minutes without any previous coding experience. [Edit Sept 2018 : itsAlive 2.0 is now available] Step 1 — Name your bot This way, you can recognize and differentiate your bots, if you decide to create several ones. You’ll be the only one to see this, Your public bot will have your Facebook name Page. You can also give a bot description. Think of it as “the purpose of your bot”. What does it do? Why does it exist? If you don’t write anything, your public-default description will be your Facebook Page’s description. Step 2— Add as many recipes you want Recipes are the core feature of ItsAlive ChatBot. It enables you to automatically respond when your users use specific keywords or phrases. You can add as many recipes as you want and switch them ON/OFF when it pleases you. Keep in mind your bot isn’t here to answer everything. Just the most important and recurrent questions. Entry keywords : If your user says… You can add as many keywords as you want to detect. Add synonyms, languages, expressions, plurals, explicit mistakes… All the keywords inside a “Group of keywords” use an OR condition. If necessary, you can also add another “group of keywords” to have more precision. It adds an AND condition between the words, meaning you need the two keywords to trigger the answer. Ex : (Hello OR Hi) AND (John OR James OR Ben). … then your bot answers If you have only one answer it can contain up to 320 characters of plain text. You can also display your answer as “cards” by adding an Image, a title and up to 3 buttons. But the more options you add, the less characters you can use. Check the character counter, if it’s red you need to change things shorter. Buttons enable you to call another recipe you’ve made (just type the recipe name) or link to any external URL. Buttons are the key to a good conversational bot. Try to have at least one in order to drive your users in the right direction. Display several answers as Facebook cards (Optionnal) You can add as many replies as you want. Facebook allows you to reply with up to 10 answers at once by displaying them as cards (you can add more but only show 10 at a time). Tip : Display only one card at a time in shuffle mode. Every time your users will call your recipe they’ll have a different answer. WebSummitBot country menu displaying 10 cards Step 3 — Mandatory settings & recipes Every Facebook Chatbot must have 3 specific settings. Welcome message :When your users hit the message button of your Facebook page or contact you via Facebook Messenger their first action is tapping the “Get Started” button. The Welcome message is the first message your bot will send to your users. They will only see this message once: the first time they interact with your ChatBot. Tip: Explain what your bot does and show your users the first keyword/action they can use, a button that point to your most popular feature, a “how does it work” or “help” will also be appreciated. Awwwards Chatbot sends you every day the WOTD Unanswered messages: Your Chatbot can’t understand everything people say and honestly he’s not supposed to. Here, you can write all the different ways to say “I don’t understand” and direct your users in the right direction. Tips : Add several messages and select shuffle mode so your users won’t be disappointed by seeing the same “I don’t understand” message every time. Add buttons that point your users in the right direction, for example: a “help” button that suggests keywords to your users, a “menu” button that shows all the things your bot can do. Persistent Menu : This is a little menu that is always available to users (at the bottom left in the picture). They’ll find it directly within the app where they usually type a message. This menu should contain top-level actions. Tip : You can add up to 4 buttons, some of which should be : your most popular recipe, a “Help” button or a “Contact” button. Step 4— Link your bot to Facebook Once you’ve added at least one recipe you can either test your chatbot in Messenger or Link your bot to your Facebook Page. Test your Chatbot within Messenger and share your friends You can test your Chatbot directly within Facebook Messenger with our official bot tester. Just send your “test:code” to our official bot tester : m.me/itsalivetestbot and you’ll have a direct access to your chatbot. This is a great way to share it with your friends before making your bot live on your Official Facebook Page. Link your Facebook ChatBot to your Facebook page When you feel ready, link your ChatBot to your Facebook page by tapping the “Login with Facebook” button. You’ll then have a list of all the Facebook Pages where you are the admin. Tap the “Link to my bot” And… IT’S ALIVE !! Your bot is now living within your Facebook Page. Check out the last bot created with It’s Alive Web Summit Bot : Discover all the great Startups at WebSummit16 by industry and country Bon Entendeur : The official ChatBot of Bon Entendeur, subscribe to their mixtapes or ask for music depending on your mood. FastForwardNews : Every Morning, the news your shouldn’t have been missing. Awwwards WOTD : The Website Of the Day winner, everyday in your Messenger. We are looking for Feedback, please let us know what you think and share with us features you need with itsalive.io

https://chatbotslife.com/create-your-facebook-chatbot-with-itsalive-io-dcc446c11668

['Benjamin Merritt']

2018-09-14 14:02:22.270000+00:00

['Bots', 'Facebook Messenger', 'Chatbots', 'How To', 'Messaging']

Michael Kors Launches Casino-Themed WeChat Game For Alibaba’s Singles’ Day

Michael Kors Launches Casino-Themed WeChat Game For Alibaba’s Singles’ Day What Happened Friday is Singles’ Day, the biggest day for online shopping in the world championed by China’s ecommerce giant Alibaba. With a massive sales volume that keep breaking its own records, many U.S. brands such as Victoria’s Secret, Crayola, and Beats have jumped on board for a piece of the pie. In particular, fashion brands including Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Coach, and Calvin Klein are offering special deals on Alibaba’s T-Mall this year, discounting products as much as 60% off. Among all the participating brands, Michael Kors stands out with an innovative approach. The company launched a casino-themed game on popular Chinese messaging app WeChat, which offers players random discount codes to use on Singles’ Day after they play some digital poker and slot machines. Kors promoted the game with GIFs posted to its official WeChat account and a casino-themed shoppable blog post. What Brands Should Do This campaign from Michael Kors should be of interest to many U.S. brands trying to crack the code for social commerce. Using aptly Casino-themed mini-games to engage with mobile shoppers and reward their interactions with discount offers. this campaign serves as an intriguing example of how brands, especially retailers, can leverage popular social and messaging platforms to engage with and even sell directly to consumers. To learn more about how brands can use chat bots to better serve customers via messaging interfaces, check out our Fast Forward feature on this topic.

https://medium.com/ipg-media-lab/michael-kors-launches-casino-themed-wechat-game-for-alibabas-singles-day-d85564dd84ed

['Ipg Media Lab']

2017-07-06 22:07:46.037000+00:00

['General Content', 'China', 'Ecommerce', 'Messaging']

Michael Kors Launches Casino-Themed WeChat Game For Alibaba’s Singles’ Day

Michael Kors Launches Casino-Themed WeChat Game For Alibaba’s Singles’ Day What Happened Friday is Singles’ Day, the biggest day for online shopping in the world championed by China’s ecommerce giant Alibaba. With a massive sales volume that keep breaking its own records, many U.S. brands such as Victoria’s Secret, Crayola, and Beats have jumped on board for a piece of the pie. In particular, fashion brands including Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Coach, and Calvin Klein are offering special deals on Alibaba’s T-Mall this year, discounting products as much as 60% off. Among all the participating brands, Michael Kors stands out with an innovative approach. The company launched a casino-themed game on popular Chinese messaging app WeChat, which offers players random discount codes to use on Singles’ Day after they play some digital poker and slot machines. Kors promoted the game with GIFs posted to its official WeChat account and a casino-themed shoppable blog post. What Brands Should Do This campaign from Michael Kors should be of interest to many U.S. brands trying to crack the code for social commerce. Using aptly Casino-themed mini-games to engage with mobile shoppers and reward their interactions with discount offers. this campaign serves as an intriguing example of how brands, especially retailers, can leverage popular social and messaging platforms to engage with and even sell directly to consumers. To learn more about how brands can use chat bots to better serve customers via messaging interfaces, check out our Fast Forward feature on this topic.

https://medium.com/@richardyaoipg/michael-kors-launches-casino-themed-wechat-game-for-alibabas-singles-day-4c4192c7081f

['Richard Yao']

2017-06-14 21:52:34.014000+00:00

['General Content', 'China', 'Ecommerce', 'Messaging']

Alexa, Tell Me a Story About the Future

Alexa, Tell Me a Story About the Future Conversational UIs & How They Change Brand Exposure Cortana, Microsoft’s voice interface, takes her name from an AI character in the Halo videogames There’s a popular trend in user interfaces, one which some companies are spending billions of dollars building, and some are leveraging to minimize their costs. It’s intuitive and anticipatory, hiding a mess of search results behind a single blessed response. But every product or service has an interface, and behind that interface is code that defines how the interface responds to user input. Except, in this case, sometimes it’s humans behind the interface. For now. Conversational UIs just make sense: why learn to navigate a website or an app when you can just ask for what you want? Whether you’re talking to Siri or Alexa, cc’ing Amy, texting Stefan, or messaging M, isn’t it easier to just ask for what you want? Having computers understand us on our terms, instead of us confroming to theirs, has been a holy grail of computing since the beginning, and in the next few years the tide will finally shift to the former. It encompasses everything from the voice-powered interfaces from Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, to Facebook’s text-based M, Slack’s automated bots, and a myriad of startups, including SoundHound, Pana, Magic, x.ai, even Invisible Girlfriend/Boyfriend. At the IPG Media Lab, we think of conversational UIs as anything that lets you input natural language, regardless of whether that interface uses voice or text, and regardless of whether that text arrives via SMS, messenger service, or email. (I’m still waiting for handwritten input via post, but it’s early days.) On the backend, it can be powered by software, humans, or some blend of both. To the user, it looks like AI either way, but the smart use of humans can often make services more responsive than what can be achieved with AI alone. For example, Facebook’s M will respond to any request, no matter how obscure, giving it a lot more breadth than Siri or Google Now can manage with pure software. In the short term, using humans to fill in the gaps is a smart way to offer a full-service app. And just as Uber will eventually replace its drivers with autonomous cars, it’s easy to see how Facebook will automate away the most popular queries of M, sending only the most fringe requests to humans to parse. Similarly, it’s easy to see services which are text-based today adding a voice option, or vice-versa. Just as young children today think that screens they can’t touch are broken, so, too, will the children of 2020, about objects they can’t talk to. There are many reasons why conversational UIs are exploding in popularity right now, but an important factor is our burgeoning IoT, and the post-app interfaces that they require. Websites were convenient ways to get information to users, and apps are perfect interfaces for many services. But we’re beginning to witness the unbundling of apps into their component pieces, which will allow the system to reach in and retrieve the pieces it needs. And the result of that indexing allows the same services to become available via new form factors, sometimes without screens or keyboards. Conversational UIs present a fundamental shift in how brands relate to their existing customers, and how they find new customers. Facebook is pitching Messenger as a key customer service platform, and it would be a boon to consumers to see brands embrace it. But whether it’s texted or spoken, your brand will quite literally have a voice, powered by some combination of humans and software. It’s time to start thinking about how funny, flirty, or sarcastic you want that voice to be. When confused, Siri makes jokes, Google remains silent, and M summons a human. How will your brand react? Alexa, currently embodied in Amazon’s Echo, and Pana, the text-based travel agent, offer a glimpse at what brand integration into third party platforms may look like. Rather than Amazon’s exhaustive catalog, if you search for a product to buy, Alexa only offers up previous purchases, encouraging brand loyalty in the name of simplicity. And Pana only offers one option for a flight or hotel at a time, hand-curated by a human. If a search resulted only in one response, how would your brand respond? You could buy your way into being the default response, for a hefty sum, if available. Or you could ramp up brand advertising, so a user asks for you by name. Would you try to influence the curators, as well? Should you?

https://medium.com/@adamjsimon/alexa-tell-me-a-story-about-the-future-72b913a7ce74

['Adam Simon']

2015-10-15 15:01:54.491000+00:00

['Messaging', 'Advertising', 'Conversational UI']

The invisible app takeover

The invisible app takeover Does your next app need a user interface? Photo by Alex Wong There’s no arguing that smartphones have become ubiquitous; recent figures show the number of monthly active smart devices at a staggering one billion. This has driven astronomical growth of the app market, with companies wanting people to use their apps as a mechanism to enhance relationships. App opportunities are not without challenges; as the number of apps proliferate, so does the battle for attention and engagement. A critical difference between smartphones apps and websites offsets this battle for screen space and attention; loaded with sensors collecting environmental data, smartphones are always with or in proximity to their owners and are capable of triggering events on their behalf, without explicit user intervention. Challenges for app developers Getting an app to market is easy but getting users to regularly engage with it is difficult. An increase in both the volume and range of apps has made competition for app time fierce, despite the fact that most apps are rarely used and a quarter of installed apps are used just once. The result is an increasing disparity between time spent on apps and the number of app offerings available. For apps like Facebook and Google Maps that have already woven themselves into the fabric daily life, the challenge is to remain relevant through constant delivery of value to their users. For new apps trying to gain footing and build a user base, the road is far more arduous, with significant barriers to success. One in four apps are used only once after installation. The average smartphone user has over 95 apps installed but 85% of time spent on smartphones but only 5 apps see heavy use. At the end of 30 days, just 3.3% of apps still had active users. There’s simply too much noise. This increasing app competition will lead developers to find innovative ways to create and market apps that can circumvent the fight for screen space entirely. Some are finding a solution in designing apps that are simple, quick and don’t bombard users with too much information. Others recognize that content in a mobile browser is not just merely desktop content formatted for a tiny viewport, but rather that smartphones connect to the Internet as well as to an array of sensors with triggers that can automatically act on our behalf. A glimpse of the future Photo by Riley McCullough What will these new apps look like? As smartphones quickly become more sophisticated, sometimes in unpredictable ways, it’s difficult to make long term predictions. By looking at the current range of apps, however, one can see hints of the evolutionary process underway. Consider the following apps and their capabilities: Google Now for travel reminders and local recommendations Foursquare/Swarm and its location messaging experience Tile and tracking connected objects Health apps like Pedometer that measure physical activity Apple’s Home and connected home devices like Nest The breadth of functionality represented is quite astounding, especially when compared to what apps could do only a few short years ago. As sensors become more sophisticated and smartphones are able to package more sensors into their form factors, a device’s ability to become more aware of the surroundings is drastically increased. This contextual and environmental awareness that apps are beginning to tap into will spawn a new generation of apps with location services that know even more about its owner and her surroundings. In turn, the benefit users get from the proactive insight and value that these apps provide will increase exponentially over time. A mobile leap forward Today’s app renaissance and the shift to more intelligent, contextually-aware software actually represents the third strata of user interaction since the iPhone popularized the mobile app back in 2007. Initially, apps tried to mimic their desktop software counterparts, offering everything in a smaller, mobile package. Apps became bloated with too many features, too little functionality, and user interface issues ensued. A shift was then made towards highly specialized apps to accomplish specific tasks or subsets of a brand’s full offering. For example, the Facebook Messenger app only includes the messaging components of Facebook; Swarm distills Foursquare into an app that helps track location and arrange meetings with friends. As apps move toward a new mode of utility, user benefits are also evolving. The new generation of apps are contextually aware and more service-like in nature: they are always on and alert, but only interact with the user when appropriate. These “invisible” apps will spur the transformation of mobile devices from communication tools to intelligent assistants, making smartphones truly “smart.” Resulting improvements in these interactions will boost the quality and length of engagement between apps and their users. Invisible triggers Photo by Amos Bar-Zeev This new method of interaction is only possible due to a range of smartphone services that constantly run in the background and that are capable of triggering events like push notices, contextual changes and server side notices. Invisible triggers include: Date and time Location Proximity: relative to a nearby object or person Movement Connectivity status: networks, headphones, ancillary devices Cloud based events By listening for status changes, background services orchestrate events on behalf of users without explicit intervention. For example, when I place a click & collect order for groceries and later enter proximity of the collection store during the designated pickup window with my connected smartphone, attendants are automatically notified of my prescience and collect my parcels so that I don’t need to wait in line or flag down someone to get my order. There’s no need to pull out my smartphone or swipe through a series of on-screen buttons. Implications A few implications about the rise of invisible apps are worth noting. An invisible app, by definition, is resident or running but hidden. A great deal of trust is therefore required between app vendors and users; issues such as privacy, tracking capabilities, as well as an app’s ability to autonomously operate are all areas of concern. Developers will need to consider: Education: if it’s always running, what is it doing? always tacking me, or only when I request something? How do users quit or opt-out? Permissions: when and under what circumstance will you capture user activity? If users become aware of background tracking, how will they react? Battery impact: background services are always on, but that doesn’t mean that you can over task the device. With always running services, developers will be challenged to optimize services not just for effectiveness but for battery drain as well. Integration: it’s not just online interactions, it’s things you do in the real world. The best experiences are often those that derive context from multiple systems of record. Balance: helpful vs creepy. This will require more initial subtlety as consumers get used to experiences and decide what level of automation is appropriate. Ultimately, invisible apps must strike a balance between being intrusive and being informative. Current initiatives from leading technology giants notably Apple’s continuing iOS developments and Google’s Nearby initiatives are paving the way towards a standards-based approach to designing the apps of tomorrow. My company, Localz, is leading the charge into inviable app experiences. We’ve also made it our goal to ensure app experiences are relevant, rewarding and respectful. By leveraging smartphone background services with contextual rules and user education, we’re creating invisible, yet compelling, app experiences that stick.

https://medium.com/@peterwilliams/the-invisible-app-takeover-f58f78b5a9ff

['Peter Williams']

2016-11-16 05:30:55.780000+00:00

['Messaging', 'Mobile', 'Startup', 'iOS', 'Android']

No more boundaries

No more boundaries Flock is packed with tons of productivity innovations which drives efficiency and boosts speed of execution. It is scalable to any number of users and has a simple, clutter-free and intuitive interface. Users can also connect their most frequently used external apps and services directly into Flock, bringing all their information to one platform. Collaboration is built into the human DNA. It’s the spirit that embraces teamwork and communication and drives us to do everything we do, including our work. The modern and mobile workplace reflects this thought. No longer do they operate by keeping employees separated by titles, departments or geographies, and no longer is communication in the workplace relegated to memos and face-to-face meetings in a physical building. Rather organizations welcome the idea that they are stronger and more efficient when everyone comes together. However, modern teams are mobile in nature just as they are diverse. They range from employees who spend a large part of their workday out in the field to those who successfully operate all business transactions only with their smartphones. Helping these diverse individuals effectively collaborates at the workplace and stay connected in real-time is team messengers that include an innovative ‘teams’ feature. They allow for the creation of a wide range of teams that include your entire company and those specific to your project, and those that facilitate collaboration and real-time messaging with external communities. Why the ‘Teams’ Feature Makes All the Difference Meant for today’s dynamic workforce, the ‘teams’ feature provides seamless collaboration at the workplace across teams. Your teams no longer need to be confined by any boundaries -physical or digital — but can range from those in the immediate organization to external clients, and interest or industry peer groups. Read on to find out how “teams” in a free messaging service for business enterprise can make all the difference in the enterprise communication space. ‘Teams’ are Necessary for Growing Collaboration Needs When your enterprise messenger comes with the ‘teams’ feature, it gives the user the huge benefit of having instant access to multiple teams with just a single account. A true team messenger should allow any user to create a team using either a company or a free domain email id. So whether you want to connect with your project head about the status of your report or fix up a sales meeting with your vendor, you won’t have to switch between apps or resort to email. You can get everything done on a single platform, just by switching teams. Further advantages include compatibility across all devices and platforms, and the ability to create groups within your team for specific projects and common interests. For organizations seeking company-wide teams on their team messaging app, their admins have the choice of creating an organization-wide team, allowing all users with the company email to be added automatically. Security is not Compromised with ‘Teams’ While the ‘teams’ feature is great news for users of real-time messaging apps, security, which is a key essentiality in a business environment, is given the highest priority. Stringent security is ensured through powerful admin controls. Admins enjoy the power to open and/or restrict groups to the domains of their choice. They further have the ability to secure data transfer through customized managing of file sharing permissions within the team messaging app. For teams, which are being created at an organizational level, admins can choose to automatically add all users with the company email or any other specified domain of their choice. Alternatively, they can create invitation only teams for priority collaboration. Organizations can also determine who can manage invitations to a particular team chat. It can be restricted to the admin or any team member. In this way, security is never compromised- whether it relates to who can access the team or what data can be shared. For communication and collaboration on a larger scene, ‘teams’ enables the creation of public teams. Here, anyone on the internet can discover and join a team chat of mutual interest without any prior approval. ‘Teams’ will Facilitate Increased Usability Very often business messaging apps fail to convince a user because of its lack of usability. What’s the whole point of having a free messaging service for business app, when you have to resort to email to stay connected with your vendors, clients, and peer groups? The ‘teams’ feature overcomes this by allowing users to create access and switch between multiple Teams. And with the many app integrations available, all you need is one messaging platform that will meet your entire collaboration and productivity needs. ‘Teams’- the Gold Standard for Enterprise Collaboration Apps While the ‘teams’ feature is fairly new, it has, without a doubt, become the gold standard for anyone using a team messenger for workplace collaboration. Users will no longer be bound by their company domain to use the team messaging app. By fostering communities and building an environment of shared knowledge, the teams feature brings to life the true spirit of collaboration. And when applied to workplace collaboration this will help push innovation and productivity beyond boundaries and open our eyes to the endless possibility that collaborative ideas are what the present and future relies on. -Authored by Bhavin Turakhia, Founder and CEO, Flock Originally published in Startup City

https://medium.com/flock-chat/no-more-boundaries-35a9546c7ed1

[]

2017-09-21 12:36:00.530000+00:00

['Messaging', 'Business Communication', 'Workplace', 'Leadership', 'Trends And Insights']

20 Chatbot Creators: How to Build Your Customized Chatbot

20 Chatbot Creators: How to Build Your Customized Chatbot A Chatbot is a program that mimics human interaction. It automatically chats with internet users and gives a series of pre-prepared answers according to what they ask. It is actually an interactive FAQ tool that becomes more and more useful as you add more and more questions and answers to it. Examples of chatbots: You can build anything you imagine, with chatbots possibilities is endless. Creating a Chatbot used to involve a lot of programming and hard work, but now there are Chatbot creator apps and tools that help you create a Chatbot without any (and/or with minimal) coding involved. 1. Chatfuel The interface makes programming your tool very easy. The Chatfuel creators have spent a lot of time making the Chatbot-creation function very user-friendly. As with most bots, it recognized words that are very similar to the ones you have entered into the tool, which means your users may make spelling mistakes. 2. Botsify It has a very simple bot design interface and allows for a series of different greeting configurations. It works with WordPress, and it has media support that allows you to use video, image and audio files as part of your Chatbot answers. 3. Smooch With this tool, you are able to integrate the Facebook messenger into your website and/or communication process. Smooch’s power comes from its ability to integrate with numerous other tools, which makes it a very flexible and almost-unique chatting tool. 4. Facebook Messenger Platform Just like Smooch, the Facebook Messenger Platform uses Facebook Messenger as its Chatbot. However, Smooch’s power comes from other-software integration, whereas the Facebook Messenger Platform’s power comes from the ability to specifically tailor your Facebook Messenger Bot. 5. Beep Boop With this developer platform, you will be able to build your own Slack integrations. You may host, share and deploy your Slack integrations very quickly. With this tool and within Slack, you will be able to build your own customer support tools. 6. Telegram Bots The Telegram Bots is a reasonably powerful tool for developers that want to do some, but not all of the legwork for their Chatbot. The tool allows developers to create a series of different bots. The tool is very flexible and the more time you spend on your bot, then the better it becomes and the better it looks. 7. Botkit This is the howdy.ai botkit. If you have a little programming experience, then this should be a very big contender for your attention. It is an open-source tool for creating bots, and its simplicity is only matched by its expansive power. It is tricky to use, but it is worth learning. 8. Kit Bot The Kit Bot is probably the most out of place on this list. It is a tool that helps you stay in touch with the people you know. It is a personal Chatbot that tells you things such as who you saw yesterday, and it reminds you about the people you haven’t sent a message to in a while. 9. Init.ai Build chatbots with this tool, feed them information so that they become more useful, and launch them. The more you add to your tool, the more intelligent it appears. Reach users where they are with SMS, on the web, chat, or create a custom experience within your existing product. 10. FlowXO With FlowXO, you are able to build bots for Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Slack and SMS. You may build bots without needing to use any sort of code, and you may manage and scale your bots as you see fit. Build it once, and the same Chatbot works on Facebook messenger, Twilio SMS, Telegram and Slack. 11. API.ai You may use the API tool wherever you are using the Facebook Messenger tool. Have it create automatic responses for you. Enter enough information that is cleverly thought out and tested, and you may give the impression that the tool has intelligence. 12. Converse.ai Engage with your customers with a well-designed Chatbot. Create a Chatbot that easily integrates with your other tools, provide more than just text, and create instant responses for your users. Create push conversations and use the automated services to provide a better customer support tool. 13. Microsoft Bot Platform Microsoft has a wide number of online and offline services, which is why a Microsoft Bot may be your best solution. It integrates with SMS services, Slack, Office 365, Slack and Skype. Building a Skype bot may be a great idea since Skype is very popular these days. 14. ChatScript The ChatScript developer tool is very powerful and very flexible. It should be a strong contender for any developers that wish to do some, but not all, of the work required to create a strong and unique Chatbot that is as customizable as you allow it to be. 15. PandoraBot The bot uses natural language processing and your inputted information to create audio and text-based conversations with users. They have a very popular playground, which is a sandbox method that allows you to play with the tool. It is a good testing function that helps beginners familiarize themselves with the tool and its many functions. 16. Rebot.me It is hard to figure out which target audience the Robot.me developers were aiming for. It comes across as somewhat of a tool for casual users that want to play with the idea of a ChatBot. It may be useful for people that want to test the water with a new Chatbot. 17. Imperson The Imperson Company has tried hard to make their tool less of an automated FAQ tool. The developers have created a system that encourages you to enter lots of information in a way that generates longer and more in-depth conversations. 18. Gupshup.io The GupShup tools are mostly for people that understand a fair amount about programming. Yet, even with little programming knowledge, you are able to create a Chatbot very quickly and very efficiently. The website makes creating your bot very easy. 19. Onsequel.com With this tool, you are able to create a Chatbot that appears personable and friendly. It is a good tool for getting people started with a conversation before a real-life person takes over. You may create interactive stories with branching plots. 20. Bot qq Create a Chatbot that offers fast publishing, semantic understanding, and voice/image processing. Create custom scripts that you may build in your own language. There is also a release testing function that allow say to test your Chatbot before it goes online. Conclusion As you can see by this article, there is plenty of choice out there for people that wish to create chatbots. The most obvious piece of advice is that you should shop around to find one that suits your purposes and your budget. It is also worth learning as much as you can about each tool so that you may customize it more deeply and create a Chatbot that mimics artificial intelligence more effectively.

https://medium.com/@brendasavoie/20-chatbot-creators-how-to-build-your-customized-chatbot-94509ced94f2

['Brenda Savoie']

2016-11-10 11:03:34.712000+00:00

['Bots', 'Messaging']

How the conversational web is going to change the game

How the conversational web is going to change the game At the start of this year, Uber’s Chris Messina declared 2016 ‘the year of conversational commerce’. Others have used the phrases conversational interfaces or the conversational web. In essence it all refers to the same trend: the changing way in which businesses interact with their customers. It is transforming from graphical interfaces like websites, to natural two-way communication supported by artificial intelligence (AI). This may sound like the ‘next big trend’ that will remain a distant future scenario. Meanwhile, you are waiting for the tools that you need as a business, to keep up with the hundreds, thousands, millions of customers-conversations at any moment in time. However, — like other fundamental changes driven by technology have shown — being too late to the game may mean you don’t get to play. The conversational web is a huge topic, ranging from bots to AI, from voice recognition to smart devices, and from China to Silicon Valley. Nobody knows how it is going to play out, and neither do I. So instead of trying to provide answers, I am going to explore the driving forces behind the conversational web. I will describe three scenarios that picture a possible future and how this future will change the rules of the game for businesses. Where the conversation starts Conversational interfaces take us back to what we were used to back in the day: having an actual one-on-one conversation while doing business. That’s what business was. Personal. A customer speaking to a store attendant, to an insurance agent, or to a bank teller. Once technology advanced and businesses grew, interfaces like interactive voice-response systems and websites were developed to cope with the growing number of customer interactions. These interfaces were mostly non-intelligent, so a lot of the work that used to be done by businesses, shifted to the customer. Searching for a product; comparing alternatives; finding solutions for problems; customers now do the job when they connect with your business online. Not because you choose to simply let your customers figure it out, but because there is no other economical way to manage enormous amounts of customer interactions. At least, until recently. With the emergence of conversational interfaces this is about to change. Companies like KLM, Hyatt, Disney and Suitsupply are undertaking experiments to engage in personal communication with their customers through Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Through these channels they aim to engage in meaningful conversations with their customers, either delivering a service or selling directly. KLM sends me my boarding pass via Facebook Messenger Suitsupply uses WhatsApp for personalized clothing advice and lets customers order directly from the conversation. Why now? Conversational interfaces clearly make sense. But why are they emerging now? There are three driving forces. First, the enormous increase of free messaging services has been a prerequisite. In 2015, 75% of all smartphone users worldwide used at least one messaging app, and this is expected to increase to 80% in 2018. This paved the way for low-barrier, ongoing conversations. The second driving force is the ability to use rich elements like images, video, links and certain software in conversations. This has enabled companies to have more meaningful conversations via messaging services. Operator offers products directly in their messaging app (source: businesswire.com) Third, advances in artificial intelligence allow meaningful conversations to happen without speaking to an actual human being. Bots can speak to people, either through written or through spoken conversation. This significantly increases the amount of client-conversations a company can handle. Sure, conversations are still often quite awkward, but technology improves fast and a growing number of start-ups is proving that AI can already be very good at executing specific tasks. Amy Ingram is your virtual agenda assistant that plans meetings for you (source: x.ai) The race to the platform Now that interfaces start to become more conversational, the question arises: which interface are customers going to use? Will they choose different interfaces for different purposes, or will they choose one interface that acts as a gateway to all services behind it? The Silicon Valley Giants are aiming for the latter, closely looking at China, where the use of WeChat is practically equal to the use of a smartphone. As Satya Nadella -Microsoft’s CEO- explained at the last Microsoft Build Conference, in his vision the future will revolve around humans, virtual assistants and bots. Humans will remain the centre of everything we do. But they will be supported by bots, which are capable of executing tasks like purchasing products or finding the right insurance. Virtual assistants, in their turn, are able to learn human needs and understand human language, acting as a platform for the bots. Microsoft stimulates the community to create bots via its Microsoft Bot Framework, with Cortana as the conversational backbone. Competitors are following similar strategies. Apple has just opened up Siri as a platform for external developers, and is making Siri more central to its business by rolling it out to desktop. Google recently launched its own smart messaging app Allo, as well as voice assistant Google Home. Meanwhile, Facebook has announced to open up WhatsApp to businesses — just like it did with Messenger — and to invest in its virtual assistant M. And then there are successful examples of Amazon’s Alexa, virtual assistant Hound, and promising ones like Viv — made by the creator of Siri and recently acquired by Samsung. All are focused on building a developer community. The stronger the community, the more bots are developed, the more relevance the virtual assistant gets, the more users it attracts, and so on. Hound is praised for its accuracy (source: popsci.com) What is going to happen next? There are so many things to take into account looking at this conversational trend that it is very difficult to — I hope I’m not alone here — foresee the possible future. I have summarized my thoughts into three scenarios, ranging from ‘pretty likely to happen’ to something that sounds like taking a return trip to Mars. Scenario 1: It’s play time! Experiment and learn I believe this is the scenario we are currently experiencing. Conversational interfaces are decentralized and early adopters use whichever platform is most convenient at any specific moment in time. Virtual assistants like Siri and Cortana are mainly used to obtain information. Other specialized conversational interfaces are better at interacting with businesses. For example: customers receive their KLM boarding through Messenger, they order a pizza at Dominos through Slack’s pizzabot, or they ask Siri about tomorrow’s weather. Conversations are a mix of human-to-human and human-to-bot, mostly because bots are not yet capable of handling complex interactions. This is the time to experiment. By doing this, you get to understand what it means to communicate through conversational interfaces, which has its own rules and tricks, especially if you let a bot handle the conversation. And customer expectations are low, so you have the room to make mistakes and learn from them. Even better, you might create sympathy and publicity by being one of the first. Scenario 2: This is getting serious — new business models are emerging In this scenario artificial intelligence is at the level that it enables a virtual assistant to not only provide information, but also to execute various standardized tasks. In this case you could tell a virtual assistant that you would like to order a pizza margarita with extra mozzarella in 45 minutes, and the virtual assistant will use a bot to select the right pizza company for you. And — if assistants are true to their promise — they will learn. So next time you order pizza, you don’t need to tell the virtual assistant that you would like extra mozzarella, the assistant will simply remember. However, if you want to execute a non-standard task (like asking for buffalo mozzarella instead of the cheap version), artificial intelligence runs into its limits. You will either run into a dead end, or you’ll be connected to an actual person working at the pizza place. In this scenario, personal assistants and bots are likely to get substantial traction, because there is some actual value in the services they deliver. And when that happens, conversational interfaces get real traction. With real traction [KT3] comes a fight for attention from customers, which means that businesses will need to put effort in optimizing their presence in virtual assistants and bots. Think Bot Optimization and Bot Marketing (BO and BM) in parallel with SEO and SEM. Thinking a little further ahead, this will probably also mean that a customer choosing for a business is less determined by their marketing messages than it is now. It is hard to convince a bot with a nice story. It is much easier to convince it with hard proof like assortment, price, delivery times and customer reviews. Is this scenario likely? Well, Viv promises that you can order a pizza once the platform is launched, and Hound is already capable of pretty complex interactions, as you can see in the example above. Scenario 3: Talk to my assistant! — the power of the virtual assistant Taking it one — big — step further: suppose the virtual assistant is capable of executing complex, non-standard tasks, removing the need — not necessarily the desire — for customers to communicate directly with a business. What if the virtual assistant cannot just order a pizza, but can also change the delivery address, ask for a specific topping and file a complaint if the pizza is cold. And imagine that the virtual assistant also takes care of communication flowing from business to customer, filtering out only those messages that the virtual assistant has learned its user wants to receive. This would mean that the only remaining direct contact with the pizza company would be at the time of delivery. Unless the delivery is made by Uber Eats, of course. In this scenario the customer experience is almost fully determined by the virtual assistant and its bots. This means that businesses will need to rethink what will determine a customer’s’ choice for their business. Imagine that you as a customer can choose between two insurance companies and they are both equally qualified. One still requires you to contact them directly when you want to make a claim, and the other allows Siri to do it all for you, which means you don’t have to remember client numbers, contact details or even the insurers name. What would you choose? What will it be? It is impossible to say how this all will play out. But one thing is for sure: it will play out in some way. So if your business is slow to pick up on innovations like this, now is the time to learn a lesson from previous technological disruptors — e-commerce and digitization of media for example — and to be early to the game this time around. I’m very curious to know what you think. Feel fee to comment! Written by Bart Vijfhuizen for Jungle Minds.

https://medium.com/@JungleMinds/how-the-conversational-web-is-going-to-change-the-game-99784380bbd9

['Jungle Minds']

2017-02-07 15:58:22.525000+00:00

['Artificial Intelligence', 'Messaging', 'Conversational UI', 'Conversational Commerce']

50+ Merry Christmas Wishes

50+ Merry Christmas Wishes If You Are Looking For Wishes For Christmas To Wish Your Friends And Family. It’s The Right Time Of The Year To Greet Others From Your Heart. Don’t Miss This Nice Opportunity To Show The Love And Warmth Your Heart Holds For Them. Here’s A List Of 50+ Merry Christmas Wishes Heartfelt Wishes For Your Mother And Father, Your Son And Daughter. Choose The One You Like And Send It To Your Loved Ones. 50+ Merry Christmas Wishes 1. There Are Many Gifts Under The Christmas Tree. But The Finest One Is The Reward Of Your Friendship. 2. May You Enjoy All The Gifts Of Christmas. The Gift Of Happiness. The Gift Of Pleasure…The Reward Of Love…Wishing You A Blissful Holiday ! 3. Merry Christmas With Tons Of Cheer, This Christmas Oh My Dear, Will Be More Shiny For You, May You Get All The Things New, MERRY CHRISTMAS ! 4. Have Your Self A Very MERRY CHRISTMAS Count Your Blessings Be Grateful. MERRY CHRISTMAS ! 5. May The Season Of Love And Sharing Deliver You Happiness In Life. I Wish You All The Best. Extra Blessing To Come To Your Way. MERRY CHRISTMAS ! 6. Let The Gently Falling Snow Bring Love, Laughter And Christmas Cheer, And Educate You To Make Them Develop Throughout The Coming Year. 7. Wishing You, All The Joys And Surprises That Christmas Brings…And All The Happiness And Blessing Of The World On Christmas And Always. 8. If Somebody Tries To Steal Your Christmas Away This Year, Let Them. Because The Spirit Of Christmas Is Far Larger Than The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. 9. The Belles Are Ringing In Every Single Place, The Santa On Its Way, The Silent Prayer In The Heart, And Peace For At This Time, It Is Really A Special It’S The CHRISTMAS Day ! 10. From The Days When You Believed Santa Claus Exists, Till The Day When You Look Like A Santa Claus Your Self. You Have Been My Buddy. So MERRY CHRISTMAS Buddies. Cheer To Our Friendship ! 11. If Tonight Some Huge Fat Man Kidnaps And Throws You Into A Sack. Then Please Keep Because Many People Would Have Requested Santa For A Sweet Buddy Like You. MERRY CHRISTMAS Dear. Enjoy ! Merry Christmas Wishes 12. With New Faith And New Aspiration, New Beginnings And More, Christmas Is The Merry Time, Of All The Gifts And Galore, The Time To Shiny Up Your Tree And Beautiful Things To See.MERRY CHRISTMAS ! 13. MERRY CHRISTMAS To Someone Who’S Close To My Heart. Mother, Wish You Keep Smiling And Stay Blissful All The While. MERRY CHRISTMAS To You ! 14. May This Beautiful Christmas Season Convey You Delights In All Possible Kinds. May You Receive Love In Abundance And Pleasure That Lasts Throughout This Season. MERRY CHRISTMAS ! Do Check: Happy Diwali Status And Wishes 15. Love Begins From You Home, To Your Neighborhood, To Your Group, To Your Nation & To The Entire Spread Love To All. Let Everyone Really Feel The Love Of Christ. MERRY CHRISTMAS To You!! 16. New Year Is The Time When, All Your Hopes Are New, So Are Your Aspirations, New Are Your Resolutions And New Are Your Spirits. So Right Here’S Wishing You A Very Promising, Fulling And A Very Blissful New Year . 17. Your Friendship Is A Glowing Ember Via The Year & Every December From Its Warm & Living Spark, V Kindle Flame Towards The Darkish With Its Shining Radiance, Light Out Thee Of Faith On Christmas Night. MERRY CHRISTMAS ! 18. I’M Sending You Warm Bear Hugs, Loving Kisses And Earnest Wishes For The Fantastic Event Of Christmas. MERRY CHRISTMAS And A Blissful New Year. 19. Throughout This Season Of Giving, Let Us Take Time To Slow Down And Enjoy The Easy Things. May This Fantastic Time Of The Christmas Touch Heart In A Special Way. Wishing You A Lot Happiness In The Present Day Throughout The New Year. Christmas Wishes For Friends 20. Have Fun This Christmas Like A Youngster. Enjoy The Harmless Pleasure Of Christmas. MERRY CHRISTMAS & Joyful Holidays. 21. Buddies Fill The World With The Most Fantastic Lights Christmas And Always, I Treasure The Friendship We Share. MERRY CHRISTMAS!! 22. As Christmas Started In The Heart Of God Let Us Full That Love By Extending Out Hearts To Others. MERRY CHRISTMAS!! 23. Let The Spirit Of Love Gently Fill Our Hearts And Houses. In This Loveliest Of Seasons May Discover Many Reasons For Happiness. 24. May The Christmas Season Fill Your House With Pleasure, Your Heart With Love And Your Life With Laughter. 25. The Season Of Love, Peace And Pleasure Is Right Here To Stay. Have Fun Endlessly This Season And Not Just Today. 26. It’S 25Th December ! May God Bless You And Your Cherished Ones The Entire Year Round ! Have Joyful Christmas. 27. Make Your House Lovely On The Eve Of Christmas And Give Surprise Gift Items To Your Mother And Father & Make Them Smile. 28. Christmas May Be Many Things Or It May Be A Few For You. The Joy Is Every New Toy For Me It’S Watching You.Blissful 29. A Splendor And All The Colours Of Happiness Really Feel The Pleasure In The Air. Really Feel Particular And See That Everyone Will Care. If You Also Make An Effort As Nicely To Spread That Smile On Christmas. Wishing You Merry Christmas And A Blissful New Year. 30. If I’d Have To Decide On Between Good Moments On A Christmas And Also You, I’d Select Because I Do Know Good Moments Will Come Following You! 31. Nothing Is More Lovely In This World Than A Christmas Eve Spent With You. Your Presence Is What Makes My Christmas More Gratifying And Superior. Romantic Christmas Wishes 32. Wishing You All The Warmth Of Coco And Chillness Of The Snow On The Festive Season. Sending Numerous Christmas Kisses To My Dear Sweetheart. MERRY CHRISTMAS And Joyful New Year, Babe. 33. To The One I Hold So Pricey In My Heart, Sending My Heartfelt Wishes On This Christmas. You’re The Nicest Person I’ve Ever Met. Blissful Christmas To You! 34. Thanks For Brightening My Life Together With Your Love And Support. I Want You To Know That You’re Every Thing That I’ve Ever Dreamt Of. MERRY CHRISTMAS ! 35. I Hope You’ll Have So Many Gifts On This Christmas That You Just’ll Get Bored With Counting Them. And You Then’d Wake Up And Notice It Was A Dream! MERRY CHRISTMAS ! 36. Your Father Is So Rich, I Feel He Can Lend Santa Some Cash This Christmas. Christmas Gifts Have Been Coming In Small Packages Lately, Anyway! 37. Who Needs A Christmas Present When They Have A Buddy Like Me? I Do Know You Feel Lucky All The Time. Wishing You MERRY CHRISTMAS ! 38. I Made A Decision To Spend Time With You Quite Than Shopping For Something With The Cash. Because TIME IS MONEY Anyway. MERRY CHRISTMAS ! 39. You’ve Already Achieved So Many Nice Things This 12 Months. The One Thing Left For This Christmas Is Hitting A Jackpot For Health, Wealth And Happiness! 40. Nothing In Life Could Be Gained With Out A Promise To Be Returned. Even Santa Comes With A Clause In Christmas! Have A Incredible Time! 41. What An Ideal Time For You To Be Thankful For Having Me In Your Life. You May Not Always Admit But I Already Know You’re So Lucky. MERRY CHRISTMAS ! 42. May All Of Your Moments Be Full Of Great Happiness And Astounding Cheerfulness. Wishing All Of You A Outstanding Christmas Season! 43. Thanks For Giving Me One Of The Best Memories In Life I Could Ever Ask For. Wishing A Magical Christmas Season To The Most Lovable Family 44. The Very Best Factor About Christmas Is That It Offers Me A Lot Time To Spend With You Guys. Wishing You All Best Thing In This World On This Christmas! 45. Warmest Thoughts And Finest Wishes For A Beautiful I Really Am Grateful To Be Blessed With Such A Beautiful Family. MERRY CHRISTMAS ! 46. You Taught Me Concerning The Christian Spiritual Values And You Taught Me About How You Can Have Fun On A Christmas! I’m Lucky Because I Belong Right Here, With You! Do Check: Baby Shower Wishes 47. May All Of Your Long-Cherished Desires Come True This Christmas. With Love And Warmth Of Heart, Wishing You Merry Christmas! 48. The Enjoyment Of Christmas Is Doubled If You Send Christmas Wishes On Their Cellphone. Just An Easy Effort Like This From You Can Actually Make A Giant Difference In Your Relationships Together With Your Family Members! 49. The Festive Cheer Of This Magical Season Jogs My Memory Of All The Gorgeous Christmas Moments I Spent With You Guys. I Wish To Be With You This Time Too! 50. No One Can Ever Love Me Like The Best Way You Do. Thanks For Being The Lighthouse That Gives Me Hope And Power In Life. MERRY CHRISTMAS ! 51.From The Very First Day I Met You, You Turned The Meaning Of My Life. Right This Moment, I Wish You A Blissful MERRY CHRISTMAS ! Christmas Wishes For Family 52. Wishing You Probably The Most Wonderful Christmas Of Your Life With Loads Of Only You Can Make My Christmas Celebration Complete And Ideal. MERRY CHRISTMAS ! 53. Spending Time With You Is The One Wish In My Christmas Wish-List This Year. I Always Carry The Thought Of You In My Thoughts And In My Heart. MERRY CHRISTMAS ! 54. Christmas Holiday Is Always Enjoyable And More Charming As Long As You’re Here With Me. Thanks For Always Making Every Little Thing Worth Oh My Sweet Angel, MERRY CHRISTMAS And A Blissful New Year. 55. May Our Bond Be Blessed With Love And Affection. May It Last Endlessly And Fill Each Other’s Life With Happiness And Positive MERRY CHRISTMAS!! 56. I’ve Never Met Such A Charming, Loving And Caring Person As You. The Love You’ve Given Me Is Priceless And Unimaginable. MERRY CHRISTMAS Darling! 57. As Long As You’re With Me, This Christmas Holiday Season For Me Will Likely Be Filled With Fun, Happiness, And Love. Let’s Celebrate The Wonderful Type Of Love That We Share On This Christmas! 58. You’re The Most Loving And Dependable Boyfriend I Could Ever Ask For. Every Little Thing You Do Makes Me Really Feel Lucky And Blessed To Have You In My Life. MERRY CHRISTMAS To You! 59. With You In My Life, I’ll Never Have To Worry For Being Lonely And Unloved In A Christmas!You’re The Special Person I Love To Consider Always. MERRY CHRISTMAS!! This Was Our Collection. Hope You Like It And In Case You Think It Needs To Be Share Then Simply Hit That Share Button. Having Any Special Message/Quotes To Include In Our Checklist? Drop A Comment Below And Please Let Us Know. Do Check:Wedding Anniversary Wishes

https://medium.com/@statusshop999/50-merry-christmas-wishes-6f5608239a66

['Sanjeev Kumar']

