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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2021/02/16/irs-taxes-legal-settlements-but-some-are-capital-gain/?sh=5a29a7372bbf
IRS Taxes Legal Settlements, But Some Are Capital Gain
IRS Taxes Legal Settlements, But Some Are Capital Gain The IRS taxes most lawsuit settlements, and exact wording matters if you are trying to avoid that grim result. However, a suit about intellectual property might produce capital gain when it settles. So might a case about a landlord tenant dispute, where the tenant is bought out of a lease. A suit about damage to or conversion of property? That might be capital gain too. So might a suit about construction defects, harm to property or diminution in its value. How about a suit against an investment adviser for losing your money? There too, capital gain is a possibility, or even basis recovery. You might be getting your own money back with nothing taxable. Even a lemon law suit about a defective vehicle can produce capital gain or basis recovery. Of course, as you might expect, the IRS can and does push back, but all of these examples can represent legitimate opportunities for capital gain rather than ordinary income. It’ one of the IRS rules about legal settlements and legal fees. Notebook with capital gains tax sign on a table. Business concept. getty Tax rates may go up , but right now, ordinary income is taxed at 37%. Capital gain (depending on income level and the size of the gain) can be taxed as low as 0% and as high as 23.8%. Plainly 23.8% is better than 37%. But it isn’t entirely about tax rates, because capital gain reporting can involve recouping basis too. If you spent $1M in sunk development costs that you have not deducted, that is basis that can be repaid without tax before you start reporting gain. If you receive an IRS Form 1099 saying you received “other income,” is that ordinary or capital? The default IRS answer is ordinary. But a tax adviser may opine it is capital, and your tax return might sail through fine. Even in audit, you might convince the IRS it is capital. And failing that, you can go up the IRS administrative chain to dispute the IRS. You can even go to court. That is what happened in NCA Argyle LP, Newport Capital Advisors, LLC, where the IRS and the taxpayer faced off over the treatment of a $23 million legal settlement. The taxpayer claimed that the money was capital gain for its interests in the failed joint ventures. The IRS said the money was really future fees the joint ventures would reap, plus punitive damages, both of which are clearly taxed as ordinary income. You can read more about the case here. The mess started when Newport Capital Advisors, LLC (NCA) entered into several real estate joint ventures with Commonfund Realty. When disputes developed, Commonfund disavowed the joint ventures and walked away. When the dispute reached trial, the jury agreed with NCA, awarding more than $16 million in compensatory damages, and twice that in punitive damages. After an agreement to halve the punitive damages award, like any good commercial litigant, Commonfund appealed the verdict. While the case was on appeal, the parties settled for a lump-sum $23 million payment. The deal called for Commonfund to pay NCA in exchange for NCA’s relinquishing whatever rights it had in the joint ventures. A simple sale, right? NCA reported it as capital gain on its taxes, but the IRS pushed back hard. By the time the tax dispute got to Tax Court, the IRS was willing to treat $5 million as capital gain for the joint venture interests, but the rest, said the IRS, was ordinary income. Settlement tax wording is always helpful, but it does not bind the IRS. The settlement agreement between NCA and Commonfund was quite clear, stating that NCA received all $23 million in exchange for its interests in the joint ventures. The Tax Court relied heavily on the express allocation in the settlement agreement, and was inclined to agree with the taxpayer that these were sale proceeds and capital gain. However, the IRS had plenty of other arguments why the settlement was ordinary income. For example, the IRS claimed that the settlement did not comport with economic reality, noting that the stream of payments NCA would have collected if the deals had survived would all have been ordinary. The IRS also took aim at the punitive damages award at trial, since punitive damages are always ordinary income. MORE FOR YOUThe 2021 Estimated Tax Dilemma: What Tax-Return Pros Are Doing And Telling ClientsWest Virginia Offers $12,000 To Remote Workers To Move ThereIRS Warning: FBAR Deadline For Offshore Accounts Is Still April 15 But the taxpayer still persuaded the Tax Court. In rejecting the IRS’s barrage of ordinary income arguments, the Tax Court thought the way damages were calculated in the case was important. The damages analysis at trial projected future fees only to value the interests, the court said. Indeed, a jury eventually awarded NCA damages for the value of the joint venture interests plus punitive damages. That value was estimated, in part, based on the anticipated revenue stream the joint ventures were expected to produce. The IRS harped on that, saying that it showed that what the litigation produced was all ordinary income. But the Tax Court ruled solidly for the taxpayer and rejected all the IRS arguments. The settlement agreement wording had a lot to do with that. So did what the Tax Court called the adverse tax interests of the parties, noting that they had bargained over the wording. No one wants to go through a protracted legal dispute. After enduring that process, no one wants to go through another dispute about taxes on the money they recovered, or the money they had to pay. Despite these truths, many people don’t focus on taxes when they write up a legal settlement. What does it matter what we call it in a settlement agreement? The answer is that it matters a lot. Most plaintiffs about to receive money usually have a big interest in any taxes they will pay. Defendants seem less likely to focus on taxes at settlement time, but even they are much more likely to make sure taxes are addressed. In any but the most pedestrian and tiny of legal disputes, it seems foolish to sign a settlement agreement without considering taxes, and asking for the wording you want. Reporting clearly matters to both sides, things like tax withholding, Forms W-2, and 1099. Who receive or issues them, to whom, in what amounts, and even what box on a Form 1099 should be completed, those are all nice to nail down. Otherwise, you might end up in another dispute about tax reporting or withholding (plaintiffs do sometimes sue again if they are surprised). Capital gain v. ordinary income disputes can be consequential too, and the Form 1099 reporting choices are less obvious. But as NCA Argyle illustrates, it pays to get tax advisers involved well before any documents are signed. Don’t miss out on a chance to help shape the tax result.
fa88fb216db12be3baaed063c1ab46cd
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2021/04/01/irs-gets-court-approval-for-cryptocurrency-summons-for-circle-poloniex-customers/
IRS Gets Court Approval For Cryptocurrency Summons For Circle, Poloniex Customers
IRS Gets Court Approval For Cryptocurrency Summons For Circle, Poloniex Customers The IRS wants crypto tax data in a big way, from asking on each tax return, it’s latest Hidden Treasure initiative and more. Now, a federal court in Massachusetts has entered an order authorizing the IRS to serve a John Doe summons on Circle Internet Financial Inc., or its predecessors, subsidiaries, divisions, and affiliates, including Poloniex LLC, which Circle purchased in 2018. The IRS’ goal is to obtain information about U.S. taxpayers who conducted at least $20,000 worth in transactions in cryptocurrency during 2016 to 2020. Coinbase went through a similar push some years ago, and the IRS is after more data. “Tools like the John Doe summons authorized today send the clear message to U.S. taxpayers that the IRS is working to ensure that they are fully compliant in their use of virtual currency,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “The John Doe summons is a step to enable the IRS to uncover those who are failing to properly report their virtual currency transactions. We will enforce the law where we find systemic noncompliance or fraud.” Bitcoin Symbol in a digital raster microstructure - 3d illustration getty IRS and Justice Department officials think taxpayers may be using crypto to hide taxable income from the IRS. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns found that there is a reasonable basis for believing that cryptocurrency users may have failed to comply with federal tax laws. His order grants the IRS permission to serve a John Doe summons on Circle. According to the court’s order, the summons seeks information related to the IRS’s “investigation of an ascertainable group or class of persons” that the IRS has reasonable basis to believe “may have failed to comply with any provision of any internal revenue laws[.]” According to the copy of the summons filed with the petition, the IRS is requesting that Circle produce records identifying the U.S. taxpayers described above, along with other documents relating to their cryptocurrency transactions. This isn’t the tax agency’s first John Doe Summons, or even the first one for crypto. A federal court in California previously entered an order authorizing the IRS to serve a John Doe summons on Coinbase Inc. That dispute might be a useful playbook for what may happen with Circle. It appears that there is a similar effort to go after Kraken users too, though there is not yet a court order resolving that issue. Coinbase litigated the case for a while, but Coinbase and the government eventually reached a deal for a more limited class of information that Coinbase would turn over. With a normal summons, the IRS seeks information about a specific taxpayer whose identity it knows. In contrast, a John Doe summons allows the IRS to get the names of all taxpayers in a certain group. A John Doe summons is ideal for pursuing account holders at a financial institution. It's worth noting that it was a John Doe Summons that literally blew the lid off the hushed world of Swiss banking in 2008. That was when a judge allowed the IRS to issue a John Doe summons to UBS for information about U.S. taxpayers using Swiss accounts. Swiss law prohibits banks from revealing the identity of account holders, but the rest is history. More than a few observers have noted that the IRS launched its more than 50 billion dollar offshore sweep with that summons. MORE FROMFORBES ADVISORWhere’s My Third Stimulus Check? 5 Reasons It Hasn’t Arrived YetByRobin Saks FrankelForbes Advisor StaffWhy Haven’t I Gotten My Stimulus Payment Yet? And Other Third Stimulus Check FAQsByLisa RowanForbes Advisor Staff The IRS tells its own examiners to use a John Doe Summons only after trying other routes. The IRS Manual says it may be possible to obtain taxpayer identities without using a John Doe summons, but success can breed success. After sniffing out American taxpayers with UBS accounts, the IRS did the same with HSBC in India and Citibank and BofA in Belize. And while it will take the IRS time to collate and process any information it is able to get, you can bet that the IRS will put the information it acquires to good use. Remember, virtual currency is an ongoing focus area for IRS Criminal Investigation. Not long ago, the IRS announced a Virtual Currency Compliance campaign to address tax noncompliance related to the use of virtual currency through outreach and examinations of taxpayers. The IRS says it will remain actively engaged in addressing non-compliance related to virtual currency transactions through a variety of efforts, ranging from taxpayer education to audits to criminal investigations. For some time now, the IRS has been hunting user identities with software too. IRS Notice 2014-21 states that virtual currency is property for federal tax purposes and provides guidance on how general federal tax principles apply to virtual currency transactions. Taxpayers who do not properly report the income tax consequences of virtual currency transactions are, when appropriate, liable for tax, penalties and interest. And in some cases, taxpayers could be subject to criminal prosecution. More information on virtual currencies can be found on IRS.gov. As with the 10,000 warning letters the IRS issued to crypto holders some time ago, the John Doe Summons development should be a wake up call, even for people who never dealt with Circle. If you are not trying to report taxes the way the IRS wants, the fact that you didn’t deal with Circle does not mean you are in the clear. Besides, basic reporting isn’t that hard. Amending tax returns to ask for big tax refunds is a well-known audit trigger. Amending to report extra income and pay extra tax is usually much less so and can head off much bigger problems. Still, when amending your taxes, be careful with IRS. Of course, not everyone is going to look at this situation, or their own facts, with the same degree of concern. But if you know you have some reporting issues, consider making corrective filings for a number of past years and paying taxes without being asked. The IRS is generally considerably more forgiving if a taxpayer makes corrective filings before being audited or investigated. These letters can be seen as warning that could be next. If you want to be extra careful and limit IRS access to documents, consider how to get attorney-client privilege with an accountant. MORE FROM FORBESOperation Hidden Treasure Is Here. If You Have Unreported Crypto, Get Legal AdviceBy Guinevere Moore
64f3367c6883317b09158a2907d8e97e
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwynne/2012/02/13/should-you-contact-the-media-in-social-media/
Should you contact the Media in Social Media?