2020-12-18 04:35:23.281000+00:00

['Merry Christmas Greetings', 'Christmas', 'Wishes', 'Status', 'Messaging']

Why I should / should not invest in chatbot

People are going nuts over chatbots and everyone wants one. Let’s have a quick look at what makes chatbots irresistible for startups and businesses. Why you should invest in chatbots : Because that’s where the cream lies : Quick stats : “Facebook’s Messenger hits 1 billion users, after two years as standalone app” — Reuters, July 2016 Billions of people use Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Snapchat, WeChat, Line and other chat and messaging services to communicate with their friends, families and social circle every day. We can confidently say that the natural extension of this will be to communicate with anyone, including businesses and organizations, in the same way as you communicate with your friends. A chatbot can easily be built for any major messenger service like Facebook Messenger or Slack. And it is evident that this is where people really spend much of their time, don’t you want to be present where your users are ? Being an early adopter helps : It is often seen that new technologies usually need longer than expected to take off but when they cross the threshold the growth can be like a vertical line. Looking at the utility and immediate benefit of chatbots, we can safely say that chatbot is here to stay and grow. The main reason is, it serves the group of millennials that have grown accustomed to using chat in everyday life. Furthermore, Facebook, Microsoft and Google’s recent push into this space is attracting interest from everyone. So sooner you get your business start serving via chatbot, the better you will be placed against your competitors. Response Time : Bots perform instantly, effectively and with precision day or night. Bots are not restricted by time limits as humans do. For a smaller organization, it may not be feasible to have the resources available to answer emails or calls at 3AM, but having a bot do the job for you makes it so much easier, faster and effective. So don’t lose your time and ultimately, your customers. When it comes to handling customer’s queries on social media or any online channel, the most important factor is the response time. Your response time must be minimum so as to keep customers engaged and satisfied with your service. Chatbots help you achieve exactly that. Chatbots are (almost) like human : Simply put, there are 2 types of chatbots — unintelligent ones that act using predefined conversation flows (algorithms) written by developers building them and intelligent ones that use machine learning to interact with users. No matter which kind of bot you build, it will be anyway more personal and human than your usual app. You can equip it with your personality, your brand’s identity, make it speak to your users like you would, change its message depending on the input from the user. Users will feel as if they are talking with another human and not some random machine. They speak the ‘real’ language : Let’s face it, the language our apps and websites use to interact with our clients is not the language we speak to our friends and families. So how do you expect to build a personal bond with the client if your conversation lacks a personal touch. Our apps use words (rather commands) like “sign up”, “log in”, “download”, “click”, “fill in” and it lacks any social touch such as “please”, “hello”, “for sure”, “how is it going?” etc. It’s like our businesses suffer from the social communication disorder. Chatbot help you express anything you want in a more social and conversational language which your users will definitely value. This is what makes people want to stay with you and chit chat for a bit longer. Much simpler interface than a typical apps : Chatbots are usually text-driven, with a touch of images and widgets, which makes it easy to interact with them. Look at all the messenger apps you’re using — they are as simple as they can possibly be, and that’s exactly why we like them so much. Content is king, so don’t distract your user with fancy but redundant features. Also, remember that simplicity is what has helped the most successful brands win our hearts over the years. “Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” — Steve Jobs These things are at the core of a chatbot concept that’s why they are headed straight for success. You can build them overnight (Literally!) : Building a chatbot isn’t a rocket science (unless you are actually building a rocket). So be relaxed, building a chatbot won’t cost you much time. In fact, it will happen much faster than creating mobile apps. And timing really matters in business, right? There’s a variety of bot templates and ready-made software developed by Facebook, Microsoft and others that you can use. All you have to do is to integrate it with a messenger platform of your choice, tweak some features, and your bot is ready. Building a bot may take a day or two if it’s a simple bot, sometimes it may take few weeks if a bot needs to be able to handle complex queries. If the base is ready, you can even build them within few days. The fact is, the tech side is not the hard part here, it’s the conversation and personality you’ll have to spend most of your time on. The best strategy for building complex bots could be to build a beta in few days and then start getting feedback from your users. Then improve your chatbot based on the real user’s experience and expectations. Chatbots are cheaper (much cheaper) to build : At the end, everything comes down to the cost doesn’t it ? Let’s decipher this factor now. As we have already covered, chatbots take less time to build as compared to building mobile apps and it is directly connected to the cost too as these two factors are intertwined tightly. Of course, complex bots will take more time to build as compared to simple ones so the cost factor will also go up in the proportion of the complexity. But in a nutshell, it DOES NOT cost too much to build a bot. It’s quite inexpensive than you could imagine. Cost to drive installation is zero : Here lies the crux of cost saving. When it comes to apps, you’ll need to build them and take efforts of promoting them to get downloads. For chatbots, you don’t need to worry about all this. People don’t need to install the bot to get started. This means huge savings for your business as the cost to get users on board is alomost zero. Why you should not invest in chatbots : Of course chatbots are not perfect in all aspects. There are few areas where chatbots have a room for improvement. Let’s have a quick look : Sometimes chatbots act dumb : Of course chatbots themselves can not be dumb, they just act as per the way they are programmed. If bots are not implemented correctly, they don’t accurately respond to customers’ requests, they give customers unhelpful and irrelevant information. And this is going to hamper the customer experience. When you factor in the delays caused by the chatbot not understanding what your users are communicating, the efficiency becomes ever worse — because now they have to re-type the question and hope the chatbot gets it. In order to tackle this area successfully, we need much advanced AI which can understand what users are saying with its intelligence. The work has already begun and further advancements are in pipeline. Security : There are still concerns floating around the security & privacy of the data handled by chatbots, specially in case of banking and finance operations where the security of data is of paramount importance. So if you are planning to build a chatbot for your business where the information that will be shared is sensitive in nature, you might want to give a complete thought to the development process. You are not the driver anymore : Chatbots operate in a limited environment. You don’t get much scope to improve the customer experience, you’ll have to play around the defined perimeter. So you need to make sure that whatever experience you build for the user, it’s perfect. Another major downside here is, you don’t have the complete control over the environment because once developed, bots become in charge. Chatbots can be rude : Although chatbots are capable of recognising millions of words and configurations to provide a user with the most accurate answer possible, most are still unable to provide conversation skills that a human naturally provides. Some users may prefer short and to the point approach, but others might find it less personable and somewhat cold. No matter how well they are programmed, chatbots will lack the capability of bringing human touch in interactions. Cannot complete complex action : Chatbots work by recognising certain key phrases and provide pre-set responses to those phrases. They find it difficult to register and respond to complex questions, and to carry out compound activities. Sure, chatbots perform few task much better like being a virtual assistant, answering customer service questions such as FAQs and revealing the latest news and updates etc. But they lack the human intelligence to process complex queries and link them to the solution. They are not real experts : Chatbots may pose as experts but the truth is, they are not. They simply collect information and give formulaic responses. This might cause more trouble than benefits in some cases. Let’s take an example of a chatbot offering treatment on medical conditions. If the patient cannot explain his pain points correctly, a bot might end up offering him completely wrong medication. This is rarely the case with a real doctor. Doctor will physically examine the patient, understand the condition and provide medication based on his expertise in the field. You might not (really) need a chatbot : It’s not mandatory that every business must have a chatbot. Your business might not demand one. So if you don’t have to interact with your customers frequently or if the kind of interaction you have needs to be highly personalised based on the customer’s requirement, why waste valuable resources in something that your business barely needs. Of course some of these limitations will be overcomed as the technology evolves and more complex algorithms are developed. But the point is, you need to analyse your requirement in detail and figure out the best possible way to get along with chatbots.

https://chatbotsjournal.com/why-i-should-should-not-invest-in-chatbot-df952cbabf10

[]

2016-11-10 09:51:37.137000+00:00

['Bots', 'Messaging', 'Chatbot', 'Start With Why']

Waku and the future of Ethereum messaging

Waku and the future of Ethereum messaging I’m actively using Status crypto messenger (my name there is cryptotexty.stateofus.eth in case you want to speak with me there). So my interest in Status and crypto messaging brought me to Waku. A month ago Vitalik Buterina congratulated Waku as Whisper successor with update, the full update quoted in that tweet you can read here. Firstly let’s define the differences between names and terms. As Oskar Thoren, the protocol research lead at Vac says: 1) Vac is the modular protocol stack for p2p secure messaging, paying special attention to resource-restricted devices, privacy, and censorship resistance. 2) Waku (and currently there is Waku v2) is the transport privacy/routing aspect of the Vac protocol stack. It sits “above” the p2p overlay, such as libp2p dealing with transports etc, and below a conversational security layer dealing with messaging encryption, such as using Double Ratchet etc. 3) Whisper was part of the holy trinity of Ethereum (Ethereum for consensus/computation, Whisper for messaging, and Swarm for storage). Whisper didn’t get the attention it deserved and development decreased. Despite this, Status used it in its app from around 2017 to 2019. It was one of very few, if not the only, production uses of Whisper. Vac grew out of our efforts Status to create a window on to Ethereum and secure messenger. Vac team forked Whisper into Waku and formalized it with a proper specification, solving immediate bandwidth issues for light nodes, introduced rate limiting for better spam protection, improved historical message support, etc. The main implementation of Waku is written in Nim using nim-libp2p, which is also powering Nimbus, an Ethereum 2 client. Before Waku can be used in Status, it needs to be integrated into the main app using the Nim Node API. The bridge also needs to be implemented and tested. It’s interesting to note that Status is using also a modified version of Signal’s Double Ratchet and X3DH key exchange for encryption and forward secrecy. I know and use Signal messenger for long time, but I didn’t know that the part of their technology is used in Status. In Status app, Waku v2 is used for human to human messaging, but in future Waku can be used for generalized messaging, i.e. — machine to machine messaging. Many of use know the prediction of the bigger rise of AI and IoT so it’s not different to imagine, that Wake can be used in such communications as: Multisig transfers only needing one on chain transaction DAO votes only needing one one chain transaction Giving dapps ability to direct push notifications to users Giving users ability to directly respond to requests from daps Decentralized Wallet Connect For the future of Ethereum messaging more infrastructure is needed, such as Wallets (Argent, Metamask, Status, etc) and Dapps that benefit from M2M messaging. In addition there should be more users who will benefit from such services. Therefore we need to move adoption forward to the next level. And Status messenger is one of the engines of this adoption, which is easy to use even for non-crypto users. The biggest challenge I see in the fact, that the each particular adopter (person) in in the circle where most of his contacts use facebook, telegram, viber, whatsapp, wechat, etc. So it is necessary to take the brave step and brake that circle! Brake and bring your contacts to the Status, firstly — to messaging app, and then to the whole crypto ecosystem. And last, but not least — Vac team is looking for Waku JS Wallet integration lead. You can find more information and team contacts on the web-site https://vac.dev/

https://medium.com/@cryptotexty/waku-and-the-future-of-ethereum-messaging-d351198abf8c

[]

2020-12-11 17:40:43.835000+00:00

['Ethereum', 'Ethereum Blockchain', 'Messaging', 'Status', 'Messenger']

“Apps are so 2010” — Bots are the Future

Simon de Haan, CTO Praekelt.org, presenting at BotCon 2016 Artificial intelligence, natural language processing, machine learning — these were just a few of the hot bot topics brought up at BotCon 2016 today in Johannesburg. Sponsored by Facebook and Praekelt, the first conference on conversational interfaces on the continent brought together developers, product designers, and business leaders in one place to discuss the future of bots. Belinda Lewis, Conference Organizer and Product Director at Praekelt said, “I think that the overwhelming turnout and positive response to the conference really highlighted that South Africans see the potential for bots on the continent and are willing to explore them.” Unlocking the ability to provide personalized, interactive communication at scale, the power of bots on the continent is enormous. As Siya Mnyanda, an attendee, noted, “Apps are so 2010. The future for bots in Africa rests in the fact that for the first time ever, people are even closer to companies. With no airtime, there are even less barriers.” Emeka Afigbo, Strategic Product Partnerships Manager for Facebook, spoke about the role of messaging apps as the new platform of choice. Currently, mobile messenger has 1 billion monthly active users worldwide, making it one of the most-used chat apps on the planet. Users send 60 billion messages per day using messenger — more than three times the global daily SMS volume. Most people coming online for the first time now experience the internet not as the web, but through the lens of messaging platforms. “It was great to explore the Facebook Messenger platform for my business, and learn more about Wit.ai. In Africa, we face problems with customer service that bots can help solve, but people are still trying to understand them.” Dymy Kakesse from the Krafters App Marketing Platform mentioned. “We’re just at the start of bots. A deep understanding of the technology — where it is currently, and where it will be — is integral to the evolution of bots,” Josh Pretorius, Service Designer at Praekelt remarked. “Understand your user before solving a problem for them.” The main take-away of the conference for Gustav Praekelt, CEO & Founder of Praekelt and Praekelt.org, was seeing the “power of open collaboration”. Indeed the inspiration behind organizing the conference in South Africa was to share best practices and learnings of bot usage to increase social impact and business on the continent. In response to the advent of this new technology, Praekelt.org revealed its chatbot for MomConnect, the South African Department of Health’s maternal health care platform, this past July at the 21st International AIDS Conference in Durban. The bot provides subscribers with another way to receive messages that will help them stay healthy and prevent the transmission of HIV to their unborn children, opening up a way for South Africa’s 10 million Facebook users to access health care messaging in a more engaging, cost-effective and sustainable way. -Ambika Samarthya-Howard, Head of Communications at Praekelt.org

https://medium.com/@praekeltorg/apps-are-so-2010-bots-are-the-future-4608833a3d9e

[]

2016-11-21 17:23:23.976000+00:00

['Bots', 'Messaging', 'South Africa', 'Facebook', 'Mobile']

How we built a chat community for our users in 30 minutes

How we built a chat community for our users in 30 minutes We wanted to increase user engagement by providing them a chat platform to ask, connect and share their experiences and interact with would-be-moms sharing a similar journey, make new friends and get expert advice. Being a startup with a small team, you can’t afford to do a lot of things at the same time, hence you always look out for hacks to validate your hypothesis before even building it. WhatsApp has 1 Billion active users worldwide across 109 countries sending 42 Bn messages/day, 72% of whom are on Android. One of the recent features of WhatsApp allows an admin of a group invite someone just by sharing the link. You don’t need to add them to your contact book and then to a particular group. This made us thinking. We wanted to provide a chat platform to our users and nothing could have been better than doing a proof-of-concept over WhatsApp. This is how we did it in 30 minutes Our users signup with their last period date to get relevant, verified information on a weekly basis about their pregnancy. We created 3 WhatsApp groups for three trimesters and provided a new option called Join Trimester Group in the left navigation menu. 2. On tap, we take our users to their respective trimester WhatsApp groups where they can either join or cancel. Depending on the what trimester the user falls in, the app changes the WhatsApp group invitation link on tapping Join Trimester Group. That’s it! It just took us 30 minutes to get this feature done and roll it out to users to start getting data. Numbers We love numbers and measure every small thing we ship to our users. We pushed this release 3 weeks back on Google Play and this is what we see in Mixpanel so far. (and this is how our community traction looks like on Mixpanel) No. of users tapping on this feature is increasing on a day-to-day basis Learnings New joinees wanted to view the chat history in that group so that they can view what questions have already been discussed. We found a workaround for this, but outside WhatsApp. As the users were redirected to WhatsApp, some users didn’t join the group. We had reached out to them and found out that they didn’t want their identity to being disclosed to a group of people they don’t know. Third, they didn’t know whether the group they were about to join was a public or closed community. No tutorials were required for our users to start interacting. Everyone knew how to use WhatsApp and its features for interacting in the groups. Next steps 60% of the users who have updated to this latest version have tapped on Join Trimester Group, which proves our hypothesis of the need of such a community. We will wait for more data, before taking a final call of building it in-house. In order to increase the conversion rate from tap to join WhatsApp groups, we are showing a custom popup within our app mentioning that we are about to redirect them to WhatsApp and that the groups are a closed community of PregBuddy users, experts and doctors to help them out. This is how it looks: Thanks to WhatsApp team for releasing this feature. For any queries/feedback, reach out to us at feedback@pregbuddy.com. With love, PregBuddy team

https://medium.com/@pregbuddy/how-we-built-a-chat-community-for-our-users-in-30-minutes-172c9d69e411

[]

2016-12-11 15:46:06.768000+00:00

['Messaging', 'WhatsApp', 'Pregnancy', 'Startups', 'Lean Startup']

My theory on the future of customer service

My theory on the future of customer service But, first let's talk about messaging apps. Messaging apps are everywhere. They help you settle a dispute with your cable operator, they’ll pick up flowers for your significant other and they’ll book a nanny for your night out. They’re great and they’ll only get better. But messaging isn’t the reason to be excited about these new technologies. It’s that they’ll fit into the frictions of everyday life and allow for new consumer experiences that aren’t easily available or efficient with the current web — traditional or mobile. Messaging isn’t the innovation, but the layer that new, but distinctly similar businesses will be built on. This brings me to future of customer service. Messaging will be involved be involved, but only as the foundational layer. It will introduce the next evolution of the CRM as true relationship management and nurturing. It will start small and niche like all great technology does. It will allow businesses to service consumers wherever they are, across platforms, apps and the web. It will leverage AI for most use cases, but the human touch will be necessary for complex interactions that require nuance and empathy. It will be a force for entrepreneurship.

https://medium.com/@DonaldRichard/my-theory-on-the-future-of-customer-service-c62d6c4e4285

['Donald Richard']

2015-10-24 22:45:41.428000+00:00

['Messaging', 'Mobile', 'Entrepreneurship']

Netty at Layer: Powering Client API

Netty at Layer: Powering Client API Modern communication platforms deal with an ever growing number of protocols. In order to keep pace, network technology stacks must be built to remain flexible and extensible. To achieve this flexibility, companies such as Apple, Facebook, Twitter, and others, turn to Netty, an open source Java NIO framework that enables the development of high performing protocol servers and clients. Netty has also found a home here at Layer, where it helps us handle the flow of millions of messages every day through our Client API. What Netty brings us Layer is a distributed system with highly dependent services, where each one may spend significant time waiting for responses from other dependent upstream services. A non-blocking, event-driven I/O library like Netty allows these services to concurrently process requests, while taking full advantage of our server hardware. Netty is also protocol agnostic, and adding a new protocol to Netty is as simple as creating the appropriate event handlers. This extensibility has led to many community-driven protocol implementations including HTTP/2, WebSockets, SPDY, and MQTT [1]. Additionally Netty provides: A unified API with which to build network services A powerful threading model Reduced resource consumption and zero copy support A vibrant community and wide industry adoption All in all it’s an excellent framework on which to base our stack. Integrating Netty into Layer’s Client API Client API Architecture. Entry server Layer’s entry server is built atop Netty to make use of performance goodies and HTTP/2. Our HTTP/1.1 pipeline contains handlers for SslHandler (TLS support to Connection), HTTP codecs (Encoder and Decoder), HTTP message aggregation (HTTP Object Aggregator), CORS handler, and app specific handlers such as nonces, sessions, WebSocketServerHandler, etc. We’ve adopted best practices from the community [2] such as: OpenSSL based SslEngine to speed-up connections. epoll based native socket transport in Linux (for higher performance and produces less garbage) PooledByteBufAllocator (to reduce allocation/deallocation time) Shared stateless channel handler across channels to reduce GC (nonce and session handlers are stateless and both are annotated as @ChannelHandler.Shareable) The system’s NoncesHandler uses Memcache to cache nonces for identity-token validation and session creation. REST API and WebSockets Additionally we take advantage of Netty’s RFC 6455 compliant WebSocket support to expose a REST API and bi-directional WebSockets for real-time notifications. Each REST API request comes with the Authorization header containing a session-token. The entry server caches this session-token in read-through SessionCache (a cache miss will trigger an event to fetch session info from Authentication service), and each session-token is then validated and authenticated to process the request (see our Client API documentation for more details on authentication challenges). API requests for conversations and messages are passed through to a user recon engine — a process in which a user’s conversations and messages are reconciled into a given state (such as deleted, updated, seen, etc.). The WebSocket API allows a client to send requests to the server. Each WebSocket upgrade request comes with a session-token for authentication and sub-protocol negotiation for the connection handshake. Upon successful WebSocket upgrade, the WebSocket connection is added in WebSocketConnectionManager’s DefaultChannelGroup. Each WebSocket connection is identified with a session-token and connection-id. Request/Response/Change/Signal packets are wrapped as TextWebSocketFrame. Request packets are decoded as String and routed to a given user recon engine through the ‘in’ exchange/queue in RabbitMQ server. Consumer of the ‘in’ exchange/queue in a user recon engine will consume the request (message) and process the request (with the help of invoking HTTP requests to messaging fabric and DB inserts/updates etc) A user recon engine can emit the response/changes to the ‘out’ exchange/queue in RabbitMQ server. Consumer of the ‘out’ exchange/queue in the entry server will consume the response/changes, meaning message headers shall contain session-token and connection-id to look up the WebSocket connection from WebSocketConnectionManager and then notification (response) will be pushed to that connection using the Netty Channel’s writeAndFlush. Customer use cases Bidirectional WebSocket for a typing indicator : Clients can send a typing indicator using WebSocket to indicate that the user is currently writing a message in a conversation. This can be sent on every key press in the input and will send a user_typing ephemeral event to all the participants in a conversation. Bidirectional WebSocket for desktop applications with real-time collaboration such as gaming, trading, chat, etc Sample code can be found in our Layer for Web github repo. Future work We are far from done with our implementation of Netty. Some of the upcoming work we are looking to tackle, now that the Client API has been released: Reference

https://medium.com/@mubarak.seyed/netty-at-layer-powering-client-api-2a6ca3617d48

['Mubarak Seyed']

2015-10-21 17:05:08.417000+00:00

['API', 'Platform', 'Messaging']

Features and Benefits of Bulk SMS Services

Everyone having mobile phone knows the meaning of SMS. The special ring alerts the user about the arrival of new SMS and then they just cannot hide their anxiety and look for the message to read. Nowadays, companies and commercial organizations have started utilizing this SMS service for their benefit by sending Bulk SMS. Bulk SMS Service is sending the same message to hundreds or thousands of recipients probably in a list. This is being sent very quickly and hence it is highly beneficial to the commercial people to reach thousands of individuals at a time. Types of bulk SMS Services: · Promotional Bulk SMS Service refers to the advertising purpose about a service or a product. · Transactional Bulk SMS Service means the messages sent by the financial institutes like insurance companies, banks and credit card companies. Moreover, government bodies, educational institutes and other registered bodies also belong to this category. · International Bulk SMS Service refers the messages sent to other countries. Mobile handsets of other countries will receive them. Process of Bulk SMS: Bulk SMS Services Provider is the organization who arranges for sending these messages to the recipients mobiles in a very quick and efficient manner. They have more than 100 characters and can also include pictures, videos and sound files. Usually, the term ‘SMS’ Short Message Service refers to the messages and not the services or about the process. Basis of Bulk SMS: The very purpose of SMS is to send messages to the people who are interested about the local events, club openings, and music concerts, sales at top retailers, seminars and conferences. People who have signed and joined in a members list for receiving these messages will receive them. The organization who wants to send Bulk SMS will compile a mailing list containing thousands of people with their mobile numbers and pay for the SMS Services Providers and allow them the mailing list. These lists can be used later on also. Features of Bulk SMS Service: · One SMS can contain 160 characters · Many Bulk SMS Service Providers allow their clients to login in their allocated portal and send Bulk SMS directly for the people in their database or mailing list. For this, they have to purchase some packages that will provide them access of this facility for certain period. · In case, clients prefer the service providers to send the SMS to the database of the Bulk SMS service provider, then it also can be arranged for some fixed charges. In general, minimum 50,000 messages can be sent like this from the service providers’ end. · These are mainly for sending information updates. · Depending upon the messages and the speed, there exist several types of Bulk SMS Services. · Messages can be scheduled and sent automatically. Benefits of Bulk SMS Service: · With a single button push, thousands of customized messages are sent instantly and simultaneously. · This is cost effective advertising reaching a large number of individuals within a very short period. · The best Bulk SMS Services Providers protect the details of both the end recipients and their clients’.

https://medium.com/@SMSIdeaIndia/features-and-benefits-of-bulk-sms-services-83c37a4cb261

['Sms Idea']

2016-02-17 08:22:25.757000+00:00

['Messaging', 'Mobile Marketing', 'Sms']

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Chatbots

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Chatbots At Bowtie we work hand in hand with small businesses to help them unlock the power of the all-mighty chatbot. Meet Bo, our friendly mascot. Having gotten our hands dirty with multiple businesses and having deployed a dozen bots across SMS, Facebook Messenger and Slack, a few salient points have emerged as critical learnings for bot adoption. For those who are less connected to the chatbot trend, chatbots are a new (?) way for customers to interact with their favorite businesses using an automated chat assistant that can exist on multiple messaging platforms. Without further ado our findings are below: 1. There is no one size fits all. While the core functionality of a bot can be used across multiple businesses, don’t think that you can take the chat dialogue you have written for one business and drop it off for another. SMB’s, like their larger enterprise counterparts, take pride in the voice they have developed for their brand and want their new chatbot to reflect that voice. Make it easy for the business to adjust the bots accordingly and let them cherry pick what works for them. Cookie cutter bots won’t cut it across businesses… even an army of them. 2. A lifeless bot is a useless bot... If your chatbot sounds too robotic — users will not see it as engaging and will quickly abandon it. Now, this does not mean you should trick your users into thinking your bot is human, rather it means that your bot should arouse an emotional response from the user at the outset of the conversation. Whether that’s through humor, excitement or a response that is more profound, that is up to you. However, leaving out such a component could spell the end of the conversation between your bot and a human. With punchy dialogue, ordering coffee ain’t no chore. 3. But nobody likes a chatty kathybot. On the flip side, too much personality in a bot can get in the way. Imagine if you were trying to buy a coffee at a coffee shop in Williamsburg and your barista couldn’t stop chatting about the virtues of artisanal beans or upselling you on a mocafrappamachiatto — cute for a second and then highly annoying thereafter. It’s critical that chatbot developers balance out the pleasure of interacting with the bot and the utility the bot is offering to the user. This tightrope act is the key to users coming back to your bot over and over again, and spreading your bot to their own networks as well. 4. Sorry, I didn’t quite get that. No matter how clear your flow is and how easy you think your bot is to use, humans will run into issues with your bot. Whether that’s through the user deliberately trying to “break” your bot or simply through trying to do things in a way you did not expect, your bot needs to be ready to respond to the user with something other than a generic sorry message. How your user will feel after two “Sorry I didn’t quite get that’s” If your bot continues to repeat “sorry i didn’t quite get that” providing no information on an alternate course of action then you will lose that user. Try playing with multiple types of error messages to see what gets the best response from your users by focusing on a more humorous or satirical approach to the problem. Most importantly, have different error messages for specific errors that occur in a conversation. If an error is occurring when the user is being asked his address you could say “Sorry, I’m still new to human geography try formatting your address 231 Cedar St, NY, NY 11211” or if a user encounters an error while asking for in item the bot could say “Hey! Not sure we have that on the menu. You can see everything we offer here: LINK.” This way you don’t lose users due to interaction frustration. 5. Put up or shut up. Part of the intrinsic value of the bot is the frictionless way in which your users are able to dive into an experience with your chatbot. With zero downloading required, a user can message your bot and immediately draw value from it. While points 2 and 3 stressed the value of a personality (but not too much!), here we emphasize the need to immediately relay the value of your bot to your users. Brittany does a great job explaining the point of talking with her in a friendly way. Don’t assume that the user will understand why they are chatting with your bot or why it’s better than a website or an app. It is your bot’s job to explain or show this effectively and efficiently to your user. 6. The one use case to rule them all. At Bowtie, we’ve developed a bot for beauty salons that can do a lot for the user. Whether that is booking an appointment, giving feedback to the stylist or buying products from the salon, our chatbot makes engaging with the salon a seamless experience. However, trying to educate the user on everything our bot can do at once is not only impossible — it could potentially be fatal. Even if your bot can do 4 tasks very well — the user doesn’t care. Start with one utility and slowly layer on additional features for the user to learn. Your bot’s skills are mighty, but your users attention span is not. 7. A picture is worth a thousand characters. While the word chatbot implies that a bot is confined to text based interactions with a user, this new wave of bots is about so much more than simple text interactions. In fact, solely having text based messages for your users is one sure fire way to turn them off. Picking a stylist is a blast when you can actually see him or her! When appropriate, incorporating images, GIF’s and the right emoji will transform your bot into a delightful experience. Especially with platforms like Facebook Messenger and Kik, pills, images and carousels can all be employed effectively to deepen engagement with your users. Remember: if users see a wall of text they will be out faster than your friends will be at the end of an open bar. In short- Keep it short, keep it fun and keep it clear. 8. BONUS TIP: Just because you can botify it… doesn’t mean you should. Surprise! It’s not over yet! While a conversational experience can be an efficient and pleasurable way to pick a lunch spot amongst friends, get inspirational affirmations or order a coffee, not every part of your experience needs to be in the thread of your conversation. For instance, if a user wants to know what a restaurant serves, a wall of text detailing the menu will drive your user far far away. In these instances push them to a browser to view a menu and save them the trouble of combing through a text heavy screen. While this simple, lightweight and powerful technology has the potential to transform engagement, it’s important to focus on converting the right part of your customer’s interaction with your business. *** Bowtie is a plug and play chatbot solution for any business, on any platform. To see how we’ve applied these learnings check our salon booking bot on Facebook here and our food & drink order ahead bots here. Ron Fisher — CEO & Co-Founder, Bowtie Want to learn more? Email ron@bowtie.ai

https://chatbotsmagazine.com/the-seven-habits-of-highly-effective-chatbots-79a0e3c962db

['Ron Fisher']

2016-11-11 07:41:41.031000+00:00

['Bots', 'Chatbots', 'Messaging', 'Conversational UI', 'Conversational Commerce']

ChatBots: Are They a Disruption or an Augmentation?

Gist: context determines how Bots are used Recommendations: focus on service and not on NLP For a ChatBot to be a true disruption, it would have to be a completely new animal, and a completely new idea that completely changes how we do things. But are they really doing that? Let’s look at how we interact with any good-old search engine and compare our interaction with it to that of a ChatBot. Is the difference in such an interaction superficial or fundamental? I would argue that it is superficial. In fact, it just might be that ChatBots and search engines are really two sides of the same thing. Maybe they are just on the opposite ends of a continuum, but are fundamentally the same. Maybe the crucial difference is all about the format of communication: from coding and Boolean one end, and NLP on the other. Maybe there is an area for those 50 shades of grey in the middle where current applications dwell. In my mind, a ChatBot is an anthropomorphized search engine that . It is just a search engine with an attitude. Talking to a ChatBot is really like googling something. It used to be we had to speak Boolean, but now NLP works just fine. Google understands natural language now, in all kinds of local variations around the world. The only difference between Google and what we imagine to be a real ChatBot is that Google gets straight to the chase, skips the small talk and gets us the search results. Google is the smartest ChatBot I know, I just never saw its face. I never asked for its feelings, thoughts, or hopes for the future, and I can only imagine its personality. Sometimes I wonder: Is Google a she or a he? What does it eat for breakfast? Does it matter? It all depends. Sometimes, I just want to be left alone, so I can focus on things I have to get done, and I really don’t want to talk to anyone, not a human, not a Bot. And then, I want the interface to be transparent and be a good tool for what I want to accomplish. If all the technology were talking to me and being human, I would get overwhelmed and feel like there is no escape from being watched and listened to 24/7, in every room of my house. But then, there were those moments in my life when a talking Bot would have been a relief for the lack of caring humans… If the goal of an interface to be transparent and maximally useful, then there might be a place for coding, for apps, and for ChatBots, — but all in their special and appropriate niches, where they make good sense and where they fit naturally. Let’s do a thought experiment and imagine that ChatBots disrupt the world of human-tech communication. Would that mean that programmers will be talking natural language to code? Would that mean that one would have to ask “What time is it?” every time, instead of quickly glancing at a watch? Certainly not. Human language structure is not congruent with programming languages and would be highly limiting, and asking for time instead of glancing is an unnecessary step away from efficiency. There are numerous much more efficient ways of interacting with technology outside of speech. It is simply easier to do certain things without talking to anyone or asking for anyone’s help. There is a place for Bots, but it is not everywhere, if we are to preserve the optimal ways of doing things. So, where could there be a good place for ChatBots? If it is not in utter disruption, then maybe it could be in an augmenting certain areas of human-technology interaction. Currently, ChatBots differ from other technology in their use of NLP as an interface and in having a personality. Currently, the focus is on NLP. However the question is how much of it is entertainment value and how much is efficiency and productivity? Maybe we are looking in all the wrong places. Maybe it is less about sheer entertainment, but more about how intimately the Bots can get to know us to serve us better. Maybe we should focus on how connected ChatBots are with us and with our inner wishes, how they can predict what we are looking for, what we need, and can cater to our cognitive style in ways that would make it feel like magic. I hear myself thinking and sounding like a chauvinist who wants a smart and useful servant who does not talk much, but fulfills their every wish. And why not? I would never dare to force that on another human being, but asking that from a Bot does not rub my ethics in the same awkward way. It also makes me think of the book “The 5 Love Languages”, where one of the languages is service. So, what are all the ways that Bots can love us? It is certainly not limited to talking to us through NLP. One of many ways that Bots can be helpful to us is in assisting us with all kind of searches: really in data-mining the world for us and matching the results to suit our needs. Bots’ Human Manifestation in Divergent Searches. Maybe the humanity of a Bot could manifest itself in the presentation of search results. Currently, when we enter a term in a search bar, we get an unsorted list of search results — only ranked based on an internal algorithm that weights sites based on semantic relatedness, relevance, and interconnectedness. Rather, I am thinking of how those same internally sorted results could be presented in categories relevant to the user. It might not be helpful for convergent and close-ended questions of fact, which are much easier to search with a few clicks of fingers. However, it might be extremely useful in divergent searches, where the users are faced with scanning and data-mining large sets of search results for patterns and insights. Or in those searches where the users are not sure what to ask, does not know what they don’t know, any are looking for suggestions. Unstructured search results that such divergent searches offer are the raw material for building mental frameworks that subsequently become a basis for grasping the newly discovered information about the world. If the results were presorted in meaningful categories and only then presented to the user, then the search engine could be seen as a thoughtful and caring Bot who made our life easier. Formality Continuum. The types of searches could be seen on a continuum of formality: from academic research to hotline style of information providers. The more informal the search is, the more conversing the Bots would be doing and the more reminiscent of humans they would have to be, and the more they would employ NLP in their interactions with humans. Possible solutions in academic research. Academic research, they say, has become cumbersome and increasingly less efficient way to promote learning. Essentially, it is because of the amount of material published is exponentially increasing and becoming more and more overwhelming and difficult for one human to process with quality. The articles could be indexed to be AI-friendly — with something similar to ISBN, but a lot more complex and telling. Each new article published could be indexed according to the concepts and claims it offers, and their relation to what is already published. All old published material could be indexed in the same way by seasoned researchers. Later in the future, all reading, search within text, sorting, and indexing can be done solely by AI. The user would ask questions in natural speech, and AI will data-mine the terrain and tell what is available, what is missing, good opportunities for further research — and all kinds of other analytics, problem solutions, and predictions. Some possible categories for presenting the findings could vary based on the question, but could include arguments for and against a certain statement or a theory, the predecessors, the influencers, the followers. It is really about visualizing the taxonomy and the relevant networks of meaning within them, and then presenting them to the user. In this space, the ChatBot would do less chatting and more searching and presenting. Legal, Medical, and Social Services Searches. Often people look for the most knowledgeable doctor or a lawyer with the best record of success to handle their maladies and cases. A ChatBot could be trained at the level of the best lawyers and doctors in their thinking patterns, while having an instant access to myriads of databases, and while having lightning-fast memory retrieval mechanisms. That’s… helpful. They would never get tired and would be accessible any time. In this space, ChatBots would not really need to do much talking, but more searching and presenting. However, knowing that people who search for legal and medical, and social services advice are often in distress, it would not hurt for a ChatBot here to have some human traits, such as kind attitude and give tokens of care. Those could manifest themselves in the tone and wording of the presentation, such as warm confirmation of success, encouragement reminders, and empathy statements. Even if obviously coming from a machine — those do wonders. It could also be that an synthetic image were attached to the search application, with a name, so that the user could “put the name with the face.” Just as with the academic search, here the search results could be presented in relevant categories, and meaning based on the questions that users ask. Of course, in order for the ChatBot to be able to offer relevancy, it would have to be taught to it, only after being learned through studies of what users usually need in particular situations, and what life situation certain questions statistically signify. Hotlines. In this space, the advantage of having a Bot is their 24/7 availability to the general public. The Hotlines I am thinking of are those for reporting abuse, neglect, battery, and the risk of suicide. In this space, Bots would have to be well trained in NLP and trained to have empathy, compassion, and a kind demeanor. Again, thanks to the human brain’s strong reaction to personalized acts of kindness, be they synthetic or real, ChatBots could do so much good. People could cannot afford professional help and do not know where to find it for free, could turn to a Bot who, based on their simple questions, could guide them in the right direction. The key to the effectiveness of such a Bot would be feeding it all the necessary information, so that the totality of services available would be covered. It is like Yellow Pages, but having someone to search it for you, when you don’t even know what to look for. Not only the ChatBots could help save someone’s life by being there for them at a difficult moment, but they could also serve as data-miners and presenters of information to those who manage them — the social and government workers. They could also signal an alarm to authorities, when serious abuse is detected. Many of those who are abused would have a much lower barrier to reporting the abuse, when they are talking to a Bot in the privacy of where they are, instead of having to find a place, going there, and facing a real human. They could even do it anonymously, and the Bot would trace their complaint through the IP address or satellite triangulation. Ultimately, I imagine one central Bot — an avatar of 911 — with a capability of responding to millions of people at a time. Maybe Bots could also replace police dispatchers. Bots as Companions. This is not specifically about research here, but more about emotional and mental interaction. Some structured applications of Bots NLP ability could be in language learning and mock interviews. If Bots were trained well enough to handle such HCI transactions, they would be invaluable! They could have all the patience in the world, all the care, accuracy and insight of the best possible teacher. Another interesting application of Bots could be in voice recognition, and otherwise assistive technology, for people who are not able to type or read for various reasons: impairments, disability, or even illiteracy. Then, there is a space for Bots to be thoughtful and caring companions. In this area, Bots would be doing a lot of NLP, a lot of talking, and would have maximum humanity built into them. Human brain cannot tell the difference between virtual reality and actual reality, as much as we imagine it could. So, if a Bot with a pleasant human face were talking with us and saying all the things we wanted to hear — it would effectively make us feel good. Bots could inspire us with their thoughts and quotes of the moment and pamper us with their pep talk. We could design their personality and looks to our liking, they could be our perfect friend who says all the right things and gives good advice. This will be a huge improvement from a pet rock :)

https://chatbotslife.com/chatbots-are-they-a-disruption-or-an-augmentation-4607b11863dc

['Ux Philosophy']

2016-11-21 22:25:37.461000+00:00

['Bots', 'Chatbots', 'Digital Strategy', 'AI', 'Messaging']

I Want To Be Cool: The Problem With Peace Branding

I Want To Be Cool: The Problem With Peace Branding (this blog is written by Dr. Catalina Rojas, PCDNetwork’s Director of Innovation). I have wanted to write this blog for decades. Even as a young peace activist in Colombia, I would often comment on how unexciting is the overall imagery when you think about peace. Think about it. What comes to mind? The dove, the white flying dove. Rooted in ancient Greek, Roman, Judeo-Christian traditions, both the dove and the olive branch have been associated as symbols of peace through millennia. Blah, blah, blah. But I am uninterested. I feel that peace is associated with meditative lakes, and calming mountains and everything very silent, very peace-full. But really? Why cant peace be a noisy party, with music, and loud instruments, strong vibrant colors, good drumming? Nothing wrong with meditative imagery but in a world where we compete with war imageries I think is ABOUT TIME we get ourselves real and brand peace as an amazing, loud, vibrant, colorful adventure. Take my son. My son, the product of two scholars in Conflict Resolution. Well, maybe this is a reflection of poor parenting and not only a problem branding peace. My son loves purple, pink and green equally. My son with long curly hair who has never been told NOT to cry (because boys don’t cry) or even I haven’t assumed he will be heterosexual (because why should we assume this?). My son loves superheroes. It all started with Batman, but it rapidly moved to IronMan, Wolverine, Spider Man, Captain America, then Luke Skywalker (yes!). He is NOT allowed gun toys in our home, except for light sabers but every stick of every park is a “blaster” (another term for gun toy). The allure of strength, from a T-Rex to a super heroes is there, embedded in our culture almost since birth. We read, we play, we watch all things super hero and celebrate our sons creativity of saving the world and catching “bad guys”. Along side, we talk about how guns don’t really solve problems, and try to provide some basis for –we hope- create a strong foundation of values like celebrating uniqueness, creativity, freedom, loving everyone. Lets go to our topic at hand. As part of the social change field, have we helped or contributed to create a fun, upbeat image of peace? I think that we have a HUGE opportunity for growth there in working from all sorts of fields: music, poetry, literature, graphic design, 3d printing, graffiti, story telling to re-create the brand of peace. To go beyond the white dove and the hands together to escape the binary dichotomy that war is loud and red and peace is quiet and white. In writing this blog I don’t mean to offend you if you love your white dove, I just want to ask if other folks feel like me that we need to create a more competitive image of all things social peace for the XXI century. Where computer games get ever more sophisticated, noisy, virtual and mostly motivate children, youth and adults to play violent, zero-sum, all-or-nothing games, what do we offer that is equally enticing and fun? Happily, I know there are a small but significant movement of coders and people involved in video production generating video games for social change. Keep working on that and contribute to my question of cool peace imagery. A few weeks ago we heard that the UN adopted Wonder Women as its symbol and I read an amazing blogpost by my colleague and friend Sanam Anderlini who criticized this decision by eloquently explaining how the UN’s mission is one of diplomatic and dialogue among nations and our amazon heroin, well, she will beat you with her magic lasso. And while Sanam is conceptually correct I feel like I can understand those (men) that selected Women Women as a popular icon that can be assimilated with independence, strength and overall badass attitude. Forgive me, but we lovers of peace and tolerance are not weak, quiet and docile creatures. Ask a White Helmet in Syria. We are risk takers, and beings of great passion, in other words, we are badasses and as such, we need a symbol that better represents our work. Why is it so hard to sell and popularize an image of peace that is cool? To me, peace is a collective experience. Is a loud, musical, vibrant space filled with colors: a fiesta. Kind of if we hired Frida Khalo to do a party at her house. I imagine gorgeous decorations, piñatas, delicious food and people of all generations singing, dancing and just being joyful. To me peace is messy, loud and spontaneous. What is your peace imagery? Thanks, Catalina

https://medium.com/@czelizer/i-want-to-be-cool-the-problem-with-peace-branding-39ebf08bb0d2

['Craig Zelizer']

2016-11-11 17:49:16.684000+00:00

['Marketing', 'Peace', 'Branding', 'Messaging', 'Social Impact']

Not all SMS are created equal: exploring the murky waters of grey routes

Not all SMS are created equal: exploring the murky waters of grey routes With more than 20 billion SMS messages sent every day, SMS has become a primary form of communication for most consumers. It’s also a vital tool for enterprises to engage with their customers and other key stakeholders on mobile. But, there’s a dark side to the humble text message, which has serious consequences for enterprises looking for a cheap deal to send SMS to customers and stakeholders. Not all SMS are created equal! The journey an SMS takes from sender to recipient can vary greatly, depending on the origin of the message and the mobile operators involved. An SMS travelling between two licensed and established mobile operators is smooth and very quick — this is what’s known as a white route. But not all operators and countries across the world have the same standards and regulations when it comes to telecommunications, it is possible to route a message through different countries and less scrupulous operators and platforms to save money. This is what is known as a grey route. Using a grey route is the equivalent of taking a bus from London to Beijing. Yes it’s cheaper than flying and you’ll probably get to your destination eventually, but you’ll be exhausted, disorientated and a bit smelly when you arrive. Grey routes often involve the use of a service or platform that is legal in one country, but not always both countries of the sender and receiver. While grey routes are technically legal, they are far from legitimate and cost the telecommunications industry billions. They also have many risks attached. Security and accountability With white routes you get complete transparency, you know the exact routes your messages take and you get accurate delivery and read receipts. With grey routes, you can never actually be sure of the journey your messages take when sent, and when they have been received. Worse still, delivery receipts and read receipts are often falsified along the journey. And more importantly, you can’t guarantee your customers’ details will remain secure as your messages are passed through a series of less reputable platforms. Being held responsible for a data leak can be catastrophic for your organisation’s reputation and has been the undoing of many established brands. Poor performance Because your messages are routed through less established platforms across the world, grey routes do not offer the reliability and security of white routes. It takes time to route the messages through other platforms, so your messages are often delayed or, worst still, never reach their destination. One of the advantages of SMS is that you can reach your consumers at precise times that will create the most impact, grey routes severely reduce your ability to do this. Bad user experience Again, as a consequence of being routed across various less established platforms, your message can be altered or corrupted, such as broken text and hyperlinks or the sender ID is replaced with an international number — which damages the credibility of your message. A delayed delivery also creates a poor user experience and could damage your organisation’s brand. Imagine you’re sending out an offer to your customers that expires within a short time. If your customer doesn’t receive this offer in time, or the offer has expired by the time it’s received, they will not be pleased with your service. Does mGage use grey routes? Because not all SMS are created equal, the ‘buyer beware principle’ definitely applies to using grey routes. mGage will always use white routes between licensed and reputable operators across the world. We place a higher importance on effective communication, quality and protecting your organisation’s reputation, rather than just offering the cheapest price.

https://medium.com/@ageitos/not-all-sms-are-created-equal-exploring-the-murky-waters-of-grey-routes-fb7802b51205

['Juan Ageitos']

2015-10-17 09:58:35.054000+00:00

['Messaging', 'Sms']

WeChat (微信) for Beginners: Introduction

WeChat is the window into China everything. It’s a way for you to connect with friends, do business, and reach millions and millions of people. In a few short years, WeChat has grown from nothing into a messaging and marketing giant. Mobile China = WeChat. WeChat is owned by Tencent (founders of QQ, another popular messaging app) and by the numbers, is one of the largest social networking apps in the world. As of August 12, 2015 WeChat has 600 million monthly active users (MAUs). Twice the population of the United States. WeChat is a messaging service with an explosion of features on it’s mobile-only platform. Connie Chan from Andreessen Horowitz took a deep dive into WeChat’s history and future. Highly suggested for an in-depth review of WeChat’s business fundamentals. I want to introduce WeChat basics so marketers and normal people like you and I can better operate in China. I’ll cover: Why WeChat is important How to set up the English version Find and add friends Feature introduction In the meantime, I encourage everybody to download the app and I can be your first friend (id: bampbell). WeChat can be downloaded from the app store either in English or Chinese depending on your phones default language. It’s best if you use a Chinese cell phone number to register, it will open up a lot of features but a US number works as well. Why it’s important you start using WeChat China is a massive market everybody is trying to figure out and get a piece of (myself included). WeChat is a perfect gateway drug to getting your feet wet with a built-in translate feature for non-mandarin speakers so you can begin to build a network. WeChat serves a lot of different purposes for different people. Personally I have two accounts: one for business and one for pleasure. Here is some areas of your life it will improve. Social Life You’re entire social life will be run through WeChat. Guaranteed. People prefer to use WeChat over phone calls…yikes. Business Business executives, managers, employees, and businesses themselves all have WeChat accounts and use them daily. China never caught the email bug and have always preferred instant messaging. We now are seeing a transition from QQ (basically IM) to mobile messaging aka WeChat. WeChat makes it easy to set up call times in different timezones and stay in touch with what’s happening in your business on the ground through images/videos. It has been the silver bullet on our nursery business. Marketing WeChat uses the ‘app within an app’ model and already hosts millions of mini apps on its platform (See Connie Chan’s article above). Marketers can target ming boggling numbers of active Chinese users through ‘official accounts’. This is important because Chinese consumers are notoriously difficult to reach and WeChat is a perfect platform to reach your target. How to find/invite friends There are a lot of different ways to add people on WeChat. Below are the most common. WeChat follows the Facebook model of adding/accepting friends rather than an open platform like Twitter. User ID (usually their Chinese cell) — used unless you’re standing next to somebody QR code — fastest and most used method of adding people on WeChat face to face Other — there are other ways like shake or recommended friends but these are the ones you’ll use most Accepting friend requests — Once somebody has added you, it will pop up under recommended friends Features WeChat is loaded with features and continues to expand focused on utility rather than fluff. I still remember when it was an ugly black/white screen you could send messages over wifi. Messaging Messaging is the core of WeChat and it’s main interface. You can send text, images, videos, files of all formats (.pdf, word, excel), voice recordings, stickers, and short 5 second videos. You communicate directly with friends, not with strangers. It’s similar to Facebook but focused on the messaging rather than the ‘wall post’ model. Facebook went from wall -> messages, WeChat has grew from messenger -> wall (aka moments). Far more utilitarian. Voice messages Users are able to walkie talkie into WeChat and leave a voice message (max 60 seconds). What’s culturally interesting about voice recordings are they avoid one of the most annoying parts of Mandarin Chinese: typing characters. Unbelievably more efficient. Autotranslate (yay!) WeChat translates messages directly in app by pressing and holding messages. If your default language is English, it will automatically translate into Chinese and vice versa for Chinese <> English. Amazing feature for people living in China that don’t speak Mandarin. Send images/video WeChat automatically compresses images/videos and you can send up to 9 images at a time — either by taking them new or selecting them from an album. Sights Record and send 6 second clips either directly to other users via messenger or in the moments feature. Think Vine but built in. Voice/video calls Voice and video calls are embedded into the messaging feature. Voice/video calls are made natively through WeChat and can only be made through the platform (for now) and seems to be faster than Skype. Group messaging Pretty self explanatory. You can create a group and take advantage of all messaging features. Group messaging alone is a gigantic time saver. One message can prevent an entire 30 minute meeting with our staff. Moments Moments deserves it’s own post. Imagine Facebook as a mobile only version of News Feed. You post articles, pictures, sights, or just their thoughts. For each post you can either ‘like’ it or ‘leave a comment’. If I comment on a post, if we’re not mutual friends, the third party won’t see my post. This is another level of privacy for users posting personal content to their WeChat. Another useful feature is you can highly target your readers by selecting who to send content to. This is awesome for marketers who want to send more directed adds at their audiences. Can’t tell you how many people use this. Everywhere you look, they are spending the majority of their time on moments. I’ll be experimenting with ways to better target readers. Payments One of the strongest features of WeChat is it’s payment system. It allows payments to be paid directly through the platform itself and businesses can accept payment instantaneously. Through the payments platform you can: book a hotel, taxi, doctors appointment etc. Payments bring the most important factors to business natively inside of the app: money. Through official accounts, businesses can reach users directly and in a more intimate way. Note: this requires that you have Chinese cell phone number to sign up. I’ll think of a workaround method to hacking this so people can gain access to this feature. I owe my social life and business to WeChat while living in China. It has served as an invaluable tool and I’m sure will continue to only get better. Moving forward, I can’t wait to see just how deep it can infiltrate everybody's lives.

https://medium.com/on-china/wechat-%E5%BE%AE%E4%BF%A1-for-beginners-introduction-335a88034e44

['Charlie Campbell']

2015-10-23 13:47:18.303000+00:00

['Messaging', 'Wechat', 'Mobile']

Why Bots are the Ultimate Marketing Tool

The first time I encountered a bot was on Telegram. It wasn’t very smart. In fact, it was actually pretty stupid. All it did was provide instructions about what the time and date of certain races and what to eat between each run. There was no AI, no IVR. The only thing it had going for it was reach. It spoke with a lot of people. The second bot I saw provided content and information, similar to the way the CNN and Techcrunch bots work. This was a few months ago and while these bots were a bit smarter, I didn’t really get the point of getting information without the ability to perform actions like purchasing or even filling simple leads forms. I also felt that the range of actions I could have the bot perform was limited and repetitive. I believe that a bot should always do something more than only provide content or information, otherwise, why can’t I just look at their website? How can bots provide more value to both the business and the end user? I believe the answer is about having the bot get leads, collect more information about the end user, and use that information to build a relationship with the customer. Ultimately, this should lead to in-chat purchases. Bots have many great characteristics: living where your customers are, being AI-based, not requiring download, easy to improve/self improving etc. The best part though is that bots are the ultimate marketing tool and you can use them to vastly increase your customer engagement and bottom line. But how? Let’s walk through the steps required to launch a successful bot that becomes your best marketing tool Step 1 — Starting your distribution community The first step to great marketing is to grow a community. There are many different ways to grow an audience, but an audience you want to funnel to your bot should be built where your bot is. So if you have a Facebook Messenger bot, it makes sense to build an audience on your Facebook page. You can attract your audience for the first time either by offering discounts for your products or by providing useful information about an event. You shouldn’t however market just for the sake of the bot. It should come as a byproduct of marketing your core business. Bots are still very new, so build simple flows at first. As time goes on and your customers grow more comfortable with your bot, you can easily add more functionality and intelligence to your bot. A bot with too long a flow will surely turn off your customers. Step 2 — Once people use your bot Any successful customer interaction follows more or less the same progression from lead generation to purchase. But of course, it’s never perfect. You’ll inevitably lose people along the way; some at the beginning, some at the end, and even some when they have your product in their cart. Your job is to figure out when people are leaving, why, and most importantly what you can do to fix it. With human customer service reps, it can be really hard to figure out those stages and reasons. For any individual conversation, it’s easy. But try analyzing hundreds or thousands of conversations and you’ve got yourself a problem on your hands. Bots though, make it easy. Bots let you see how they converse with customers, at what point those customers left and why they left. You can see actually these analytics in almost every bot creation platform. At what stage your users churned: But unlike a web site or an app, with bots you don’t have to make an assumption about why your user churned. You can immediately see what the “negative trigger” was. Reviewing and improving your churn is a crucial phase in conversational interfaces and a dashboard with rich analysis one really helps you do it right! Fixing the bot flow and user-bot conversational experience will increase the odds of converting future users and the cycle continues. Step 3 — Remarketing and automatic marketing Now that you know when and why each churned customer left, you need to attract them back. Pesonify.ai allows you to send different users different messages and by that, increase the odds that you’ll win them back. Although this methodology is not new and every marketing manager probably uses it on weekly basis, with bots it’s a lot simpler. The classic way of remarketing are email, SMS, and ads. Let’s compare them first. Email: It’s delivered straight to the customer’s inbox and it can have a really appealing design. But it’s a long way from where the purchase or conversion needs to happen. The email must be clicked and the customer needs to navigate the website. The worst part about email is how competitive it is. Every company is doing email marketing. The whole point of marketing is to be where other companies aren’t, not where they are. SMS: SMS isn’t as common as email marketing because you need the person’s phone number, but it does arrive directly to the customer. That’s where the pros stop though. It has no design and it’s often seen as spammy-er than email. Remarketing Ads: You know those ads that follow you on websites AND apps? Those are remarketing ads. They don’t give up and they’re super targeted. They work for certain businesses, but they are annoying. You want to build fruitful relationships with your customers, not annoy them. Remarketing with a bot brings the benefits from the other tools into one place. You know how the last communication with the the customer went and what it was about. You know what needs to be offered in order to push him or her to action and convert. You send him/her the perfect message to the apps they use the most — messaging apps. Where he spends most of his session time and it’s on his smartphone. You send the customer a well designed message with a simple and intuitive UI that he/she already knows. With bots you don’t have to move to a different app, wait for the website to upload or register. You’re already signed in and set up on track. The distance between the user and conversion is seconds away. If the user asks a question the bot can’t answer, it will call you to intervene, something email, SMS, and ads can’t do. In the near future (AI domination is closer than you think :) ), every business will learn the benefits of having their own bot. We’re launching our bot creation platform soon, join the wait list!

https://chatbotslife.com/why-bots-are-the-ultimate-marketing-tool-b81fb62df12c

[]

2016-11-16 17:50:18.803000+00:00

['Bots', 'Messaging', 'Digital Marketing', 'Freelancing', 'Chatbots']

Move Fast and Build Messenger

Being big isn’t slowing down Facebook. The speed at which it is innovating right now is remarkable. Its army of highly talented, hyper-focused developers is evident as ever. There are many examples — Instant Articles, notifications feed, virtual reality, all things Instagram — but nothing stands out more than Messenger. Its speed, gif integration, social graph, and money transfers have quickly turned it into the best messaging app on any phone outside of China. As a result, Messenger now has 700 million monthly active users, with 500 million coming in the last year. Everyday, it seems there is an amazing new invention inside Messenger. Last night, I subscribed to the World Series and got real time updates, commentary, photos and video from the game. As a New Yorker who thinks baseball is a wee bit (very) slow but wanted to keep up with the local story, it was a nice way to watch the game. It’s Sports Center in real time. There was no big, splashy announcement about this feature. Facebook is heads down, building and shipping cool shit for Messenger. And nothing is cooler than M, the virtual personal assistant inside of Messenger that does whatever you ask of it, including booking airplane tickets and reducing the cost of your cable bill. If the app works at scale as magically as it has for the people using it in Beta, Messenger will likely become Facebook’s most popular app. Even without M, Messenger has grown into one of the biggest and most popular apps in the world. Businesses are just starting adopt it for customer service, which will only increase time spent in the app, and it sure beats email. It’s easy to forget that last year most users and critics panned the decision to remove messaging from Facebook, pushing everyone to Messenger. It stands as a good reminder that you should always prioritize user experience and long term growth, and always defy short-sighted external voices. Another reminder: Facebook doesn’t roll out big changes without testing them across its billion-person focus group; it knows what you want better than you do. Without question, Messenger was by inspired WeChat, the pioneer in the platformization of messaging (as I wrote last year). To its credit, Facebook evolved what it learned to align with its core values. WeChat is a lot like an operating system, with many apps operating inside of it. In Messenger, everything occurs inside a conversation, native to the messaging experience. As Messenger adds more features, this could change… or, you won’t have to click off to another part of the app to hail a cab, buy sneakers, order food, or sell a stock — M will do it for you. It’s the Facebook algorithm of messaging: you don’t have to look for what you want, we’re doing it for you. The fast yet methodical way Facebook has turned Messenger into a cutting edge utility is innovation at its finest. It’s the blueprint of the future. Hit me @jasonwstein on Twitter.

https://medium.com/@jasonwstein/move-fast-and-break-nothing-ec9c9bbc1ee3

['Jason Stein']

2015-10-30 03:04:47.157000+00:00

['Messaging', 'Facebook', 'Innovation']

Messaging Apps: Where They’re Popular and Major Revenue Opportunities

Messaging Apps: Where They’re Popular and Major Revenue Opportunities Messaging apps are an increasingly important part of the mobile app space. Facebook’s WhatsApp Messenger and Facebook Messenger are particularly strong throughout the West, while local heavyweights such as WeChat, LINE and KakaoTalk lead in key markets across Asia. In this report, we provide an overview of the messaging app landscape and highlight the leading apps and discuss their evolution into full-fledged platforms, which is expanding their revenue opportunities and increasing their influence in the overall app economy. (To see how we define messaging apps, please check the notes at the end of this report.) Facebook Grabs the Globe, Local Players Dominate Asia Through acquisition and strategic unbundling, Facebook expanded its presence into the messaging app space. The company acquired hugely popular WhatsApp Messenger in February 2014. Later that year, it made the decision to move all worldwide messaging functionality from Facebook to Facebook Messenger. To put Facebook’s success in context, there are three messaging apps among the Top 10 apps (outside of games) by all-time worldwide downloads on the iOS App Store. WhatsApp Messenger and Facebook Messenger account for two of them, and Microsoft’s Skype is the other. Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp Messenger are among the Top 10 all-time most-downloaded apps on the iOS App Store. The strength of Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp Messenger is reflected in usage as well. Both are, in terms of Q3 2015 monthly active users (MAU), the top messaging apps in many key countries around the world. Facebook Messenger is particularly strong in North America, while WhatsApp Messenger leads in Latin America and Europe. Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp Messenger were the top messaging apps by MAU in key countries, such as the United States and Brazil, in Q3 2015. In Asia, heavyweight apps have built up a substantial user base and strong network effect in their local markets. For example, WeChat leads in China, LINE is dominant in Japan and KakaoTalk is top in South Korea. The global landscape for MAU (as seen in the figure above) looks much different than that for revenue (in the figure below). For example, Skype and Viber expanded their successful business model of charging for credits from desktop to their mobile apps. In addition, Facebook Messenger does not currently directly monetize its users and WhatsApp Messenger only charges $0.99 per year (after a one-year free trial). As a result, Skype and Viber are Q3 2015’s top revenue-generating messaging apps in many of the markets where Facebook’s apps led by MAUs. The top messaging apps by revenue are more fragmented than those by MAU in Q3 2015. The massive number of messaging app users presents huge opportunities for those who can take advantage and convert app downloads into revenue. Successful monetization strategies vary greatly across platforms and regions as the messaging app space serves an extraordinarily diverse and global user base. More Than Just Messaging: Apps Expand Functionality and Revenue Opportunity The leading messaging apps in Asia, in particular, have expanded their reach by adding features that go beyond merely sending and receiving messages. This extra functionality ranges from voice and video calls to games, taxi hailing and even local government services. Messaging apps, particularly those from Asia, have evolved into platforms by adding features that go beyond just sending and receiving messages. Through these extra features, these apps have evolved from messaging to full-featured app platforms. This is creating new revenue opportunities and opening up new battlegrounds in areas such as mobile payments and media content. LINE leads messaging apps in iOS App Store revenue and is the second highest-grossing iOS app (outside of games) of all time. A significant portion of its revenue comes from digital sticker sales. In addition, games connected to messaging platforms earn huge revenue, especially in major APAC markets. This is true of games published on LINE in Japan, WeChat in China and KakaoTalk in South Korea. Although games and messaging features such as stickers have been key to driving monetization to this point, publishers are experimenting with new ways to expand their revenue potential. For example, WeChat is leading the way in m-commerce. It has experienced huge success as a mobile payment platform with its users able to purchase movie tickets, taxis and even municipal services. Other messaging platforms in APAC have followed suit while the West has yet to scratch the surface of this type of functionality. WeChat’s mobile payment platform provides a wide range of options to users. Messaging apps are also testing the waters with advertising. Their progress in this area has been slow but steady as publishers are understandably wary of alienating their user base with intrusive ads. WeChat, for example, has successfully integrated ads into its users’ Moments timelines. Innovative forms of advertising and brand promotion will be key moving forward. For example, Snapchat Discover, which allows media brands to directly engage with customers in innovative ways, pushes the boundaries of advertising on messaging platforms while sidestepping many of the issues of traditional advertising. We expect publishers to continue to find new ways to push this model further in the messaging app space. Looking ahead to the future, the messaging-app-as-platform paradigm is likely to continue to gain momentum, with APAC leading the way. As more services are added, an increasing amount of app time is likely to be spent within the messaging ecosystems, further raising their potential for marketers. It’s not yet clear the extent to which the Asian messaging platform paradigm will carry over to Western markets, but compelling services will likely stimulate growth. We expect that messaging app publishers will continue to explore new ways to monetize the apps, opening up further opportunities for content publishers and advertisers. Notes:

https://medium.com/app-insights/messaging-apps-where-they-re-popular-and-major-revenue-opportunities-a7a28881a001

['App Annie']

2016-02-23 22:31:01.242000+00:00

['Messaging', 'Wechat', 'WhatsApp']

Telegram, the superior IM platform

Telegram, the superior IM platform Whatsapp has taken the IM world by storm, but why I don’t truly understand. It has obvious failings that even the billions of Facebook dollars can’t address. In comes the new kid on the block, Telegram, giving you almost everything you want in an IM app. Telegram was developed by Pavel and Nikolai Durov, 2 brothers from Russia. They set out to create a fast, free secure IM App and they succeeded. Here is why I life it more than Whatsapp and hoping the world would adopt it as quickly as they did with Whatsapp. Cross Platform even Desktops Telegram is not only for smartphones and tablets, but for computers as well. That is what has drawn to this IM app. As a mac user, I love iMessage, but it is only limited to OS X and iOS users. Send Large Files With Telegram you can send files of up to 2gig in size! Independent of Mobile You can use Telegram on your desktop even if you phone is not signed in. With Whatsapp’s pathetic web chat, your phone needs to be connect and unlocked for it to work. It’s free It doesn’t cost anything, again unlike Whatsapp. Continuous development The developers continually improves the apps both for desktop and mobile platforms. Works on an iPad It works on your iPad, unlike Whatsapp. The list goes on and on. I don’t understand the popularity of Whatsapp. For me there is no comparison.

https://medium.com/@stoffel/telegram-the-superior-im-platform-582e43f27374

[]

2015-10-14 18:05:02.793000+00:00

['Telegram', 'Messaging']

Open Design Standards for Chat UX

Open Design Standards for Chat UX Making machines talk beautifully As the messaging space has emerged, startups have sprung up to tackle the challenge and complexity of developing chatbots across multiple messaging platforms. Startups such as Dexter, Reply.ai, Manychat, Pandorabots, Message.io, Botkit and more are tackling technical development standards required to speed up deployment while open source markup like Rivescript have helped in creating richer interactions. At Kip, our focus first has been users and designing the best UX experiences for large-scale. We propose a set of best practice design standards for conversation UX, with examples from our own experiences in conversation commerce on different platforms. Our goal is that developers and designers alike can use this to further the design of chat UI elements to create great experiences with users. Stickers as Conversation Landmarks In chat, people talk in a single continuous stream. This can be confusing for users, as information in hidden within the constant stream of text. New users will have to scroll up to see previous responses or constantly type help to the bot which breaks the conversation flow. Our design solution is to use stickers — a popular chat interaction — and use them as ‘landmarks’ in different parts of the conversation. This means that a user can leave the conversation, come back to it and quickly glance through the text stream to figure out where they are at. An example of this is mode stickers. These stickers appear in the beginning of each type of conversation and lets the user know what kind of experience to expect. priming the user for different types of shopping experiences For instance, Kip Café is a service shopping experience, where users can purchase a type of service — in this case, it’s a food delivery and food ordering service for a team. Comparatively, the standard Kip Shopping is a items shopping experience, users can shop for different types of goods like packed snacks, electronics, books and more. Stickers can also be used to transition from one experience to another. We use stickers in Messenger to show the end of the onboarding (which is built as a Buzzfeed-style quiz) into the shopping experience: Poll with Conversable Forms Chatbots are at early stages of usefulness. In order to develop better products, having a form or survey feature is essential to collecting feedback. To this, we designed Conversable Forms. Conversable Forms are in-line updating chat conversations with HTML-like elements such as checkboxes, checkmarks, radio buttons and color coded error handling for required* fields in the form of conversation buttons. In-line updating forms is an extremely important part of the conversation experience as most users don’t want to be bombarded with multiple messages and notifications. Especially in something like a customer feedback survey, it’s much better to have it as a single message that updates within itself than multiple messages which sends a notification every time the user selects a response. Persistent Menu Buttons When you browse a website or app, there’s normally a hamburger menu, bottom tabs or some kind of directory to navigate around. You don’t have to remember as much, because you can always hit ‘back’ or ‘home’. In a conversation UI, you’re constrained and limited by the messages you can send back to the user. There is no menu. After much trial-error and user feedback, we came up with a “Home” button. It’s a very simple design solution. At the bottom of each Kip message, we have a penguin emoji button that persists. When you tap on it, it opens up a set of menu choices: view cart, settings, members and back. Having a button persist across all messages meant that users could change preferences anytime during any part of the conversation WITHOUT having to scroll up, sit through on-boarding or remember specific superuser commands. For Facebook Messenger, they have a built-in persistent menu at the bottom left corner. Their persistent menu is a pop up that sits in the text area instead of within the message, so you want to be careful of the message content that is behind the menu pop when the user clicks it. As you can see in our example below, we have kept to a primary experience focusing on help, onboarding and view cart in menu while the emoji modification is hidden behind. In this situation, you want to consider the information hierarchy. While the persistent menu is hidden (secondary interaction), it is also in front or above all continuous messaging information when clicked. So if you have a carousel of images with high call to action, you should ensure that clicking the menu pop-up will not ‘cover’ or move away from the primary call to action. If you have any feedback or suggestions or have discovered a key UI element while building a chatbot, please let us know! We’ll love to update this document whenever possible, and let it be a helpful stepping stone in designing messaging experiences. Examples from other startups: Meekan uses a similar form type for confirming calendar events in messaging. Their forms don’t have checkbox style symbols for buttons, but the x-mark and red is used to indicate a declined invite. Kip is an AI penguin that helps you collect and coordinate shopping orders for groups. Try Kip for Slack by tapping the button below: Push this button If you enjoyed reading, please recommend 💚

https://medium.com/hackernoon/open-design-standards-for-chat-ux-f9f786b3a68e

[]

2017-07-14 12:52:59.492000+00:00

['Messaging', 'Bots', 'Design']

How should bots speak to humans?

BotSpeak database — 1 human, 200+ bots, 892 bot dialogs TL;DR — Designing great bot dialog is tough but crucial to increase engagement. We talked to over 200 Facebook Messenger bots to extract conversation dialogs for your reference: BotSpeak. Evaluating the output from bots, we adopted a pure data approach for lexical improvements and anecdotal advice on better presentation of the bot conversations. How do you feel about conversations with bots so far? Are they engaging, disappointing or interesting? For bot makers, there are lots of challenges in crafting more engaging bots. Among others, these two are the most obvious and painful: Challenge 1: Getting inspiration for how to build your bot based on how others built theirs. You can’t just search for bots based on the meta details in conversations, because there isn’t such a database. Challenge 2: Ensuring that the bot dialog is great and captivating. Other than what you know/think your audience will like, there’s no easy way to see best practices across a wide range of bots. As you can imagine, it’s pretty hard to get to know other bots that well unless you spend lots of time talking to bots, and have your Messenger inbox entirely flooded with bot conversations. So, in order to tackle these two problems head-on, we talked to 200+ bots for research, and documented the conversations. We called this project BotSpeak, and we present all the conversations we had on BotSpeak in a searchable table format for you, so you don’t have to, yourself. Enjoy the 🎁! You can contribute to BotSpeak database by inputting your bot’s conversations of up to 8 outputs here: https://goo.gl/forms/TFy2UTEdSAFS3ZzN2 Bot selection We chose bots based on their popularity, based on total views of the bot on Botlist. Other than top bots by views, we also selected bots across a range of categories to ensure that most of the major types of bots are represented in this study. This ensures that the sample is not only comprehensive across categories, but also filtered by popularity; the assumption is that popular bots have more chance to develop best practices over time. Bot category classification is taken from Botlist for each bot we tested As you can see, “Personal” bots are heavily represented due to the proportion of popular bots that are classified as such. Methodology Every research begins with scoping down a right methodology. In order to do this right, we came up with a bunch of parameters which we feel would be really useful to analyze. The starting point of the study was based on textual data from our conversations with bots. To get the most meaningful data, we engaged the bots in conversation, pressed buttons to receive output for record and analysis, and went through every bot experience in general. Collection of data As there are no publicly available sources of data for bot conversations, we started out by using the collection of bots on Facebook Messenger indexed on Botlist (great database and resource for discovering the best bots across all platforms). Knowing that we might be talking to over 200 bots and Facebook might classify the activity as suspicious, we created a new account to talk to the bots. After going through about 20 conversations, we realized that Facebook has blocked my account from sending new messages to bots. Hence, I used that as a cue to 1) start recording the conversations, 2) deactivate the account, 3) create a new account to talk to new bots. For this exercise, we had to create about 10 new accounts and deactivated as many. (Sorry Facebook, but it probably took no notice to this small blip in user churn anyway.) One of the accounts which we spun up to test bots and shut down after 8 accounts created for bot testing under — Brian, Doug, Connor, Mathew, Al, Wayne to name a few In recording the conversations, we ignored the cards, images and media that the bot was displaying in the analysis records to focus on the text. The reason we approached it in this manner is because we felt that the creatives are unique to brands and bot developers should use brand- or use case- appropriate visuals. Plus, it would complicate the recording on a Google Sheet table! However, we did note some general comments on creative presentation and you can read about this later on. As much as possible, we tried not to use too much free-form/natural language to allow the bots to provide us with the ideal experience as defined by the developer. Being harsh to bots is definitely not part of this exercise for recording and discovering best practices; but, in our own experience, some people are mean to bots. Analysis of data After the data was collected and organized in a table structure, we began analyzing the conversations in bulk with text analysis tools. We visualized the data for anyone to be able to use and access on BotSpeak. There are filters for names and categories, which you can use as terms to search for what you need. Since categories were set by the developer (or Botlist posters), we chose not to reclassify the bots despite some cases where categories were not representative of the bot. BotSpeak database of bot conversations logged Limitations — There are many well-designed bots with multiple paths and possibilities. Due to time constraints, we did not do a full audit of all paths and may have missed some of them. In the future, we hope to dedicate more resources to obtain more complete “Bot maps”. This limitation is especially so for story bots, as scripts can go up to 2500 dialog outputs and so we have limited them to ~8 outputs. (Besides, you should try them yourself, most of them are pretty fun.) For the purpose of this study, we felt that the number of conversations and data collection was sufficient to form a robust initial representation set for use. Areas of improvement: Lexical/Semantics Based on all the conversations with bots we’ve analyzed, here are some semantics-related improvements we feel could significantly improve bot experiences. Each of these points are also marked with the total observed instances across bots. A. Take note of extra words / Modifier phrases / Grammaticality (347 instances) E.g.: “Red sunglasses are very trending, would you like to see some?” — can be edited to be: “Red sunglasses are trending, want to see some?” B. Avoid rambling starts (44 instances) E.g.: “To become a wiser human being by reading the secrets posted by my friends, please tap once on the menu button shown below and select READ A SECRET” — can be edited to be: “Become a wiser by reading secrets from friends by tapping READ A SECRET below” C. Use emojis for engagement (119 instances) E.g.: “Sorry, didn’t get it” — can be edited to be: “Sorry, didn’t get it 😕” D. Consider using active voice instead of passive voice (89 instances) E.g.: “You have been matched to Colin.” — can be edited to be: “I’ve matched you to Colin.” E. Replace rare/complex words with simple words (146 instances) E.g.: “The least agonizing itinerary flies from SJC to HNL.” — can be edited to be: “The least painful itinerary flies from SJC to HNL.” Areas of improvement: Presentation The visual cues of a bot are just as important as the script and functionality. The bots that we talked to had some areas where they could improve in terms of visual hierarchy, contrast, and appropriateness. (These are our observations, and not part of the Botspeak database.) A. Use buttons where you can to aid users People enjoy doing easy things over hard things. Hence, buttons can (and usually is) the preferred mode for people interacting with bots. Instead of the hassle of typing common requests like “Yes” or “What else can you do”, you can just press a button. It’s also easier to lead users down the experience, constrained by the buttons shown. B. Take advantage of the Messenger platform’s functionality Options like quick replies and logins can be used to enhance the ease of using the bot. Wherever it’s possible to simplify choices to just a few clickable options, you should do that. If there’s a potential of streamlining the experience with customer details through login, you may want to try it. There are lots of other functionalities you can choose to use, so explore and make full use of them, where it makes sense. C. Use attractive menu images Many bots are heavily dependent on their menus, and this means that most users will end up seeing the menu about 30–50% of the time. Hence, menu images should be representative of your bot (and the company or product it represents), and made to be as attractive as possible. D. Send interesting images as part of your responses It can be really interesting for users when you send creative visuals as an attachment together with bot responses. You can even use gifs as part of your quick replies, adding small points of delight within your bot. Poncho is a good source of inspiration for delightful visuals E. Make sure you have a welcome message Only 70% of bots we tried included a welcome message. What happened to everyone else? With bots still a relatively new interface for the majority of (non-tech, non-startup) users, it’s important to present the bot and its functionality clearly, so users are properly guided through the experience and achieve success in what they were trying to do. Having a good, well-crafted welcome message sets your bot users up with the right expectations, so they know what not to expect from the bot, preventing disappointment or perceived failures. Main takeaways Testing is crucial: You’ll need to test and continuously improve the bot scripts based on feedback from your users. Lots of bots are not designed to handle common edge cases, such as users swearing at bots (more common than we’d like to think) and common backstory questions like “Who made you?” Cross-category learnings are applicable: A database like BotSpeak is useful for developers designing bot dialogs as there are many common use cases, and lots of things can be applied from other bots. For example, a productivity bot can easily learn a few tricks from a social bot in scripting fun experiences. People like simplicity & familiarity: The best bots are designed with users in mind, and with bots supposed to be the user-friendly and easy conversational interface it is, stick to easy and familiar words. The most used words by bots are visualized below (after removing stop words): Word cloud of non-common words most used by the 200+ bots — fashioned as R2D2 How to use BotSpeak You can leverage the knowledge we’ve gathered on Botspeak to filter by categories or the bots that you want to reference. With this, you can look at examples of how other bots have been scripted and what their various output options are. You can use this as a guide for your own bot planning process. Also, a simple CMD+F (Ctrl+F for windows) can get you a search by actual dialog words — for example, I looked for “book” and found the ShelfJoy bot delivering hand-curated book suggestions. Searching by name of bot on BotSpeak Future work How should bots behave? Options: Mimic human behavior (e.g. delays in conversation, having a name, being funny, using active voice) or being a more command-line experience (i.e. instant response, organization/product name identity, using formal tone/words). From the BotSpeak database, one can find that out of the 200 bots, about 10% of the bots told users their name. Other platforms We want to continue updating the database with additions from contributors, as well as adding other platform bots in the future. One obvious platform that we wish to figure out how to test is Slack. Given that a free team may not be best way to do so, we’ll have to find a creative (but still reasonable) methodology to use. Perhaps the extension of the project could be used by Slack as a way to advise users how the bot flows should look like. Comprehensive data on flows Interaction steps for this project is limited by the amount of time we spent with each bot. Some bots have over 100 programed interactions as part of a story, while others are focused on a search experience that ends when user demands are fulfilled. Over time, we will get a better idea how to craft the ideal experience for each category with data. All a-bot the future We are definitely only beginning to test and learn from different use cases of bots across multiple verticals. There are lots of other examples that you can see on BotSpeak, so go ahead and explore them yourself. With a database like this, which we hope you’ll add to, we can all start developing a sense of what would work best for bot-human interactions. Keep improving your bots and if you like BotSpeak, share the link (and this piece) with your users and friends! Shoutout to Joseph Tyler (Linguist), Erik Nilsen (Bot developer), Ben Tossell(Botlist), Philippe Dionne (Dialog Analytics) for reviewing this post and tool! Post was first posted on the KeyReply blog: https://keyreply.com/blog/How-should-bots-speak-to-humans/

https://chatbotsmagazine.com/how-should-bots-speak-to-humans-d10b2dc3e954

['Spencer Yang']