Should you contact the Media in Social Media? By ROBERT WYNNE You have a great story about your company or client.  You need to reach the media.  But no one returns your calls or emails.  So while you wait for the phone to ring or email to ping, you search through posts and messages on social media and the reporter or producer who’s been eluding you is now live on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn or Twitter. In the age of social media, everyone wants to know the rules for contacting the media.  Can you message or IM journalists on social media platforms alongside tweets about latte and scones, or photos of their family, or only use work email and phone? Publicists and businesses deal with this issue every day, and the rules, manners and conventions change faster than privacy settings at Facebook.  Media companies shed more journalists each year, and the remaining reporters are harder to reach and more burdened by pitches, calls and requests.  So the competition for attention of reporters increases, making your task tougher than ever. Here’s what the media has to say about social media – how to use it, when to use it, and when to back off. Alex Pham, Consumer Electronics Reporter, Los Angeles Times. "Facebook is still regarded as a largely personal space for some journalists, so a pitch from Facebook feels intrusive. LinkedIn, which is a more professional environment, is better suited to such queries.  However, many journalists aren’t in the habit of checking messages they receive on those platforms on a daily basis. Twitter suffers the same pitfall – some journalists are constantly on top of their feeds, while others check in once a week.  For me, the optimal method is via work email, with no more than one follow-up if no response is received within the week. Most journalists interact continually with their work email, so it remains the fastest way to get the message across.  As a side note, there are some who have abandoned their voicemails altogether, checking them only once a day or less. This may seem surprising, but I’ve heard an increasing number of voicemail recordings warning callers against leaving a voice message for this very reason." Matt Krantz, Financial Reporter, USA Today. "It’s OK to contact a journalist via social media sites, as long as the online persona is one tied to work. For instance, a Twitter handle that’s connected to work is totally fair game (@mattkrantz, for instance, is promoted in the newspaper and with my online column).  Also, it’s fine to contact journalists through Facebook – as long as it’s a business-related Facebook site, preferably linked to the work address. If it’s filled with photos of kids and family vacations, probably best to stick with e-mail." Andreas Kluth, West Coast Correspondent, The Economist. "I don't like being contacted by PR people on Facebook or my personal blog (unless it is for private matters, including the book, "Hannibal and Me."). In fact, it amazes me that there are PR people that don't have the intuition to know that already. If they see me picnicking on a Sunday in the park with my family, would they come over, sit down on our blanket and pitch me a press release? Online, it is the same thing.  I think good old-fashioned manners very much apply.  Know the context." Morgan Brennan, Forbes, Staff Writer, Real Estate. "Before, it was all a matter of phone calls or emails. I tend to be on social media constantly, I’m updating my blog constantly, and story leads come from people sending me Facebook messages and posting things in my comments section (of Forbes) and tweeting me.  Social media has come for me slowly, but I've blossomed.  I’ve found that it opens up more avenues for more discussion and more people to read your content and respond to their own thoughts, and own ideas, and own leads." Eryn Brown, Science Writer, Los Angeles Times.  “As far as I’ve noticed, I’ve never received a pitch over social media (I’m active for work on Twitter, not as much on Facebook.)  In general I’d prefer to hear from people via e-mail.  It’s the most dependable way to get in touch with me, too.  I always see my e-mails.  I might miss a tweet.” Emily Poenisch, GQ, West Coast Editor. “My preference is always through work email.” Rick Newman, Chief Business Correspondent, U.S. News & World Report.  "I personally prefer to get pitches in one format because it’s an easier way to keep track of them.  I have my entire email system broken up into folders, if I get something useful I pull it out.  I consider Facebook to be more of a personal place for friends rather than an outlet, but everything is an outlet for work this day.  Linkedin, I try to use as a more professional place and for professional development. If people every do pitch me on those sites I say please email me.  Twitter is such a faster medium.  Twitter is more of a journalistic tool.  It’s not  interesting when people say 'I’m at the coffee shop,' Twitter is a more journalistic tool, I don't mind it.  To me it’s like social media represents all these new forms of information, but all roads lead to email.  Why not send anything to email anyway. You might spend about five seconds on every email that comes in, if that.  If you get a bad pitch on Facebook or LinkedIn it’s a lot more objectionable.  You like to think there are sanctuaries for getting pitched."  (Newman is the author of "Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success.") Charles Crumpley, Editor, Los Angeles Business Journal.  "This is easy for me. I’m not even on Facebook. So it’s not an option." The method of contact may depend on the publication as much as the reporter. For example, The Economist is a more formal European publication geared more towards print, although they do have a well-designed website, and the rules of contact are more structured.  The staff of Forbes have embraced the web with open arms, and reporters and editors are encouraged to respond in social media. If you want to contact any of these reporters for more information, you are welcome to send them an email, or possibly a Tweet.  Facebook, not so much. Robert Wynne is a public relations professional based in Manhattan Beach, Calif. He has consulted for large firms, start-ups and leading universities. He can be reached at [email protected] and also found at www.wynnepr.com. Follow him at @robwynne.
9b2fb08e974ff945f2cb2809fd953c3b
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwynne/2013/07/08/content-marketing-the-real-story/
Content Marketing - The Real Story
Content Marketing - The Real Story In the old days, children carried canteens with water to quench their thirst.  Today kids sip from BPA-free plastic bottles filled with electrolytes and vitamin water for “hydration.”  New term, same concept. I was wondering the same thing about "content marketing."  Is this novel, or just another buzzworthy phrase describing the same old thing? The website WhatIs has a great definition:  “Content marketing is the publication of material designed to promote a brand, usually through a more oblique and subtle approach than that of traditional push advertising. The essence of good content marketing is that it offers something the viewer wants, such as information or entertainment. Content marketing can take a lot of different forms, including YouTube videos, blog posts and articles. It shouldn't really seem like marketing -- in some cases, in fact, it should only be identifiable as marketing because the advertiser is identified as the content provider.” English: The famous Honus Wagner T206 card, circa 1910. Français : La célèbre carte de baseball T206... [+] Honus Wagner. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Advertisers and public relations pros have been peddling the soft sell for years.  The Honus Wagner baseball card, famous for being the most valuable sports card in history with values approaching $3 million today, was a giveaway from the American Tobacco Company back in 1910. Social marketing expert Andreas Ramos, author of the new tome, "The Big Book of Content Marketing," votes for a fresh concept. "It's new,” Ramos says. “Two years ago, content marketing didn't exist. Some claim that it has been around since the 1920s. Yes, companies did indeed hand out comic books and magazines, etc., but the intention was to entertain, be a public service, etc. The fact that produced the move to content marketing is the collapse of advertising. Traditional media relied on a near-monopoly control of a market by controlling the expensive reproduction process and chain of distribution.  But digitization and the web have undermined that. Anyone can create a document or video now and share it with (in theory) over a billion people at zero cost. Advertisement placement in traditional media is expensive. By using digital media, you cut your reproduction and distribution costs to zero. I've sold over 2,000 copies of my book at zero distribution cost. Literally zero. Not even a single postage stamp.” Ramos included a short chapter about public relations in his book written by me (for which I was not paid).  A quick example of content marketing using public relations would be mailing, posting or emailing a story about yourself or your brand that appeared in Forbes or the New York Times to broaden the reach of the article.  Ramos claims the inter-connectedness of the web turbocharges the “new” content marketing. “People also discovered with search engines and social networks that they can ask each other. They trust each other more than they trust vendors. People shifted their attention away from radio, TV, and magazines and the authorities (journalists, editors, etc.) They now prefer the anarchy of home-made video on Youtube and the anything-goes situation at blogs, Facebook and Twitter.  This conjunction of forces -- digitization, social, search engines -- never existed before.” Eric Schwartzman, CEO of social media training provider Comply Socially, says content marketing changes the fundamental nature of public relations.  "Conventional PR is an interruption tactic," Schwartzman says.  "PR people are experts at breaking and making news. Content marketers, on the other hand, fulfill existing demand for information by staking out specific keyword queries, and creating content that's most likely to get found when people search those terms. If you compare the skills it takes to write and pitch a press release versus a search engine optimized product demo, they're completely different skill sets.  Just because you can write up and present impartial information to journalists to try and get them to write a story, doesn't mean you have the ability to actually write the story yourself. PR and content marketing are totally different. PR is an outbound, interruption tactic. Content marketing is an inbound tactic designed to get you found by people with a much higher purchase intent than those perusing a Twitter feed." The goals of Content Marketing are to:  Build relationships with existing clients, attract new customers, demonstrate benefits, tell interesting stories about your brand and to appear in search engines and increase web traffic. Of course, content marketing, like a good Hollywood comedy, doesn’t work without good writing.  The secret?  Tell a good story.  Fellow Forbes Contributor Brandon Gutman  referenced five companies that create unique content from “how to” guides to music videos to apps.  They publish this unique content on their websites, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other platforms to engage the consumer.  Some brands, like American Express , live stream concerts to their clientele. David Spark of the SocialMediaBiz website says he hates the term “content marketing” for many reasons: "It’s insidious. The relationship says, “Here’s some content for you that you’ll find valuable. But when you’re not looking, we’re going to sell you something.” There is no “marketing.” When you create content to inform and educate, you’re providing answers that may fulfill a step in the sales process, and you may be strengthening trust of your brand, but that’s true of all content. You read a book by a certain author and if you like it you’ll be compelled to purchase and read their next book. Each article in a newspaper must be of a certain quality. If it’s not, you will stop reading and purchasing the newspaper.” Of course, consumers should be aware of content marketing in all its formats. Whether it’s building relationships, engaging the customer or telling a story, the goal is the same – BUY MY PRODUCT OR SERVICE.
f2ad283e194885b1864bb86b899534b5
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwynne/2014/09/22/twitter-for-public-relations-fact-and-fantasy/
Twitter for Public Relations: Fact and Fantasy
Twitter for Public Relations: Fact and Fantasy Remember those commercials for pro basketball a few years ago when smiling, enthusiastic celebrities faced the camera and said, "NBA Action... it's FAN-tastic!"  Chevy Chase did one stating "NBA Action ... it's not bad." I feel the same way about Twitter.  After reading the hype about the power of posting, keys to building lists, finding unique ways to contact journalists, tools to build Twitter cards, awesome chat groups, quadrupling your followers, posting six-second videos, cool GIFs and other tricks, it seemed Twitter Action would be nothing less than fantastic. It’s not that as easy as advertised and in many cases, not always successful.  Like a marriage or the last season of “Downton Abbey,” Twitter takes a lot of time and effort, and there’s some frustration involved.  Remember, just because Rolling Stone tells you the latest Kanye West is a masterpiece (spoiler alert: it’s not) and it will change the way you listen to music forever, doesn’t mean you should delete all your Beatles, U2, Michael Jackson and Black Keys music. Much about Twitter is hype, and the net is full of “Instantly Turbocharge your PR efforts!” posts that make it appear if you don’t spend 12 hours a day on Twitter, subscribe to services like Hootsuite, Topsy and Tagboard, you can’t participate in public relations. I've read dozens of articles, some books and many posts to find the best uses of Twitter to augment media relations.  Three social media experts were interviewed – author Andreas Ramos - (@Andreas_Ramos) “#TwitterBook: How to Really Use Twitter,” ;  Max Benavidez, @MaxBenavidez, the Associate Vice President of Public Affairs at Claremont McKenna College, and a PhD in New Media; and Grant Marek, @Grant_Marek,Senior Editor for Thrillist, a trendy site for men in their 20s that makes it appear everyone’s enjoying a party with Russian super-models, anti-gravity boots and craft beer from Oregon. If you’re in PR, or trying to practice PR, you’re in the matchmaking business.  You’re trying to connect and amplify yourself, your client or your story to a wider, mass audience, via traditional or social media.  If Twitter can help you, then it’s a useful tool.  But there are only so many hours in the day. For PR professionals and entrepreneurs, there are three main reasons to use Twitter: Announcements. You want to tell the public something about you, your business or your client such as a new product, an award, an upcoming event, or introduction into a new market; or to keep your audience updated during a crisis or emergency. Research.  Find out what your competitors, clients, friends, media or influencers are tweeting about. Networking. To meet new influencers, clients, friends, competitors or reporters and follow them and get them to follow you. In Five Easy Steps, here’s a guide what you need to know about Twitter and Public Relations, starting with the basics. 1 – What is Twitter? “Facebook is like a party in your backyard,” says Ramos in his book.  “You invite 100 friends and family.  When you talk, only those around you can hear you, not the entire party, not the neighborhood, not the city. You can’t post a message that can be seen by the one billion people on Facebook.  And when you post on Facebook to your friends, Facebook won’t show your message to all of your friends.  It shows the message to only about 15% of your friends.” “Twitter is like the Egyptian revolution. Everyone mills around in chaos. Everything goes out to everyone on all sides; friends, enemies, demonstrators, the government, the army, journalists, and the rest of the world.” Unlike Facebook, Twitter restricts users to 140 characters for each Tweet so there’s a premium on short, punchy writing rather than extended rants. 2 – How do you start? “Many PR folks jump onto Twitter without first learning how to use it,” says Benavidez.  “Start by setting up a test account, spend time on the network seeing how people in your field and related fields use it. In particular, look at how journalists and key bloggers in your field use it.  Wait to make a pitch until you are comfortable using it.  Start with subtle engagement.” Marek told the website Muckrack he recommends searching by hashtag or hashtag crawling.  “If you aren’t including hashtags in your tweets, you’re doing something wrong. I follow over 2,000 people, which means I only see snippets of what those people are saying in my feed on any given day, but when it comes to hashtags that matter to us, I scroll through ALL OF THEM, whether it’s #sfmuni or #bart or #burningman or #saas (software as a service.)” There’s a very good post by Shonali Burke about the importance of joining Twitter chats, which helped her network with her peers, obtain speaking engagements, and meet potential clients. Lists are the primary tool for everyone wanting to organize information.  “A list on Twitter is simply a group organized around a theme,” says Benavidez.  “For example, journalists who cover Wall Street … Why is this important?  This helps you organize your Twitter feed in easy to view categories.”  To begin, simply go to the gear button in the top right, click Lists then Create Lists.  This was recently upgraded and users can now create up to 1,000 lists with up to 5,000 accounts, probably more than most of us will ever need. 3 – How do I get followers? This is a top question for anyone starting out or stalling out on Twitter. In other words, I want to be influential!  Author Ramos cautions that many followers on Twitter, especially for celebrities or politicians, are not real. Ramos ran the statistics through StatusPeople.com for the 18.4 million users for Kim Kardashian.  The site showed seven million or 38% of her followers were fake, and another six million were inactive accounts.  Only 5.3 million, or 29%, were authentic. “It’s not necessary to have 100,000 followers,” Ramos says.  “You can have only two followers (your mom and your cat) and that’s fine, because your tweets are available to everyone on Twitter.” That being said, there’s a fantastic article on Twiends, which bills itself as a “leading directory of social media users.”  Just to summarize some of the ways to build a following, they offer some great tips to boost your audience. Advertise on Twitter: “They offer solutions for promoting your profile, promoting your tweets, or promoting trends. Each method gives you a slightly different way to get your message across.” Run a contest: “Offer a good prize and make sure you clearly communicate the rules of entry. If your prize is related to your brand then it can also help find targeted followers who are interested in your area of expertise.” Join a Directory: There are dozens of directories of Twitter users online, including Twiends, WeFollow, and Twellow. Add yourself to as many directories as you can find under the proper categories, and you will begin to see some users following you from these sites. Guest blogging or blogging about your twitter account.  “This strategy works very well if you can give readers an incentive to follow you.” Adding Twitter widget. The author recommends adding the widget to your LinkedIn account that displays your tweets, and doing to the same for your blog. Video tutorial. “Creating video tutorials for your area of expertise is a great way to get 'relevant' exposure for yourself.  Place your Twitter username in various places in the video, including the end, and if people feel they have learnt something from you then they may be inclined to follow you.” Speak at conferences.  “The next time you’re giving a presentation at a seminar or conference, mention your Twitter account. If you are using presentation software or an on-screen image during your speech, display your username on screen.” If you get quoted in the media, include your Twitter handle if the reporters allows it. 4 – Do I need a Dashboard? Maybe.  If you are a big organization like a university or a corporation, you definitely need at least one to monitor and organizer information.  If you are a solo practitioner, small firm or entrepreneur, it depends on how much energy and money (some are free, some are not) you want to spend.  Here are some of the top dashboards along with links and descriptions of what they do.  You may want to sign up for the free or trial services first.  (Note: I do not work for or personally recommend any of these sites.) Hootsuite.  “Social media management for any organization. Manage social networks, schedule messages, engage your audiences, and measure ROI right from the dashboard.” Topsy.  From Wikipedia: “A social search and analytics company … The company is a certified Twitter partner and maintains a comprehensive index of tweets, numbering in hundreds of billions, dating back to Twitter's inception in 2006. Topsy makes products to search, analyze and draw insights from conversations and trends on the public social websites including Twitter and Google+." Tagboard.  “Search any hashtag … Tagboard uses hashtags to search for and collect public social media within seconds of being posted to networks like Twitter and Facebook.   Robust tools offer the power to select specific posts to feature on websites, in broadcast TV, and on large displays.” WeFollow. “Wefollow is a directory of prominent people organized by interests … This means you can search for people by interest and sort them by what we call their Prominence Score. This ranking system lets you quickly discover, follow and learn from the most prominent people around the world.” Friend or Follow.  “Friend or Follow is designed to help you increase the signal to noise ratio of your social media network. We help you curate and manage the people you follow on services like Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr, by giving you the ability to quickly and easily sort, filter, follow, and unfollow your contacts. Get rid of the riff-raff in your social stream and fill it with quality contacts. 5 – How do I contact journalists? This is a tricky subject.  Some PR experts say it’s a great idea to approach journalists on Twitter, others, including me, are highly skeptical.  Some reporters are happy to communicate on Twitter, others are turned off. Two years ago this column first approached this subject for social media in general in Forbes, but since things change so quickly, we revisited the topic, just for Twitter. First, the Yes answer. “I get 1,000 emails a day,” says Grant Marek of Thrillist.  “Why compete with those 999 other emailers when you could shoot me a tweet and compete with nine other people?  A zillion times out of a zillion I’ll reply back on Twitter and here’s why: being forced to distill a pitch down to 140 characters or less is the ultimate PR exercise.  It forces PR pros to cut all of the crap (fake quotes from execs, “Hi there, how was your weekend”?, 33 picture attachments nobody could possibly want) and get to the nut of why I should care.” Now, here’s the No response. Jason Feifer, the Senior Editor of Fast Company, was asked if he minds being contacted and pitched by publicists on Twitter. “I'm very happy to answer that question,” Feifer stated.  “Journalists often joke that, like, 75% of our Twitter followers are publicists. (The other 25% are probably bots.) That's fine—I realize it makes good business sense for publicists to follow journalists, so you see what we're talking about and are interested in. And occasionally some of those publicists engage like normal Twitter users, replying to me with a joke or comment. That's cool. I'll often tweet back. I've had some publicist friends-request me on Facebook, which I'm less into, unless I've really become friendly with the publicist. I think of Facebook as a place just for my friends. And I always get publicists requesting LinkedIn connections with me, which I don't understand at all. Isn't that for people who have actually worked together? I always reject.” For direct pitching on Twitter, Feifer is not a fan.  “No, no, never. I absolutely hate when PR people pitch me on Twitter. On principle alone, I will never respond or take a look at what they've sent me. Same goes for Facebook, where I've actually been pitched once or twice. These are social places; they're not appropriate places for pitches. And if you send me something on LinkedIn… well, I guess that's a more appropriate place, but I almost never check LinkedIn (does anyone?) so it'll go unnoticed. Email is the only appropriate pitching medium.” Rick Newman, a Columnist for Yahoo Finance, falls somewhere between Feifer and Marek on this subject. “I don’t mind Twitter pitches, although I can’t think of a good one I ever got in that format,” Newman says.  “It’s not the method of pitching that’s a problem, it’s the quality. The vast majority of pitches suck. (Sorry.) A lot of the time you can tell that some hapless PR soul is pitching the way a client instructed him or her to pitch and probably knows it’s going nowhere. The bad pitches are the cookie-cutter variety that seem to take no account of what I cover, what’s in the news or what might even constitute news in the first place. If they’re bad pitches in person and bad by email, they’ll be bad via Twitter. If I ever saw a good pitch on Twitter I’d probably jump on it the same as if it arrived any other way. Sadly, I don’t think that’s ever happened. Next week, we will continue the discussion with Advanced Twitter Tips and Tricks for PR Pros.  If you have any tips, please contact me at @robwynne or [email protected] and let me know if you think Twitter Action is fantastic, or just “not bad.”