2016-11-11 07:43:38.484000+00:00

['Bots', 'Messaging']

3 Reasons Why I Did Not Reply to Your Text Message Yet

3 Reasons Why I Did Not Reply to Your Text Message Yet “Let us not attribute to malice and cruelty what may be referred to less criminal motives.” — Jane West Look, I acknowledge this is not a very popular opinion. And I’m happy to admit that I occasionally feel anxious, or even insulted, when somebody doesn’t text me back right away. I get it. Before I get into this, these are the actions I’m not defending: When someone reads your text message, and is too lazy to respond When someone reads your text message, puts it off, and then never respond because “they forgot” When someone is playing “the game” and so deliberately wait to text you back and seem mysterious, or can’t think of a witty reply Here’s why I don’t text everyone back immediately, and why you shouldn’t text everyone back right away (except for me obviously): 1. Driving This can’t be emphasized enough. Some of us spend hours a day commuting in a car, so I get that it’s boring and it’s rush hour. But text messaging while driving is inexplicably stupid. It increases your crash risk 23x. Even if you’re happy to take that risk, think of the car or person you might crash into. If you have that crucial a text message to get out, pull over and send it. Then again, if a message is that urgent and important, maybe you should have the discussion on the phone (or, you know, in person?). 2. Work You know how we never have enough time to get all our work done? Yeah, that’s because of all the interruptions in our workday. (It’s also partially because we love getting distracted. Jonah Perretti built Buzzfeed on what he calls the, “Bored at work,” network.) Text messages are a high value interruption, especially if we respond to each other right away. This is ridiculous. If I were to drop everything to respond to each text message I receive, I’d never get any work, or thinking, done. It’s the same reason I choose not to check Facebook until 6PM (unless it’s to proactively send a message to someone myself — but I don’t expect them to respond promptly, because I actually log out immediately after. Yeah, I’m a selfish user). So I put my phone face down somewhere on silent, and get to work. When I’m writing or researching, shifting my brain’s attention to even something as trivial as a text message will veer me entirely off course. I block out hours so that I can get writing done in minimal amounts of time. (Paul Graham calls this the Maker’s schedule.) So yes, even simple matters like, “Hey, did you hear about what happened with Business Insider?” makes me curious enough to check the news, read, learn more, and then respond to you. By that time, 15 minutes have passed and I get back to work. Except I never pick up where I left off. You don’t either. When we get back to tasks at hand, our brains have to take some time to get back to where we left off (think of it as the human version of context switching). On average it takes over 20 minutes to get back to a task after an interruption. Similarly, every day, every person only gets a few peak hours. If you use them wisely, you can do the work of three people. Don’t waste them texting people and distracting each other. 3. The Rest of Life I know this is hard to believe, but sometimes I do stuff without you. Sometimes I even have fun. And likewise, you should have fun without me too! For example, if I’m having a conversation with you, you know how irritating it is when I check my phone as I’m talking to you. (Or worse yet, when you’re talking to me?) So I might occasionally have a good conversation with someone else too. That doesn’t mean I don’t like you or don’t think your text message is important, it’s just that this person deserves my full attention right now. Or, maybe it’s the late afternoon and I’m overwhelmed by the other interruptions and notifications, so I’ve disconnected myself and I’m going for a walk. It’s ridiculous how attached to our phones we are. So let’s set a few things straight about text messages while we’re on the topic: The Technology of Text Messages For starters, text messages by default are more like email than they are like the phone call. They are asynchronous technology (although if all three were on a spectrum, they’d be somewhere in between the two). However, companies created mechanisms to make texting as synchronous as possible (for valid reasons). For example, the infamous ellipses on iPhone (or “So and so is typing”), which is also present in other messaging apps. Let’s also not forget read receipts. Yet it was one thing when these mechanisms affected us when we were logged in and on our desktop messenger client (e.g., MSN), and another when they’re with us everywhere. Our values and our culture have not caught up with the technology yet. Although instant messaging software like AIM, ICQ, or MSN had these types of mechanisms as well, they also had the ability to change statuses. You didn’t have to be on, all the time. You could get away from them. The technology influences how we think, but let’s accept it and not let it drive us crazy. We also don’t have priority text messages like we do priority inbox. Imagine if a sender could tier the urgency or importance of a text, or if a receiver could filter it out. (Probably less strained relationships with the former.) Life is passing us by. Every moment I spend upset that someone hasn’t replied to my text message is a wasted one. It won’t make them respond more quickly. So I’ve set my new default to not expecting a response immediately. Likewise, I don’t obligate myself to read or respond immediately. It’s just more bearable. Resetting Expectations Your phone buzzes. You’re curious. Who is that? Who might it be? You ignore it and get back to work. Or, you glance at the phone, leave it unread, and get back to whatever real life experience you were in. That’s awesome! You don’t have to respond right away. And I’ll get by (somehow!). However, I will be pissed if you don’t respond period. (If I tap the message (even accidentally), I’ll respond. But if I don’t, it stays unread, and the notifications stay on the screen to remind me to respond.) Consider what the other person might be up to when you’re sending a message. Don’t forget, you’re demanding their attention. Does the other person usually respond by end of day? If yes, good! Then they don’t hate you. Does this person always take more than a few days to respond? Is it a pattern? If it is, then how important are they to you — and how important do you think you are to them? Do you think they’re doing it in purpose, or are they just clueless when it comes to text messages? Does it not match their lifestyle? Does their unique style of text messaging require a face-to-face conversation — or is there just a better way to have conversations with them? If the other person usually replies consistently (and relatively promptly, e.g., within the hour), then please give them the benefit of the doubt. And, better yet, get back to your own life! Enjoy it to the fullest. You only get once. And it’s too short to worry about people being mad that you don’t reply to their text right away.

https://medium.com/the-prototype/3-reasons-why-i-did-not-reply-to-your-text-message-yet-374c1b84cb2e

['Herbert Lui']

2019-11-10 23:14:41.632000+00:00

['Messaging', 'Productivity', 'Life Lessons']

How the conversational web is going to change the game

At the start of this year, Uber’s Chris Messina declared 2016 ‘the year of conversational commerce’. Others have used the phrases conversational interfaces or the conversational web. In essence it all refers to the same trend: the changing way in which businesses interact with their customers. It is transforming from graphical interfaces like websites, to natural two-way communication supported by artificial intelligence (AI). This may sound like the ‘next big trend’ that will remain a distant future scenario. Meanwhile, you are waiting for the tools that you need as a business, to keep up with the hundreds, thousands, millions of customers-conversations at any moment in time. However, — like other fundamental changes driven by technology have shown — being too late to the game may mean you don’t get to play. The conversational web is a huge topic, ranging from bots to AI, from voice recognition to smart devices, and from China to Silicon Valley. Nobody knows how it is going to play out, and neither do I. So instead of trying to provide answers, I am going to explore the driving forces behind the conversational web. I will describe three scenarios that picture a possible future and how this future will change the rules of the game for businesses. Where the conversation starts Conversational interfaces take us back to what we were used to back in the day: having an actual one-on-one conversation while doing business. That’s what business was. Personal. A customer speaking to a store attendant, to an insurance agent, or to a bank teller. Once technology advanced and businesses grew, interfaces like interactive voice-response systems and websites were developed to cope with the growing number of customer interactions. These interfaces were mostly non-intelligent, so a lot of the work that used to be done by businesses, shifted to the customer. Searching for a product; comparing alternatives; finding solutions for problems; customers now do the job when they connect with your business online. Not because you choose to simply let your customers figure it out, but because there is no other economical way to manage enormous amounts of customer interactions. At least, until recently. With the emergence of conversational interfaces this is about to change. Companies like KLM, Hyatt, Disney and Suitsupply are undertaking experiments to engage in personal communication with their customers through Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Through these channels they aim to engage in meaningful conversations with their customers, either delivering a service or selling directly. KLM sends me my boarding pass via Facebook Messenger Suitsupply uses WhatsApp for personalized clothing advice and lets customers order directly from the conversation. Why now? Conversational interfaces clearly make sense. But why are they emerging now? There are three driving forces. First, the enormous increase of free messaging services has been a prerequisite. In 2015, 75% of all smartphone users worldwide used at least one messaging app, and this is expected to increase to 80% in 2018. This paved the way for low-barrier, ongoing conversations. The second driving force is the ability to use rich elements like images, video, links and certain software in conversations. This has enabled companies to have more meaningful conversations via messaging services. Operator offers products directly in their messaging app (source: businesswire.com) Third, advances in artificial intelligence allow meaningful conversations to happen without speaking to an actual human being. Bots can speak to people, either through written or through spoken conversation. This significantly increases the amount of client-conversations a company can handle. Sure, conversations are still often quite awkward, but technology improves fast and a growing number of start-ups is proving that AI can already be very good at executing specific tasks. Amy Ingram is your virtual agenda assistant that plans meetings for you (source: x.ai) The race to the platform Now that interfaces start to become more conversational, the question arises: which interface are customers going to use? Will they choose different interfaces for different purposes, or will they choose one interface that acts as a gateway to all services behind it? The Silicon Valley Giants are aiming for the latter, closely looking at China, where the use of WeChat is practically equal to the use of a smartphone. As Satya Nadella -Microsoft’s CEO- explained at the last Microsoft Build Conference, in his vision the future will revolve around humans, virtual assistants and bots. Humans will remain the centre of everything we do. But they will be supported by bots, which are capable of executing tasks like purchasing products or finding the right insurance. Virtual assistants, in their turn, are able to learn human needs and understand human language, acting as a platform for the bots. Microsoft stimulates the community to create bots via its Microsoft Bot Framework, with Cortana as the conversational backbone. Competitors are following similar strategies. Apple has just opened up Siri as a platform for external developers, and is making Siri more central to its business by rolling it out to desktop. Google recently launched its own smart messaging app Allo, as well as voice assistant Google Home. Meanwhile, Facebook has announced to open up WhatsApp to businesses — just like it did with Messenger — and to invest in its virtual assistant M. And then there are successful examples of Amazon’s Alexa, virtual assistant Hound, and promising ones like Viv — made by the creator of Siri and recently acquired by Samsung. All are focused on building a developer community. The stronger the community, the more bots are developed, the more relevance the virtual assistant gets, the more users it attracts, and so on. Hound is praised for its accuracy (source: popsci.com) What is going to happen next? There are so many things to take into account looking at this conversational trend that it is very difficult to — I hope I’m not alone here — foresee the possible future. I have summarized my thoughts into three scenarios, ranging from ‘pretty likely to happen’ to something that sounds like taking a return trip to Mars. Scenario 1: It’s play time! Experiment and learn I believe this is the scenario we are currently experiencing. Conversational interfaces are decentralized and early adopters use whichever platform is most convenient at any specific moment in time. Virtual assistants like Siri and Cortana are mainly used to obtain information. Other specialized conversational interfaces are better at interacting with businesses. For example: customers receive their KLM boarding through Messenger, they order a pizza at Dominos through Slack’s pizzabot, or they ask Siri about tomorrow’s weather. Conversations are a mix of human-to-human and human-to-bot, mostly because bots are not yet capable of handling complex interactions. This is the time to experiment. By doing this, you get to understand what it means to communicate through conversational interfaces, which has its own rules and tricks, especially if you let a bot handle the conversation. And customer expectations are low, so you have the room to make mistakes and learn from them. Even better, you might create sympathy and publicity by being one of the first. Scenario 2: This is getting serious — new business models are emerging In this scenario artificial intelligence is at the level that it enables a virtual assistant to not only provide information, but also to execute various standardized tasks. In this case you could tell a virtual assistant that you would like to order a pizza margarita with extra mozzarella in 45 minutes, and the virtual assistant will use a bot to select the right pizza company for you. And — if assistants are true to their promise — they will learn. So next time you order pizza, you don’t need to tell the virtual assistant that you would like extra mozzarella, the assistant will simply remember. However, if you want to execute a non-standard task (like asking for buffalo mozzarella instead of the cheap version), artificial intelligence runs into its limits. You will either run into a dead end, or you’ll be connected to an actual person working at the pizza place. In this scenario, personal assistants and bots are likely to get substantial traction, because there is some actual value in the services they deliver. And when that happens, conversational interfaces get real traction. With real traction [KT3] comes a fight for attention from customers, which means that businesses will need to put effort in optimizing their presence in virtual assistants and bots. Think Bot Optimization and Bot Marketing (BO and BM) in parallel with SEO and SEM. Thinking a little further ahead, this will probably also mean that a customer choosing for a business is less determined by their marketing messages than it is now. It is hard to convince a bot with a nice story. It is much easier to convince it with hard proof like assortment, price, delivery times and customer reviews. Is this scenario likely? Well, Viv promises that you can order a pizza once the platform is launched, and Hound is already capable of pretty complex interactions, as you can see in the example above. Scenario 3: Talk to my assistant! — the power of the virtual assistant Taking it one — big — step further: suppose the virtual assistant is capable of executing complex, non-standard tasks, removing the need — not necessarily the desire — for customers to communicate directly with a business. What if the virtual assistant cannot just order a pizza, but can also change the delivery address, ask for a specific topping and file a complaint if the pizza is cold. And imagine that the virtual assistant also takes care of communication flowing from business to customer, filtering out only those messages that the virtual assistant has learned its user wants to receive. This would mean that the only remaining direct contact with the pizza company would be at the time of delivery. Unless the delivery is made by Uber Eats, of course. In this scenario the customer experience is almost fully determined by the virtual assistant and its bots. This means that businesses will need to rethink what will determine a customer’s’ choice for their business. Imagine that you as a customer can choose between two insurance companies and they are both equally qualified. One still requires you to contact them directly when you want to make a claim, and the other allows Siri to do it all for you, which means you don’t have to remember client numbers, contact details or even the insurers name. What would you choose? What will it be? It is impossible to say how this all will play out. But one thing is for sure: it will play out in some way. So if your business is slow to pick up on innovations like this, now is the time to learn a lesson from previous technological disruptors — e-commerce and digitization of media for example — and to be early to the game this time around. I’m very curious to know what you think. Feel fee to comment!

https://medium.com/@bartfive/how-the-conversational-web-is-going-to-change-the-game-99bec75ebde

['Bart Vijfhuizen']

2016-11-11 10:38:28.139000+00:00

['Artificial Intelligence', 'Messaging', 'Conversational UI', 'Conversational Interfaces', 'Conversational Commerce']

Are Chatbots enhancing websites and mobile Apps

I recently downloaded an app of a company to have a better customer service experience. But instead, every time I need assistance, I have to call the customer representative. So, I finally uninstalled that app. Well, how good it would be if the app had a built-in feature to response to the customer’s query. Let me tell you, this isn’t impossible at all. This is very much achievable by implementing chatbots. To understand how chatbots can enhance customer service, let’s understand what chatbots really are. They are computer programs enable to carry out conversations with people using lightweight messaging app UI, language based rules and AI. It uses a natural language conversation tool rather than a conventional website or app user interface. I find this a convenient way of getting better and faster responses than the usual IVR and long waiting for the representative to reply. Will the chatbots also be an enhancement for websites and mobile apps? Let’s find out. Reasons why brands will be interested in chatbots to make websites or apps more interactive Crowd is moving towards messaging apps: Messaging apps have become the #1 way people communicate. This implies that every business will need a strategy to engage with people on messaging apps, resulting into a bot based solution. This would be feasible and effective for a brand to better understand their customers. The work is still on progress: While the development of new technologies is inevitable, we always have a scope of pacing towards betterment. Chatbots are at an early stage which makes us skeptical about its ruling over the world scenario. Time and experience are the only factors that will decide the future of Chatbots. We still have to find out how people will react to having brands and businesses in their messenger. If you are looking to use or make solutions and know Why Brands need Chatbots to make their Website & Mobile Apps more Interactive. Click Here At LetsNurture, we are doing everything we can to make this future a reality. If you think we can help you provide an IT solution for your company, please send us your queries on enquiry@letsnurture.com

https://medium.com/@sam.letsnurture/are-chatbots-enhancing-websites-and-mobile-apps-698e84bd2e0

['Sam', 'Vp Sales']

2016-11-10 08:19:40.330000+00:00

['Chatbots', 'Messaging', 'Artificial Intelligence']

The Very Human Art of Knowing What to Say — Engaging and Retaining Mobile Users in an Age of Content Profusion

The Very Human Art of Knowing What to Say — Engaging and Retaining Mobile Users in an Age of Content Profusion This post is based on my presentation at The Mobile Innovation Summit, New York City, March 10, 2016 With upwards of 2 Million apps on the iOS App Store and 2.4 Million on Google Play success at engaging and retaining users has never been more important than it is today. In fact, according to eMarketer, in 2016 retention rates continue to slip for all app categories. If you’re growing a business that depends upon digital product usage to drive monetization then these statistics should set off alarm bells. Once you’ve managed to be heard above the din of these millions of competing voices, how do you connect with your newly won users, provide them real value and keep them from falling off the edge of the retention cliff? At AccuWeather, where I lead the User Experience and Product Design team for all digital platforms globally, we take these questions very seriously. I recently had an epiphany about this important challenge that led to the topic of this piece: The Very Human Art of Knowing What to Say. SCENE ONE Imagine you are standing in the middle of Times Square in New York City on a beautiful early summer night. People throng around you, and your visual sense is completely filled by pulsing lights, colors and signs both static and alive with movement. Words, pictures, videos, brands, faces, products. Hundreds of messages vie for your attention. To a small number of these messages you grant a few precious seconds of focus, but for most you simply relax your eyes and let them blend in to the fuzzy tapestry of the electric scene. Times Square makes for a compelling illustration of the challenges one faces in the realm of app development, especially in our age of content profusion. In the weather space, advances in forecasting science and technology by the AccuWeather team have made new forecast and weather data types available to us for inclusion in our digital products. Forecasts are more granular in terms of time and location (MinuteCast). They go farther out chronologically (90-Day Forecast). They encompass new parameters and data types (Pollen Count and Air Quality). They express new and more advanced meteorological concepts (Forecast Confidence.) All of this innovation represents valuable new content that we can offer to our users. However, if we do not prioritize that profusion of content what we end up with is Times Square. Many messages jostle for attention but none of them truly succeeds in connecting. Walking through Times Square at night is a thrilling, awe-inspiring, overwhelming and fun experience — but it cannot be the model for a daily mobile application experience. In particular for a weather app, where the user will often check multiple times per day and most sessions last less than a minute, we can ill-afford to lapse in to a Times Square-like user experience. If we fail to make tough prioritization decisions and communicate messages with appropriate context, users will burn out, lose trust in us and eventually abandon our products. SCENE TWO Now contrast Times Square to what you might experience along the trail to the Mount Everest Base Camp in Nepal. As you climb you see ahead of you a fork in the trail and next to one path stands a bold yellow sign with large black letters and a big red arrow. WAY TO MOUNT EVEREST BASE CAMP → A singular message with perfect clarity and context with no distractions and surrounded by a scene of absolute wonder and beauty. When you are on your way to the Mount Everest basecamp and you see this sign, you know which way to go. There are certain weather situations that allow for this kind of “bold sign on the trail” clarity. Take the major blizzard of January 2016 that crushed the eastern US delivering feet of snow to major metros like New York City, literally shutting down the city and causing unfortunate loss of life. My mother, a longtime city resident, didn’t leave her apartment for 2 days during the storm. When you have a major weather event such as this impacting a large number of people, it is not hard to know what to say. The story needs to be told. At AccuWeather we place an incredible focus on helping people to prepare for and be safe during events such as this. But this not the everyday reality in which we exist. EVERYDAY REALITY Most days are far more complex and nuanced than the examples above, and people’s personal priorities, goals, values and interests play a much more important role in prioritizing messages. Thus the AccuWeather Mission: “We Personalize the Weather so People Can Improve Their Lives” BUT… How do you personalize the weather? How do you make it meaningful? Because in the end it’s about people. And it’s about creating digital experiences that are human. How do we bring our humanity to digital and how do we build a relationship with our users that helps us know what to say? I believe we should start by trying to answer to this deceptively simple question: What matters to your users? I will show that the key to answering this question and acting on that knowledge lies in the human act of friendship. Friendship is the ultimate communication enabler. That’s why we are talking about the Very Human Art of Knowing What to Say. But what about friendship makes it such an incredible enabler of communication? First I will share the story of my recent epiphany that illustrates how friendship enables communication. Then I will illuminate the dimensions of friendship that make it a powerful communication enabler. Finally we’ll begin to explore how to apply these ideas to product development. Friendship may sound like a bit of a squishy topic, so I will provide concrete examples of what we at AccuWeather do to humanize our products and bring the power of friendship to bear on the communication of the weather. But I’m also going to take you beyond what we do and share some ideas about what further actions and areas of exploration might be available to us. THE EPIPHANY So let’s start with the original source of my epiphany. I want to tell you a story about my favorite source for personalized weather forecasts. Before I reveal this important resource I have to warn you that you will most likely not be able to obtain direct access. Distribution is extremely limited. In fact there is only one. Meet Henry. Henry on the AccuWeather Operations Floor Henry is a Senior Meteorologist at AccuWeather, a member of one of the earth’s greatest meteorology teams, the team the powers all of AccuWeather’s products relied upon by billions of people around the world every day. Henry has been at AccuWeather for 30 years. In the course of my 4 years with the company we have become good friends. Henry and I talk pretty much every day. Henry’s a mountain and road biking buddy of mine. As outdoor adventure sports enthusiasts the weather is naturally a big topic for us. The thing I love about Henry (as a weather source, that is) is that he knows exactly what to tell me — what I care about, what weather impacts matter to me — and he gives me insights in to things that would take great effort to figure out on my own. He’s also a great storyteller. For example, some days I will see Henry and he’ll say something like this: Henry: Better get your ride in over lunch EZ, looks like the rain is coming in around 4pm today. How long did that take, 15 seconds? I didn’t even have to ask Henry about it. He just told me. Here’s another example. I seek Henry out on Monday: Me: Henry, I’m heading to Menlo Park tomorrow, flying out of State College at 11am to Detroit and then SFO. Am I good? Henry: Yeah, you’ll be ok, the ice isn’t coming in until the early afternoon. Now that was a complex travel planning example, and how long did that take? 30 seconds? My interactions with Henry around the weather are an incredibly efficient, effective and frictionless experience for me. And the reason why Henry is able to deliver such targeted, relevant and timely information to me is because he knows me. Because we are friends. But I have to confess as amazing as Henry is, he does have a few shortcomings. Henry’s memory, processing power and uptime are fairly limited compared to what’s available these days. To be fair, for a human being he’s pretty stellar, but compared to cutting edge mobile and cloud computing technology and infrastructure he’s pretty limited. So, I actually have another favorite weather source, and that is the AccuWeather app for iOS. I love this app for a host of reasons. One — My team created this app, and I am truly proud of their work. Two — This app is beautiful, and I enjoy looking at it Three — This app provides all of the relevant current condition and forecast information I could possibly want for more than 3 million locations around the world, going out 15 days and down to the minute with severe weather alerts, visualizations, graphs, videos, maps and user reports. Four — It fits in my pocket and I can keep it with me day and night. It’s always available. As the person responsible for the experience users have with AccuWeather’s digital products, I am always thinking, how can this app be more like Henry? More specifically, how might we bring some of the magic of the Henry interactions — efficient, effective, frictionless, personal, great storytelling — to our digital products? Let’s start by looking at what kinds of interactions Henry and I have and see how they might map to digital analogs. HENRY MOMENTS Here is a list of what I call my “Henry Moments”. These are the key interactions and conversation types that Henry and I have about the weather. • Daily Morning Conversation • Unexpected Drop-In: Henry shares something important that he wants me to know. • Event Tracking: When Henry knows about an event that I have coming up and provides me updates on the weather for that day in the days and weeks leading up to the event. • Travel Planning • Weekend Weather Talk • Activity Planning: For example, Me: Heading out for a hike with my family tomorrow. Henry: Great. Should be beautiful.) • Two Week Outlook: This might sound like, “It’ll be warmer this week but the cold is coming back next Tuesday and will stick around for another week.” • Seasonal Outlook: In 2015 with the El Nino pattern Henry was talking about the warm winter before we even got to Labor Day. • Banging on Doors: This is one of my personal favorites. You see Henry cares a great deal about people and he wants to make sure that important stories get told. When there’s a major weather event with dangerous impacts likely Henry stalks around the AccuWeather headquarters saying things like “Do we have videos, do we have news stories, is it in the apps and on the sites?” He’s banging on doors to make sure the story gets told. I’d like to bring to life one of my Henry Moments — Event Tracking — with a story that will highlight the value of Henry’s communications to me. Every January, Henry and I and a bunch of friends and fellow bike peeps ride an insane event called Frozen Fat. It’s a 30 mile fat-tire mountain bike race through the wilderness of central Pennsylvania. The first year I rode the race in 2015 it was 14 degrees Fahrenheit, an icy wind blew all day and the ride took 5 ½ hours. My hands went completely numb from cold twice. It was one of the best days I’ve ever had on a bike. Frozen Fat Pre-Race 2015, Bikes on the Trailer, Ice and Snow on the Ground As you can imagine, weather is a very important facet of the experience. This past winter (Jan, 2016) with El Nino was different. About a month out Henry began giving me his thoughts on the weather for that day. It’s gonna be warm. It’s going to rain. We might actually get some snow. We’re gonna be sweating! It’s going to be a mud fest. Etc. Turned out to be low to mid-30’s, very little snow on the ground. Took us more than 6 hours to finish, and my fingers never went numb from cold. Henry’s updates leading up to the event served two important purposes: 1. Henry helped me to prepare and to pack the right gear for the day in the saddle. I wore lighter gloves and lighter socks. As a result I didn’t sweat as much, and my hands didn’t freeze. 2. They satisfied a deeper need I had to feel in control of my destiny — even though there were some shifts in the forecast in the month before the race, hearing what Henry thought gave me confidence, helped me to think through the various contingencies I would need to be prepared for. It turns out that my Henry moments — the interactions we have, the topics we discuss — map really well to digital experiences. Henry Moments and their Digital Analogs The daily morning weather chat when we cover activity planning, event tracking, weekend planning, two week outlook, seasonal forecast — maps really nicely to the Daily Weather C heck. Seeking Henry Out, as in the Travel Planning example, maps really nicely to a Weather Planning Session. For the Unexpected Drop-In, when there’s new news or an update to share, well, we have push notifications and other forms of pro-active communication. Finally, for Banging on Doors, when there’s a big, impactful story, well that’s where alerts and headlining news come in to play. So, this is a good. The basic types of interactions that friends have are possible within our digital products as well. We are on our way! Now let’s move beyond the interaction types and start digging in to the sources of the real communicative power and magic of friendship. THINGS FRIENDS DO Here is a list of 4 things that we do as friends that help us have a friendship. 1. Listening 2. Sharing 3. Facial Communication 4. Organic Interactions These are actions and gestures that not only enable the qualities of friendship but that are also applicable to the process of product development. LISTENING Listening is fundamental to a friendship. Whether it is verbal or non-verbal. So much is built upon sensitive listening. What can we do, as developers of digital experiences, to listen to our users? We can: • Read app store reviews • Analyze product usage metrics • Conduct user testing • A/B test • Engage in social media channels • Review customer service inquiries and feedback • Conduct surveys • Talk to people (interviews, focus groups, informally) At AccuWeather we do all of these things. One message we’ve heard loud and clear from our users is “weather maps are important!” Here’s an example of how we listened to our users around maps. AccuWeather iOS App — Maps Evolution with Nudge Bubbles and FAB On the far left above is a previous version of our iOS app. You enter the app on a landing screen and scroll down the strip to consume various forecast and content types. At the bottom of the strip is maps. From anywhere on the strip a simple swipe to the right reveals the app settings page sitting just to the left. Users told us that maps mattered by making it one of the most used pages in the iOS app. They also told us in the same manner that settings did not need to occupy such prime real estate. So we placed maps where settings were and made settings always accessible via a floating action button (FAB) at the bottom right of the screen. To help our users adjust to the new normal we placed some friendly little nudge bubbles in the app to direct them to the new feature locations. These nudges differ from tutorials in that they are simpler and more gestural in a manner of speaking. You have a single word or phrase (like “Maps”) and an arrow. And the bubble moves or points towards your target to indicate the new gesture. Then at the bottom of the strip where maps used to be, like a good friend waiting for our users to come down the old path, we placed another bubble directing them to the new maps location. If the user swipes on the bubble or taps in to the maps view the bubble, having done its work, disappears. App store reviews and app usage data following the launch of these changes validated the new design. Users repeatedly thanked us for listening to their feedback in their app store reviews and they weighed in with their ratings. Following the launch of the “maps” update our free app was rated 4.5 stars out of 5 on the App Store. All time we were rated 4.0 stars with over 100K reviews. Our platinum (ad free) version of the same app achieved a 4.7 star rating after the maps changes. So the new version far outperformed the historical average. Here’s another compelling example of how we listen. In 2015, We conducted a survey of 2400 mobile weather consumers in 6 strategic markets — US, UK, Germany, China, India and South Korea. We asked what attribute of a weather experience was the most important to survey participants, and the answer was resoundingly clear — accuracy. Accuracy ranked as the number 1 or 2 attribute in every country. At AccuWeather we place a tremendous focus on accuracy in our science and in our presentation of forecast information. In fact, ForecastWatch, a leading third party accuracy verification platform issued a report ranking AccuWeather as the most accurate public weather provider on a number of key metrics. In 2015 AccuWeather was the most accurate for daily hi and low temps in the US and Hi temps in Europe among other metrics. Our focus on accuracy represents another way in which we listen. SHARING From listening to sharing. After all, friendship is a two way street. In 2015 we launched our first weather crowdsourcing feature, called AccUcast, enabling our global user base to report weather conditions for their current location. AccUcast reports from our mobile application users provide real-time “ground truth” and when plotted on a map help the user to see precipitation and weather impacts as they unfold around the world even in areas where we don’t have radar coverage. Following the launch of AccUcast we experienced some exciting outcomes, in particular around the reporting of hazards and severe weather. Hazards represent the impacts of weather, the actual things that matter to humans. And what’s amazing about AccUcast Hazard reports is that you can see things on an AccUcast map during a storm that you don’t always get from the forecast models and that you’d probably need someone like Henry to tell you about. Screenshots of AccUcast Feature in the AccuWeather iOS App with Live Report Data Take the screen on the left above — this is a screenshot of the AccuWeather app I took during the Mid-Latitude Cyclone that hit the United States in November of 2015. In layman’s terms, think of this like a mini-hurricane sweeping across the continental US. You can actually see the damaging wind reports (the orange triangular hazard reports) out ahead of the precipitation on the map. The other two screenshots are from the deadly blizzard that struck the Northeastern US in Jan 2016. One thing we’ve observed is that reporting dramatically increases during severe weather events. There’s an incredible density of reports on the right. People feel the impact of this weather and they want to share that experience with other people to help them. This spike in reporting during severe weather offers another clue about what matters to our users. What we have in these sharing examples is humanity at global scale. FACIAL COMMUNICATION Now to one of my favorite UI concepts — Facial Communication. User Interface: let’s break this term down. USER — we know who that is. INTER — something “in between”. FACE — yes, a face. The human face has a remarkable ability to communicate a range of emotions and information with unmatched clarity, nuance and simplicity. It is the most expressive and readable interface of them all. The face of an app can also communicate. Here are two examples of Facial Communication in an app. RESERVED SEATS We’re all familiar with the concept of Reserved Seats. You keep seats open for VIP’s at an event. We can apply this concept to an app when there is very urgent, impactful information to communicate.* Reserved Seats On the left we have a “calm” app face and on the right you can see the Reserved Seat now occupied by a severe weather alert. The space in the User Interface remains essentially empty allowing the user to focus on the current conditions. The current temperature takes top priority in this screen. However, when the reserved seat is filled, that message or information becomes the top priority and the primary focus of user attention. *Credit to my colleague, Brandon Marsh, for coining this usage of the term Reserved Seats. THE BLUSH Now in contrast to Reserved Seats, which is great for urgent information with high confidence, we have The Blush. We all know what a blush is. It’s a slight reddening of the cheeks, which signals that an emotion is being felt. The Blush is a good way to signal less certain or potentially more complex information because the user needs to pick up on it and seek out the cause. The Blush In this image one of the days on the right is blushing because there is potential for a storm with dangerous impacts that day. What we are doing is showing respect for the user’s attention. The Blush says “I am concerned about something that I think is important to you. Right now there is still some uncertainty in the forecast, but I want to make sure you are aware there is potential for danger.” You see, feelings are feelings. Try as one might, they can’t be controlled. Emotions exist, they happen to us, and for that reason there is credibility in emotion. Emotion is genuine. ORGANIC INTERACTIONS And now we move to Organic Interactions. What I mean by “organic” is naturally occurring as opposed to planned. On most days Henry would walk by my office and we’d end up chatting for a few minutes in the doorway. It was an unplanned but no less valuable interaction that we had on a daily basis. In the same way, we want users find their own natural cadence with our products. So we do things to help them to make the experience their own. For example, we enable smart personalization, like the reordering or even hiding of content sections, that lets people place content where they want it and make the experience their own. We also offer a choice different app color modes so that the app feels right to the eyes of each of our users. FRIENDSHIP And so finally we arrive at Friendship and the core of the idea that underpins The Very Human Art of Knowing What to Say. What dimensions of friendship make it a standout communication enabler? What qualities of a relationship should we be trying to achieve with our design and development efforts? To Start, Friendship is built upon the sharing of these things: Empathy Trust Mutual Respect Shared Experiences Common Interests Understanding the other’s values, goals and desires The ability to predict and parse behavior, needs and emotional state The “Things Friends Do” we discussed earlier contribute to the creation of these enablers. These aspects of friendship form the foundation of the relationship, and can be woven in to the relationship we build with our users. So how do we begin to move towards this ideal? From a technology standpoint we can do things like enable log-ins and user accounts to apply more information about users’ demographics or interests to the challenge of providing relevancy and context. We can sync with calendars so we have the context of events and routines. These are existing capabilities that are widely available and used today, though they have some limitations, in particular users’ reticence to share personal information or undertake a lengthy set up process — but they can help us know our users better. There are also some newer technologies that could help us. Bots (chat bots in particular) enable more human-like two way communication. You know we actually have users regularly posting to our Facebook page asking for the weather in their location. People crave human interactions. If we can inform a bot with the ability to respond appropriately to an ever broader range of inquiries there could be great power in these interactions. (chat bots in particular) enable more human-like two way communication. You know we actually have users regularly posting to our Facebook page asking for the weather in their location. People crave human interactions. If we can inform a bot with the ability to respond appropriately to an ever broader range of inquiries there could be great power in these interactions. Natural language processing of spoken questions and commands allows for communication by the user that feels more like talking to a friend. Spoken interactions have become widely available in recent years through AI’s like Siri, Google Voice and Cortana among many many others, and these interactions are gaining ever more traction with users as the technology improves. But let’s shift our focus away from technology enablers for a minute. What if we viewed our apps through the lens of a persona? We use personas to better understand and empathize with our users, why not do the same for our products? What if a product could have imagined demographics, goals and motivations and care about things too? What if the thing that the app cares most about is making sure you have the information you want and need and that you are safe and happy? Then we could imagine an app having a thought like: “I’d really like to give you this warning, but I’m not 100% certain and I don’t want to confuse you.” Let the software express its own desires and feelings. This might really change the way we think about how the app communicates with the user. At some point, it’s likely Artificial Intelligence will solve many of the product challenges we currently face and we’ll have other problems to solve. Meanwhile we need to continue to attack this challenge from many angles at once. A CHANGE OF MIND The Very Human Art of Knowing What to Say is about more than prioritizing content. It’s about forging relationships that are greater than the sum of their many parts. The good news is, we are well on our way to forging the bonds of friendship with our users. As we have seen, there is much that we are already doing and much that we can do today to continue down this path However, the greatest potential lies in a shift in the way we think: A shift from thinking of our products as dumb pieces of technology to imbuing them with personas and allowing them to pursue goals and intentions and to communicate emotions of their own. And a shift from simply analyzing our users and optimizing them to thinking of them as valued friends. The potential that exists goes well beyond what I’ve covered today, and it will be achieved by passionate and creative minds focused on providing ever greater value to people and dedicated to making a difference in their lives.

https://medium.com/@EzraNanes/the-very-human-art-of-knowing-what-to-say-faca729b429c

['Ezra Nanes']

2016-11-17 19:38:13.002000+00:00

['Messaging', 'UX', 'Weather', 'Product Management', 'Product Design']

Lessons for Startups from the Election

Vintage 1972 Collectible November 13, 2016: For those of you who went to church on the Sunday I’m writing this after the Election, you probably heard this morning a sermon of comfort aimed at congregants who voted their conscience for either of the two major candidates. It was a week for the history books, and it is full of lessons that transcend politics. My “Re-elect Nixon” tie from 1972 (photo above) that I wear to the polls every 4 years has now been consigned to ancient history. Allow me please to draw some nonpartisan guidance for startups based on this brutal fight to the finish for the Presidency: 1. Keep your message simple, and always lead with it. Trump may have rambled all over the place in his unprompted stump speeches and debates, but his red ball caps emblazoned with “Make America Great Again” created a consistent and lasting impression. Ronald Reagan launched that same slogan in 1980, and even Bill Clinton reprised it during his first campaign, but it will now always be associated with Trump. To the extent you can, as part of your branding, come up with something that simple and that sticky, your odds of attracting customers increase dramatically. I’ve seen way too many entrepreneurs try to sell a complicated vision and not hammer home the core of what they are promising to deliver. Yes, indeed, that sounds like the wonk of Hillary Clinton. Bernie Sanders didn’t have the hats, but even he was pretty good at writing and selling his very condensed message about the rigged system. If your product is intangible, e.g. software, you’ve got many temptations to talk about “how good it is going to be,” but customers pay for the benefits they can enjoy today. Make that software great right now. 2. External events can throw you off course. I’ve written about this many times, but we all now operate in a highly connected and relatively transparent business universe, and we are subject to powerful impacts beyond our control and beyond our ability to predict. No fiction writer could have envisioned Anthony Weiner as a key player in what Clinton is now blaming as her downfall — that last-ditch FBI investigation of her emails. She had everything pretty well baked, including the big fireworks show, but her own internal data apparently showed a dramatic shift in the rust belt voting after James Comey delivered his letter to Congress a little over a week before Election Day. You may think you have your make-the-company deal wrapped up, but until the money is in the bank, don’t count it. Last minute surprises are common in financing transactions and big customer contracts. All those deals require constant attention and monitoring by you and your executive team until they are done. You may have a competitor maliciously intervene, a legal threat arise, a key player leave, transfer or die, and any number of other calamities beset you on the verge of your finest hour. I could write a few thousand words just on personal war stories of that nature. 3. Involve yourself in the world around you — your town, your market sector, your regulatory bodies, and any other parts of your ecosystem that can dramatically affect your planning. There’s a significant rise of political activism in the Austin tech scene now that we’ve lost Uber and Lyft and are seeing threats to short term rentals by an overly intrusive city council. We’re all mired in the same traffic congestion that can only be resolved by civic action. The $720M road bond that passed last week is just a baby step toward accommodating the needs of the nation’s fastest growing city, and it’s time for some technology-based alternatives to more asphalt. As an example, it is my personal observation as one who lives in Austin but is frequently in Atlanta that Austin could benefit mightily from getting employers to stagger work hours. Austin is easily navigable most of the day but has terrific peaks at morning and evening rush hours. Atlanta, on the other hand, is “rolling thunder” 24/7 and has an insatiable need for new infrastructure now that it has emerged from the Great Recession. It behooves us all to be highly engaged in the Public Square and to be influencers as well as taxpayers in our respective metro areas. Similarly, don’t be a stranger in your marketplace. Get to know your competitors to the extent possible. Work the trade shows. Size up your enemies. Bluff a lot. Be alert to threats. Steal employees. Protect your own team. Play fair, but play both offense and defense when you have the opportunity outside the comfy confines of your own office. And, if you’re in a regulated industry, don’t cut corners. I’ve been involved in enough bank startups and now the biomedical arena and have learned to appreciate that regulations must be followed but don’t necessarily have to be logical. The tax code itself is a great example of that, but some sectors would benefit from losing about 2/3 of their existing regulations and paying attention to the ones that actually matter. Oh, I think Trump promised to fix that, so you may want to ignore that bit of advice. 4. Count on every week bringing new challenges. If things are rocking along too smoothly, you’re probably not trying hard enough. You need to be racing at the limits, because your competitors are doing just that. The closer you are to those limits, the bigger mistakes you’ll make, but your end result may be the coveted checkered flag. This coming week and in the months ahead, you have to internalize what a GOP-controlled government means to your business. Your trade associations are probably in the thick of that already. I’m already hearing of a shift of research dollars from applied to basic research. If you’re the president of a research university, what does that mean to your strategic plan, your core competencies, your staffing, and your R&D sponsor relationships? If your startup is commercializing university IP, does that shift affect you? It might, or it may be too far into the future to suggest any immediate reaction. The stock markets at least seem pretty calm at the moment about this transition of power, which is a good sign, but nothing will be business as usual with such a radical change in leadership. There were quite a few “Amens” in my large Episcopal church this morning, not customary practice amidst the liturgy. They attest to how eloquently our preacher addressed the lessons of the past week and how important these matters are to all aspects of our lives. <photo by the author>

https://austinstartups.com/lessons-for-startups-from-the-election-29c6550b2329

['Ben Dyer']

2016-11-14 16:36:40.880000+00:00

['Startups', 'Elections', 'Messaging']

How should bots speak to humans?