da34e3adee6ee2d0264e62af58c3bf51
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwynne/2015/04/28/five-ways-the-internet-hasnt-changed-public-relations/
Five Ways The Internet Hasn't Changed Public Relations
Five Ways The Internet Hasn't Changed Public Relations Everyone knows the Internet has transformed the media.  It altered the news delivery system, zapped our eyeballs with blinking lights and radiation, and ushered audiences from print to online to social media on the way to mobile.  Without the Internet, we wouldn't know the real-time movements of D-list reality stars (thanks a lot, TMZ) or see the opinions of our many friends, enemies and strangers via tweets, message boards, vines and posts. Even prestigious, intelligent media like Forbes, the New Yorker, Popular Science, National Geographic and others with content written by professionals and edited by trained journalists have been altered forever.  The 24-7 competitive media means the news is often faster, but not fact-checked nearly as much.  Opinions and comments appear much more frequently and instantaneously. Public relations, the art of influencing the masses through the media or communicating to internal or external audiences, had to evolve merely to survive.  The big disruption has already taken place.  These revolutions have been explained quite well by dozens of books and thousands of magazine articles online, and some in large type books for older folks.  These are the five ways the Internet has changed public relations. 1. Conversations. The old top-down model, where publicists had to reach reporters to create a story in the media still exists, but it's not exclusive.  In theory, anyone can bypass journalists to address an audience.  Posts from Leveon Bell of the Pittsburgh Steelers or actor Gwyneth Paltrow don't need a megaphone.  But since anyone can post and everyone does, most social media is useless.  When stories do reach the mainstream press, social media serves as a great amplifier as many people share news and add comments. 2. Crisis Media.  Now it's online, faster, often more powerful -- for good and bad -- depending on your perspective.  For product recalls or dangerous products, social media allows audiences to organize without filters.  For the PR staff of Bill Cosby, the viral video of Hannibal Buress created waves of bad news that washed out Cosby’s reputation.  PR pros must monitor social media platforms and respond to crises in seconds or minutes rather than hours. 3. Reaching and researching journalists.  This is a real benefit to publicists, communications professionals and the general public.  (Not so much for reporters.) It is much easier to find reporters, producers and editors via their own websites, search engines and paid services like Vocus , Cision, Meltwater and others. 4. More exciting press releases.  In the Digital Age, text only press releases and pitches can still score if the copy is very well-written and relevant. Investors reading the latest financials, or employees learning about internal company news, need more steak than sizzle.  However, in a crowded marketplace with less journalists and more publicists, often good video, photos and graphics enhance the pitch. 5. Easier Content Creation.  The old Michelin genius idea to create a restaurant guide (content marketing) is much easier now on the web.  Some digital “news” websites are fantastic and will enhance the brand, but many are written by committee and are boring, self-serving and lazy. Even with these seismic changes, technology can be overrated.  If you are the only publicist or corporation on Twitter, Google or Instagram or Vine, that’s an insurmountably huge advantage.  Congratulations Mr. Gates-Apple-Buffet-Branson, you win!  But if everyone has the same tools, it’s a level playing field.  That’s why books on “New” models of PR and marketing can be obsolete before they are printed. It’s not just the medium – it’s the message. Unless you have “old school” talents like writing, charm, great contacts and/or incredibly interesting clients, tweeting from your Apple iPhone 6 while sipping lattes in Brooklyn to your buddies in Austin and West Hollywood while sending Instagrams and Vines are as substantial as the cinnamon spice floating on the soy foam. Here are Five Ways the Internet Has Not Changed Public Relations. 1.  You still need a Story. Cute cat videos and trendy porkpie hats are fabulous for getting attention. Post that stuff and you will get tons of likes but you won’t convince anyone about anything.  Good publicists do two things extremely well – sift through all the story possibilities like a miner finding the platinum vein;  then communicating the value of the gem in as few words as possible to the right audience. 2. You must be able to write.  There are millions of blogs.  If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it still make a sound? If you write a blog in the wilderness and no one reads it, does it make an impact?  Badly written blogs and posts are as common as reality-TV stars, and just as worthless. Have a point. Get to the point. 3. You need contacts.  Forget Twitter followers and FB friends. You need Influencers.  Nine out of 10 times, that means reporters. Brad Pitt or Sheryl Sandberg isn’t wearing your clients’ jeans or sunglasses or representing your charity and taking photos with your client because you met them at a party and had a “good vibe.”  Sometimes, a great story or great writing (see above) can net you a fantastic article in the media. But it never hurts to meet reporters in person at networking events. If a journalist gets 100-300 emails per day, what’s going to make her open yours?. 4. You still need a good client or cause.  Every PR firm or internal PR professional loves their clients.  Our clients are the best of the best, of course. But sometimes, a client may not have a compelling story or may be on the defensive, which makes your job much more difficult.  (But that’s why crisis PR pays so well.) 5. People skills.  Enthusiasm, kindness, respect, and knowing how to pitch and respond in a professional manner will never go out of style.
210ec5cd5a98068f57e8672ff210609e
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwynne/2015/07/22/top-10-pr-blogs-you-should-be-reading/
Top 10 PR Blogs You Should Be Reading
Top 10 PR Blogs You Should Be Reading You can find almost anything on the internet, for free, if you have enough time. There are millions of pages on public relations alone. Many sites promise to write and place articles for clients for free (or a small charge). I would suggest avoiding them. Finding, nurturing and keeping media contacts, and learning how to craft pitches and compelling stories, isn’t free and doesn’t come cheap, nor should it. Instead, we found 10 great public relations sites that provide original information and present valuable columns on PR. Many offer webinars, news on journalist hires and fires, tips on jobs, interviews with reporters and advice for PR professionals and students of all experience levels across many industries. Some ask for your contact information and try to sell you services such as media lists, media monitoring, social media, promotion, etc., so be aware of that. But still … going back to college from the comfort of your couch can be a good career refresher. To sharpen your skills, network online, find cool events and keep up with the latest trends, here are the best PR blogs, newsletters and websites you can read or sign up for online. Think of them as continuing education at a fantastic price. Here are my Top 10 PR Blogs in alphabetical order: (Photo credit should read JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images) Bulldog Reporter Style: Short, punchy writing and easy to navigate. Boilerplate: “The Daily 'Dog offers timely, insightful PR news and feature content that drives traffic and builds an online community of PR practitioners, agencies and service providers. The mission of the Daily 'Dog editorial team is to bring together the best minds, practices and tools in PR …” Sample article – “Earned Media is more essential than ever in today’s modern communications model.” Fun feature – “Winning PR” column with self-reported success stories from agencies about how they promoted their clients that’s timely and full of practical advice. Cision Newsletter Style: Colorful and very professional, the Cision blog is well organized with best practices, media updates, trends, news, influencers and other PR essentials. One of my Top Three Favorites. Boilerplate: “Keep up with industry news and trends on Cision Blog.” Sample article – “5 Ways to Tell a Brand Story with Instagram.” Fun feature – “Top Lists" such as “Top 10 Staffers at InformationWeek.” Holmes Report Style: Very important for those interested in the news and views from the big agencies, the site is very corporate. Boilerplate:  "Charting the Future of Public Relations." Sample article – "Are In-House PR Leaders Using Twitter Enough?" Fun feature – The Influence 100 of 2015, The 100 senior corporate communicators profiled in this book are senior counselors to some of the most powerful CEOs in the world." Measurement Matters Style: This is all about the writing and the metrics, which is a good thing. Straight to the point with technical metrics that can be valuable. Boilerplate: "Get the buzz on measurement and analysis through our leading PR blog." Sample article – “The PR and Social Media Cheat Sheet #195.” Fun feature – None. Meltwater Style: Hip and trendy, this blog is where the cool kids go. Clean designs and full of case studies, lots of insight (webinars, e-books, reports) and well-written blog articles. One of my Top Three Favorites. Boilerplate: “We believe that business strategy will be increasingly shaped by insights from the growing world of online data that lies outside of internal reporting systems.” Sample article – “Back to Basics – 6 Social Media Mistakes Everyone is Making.” Fun feature – Hit “insights” and click on any of the “Media Intelligence” or “Savvy …” articles and white papers for timely info. Muck Rack Daily Professional, accessible, easily scrollable, MRD combines news, insights, trends and job pitches as well as any site in covering the media and PR. One of my Top Three Favorites Boilerplate: “A digest of journalism on Twitter, written by journalists, delivered to your inbox daily.” Sample article – “News About the News” which delves into stories and commentary about the media such as Gawker’s decision to pull a controversial story and the t resignations of two editors. Fun feature – #MuckedUp Posts, covering new and relevant issues while illuminating how media outlets are covering it. NewsBios Style:  An easy-to-read, smartly written blog on reporters that can help any PR pro learn something important before pitching their favorite journalist. Boilerplate: "Home of the world’s most influential journalists. When you must know what is NOT in their official bios – get their NewsBios." Sample article – "The Inside Scoop on the ALS Ice Bucket Challange and What PR People Can Learn from It." Fun feature – “Do You Know Me?” Some of the best tales in the news business never get told, because they are about the journalists themselves. O'Dwyer's Style:  Straightforward, factual, this is the online version of the magazine. Boilerplate: Inside News of Public Relations and Marketing Communications Sample article – “PR Trumps Diplomacy for US Companies in Cuba.” Fun feature – “Top PR Firms” section where you can see the best or largest firms by city, region, and industry. Ragan's PR Daily Very good industry articles, clean modern design, PR case studies and guidelines, Media Relations studies/tricks, and more. Boilerplate: “PR Daily is a daily news site that delivers news, advice, and opinions on the public relations, marketing, social media, and media worlds.” Sample article – “Why PR Needs Liberal Arts Majors.” Fun feature – Online Crisis section with targeted articles on hacking, social media, scandals and other relevant topics. Spin Sucks Punchy writing, hard-hitting topics, not the usual self-serving industry blather. Boilerplate: Professional Development for PR and Marketing Pros Sample article – Five Social Media Automation Myths Busted Fun feature – “Special Author Q&A.” All these publications offer some great reads. Now if we only had the time to read them all....
81f3ced249fe6e925071e902c34ab6c3
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwynne/2016/02/01/explaining-the-barcelona-principles/
Explaining PR's Barcelona Principles
Explaining PR's Barcelona Principles We can measure the distance of the Milky Way. We can determine the size of an electron. But can we calculate the impact of public relations? Maybe. Unlike physics or astronomy, it’s not an exact science. And if you thought the debate on gun control and the Second Amendment was contentious, welcome to public relations. Measurement matters because in a very competitive marketplace for clients, dollars, internal resources and respect, the industry wants to justify its contributions and impact. Like charm, reputation or leadership, public relations can be a subjective science. You know when you see it or feel it, but people can’t always quantify every single sales lead, jump in revenue, rise in rankings, gain or loss of market share and link that to a single article in the Wall Street Journal, a fantastic speech at TED or Davos, Switzerland, or a series of Tweets. There are three main opinions about metrics. The first comes from small agencies or individuals who claim they are the master alchemist. They are the ultimate expert, and only their equation is the truth.  The second opinion, with possibly the most members, are followers of the Barcelona Principles, a document created by a large committee of well-meaning PR pros that establishes broad guidelines. The second group believes this is the Bible. The backbone of this theory are seven guidelines that are quite expansive. Narrowing down the inputs and outcomes for all or part of these principles into usable equations and statistics can be very complicated, and in some cases, expensive. Here’s the 2015 update on the seven principles: Goal Setting and Measurement are Fundamental to Communication and Public Relations Measuring Communication Outcomes is Recommended Versus Only Measuring Outputs The Effect on Organizational Performance Can and Should Be Measured Where Possible Measurement and Evaluation Require Both Qualitative and Quantitative Methods AVEs are not the Value of Communication Social Media Can and Should be Measured Consistently with Other Media Channels Measurement and Evaluation Should be Transparent, Consistent and Valid I’m in the third group. A few months ago I wrote an e-book for Meltwater, “Estimating the Real Value of Public Relations,” where I introduced a simple measurement that anyone can do for a single media placement.  PR Dollar Value = Advertising Equivalency (AVE) x Multiplier of 5. This was based, in part, on a six-year study of 72,000 readers of the Los Angeles Times.  The multi-million dollar research study, which surveyed 12,000 readers in seven different categories every week annually for six years, determined editorial content was much more valuable than advertisements in terms of awareness, recall and attitudinal impact. The multiplier comes from previous studies with multipliers ranging from 2.5 to 8.0 along with discussions from the author of the LA Times comprehensive project. Besides that major research, and similar less comprehensive ones, there are three reasons to use AVE. User Experience, Buyer Experience, and The Real World. In a newspaper or magazine, or on the Internet, TV or radio, you cannot divorce the experience of ads and editorial. They are seen or watched or listened to side-by-side. To claim otherwise is simply not realistic. Second, each day businesses large and small decide how to spend their marketing budgets and resources: advertising, public relations, social media, billboards, events, etc. Its already being compared – every day. Third reason, reality. Advertising is a multi-billion business. Look at the Super Bowl. Google Ads. What do PR people want to compare editorial to smoke signals? Olive oil? The foam in their skinny mocha lattes? Reasonable people can disagree. The adherents of the Barcelona Principles do not use AVE. That’s fine. Although we disagree on AVE, there’s a lot of good information – and good intentions – contained in The Barcelona Principles. They deserve serious scrutiny.  The document comes from very smart people who want to increase the reputation of the PR industry. To find out more, I spent interviewed the main author, David Rockland, Ketchum Partner, Immediate Past Chairman, the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication, via email. Here’s what Rockland had to say. Robert Wynne: Can you measure PR? David Rockland:  Yes.  You measure PR by answering one or more of the following questions: Outputs: Did you reach or engage your target audience with the messages or content you intended? Outcomes: As a result of reaching or engaging that audience, did they change in the sense of their awareness, comprehension, attitude, behavior and/or advocacy? Organizational Results: What were the effects on the organizations as a result of the changes in the audience, often measured in sales, market share, employee engagement, advocacy, donations, etc. Wynne: If so, how can you measure PR using the Barcelona Principles? Rockland: The Barcelona Principles provide the framework for communications measurement and are not specific tools or formulas.  However, by applying them, you wind up with a solid measurement program for communications.  Within each Principle, there are pretty specific directions in terms of how to write measureable goals and then the techniques you apply for each type of measurement, including what are the best ways to apply those techniques.  The Principles reflect the fact that communications takes many different form, and the Principles guide you in terms of how to measure each form.  However, I know many companies and other types of organizations from Southwest Airlines to Cleveland Clinic to the UK government, who use the Principles as the basis for their communications measurement. Wynne: Is this expensive, do you need to hire a big PR agency, or can you do it yourself? Rockland: It really depends on the communications program and its goals. Someone can use the Principles themselves to derive the approach.  In many ways, it begins with coming up with good goals at the outset, and then the measurement program is pretty well delineated. Obviously, there are efficiencies in involving a firm or professional who does this kind of work a lot.  However, that may not always be necessary. A reasonable consideration is to spend 3-7% of the total budget on the goal-setting and measurement, but make sure you are using the measurement to not only determine how you did, but also to better the communications effort moving forward in a predictable fashion. Wynne: Were the principles created by a team of 200 people? In other words, was this a document created by consensus? Rockland:  The initial Principles in 2010 were created by around 25 people, edited by me and then voted into existence by around 250 people from around 35 countries at a conference in Barcelona. They were then adopted by many companies, associations, etc. In the 2015 update, I convened people from a broader array of organizations -- government, academia, corporations, non-profit and trade/membership organizations -- to get their input and perspective. In some cases, the various organizations solicited input from their members.  So, in this latest iteration, there were probably as many as 200 people involved.  However, at the end of the day, in 2010 and 2015, the Principles were written on my computer and do reflect my perspective on bringing together the viewpoints and experience of many people who are engaged in the communications profession in many different ways. Fortunately, when they were unveiled both times, everyone involved agreed with them and use them in their organizations. And the discussion continues…..
7dd2b0599fd9be110fbff8275360078f
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwynne/2017/09/25/whats-new-about-the-new-new-media/?sh=70534b465ea9
What's New About The "New" New Media
What's New About The "New" New Media There’s always been, and there will always be, a “New Media.” With the pace of technological change, news gathering and distribution evolves exponentially faster. The most revolutionary New Media burst onto the scene more than a decade ago with the Internet, appearing as online news. At the time, it was an inferior product. There were fewer resources compared to print, radio and TV, the writers and editors were less experienced, the photography was shoddier, and the content was treated like an off-price generic alternative.  Not today. In late 2017, the "New" New Media represents digital platforms that are equal to magazines, newspapers, radio and television. They are consumed on cell phones, laptops, desktops and tablets, and they often contain the same information as the traditional media, although it may be delivered in a different style. Understanding how these news outlets find, gather and distribute information is critical to consumers of media and the PR industry. If you work in PR, your job is to present information representing yourself or client in the best and most powerful manner.  One cannot be successful without a strong comprehension of New Media.  To be fair, most traditional publications, ranging from (shameless plug) Forbes, with a plethora of news, features, commentary and business school rankings online, to the New York Times, Washington Post and others, feature sophisticated  news utilizing professional content presented digitally. But to truly understand the post-print online-only universe, I concentrated on “New” New Media that began and exist online only. (Political publications were avoided, that’s a different column.) Here’s how leading experts, editors and journalists explain how to successfully navigate this digital world. Jason Wells, Deputy News Director, BuzzFeed What's New? “Where and how people consume their news and entertainment continues to evolve, so what’s ‘new’ now could very well be ‘old’ in a year, or until some tech company develops a new delivery system that meshes even deeper into our lives. For the time being, that’s social media and mobile devices, so that’s where BuzzFeed lives.  More than 70% of BuzzFeed traffic overall is from views on mobile devices and tablets; and 40% is driven by social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook … So as much as journalists yearn for the days of everyone watching the nightly news together, or reading the same print edition of the Los Angeles Times (where I’m from), that's just not how people consume media anymore. And any “New Media” will have be nimble enough to keep pace with however the consumption model changes in the future.” What do PR people need to know about BuzzFeed? “BuzzFeed has a massive millennial audience — higher even than CNN and other established media organizations that have been around for decades. They should also know that BuzzFeed is what most future media companies are going to look like: a combination of news, entertainment, commerce (candles, fidget spinners, etc), and food recipes. There's such a wide variety of interests and media diets out there, to survive a company can't just specialize in one thing.” What's New About The New New Media? Robert Wynne Ann Brenoff, Senior Writer and Editor, Huffington Post What's New? “Online sites are growing as legacy print publications are cutting staff and reducing coverage. I think that it's the digital news sites driving the future of journalism now. What's new? Everything is mobile. Videos must load quickly. Podcasts (think radio!!) have grown in popularity. We write shareable content and rely on social media to distribute it. Readers go to social media sites to figure out what they want to read. Reading habits have changed as phones grew in size. It isn't a matter of ‘but nobody takes a laptop to the bathroom with them’ -- they DO take their phones! What separates us from legacy print is our commitment to innovation -- we are constantly looking for new ways to cover/package/present the ‘news to readers. So whatever is ‘new’ today will likely be ‘old" in a few months. We aren't afraid to try new ideas, don't waste too much time or resources on focus groups. We try it. If it sticks, great. And if doesn't, no big deal. We allow room to fail.” What do PR people need to know about Huffington Post? “We want stories told on various platforms. Got video? Great. Graphics, etc must be designed to look good on mobile. Provide links to any facts you claim. Our beats frequently change -- try to keep up! If you send me something that I can't use, don't ask me to forward it. YOU figure out who gets this -- that's your job. My job is to not spend time helping you place stories. Seriously, the pace at which we work is intense -- insane actually.” Rick Newman, Columnist, Yahoo Finance What's New? “When Yahoo came on the scene in the late 1990s, online media was ‘new media.’ But that's commonplace now. Social media and mobile media are ‘new media’ now, but even that may be old. I'm probably not even aware what the latest form of ‘new media’ is! Whatever it is, it involves all forms of media—‘print’ (which these days connotes writing more than it does writing on paper), online, interactive, broadcast, and short-form social media posts. The more mobile the better.” What do PR people need to know about Yahoo News? “They should know that we respond to news in seconds and almost never need a commentator about something that happened yesterday. They should know we don't have a lot of use for filtered comments or news sources who can't or won't talk about half the stuff we cover. They should know we get bored very fast (on behalf of our audience) with news sources who don't have anything new or interesting to say. They should know we need value-added information from our sources and have zero use for me-too information. Mostly, they should know we aren't interested in promoting their clients. We are interested in great, market-moving ideas on important matters. Most pitches we get are banal and some are outright terrible.” Lauren Brown, Special Projects Editor, Quartz What's New? “One of the most important elements of new media is the focus on the reader. Digital media allows journalists more direct contact with readers than traditional media, and the ability to see, often in real time, what readers care about most. Traffic is simply one of many tools that allow us to understand how our journalism connects with our readers. We’re also able to experiment, receive feedback, and iterate pretty rapidly. Right now, all media, whether it’s news, TV, mobile games, books, are competing for reader attention. We are able to stand out by the way we frame stories, craft headlines, and design the user experience. At Quartz, like many new outlets, journalists are required to pitch stories, write headlines, select photos, make charts, as well as write and report. Many also write code, produce video, and are able to cover a variety of topics. New media favors the polymath and the journalist who is nimble and creative.” What do PR people need to know about Quartz? “We launched Quartz in 2012 as a guide to the new global economy. The aim was to be global, journalistic, design-focused, and geared toward consumption on mobile, since that’s where news readership was and is growing. Our stories lie at the intersection of interesting and important and take whatever form is best to tell a particular story. That might be a chart and 200 words or a series of commissioned photographs with captions or a long, investigative piece. The best way to get a sense of the types of stories we’re interested in receiving pitches on is to become familiar with our coverage. Rather than traditional beats, our reporters focus on obsessions like the future of finance or the science of learning, and are really the intersection of a number of traditional verticals.” And that’s the New News. For now. Come back next year for another update. Or sooner.