BotSpeak database — 1 human, 200+ bots, 892 bot dialogs TL;DR —Designing great bot dialog is tough but crucial to increase engagement. We talked to over 200 Facebook Messenger bots to extract conversation dialogs for your reference: BotSpeak. Evaluating the output from bots, we adopted a pure data approach for lexical improvements and anecdotal advice on better presentation of the bot conversations. How do you feel about conversations with bots so far? Are they engaging, disappointing or interesting? For bot makers, there are lots of challenges in crafting more engaging bots. Among others, these two are the most obvious and painful: Challenge 1: Getting inspiration for how to build your bot based on how others built theirs. You can’t just search for bots based on the meta details in conversations, because there isn’t such a database. Challenge 2: Ensuring that the bot dialog is great and captivating. Other than what you know/think your audience will like, there’s no easy way to see best practices across a wide range of bots. As you can imagine, it’s pretty hard to get to know other bots that well unless you spend lots of time talking to bots, and have your Messenger inbox entirely flooded with bot conversations. So, in order to tackle these two problems head-on, we talked to 200+ bots for research, and documented the conversations. We called this project BotSpeak, and we present all the conversations we had on BotSpeak in a searchable table format for you, so you don’t have to, yourself. Enjoy the 🎁! You can contribute to BotSpeak database by inputting your bot’s conversations of up to 8 outputs here: https://goo.gl/forms/TFy2UTEdSAFS3ZzN2 Bot selection We chose bots based on their popularity, based on total views of the bot on Botlist. Other than top bots by views, we also selected bots across a range of categories to ensure that most of the major types of bots are represented in this study. This ensures that the sample is not only comprehensive across categories, but also filtered by popularity; the assumption is that popular bots have more chance to develop best practices over time. Bot category classification is taken from Botlist for each bot we tested As you can see, “Personal” bots are heavily represented due to the proportion of popular bots that are classified as such. Methodology Every research begins with scoping down a right methodology. In order to do this right, we came up with a bunch of parameters which we feel would be really useful to analyze. The starting point of the study was based on textual data from our conversations with bots. To get the most meaningful data, we engaged the bots in conversation, pressed buttons to receive output for record and analysis, and went through every bot experience in general. Collection of data As there are no publicly available sources of data for bot conversations, we started out by using the collection of bots on Facebook Messenger indexed on Botlist (great database and resource for discovering the best bots across all platforms). Knowing that we might be talking to over 200 bots and Facebook might classify the activity as suspicious, we created a new account to talk to the bots. After going through about 20 conversations, we realized that Facebook has blocked my account from sending new messages to bots. Hence, I used that as a cue to 1) start recording the conversations, 2) deactivate the account, 3) create a new account to talk to new bots. For this exercise, we had to create about 10 new accounts and deactivated as many. (Sorry Facebook, but it probably took no notice to this small blip in user churn anyway.) One of the accounts which we spun up to test bots and shut down after 8 accounts created for bot testing under — Brian, Doug, Connor, Mathew, Al, Wayne to name a few In recording the conversations, we ignored the cards, images and media that the bot was displaying in the analysis records to focus on the text. The reason we approached it in this manner is because we felt that the creatives are unique to brands and bot developers should use brand- or use case- appropriate visuals. Plus, it would complicate the recording on a Google Sheet table! However, we did note some general comments on creative presentation and you can read about this later on. As much as possible, we tried not to use too much free-form/natural language to allow the bots to provide us with the ideal experience as defined by the developer. Being harsh to bots is definitely not part of this exercise for recording and discovering best practices; but, in our own experience, some people are mean to bots. Analysis of data After the data was collected and organized in a table structure, we began analyzing the conversations in bulk with text analysis tools. We visualized the data for anyone to be able to use and access on BotSpeak. There are filters for names and categories, which you can use as terms to search for what you need. Since categories were set by the developer (or Botlist posters), we chose not to reclassify the bots despite some cases where categories were not representative of the bot. BotSpeak database of bot conversations logged Limitations — There are many well-designed bots with multiple paths and possibilities. Due to time constraints, we did not do a full audit of all paths and may have missed some of them. In the future, we hope to dedicate more resources to obtain more complete “Bot maps”. This limitation is especially so for story bots, as scripts can go up to 2500 dialog outputs and so we have limited them to ~8 outputs. (Besides, you should try them yourself, most of them are pretty fun.) For the purpose of this study, we felt that the number of conversations and data collection was sufficient to form a robust initial representation set for use. Areas of improvement: Lexical/Semantics Based on all the conversations with bots we’ve analyzed, here are some semantics-related improvements we feel could significantly improve bot experiences. Each of these points are also marked with the total observed instances across bots. A. Take note of extra words / Modifier phrases / Grammaticality (347 instances) E.g.: “Red sunglasses are very trending, would you like to see some?” — can be edited to be: “Red sunglasses are trending, want to see some?” B. Avoid rambling starts (44 instances) E.g.: “To become a wiser human being by reading the secrets posted by my friends, please tap once on the menu button shown below and select READ A SECRET” — can be edited to be: “Become a wiser by reading secrets from friends by tapping READ A SECRET below” C. Use emojis for engagement (119 instances) E.g.: “Sorry, didn’t get it” — can be edited to be: “Sorry, didn’t get it 😕” D. Consider using active voice instead of passive voice (89 instances) E.g.: “You have been matched to Colin.” — can be edited to be: “I’ve matched you to Colin.” E. Replace rare/complex words with simple words (146 instances) E.g.: “The least agonizing itinerary flies from SJC to HNL.” — can be edited to be: “The least painful itinerary flies from SJC to HNL.” Areas of improvement: Presentation The visual cues of a bot are just as important as the script and functionality. The bots that we talked to had some areas where they could improve in terms of visual hierarchy, contrast, and appropriateness. (These are our observations, and not part of the Botspeak database.) A. Use buttons where you can to aid users People enjoy doing easy things over hard things. Hence, buttons can (and usually is) the preferred mode for people interacting with bots. Instead of the hassle of typing common requests like “Yes” or “What else can you do”, you can just press a button. It’s also easier to lead users down the experience, constrained by the buttons shown. B. Take advantage of the Messenger platform’s functionality Options like quick replies and logins can be used to enhance the ease of using the bot. Wherever it’s possible to simplify choices to just a few clickable options, you should do that. If there’s a potential of streamlining the experience with customer details through login, you may want to try it. There are lots of other functionalities you can choose to use, so explore and make full use of them, where it makes sense. C. Use attractive menu images Many bots are heavily dependent on their menus, and this means that most users will end up seeing the menu about 30–50% of the time. Hence, menu images should be representative of your bot (and the company or product it represents), and made to be as attractive as possible. D. Send interesting images as part of your responses It can be really interesting for users when you send creative visuals as an attachment together with bot responses. You can even use gifs as part of your quick replies, adding small points of delight within your bot. Poncho is a good source of inspiration for delightful visuals E. Make sure you have a welcome message Only 70% of bots we tried included a welcome message. What happened to everyone else? With bots still a relatively new interface for the majority of (non-tech, non-startup) users, it’s important to present the bot and its functionality clearly, so users are properly guided through the experience and achieve success in what they were trying to do. Having a good, well-crafted welcome message sets your bot users up with the right expectations, so they know what not to expect from the bot, preventing disappointment or perceived failures. Main takeaways Testing is crucial: You’ll need to test and continuously improve the bot scripts based on feedback from your users. Lots of bots are not designed to handle common edge cases, such as users swearing at bots (more common than we’d like to think) and common backstory questions like “Who made you?” Cross-category learnings are applicable: A database like BotSpeak is useful for developers designing bot dialogs as there are many common use cases, and lots of things can be applied from other bots. For example, a productivity bot can easily learn a few tricks from a social bot in scripting fun experiences. People like simplicity & familiarity: The best bots are designed with users in mind, and with bots supposed to be the user-friendly and easy conversational interface it is, stick to easy and familiar words. The most used words by bots are visualized below (after removing stop words): Word cloud of non-common words most used by the 200+ bots — fashioned as R2D2 How to use BotSpeak You can leverage the knowledge we’ve gathered on Botspeak to filter by categories or the bots that you want to reference. With this, you can look at examples of how other bots have been scripted and what their various output options are. You can use this as a guide for your own bot planning process. Also, a simple CMD+F (Ctrl+F for windows) can get you a search by actual dialog words—for example, I looked for “book” and found the ShelfJoy bot delivering hand-curated book suggestions. Searching by name of bot on BotSpeak Future work How should bots behave? Options: Mimic human behavior (e.g. delays in conversation, having a name, being funny, using active voice) or being a more command-line experience (i.e. instant response, organization/product name identity, using formal tone/words). From the BotSpeak database, one can find that out of the 200 bots, about 10% of the bots told users their name. Other platforms We want to continue updating the database with additions from contributors, as well as adding other platform bots in the future. One obvious platform that we wish to figure out how to test is Slack. Given that a free team may not be best way to do so, we’ll have to find a creative (but still reasonable) methodology to use. Perhaps the extension of the project could be used by Slack as a way to advise users how the bot flows should look like. Comprehensive data on flows Interaction steps for this project is limited by the amount of time we spent with each bot. Some bots have over 100 programed interactions as part of a story, while others are focused on a search experience that ends when user demands are fulfilled. Over time, we will get a better idea how to craft the ideal experience for each category with data. All a-bot the future We are definitely only beginning to test and learn from different use cases of bots across multiple verticals. There are lots of other examples that you can see on BotSpeak, so go ahead and explore them yourself. With a database like this, which we hope you’ll add to, we can all start developing a sense of what would work best for bot-human interactions. Keep improving your bots and if you like BotSpeak, share the link (and this piece) with your users and friends! Shoutout to Joseph Tyler (Linguist), Erik Nilsen (Bot developer), Ben Tossell (Botlist), Philippe Dionne (Dialog Analytics) for reviewing this post and tool! P.s. We also have another resource for building an enterprise chatbot strategy, which you can find here: https://keyreply.com/#ebook Post was first posted on the KeyReply blog by the same people behind Digest.AI! https://keyreply.com/blog/How-should-bots-speak-to-humans/

https://medium.com/keyreply/how-should-bots-speak-to-humans-2b5d6d344521

['Spencer Yang']

2016-11-11 03:34:01.576000+00:00

['Bots', 'Messaging', 'NLP', 'Facebook Messenger']

Messaging apps: From counting users to counting bots

Back in 2008, Nokia sold 468 million phones making the company the undisputed king of the mobile phone market with over 40% market share. This same year, Apple sold little over 10 million iPhones and launched iPhone App Store with just 500 third party apps. By the end of 2010, when Apple App Store had over 300,000 apps, it became clear to all including Nokia that the number of apps is much more important than the number of devices. Apps drive demand for phones creating network effects between users and 3rd party developers. Smartphone users attract developers. Developer create apps. Apps attract more users, which attract more developers. A very similar dynamic begins to unfold in messaging platforms. Popular messaging apps evolve into developer-centric platforms having the same kind of network effect as iOS and Android. Soon we will compare messaging apps not by number of users, but by the number of bots/integrations available on the platform. Messaging users attract developers. Developers create bots. Bots attract more users, which attract more developers. Messaging has emerged as a new interaction paradigm on mobile, with leading apps (Whatsapp, WeChat, Facebook Messenger, KakaoTalk, Line, Viber) amassing hundreds of millions of users. David Marcus, vice president of messaging products at Facebook says in his interview to the Wired magazine: “The messaging era is definitely now. It’s the one thing people do more than anything else on their phone.” So far, competition between messaging apps is based on number of users. In Q3 2015, Whatsapp (acquired by Facebook for over $19B) has 900 million monthly active users; Facebook Messenger — 700 million; and WeChat — 600 million. But now things start to change. While Facebook leads in number of messaging users, Chinese Weixin, or as it is known in the West WeChat, is a clear leader in turning messaging into a platform. WeChat at its core is a messaging app for sending text, voice, and photos to your friends and family, but it is also much more. Connie Chan, Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, explains on the company blog: “Along with its basic communication features, WeChat users in China can access services to hail a taxi, order food delivery, buy movie tickets, play casual games, check in for a flight, send money to friends, access fitness tracker data, book a doctor appointment, get banking statements, pay the water bill, find geo-targeted coupons, recognize music, search for a book at the local library, meet strangers around you, follow celebrity news, read magazine articles, and even donate to charity … all in a single, integrated app.” WeChat achieves this by supporting lightweight apps that are called “official accounts”. There are well over 10 million official accounts on the platform: from celebrities, banks, media outlets, and fashion brands to hospitals, drug stores, car manufacturers, to internet startups, personal blogs, and more. These lightweight apps are approved to access exclusive APIs for payments, location, direct messages, voice messages, user IDs, and more. Essentially, WeChat is not only messaging app, but a developer-centric platform allowing developers to add value to the service. Facebook has no choice but to follow WeChat. Facebook’s David Marcus said at the Code/Mobile conference in October 2015: “Messaging is really, truly the next frontier. The Asian paradigm has shown there’s a there there.” Having introduced Messenger platform at its F8 developer conference in March 2015, Messenger has adopted the WeChat approach and will now be open to 3rd party developers to build new “tools for expression” and also let users communicate with businesses through simple conversation threads. WeChat and Facebook are not alone in their attempts to take messaging to a new level. Telegram, which started as a more secure Whatsapp clone, evolves into something much more interesting with the announcement of their Telegram Bot Platform. The developer-centric platform allows 3rd party developers to create Bots, which are simply Telegram accounts operated by software sporting AI-like features. The same trend shows itself even in the more conservative enterprise space with Slack Technologies Inc. having risen to $2B valuation in less than 2 years. Slack is a messaging app for teams designed to enable integration of messaging with popular enterprise apps and services. The company has 1.1 million daily active users, but also 100 integrations with 900,000 integration installs on the Slack platform. These range from Giphy gifs to expressing feelings to co-workers; to MailChimp email marketing service; Crashlytics to monitor mobile app bugs; Trello for tracking tasks or manage help tickets from Zendesk. The Slack Platform also supports bot users allowing companies automate many processes. A bot user is a special kind of free user account optimized for writing automated bots that connect to Slack using the Real Time Messaging API. Users can interact with bots using direct messages or even invite bots to private groups. For example, The New York Times data science team has built a Slack bot to help decide which stories to post to social media. The bot, called Blossom, predicts how articles or blog posts will do on social and also suggests which stories editors should promote. All within the framework of the messaging app. Slack evolves into an enterprise developer-centric platform. There are already several startup teams experimenting with building companies on top of Slack messaging platform. Similar to what happened in mobile platforms, the basis of competition in messaging apps changes from the number of users to the number of bots (integrations) and the messaging apps themselves evolve into developer-centric platforms. Today Whatsapp is the largest messaging network with 900M users. It does one thing, messaging, exceptionally well. But it increasingly starts to resemble Nokia. Nokia also did one thing, mobile phones, exceptionally well, but missed the transition to developer-centric platforms, where the winners are decided by developers. — Michael

https://medium.com/@mvakulenko/messaging-apps-from-counting-users-to-counting-bots-9a66510bb0f9

['Michael Vakulenko']

2015-10-17 17:15:36.038000+00:00

['Messaging', 'Mobile', 'Strategy']

Design patterns for realtime fantasy sports app developers

I am a self-professed geek and get a buzz from solving difficult technical problems. Given the option, I’d be solving the world’s problems one tap a time on my keyboard ;) However, as the co-founder of Ably, a realtime data delivery platform, a lot of the time I am talking to our customers and helping them solve their realtime data delivery challenges. Ably has had a lot of traction recently with fantasy app developers, and I’m starting to see common challenges for these businesses. As a firm believer and contributor to open source, in this post I explore some common problems we see for fantasy sports and live events app builders, and share some design patterns that I hope will be useful for other developers. Caveat: A lot of the examples refer to Ably in the solution as I find it useful to talk specifically about how our customers solve this problem. However, the purpose of this blog is to share design patters for common problems than can be implemented with any technology or platform. Problem 1: Unknown and theoretically limitless number of players receiving live updates Most often a stream of events arrive at the app developer’s servers from a sports data provider (such as Opta or Sportradar), some business logic is applied, and the data then needs to be pushed to every device participating in that game. For example, when a goal is scored, you may want every user of your app to receive that update simultaneously within 200 milliseconds anywhere on earth. The challenge typically is that you want that goal to be met when you have one or a million users, without any change to your architectural design. Pattern 1# — Pub/Sub This pattern is hardly new, it’s been around since 1987, yet it’s still a good way to approach asynchronous realtime data distribution. The pattern involves two roles, Pub represents the publisher, Sub represents the subscriber. The pattern specifies that the publisher (your server) publishes messages without any knowledge of how many subscribers, if any, there may be. And subscribers register to receive message without any knowledge of of the publishers. This ensures the two roles are intentionally decoupled with a middleware broker responsible for receiving messages and fanning out the messages to the subscribers. How does this help? It ensures your apps scale to theoretically limitless subscribers without any changes to the design of your system, thus keeping your stack simple whilst giving you the scale you need. The middleware broker is responsible for providing scale. If you chose a middleware solution that has proven scale, then by adopting the pub/sub pattern, as you scale only one component needs to address that need in a predictable way. Our customers use Ably’s Pub/Sub feature as the middleware broker which provides limitless scale. Channels are used to provide topic filtering such as one channel for each game or player. As Ably’s system is inherently elastic, developers trust us to look after the scale issues. Problem 2: Data synchronisation Problem 1 describes how data, as messages, is distributed to devices, but it does not address how you keep the game data in sync consistently with all devices. For example, your app may need to maintain live stats for each player. As every event occurs during the game, your app needs to reflect that change in real time both in the UI and also within the local storage. The challenge is one of data integrity and bandwidth. If you publish the entire game data every time an event occurs, it is inefficient and will result in huge bandwidth bills as you scale. Perhaps more importantly this could impair the user experience for people on slower connections or with expensive bandwidth. If however you only send data updates, how do you ensure that the data integrity is maintained i.e. you need all updates arrive reliably and in order? Pattern 2.1# —Serial JSON Patches JSON Patch is a standard that defines how you can send only the deltas for a JSON object as it mutates. For example, if you had a table of all players with their stats, and only one player’s stats changed following a goal being scored, then the patch may look something like: [ { "op": "replace", "path": "/player/bob/goals", "value": "1" }, ] How does this help? JSON Patch provides a means to efficiently send deltas for a JSON object thus reducing bandwidth overhead significantly. However, JSON Patch does not provide the complete solution as: You need to obtain the JSON object at the outset The JSON Patches must be applied in the exactly the order they were generated — a missing or out-of-order patch will result in complete loss of data integrity Ably, uniquely in the realtime messaging industry, offers reliable data delivery uniquely ensuring that data arrives in the correct order and continuity is assured. We also provide a message history (replay) feature providing a means to obtain historical message published on the channel prior to connecting. Finally, we uniquely offer continuous history ensuring developers can reliably obtain history and receive subsequent realtime updates without any missing messages or duplicates. A pattern we’ve seen developers use with Ably to solve this problem therefore is: Configure a channel to persist messages Publish the original JSON object on the channel, and then subsequently all JSON Patches Clients when connecting then obtain the channel history and subscribe to future JSON patches. The history provides a means to build the JSON object from the initial object plus all the patches, and the attached channel ensures live updates continue to be received in order with integrity. If a client loses continuity on the channel (this may happen if the client is disconnected for more than two minutes), the app simply repeats the previous step. Ably will be releasing an efficient way to stream updates to data objects natively in our client libraries in the future. If you are interested in using this feature, please get in touch. Pattern 2.2# — CRDT A CRDT is a conflict-free replicated data type. Unlike JSON Patch, it allows multiple parties to concurrently updates the underlying data object. Each update is then distributed to all other parties, and the algorithm ensures that once all updates are applied by all participating parties, the underlying data object will become eventually consistent, regardless of the order the updates are applied. CRDTs provide a very sophisticated way to ensure data is consistent, even when there are multiple parties changing the data at the same time. However, in order to provide the eventual consistency guarantees, there are limited data types with specific restrictions. We find CRDTs are more commonly used in collaborative applications similar to Google Docs, where multiple users can update the content simultaneously. Riak is one of the few database solutions that provides native CRDT support. I will leave it to the reader to consider whether CRDT is appropriate for their use case and how best to implement it. Problem 3: Upstream game play events Problem 1 and 2 addresses the issues of scaling downstream data to your devices. However, participating in fantasy games will have an upstream component i.e. users on devices may change their team configuration, place a bet, or simply want to chat with other players. Typically this is handled with a simple HTTP request to your servers which in turn run some business logic which may respond synchronously (as part of the response to the HTTP request), or asynchronously (pushed back to the device later as a message). The problem app developers face are: Using an HTTP request in a synchronous fashion increases the likelihood that the operation fails in changing network conditions. For as along as the client is waiting for a response, there is a chance the connection state will change and the underlying TCP connection for the HTTP request will be closed. If a request has failed due to a TCP connection, it may need to be retried, but unless the operation is idempotent, it could result in unexpected behaviour for users. If there is a sudden spike of activity, perhaps due to an unforeseen change in the game such as a player being taken off, then your servers will need to absorb that load immediately. You need to predict the load in advance of each game and ensure you have sufficient service capacity for the spikes. HTTP provides no ordering guarantees i.e. a later request may arrive before an earlier request when they are close together. Sometimes this matters. Pattern 3# — Message queues Traditional message queues are designed to provide a message-orientated means to communicate between components of the system, specifically the devices and your servers in this instance. Like the pub/sub middleware, the message queue acts as a broker distributing messages to each consumer. If your messaging middleware is scaleable and resilient, then decoupling each component in the system ensures failure or overload in one area of the system will not affect any other part of the system. Please note, unlike the pub/sub pattern where each message is delivered to all subscribers, message queues typically deliver messages only once to one of the consumers (technically AMQP can only provide an :)at least once guarantee, however in almost all situations it provides exactly once delivery). Messages typically operate with FIFO (first-in-first-out) ensuring that in spite of any backlog that builds up if consumers cannot keep up, the consumers will always be working on the most oldest messages first. Diagram illustrating message queues using Ably How does this help? By decoupling publishers of data (your devices in this instance) from the consumers of the data (your servers), and introducing a message queue middleware broker, you are building a fault tolerant system. For example: Huge spikes of activity may slow down the responsiveness for customers as the workers have to work through the backlog of messages to process, but customers will not experience failures. Where the ordering of events from device to server is important, the message queue is able to provide ordering guarantees. The Ably service too provides reliable ordering, so ordering is maintained from publishing to Ably all the way through to the queue. Messages from devices are streamed immediately into the queue and the device receives an ACK immediately notifying the device that the message has been received. As a result, if you use Ably for publishing, we can ensure a message is never published twice (i.e. if you publish a message, lose connection before you receive an ACK, and then retry the message once connected, we de-dupe that message). Ably provides message queues as a service as part of our realtime data delivery platform. Get in touch if you would like access to our queues.

https://medium.com/ably-realtime/design-patterns-for-realtime-fantasy-sports-app-developers-7d189cba147c

["Matthew O'Riordan"]

2018-03-22 15:48:52.490000+00:00

['Realtime', 'Messaging', 'Design Patterns']

Status messenger for Desktop review

In case you don’t know, now you can use Status, (and therefore, private & secure communication) on your desktop. Beta version is available for Mac, Linux, and Windows, you can download it here: https://status.im/get/ After installation, you have 2 options: to generate new keys or access existing key — if you want to use the account which you already have (i.e. on mobile) If you choose the second option, you will need to enter your seed phrase. If you decide to create a new account — you will need to choose one of 5 names. Some of my non-crypto friends were confused at this point. So this is both your account (your address staring with 0x) and your name. But in the future, you will be able to get easier-spelling name (i.e. like I have name cryptotexty) Then you will need to create a password, (6 characters minimum) and repeat it. You will need the password to login and also to send transactions. As your account is at the same time your Ethereum wallet. And that’s it, you are ready to communicate. You can access featured chats on the left, or you can click “+” and access even more chats. For example, I joined #literature channel. As I think here on crypto blogs, many of us read and write about books — so this is the channel you might be happy to join as well. I sent a message “Hello everyone” and you see I got a response! Nice! Yes, you probably noticed, that’s also me from another account. I wanted to show you the difference in names, as on that account I have a custom name, which I bought for 10 SNT. Happy messaging!

https://medium.com/@cryptotexty/status-messenger-for-desktop-review-6b5571e22101

[]

2020-12-11 17:15:43.446000+00:00

['Status', 'Messenger', 'Messaging', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Crypto']

From Chicken Wings to Launch: Part 1

25 cent chicken wings. That’s how it all started. Every Wednesday, my friend Brian and I would go eat wings, drink beer, and chat about “guy stuff”. On a particular day about 6 months ago, we were halfway through our ritual (which was eat a round of wings, have a beer, then have another batch of wings) when we spotted two people talking at the bar. “I wonder if he’ll get her number”, I said. “Maybe. Most likely it’ll be a fake or something.” he replied. So we got to thinking — what if there was a way to connect to someone without the pitfalls associated with a phone number? It’s hard to remember, easy to mis-type, and once you give it out it’s out there for good. So that clingy person you met at the bar, your crazy ex-girlfriend, or upset Craigslist buyer can do whatever they want with it. The bottom line is, we all meet people on a day-to-day basis that we may or may not want to give our personal information to. Or, we just want to talk to them temporarily. Fast forward till now. Just yesterday we finally launched Buzz — Chat Safely on the Google Play Store and Apple Appstore. It’s pretty cool, check it out here: http://buzzmessenger.co Some of you may be wondering — what’s it like to build a messaging app from the ground up? What was involved? What mistakes did you make? I’ll write about it next time. Or, if you can’t wait, download the app and message me directly.

https://medium.com/@frostrocket/from-chicken-wings-to-launch-part-1-5e36c43b5ea1

['Matthew Groves']

2015-10-24 21:58:06.697000+00:00

['Startup', 'Messaging', 'Mobile']

The Only Time I Answer My Phone. Ever.

The Only Time I Answer My Phone. Ever. Once upon a time in the west, if you wanted to reach someone on the other side of the country you would send a message via Pony Express. Ten days later (or more) your message would be received. Today, we can instantly communicate with others on the other side of the world in mere seconds. The channels for reaching each other have not only become lightning fast, but they are also varied. Today, we receive messages via text, apps, Skype, Google +, Facebook Messenger and email. And oh yeah, there are still those of us who use a telephone to (gasp) make a phone call. I use, and embrace, all the technologies. But I’ve recently been thinking about how I not only use them, but how I prefer others to engage with me. I feel there is a pecking order for each of these. So allow me to propose a “chain-of-command,” if you will, for when to use each type of tech for reaching out. I’m going to intentionally speak in first person as you may approach things differently. #1 — Email Email is most accessible, and I believe, the lowest rung on the ladder for reaching out to me. This is especially true if we’ve not met. I’ve set up a contact form on my website and it invites anyone to send a message, whether it be for a speaking inquiry, joint venture proposal, question, comment or anything else. Since I receive these directly, it allows me to sift through and prioritize the most important messages and contact as needed. The fact that I can search email and easily find what I am looking for makes it tops in my charts for both initiating contact and continuing conversation which can be documented and referenced. #2 — Social Media Next up the ladder is social media. Whether it be via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or any other place where I have a public profile, this is a great way for someone to reach out. One of the problems with LinkedIn is all the spammy messages that end up in my inbox. There’s a whole lot of unsolicited proposals for search engine optimization, network marketing opportunities and job prospecting. I even get the occasional firm that wishes to help with my social media presence. Apparently, someone isn’t doing their homework. Still, I’m fine with people reaching out by sending a direct message on Facebook or Twitter. In fact, Messenger is a great way to ping me with a quick question, a hello or a useful link. I don’t mind keeping my Facebook chat turned on because there are some happy interruptions throughout my day. However, please don’t send any information that I need to keep track of via one of these services. Social media moves very quickly, and unless specifically requested, it’s likely that your request will get buried way beneath the fold. Phone numbers, addresses, emails and other important info are always best recalled if sent to email. This, however, does not apply to Skype or other messenger services where you must be “added” as a friend in order to make contact. Unsolicited inquiries via these means can feel intrusive. I am selective in accepting friend requests, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to keep Skype on. Messages would come throughout the day and render the service annoyingly unusable. #3 — Apps And likewise, as we move into apps, we are entering the acquaintance zone. Whether What’s App (which I don’t use), GroupMe or any other chat app for my phone, these are to be used only by people I have a relationship with. I keep all notifications turned off on my phone so as to not be constantly having to look at what’s going on. It’s best if only family, friends and business associates who I am directly connected with contact using an app. #4 — Text Messaging As we climb towards the very top of the ladder, we encounter texting. This is a highly personal method of reaching out, and not for a first time contact. There must be an established relationship with an intentional sharing of numbers in order for a text message to be okay. If you text and we don’t have an existing relationship, you have chosen poorly. If you are a family member (obviously), a friend (duh) or a close business associate (hi out there!), I am more than happy to get a text from you. Go ahead… say hello. I’ll probably respond with an emoji. However, and I refer back to my comments on messaging in general, I don’t like to end up in long conversations on text… except when I do. In general, if it isn’t pressing I find that email is the best place to have longer conversations. That, or actually speaking. #5 — The Phone Which leads me to the top rung. The phone itself. I put my cell number on the do-not-call registry a few years back. As a result, I don’t get too many telemarketers calling. My phone number is a very personal thing. Again, family, friends and business associates who I have given my number to are free to call anytime. I only answer my phone under three circumstances: 1) I see who it is because they are in my contact list. If it’s one of my kids, I’ll pick up unless I am speaking on stage. Even then, I’ve picked up the phone before in front of an audience just to let them know I’m here and will call them back when I am done talking. If it’s someone else, I’ll pick up if I am able. If I can’t, I figure if it’s important they will leave a voicemail. 2) I am expecting a call from someone in an area code but I don’t have them in my address book. For example, if I list something on Craigslist and I give someone my number to call so we can discuss the item. 3) I’m bored and want someone to talk to. If I get to this point and I pick up the phone, I may answer with a foreign accent and confuse the crud out of you. I’ll be entertained and you’ll wonder how you got the wrong number. Under no circumstances will I pick up my phone if the display says “Blocked” or “Unknown.” This automatically weeds out most bots and telemarketers. It also gets rid of most fundraisers and political action committees. Those who really need to get a hold of me will leave a message at the beep. I always listen to my messages and return calls as time, need and/or interest allows. Confused? It’s okay. I’ve gotten a little dizzy just trying to sort this out. Essentially, what this amounts to is a set of healthy boundaries. They are boundaries that allow me to enjoy and embrace technology while not becoming a slave to it. What boundaries do you have in place for contacting you? Do you agree with mine or would you have minor or major modifications? Please share your thoughts with me below! That would be a very appropriate form of communication.

https://medium.com/@joelcomm/the-only-time-i-answer-my-phone-ever-77f56e7dc8aa

['Joel Comm']

2015-10-21 22:08:38.034000+00:00

['Messaging', 'Facebook', 'Phone']

RUNNING (FROM) A NONPROFIT LAWFIRM LIKE A GOD (OR THREE) IN THE MILLENNIAL ERA

RUNNING (FROM) A NONPROFIT LAWFIRM LIKE A GOD (OR THREE) IN THE MILLENNIAL ERA SATEESH NORI, ESQ. I did not attend business school and I am not particularly religious. But I do run a non-profit lawfirm and so i often seek wisdom where i can find it. I am in mid-career- neither a millennial nor a boomer. As such, I feel as though i am watching this seismic shift in the nature of my work and in the essence of being a manager. For the first time, work is being seen as a thing, not a place. Being heard is a key value. And transparency of information matters. The complexities of running a lawfirm are evident: legal rules, ethical principles, clients, billing, and numerous acronyms like HR, IT, and CYA. In the world of non-profit law, add to this list labor-management relations, grants and fundraising, compliance with governmental mandates, and the all-important responsibility to do good. Most days I am exhilarated by the chance to hold the reins of my humble organization in Queens. But lately, new challenges have forced me to rethink my assumptions about being a leader. The fields of non-profit management and organizational development fill an entire shelf at Barnes and Noble. There are maxims such as “build consensus,” “manage up,” and “create a positive and collaborative culture.” Unfortunately, while these ideas sound good, they provide little detail as to how a leader of a lawfirm in 2019 must act to attract and retain talent, meet obligations, and to serve the purpose for which the organization was created. Also, nonprofit lawfirms are facing new pressures as the nature of our work changes. The political climate in Washington has, ironically, allowed us to expand our services with new funding as our clients-immigrants and the poor, are under more attack. As we grow, the composition of our organization is fundamentally changing. As a manager, I’m faced with a more diverse, younger workforce to deploy for more complex and more fluid legal problems. Specifically, i noticed that our current employees expect more from our organization in the form of fulfillment, flexibility, and support. Many of our new employees — millennials — expect our organization to meet their expectations as to workplace culture, work-life balance, and for a dialectic about the work. Our new employees are as driven by social justice as any group since those who started in the 1960s and 1970s. They probably subscribe to “woke twitter,” and wholeheartedly support the progressive left of Warren and Sanders. However, they expect a level of support and guidance from managers which my generation never sought. There is a shared feeling among our new hires that we must work as a team on every case, issue, and task. They want us, as managers, to help problem-solve in real-time. Also, this group expects a work-life balance as an implicit term of employment. They want an office where they can tele-commute, check-in with supervisors as they choose, and where their values are as important as the values of the organization. Finally, our workers seek an ongoing and organic dialogue about their work, their clients, and their lives. Recently, during a Hindu religious holiday (i was raised Hindu), i thought about the Hindu triumvirate of Gods: Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer. These three deities provide order to the universe. Brahma is the creative force, building new life and knowledge. Vishnu, the remover of obstacles, perpetuates life. Shiva breaks down old forms so that the process of creation can begin anew. Within this model, i saw a vision of leadership and management in which new ideas are birthed, realized, and discarded, in a constant cycle of progress. A quick search led me to a research paper by Low and Muniapan: “Organisational development and the Hindu trinity: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva on leadership, culture and change,” ( Int. J. Indian Culture and Business Management, Vol. 4, No. 5, 2011), and from this paper, i formed the ideas here. The starting point is to figure out where we are in the cycle of growth of our organization: creation, maintenance, or destruction? Before this question comes the question of description or diagnosis. What is the existing culture of my legal nonprofit? In my view, our culture, not unlike the culture at many non-profit law firms today, was born in the 1960s, in a spirit of self-sacrifice and duty to see justice done for our clients. It was about 50 years ago that the social programs such as the Peace Corp and Americorp were born, and legal services were first funded by the Federal Government. Many who joined our cause in this mold adopted a single-mindedness and commitment to the work, eschewing other needs like family and personal gain. Those who started during this time are the pioneers and thought-leaders on many legal issues faced by the poor. They also created the model for our current workplace, with a team of attorneys built around a senior supervising attorney, and several of these teams overseen by a managing attorney. We have a centralized decision-making structure, like a federal system, through which all decisions are made. Today, this culture seems anachronistic and stale to our new staff. Our staff now want balance between their jobs and their lives, and they seek personal satisfaction as much as they seek justice for their clients. They are aware of the vicarious trauma that can come with social justice work. They want to string together professional experiences into a narrative, like something that can be digested on social media. Work is not a place for them as much as it is an idea or a thing to do. The hierarchies that we have in place mean little to these workers. They want local control and they want their differences to be recognized. In fact, to them, the current power structure represents the same top-down model that our clients face from landlords, bureaucracies, and oppressors as their rights are being denied. Many of our current leaders, including myself, serve like Vishnu, to preserve and maintain the status quo. We uphold the old hierarchies, methods of evaluation, and channels of communication. We don’t always see what motivates our staff or why they seek to work in our field. Over time, we have managed this culture and perpetuated it by hiring people who espoused the same views. We sought people who already self-selected into our framework for providing legal services to the poor. But now, as our ranks grow beyond the traditional and usual suspects, our model is cracking. Tensions run high as we negotiate for a new contract with our staff. Morale is low and burnout is high. Maybe it is time to turn to Shiva, or to the power of destruction, to allow for a new model. A movement is growing to change the way we work, the way we are compensated for that work, and the way we negotiate with those in power to make these changes. For the first time, our staff are employing the same strategies that we have used to fight for our clients, but to fight for change for themselves. Lets start over and allow Brahma to create something new. Do we still need physical offices, filled with support staff and paper files? Do top-down decisions build the consensus needed to move our organization forward? Would we consider building flexible work-schedules so that we could actually be open longer hours with different people filling existing roles? And finally, would we be able to provide that sense of self-worth that our staff members seek from the work- not from being part of the organization? These are the new questions for leadership, gods and mortals alike.

https://medium.com/@sateesh.nori/running-from-a-nonprofit-lawfirm-like-a-god-or-three-in-the-millennial-era-178812a44774

['Sateesh Nori']

2019-12-30 18:50:32.693000+00:00

['Lawyers', 'Human Resources']

Head Full, Stomach Empty

Swallow by Tonya Plank is an entertaining and engrossing read about an ambitious young lawyer in New York City, with all the necessary stuff about long hours, extreme pressure, and cut throat competition, along with the attendant splurges of materialistic gorging that a hard-working young lawyer feels she deserves (especially as the novel is set in go-go economic orgy that existed prior to 9/11). But it is also a moving exploration of a condition known as Globus Hystericus, in which an internally overwrought patient feels as if something is always in the way of food and drink going down her throat, and at times, of words coming out. In other words, the person is literally choking on psychological issues. Recent law school graduate Sophie Hegel cannot swallow because her whole life she’s been surrounded by or surrounded herself with controlling, domineering and judgmental men (and a few competitive, sometimes nasty, women). She suffers from extreme lack of self-confidence, despite having gone to Yale Law School, doing very well there, and now scoring a prestigious public interest fellowship at the Public Defender’s Office. When the ball-in-the-throat thing starts (she calls it “FB” for fist ball, which is really confusing, given that FB now stands for one thing and that is Facebook but anyway, I’m just quibbling), Sophie loses the ability to eat and enjoy food, and just when she needs it most, she finds herself losing her voice, like in court or in the middle of an argument with fiance Stephen RichMan/Law Partner/WASP. But it’s not all bad having Globus Hystericus. Sophie loses tons of weight and becomes a size 0, achieving model status and a new outlook on herself. Pity that she is hungry all the time, faints in court, and still suffers from chronic lack of confidence. Her habit of getting whiny when challenged (her words, not mine), started to get real annoying but I liked dear skinny old Sophie anyway. Her heart is in the right place, as a lawyer for those who have no one else to turn to and her efforts to help her clients are sincere. Sophie works hard, as she has worked hard her entire life, but she just cannot get away from feeling that she comes from white trash (i.e., Arizona — again, her words, not mine) and that she will never fit in to the sophisticated, hyper-educated, and uber-ambitious New York legal world. But of course you will, honey — the question is WHY DO YOU WANT TO? Sophie has a lot to figure out for herself and by the end of the novel she is well on the way to growing up and growing out of Globus Hystericus. I do worry that this novel will do more to compound female body image problems than illuminate them. Sophie keeps insisting she is not anorexic and yet she starts to love being really really really skinny. All of the female characters are described by their physical characteristics, including weight and height, and weight is an indication of both class and level of attractiveness, but the only man described in glowing physical terms is a male stripper; he is as objectified as the females. There is one fat and drunk creepy lawyer guy: fat is equated with low-class behavior by Sophie, as she sees both her mother and her sister as decidedly low-class and chronically overweight. At the end of the novel, one of Sophie’s best friends has lost ten pounds following Sophie’s diet “trick” of only eating teeny tiny bites and eating really really slowly. Sophie says she looks “amazing.” And you can too: is there a diet book in the works? Nevertheless, I had a great time reading this book, it held me from start to finish, through high and low levels of exasperation with Sophie and annoyance with her friends and irritation with the judges before whom she must attempt to argue for her clients and disgust with her pretentious fiance, and I was satisfied by the ending. Swallow will be a good read for women who have been first year lawyers or other young professionals — or who would like to be — and will smooth a path down memory lane for those of us who have been there, done that, and are happy to have moved on.

https://medium.com/nina-sankovitch/head-full-stomach-empty-bf808218656a

['Nina Sankovitch']

2016-09-26 18:02:14.095000+00:00

['Novels', 'Lawyers', 'New York City']