858ca0ffe7b6633138911df90e87b3b9
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwynne/2018/03/09/there-are-no-guarantees-or-exact-statistics-for-going-viral/?sh=269777f75e8c
There Are No Guarantees -- Or Exact Statistics -- For Going Viral
There Are No Guarantees -- Or Exact Statistics -- For Going Viral Everyone wants to Go Viral and be popular.  But how do measure this? Earlier this month, I spoke at a conference for executives at Fortune 100 companies.  For a discussion on trends in social media and PR, someone asked, "How many views does it take to go viral?" Most definitions claim a viral post is something that spreads very quickly, and very widely. For example, if I write a column on Forbes with 350,000 views, but it takes six years, that's not viral.  If your friend in the next cubicle posts a video on YouTube and it spreads to 100,000 people in four hours, that's probably viral. But what is the exact number? The experts disagree. First this is NOT a column on how to make a post go viral. There are thousands articles on that. Most of them should be ignored. If you are a client and a PR firm guarantees they can create a viral video or post for you, end the meeting immediately. This is a promise they cannot make. If you are a client and you demand the PR firm creates viral content for you, stop dreaming. Part of the blame lies with hucksters. The media is the other guilty party.  They persist in promoting the viral fantasy because it’s exciting, like a $100 million Powerball winner holding a giant check, or a family pointing to a hole in their backyard where uranium was discovered. As discussed previously in my column Why It’s So Hard To Go Viral, your chances really are one in a million, asStanford University and Microsoft discovered. Social Media Statistics Nick Sutton Still, estimates can be found, ranging from 100,000 to five million. In 2011, YouTube celebrity Kevin “Nalts” Nalty, said, “A video, I submit, is ‘viral’ if it gets more than 5 million views in a 3-7 day period.” In his blog, Aaron Rockett studied the research paper “Going Viral – The Dynamics of Attention,” by R. Boynton at the University of Iowa. Rockett noted, “One might say that any video viewed more than, say 100,000 times was going viral.’ … The 100,000 view benchmark presented as what constitutes a viral video is open for debate by even Boynton who suggested that a viral video may just be what ‘seems like a lot of views’ to an individual.” A survey of advertising executives conducted in 2008 by Feed Company noted: “Some 27.8% say a video must get more than one million views to be considered a success, but 22.2% would say so if it was viewed 100,000 times, 250,000 times, or 500,000 times.” Moving closer to the present, here’s what three of America’s leading experts on social media think about this phenomenon. “Unfortunately there is no hard and fast definition,” says Jonah Berger, professor at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and the author of Invisible Influence.  “Further people often use viral to mean highly shared, but what it really often means is popular.  A video can get a million views because a brand paid to have it placed on various sites.  That’s why I talk about how contagious something is, or how likely it is to be shared given exposure.” Goldberg makes an important point – many so-called viral sensations are far from organic. They are “seeded” with millions of emails and paid support such as digital ads. And don’t forget the dark side of social media influence – likes, views and followers can be purchased. Duncan J. Watts, a sociologist at Microsoft Research and the author of Everything is Obvious How Common Sense Fails Us, spoke at USC’s Annenberg Center in 2014 and discussed this subject: “Engineering social epidemics is a fantasy,” said Watt. “This is something in our dreams we would be able to do. I don’t see any evidence that anyone can actually do this intentionally.” Loren McKechnie, Senior Manager Marketing, Web Strategy & SEO, Symantec, agrees the definition can be murky. “I have experienced little actual parameters of definition. Much like ‘being a winner’ in a little league team, where everyone gets a trophy. As I like to define success by actual performance, I suggest being listed/tagged on a major social networks ‘trending’ section. Facebook has one on their homepage, and Twitter as well. YouTube, Tumblr, Instagram and Snapchat,  that would signal to me that something is trending at a level of importance. The issue remains that views, either ‘pageviews or video views’ can and will be purchased …The real question for me is, does this exposure even matter to your business?” In 2013, The Economist broached the virality equation by interviewing Jake Hofman of Microsoft Research. “Mr. Hofman found that virulence is distinct from popularity. Major news stories might be read widely but would quickly fade from the cultural consciousness. For example, traditional broadcasters might tweet news to a million followers. Often, no more than a few hundred of these will retweet in turn to their followers, a couple of whom might do the same. Soon, though, the story would peter out. Viral content, by contrast, can stem from an obscure feed but, by definition, rapidly gains momentum. Within a few days, it would have spawned many new branches as more and more people share it. Truly pestilent information, about one in a million stories, persists for 20 generations or more.” Failing to go viral, whatever the statistics say, doesn’t mean social media campaigns are failures. Promotional or informational messages can still reach the right audiences with the right messaging without help from cute cats, wacky spokesmen or other clickbait that drive up numbers. It can take years of posting content to build an audience and become successful in social media. Even Charlie Bucket had to buy dozens of candy bars before winning his golden ticket to the Chocolate Factory. And he didn't even have a uranium mine.
2e145aa42dad73594613a036097e5423
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertzafft/2021/02/10/mckinsey-to-buffett-when-lines-shift-wheres-the-center-of-the-court/
McKinsey To Buffett: ‘When Lines Shift, Where’s The Center Of The Court?’
McKinsey To Buffett: ‘When Lines Shift, Where’s The Center Of The Court?’ Warren Buffett (Photo by J. Countess/Getty Images) Getty Images Warren Buffett tells his managers: "There’s plenty of money to be made in the center of the court. If it’s questionable whether some action is close to the line, just assume it is outside and forget it." But what do you do when the lines shift? Who’s Sorry Now? McKinsey & Company, the world’s premier consulting firm, recently agreed to pay nearly $600 million to settle claims with states attorneys general relating to McKinsey’s work for opioid manufacturers. In discussing the settlement, McKinsey’s global managing CEO, Kevin Sneader, stated that “while our past work with opioid manufacturers was lawful and never intended to do harm, we have always held ourselves to a higher bar. We fell short of that bar. We did not adequately acknowledge the epidemic unfolding in our communities or the terrible impact of opioid misuse and addiction, and for that I am deeply sorry.” Kevin Sneader, global managing partner of McKinsey & Co., Photographer: Paul Miller/Bloomberg © 2018 Bloomberg Finance LP Sneader quoted from the settlement agreement acknowledging McKinsey’s “good faith and responsible corporate citizenship.” Not all was sweetness and light. McKinsey also noted that it fired two partners. Reportedly, they had contemplated purging documents relating to McKinsey’s opioid work. MORE FOR YOUManage Your Boss With “The Rule Of Three”Why Your Small Business Should Apply For A PPP Loan Right NowChina’s Digital Currency Is About To Disrupt Money McKinsey partners pride themselves on their knowledge and smarts. Did these two partners never hear of Enron (run by ex-McKinsey partner Jeffrey Skilling), or of Enron’s auditor, Arthur Andersen? Andersen — McKinsey’s counterpart in the accounting profession — doomed itself by shredding documents and deleting emails. Sorry Vs Sorrowful McKinsey is of course sorry. Had the firm the chance to do things over, it would stay far away from opioid work. But how sorrowful is the firm, really? This may be impossible to tell. A good follow-up question might be when the dangers of opioid overuse popped up on the radar screen of McKinsey’s Healthcare Practice. In early 2015, McKinsey Healthcare partner Daniel Tsai apparently took a leave of absence to serve as Assistant Secretary for MassHealth. In January 2016, MassHealth changed opioid prescribing rules in light of addiction/overdose data from 2014-15. Tsai continued in this role at least into 2020. Curiously, Tsai’s LinkedIn profile omits this honorable public service. It may be fair to assume, though, that the public data Tsai reviewed as Assistant Secretary for MassHealth was also seen by his former colleagues at McKinsey. Sneader states that McKinsey stopped advising opioid clients in 2019. A second follow-up question might therefore be when and to what extent McKinsey has advised clients on mitigating the harms caused by products it helped other clients sell. Sorrowful Vs Serious A cynic might wonder whether McKinsey has been working both sides of the street. Sorrowful or not, McKinsey certainly takes the current situation seriously. Sneader states that the firm has made “fundamental changes to our professional standards, policies, risk management and culture over the past two years.” These changes include: — “Adopting a new Client Service Policy in 2019 that would have stopped us from doing this work on multiple grounds as the epidemic unfolded. — Introducing a new code of conduct that leaves no room for doubt as to the conduct that is expected of every colleague. — Adopting a purpose statement after a year of debate and dialogue and using this to inform the decisions that we make.” Fundamental Changes Or Business As Usual? Sneader’s statements evidence tension, if not contradiction. As noted above, Sneader said of his firm, “We have always held ourselves to a higher bar. We fell short of that bar.” Sneader thus presents McKinsey’s opioid work as an aberration. If so, why introduce “fundamental changes to...professional standards, policies, risk management and culture.” In other words, if it ain’t broke, why fix it? And why fix it “fundamentally”? Broke Vs Woke Buffett’s Court Reconsidered These questions bring us back to Buffett and his admonition to make money in the center of the court. The general challenge McKinsey and other companies face is that the lines of the court are not static — not even in retrospect. What looked well inside the line at the time might now appear close to or outside of it. What was once the center of the court might now be considered on the edge or even out of bounds. Where Should The Buck Stop? America’s opioid disaster involved many parties. Media will trumpet the big names. Plaintiffs will stalk the deep pockets. McKinsey checks both these boxes. But where in this debacle, for example, were the front-line doctors? To what extent did government policies permit or even abet abuse? In this regard, a 2011 study of California Worker’s Compensation system found that 3% of prescribing physicians wrote 55 percent of all Schedule II (controlled-substance) prescriptions and 62 percent of all morphine equivalents. These prescriptions comprised 65 percent of all associated payments. What’s more, according to the study, “nearly half of the Schedule II opioid prescriptions in California workers’ compensation were for minor back-injury claims, a treatment regimen that the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine describes as ‘typically not useful in the sub-acute and chronic phases.’” At first glance, the above situation looks like legalized, wholesale drug dealing. If the lines and the court were indeed that messed up, whose fault is that? Navigating The New Normal This column neither condemns nor absolves. It does, however, argue for scrutiny and for context. It also calls for open and honest dialogue on the new normal. We live in fast-changing, brutal times. What was recently scandalous becomes commonplace, and vice versa. People and businesses find themselves quickly and mercilessly condemned and canceled for past actions or words that at the time were “lawful and never intended to do harm.” Sneader’s statement of contrition notwithstanding, it’s debatable whether McKinsey fell short of the bar, or the bar simply fell on McKinsey. And with opioid manufacturers and distributers now radioactive, who’s next? Artery-clogging fast-food chains? Obesity-inducing soft-drinks-and-snacks manufacturers? Globe-warming fossil-fuel companies? In front but not leading Heightened reputational risk from lawful and well-intentioned client service represents the new normal. McKinsey has taken serious steps to get in front of this challenge. The rest of us would do well to follow suit. But a chance to lead has been lost. Is this new normal a good development? What principles should guide it? What countervailing principles should limit it? If there ever were a higher bar for McKinsey to meet, leading such a discussion openly and honestly would be it. Will anyone else step forward? #therightwaytowin [Note — I worked for McKinsey & Company during 2000-2002 and 2013-2014. I maintain business relationships and friendships with numerous McKinsey consultants and alumni.]
89b6d3a945f176dfac5e068715712f65
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertzafft/2021/02/25/when-does-a-thumb-on-the-scales-of-justice-do-justice/
When Does A Thumb On The Scales Of Justice Do Justice?
When Does A Thumb On The Scales Of Justice Do Justice? Legal and law concept statue of Lady Justice with scales of justice and sky background getty US and UK prosecutors promise leniency for errant companies that have tried hard to comply and cooperated with investigators. When does a thumb on the scales do justice? Rethinking Collective Punishment for Individual Wrongdoing Regulators and prosecutors in the U.S. and U.K. face a quandary. Does justice require harsh penalties against a company (and its shareholders) for the misbehavior of a few employees? When and how should leniency be shown? A trend in both countries is to go more lightly on companies that have earnestly tried to implement ethical cultures and sound compliance systems, as well as cooperated with investigators. Recent examples include a relatively modest U.S. criminal fine imposed on Boeing for misleading the Federal Aviation Adminstration, as well as relatively leniency shown by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (”SFO”) to a subsidiary of Serco Group that engaged in fraud and false accounting. What Prosecutors and Investigators Want To See The Department of Justice seal (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty ... [+] Images) AFP via Getty Images The U.S. Department of Justice (”DOJ”) Guidance on Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs states that “High-level personnel of the organization shall ensure that the organization has an effective compliance and ethics program.” In evaluating a program, the DOJ will ask whether it is well-designed, adequately resurced and enmpowered to function effectively and working in practice. In essence, the DOJ wants to see good faith efforts to implement a well-designed program, including self-assessment and continuous improvement. MORE FOR YOUManage Your Boss With “The Rule Of Three”Is President Lopez Obrador Destroying Mexico?How Cryptocurrency Will Transform The Future Business Forever Lisa Osofsky, director of the Serious Fraud Office,Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg © 2018 Bloomberg Finance LP Similarly, the SFO asks whether compliance forms “part of the company’s DNA...or do they just adorn a very nice couple of binders that are held on a bookshelf that don’t really do much more than provide window-dressing?” Both the DOJ and SFO will reward companies that voluntarily disclose problems and cooperate with investigators. An open issue in the US and UK is the degree to which cooperation means full or partial waiver of privilege. Analogue v. Digital: Legal v. Operations Both the DOJ and SFO Guidance use terms like effective, adequate, proportionate, informed, etc. For common-law lawyers, these terms are familiar. For people engaged in operations, however, they are meaningless. An operational definition defines a test method and criteria for assessment. For example, a lawyer might approve a purchase order for a ‘50/50 wool/cotton blanket,’ but an operations person would not. There is no test method or criteria for assessing 50/50. Interestingly neither the DOJ nor the SFO guidance references benchmarking or peer best practices. Benchmarking and best practices are the first questions private-sector executives would likely ask about their own programs: how does our program compare to our competitors’ and those of similarly situated companies? Does An Ad-Hoc Approach Do Justice? Both the DOJ and SFO Guidance are internal documents. They direct the actions of investigator and prosecutors but do not necessarily bind them. Moreover, the Guidances grants subtantial leeway. In this regard, the DOJ Guidance states, “We make a reasonable, individualized determination in each case that considers various factors including, but not limited to, the company’s size, industry, geographic footprint, regulatory landscape, and other factors, both internal and external to the company’s operations, that might impact its compliance program.” Along similar lines, the SFO Guidance provides (referencing additional guidance under the Bribery Act) that it is “not prescriptive and not one-size-fits-all; small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular may have alternative procedures in place which are also adequate.” Will these highly individualized approaches — without reference to benchmarking or best practices — yield justice, or simply place companies at the mercy of investigators and prosecutors, with corresponding opportunities for favoritism and corruption? Does an approach this non-operational and ad hoc represent rule of law, or rule by bureaucratic fiat? Give credit to the DOJ and SFO for wrestling with how to justly punish organizations (and their owners) for the wrongdoing of agents within them. But in tackling evaluation of corporate compliance programs in this manner, investigators and prosecutors may have moved beyond their operational experience and enforcement roles. For a quick sanity check, one might ask how well the DOJ’s and SFO’s own compliance programs (or that of any government bureaucracy) would fare if assessed by the DOJ/SFO guidance. #therightwaytowin
bcc747030e07b71df8d8180070ee2027
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinandrews/2017/05/21/yes-people-still-throw-animals-into-volcanoes-to-please-the-gods/
Yes, People Still Throw Animals Into Volcanoes To Please The Gods
Yes, People Still Throw Animals Into Volcanoes To Please The Gods Plenty of volcanoes have religious or ritual associations. It’s not hard to understand why: they give life with their fertile slopes and take it away with their fiery embers. Japan’s Mount Fuji has been seen as sacred for over a millennium, and although today it’s lost some of its reverence, people in the country still “respect” it beyond its symmetrical, snow-capped beauty. Indonesia’s Mount Bromo, however, is still worshipped and feared by many in the genuinely old-school way. Sitting in the Segara Wedi – Javanese for “Sea of Sand” – this volcano rises up out of the misty landscape alongside a few of its neighbours. It’s a Somma volcano, which means it has a new, baby volcanic cone rising out of the remnants of the larger, cauldron-like original. Tengger tribes people place vegetables as offerings at Mount Bromo during the annual Kasada ceremony... [+] in East Java on August 12, 2014. (JUNI KRISWANTO/AFP/Getty Images) It’s certainly a sight to behold regardless of who you may be, but the local Tenggerese people see it differently. This collection of roughly 100,000 people, scattered across 30 villages around the volcano, are mysterious enough themselves, with oral tradition stating that they are the descendants of the princes of the Majapahit sea-faring empire, which disappeared around 500 years ago. A man holds a goat released by Hindu devotees of the Tengger tribe during the Yadnya Kasada... [+] festival, on the crater of Mount Bromo in Probolinggo on July 21, 2016. (AMAN ROCHMAN/AFP/Getty Images) Every year, during the month-long Hindu festival of Yadnya Kasada, these people nominate some of their clan to scale to the active volcanic crater of Mount Bromo. To appease the angry mountain, they throw all sorts of things into the fire, including fruit and vegetables, money and even animals on the 14th day of the celebrations, according to the Guardian. Villagers use nets and sarongs as they waits to catch offerings thrown by Hindu worshippers during... [+] the Yadnya Kasada Festival at crater of Mount Bromo on August 01, 2015 in Probolinggo, East Java, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images) Although this isn’t pleasant for the goats and sheep that tumble into the steaming pit below, it could have been a lot worse if the original rituals were still adhered to. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images) The festival’s history can be traced back to the 15th Century, when a princess founded the Tengger principality with her husband. Failing to conceive, the pair prayed to the deities who eventually granted them 25 children. There was a catch though – the youngest of the children had to be thrown into Mount Bromo as a sacrifice. Fortunately, this doesn’t happen these days, but plenty of valuable objects are thrown into the pit of doom in order to ensure a good harvest, good health, and maybe a few more eruption-free years. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images) (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images) Although throwing things into volcanoes can have a variety of effects, scientists would doubt that such rituals would appease an active volcano. If volcanology has taught us anything – and admittedly, it’s taught us a lot – it’s that nature doesn’t care what we do in this regard. Mount Bromo will erupt when it feels like it, so let’s hope it doesn’t choose to do so just as someone’s throwing a chair or a wallet at it. (let Ifansasti/Getty Images) Not everyone in the region feels the same way about the volcano, by the way. Often, those from non-Tenggerese villages turn up at the festival too, and, hiding further down inside the volcano, they wait with nets, hoping to catch some of the money and valuables coming their way. (AMAN ROCHMAN/AFP/Getty Images) Who knows what happens if they see a sheep flying through the air straight for them. A goat, caught by villagers, is tethered after thrown by Hindu worshippers at the foot of Mount... [+] Bromo (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
ba08d976983120998063d4b31773fb1f
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinandrews/2017/08/23/heres-how-north-korea-could-accidentally-trigger-a-volcanic-supereruption/
Could North Korea Accidentally Trigger A Volcanic Eruption?