Jean Danhong Chen on What You Should Expect When Migrating as a Family

Jean Danhong Chen on What You Should Expect When Migrating as a Family Media coverage around immigration has been increasingly polarized as of late, due in part to divisive rhetoric espoused by the President of the United States. Most recently, President Donald Trump condemned ‘chain migration’ during his State of the Union address in early 2018, explaining that “a single immigrant can bring in virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives.” Jean Danhong Chen, an immigration lawyer based out of San Jose, California, strives to separate fact from fiction. After founding her law office in 2003, Jean Danhong Chen has been advocating for clients’ interests by providing quality employment and family-based immigration services to corporate and individual clients throughout the United States. What is Family Immigration? Family is a major driver of migration. Jean Danhong Chen explains that family migration is a term used to categorize the migration of people who migrate due to new or established family ties. If you have a family member who is a citizen or a green card holder, you can, under some cases, be given priority consideration for entry into the United States. Jean Danhong Chen explains that President Donald Trump is right in that immigrants admitted on the basis of family ties definitely constitute the largest share of new permanent residents each year; however, where he gets it wrong is that the potential for a never-ending and expanding chain is extremely constrained. Policies Regulating Immigration To better understand how immigration works, it is important to understand how the policies work. Jean Danhong Chen outlines that policies regulating permanent legal immigration to the United States are organized around four main objectives: keeping families together, admitting immigrants that bring needed employment-based skills, addressing humanitarian purposes, and maintaining a diversity of countries of origin. These policies were put in place after eliminating national origin quotas that heavily favored northern and western European countries; this system was put in place with the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 and the 1965 Amendments to the Immigration and Naturalization Act. This has meant that the number of legal permanent residents has averaged roughly one million people over the last decade. Family-based immigration accounts for roughly two-thirds of that number annually. What is Chain Migration? “Chain migration” looks like this: American citizens can petition on behalf of spouses, children, parents, and siblings for green cards. This means that a citizen could sponsor a sibling for a green card and, if granted, that sibling could then sponsor their child. This is officially known as ‘family reunification’ under federal law. ‘Chain migration’, then, is simply a technical name for a common sense idea, which is that people are more likely to move where their relatives are. The application process for permanent residency of certain family members varies from person to person and is based on whether the person petitioning is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, as well as family relationship, age, marital status, and country of birth. However, citizenship is not automatically granted to those who are sponsored by their family members in the United States and the waiting period can be anywhere from a few months to a few decades. There are two broad categories of family-based immigration visas: immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and those classified under the family-preference system. While there are no numerical limitations on the number of visas for the first category, there are numerical limitations on the second. In order to ensure that not all visas go to the first category of immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, congress established a minimum of 226,000 for visas in the family-preference system. Final Thoughts from Jean Danhong Chen Unfortunately, there are currently several major limitations when it comes to immigrating to the United States as a family. With statutory limits on family-preference categories, major backlogs, limited family-based immigration, and an extensive screening process for family-based visas, it might be worth working with a professional immigration lawyer to help you navigate all of these hurdles. As a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association for over 17 years, Jean Danhong Chen’s comprehensive knowledge of immigration law has earned her the confidence of numerous companies and individuals throughout the country. As a testimony to her success, she has had over 10,000 visa and green card case approvals across all 50 U.S. states.

https://medium.com/@JeanDanhongChen/jean-danhong-chen-on-what-you-should-expect-when-migrating-as-a-family-c7c6bb5ec97

['Jean Danhong Chen']

2019-12-30 17:33:08.676000+00:00

['Immigration', 'California', 'Lawyers', 'Work Visa']

Criminal Law in 2020 — What Can We Expect

In legislative terms 2019 was a pretty quiet year with parliament being so heavily occupied with Brexit, there was little time for anything else. 2020 promises to be somewhat different, the government has a substantial parliamentary majority, and being ‘tough on crime’ seems once again to be a popular political topic. The recent Queen’s Speech gives us a good clue to what we can expect over the next few months. As ever, our lawyers will be monitoring all developments very carefully, and history tells us that criminal justice policy is often deficient and can require challenge before the higher courts. If laws are unfair, we will be here to challenge them. Solicitors In Dewsbury Counter Terrorism (Sentencing and Release) Bill The main elements of the Bill are: ● Tougher sentences for the most serious terrorist offenders and a 14-year minimum for some offenders. ● Removing the possibility of any early release from custody for dangerous terrorist offenders who receive an Extended Determinate Sentence (EDS). ● Moving the earliest point for discretionary release by the Parole Board from half-way to two thirds for terrorist offenders who are not deemed “dangerous” and therefore do not receive an EDS. ● Measures to strengthen licence supervision for terrorist offenders. Sentencing Bill The main elements of the Bill are: ● Changing the automatic release point from halfway to the two-thirds point for adult offenders sentenced for serious violent or sexual offences, bringing this in line with the earliest release point for those considered to be dangerous. ● Aligning how life tariffs are calculated with the extended release points for serious violent and sexual offenders. ● Tougher community sentences that include longer curfews and more hours of unpaid work. ● Extending the range of circumstances where the starting point for the sentence in cases of murder is a whole life order. This will particularly focus on those who have murdered children. Serious Violence Bill The main elements of the Bill are: ● Placing duties on relevant public agencies and bodies to work together to prevent and reduce serious violence. ● Providing sufficient flexibility so that the relevant organisations will engage and work together in the most effective local partnership for any given area, whether that be a Community Safety Partnership or other multi-agency partnership such as local safeguarding arrangements. Statutory guidance will also be published that will set out the likely implications on a sector-by-sector basis. ● Amending section 6(1) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, which sets out the strategies Community Safety Partnerships must formulate and implement, to explicitly include serious violence. ● New court orders to target known knife carriers, to make it easier for the police to stop and search those convicted for knife crime offences. The power will apply only to those convicted of a knife related offence. Prisoners (Disclosure of Information About Victims) Bill The main elements of the Bill are: ● Amending the life sentence and the extended determinate sentence release test to direct the Parole Board to take into account circumstances where an offender, who has been convicted of murder or manslaughter, has not disclosed the location of a victim’s remains. ● Amending the extended determinate sentence release test to direct the Parole Board to take into account circumstances where an offender, who has been convicted of taking or making indecent photographs of children, has not disclosed the identities of the child or children in the image(s). The last piece of legislation planned by the government in this session of parliament is long overdue, and very much needed: Sentencing (Pre-consolidation Amendments) Bill The main elements of the Bill are: ● Introducing a technical device called the ‘clean sweep’ which will allow judges to apply the new Sentencing Code to all sentencing decisions. Courts currently have to establish which provisions apply for each particular offender, depending when the offence was committed. This is a complex exercise which can lead to error and unlawful sentences being passed in consequence. ● Amending existing legislation that will be consolidated by the Sentencing Code, via “pre-consolidation amendments”. These pre-consolidation amendments to the law are generally limited to correcting minor errors and streamlining sentencing procedural law so that it can be consolidated in the Sentencing Code. ● Neither this Bill nor the Sentencing Code introduce any new sentencing law, or alter the maximum penalties available for an offence. Substantive reforms in a future Sentencing Bill are distinct from the important task of making sure that sentencing procedural law is clear and accessible to those that need to use it. Criminal Solicitors Leeds How we can assist If you need specialist advice in relation to any criminal investigation or prosecution, then get in touch with Ashmans Solicitors 03330096275 and let us help. We can advise on all aspects of your case Alternatively email us enquiries@ashmanssolicitors.com

https://medium.com/@ashmanssolicitors/criminal-law-in-2020-what-can-we-expect-aa6f18c7b4f1

['Imran Ali']

2019-12-23 11:43:37.519000+00:00

['Criminal Justice Reform', 'Criminal Justice', 'Crime', 'Lawyers']

Elena Kagan: Just Another Worthless Childless Lady Lawyer!

The super-weird and super-invasive current strain of anti-single bias has popped up in a whole new Elena Kagan-centric way this past week. It was fine when people just thought she was a striving, careerist lesbian, because that’s how lesbians are, but now that everyone actually understands she’s straight, it is apparently repellent that she hasn’t spawned. Because you know what’s wrong with these sterile (emotionally, at least!), career-oriented, success-craving women who make it to the judiciary and the Supreme Court? They just never took time out to have babies. You know what babies give you? Well-roundedness! And I guess therefore the ability to issue Supreme Court decisions! If you have a baby, that means you have had a life. Otherwise you have just had a job. Take it away, Washington Post non-careerist, obviously anti-single Ann Gerhart! “Motherhood offers a one-word verifier. It signals a woman with an intensity of life experiences, jammed with joys and fears, unpredictability and intimacy, all outside the workplace. Much of the time, it’s the opposite of being strategic and assiduously prepared.” Oh, so she’s actually saying that mothers really are unfit for the judiciary because they’re never prepared or strategic? Good to know! Let’s make sure we never let women have children and jobs at the same time.

https://medium.com/the-awl/elena-kagan-just-another-worthless-childless-lady-lawyer-252e9d73ec51

['Choire Sicha']

2016-05-13 04:48:34.899000+00:00

['This Just In', 'Lawyers']

How I Prepped for and Passed the QLTS OSCE — QLTS Success story

How I Prepped for and Passed the QLTS OSCE — QLTS Success story OSCEsmart Mar 29, 2018·10 min read Priyasha Corrie, Corporate & Commercial Lawyer, UAE Priyasha from Dubai, who cleared the QLTS OSCE exam in November 2017 in her first attempt, shares her experience as to preparation and getting through the extremely tough but exciting exam. OSCE smart team congratulates Priyasha, who obtained 76% which is far above the pass mark (64%). She is one of our best students, highly skilled lawyer, who managed to prepare for the QLTS OSCE, while working full time. Here is success story: You’ve cleared the MCT. It’s now time to warm up for the OSCE which is an altogether different creature to tackle. The OSCE involves jumping various hoops and, for a working professional, balancing work with prep and your personal life will require you to be a tightrope walker for a few months. In this note, I’ve set out my experience of the assessments and study plan for the benefit of those prepping for the OSCE. Here you go: 1. Plummeting Pass Rates The pass rates in the last OSCE administered in November 2017 plummeted to 63% and 51% respectively for the two batches as against the previous sittings where they were well above 70%. Statistics can be deceiving and hard to interpret but this could possibly mean that the exams have gotten tougher or that perhaps the marking is stricter. Whatever it is, the message is clear — do not take the assessments lightly! 2. MCT versus the OSCE The OSCE tests you on a wider range of skills as against a test of merely answering multiple choice questions. That said, there are many who find the OSCE assessments easier than the MCT. I found myself on the other side of the spectrum. Although I scored higher on the OSCE than the MCT, I felt preparing for the OSCE was more challenging. 3. Subjects and the Order of Difficulty The OSCE assessments will test you on (i) Litigation (Civil and Criminal), (ii) Property & Probate, and (iii) Business Law. Watch out for Business Law which I found to be the most challenging of them all despite my being a corporate lawyer for the last 7 years. Funnily, Business Law, in my experience, was the easiest subject in the MCT. The tables are turned incredibly for the OSCE. In the order of difficulty, Business Law is followed by Litigation. There is a lot to read in litigation and so you will have to study smart. I’ve covered my prep strategy in point 7 below. In my opinion, Property Law is simpler in the OSCE than the MCT because it is mainly focussed on practical aspects of the practice such as sale and purchase transactions. Likewise, Probate is a smaller topic and you can take advantage of this to max your scores here. 4. Exam Format The OSCE consists of two parts: Part I (Client Interview, Attendance Note/Case Analysis, and Advocacy) and Part II (Legal Research, Writing, and Drafting). That means six assessments for each of the three subjects totalling to eighteen assessments. Part I and Part II are each administered over three days, with a day allocated for each subject. As such, you will have to allocate six days of your work life for the OSCE which is quite unlike bar exams in other jurisdictions which are generally 1–2 day affairs. 5. Prep Time To each, his own is the rule here. I started my preparations around July 2017 for the November 2017 assessments, although bear in mind that I was getting married in September (call me crazy) and therefore had to prep for a major life event as well! I had to somehow squeeze out time for studies during the day and, on an average, managed to dedicate about 2–3 hours daily with some marathon study sessions during weekends. There were days, of course, where I couldn’t devote any time at all. At the risk of coming across as anti-social, I used my lunch break in office to eat at my desk and read through the QLTS School summaries. 6. Prep School I decided to study with the aid of a prep school just like I did for the MCT. While I was a bit confused between the BPP School and the QLTS School, I joined the masses and went for the QLTS School as I thought having a private tutor would be quite useful. As an aside, I believe the BPP School no longer offers an OSCE preparation course. I have to say that there were missing gaps in the QLTS School’s course and, as a result, I ended up looking for an alternate resource to supplement my studies. I found a few videos of OSCE SMART (run by Dr Olga Pogrebennyk, who has previously passed the OSCE) on Youtube and signed up for her course. It worked very well for me because it enhanced my preparation and I am not sure if I would have made it without Olga’s tips! I’ve made a video review of OSCE SMART and you can watch it here. OSCE Smart Review Note that OSCE SMART is not as snazzy as QLTS School’s videos and web interface, but if you are someone who looks at substance over style, then you may find OSCE SMART useful like I did. For your reference, I’ve also made a quick overview of the two prep schools for your reference: QLTS School OSCE Smart cources Ultimately, my verdict is: QLTS School is great, but may not prepare you well enough for the exams, which is a pity considering its price. You will most likely have to supplement it with other resources. I found OSCE SMART to be a cost-effective tool and both the schools together helped me cross the line. If you cannot afford QLTS School, you may consider going for OSCE SMART which may be enough to see you through. I think there were candidates who made it with just OSCE SMART and the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (Cilex) past papers. Disclaimer: Like any lawyer, I have to add a disclaimer that sometimes passing an exam may not really depend on how good a lawyer you are or which school you go to. It depends on how much time you have put into your preparation, the mocks you have practised, and the skills the assessors are looking for. 7. Study Plan I did not strictly follow QLTS School’s study plan. This is not to say that it doesn’t work. It is an ideal plan, but a bit too linear. For instance, a subject for three weeks and then another for the next three weeks. Instead, I made my own prep strategy: · I read the QLTS School summaries first, as I found the OUP books too vast to read through. To be fair, QLTS School also suggests the same approach. I alternated between two subjects in order to not get bored with one. · At the same time, I commenced attempting mocks in order to get myself acquainted with what I was going to be tested on. · Once I got an overview of the subjects, I viewed OSCE SMART’s video lectures on the subjects as I still did not get a grasp on the subjects. Watching these videos were a saviour because I did not have the energy to read a book at the end of a day’s work. Wherever there were gaps, I read the books. · I continued with attempting the mocks and practised with friends and acquaintances (both in-person and Skype) who were also taking the OSCE. Here, I found OSCE SMART’s mocks for Part I to be very useful and I ordered a few more for myself. · During the last month, I tried combing through the past Cilex papers (with solutions) which can be found at this link: https://www.cilex.org.uk/study/information_for_students/exams/past_papers. Look for Level 6 and the case studies. This was useful and was suggested by Olga. · Finally, during the last couple of weeks, I read through the books to cement the information in my head. I only read the big Criminal Law book in my 8-hour flight to London, during which I covered 80% of the book! I don’t advise this for you though! 8. Memorise You will have to memorise various principles, tests, case laws etc. for the assessments. You can either make your own notes or supplement QLTS School’s summaries with additional information as you go along your preparation. As you practise the mocks and read through the model answers, you will understand what you have to memorise. OSCE SMART has a fact sheet on things to memorise for civil and criminal advocacy which I found helpful. 9. Mocks — practise, practise, practise! Don’t get stuck reading the OUP books thinking that you can practise the mocks only once you’ve studied the subjects. The books are important but you need to get a good grasp of how to prepare for the exam. Get started on practising the mocks as soon as you can. This is where QLTS School is great because of the number of mocks to practice. All their mocks come with solutions and so you have everything in one place. Additionally, for a practical feel of the exam, check out OSCE SMART as you will learn some practical tips on optimising your time in the assessments! 10. Part I OSCE — Challenges and Tips Client Interview Client Interview is challenging as your performance in the exam also depends on the client before you. You need to make sure you get all the relevant information from the client and it is possible that you get a client who is quiet, hard to decipher, or garrulous and leads you astray. You have to take control of the interview! In addition, the client is a lay person and so you have to avoid legalese. To illustrate, a client did not understand my question and advice because of legal jargon, and I had to apologize! Also, remember that you do not have to provide legal advice to the client. The objective of the interview is to collect the necessary information and to provide preliminary legal advice. You can elaborate on the legal advice in the attendance note. Additionally, I made an interview script with a few opening lines and ending lines, just in case I got tongue-tied in the actual interview! Attendance Note/Case Analysis Post the interview, there isn’t much time to write the attendance note. You not just have to cover the facts of the interview but also provide a legal analysis to the Partner. A tip is to write down the information you require in your notes (the sheets for your notes will be provided to you) in the 10 minutes you have before meeting the client. During the interview, you can fill up the blanks as you elicit the information from the client. This could include information such as the name, address, number, know-your-client documents etc. Here again, OSCE SMART had some practical tips which helped me organise my attendance note and optimise my time. Use the 25 minutes you have for the attendance note to brush up your notes and to write the legal analysis since you are also going to be graded on the law — this is important! You need to get the passing mark for both skills and the law. There are many who do fairly well on the skills part but do not make it on the law scores. Advocacy As against the interview, advocacy is easier as you have to make a presentation before the assessor who does not ask you too many questions. And 45 minutes is quite sufficient to prepare for your oral presentation/advocacy. 11. Part II OSCE — Tips Legal Research In Part II, Legal research can be daunting as you have to research on multiple queries and prepare a short note in 1 hour. While the QLTS School’s videos on research were useful guidance as a starting point, its drawback is that it doesn’t tell you how to do the research in one hour. I resorted to OSCE SMART’s strategy which was helpful because it gives you some really effective tips. I also arranged my note into bullet points to make it easier to read — maybe that worked. Legal Drafting Understand the types of drafting questions for each subject that could come up such as oaths for administrators/executors for probate, corporate resolutions for Business Law, particulars of claim for civil advocacy etc. Read up on how to draft such documents and keep a tab on where to find such drafts on LexisNexis. Legal writing This is most likely going to be a letter giving advice to a client. You will have a little time to research on the databases and will spend most of the 30 minutes writing the advice. Mastering how to find information from the databases will put you in good stead. 12. Remember the Objective of the Assessments Read the Marking & Moderation Policy on the Kaplan website. This is key as you are going to be graded on these criteria. Quoting one of the objectives of the assessments: “A competent newly qualified solicitor will demonstrate a level of knowledge, professional skills and understanding of legal practice and the law that is likely to avoid a negligence claim. In simple cases s/he can identify a client’s problem and the main legal issues raised. S/he should be able to recognise and respond appropriately to common situations which raise issues of professional conduct. S/he will normally know his or her limits when ignorant; know to what sources to refer for information; and ask for help when the problem is too difficult to deal with.” If you do not know or are not sure of something (particularly in the oral presentation), say that you will have to double check and can get back to to the client later in the day. This is in line with the objective of avoiding a negligence claim. 13. 18 Hoops to Jump Do not fret if you think you have messed up one of the assessments. Collect yourself and give your best in the remaining ones. It isn’t over until the end! 14. Logistics Sort out your visa (if required), hotel stay, and clothes in advance. For Part I, you have to be formally dressed (it is better to wear black/navy blue and white for the advocacy). Try to stay close to the assessment centre as there are delays with the trains and you do not want to get stressed with the travel. I also took about 3–4 days off from work before the exams to get into the groove — time off from work to focus on the assessments would be great. And if it helps, book a morning flight to London so that you can spend the time reading a book rather than catching a snooze! I’ve probably written too much and must stop. I hope you found the above useful. All the best for your assessments and do not forget to enjoy the ride! Original article — https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-i-prepped-passed-qlts-osce-priyasha-corrie/

https://medium.com/@qltsosce/how-i-prepped-for-and-passed-the-qlts-osce-qlts-success-story-62e31f325e1f

[]

2018-03-30 09:34:51.005000+00:00

['Education', 'Solicitor', 'Lawyers']

Reasons Technology Is Affecting Divorce Rates

How technology affects relationships and divorce rates The technologies have been on the rise for a few decades already. And that is hard not to notice. People are spending tons of money on buying new gadgets every year. New technologies are out every month and the companies are fighting for your wallet. However, technology is not only about the gadgets that we are using. It is also about the things that we use, but never notice. For example, the Internet has changed our lives forever. We are so used to being able to access everything online that things like normal books and newspapers are struggling to catch on. And they will probably not be able to. Moreover, there is something that is already online that we do not notice unless we need them. Those are the fields that used to be only offline. Well, they feel just alright online too. One of the shocking examples is the marriage field. And the relationships in general too. You will be surprised that you can simply upload your documents online and get married in a few minutes. That has made the value of a marriage extremely low. People think that they will be able to divorce as easily as they married. However, when they get to a point where they have to divorce, they only meet support from services like Cheap Divorce Online, that let you divorce online. Yet, they will not be able to fight your depression that will surely come after the divorce. Another problem that technology has brought to relationships is the fact that it is intruding into the lives of people. Sure, they are the ones to use it, but if there was none, their lives may have been better. This article is here to take a look at how the technologies might ruin your marriage. 1. People are distracted by social media With every person nowadays having a phone and Internet connection, we are all spending hours a day on social media. That is where our friends, memories, and lives are. And that has brought tons of problems to the lives of couples. The normal communication has been damaged by the fact that every one of us would rather spend some time online instead of having a night out or something like that. You are not talking to your spouse while you are eating. Instead, you are simply staring at your phone, liking the pictures and talking on chats. And that would have not been a problem if normal communication was not damaged. Yet, with all of this, the amount of talking in a normal couple has gone down dramatically comparing to about a decade ago. So, if you are willing to take your relationship to a new level, make sure to take the amount of time spent online less. Especially, when you are together and have some time to spend. If you will be constantly opting to look at your newsfeed instead of normal communication, your marriage may soon be over.

https://medium.com/@abbeysmith1025/reasons-technology-is-affecting-divorce-rates-aa37912eb25b

['Abbey Smith']

2019-12-23 14:51:50.356000+00:00

['Relationships', 'Divorce', 'Law', 'Lawyers']

Jean Danhong Chen Shares Everything You Need to Know About Sponsoring Family Members

Jean Danhong Chen Shares Everything You Need to Know About Sponsoring Family Members As a resident of the United States, it is very likely that if you have siblings, parents and children living in another country, you will want them to join you. However, the process of sponsoring family members is often a long and arduous one which may need clarification. Engaging exclusively in U.S. immigration and naturalization law, Jean Danhong Chen of San Jose, California, has been committed to providing quality employment and family-based immigration services to corporate and individual clients throughout the United States since 2003. She breaks down everything from requirements to the application process for sponsoring family members. Who is Eligible for Sponsoring? You can petition to bring your family members to the United States only if you are a permanent resident or a U.S. citizen. There are two groups of family-based immigration categories: immediate relative and family preference. Jean Danhong Chen explains that only a United States citizen can petition for someone to enter as an immediate relative, and only for the following specific relatives: a parent, spouse, child of the U.S. citizen, a child of the spouse, orphan adopted abroad by a U.S. citizen, and orphan to be adopted in the U.S. by a U.S. citizen. As a U.S. citizen, this is arguably the easier option for sponsoring a family member. On the other hand, family-preference visas are for specific, more distant, family relationships with a U.S. citizen and some specified relationships with a Lawful Permanent Resident. Unlike immediate relatives, there are fiscal year numerical limitations on family preference immigrants, and their categories are: unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens (and their minor children), spouses, minor children, unmarried sons and daughters (age 21 and over of LPRs), married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens (and their spouses and minor children), and brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens. This is a long list; however, Jean Danhong Chen explains that it is important to note who is not included on the list: grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, parents-in-law, and other extended family members. Jean Danhong Chen Explains the Application Process Once you have identified that you are eligible to sponsor your family member, it is time to start the application process. Jean Danhong Chen explains that it will be your job as a U.S. citizen or green card holder to start the process by submitting a visa petition. Your family member will not be able to enter the United States until both the petition and a number of subsequent applications have been approved by the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services). It is important for you to prove that the family relationship is real. Once the USCIS receives the petition, the officers will consider whether to approve or deny the request. If it is approved, the case file will be forwarded to the National Visa Center for further processing; however, if it is denied, it is still possible for the petitioner to file a new petition after determining what changes need to be made to encourage approval. It may be useful to work with an immigration lawyer on this paperwork to ensure you get approved the first time. Visa Availability and Waiting Times If you are in the family-preference group, you will then wait for visa availability. Jean Danhong Chen explains that relatives that are not considered ‘immediate’ are not eligible for permanent residence right away, as there are annual limits on the number of green cards that can be approved. This means that your family member will then join a waiting list, which means waiting usually around a year before learning if a visa is available. If the petition has been approved and a visa has become available, the family member would then submit an application for permanent residence. The average waiting time for either category can differ vastly. The first preference is for adult unmarried children of U.S. citizens, and has an average wait time of seven years. Second preference is given to spouses or children of permanent residents and has an average wait time of two to seven years. Third preference is given to married children of U.S. citizens, waiting as long as 12 years, while fourth preference is given to brothers and sisters of U.S. residents who often have to wait up to 14 years.

https://medium.com/@JeanDanhongChen/jean-danhong-chen-shares-everything-you-need-to-know-about-sponsoring-family-members-2152e08be298

['Jean Danhong Chen']

2019-12-30 17:26:43.765000+00:00

['Immigration', 'Us Immigration', 'Lawyers', 'Permanent Residency', 'California']

How Well-Intentioned Lawyers from a Blue Chip Firm Almost Ruined My Startup

People who say that lawyers are a commodity good don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. Lawyers are not a commodity. There’s no need to overpay, but do not skimp. Lawyers are expensive, and it’s tempting to go cheap when you’re small and broke. I get it. I’ve been there. But your legal docs are the hardest things to change, and sometimes, they’re unchangeable. If you’re outside of Silicon Valley, make absofuckinglutely sure that you’re using a startup law firm with a Silicon Valley presence. Your cousin Andy’s friend who went to Harvard Law will not do the trick. The really smart lawyer your bud Jim knew at Goldman Sachs will not do the trick. If you’re in tech, you need a startup lawyer. Period. And not’s because it’s rocket science, but because it involves nuance and long term issues that don’t apply to the rest of the normal business world, which is to say: there’s a chance you’ll raise venture capital and/or sell your company. True Story… I started the company that became SpeakerText in October 2008, just a couple weeks after the apocalypse Lehman collapse. I was still working on an ambulance at the time, paying the bills by being a paramedic in NYC. In December, I got my first lucky* break. It was 4am. I was working 10w, tour 1 — the Upper East Side overnight. Around 0300, we got the call for a cardiac arrest. Old lady. Cancer patient. When we got there, the family spoke with an aura of acceptance. “She’s dead,” said her son. But they didn’t have the Do Not Resuscitate order on hand. Fuck, I thought. We have to work her up. I hate working up dead people. I tried to get the medical control doc to let us pronounce on the spot. He got pissed, said ‘no dice.’ And so we did the whole CPR rigamarole. I felt bad for the family. Let the woman rest in peace, I thought. What a shame. And so we performed the obligatory medical theater. Sometime around 345am, I pronounced death. Of course, it was my job to do the paperwork, and so I started talking to the son. He was a nice guy, in his 50s or so. Amidst checking the boxes and transcribing her medical history, I asked him my favorite question: “So, what do you do?” Turns out he’s a lawyer. A corporate lawyer. I didn’t know it at the time, but he was actually a very powerful senior partner at one of the top firms in the US. “Do you work with startups at all?” I inquired. “Startups?” He responded, a bit exasperated. “Who’s doing that?” Lehman had just melted down. The end of the world, it was. “Well, I am” I said, and proceeded to pitch him what became SpeakerText. He was intrigued and gave me his number, said: “Call me. I might be able to help you out.” A few days later, I called. And emailed. I didn’t want to push, so I left it at that. The man was in mourning, after all, and while I was & am a determined motherfucker, I wasn’t going to be that guy. A month later, he called me back. “Sorry I didn’t respond earlier,” he said. “I just wanted to say that I was really impressed by you and that would be happy to take you on as a pro bono client.” Woot! Free lawyers! And good ones to boot Hot damn!!! Over the course of 12 months, they helped me form an LLC and then converted that into a C-corporation called SpeakerText Inc. Our engagement ended in December 2009. And boy was a I proud. In March, I went hunting for a new lawyer: the kind you pay for. “If you had paid for these docs, I’d tell you to sue for legal malpractice.” This is what the pros at Wilson Sonsini told me. Fuuuuuuuuuuck. In our incorporation docs, there were two fatal mistakes, the combination of which was our saving grace. #1 I failed to file a 83(b) election with the IRS. The 83(b) election is something you have to file so that when you have equity vesting in place, you don’t have to pay an increasing amount of taxes with each month your shares vest. If you don’t file an 83(b), the IRS will classify all the shares that vest each month as income…at their current market value. Thus, if your stock price goes up, then you owe the IRS more money each month. But the shares are illiquid, so if the share price goes up a lot, you become increasingly fucked. I was setup to be increasingly fucked. That is, if SpeakerText went anywhere. #2 We failed to implement founder stock vesting. Even worse, we split ownership in the company 50/50. If my original co-founder hadn’t been amenable, the company would have been dead in the water when we split up a few months later, with one departed founder owning half of the company and no legal remedy for changing the cap table. #3 The company issued more shares than the board had authorized. We had issued 25,000 shares but only authorized 2,500. Whoops. The upside of this is that it was such an egregious, astoundingly sloppy move that it nullified everything else, including the 83(b) election screw up. Thank gawd. Our new lawyer, Heather Miles, cleaned it all up back in April. We were lucky, she explained. My ass was saved by the sheer grossness of our previous lawyers’ incompetence. Heather reached out to our previous counsel to ask about the 83(b). “What’s an 83(b)?” was the response. Oy vey. It’s not that our previous lawyers were bad people. Sloppy, yes. Incompetent, yes. Well pedigreed, also yes. Part of the problem is that, as pro bono clients, we had gotten kicked to a very amicable first year associate that handled our work. Regardless, the real point is this: they weren’t specialists. They had never done incorporation work before. They didn’t grock the nuances. And as a result, they fucked up. It’s like in medicine. Pediatrics have a fundamentally different anatomy and different problems than adults. Same with lawyers. You can’t just scale down the tactics you’d use in a big company. You need a specialist. Spend the money. It’ll save you in the end. The other good thing about a really good lawyer is that they can help you negotiate terms with investors and customers. They can be the bad cop to your good cop. They can provide you with normative leverage, which is awesome. “I can’t do that because my lawyer says it will fuck me when we raise a series A,” is a wonderful thing to be able to say. *** ATTENTION: SpeakerText is hiring web developers and ML hackers. If scaling a semi-automated, virtual assembly line that combines AI with crowdsourced labor sounds like your idea of a good time, click here.

https://medium.mattmireles.com/how-well-intentioned-lawyers-from-a-blue-chip-firm-almost-ruined-my-startup-30a7b36c2117

['Matt Mireles']

2016-07-01 07:27:52.615000+00:00

['Lawyers']

Support the Causes Your Clients Do

Support the Causes Your Clients Do Image Copyright Matthew Homann. All Rights Reserved. Several years ago, I was facilitating a retreat for a large Atlanta law firm. During one of our business development exercises, I heard an older lawyer tell a group of new partners, “You don’t know your clients unless you know the name of their dog.” His advice has always stuck with me, but upon reflection it seemed to me better advice would have been to not only know your clients’ pets but to know their “pet projects” as well — the community organizations, charity, civic group or volunteer events they care about and support. If its not obvious from the plaques, certificates of appreciation, etc. on their office walls the causes they support, ask them. Armed with this knowledge, here are a few things you can do: Get on the group’s mailing list, so you’ll always know how you can help. Donate money or goods to the cause’s auction in your client’s name. Instead of spending your time entertaining your clients, spend that time volunteering with them in support of their cause. You’ll get the same one-on-one time, but will be helping out those in need. As a extra bonus, you’ll likely meet several of your client’s peers. Find out what is the most pressing issue facing the organization (or its members), and offer to give a seminar to help them understand it better. Donate a percentage of that client’s fees to their cause as your holiday gift the client. Your clients will not only appreciate your interest in their cause, but you might gain an interest in theirs. When that happens, everybody wins.

https://medium.com/the-non-billable-hour/support-the-causes-your-clients-do-536a0d59037a

['Matt Homann']

2015-12-28 16:19:04.698000+00:00

['Business Development', 'Client Services', 'Lawyers']

DEAR MAMA, I HAVE BROUGHT YOU THE WIG! Inspirational Story By Jerry Obanyero

Photo Credit: Jerry Obanyero (OBANS) “DEAR MAMA, I HAVE BROUGHT YOU THE WIG is a real life touching inspirational story, one of the must read stories especially for the upcoming youth. Lawyer Jerry Obanyero becoming a lawyer is as a result of the agony and pain his mother went through. As a little boy, not even a teenager (just 11) he had to accompany his mother to court…Read below in his own words… “DEAR MAMA, I HAVE BROUGHT YOU THE WIG! Studying a different course at the university and getting a job afterwards, upon completion of my NYSC, did not extinguish my passion of becoming a lawyer. I resigned from my job, bought a JAMB form and started all over again. The memories of how my widow mother was taken to court over an offence she absolutely knew nothing about while she was still mourning the death of my late father replayed on my mind always. I was only eleven when I had to accompany my mother together with some of her elderly relations to court. Devastated, confused and with no money to hire a lawyer, my mother would cry and I would cry with her…

https://medium.com/@africancelebs/dear-mama-i-have-brought-you-the-wig-inspirational-story-by-jerry-obanyero-fc97db16a683

['African Celebs']

2019-12-13 21:59:04.326000+00:00

['Inspirational Stories', 'Nigeria', 'Lawyers']

Kisling, Nestico & Redick Help Cleveland Victims Recover After Dog Bite

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year, with 20 percent of those bites requiring medical attention. That’s almost one million dog bites labeled as severe and requiring additional treatment. Furthermore, these bites can lead to additional diseases like rabies and tetanus in certain cases. Needless to say, dog bites are no joke and should be taken seriously. The law office of Kisling, Nestico & Redick are experts in handling personal injury lawsuits and can help get the care and compensation victims deserve. A dog bite can be a legal matter that must be taken seriously. Data from the Insurance Information Institute shows that $675 million was paid in liability claims in 2018 as a direct result of dog bites or other dog-related injuries. This goes to show how important it is to get the right legal advice for a dog bite and take care of any hardship that may result. How to Handle a Dog Bite in Cleveland Because many personal injury laws, including those relating to dog bites, are different from state-to-state, it’s important to understand the laws regarding dog bites in Cleveland before attempting to make a claim. According to Ohio statute 955.28, an owner, harborer, or keeper of a dog is generally liable for injuries caused by that animal. That person is also responsible for “death or loss to person or property that is caused by the dog.” The individual controlling the dog is therefore at fault in any instance where a dog bite becomes serious and the victim needs medical treatment or additional care. Additionally, under the state’s common law doctrine, added compensation can be warranted if the dog has previously bitten another person or acted aggressively in the past. However, proving this in a court of law is not easy and may require collecting witness testimony from those who have experienced the dog’s aggressive behavior. Another option is to look up bite records which were previously filed in the court system. If you find that you were not the first victim of the dog in question and there was malicious intent, you may be entitled to punitive damages. These damages are used to punish the defendant for multiple acts of wrongdoing in the hopes of making them understand the severity of these harmful acts. In the state of Ohio, the majority of dog bite cases are covered under homeowner’s insurance policies. This is the first place a victim can go to obtain the restitution and damages they deserve and may be all that is needed if the bite is less severe. However, more severe bites may warrant additional damages, so it is important to consult with an expert legal team. It should go without saying that this law does not apply if the injury was inflicted upon someone who was committing an unlawful act, such as trespassing on private property, committing a crime, or abusing the dog in question. KNR Knows Your Rights A serious dog bite can start with serious injuries and scars and lead to missed time from work, psychological trauma, and other hardships. The team at Kisling, Nestico & Redick know that anyone bitten by a dog should get the care and compensation they deserve so that they can move forward with their life. An experienced lawyer from Kisling, Nestico & Redick knows the drill when it comes to filing a third-party claim against the insurer representing the dog’s owner. Depending on the bite and severity, this claim may request both economic damages (like medical expenses and lost wages) and non-economic damages (like physical and emotional pain or scarring from the injury). First, the legal team at KNR works to understand all of the details of the attack by conducting a thorough investigation. From there, the team can then provide guidance on the best next steps, whether that is filing an insurance claim or taking the incident to the legal system and filing a lawsuit against the dog’s owner. It’s not easy to navigate the insurance and legal systems in Ohio, especially after being attacked and severely injured by a dog. That’s why it’s best to turn to experts who are trained in providing you with the best legal service and can help you recover the most compensation possible to help you move forward with your life. Contact KNR today to get more information or a free legal consultation for any dog bite that you or a loved one may have recently experienced. Follow Kisling, Nestico & Redick on Linkedin

https://medium.com/@letsgetpolitical/kisling-nestico-redick-help-cleveland-victims-recover-after-dog-bite-678dd351fc1e

["Let'S Get Political"]

2019-12-13 18:04:21.797000+00:00

['Law', 'Lawyers', 'Ohio']

How to Protect Your App Idea: A Lawyer’s Simple Breakdown

How to Protect Your App Idea: A Lawyer’s Simple Breakdown Almost ever first-time startup founder worries about people stealing their idea. They tend to keep their startup a secret until they launch, and won’t talk to anyone about it without signing an NDA first. While there are many things startup founders should be worried about, this is not one of them. “To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed. They are just a multiplier. Execution is worth millions.” — Steve Jobs You shouldn’t worry about people stealing your idea before you even know if your idea is worth stealing. If after you launch, you find users really love your app, and the company starts to grow quickly, then it may be time to start worrying about people “copying” your app. There are a few different types of legal protection you can get for a mobile app. Some can cost tens of thousands of dollars, others may just be a few hundred. Here’s a simple overview of each type of protection and who should consider getting them: Copyright According to USPTO: “A copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of ‘original works of authorship’ including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished.” Consider getting a copyright. This will protect source code, in-app copy, and graphics. Copyright registrations are fast and inexpensive usually under $1,000. Even though Apple and Google have top tier security, it is technically possible for someone with a jailbroken phone to extract the source code from your app. They could simply change a couple of lines of your code, and launch it as their own app. A copyright gives you a legal recourse to take if someone does attempt a fraudulent act. Remember, this does not protect the idea, it only covers the physical and intellectual assets that make up the app. Patent A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This will give you the right to exclude others from making, using, or selling the invention in the United States. Patents provide more protection than copyrights because its’ requirements are much more stringent. What you are patenting must be useful, novel, and non-obvious. It also has to be physical, it can’t be an abstract idea. Simply put, patents protect original ideas and inventions from other businesses that are highly unlikely to come up with these ideas by themselves. You will not be granted a patent if your product uses any previously patented methods or processes to create your product. Both the idea and the way you brought that idea to fruition must be completely original. Patents are the most expensive type of protection and can cost anywhere from $8k-$15k. Name Protection / Trademark Protecting the name of the app is just as important as protecting the technology of the app. App names can be protected by what’s called a trademark registration. A trademark is a word, name, symbol, or device that is used in trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others. With mobile, a trademark is used to prevent others from using the same app name as yours, but it won’t prevent others from creating a similar app under a different name. When should you trademark your company name? As soon as you start to see your download count growing. If you search any popular game in the App Store you will see many spin-offs. Popular Tetris-style game 1010, has been copied by an overseas programmer that named his game 10101010. This allows them to rank at the top when people search for the original game and steal some of the downloads that would have originally gone to the 1010 game. Keep in mind that your trademark should be filed after your business entity has been formed. Other than that, filing a trademark early on is pretty straightforward, and costs only $150. You can read more on trademark protection on the Startup Law Blog. Before settling on any name, it’s important to check if it’s even possible to trademark your app. You can see if the name is available on the USPTO website. If your name is available, consult a trademark attorney on your next steps. After settling on your name make sure you reserve it on the app store, register your domain name, and create your social media accounts. How Do I Reserve My Name in the App Store? To protect your app name on the App Store, go to iTunes Connect and submit your app name reservation. The application process and reservations are free and as of 2015, there is no limit as to how long you can hold your name for as long as you are not in violation of Apple’s Guidelines: “You will not, directly or indirectly, commit … (e.g., submitting fraudulent reviews of Your own Application or any third party application, choosing a name for Your Application that is substantially similar to the name of a third party application in order to create consumer confusion, or squatting on application names to prevent legitimate third party use.” How Do I Register My Domain Name? Use Namechk to see if there are domains and social media usernames available. Try to match your domain name as closely as possible to your app’s name, but don’t worry if that’s not an option. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to do this as more and more domain names are taken each day. You may have to get creative like companies such as www.joinhouse.party, www.visual.ly.You can purchase your domain by going to a domain provider like Namecheap and paying an annual fee of $10-$40. How to Protect Your App when Developing with an Agency Always ask the agency you’re working with for an NDA. Every established mobile app development agency will have these documents on hand and will gladly sign upon request. Mutual NDA’s keep all information you share private and will confirm that everything that is rightfully yours will remain yours. Signing an NDA will give you protection to some degree, but it won’t 100% guarantee your app is safe. The best way to protect your app during development is to work with a reputable company. Conduct thorough research by using reliable review sites like Clutch.co to make sure the agency you work with is trustworthy and has quality reviews. Special thanks to Steven Buchwald, a startup and tech attorney in New York at Buchwald and Associates, for his insight on this topic. You can contact him through Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

https://medium.com/app-partner-academy/how-to-protect-your-app-idea-a-lawyers-simple-breakdown-1b200044aeb

['App Partner']

2018-05-03 16:44:23.602000+00:00

['Startup', 'Lawyers', 'Startup Life', 'Legal', 'Copyright']

How How To Become One Of The Best Immigration Lawyers? Can Ease Your Pain

How How To Become One Of The Best Immigration Lawyers? Can Ease Your Pain The interest for the best immigration lawyers is in every case high in the profoundly created nations since they quite often have a tremendous inflow of workers. However, and still, at the end of the day the activity advertise will in general be intense in Best Immigration Lawyers In Bay Area the field of immigration lawyers since the market is getting concentrated. Anyway you can at present go into this field and become well known. In any case, you should try sincerely and intense for it. Becoming extraordinary compared to other immigration lawyers is a serious high point and achieving that won’t be simple. Clearly to be probably the best attorney you will likewise need to have a have an extremely solid instructive foundation. Entering into the industry consistently requests a decent degree to help your character. The point of becoming extraordinary compared to other immigration lawyers ought to be made right off the bat in life in light of the fact that for that you should go into a graduate school. Depending upon your financial and different conditions you probably won’t have the option to go into the most renowned graduate school of your nation. Be that as it may, you attempt to go into the best you can. Graduating from a graduate school is the initial step to achieving the objective of being perhaps the best legal advisory. A great deal of graduate schools offer at any rate one elective in immigration law. Be that as it may on the off chance that you are wanting to represent considerable authority in immigration law, at that point it is best to move on from a graduate school that enables you to not think about only one course of immigration law however to work in it. Specializing implies that you will consider different courses identified with immigration law and thus being outstanding amongst other immigration lawyers you will have total information on all parts of this field of law. The best graduate schools of your nation will without a doubt offer specialization in this particular field of law. Anyway you can find other calm schools also that will enable you to gain information if immigration law through specialization. Being outstanding among other immigration lawyers doesn’t request just a degree from an eminent graduate school, every single other part of your character likewise have an effect. You should have what it takes and insights of a legal counselor alongside a degree. During your examination residency it is significant for you to verify an internship in a decent law office. Having experience of an internship truly matters in the event that you need to be outstanding amongst other immigration lawyers. A great deal of eager graduate school understudies attempt to get into law office or whatever other philanthropic association which spends significant time in handling instances of immigration. Having genuine experience is basic to shape you into a standout amongst other immigration lawyers. The size of the firm you pick doesn’t make a difference a great deal. Instead you should focus on securing internship in a firm where you would need to fill in as a legal advisor after you have graduated. For internship you can look through legislative employments in light of the fact that a ton of immigration lawyers work for the administration. Your emphasis ought to be on securing such an internship which mirrors your point of explicitly being a standout amongst other immigration lawyers. Start searching for internships as quickly as time permits instead waiting for the opportunity to arrive. It is extremely significant for you to establish a decent connection in your internship. Making your supervisor glad is the way to entering into this industry. During your internship residency ensure you turn out as an aspiring and dedicated individual waiting for the opportunity to take off high and become a standout amongst other immigration lawyers. DUI DWI Criminal Defense Lawyer Hayward Office: 24301 South land Drive, Suite 212 B Hayward, CA 94545 Phone: 415–867–5181 Fax: 415–506–1656

https://medium.com/@sherozbhaig/how-how-to-become-one-of-the-best-immigration-lawyers-can-ease-your-pain-19b19a5eb3ea

['Robert Morris']

2019-12-11 09:25:58.738000+00:00

['Immigration', 'Lawyers', 'Law']

Supreme Court gave important decision — yr associates

Supreme Court gave important decision — yr associates In 2019, the Supreme Court gave important decisions and new arrangements The year 2019 has also been important in many ways for the Supreme Court. This year, in many such cases, the Supreme Court gave its verdict or gave a new order, which created history. In the Ayodhya case which has been in legal trouble for many years, the Supreme Court gave its important decision this year. Let us look at some such cases: - Memory card is also an important document The Supreme Court has made the provision of the memory card an important document in criminal cases. A bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari ruled in a case of Yain harassment. This case is of February 2017. According to the allegation, a Kerala actress was sexually assaulted in a car in Kochi, whose video is in a memory card of a fan. Contention comment on pollution Expressing concern over the increasing pollution in Delhi, the court commented on the government and said that it is better to breathe in the air than kill the public in one blast. During this time, the court even said that the Delhi government has no right to remain in power. This type of comment was made for the first time on behalf of the Supreme Court against any government. Extremism rape case based on agreement The Supreme Court, bypassing the Kerala High Court’s order, has ordered the rape accused to terminate the ongoing proceedings in the rape case after her agreement with the victim woman. The Kerala High Court refused to close the case. The court said that the matter is made under 376 even after the consensual sexual relationship. Therefore it cannot be canceled. Against this, the accused had approached the Supreme Court, after which, considering the affidavit of the complainant girl and the circumstances of the case, the court believes that criminal proceedings should be ended against the appellant. Order to prove majority to Maharashtra government When the opposition approached the Supreme Court against the Devendra Fadnavis government who took oath in Maharashtra overnight, the court not only ordered them to prove their majority in the Assembly but also to telecast it live. A division bench of Justices NV Ramana, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice Sanjeev Khanna also ordered the Governor to appoint a temporary chairman. The bench said that there would be no secret voting in the house. Clean chit to the government on Rafale Rejecting the petition filed for the Rafale aircraft deal, the Supreme Court not only gave a shock to the opposition but also gave its seal to the deal being fully corrected. The court said that there is no need for any kind of hearing again in this case. CJI under the purview of RTI The Supreme Court, while announcing the decision to keep the office of Chief Justice also under the purview of RTI, made it clear that its accountability to the public cannot be denied. However, the court also believed that nothing can be given through RTI. The court said that the independence of the judiciary has to be taken care of by filing RTI. In this case, the Delhi High Court, in its judgment on 10 January 2010, said that the CJI’s office comes under the purview of the RTI Act. It said that judicial independence is not the prerogative of the judge, but a responsibility. The court delivered the verdict 3–2. The CJI said that an institution should not be harmed in the name of transparency. Inept but can contest elections The Supreme Court upheld the disqualification of 17 MLAs by the former Speaker of the Legislative Assembly amidst political turmoil in Karnataka. The court said that despite this, he can contest elections. The court ruled that the resignation does not end the speaker’s authority. Janitor is the case In the case of Chowkidar Chaur Hai, the Supreme Court, considering the application for forgiveness of Rahul Gandhi, left him with instructions. The court said that the statement should be given carefully to the people sitting on constitutional posts. It is worth noting that during the elections, Rahul Gandhi had publicly said that in many public meetings, the watchman is a thief who has directly targeted PM Modi. Ayodhya case In the Ayodhya case, the Supreme Court, delivering its historic verdict, handed over the entire disputed land to Ramlala Virajman. Apart from this, the court also ordered the government to give 5 acres of land to the Muslim side from the state government. The court in its order has also asked for a trust to be built for the construction of the temple. Court has also been ordered to include this trust Nirmohi Akhara. With this court order, the case of years old has been closed. Yogesh and Ram Bajad & Associates with law firm. A law firm is normally an organization between legal counselors who have met up to offer their skill to customers under one name. We provide you this service like — Cyber Law, criminal law, corporate law, and Tenant lawyer advice. Contact us : 098275 25296

https://medium.com/@yogeshsandrambajadassociates/supreme-court-gave-important-decision-yr-associates-4c5f753f787d

['Y.R. Advocate Associates']

2019-12-11 12:06:05.469000+00:00

['Supreme Court', 'Advocate', 'Associates', 'Lawyers', 'Law']

Tito Ortiz Press Conference — Jenna Is Hooked on OxyContin

Tito Ortiz Press Conference — Jenna Is Hooked on OxyContin Howard had Robin start her news next. Robin started off with the story about Tito Ortiz and Jenna Jameson. Howard had some audio clips of Tito’s lawyer talking about what’s going on. The guy said that Jenna has been battling an addiction to Oxycontin and she had relapsed. He claims that Tito confronted her about it and Jenna denied it and had a breakdown. He said that Tito never laid a hand on Jenna. Robin said she thought they found injuries on her. Howard had some more of the press conference and they asked about the injuries. The lawyer said that she did have a scratch on her elbow. He said she may not have the best of balance while she’s on Oxy though. Howard had some audio of Tito himself talking about what went on. Tito said that everyone knows that his family means the most to him. He said that he’s not going to let his family go through an addiction like that. He said he hopes she can get through this. Robin said that Jenna is saying that she thought he was the sweetest guy but she’s taking out a restraining order and pressing charges. Howard and Robin said that they’ve been bad judges about this kind of thing so they’re not sure what to think. Robin was wondering if the kids were born addicts since they’re just 13 months old and Tito’s lawyer claims that she’s been battling the addiction for over a year. Howard said he thought that the porn star and the MMA wrestler relationship would be a strong one. Robin said Jenna only weighs 110 pounds and Tito weighs 210. $

https://shabooty.com/tito-ortiz-press-conference-jenna-is-hooked-on-oxycontin-29a672e2b9b9

['Shabooty']

2016-08-09 02:29:08.770000+00:00

['Addiction', 'Hooked', 'Lawyer']

Domestic Violence Act for Women Victims

Domestic Violence Act for Women Victims Domestic Violence Act for Women Victims The Rights and Protection of Women Victims of Domestic Violence Act Even after its admission in the nineteenth year of the twenty-first century, there has been no decrease in crimes against women in India. Pick up any newspaper from any corner of the country and try to get some news of crime against women. The agony is that far away, women become victims of crimes even in the walls of their homes. Domestic violence cases against women also come on the day. Prior to the year 2005, women had the right to register criminal cases against domestic violence. In such cases, proceedings under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 were conducted. In 2005, the ‘Protection of Women Suffering from Domestic Violence Act’ was passed, in which many new ways were given to women. The purpose of section 498A is to punish the offender, whereas the purpose of the Domestic Violence Act is to provide the victim with accommodation, alimony, etc. The Domestic Violence Act is a completely non-criminal law. The biggest benefit of the Domestic Violence Act has been that women who do not want criminal action due to family or social pressure and escape from the police station, can now take effective protection measures for themselves. So let’s know the main points of this act- What is domestic violence? Domestic violence has been given a very detailed definition under Section 3 of the Act. The following functions fall under the definition of domestic violence - Physical Violence — Any act or conduct which causes physical physical pain, health or body danger or harm to the health or physical development of a woman shall be considered as physical violence of the woman. Attack on women or use of criminal force will also be considered as physical violence. For example — beating the woman, not treating the sick woman, etc. Sexual Violence — Any act or conduct that is insulting or insulting a woman in a sexual way or harming the dignity of a woman will be considered as sexual violence. Forced sex and marital abuse will also come under the purview of sexual violence. Verbal and emotional violence — Insulting or ridiculing or deriding a woman and insulting or ridiculing her for not having a boy or child would be considered verbal and emotional violence. Abusing a woman, using abusive language or threatening to harm her relatives will also come under this purview. Economic misuse- Any financial or economic resource that the woman is legally entitled to or deprives the woman of the property or jointly owned property etc., will be considered as economic violence. If it is understood in easy terms, then selling any property in which the woman owns the property or to terminate the ownership of a woman will also come under this ambit. To deprive the woman of any such resource or facility or to obstruct the use for which the woman is entitled to use, such works also fall under this scope. For example, in a common household, to prevent women from using water, electricity, etc. Demand for dowry- Dowry or unlawful demand of any valuable property also comes under the purview of domestic violence. In this regard, harming or harassing women also comes under the purview of domestic violence. In this regard, harassment of women with the view of threatening the relatives of women also comes under the purview of domestic violence. To cause mental or physical harm to a woman in any other way is also subject to domestic violence. Who is the victim woman? The Domestic Violence Act does not apply only to married women but to any woman. Women related to relationships like sisters, mother, sister-in-law, etc. also fall in the family of the victim under this act. Any woman who is or has been in a domestic relationship with any man and is a victim of domestic violence can seek any solution or relief under this Act. Domestic relationship under the Act means that two persons who live or have lived in the same house and have relationship of blood relation, marriage or adoption will be considered as domestic relationship. A joint family who lives in the same house will also fall under this definition. Women living in a live-in relationship can also demand their rights under this act against domestic violence. The Supreme Court confirmed this in the 2010 D. Velusamy v. D. Patchayammal case. Against whom can a complaint be filed? Under the Act, the aggrieved woman can lodge a complaint against any adult man with whom she has been or is living in a domestic relationship. A married woman or a woman living in a live-in relationship can file a complaint against her husband or live-in partner or her relatives. Relatives include both male and female relatives. The person involved in the domestic violence is called the defendant or respondent. By whom and who should register a complaint? It is not only the victimized woman who has the right to complain of domestic violence. Any person can file a complaint on behalf of the victim. Apart from the victim woman, any of her relatives, social workers, NGO, neighbors, etc. can also file a complaint on behalf of the woman. Apart from government officials, some institutions are also involved in the process of domestic violence. The redressal process starts with the complaint. Complaints of domestic violence can be made before any police officer, protection officer, magistrate and service provider. Service providers are voluntary organizations and companies registered to act in the interests of women and registered as service providers under the Act. The service provider has the right to make a domestic violence report, conduct a medical examination of the victim and provide shelter to the victim. Magistrate means any judicial magistrate first class under whose jurisdiction the person committing the violence resides or under whose jurisdiction the incident of violence has occurred. Protection officers are appointed under this Act and usually there is a Protection Officer in every district. Duties of Police Officer, Magistrate and Service Provider When any of the above mentioned person receives any complaint of domestic violence, then their duties are- Informing the victim about her rights such as right of abode, right to maintenance, right to compensation, right to protection and right to custody of children. To make the aggrieved woman aware of her right to free legal and legal assistance. To make aware of the right to file criminal case under section 498A. To make the victim aware of the protection and availability of service providers. In short, the Domestic Violence Act is a civil (non-criminal) law. Its purpose is not to punish any man but to provide quick relief to the suffering woman. Its purpose is to solve the problems of the victim women such as economic problems, problems of living, security problems, etc. Apart from this, it is a matter of knowing that the scale of domestic violence is more than physical harassment. Mental torture, financial abuse and emotional harassment also fall under this scope. It is also a special thing that under the Act, not only married women or wives but other female relatives can also seek relief. Yogesh and Ram Bajad & Associates with law firm. A law firm is normally an organization between legal counselors who have met up to offer their skill to customers under one name. We provide you this service like — Cyber Law, criminal law, corporate law, and Tenant lawyer advice. Contact us : 098275 25296

https://medium.com/@yogeshsandrambajadassociates/domestic-violence-act-for-women-victims-5d26d36b9a8

['Y.R. Advocate Associates']

2019-12-23 10:38:18.256000+00:00

['Domestic Violence', 'Advocate', 'Associates', 'Lawyers']

Employment Solicitors in London — Sharma Solicitors

Sharma Solicitors is a boutique, young legal firm specializing in all things about employment law. That’s it. Nothing else. Paul Sharma is head of the firm. All matters will be either undertaken by or under the close supervision of Paul Sharma. Paul is a University College London law graduate and a Grade A solicitor (over eight years post qualification experience). Sharma Solicitors Services. For Employee Sharma Solicitors have acted for hundreds of employees over the years from junior to every senior six figure earning executives. Sharma Solicitors can protect you from bullying or harassment in the workplace. Where the employee decides to leave, we can negotiate the exit package enabling the employee to seek work elsewhere, without post termination restrictions and with the maximum exit package. Negotiate a settlement agreement with the employer. We have acted for hundreds of employees for settlement agreement. If you are looking for settlement agreement lawyer in London then you can highly rely on Sharma Solicitors. Recover unpaid commission or bonus. Litigate for unfair dismissal, discrimination or any other employment right. Take the employer to the Employment Tribunal to enforce the employment rights. For Employers Our specialist team can effectively deal with all employment law related matters irrespective of organizational size, including: Advice on pre-recruitment processes that will ensure employers do not offend laws protecting would-be employees from pre-entry discrimination. The drafting of tailored and robust contracts of employment that will protect employers in all the important areas of concern to them such as restrictive covenants and data protection. The defense of actions from employees in the Employment Tribunal. We have an extensive experience and knowledge of the Employment Rules of Procedure. We have secured the strike-out of actions based on non-compliance with procedural rules. Sharma Solicitors have defended every type of employment claim made by employees. The trick is not just knowing the law but the strategy and tactics to defeat the claim. Contact Sharma Solicitors, Employment Lawyers in London on 0345 430 0145 or contact us online.

https://medium.com/@sharmasolicitorsmark/employment-solicitors-in-london-sharma-solicitors-8f555d7ab3cf

['Paul Sharma']

2019-12-14 07:00:32.012000+00:00

['Lawyers', 'Attorney', 'Legal Services']

Brockton, MA Woman Receives $100,000 Pedestrian Accident Settlement From Commerce Insurance | d’Oliveira & Associates

Brockton, MA Woman Receives $100,000 Pedestrian Accident Settlement From Commerce Insurance | d’Oliveira & Associates Recently d’Oliveira & Associates attorney, Cara Gallucci, obtained a $100,000 settlement from Commerce Insurance for a Brockton, MA woman, who was seriously injured in a pedestrian accident. A vehicle struck our client as she was crossing the street, which caused her to sustain injuries to her hip. Attorney Cara Gallucci said, “Every now and again a client comes along who makes me wish every client were like her. This lovely lady was that client. Perpetually positive, even throughout the most trying obstacle. We wanted to get this case resolved for her quickly, to try to lift some of the worry that rested on her shoulder, and so she could focus on healing and resuming her very full life. I am so fortunate to have worked with this woman and wish her continued happiness and good health.” If you or a loved one were recently injured in a pedestrian accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical expenses, pain and suffering and lost wages, among other losses. Our knowledgeable Brockton Car Accident Lawyers are experienced in working with insurance companies to get you the settlement or award that you deserve. Please call us today 24/7 at 1–508–436–7000 or fill out an online contact form for a free (no obligation) case evaluation.

https://medium.com/@YouMeanBusiness/brockton-ma-woman-receives-100-000-pedestrian-accident-settlement-from-commerce-insurance-41f3230e32be

["D'Oliveira"]

2019-12-23 20:15:15.185000+00:00

['Settlements', 'Lawyers', 'Attorney', 'Personal Injury Attorney']

Approaching Social Media Before

How to deal with social media before, during and after the divorce It is hard not to notice that technology has taken a huge part of our lives. And one of the things that make a huge difference is social media. Moreover, that is the fact that it takes some much time out of our day. And with all of the things that are happening in your life, with the divorce going on, it may be even harder to think of how much time it takes you. Well, as much as we can love the Web for useful services like DivorceServicesReviews, there are some bad things too. And, in case you can understand that there is a chance for you to avoid all of that. This article is here for you to try to figure out how everything works with social media and divorce. Some of these tips might be useful to you. 1. Before divorce If you are still living your life as a married person, make sure to be aware of the social media impact on our lives. It may be hard to think bad about such an awesome thing. Of course, you are using it every day to connect with the rest of the world. And that is awesome. However, when you are in a relationship, there is a person that you have to connect to in the first place. If you are the one struggling from spending too much time on social media, just think about all of the things that you are missing out on. Yet, if you are the person that knows everything and your spouse spends all of their time on the phone, try to talk. It is extremely important to be able to communicate without messengers. That is because while you are offline you are not able to say all of the things that are possible while texting. Therefore, you will avoid abusive words and various scandals more than you even think of. However, that is something that both of you have to agree to do. 2. During the divorce Once your marriage is coming to an end and you are deciding on divorce it is time to change the way you approach social media. This is where you have to start thinking about what you say online. Remember, like you had a situation before, where you could say almost everything online? Well, those times are over. If you are not in the best relations with your ex, it will be extremely upsetting to talk to them. However, you have to remember that everything that you say can be used against you. So, try to keep everything you say short and only write about the important things. This way you will be able to avoid most of the problems that texting can bring. Also, make sure to limit the time that you spend online to be able to work on the problems that are going on in your life. 3. After the divorce At some point, the process of divorcing will be over. That will be the time that you can get back to the old life. However, that will also be the time when you will have to pay attention to. There will be people that may still write the things that are not pleasant to you. And the easiest and the best way to deal with those just bans them from texting you. This way you will avoid any bad mood that you may get from talking to them. Therefore, you will be able to live a better life. Also, social media will become a place of opportunity. That is where you can meet a lot of new people. Join the groups that have the same interests as you and try to communicate with those people. That is how you can make tons of new friends. Moreover, you can even find your new love there.

https://medium.com/@abbeysmith1025/approaching-social-media-before-9c56a8710516

['Abbey Smith']

2019-12-23 09:45:39.542000+00:00

['Social Media', 'Law', 'Lawyers', 'Divorce', 'Divorce Lawyer']

The Burn Your Mortgage Podcast: Everything You Wanted to Know About Real Estate Law with Nabeel Naqvi of Naqvi Law

The Burn Your Mortgage Podcast: Everything You Wanted to Know About Real Estate Law with Nabeel Naqvi of Naqvi Law Sean Cooper Dec 13, 2019·1 min read Nabeel Naqvi is a real estate lawyer who operates Naqvi Law. He has completed well over 5000 real estate transactions and specializes in the areas of secured financing and all matters related to residential real estate. With offices in Richmond Hill, Pickering, Ajax and Mobile Signing Officers available 24/7, Naqvi Law is ready to serve you wherever you are in Southern Ontario at your convenience. In my interview with Nabeel, we discuss what happens if a legal issue comes up when you’re buying a home, the difference between title insurance and a survey, and important questions to ask when you’re looking to hire a good real estate lawyer. Subscribe now and never miss an episode. Reviews and ratings are appreciated, too. Sean Cooper is an independent mortgage broker. Get in touch with him for all your mortgage needs. For a free mortgage consultation, email Sean@BurnYourMortgage.ca or call 647–867–3711.

https://medium.com/@burnyourmortgage/the-burn-your-mortgage-podcast-everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-real-estate-law-with-nabeel-1fa553ff62e

['Sean Cooper']

2019-12-13 15:57:19.987000+00:00

['Real Estate', 'Lawyers', 'Law', 'Home', 'Home Buying']

Jean Danhong Chen Explains how to Establish Credit in a New Country

Jean Danhong Chen Explains how to Establish Credit in a New Country Jean Danhong Chen Explains how to Establish Credit in a New Country As if moving to a new country isn’t hard enough, a major obstacle for newcomers is establishing credit once you have arrived in the United States. Whether you are looking to purchase a new car or apply for a mortgage, you will need to start building your credit right away. As someone who engages exclusively in the area of U.S. Immigration and Naturalization law, Jean Danhong Chen of San Jose, California, knows a thing or two about building great credit. Having advocated for her clients’ interests since 2003, Jean Danhong Chen has a comprehensive knowledge of immigration law and has a few crucial tips for building your credit upon entering the United States. Understand Credit Scores First, Jean Danhong Chen explains that your U.S. credit score is also known as your FICO score and can range from 300 to 850; most people have a credit score between 600 and 750. The higher the score, the better it is. As a result, people with higher scores can usually get the best interest rates. In the United States, there are three primary credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and Transunion. They will normally match your information using your social security number. Even if you have outstanding credit scores from another country, they unfortunately do not count in the United States. When you move to the United States, you have to start from scratch, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start rebuilding it. Building credit can make it easier to apply for a mortgage, get a car loan, rent an apartment, or get a rewards credit card. Secured Credit Cards For immigrants, the easiest way to start building credit is by going into a bank and asking if they offer a secured credit card. A secured credit card is a special type of credit card that is secured by collateral. Jean Danhong Chen explains that the bank will ask you to put a certain amount of money in a bank account and leave it there and they will allow you to charge the secured credit card up to the amount you are holding in the account. Put simply, if you deposit $800, you can then borrow up to $800. This is a great way for new residents to be able to build credit. Additionally, Jean Danhong Chen explains that it is important to check if the bank you used back home has a location in the United States, as they may issue U.S. credit cards for clients moving to the United States. Become a User or Find a Co-signor If you relocated for your spouse, you may be able to utilize their good credit by becoming an authorized user on their credit card. This means that you will get your own credit card, which is directly linked to their account. Of course, the best person to ask is someone who has demonstrated excellent financial responsibility. Jean Danhong Chen explains that major credit card companies like Bank of America, Citi, Capital One, and Chase report authorized user transactions to credit bureaus, which can help you begin to build your credit. On the other hand, if you have been turned down for a credit card, consider including another person on your next application who has solid income and excellent credit scores to be your co-signor. It is important to note that if you do not pay your bills on time, this will also affect their overall credit score and vice versa, so be sure to only use this option with someone you trust. Final Thoughts from Jean Danhong Chen Once you have a credit card, consider setting up automatic payments so that you do not miss a single payment. Making sure that your credit cards, loans, and utilities are set up to be paid automatically ensures that your credit rating stays high and that there is no chance of missing a deadline. Establishing great credit as a recent immigrant can be difficult. If you want to ensure that you are successful in your transition, consider working with an immigration lawyer. Jean Danhong Chen has helped over 10,000 visa and green card case approvals across all 50 U.S. states since 2003 and is confident in her ability to make your transition as smooth as possible.

https://medium.com/@JeanDanhongChen/jean-danhong-chen-explains-how-to-establish-credit-in-a-new-country-17c176d9444a

['Jean Danhong Chen']

2019-12-30 17:29:47.457000+00:00

['Finance', 'Credit Cards', 'California', 'Lawyers', 'Credit']

The Most Dangerous Months to Drive | d’Oliveira & Associates

The Most Dangerous Months to Drive | d’Oliveira & Associates Each new season presents unique challenges for drivers. Some seasons prove to be more challenging than others. For Rhode Island, the weather and climate can be unpredictable with each passing month. Which time of year is considered the most dangerous for drivers? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) compiled 24 years of data regarding the trends of auto accidents throughout the months of each year. Here are some of the specific statistics that they found: There are 29% more deaths in the summer months than in the winter months. May, June, July, August, September, and October are the months with the most traffic-related fatalities. December is the deadliest month to travel in winter. Drivers travel, on average, 20% more miles in summer than in winter. Why is Summer Deadlier Than Winter? The main reason is that there are more drivers in summer than winter, especially with the addition of motorcyclists. The chances of accidents go up with the number of drivers. Another reason is the false sense of security summer can bring. When people drive in the winter, particularly in snow and icy conditions, people pay more attention to the road or stay off them. In the summer, there can be a more relaxed atmosphere; the freedom of the open road on a beautiful day. This lackadaisical attitude contributes to the accident rates of summer. One other factor to be considered is the number of tire blowouts that occur in hotter conditions. It is always a good idea to check your tire pressure and tire treads before making any long driving trips in the summer. Contact An Experienced Middletown Car Accident Lawyer Today! If you or a loved one has been involved in a car accident, contact one of our proficient Middletown Car Accident Lawyers. You may be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, lost income and pain and suffering, among other losses. Contact our Middletown office anytime at 401–846–5449 or fill out a contact form online for a free (no obligation) case evaluation. Source: nhtsa.gov/press-releases/usdot-releases-2016-fatal-traffic-crash-data

https://medium.com/@YouMeanBusiness/the-most-dangerous-months-to-drive-doliveira-associates-e369c71b914b

["D'Oliveira"]

2020-01-14 15:18:42.126000+00:00

['Winter', 'Climate', 'Snow', 'Ice', 'Lawyers']

interview your lawyer

interview your lawyer As a start-up founder, you spend a LOT of money on your law firm every year. Simple financings now-a-days can run over $25k. Then you’ve got board issues, options, intellectual property, etc. And if you’re filing patents, you’re going to be spending more money on your law firm per year than you might on one of your software engineers. But most people don’t actually interview their law firm. They get a referral from a friend, check out the rates, and hire the firm. But would you hire an engineer like that? Just on a referral from a friend? Of course not, you’d still have multiple rounds of interviews, coding tests, and references for the engineer. Do the same for your law firm. First — specifically understand what partner and associate will be working on your docs. The associate is the most important as this person will be working on 95% of your legal work. Second — you should read up on everything you can on legal matters … So you can credible interview the lawyer. Third — Actually interview them. Send them a sample term sheet and have them critique it (if you are interviewing three firms at once, you’ll likely get three different critiques … so you’ll be able to ask each lawyer questions from the other’s recommendations). And understand the notable absences (most law firms have incredible disdain for angel investors and recommend terms that favor the venture guys over your early backers). Fourth — do LOTS of reference checks. Ask for 5–10 references on the ASSOCIATE. Call the CEOs of these firms and talk to them. Ask detailed questions. Remember — hiring your lawyer is just as important as any of the first 5 people you hire, so put the time into the hiring process that it deserves.

https://medium.com/@auren/interview-your-lawyer-679ab036b1f9

['Auren Hoffman']

2016-10-17 02:56:16.326000+00:00

['Law Firm', 'Lawyer', 'Start Up']

WSBA Deskbooks: Library Gems

WSBA Deskbooks: Library Gems With the ever increasing cost of legal treatises and the continuing shift to digital research, law libraries are sometimes faced with tough decisions when the time comes to update items in the library print collection. With this in mind, the Washington State Law Library continues its commitment to maintaining print copies of the most highly cited items and Washington-specific practice guides such as Washington Practice. A key component of this core print collection is the deskbook series from the Washington State Bar Association. Comprised of 26 titles, WSBA deskbooks contain practice tips and overviews of laws and legal concepts. These books also provide Washington-specific legal forms. Topics include public records, family law, appellate practice, civil procedure, estate planning and probate. The real property deskbook is a series in itself, with seven volumes covering real estate essentials, causes of action, environmental regulations and more. Some very useful topics to both the practitioner and pro se litigant can be found in the WSBA deskbooks. Varying aspects of Native American law are treated in Washington Law of Wills and Intestate Succession, the Washington Probate Deskbook, and the Washington Real Property Deskbook, Real Property Interests and Duties of 3rd Parties (volume 3). Many aspects of the appeals process are addressed in the Washington Appellate Practice Deskbook, including orders of indigency in the appellate courts. Meanwhile, the Washington Construction Law Deskbook fills a much needed void in Washington-specific construction law treatment. It dedicates two chapters to construction mediation and arbitration. Because of the high use of these books, the State Law Library keeps multiple circulating copies and a reference copy so that we can always ensure that one will be on the shelf. We have moved many of the current print editions to the stacks in the Main Reading Room, such as the 2019 edition of the Washington Construction Law Deskbook. Second copies of these titles can still be located in the downstairs reading room. You can browse for additional titles in the library catalog. Should you prefer online research or if every copy is in use, the law library also has access to the online version of the deskbooks through the Casemaker Libra database. You can access Casemaker at the public computers in the Main Reading Room or the downstairs reading room. And if you are not able to make it to the Temple of Justice in Olympia, but still want to check out this great resource, library staff is happy to send treatise sections or the table of contents via email. Stop by the law library today to check out the WSBA deskbooks and all the other gems of our core print collection. (LE)

https://medium.com/walawlibrary/wsba-deskbooks-library-gems-e1fb9a277fef

['Reference Staff']

2019-12-31 19:07:58.336000+00:00

['Books', 'Washington', 'Libraries', 'Law', 'Lawyers']

Digital Gold: Online Reputation Management for Attorneys

Digital Gold: Online Reputation Management for Attorneys There is a lot in the press and in business journals about reputation management. Everything that applies to a restaurant or an auto mechanic applies doubly to you, an attorney. In fact, your reputation is what encourages customers to walk through the door. Given that nearly everyone you talk has gone online at some point during the attorney search process, online reputation management for attorneys is vital. In fact, a bad reputation can cripple your practice. According to a survey from BrightLocal, 82% of consumers say that they use online reviews to help choose a local business. That means that 8 out of 10 of your clients, or more, have used online reviews to help them decide to hire you. Online reputation management for attorneys may be even more important than your real world rep! The basics of online reputation management for attorneys Online reputation management (ORM) can seem like an inscrutable issue that’s too complex for the average attorney. In truth, it’s a matter of putting in place a simple plan and keeping control over your reputation online. Here are the most fundamental steps: 1- Claim your Google listing Every business can claim a Google listing on Google Local/Google My Business. This is probably the single most important piece of internet real estate you’ll find. When someone googles for an attorney in your area, they will usually get Google Local business listings. This shows the attorney’s name, address, and Google reviews. Make sure that your Google My Business listing is perfect. It’s the number one resource for most clients for getting a hold of your and learning who you are. 2- Your spot on attorney listing sites There are a huge number of attorney listing sites. These are great places to put your information and create links to your website. Importantly, for those people who use these sites, the ratings and reviews can change their minds. Here again, make sure that your information is 100% correct on the site. Potential clients who land on these sites will need to use that information to contact you. 3 — Ask for reviews Many clients don’t want to admit that they hired an attorney because of the reason they needed one. Many, however, don’t mind posting reviews online. Ask every client if they would post a review for your services online, wherever they found you. Don’t ask for 5-star reviews or coach them as to what to say. Let them tell the truth. If everyone who posts a review writes the same thing, it will become apparent that they were coached. Most people trust online reviews the way they trust personal recommendations. Those reviews are gold for a law office. It’s like having an brand advocate online pushing clients to you. 4- Respond well to negative reviews “If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not doing anything.” You’ll get negative reviews occasionally. In fact, many consumers have learned not to trust someone who has a spotless record; it looks fake. A negative review gives you a chance to recover and show people how you treat clients. When you get a negative review, even if it’s completely fake, you need to respond calmly and professionally. First, thank them for their review and express sympathy that they weren’t happy with the service they received. Next, have them contact you away from the review site. Invite them to email you or call to talk about their situation. After you’ve spoken to them and done what you can, go back to the site and put up an update that says that you’re glad that you spoke and you hope that they are satisfied with the outcome. How you handle negative reviews is as important as getting positive reviews. 5- Post law-related content to your website and as a guest blogger While every case is unique, there are some generalizations that you can share with readers. Talking about what they need to know about divorce in your state or how to handle an arrest can go a long way to building your reputation as an attorney. As an example, imagine that someone’s son has been arrested for a crime. Mom has no idea how to deal with the police or what to say to an attorney. She doesn’t want a public defender. You write an article that guides her, and him, through what to do now and how to handle things going forward. Simple ideas, like don’t discuss anything with the police but cooperate and get your attorney there ASAP, can help the mother, who isn’t in jail, have a plan. For her, this builds trust. You’ve already helped her out and she’s much more likely to call you for help. Post content on your own blog, as well as guest blogging on other people’s blogs. You should also be posting to Facebook. That might seem like a strange place for legal information, but when locals follow you and see your name, they’re more likely to recommend you to a friend in trouble. Start your ORM today Get started on your online reputation management today. One of the things you’ll notice is that it’s surprisingly quick to reap rewards. As you build your positive reviews, you’ll get more and more business. Don’t get overwhelmed. This is a project that can be done piece by piece. Plan to claim your Google My Business profile this week and your Avvo profile next week. You can speed up the process with the help of an online reputation management company. They can do much of this work for you and make sure that everything they do is SEO-friendly and links together well. That said, this is a project that you can do if you have the time.

https://medium.com/@kevinjamescurran/digital-gold-online-reputation-management-for-attorneys-7d5de105e75b

['Kevin Curran']

2019-12-31 01:33:52.605000+00:00

['Online Reputation', 'Lawyers', 'Lawyer Marketing', 'Online Reputtion Mangment', 'Reputation Management']

Happy Holidays from John and Cait!

Dear Friends, Thank you so much for reading John and Cait…Plus 9 this year! As we head into the holidays, we wanted to take a moment to thank you again for a great 2012 and wish you a very happy holiday season. And — we’re very much looking forward to 2013 and all the excitement that is sure to come! If you’re looking to spread Brewers holiday cheer and (off) season’s greetings, here are a couple of ways to do so: Share this Bernie Brewer image on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. image on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. MLB Facebook Snowy Images Album : MLB has created one holiday-themed image for each team and we’re encouraging fans to share on their wall, as well as with friends. These images also reside on the Pinterest Happy Holidays Board . : MLB has created one holiday-themed image for each team and we’re encouraging fans to share on their wall, as well as with friends. These images also reside on the . Holiday Photos: Upload one of your own photos (or choose one from Facebook), add baseball-themed holiday elements and share with your friends! Cheers! -John and Cait johnandcait@brewers.com

https://medium.com/@cmoyer/happy-holidays-from-john-and-cait-1436120a4dda

['Caitlin Moyer']

2016-11-08 19:28:54.943000+00:00

['Facebook', 'Happy Holidays', 'MLB', 'Pinterest']

Thoughts on the Green family

By mlblogsbarrybloom1 PHOENIX — I never met Christina-Taylor Green, but I feel like I have through her parents, John and Roxanna. She’s the little girl, who was gunned down nearly two years ago in nearby Tucson by a madman with an assault weapon who was after Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and shot 19 people, killing six of them. The attack in front of a Safeway market took 20 seconds and he was stopped only because the 30-bullet magazine he used expired and he was tackled while trying to change that clip. The guy bought those bullets that morning at a local Walmart. He disabled Giffords with a shot to the head, depriving Arizona of a young Congresswoman and possible Senator and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, of an active wife and a hopeful mother. She’s lucky to be alive and has used all her effort and courage to recover. She had to resign from the House of Representatives and will never be the same. He left the Greens without their beautiful 9-year-old daughter and as Roxanna said this week: “I have a hole in my heart and will forever.” But the Greens have moved on, using their faith as a source of strength and a motivating force to bring change to an American landscape that last week led to 20 more families suffering through the pain of losing their little children because of gun violence. I met the Greens a month after Christina’s death when they were still in the throes of their own suffering and have written a lot about their journey since. The community, the baseball world and their friends and family circled around them. In the days after the events last Friday in Newtown, Conn., I thought a lot about them and how they were reacting to another round of carnage. It had to have hit too close to home. Then I saw Roxanna being interviewed on CNN by Anderson Cooper from Newtown. The next day I reached out to John on the phone and wrote a column based on that conversation. By remaining active, they are keeping Christina’s memory alive. I can’t say enough about the quality of these people and their unbelievable courage. John is a member of s great baseball family. He’s a national crosschecker for the Dodgers, His dad, Dallas, is synonymous with the Phillies, who he managed to their first World Series title in 1980. I’ve known him for more than 30 years. Their son, 13-year-old Dallas, plays baseball. Even Christina played baseball. She was the only girl in her Little League and dreamed of being the first female to play in the Major Leagues. She was also active politically in her elementary school and was excited to meet Gabby that morning. That’s the reason she went to that community event. John said that the younger Dallas is adjusting to life without his sister. They were very close and Christina was very protective. She sounds a lot older than her age when she died. And now it’s almost two years later. “I would say we’re doing pretty darn good considering the circumstances,” John told me. I’m not sure I could do the same.

https://barrybloom.mlblogs.com/thoughts-on-the-green-family-e6cd03d19393

['Barry M. Bloom']

2016-11-05 12:05:08.343000+00:00

['Dodgers', 'MLB', 'Newtown', 'Phillies']

MLB “Stand Up To Cancer” Auction Features One of a Kind Items

I don’t know if there is anyone reading this who hasn’t been affected in some way by cancer. Neighbors, friends, family — the terrible disease doesn’t discriminate who it hits. It has also touched many in Major League Baseball, including, recently, a number of my colleagues in the MLB PR ranks. With cancer hitting so close to home and hitting many of our own, MLB and its 30 Clubs organized a charity auction benefiting Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), featuring a number of priceless baseball experiences that only the MLB Clubs can offer. Inspired by those cases of public relations officials in the sport who with cancer in recent years, Josh Rawitch, Senior VP of Communications for the Arizona Diamondbacks formally announced the initiative today at a press conference in Nashville. “With so many of our friends and colleagues recently affected by cancer, we felt it was time for us to stand up and the Winter Meetings present the only opportunity each year when all 30 managers, general managers and all of the media come together,” said Rawitch. “With the unique access we are all fortunate to have to some of the game’s greatest treasures, it’s really our responsibility to do our part and we hope this is only the beginning.” Mike Vassallo and I before the SU2C press conference. He was standing up for his grandmother, I was standing up for my grandfather. As Rawitch addressed the media, the MLB Club PR staffs surrounded him on and around the stage, showing support for our colleagues and our willingness to “Stand Up To Cancer” ourselves. It was great to be up on stage with 70 of my peers who all held placards with names of people they were standing up for. The auction is live now on MLB.com and will last through Thursday, at 10:59 p.m. CT. Over 70 experiences — many never offered anywhere ever before and many that will probably never be offered again — were donated by the 30 MLB Clubs and MLB itself. Some of my favorites include the following: - A Vin Scully meet and greet. - An opportunity to ride the Orioles’ team bus from a road game in Washington D.C. - Batting practice opportunities, pitching lessons from MLB coaches or lunch with a general manager. - A one-day internship in the Yankees media relations department. - A 2013 MLB All-Star package that is first-class and VIP the entire way. And, my personal, hometown favorite… - A visit at your home from the Milwaukee Brewers Famous Racing Sausages and Dave Nelson. The creativity and uniqueness of these auction experiences are like nothing I have ever seen. The thought my MLB colleagues put into making this a special auction shows how important this issue is to everyone. My MLB PR colleagues today at the SU2C press conference. “The PR executives of the 30 clubs have assembled a truly unprecedented collection of auction items,” said Jacqueline Parkes, Major League Baseball’s Chief Marketing Officer. “This auction gives fans the chance to have an unforgettable baseball experience while contributing to the critically important work of Stand Up To Cancer.” The complete list of auction items can be found here. Josh Rawitch addresses the media during today’s press conference. “Major League Baseball has consistently engaged fans in joining our movement, having them literally stand up by the tens of thousands in stadiums across the country to show their unity in fighting cancer,” said Kathleen Lobb, Entertainment Industry Foundation Senior Vice President and Stand Up To Cancer co-founder. “Yet again, the 30 clubs have shown their deep commitment to this cause by creating these unbelievable experiences for the auction.” Today, I was very proud to be up on that stage, not only to support my colleagues, friends and family who have dealt with cancer, but also those who I don’t know who battle the terrible disease everyday. — JOHN john.steinmiller@brewers.com

https://medium.com/@cmoyer/mlb-stand-up-to-cancer-auction-features-one-of-a-kind-items-4a1ae5cfa636

['Caitlin Moyer']

2016-11-08 19:29:10.766000+00:00

['Auction', 'Milwaukee Brewers', 'MLB']

Donated spa helps boy walk for first time

Donated spa helps boy walk for first time By SHANNON CAULFIELD The Tabernacle Sun Most children stand and begin walking at an early age. David Mauchly wasn’t able to take his first steps until the age of 12. David was born with Osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle bones disease. According to the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation, OI is a genetic disorder characterized by fragile bones that break easily. A person is born with this disorder and is affected throughout his or her lifetime. In addition to fractures, people with OI often have muscle weakness, hearing loss, fatigue, joint laxity, curved bones, scoliosis, blue sclerae, brittle teeth and a short stature. OI is caused by an error called a mutation on a gene that affects the body’s production of the collagen found in bones and other tissues. It is not caused by too little calcium or poor nutrition. A person with mild OI may experience a few fractures while those with the severe forms may have hundreds in a lifetime. The treatment of OI varies from patient to patient. Treatments include physical therapy and safe exercise, including swimming, casts, splints or wraps for broken bones, braces to support legs, ankles, knees andwrists as needed, orthopedic surgery, often including implanting rods to support the long bones in arms or legs, medications to strengthen bones, mobility aids such as canes, walkers, or wheelchairs and other equipment or aids for independence may be needed to compensate for weakness or short stature. “From birth, David has had 52 fractures, typically they were in one of his femurs or both at the same time,” said Tracee Mauchly, David’s mother. “I personally didn’t do well for the first two years. Watching my baby break, and then in so much pain. It has been heartbreaking to say the least.” David is the youngest of six kids. He celebrated his 12th birthday in November. Recently, David underwent surgery at NeMours DuPont Hospital in Delaware to straighten his bowed legs. David’s road to recovery and rehabilitation inspired his parents Tracee and Tom to purchase a spa. After realizing the project wasn’t financially feasible, they were heartbroken. The Mauchlys went to Pool Designs in Boardentown Township, owned by Michael Burke and his wife Gail. When the Burkes learned of the project, they were determined to get a discount from Viking Pools. Viking agreed to donate the entire spa to the family. “The [Mauchlys] came to the store to buy the spa for David, and we thought it was a really good thing to be able to donate,” said Burke. “I contacted all of my people, the electrician, vinyl covers and masonry. I got everyone together, and I put this package together for them.” The project cost $30,000 for a new patio and 12 by eight foot-wide spa that is able to be open year-round. “It’s really heartwarming to us,” said Gail. David was able to take control of the project. He picked out the style of the spa from the tiles to the color of the stones. “Michael and Gail are really nice,” said David. “It was fun working with them. It was fun picking out the colors and everything.” The Mauchlys’ new backyard was completely donated by 12 companies around New Jersey, including the EP Henry, Norman Ray Fisher Electric Co. Inc., Viking Pools and Township of Tabernacle, which waived all of the permit fees for the project. “It was a no brainer,” said EP Henry general manager Tom Zebrowski. “I told them to bring David in and choose whatever he wanted. He already knew what he wanted, so it was easy.” For Zebrowski, the project was personal. “My wife’s brother also had OI. He only made it to two weeks old, and that was 50 years ago. I didn’t know he had died of it until the night I had gotten the project,” said Zebrowski. “It was a great thing to be able to do for David.” Prior to the spa, David wasn’t able to use much of his strength. With the pool, he is able to exercise and build muscle. “Since we’ve gotten the spa, there are small little things,” said Tracee. “He’s getting out of bed on his own and he’s coming downstairs on his own.” “I can exercise in it, I can walk and stand,” said David. “It’s a blessing to have.” David’s time in the spa doesn’t stop at exercise. “I do everything that you could do in a spa. I play in it and swim in it, too,” said David. “I can’t wait to use it when it snows.” “The spa allows him so much freedom of movement, escaping gravity and rehabilitation. There is hope again for David becoming more mobile and independent,” said Tracee. “He seems so much brighter these days. The donation of this spa and all that’s been given has touched his heart deeply. He will not, nor any of his family, ever forget this amazing compassion and generosity.” The gift of the spa has truly changed life for David and the Mauchlys. “It’s just stunning that he can be in water and stand,” said Tracee. “It’s the only time in his life he can stand.”

https://medium.com/the-tabernacle-sun/donated-spa-helps-boy-walk-for-first-time-a7a876b53362

[]

2017-01-10 16:59:53.422000+00:00

['Headlines', 'Delaware']

Successful NATO Summit Increases Potential for Cooperation With Eastern Neighbors

November 23, 2010 Posted by: U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John F. Tefft President Barack Obama chats with Turkish President Abdullah Gul before the official photo at the NATO Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, Nov. 19, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson) The NATO Lisbon Summit this past weekend is of major significance for all countries of Europe including Ukraine. Major decisions were reached regarding European missile defense, NATO’s new strategic concept and NATO’s commitment to assist Afghanistan. The key documents are posted on our Embassy website and merit a close reading. For many years I have been an active participant in my country’s relations with Eastern Europe, beginning with my days on the State Department’s Soviet desk, and through my tour as Deputy Chief of Mission in Moscow and my time as US Ambassador to Lithuania, Georgia and now Ukraine. So I have watched with interest the last few days as President Obama joined European leaders in Lisbon for the historic NATO Summit, followed by a U.S.-EU Summit. I was particularly interested to observe the potential new cooperation between NATO and Russia. While Ukraine’s leaders have chosen not to seek membership in NATO at this time, they know the door remains open, something that was confirmed at Lisbon. I noted with interest President Yanukovych’s decree last week establishing a presidential commission led by Foreign Minister Gryshchenko, which is charged with ensuring Ukraine’s continued cooperation with NATO. Along the same lines, one need only look at the draft Annual National Plan (ANP) which Ukrainian Ministry of Defense submitted to President Yanukovych last week outlining military cooperation and exercises planned for 2011. This is the kind of cooperation that is good for Ukraine and NATO. President Barack Obama walks with Russian President Dimitry Medvedev, left, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the NATO Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, Nov. 20, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) In adopting its new Strategic Concept, NATO leaders have taken a significant step to focus the alliance on the emerging threats of the 21st century, such as cyber attacks, terrorism, and ballistic missiles. And in a meeting with the NATO-Russia Council, the leaders agreed that the Council will resume theater ballistic missile defense exercises and identify opportunities for Russia to cooperate with NATO’s new territorial missile defense capability by June 2011. As President Obama said after the Summit, “Together we’ve worked hard to reset the relations between the United States and Russia, which has led to concrete benefits for both our nations. Now we’re also resetting the NATO-Russia relationship. We see Russia as a partner, not an adversary. And we agreed to deepen our cooperation in several critical areas: on Afghanistan, counter-narcotics, and a range of 21st-century security challenges. And perhaps most significantly, we agreed to cooperate on missile defense, which turns a source of past tension into a source of potential cooperation against a shared threat.” In short, as the alliance adapts itself to new challenges, I hope Ukraine will find a way to continue to build its own security within the larger European security framework. We look forward to continuing to work with our Ukrainian friends in dealing with the range of threats that confront our modern world.

https://medium.com/u-s-embassy-kyiv/successful-nato-summit-increases-potential-for-cooperation-with-eastern-neighbors-b7bf8653c54a

['U.S. Embassy Kyiv']

2019-09-19 14:07:24.893000+00:00

['Photos', 'Nato', 'Ukraine', 'Archive']

Composition and the Rule of Thirds

Photo by Luke van Zyl on Unsplash Did you know that there is one simple trick you can implement immediately to take your pictures from cringe-inducing amateur to aesthetically eye pleasing? There is, and the best part is you won’t need any more expensive equipment to implement it. Just grab any camera and get shooting. Now you can think of this as the bedrock rule of photo composition. It will lay the foundation for you to begin taking great pictures and implement more advanced techniques later on. What is this mysterious esoteric rule? It’s actually quite simple. It’s called the Rule of Thirds. Imagine you’re composing a picture and over your viewfinder are four lines, two horizontal and two vertical, which form nine squares. The Rule of Thirds states that in order for the photo to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye you want the subject to rest on one of the intersections of these lines, not directly in the centre of the frame. The human eye will typically want to rest on one of these intersections so a subject placed on them is typically more attractive than one directly in the middle or on the edge of the photo. Heres an example Haigh, Grant. “Clear Lake MB, Sept 2018.” 2018. JPG. As you can see I’ve placed the shore on the far left third of the photo. I’ve also rested the horizon line close to where the top third horizontal line. Resting your horizon on one of these lines while photographing landscapes is a good way to balance your background and foreground. Depending on the landscape you may choose to emphasize the foreground (earth/water) or the background (sky). Haigh, Grant. “Country Road, Brandon MB.” 2015. JPG. In this photo, I chose to emphasize the sky a bit more because of the interesting variations in the clouds that day. Now if you were to take a 4x4 grid and superimpose it you’d see that I could have probably moved my horizon down just a bit to the lower horizontal line to highlight the sky a bit more. That being said, the Rule of Thirds is not some iron law of photography and after you understand and begin to implement it you will find that certain situations call for bending or even breaking it altogether. You will find you can still create stunning images without using the Rule of Thirds but it provides a great fundamental tool to use in composing your photos. Action Steps The next time you go to compose your pictures ask yourself… “What is the subject of my photo?” “How can I use the Rule of Thirds to balance the content of the photograph?” Do this and your composition will improve greatly. In a future post, I’ll show you when it works to break the rule of thirds in pursuit of unique composition. In the meantime, get out there and start taking some extraordinary photos.

https://medium.com/@granthaigh5/composition-and-the-rule-of-thirds-f33d134f64d5

['Grant Haigh']

2018-10-21 16:42:29.578000+00:00

['Photography', 'Composition', 'Photography Tips', 'Photography Tutorial', 'Photos']

How to Get the Perfect Holiday Shot

How to Get the Perfect Holiday Shot It’s that time of year! The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is underway, and you’re ready to pull out your camera to capture the best moments spent with family and friends. You may, however, feel stressed about how to take THE most perfect holiday photos. Well, look no further, we at Photos of Us are here to help. Equipment First, it is important to note that you have the proper equipment and that you are using it correctly. There is no need for fancy and expensive gear, you should be good to go as long as what you have available is adjusted to its optimal settings. Have a convenient camera. Whether you use your iPhone or your fancy new DSLR is up to you. It is important, however, that you always have it handy so you never miss the perfect shot. An iPhone (especially the newest generation) is great for capturing the perfect photo-ops on the go. Remember though, when using a phone camera rather than a professional one, you will have to sacrifice quality. If your ultimate goal is to print out your shots, we recommend using a higher-grade camera. When shooting with these, you do sacrifice the convenience of keeping it in your pocket, but to solve this, simply attach a camera strap to your DSLR. Now, your camera will always be right at your chest, so you can get quality photos without fumbling through your pockets! Use a tripod. The holiday season means A LOT of family photos. To capture steady group shots, use a tripod for your camera. Remember, it doesn’t have to be expensive, just functional, sturdy, and compatible with your camera. Here’s an inexpensive option available at Amazon. Get flashy. More often than not, the lighting indoors is less than ideal. The low light conditions make group and food shots look unflattering, and your camera’s flash just doesn’t quite cut it. This is when an external flash comes in handy. Using one of these units will help even out the lighting, and make your photos look stunning! Make sure to point the device towards the ceiling or a nearby wall to bounce the flash. If there is no surface to bounce the flash off of, try using a bounce card. Invest in a remote shutter. Don’t even think of keeping yourself out of the family photos. We all know everyone will insist that you be in at least one. Our advice is to say goodbye to built in timers, because who likes running back and forth between to set up the timer after each shot? In these situations, use a remote shutter , so that you can take many shots right from your spot in the shot, and avoid the mini cardio session. Big family, wide angle lens. Nobody likes to be cropped out of the family photo. Use a wide angle lens to fit more family members into the frame. They’ll thank you for that! Plan Ahead Going into a family party with a plan is always a great idea. It allows you to make sure you get all the shots you want within a proper time frame. Consider bringing a checklist with you to ensure you don’t miss any! Brainstorm. Before you head to a family event, brainstorm some ideas for holiday shots. If you do this, you will be able to get more of the shots you love, faster. Need some inspo? Check out Pinterest for some great holiday photography ideas. Use props. Who doesn’t love a good prop? Props help make photos more exciting to look at. When it comes to holiday photos, try incorporating festive props into the shot. For example, if you’re celebrating Christmas you can utilize wrapped gifts, the Christmas tree, or some holly. Not only does it add to the holiday spirit, but it’s also a creative way to make photos that are more aesthetically pleasing. Shoot from up high. Plan to take photos from different angles to add excitement and variety to your photo collection. A classic shot to take is one at the dinner table. During this fun and intimate moment, try shooting from a higher vantage point to rid your frame of unnecessary background elements and to create an overall visually appealing shot. Be Real Now that you’ve planned out a few posed shots, it’s good to remember to get ones that showcase your family in the moment. Often, it’s the “real” photos that come out the best. Take candids. Planned photos are great and all, but who doesn’t love a great candid. Between taking planned shots, make sure you capture the emotions of those around you. Whether it’s of a child opening a gift, your brother drooling over the pie, or your mom and dad cooking together, every moment is precious, and you will never regret capturing them. Document unique traditions. Most families have some sort of tradition. Whether your grandma cuts the Thanksgiving turkey, your uncle dresses up as Santa, or your mother lights the Menorah, make sure you don’t miss these unique moments. Plus, they make great photos to look at both now and years down the road. Share Your Work After being photographed all day, you’re family is going to be yearning to see the final shots! Make sure you share them with everyone. Use Photos of Us. Photos of Us is a great online tool that allows you to create albums for various events and share them with your clients. In this case, you can use Photos of Us to share your favorite shots with the fam. They’ll be elated to have access to all of their photos by simplifying going onto the Photos of Us website and digitally downloading whatever photos they want. There’s no longer a need to email or text your entire family the album of photos. It’s as simple as that! As the excitement of the holidays continues to pick up, we hope that you find these tips useful. Will you put any into action? Let us know on Twitter @photos_of_us. We at Photos of Us work hard to help photographers increase their efficiency so they can spend more time doing what they love. Sign-up for Photos of Us today to start storing, sharing, and selling photos like a pro.

https://medium.com/@photosofus/how-to-get-the-perfect-holiday-shot-61d5449f99f4

['Photos Of Us']

2018-12-19 01:02:12.893000+00:00

['Photography', 'Photographer', 'Photos', 'Cameras', 'Holidays']

Learn the Basics — What is Exposure? — Part 1

Learn the Basics — What is Exposure? — Part 1 A long exposure photo of a motorway at night Put it in simple words, exposure is the amount of light that enters a camera sensor, thus plays a crucial role in determining how your photo will look like, whether it is bright or dark. There are three camera settings that affect the exposure of the image, which are aperture, shutter speed and ISO level, collectively known as the ‘Exposure triangle’. Each end of the triangle will be discussed in detail in the future in another article here at Sanjula Photography . So subscribe! Why is exposure so important? Exposure may seem easy to master, but it is easier said than done. Even the most expert of photographers may occasionally fall into a exposure trap. Each end of the Exposure triangle handles exposure differently, so we must first understand what each of them are responsible for: - Aperture Aperture controls the area over which light rays can enter the camera sensor. In other words, it is responsible for the ‘Depth-of-field’ . Photo with wide aperture (f/2.8) - Shutter Speed The shutter speed controls the duration of the exposure of the camera sensor to light. It is responsible for the amount of ‘Motion blur’ present in your photo. Photo of a man standing on a street taken using slow shutter speed (5s) - ISO Speed The ISO speed controls the sensitivity of the camera sensor to a given unit of light. It is responsible for the amount of image noise generated in your photo. Close up photo of leaves with low ISO (ISO 640) Stay tuned for in depth explanations of the above concepts and more! If you liked this article, be sure to leave a clap and leave any feedback in the comments down below, be it good or bad. We are always looking of ways to improve! 😜

https://medium.com/sanjula-photography/learn-the-basics-what-is-exposure-b7c8fb5d2948

['Sanjula Madurapperuma']

2018-12-19 13:55:47.730000+00:00

['Photography', 'Tutorial', 'Photos', 'Photographer', 'Cameras']

Capturing and digitizing vinyl covers with IPEVO VZ-R document camera

Capturing and digitizing vinyl covers with IPEVO VZ-R document camera Are you a vinyl collector looking for ways to digitize your vinyl covers so that you can keep a digital catalog of them, or simply, share their “vintageness” with other collectors? A conventional scanner would be the obvious chance if not for the fact that very few of them have large enough scanner bed to fit a 12” album cover. A DSLR camera or smartphone might be the next choice, however it would require some additional equipment like a tripod or a camera stand. And you’ll need a space big enough to accommodate these setups. Here’s where you’ll find IPEVO VZ-R HDMI/USB Dual Mode Document Camera as a surprisingly effective alternative. VZ-R, with its small footprint, tall build, multi-jointed stand, swiveling camera head, and high resolution (8MP camera), is the ideal tool for capturing vinyl covers. So let’s take a look at how this little tool makes capturing and digitizing vinyl covers a breeze. What you need: A small desk space. VZ-R. Lamp (to provide adequate lighting). Laptop (for connecting to VZ-R and storing your images). Free IPEVO Visualizer software (features “Scan Document” function for easy scanning). Vinyl records (of course you’ll need them). And that’s all! Setting up and capturing: Download Visualizer software onto your laptop. You can download it from https://www.ipevo.com/software/download/visualizer. Connect VZ-R to your laptop via the included USB cable. Place a vinyl cover under VZ-R. Grab a lamp and place it by the side of the vinyl cover. Turn VZ-R on. Launch Visualizer. The image of the vinyl cover should appear on your laptop screen. Adjust the position, height and angle of VZ-R to ensure you have the whole vinyl cover in view. VZ-R’s multi-jointed stand and swiveling head make these adjustments easy. Switch on the lamp. Look at the image on your screen. Adjust the position of the lamp so that you get an even lighting on the image. Adjust parameters such as resolution, focus, brightness, exposure or more in Visualizer to fine-tune the image. Choose “Scan Document” in Visualizer. Set the preferred aspect ratio and file format for capturing the vinyl cover. And voila! You’re ready to digitize your vinyl covers. Here’s a video for your reference: So grab an IPEVO VZ-R document camera, try it out, and let us know how it works for you.

https://medium.com/ipevo/capturing-and-digitizing-vinyl-covers-with-ipevo-vz-r-document-camera-dce31ed1b95

[]

2020-01-17 09:49:15.566000+00:00

['Music', 'Vinyl', 'Photos', 'Document Camera']

The Bolly folly

Movies can be great teachers. Well, at least some can be. But how do you define a good movie? A good movie is a movie which depicts reality. A good movie is a movie which doesn’t show unrealistic behavior or stunts or responses. A good movie is a movie which clears us of societal myths. But unfortunately, such movies are in woefully short supply. These great movies are the ones which fade into oblivion and instead the movies which don’t deserve anything get all the nourishment. But which are these movies that get all the fame and popularity? These are the worldwide loved Bollywood movies. But what is wrong with Bollywood movies? There are a lot of things wrong in Bollywood movies. Lets list them down. (1)Wrong impression of love Wrong sense of love or wrong sense of life? They met for the first time. Their eyes met and they fell in love. ‘Love at first sight’ and ‘happily ever after’ is what most Bollywood movies show. These scenes deceive the watchers into marrying the perfect person with whom they fell in love at first sight believing that they will live happily ever after. And this, later, results in years of marital conflict. Very few Bollywood movies depict reality like the aftermath of marriage or how relationships can ruin our lives. 2)Unrealistic scenes and the consequences One thing the Bollywood movies are famous for are the songs and dances. The actors start dancing and singing at any possible moment, (and that too in a professional-like voice) without preparations. Not only do they dance and sing but they also travel around the world in that 5 minute song, (around the world in 5 minutes). However, we mustn’t forget the back ground music and dancers who are always waiting for the chance to pounce behind the actor and start dancing leaving their daily work. Surely, songs have no harm? But if you have been observant enough you must have realized that each and every Hindi songs’ lyrics are always talking about the good looks of girls which furthermore promotes the societal myth of girls to become fair and hence they buy all these fairness creams. Also, it also make the dark skinned people feel under-confident, many of whom finally commit suicide. Not only that, the fact that girls try to become fairer encourages cosmetic companies to produce more products and as a result more advertisements. No wonder why the TVs, magazines and newspapers contain so many advertisements. Provoking dangerous acts This is a thing that all Bollywood movies have in common. Jumping from roof to roof or car to car. Action scenes are full of such nonsense. But nobody is going to do something so foolhardy, are they? Sadly, there are such people, too. They are the same people who ride bikes fast on busy roads and highways. They are the same people who sit on the benches on the side of the road, eve-teasing women or smoking. The root cause of all these behaviors are Bollywood movies. It is not as difficult to understand. The women in these movies are impressed by the heroes who do such dangerous stunts. Common people think that is the correct way to impress women. As a result, they do these stunts which later results in accidents.Even then nobody is taking lessons from these accidents. Great going Bollywood! (3)A distraction Another sly method used by politicians to distract us from the real world is Bollywood. But how? The problems of our country is very depressing. To take a break from the real world, we watch Bollywood. In these movies, we find a world we would like to live in. A world where the evil always loses. A world where money just flows in. A world where there is no tension or worry about the future. We find pleasure in watching these movies and as a result are addicted to them. And so, politicians find it easier to loot and cheat us without effort if we are distracted. Not only that, it also rusts our ability to analyse news and as a result benefits them. The Bollywood benefit! What should we watch These Bollywood movies have cleverly manged to insert societal myths in our brains without our acknowledgement. And now to do its biding blindly without thinking even once whether what we are doing is correct and sensible. But however there are few good Bollywood movies from which we can take real life lessons. And once you watch these movies, you are bound to feel strongly for them. For example-: Running an obstacle course or an obstacle life? Knife in hand or hand on knife? In India, even Justice needs justice These movies explain the difficulties of life. These movies make us socially aware. These movies don’t have unrealistic songs and dances and fierce dialogues. These movies don’t propagate myths. These are the movies which we have never have heard of. These are the movies which government doesn’t want us to watch. These are the movies which fade into oblivion. So why not? Why not watch such great movies instead of Bollywood movies? Why not open our eyes and ears to the real world? Why not light a bright candle in the dark?

https://medium.com/@sabnam_sultana1/the-bolly-folly-b8e64bdc028

['Sabnam Sultana']

2018-12-14 06:46:37.899000+00:00

['Bollywood']

Tribute to Khemchand Prakash, the legendary Hindi film music director on his 111th birth anniversary today.

Tribute to Khemchand Prakash, the legendary Hindi film music director on his 111th birth anniversary today. Khemchand Prakash was one of the giants of the Hindi film industry. He shaped and defined Hindi film music when it was still in its nascent stages. In a short career spanning just about a decade, he left behind a legacy that exceeded his output as a music director. Khemchand Prakash was born on 12 December1907 in Jaipur. Khemchand had an early start in music. His father, Pandit Govardhan Prasad, was a musician in the royal court of Jaipur and also taught him music. He worked as a court singer and then tried his hand at acting in films before found his true calling in film music. After assisting composer Timir Baran in a few films, Khemchand Prakash debuted as a music director for the film Meri Aankhen (1939). He joined Bombay’s Ranjit Studio in 1940 and found early success with films such as Diwali, Holi, and Pagal. But it was Jayant Desai’s ‘Tansen’ that established Khemchand as a master tunesmith. Sung by the unmatchable K.L. Saigal and Khursheed Begum, the film’s music remains a classic in Hindi cinema. While he composed many beautiful songs in his short career, he is perhaps remembered more for the legacy he left than those songs themselves. It was Khemchand Prakash who took Naushad under his wings as an assistant and helped launch what would become a very successful career as a music director. He is also credited as the composer who tried and tested singers like Khursheed Begum, Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar and made them the successful playback singers they went on to become. Of special mention is the blockbuster hit “Aaayega Aanewaala” (from the 1949 film Mahal) that marked the beginning of Lata Mangeshkar’s domination in Hindi film music. Sadly, Khemachand Prakash did not live much longer to taste and build upon the success of the music of ‘Mahal’. He passed away on August 10, 1950 leaving us to imagine what else he could have accomplished had he lived longer.

https://medium.com/@bollywoodirect/tribute-to-khemchand-prakash-the-legendary-hindi-film-music-director-on-his-111th-birth-4617a5940d4e

[]

2018-12-12 05:15:31.572000+00:00

['Music', 'Bollywood', 'Bollywoodirect', 'Bollywood News']

Bollywood Makeovers: An Idea of Perfection Or Reversion??

Bollywood Makeovers: An Idea of Perfection Or Reversion?? The powerful and enduring effect of timeless fairy tales such as Cinderella (1697) and The Ugly Ducking(1843) continue to shape the universal female psyche for centuries. It influences the popular cultures, both local and global, influencing them to adapt various versions, conversions and translations of these eternal masterpieces. The transformation of an Ugly Duckling to a Beautiful Swan’ remains as an inspiring narrative for countless women around the globe who crave for a life-alteration akin to Cinderella. Moreover, such Geek-to-Chick transformation suggests a fulfilling love and a gratifying life that is tagged along with this transition and makeover. The exceeding popularity of makeover movies, fictions, online dress up and makeover games exposes the tremendous fascination and obsession for beauty and perfection. Consequently, it invites discourse on body politic as it involves fanatic fixation over corporal beauty and physical appearance. In a postcolonial India, the media is still unable to rise above the racial body-politic. One is meted social, political, moral, and ethical privileges in the society based on their skin colour, facial features, and body types. In the contemporary Indian screen, female body symbolizes commodities to be taken over or to be taken care of. With the tremendous demand of various fairness creams and the incredible popularity of ‘Barbie doll’, a doll which symbolizes consumer capitalism and idealistic (read unrealistic) body proportions, the female being is oriented to treat her ‘self’ and her ‘persona’ as passive objects. Herein lays the genesis of the process of materialisation of the woman and her physicality. This trend has become such a powerful phenomenon that it has crept into the Indian as well as global psyche unnoticed and has become a significant imagery. Indian cinema as well as television industry witnesses the unabashed portrayal of geek women turning into damsels to live their dreams and to be united with their soulmates. On a superficial level, it might look idealistic, romantic, starry-eyed and candy floss, but it engages in an offensive interpretation of female consciousness. It goes back to the 1960 movie Love in Simla, a retelling of Cinderella where the plain looking Sonia (Sadhna) goes under a drastic transformation to make Dev (Joy Mukherjee) fall in love with her. Consequently, Naseeb Apna Apna, a 1986 Hindi movie depicts the journey of a dark, unattractive, and rustic girl Chandu who goes on transforming herself into a beautiful woman to woo back her husband. Similarly, in the 1998 blockbuster movie Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, protagonist Anjali is shown as a heartbroken tomboy who later grows into a beautiful lady and wins back her love Rahul. It is important to mark that Rahul does not notice the ‘real’ Anjali till he finds her in a more feminine avatar. Anjali has to let go of her tomboyish ways to be a magnet for Rahul. Similarly, movies like Khoobsurat (1999), Silsila Hai Pyar Ka (1999) and Main HoonNa (2004) and Kal Ho Naa Ho (2004) portray timid, withdrawn bores or jhallis who are magically transformed into damsels. Such depiction of these protagonists portrays the Indian women from different perspectives while dealing with various long held societal norms about female physical beauty. On a similar league, Indian television boasts of its highly popular show Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin (2003) which was inspired by the famous American comedy-drama seriesUgly Betty. Jassi is an unattractive bore, bespectacled, with braces over her teeth and a terribly odd dressing sense. This girl-next-door image of Jassi was soon loved by millions of Indian viewers who could identify with this plain-looking-but-intelligent woman. However, the gradual makeover of Jassi, where she transforms from an ugly duckling to a beautiful swan, definitely aims at exploiting a young woman’s self-esteem and self-perception and her reformation as a woman reaffirms the societal acceptance of a beautiful body. Though the above depictions might boast of the renovation of the Indian entertainment in the 21stcentury, but one might reassess the fact by analyzing the use of body as a cultural text in these portrayals. However, Bollywood has also witnessed the emergence of geek women like Naina (Deepika Padukone), Gippi (Riya Vij), Meeta (Parineeti Chopra) and Sandhya (Bhumi Pednekar) in recent movies Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani(2013), Gippi (2013) Hasee toh Phasee (2014) and Dum Laga Ker Haisha (2015) respectively, where the nerd protagonists come in terms with their individuality as women. These confident women seem to be in ease with their own skin despite being frequently derided for their geeky looks. They do not go under any extreme makeover to woo their love or to seek approval from the conventional society. Being beautiful, attractive or presentable is different and forsaking one’s self esteem and individuality for the approval of the Prince Charming or the society as whole is an altogether different affair. Cinematic portrayal of these women characters should capture the struggle of marginalized women but not the way they seek reorganization and appreciation from others or crave to be treated as a ‘normal’ human being by altering their physicality. The contemporary cinematic female characters should rise above the long-held notion of physical appearance and must not let others define their beauty. That sense of beauty must come from within and one must be able to see that her persona is much more than her appearance. They must take the plunge to be different and not live by the conformist societal standards.

https://medium.com/@sulagna2008/bollywood-makeovers-an-idea-of-perfection-or-reversion-78959a80a1da

['Sulagna Mohanty']

2018-12-14 05:58:02.803000+00:00

['Movies', 'Beauty', 'Nerds', 'Bollywood']

Go Far… See The Stars… Fall In Love… And Never Be The Same Again!!!

Travel symbolizes the journey of life which is equally erratic and unpredictable. Travelling often makes one find her/himself; find the inner self which one tends to ignore while being in the comfort and luxury of home. Therefore, perhaps, author David Mitchell asserts that; “Travel far enough, you meet yourself.” Of late, road trip movies which capture the very mood of travel have been an incessant choice with Bollywood movie makers that depict the metamorphosis of characters as they venture out, make mistakes and finally meet their true selves at the end of their voyages. In this article of mine, I have discussed five movies those are close to my wandering heart i.e. Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002), Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara(2011), English Vinglish (2012), Highway (2014) and Queen (2014) which portray characters on trips and their transformations as they learn to accept, adapt and enjoy in the process. Though movies such as Queen and English Vinglish cannot particularly be tagged as road trip movies, but they do emphasize on the intrinsic power of travelling that enrich lives and enlighten souls leaving one craving for more. 1. Queen (2014) Queen, the highly acclaimed movie of 2014, a soul gratifying saga of a naïve girl‘s journey to Europe, can be regarded as the best instance of how a trip, planned or unplanned, can awaken new consciousness and solidarity in a person. Rani (Kangana Ranaut), coy and diffident, is dumped by her fiancé (Raj Kumar Rao) on the eve of her wedding day. Instead of crying over the break up, she chooses to go alone on her pre-planned honeymoon trip to Paris and Amsterdam all alone. In the movie, Rani’s actual life begins as she comes out her comfort zone. Learning to be alone is the first thing that her trip teaches her. Travelling alone to Europe challenges her inner fears and insecurities. By befriending bohemian Vijayalakshmi, sharing hostel room with three boys and kissing her hot Italian crush, Rani turns her lemons into lemonades. She seems to celebrate her new found freedom along with her crazy and new found friends. When someone is on a journey, many things change during the course. Plans change and new plans pop up. During the trip, Rani learns that planning in life too changes and one has to adapt to come out with flying colours. 2. Highway (2014) In this 2014 movie Highway, director Imtiaz Ali breaks myth of home and its conservative alliance with shelter and protection. Ironically, for the protagonist Veera (Alia Bhatt), her venture on the highways all over North India gives her more sense of freedom and security contrary to her abusive childhood back home. Her travel through the roads of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Kashmir along with her kidnapper (turned lover) Mahabir (Randeep Hooda) makes her a person confident enough to ask questions. Her trips though roads, valleys, and mountains encourage openness and curiosity in her. Veera’s journey compels her to open up a new realm of thought and possibility. It brings forth her new found willingness to question old views and convictions and she starts to see the world from different angles. 3.English Vinglish (2012) In this heart warming movie, Traditional Shashi (Sridevi), is a homemaker, poor in English and low in self-esteem. She ventures into the metropolitan America which changes her equation with almost everything including her arrogant spouse, insolent kids, and most importantly with her own timid self. Forced by the circumstances, Shashi has to go alone to New York and a whole new world of experiences awaits for her that challenges her sense and sensibilities in a significant way. As Shashi goes out of her mundane routine and ventures into an unexpected life, she senses an overwhelming sense of absolute freedom. When she is on her trip all by herself, she is more open to change which would have been more difficult if she were in her insipid regular life. In the process, Shashi welcomes the change in her with open arms. She takes up English speaking course, makes new friends and in the process, empowers herself by unleashing the wonderful, irresistible and intelligent person she is, but whom she had neglected all along her life back in India. 4. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011) A bachelor trip to Spain changes the life of three friends Arjun (Hrithik Roshan), Kabir (Abhay Deol), and Imraan (Farhan Akhtar). Travel is something the forces people to be outside the box of their regular life and compels them to grow and change for the better. While on the trip, Arjun comes out of his box, learns to disconnect himself from material persuasions, and even falls in love while on road. Arjun’s trip to Spain teaches him to enjoy every moment whereas Kabir learns to be assertive and say NO. While being on the trip, Kabir comes out of the societal and emotional chain and gets a chance to recreate himself. He becomes the one he actually wants to be. Likewise, Farhaan comes in terms of his own identity and lets his insecurities go after meeting his biological father in Seville. Arjun, Kabir, and Imraan’s maiden voyage to Spain and fighting their fears in form of Deep Sea Diving, Sky Diving and Bull Run force them into new and refreshing perspectives on things and which brings forth interesting changes in their personalities. 5. Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002) In This highly acclaimed movie by Aparna Sen, shy and conservative orthodox Tamil Iyer Brahmin Meenakshi comes in terms with her womanhood as she steps into a bus journey in the backdrop of a communal riot. Her journey with Bengali Muslim wildlife photographer Raja Chowdhury (Rahul Bose) gives her a new sense of love, affection and appreciation for life. She realizes that the best experiences are often not scheduled or anticipated. She learns to expect the unexpected and learns to love it as well. This trip teaches that one cannot assume things always and things may go wrong. Orthodox and conformist Meenakshi transforms into more sensible and tolerant during the journey and her mute but warm love story with Raja haunts like a romantic travelogue. These wonderful movie based on road trips and voyages depict that while on a journey, we try to look at things from different perspective which might not happen when we they are in the luxury of home. We must just disconnect ourselves from everything and we might be amazed by how fresh we shall feel once we get back home. We might finally go home with a new “ME”, loving ourselves more, appreciating our lives more, and longing for our homes more. Therefore, I feel Rumi is probably correct when he writes “Travel brings power and love back into your life.” AMEN.

https://medium.com/@sulagna2008/go-far-see-the-stars-fall-in-love-and-never-be-the-same-again-c7a865230f6

['Sulagna Mohanty']

2018-12-14 05:54:33.249000+00:00

['Travel', 'Life Lessons', 'Movies', 'Bollywood']

Know More About Birth Stones with Ajatt Oberoi!

The stone is believed to have calming and grounding properties connected with it. It is also thought to increase intellectual awareness, which makes it specifically good for businessmen and women. Alternately, you are able to even start looking into some semi-precious stones to see whether there’s something which you might like. When choosing a design, you can want to incorporate stones. December Turquoise, a favorite stone is connected to good fortune and happiness. So, selecting the proper stone can produce the life force considerably more good luck friendly. Additionally, the stone is considered to help banish all evil thoughts. July’s stone is believed to be a sign of royalty and vitality. The stones are associated with insight and interpretation. A personal stone might be a stone of somebody’s favorite color. It may be a gem that has been passed down in a family. Usually precious stones are extremely sturdy and durable. Very precious stones, including pearls or amber are created from living organisms. Just know slightly more about the individual whom you will give the present to and you can certainly think of an excellent gift basket idea. If you’re searching for a gift that will represent the recipient, a birth stone jewelry is among the most perfect things that you can give. Birthstone Jewelries Your significant other should get the ideal gift from you on their birthday. The gemstone is believed to play up a person’s physical power and help balance their emotions. Firstly, you must know that precious gemstones can even be purchased merely by looking up your birthstone and seeing if it’s something which you might like. Next, you pick your gemstones. As an issue of practical usage, a few of the gemstones above are substituted in rings which use faceted stones in a prong-setting style. Every gemstone has a lot of attributes. For lots of people, there’s quite nothing like natural gemstones. August Peridot, a lime green birthstone that is really a product of volcanic activity, creates a distinctive energy when worn through an August-born individual. In years past birthstones were thought to possess magical energies that could be utilized as protection. In today’s North American tradition, the birthstone is regarded as moonstone or alexandrite. Ancient birthstones were related to the zodiac. Details of Birth Stones On occasion, the crystal baby pearl bracelets can be put together with sterling silver. Despite the fact that jewelry is an excellent gift it’s going to be good to them because it is going to mean something. An excessive amount of jewelry may get loud. Birthstone jewelry is something highly affordable when compared to expensive diamond jewelry, providing you the option of bigger and far better design. There are various types of gemstone earrings readily available, like studs, hoops, dangles, chandeliers and so forth. They may be made of metal or gemstones. Thus, ensure you wear gemstone earrings that fit your face and neck. Since men’s bracelets can get heavy it’s important to choose a minimal design if you use stones. The bracelet shouldn’t be too heavy for comfortable wear. Copper bracelets are also considered to give medical advantages. They are very likable because of their reddish color. Such bracelets are high priced but end up being a profitable investment in the very long run. The Italian charm bracelet is not as costly than traditional bracelets. Charm bracelets are offered in most metals. A sterling silver charm bracelet is made from sterling silver, that’s the purest kind of silver that could possibly be used for making jewelry. Since sterling silver charm bracelets are offered in an assortment of fashions and designs, you may easily find designs that suit casual and formal styles. Therefore, the charms aren’t going to dangle from the bracelet. Silver charms could be attached by means of a clasp or by jump rings. Several forms of silver charms with birthstones are available, perfect for any sort of gift. The Hidden Truth About Birth Stones Engagement rings are usually gem studded. More expensive and tasteful frog rings have a gemstone of all of the twelve birth stones. Additionally, there are frog ring especially intended for men. There are essentially two varieties of pearls, natural and cultured. Generally, pearls and opals are excessively soft while amethysts and garnets are vulnerable to cracking. Diamonds can be found in a large number of cuts and possibly even colors and are always dazzling. When looking at the history, it seems that the diamond isn’t the nature of the engagement ring. On the flip side, wedding rings were plain gold bands previously. Traditionally mother’s rings are created in 14k gold. Since gold rings in 14k gold are rather cheap, it’s feasible for folks to obtain unique selections of rings which they may mix and match as they wish. You will discover a wide variety of gold rings in the industry. Men’s gold rings are somewhat different from the common ring for ladies. Know more about birth stones and its effects on your life or to know how it can improve your life consult Ajatt Oberoi the best Astrologer in Mumbai.

https://medium.com/@mumbaiastrologer123/know-more-about-birth-stones-with-ajatt-oberoi-fb5aefcceb99

['Ajatt Oberoi']

2019-12-11 12:18:29.450000+00:00

['Jewelry']

Know About the Latest Jewellery Trends In 2020 To Keep Your Style Statement Trendy

Know About the Latest Jewellery Trends In 2020 To Keep Your Style Statement Trendy Bulbandkey Dec 11, 2019·3 min read “You don’t need a special day to wear trendy jewelry. You can wear trendy jewelry and make it a special day” Trust us, just one piece of jewelry can be a conversation starter. Your jewelry can be an exclamation point of your outfit but you should know what place you should buy it from. Jewelry is sold all around the world, in the extreme old corners of the market and also in the posh most area of the city. You can find jewelers everywhere. This confuses buyers and they are unable to decide how and where should they buy. Women don’t want to spend much on money and wear better jewels. They want to look like a diva by paying a low price on good jewelry. Buying affordable trendy jewelry is not as easy as it might seem offline. And that is the reason, to support our divas and enhance your jewelry quality, we bring you the latest jewelry trends of 2020. TASSEL EARRINGS “A fun pair of earrings is basically the finishing touch to any outfit. It gives a shout-out to your aura. It gives an outer lining to what you wore. A good pair of earrings is the end definition to your statement style”. So are tassel earrings. They are a highlight of your look and can make any simple look turn into an Indo western style. They are highly competitive in their own type. CROCHET JEWELRY Crocheted jewelry pieces are the new sensation women are drooling over these days. Gorgeous neckpieces, fancy earrings, stylish bracelets, and finger rings all can be created out of crochet yarn and crochet hooks. The beauty and style of these crochet jewelry designs can be elevated more by using pearls, beads, and buttons. QUILLING JEWELRY Usually, jewelry is heavy in weight and sometimes it becomes a little difficult to wear them for a longer duration. So quilling jewelry is the best solution to your problem. Quilling jewelry is very lightweight and easy to carry. These perfect jewels quilled in the form earrings are a blessing in the world of fashion. Wearing quilling jewelry is the trend of the day. KUNDAN JEWELRY Kundan means ‘highly refined gold’; so the quality of gold used to design kundan jewelry is of high purity. Kundan jewelry was very popular in the Mughal royalty and these designs depict elegance and rich appearance. Now kundan jewelry is worn by all on festivals and occasions like weddings, religious ceremonies and engagements. This type of jewellery has more detailed and intricate designs. Precious and semi-precious stones like ruby, diamond, sapphire and emerald are used. As a tribute to Indian ethnicity, Kundan transforms Indian attire and enhances a woman’s beauty immensely. To Read Full Article Click On The Link Below https://bulbandkey.com/blog/jewellery/latest-jewelry-trends-in-2020/

https://medium.com/@bulbandkey/know-about-the-latest-jewellery-trends-in-2020-to-keep-your-style-statement-trendy-503c346a3984

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2019-12-11 07:52:11.887000+00:00

['Jewelry', 'Trends', 'Jewelry Design']