Could North Korea Accidentally Trigger A Volcanic Eruption? Scientific hypotheses are normally quite fun to try and gather evidence for. Einstein’s ground-breaking theories of relativity, for example, have been continuously backed up by the most extraordinary discoveries ever since they were first published near the start of the 20th Century. In science, proving bad ideas wrong is a marvel, but confirming that your ideas are correct is arguably even more thrilling. There are exceptions to this though, and since North Korea is in the news a lot at the moment – in-between mentions of the Nazis and the President’s inability to look at the eclipse properly, that is – it’s worth taking a look at the Hermit Kingdom’s sleeping dragon: a volcano named Mount Paektu. This picture taken on August 14, 2017 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News... [+] Agency (KCNA) on August 15, 2017 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) inspecting the Command of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army (KPA) at an undisclosed location. (STR/AFP/Getty Images) Located on the border of China and North Korea, it’s got one hell of a reputation. The current leader of North Korea is supposed to have summited the 2,744-metre (9,003-foot) stratovolcanic beast all by himself on foot, which seems about as unlikely as the story of the late Kim Jong-il being born there. Putting aside its mythology, it’s currently causing concern among volcanologists. Its storied geological history – which we’ll get into in just a tad – is so violent that even the notoriously secretive North Korean government has enlisted the help of British researchers to poke around a bit. The rare international scientific collaboration revealed that the magma chamber plumbing system beneath this mountain is far from dead; seismic imaging suggests that it has a fiery soul that’s tens of kilometres across and several kilometres deep. Someday, all that magma is going to burst forth at the surface. The key question here, as always, is when? Well, bizarrely, thanks to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, it's possible that it'll be sooner rather than later. According to a separate study conducted over the last couple of years, the country’s underground weapons tests are sending powerful pressure waves towards Paektu’s massive magma chamber. This pressure is being transferred to the magma, and it's possible that if – and that's a big if – the volcano is already primed to erupt, then additional pressure waves could send it over the edge. Heaven's Lake, at the top of Mount Paektu, seen here in winter. Farm/Wikimedia Commons; CC BY-SA 3.0 Mathematics is a rather wonderful thing. It can predict with perfection when and where solar eclipses will happen, just as it can calculate how long it will take for Jupiter’s moon Io to be torn apart by the gas giant’s immense gravitational well. In this instance, it can also be used to estimate how powerful an underground nuclear blast needs to be to push a magma chamber into a state of overpressure. To be fair, the paper doesn't say at exactly what pressure the magma chamber needs to be at for an eruption to occur, but it does describe these pressure waves as a "direct threat to the volcano." "North Korean underground nuclear explosions with magnitudes of 5.0–7.6 may induce overpressure in the magma chamber of several tens to hundreds of kilopascals," the study notes. Again, this doesn't mean it will cause the volcano to erupt, just that they're potentially dangerous. The most recent nuclear weapons tests, based on their seismic wave patterns, are around 5-5.6M on the moment magnitude scale, which – along with plenty of other evidence – suggests they are basic atomic weapons, with yields of around 10 kilotonnes of TNT. For comparison, the atomic weapon dropped on Nagasaki at the end of the Second World War had an explosive yield of just over twice that. Although these pressure waves did indeed make their way towards Mount Paektu 116 kilometers away, they clearly weren’t enough to trigger an eruption. What would happen if North Korea detonated a hydrogen bomb at the same Punggye-ri subterranean test site? This is a more complex two-step device, one which uses a fission (splitting) reaction in a primary bomb component to compress a heavy hydrogen core (fusion) in a secondary component. It's also far more powerful than a conventional atomic bomb. Even the most simplistic hydrogen bomb would create a tremor registering as a 7.0M, and according to the study, this may be enough to trigger dangerous overpressures in the magma chamber. If it did, and an eruption took place, then what would happen? Well, let’s take a look at the aforementioned history of Paektu. All it could take is just one hydrogen bomb, and the world will hear the result. (Chung... [+] Sung-Jun/Getty Images) Although there was a minor eruption back in 1903, back in the year 946, a true cataclysm occurred. Known as the Millennium Eruption, it unleashed 100 cubic kilometres of volcanic debris, smothered the surrounding landscape in pyroclastic flows, and unleashed 1,000 times more energy than the famous 1980 eruption at Mount St. Helens. The eruption also flooded the regional skies with 45 million tonnes of sulphur aerosols, which plunged the area into darkness. Although it didn’t affect the climate as much as researchers expected, if it were to happen again today, many thousands of people would be at risk, and millions more may see their agriculture collapse. In a country that is already vulnerable to food shortages, this could trigger an unprecedented famine – which, in turn, could trigger all kinds of chaos. In any case, this is just a single study. Who knows: maybe the mathematical calculations are off, partly or entirely, or maybe a new eruption at Paektu would be more like the more moderate one at the turn of the 20th Century than the one that took place a thousand or so years ago. Volcanologists, in general, aren't really sure what effect underground nuclear testing is having on magma chambers, if at all, and they can't yet say how close Paektu is to an eruption of any kind. Update: Some additional information has come to light; namely, that several powerful subterranean nuclear tests in the volcanic Aleutian Arc in the middle of the Cold War seemed to have no effect whatsoever in this regard. The only way for this study's hypothesis to be proven is to see what happens when North Korea actually detonates a hydrogen bomb – a milestone that no other nation on Earth wants them to achieve.
368800b07be368aa220af103162a9e2b
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinandrews/2018/11/04/a-japanese-island-north-of-hokkaido-has-mysteriously-vanished/
A Japanese Island North Of Hokkaido Has Mysteriously Vanished
A Japanese Island North Of Hokkaido Has Mysteriously Vanished The northeastern tip of Hokkaido (left) near the smaller Kunashir Island, the latter of which is... [+] controlled by Russia. The swirls here are ice floes, which may have destroyed the tiny islet. JSC/NASA In this day and age, with anthropogenic climate change far from being under any sort of control, it’s to be expected that islands will disappear beneath the rising seas. As Hurricane Walaka recently demonstrated, sometimes this process is a little more abrupt than usual: this Category Five beast annihilated an island within Hawaii’s Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument essentially overnight. Now, on the other side of the Pacific, something similarly curious is afoot. As reported by The Asahi Shumbun, an islet off the highest coast of Japan has vanished. No typhoons passed through the area, though, so what happened? The islet, named Esanbehanakitakojima, is uninhabited. You wouldn’t really want to live there; found near the northern edge of Hokkaido, the northernmost major Japanese island, the waters are frigid and the winters are incredibly harsh. It was already barely above the high tide height too – no more than 1.4 meters (4.6 feet) – meaning it only barely qualified as an island under international maritime law. This islet is one of 158 that the Japanese government, in 2014, decided to use to physically mark where its territorial boundaries lie. As noted by the Guardian, this is increasingly important a task these days: China, a regional rival, is somewhat aggressively expanding its territory by laying claim to islands that, in some cases, it’s building itself. In this case, the islet lies in an area that is heavily disputed by the Japanese and Russian governments. At the close of the Second World War, the Soviet Union began invading parts of Japan nearest their own shores. The detonation of the two nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 by the Americans convinced them to stop their incursion. The islands they did manage to grab, which they refer to as the Kurils, are still claimed by Japan – and Esanbehanakitakojima sits close by. At, least it used to sit close by. In September, the author of a picture book on Japan’s hidden islands decided to visit Sarufutsu – the village nearest the islet – as he worked on a sophomore effort. Looking for Esanbehanakitakojima, he found it wasn’t there. Members of the fishing industry then went out to find it, and confirmed that it wasn’t where the charts marked its position. At present, the Japanese Coast Guard is currently looking for it, but it’s not likely they’ll find anything. It’s not known at this point when it disappeared. The last time it was recorded in any official capacity was 1988, when the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan described it as an islet on a sea chart, according to CNN. It’s also anyone’s guess as to what made it disappear, although being such a small islet already, strong wind or wave action could have simply eroded it over time. Drifting ice from the chilly Sea of Okhotsk could have also taken it out, but this of course wasn't directly observed. Either way, it’s not great news for the Japanese government. If it’s confirmed to have sunk beneath the waves, then they’ve just lost around 500 meters (1,640 feet) of territorial waters that Russia could, if they wanted, claim. Japan’s territorial boundaries are often in flux. In 2013, for example, a huge underwater eruption caused an island to rise out of the sea 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) south of Tokyo. It proved to be so prolific an eruption that it linked up with its pre-existing neighbour, Nishinoshima, and was soon colonized by vegetation and sea birds. The Japanese Coastguard continues to protect it and prevent outsiders from exploring it, allowing scientists to study a living laboratory unimpeded by human activity.
e10b0ee7f5362d031f1458d199df3ed6
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robindschatz/2015/08/27/an-ex-investment-bankers-new-book-takes-a-deep-dive-into-the-secret-world-of-animal-farming/
An Ex-Investment Banker's New Book Takes A Deep Dive Into The 'Secret' World Of Animal Farming
An Ex-Investment Banker's New Book Takes A Deep Dive Into The 'Secret' World Of Animal Farming Sonia Faruqi, Author of "Project Animal Farm" Sonia Faruqi, who got laid off from her high-paying investment banking job in New York after the financial crisis, volunteered for what she thought would be a pleasant two-week stint on a certified organic dairy farm in Canada, in 2010. Instead, Faruqi stumbled into a close approximation of Hell, where the unhappy husband-wife owners fought constantly and the  cows were shackled to their narrow stalls two-thirds of the year and shocked by the electric “shit trainer” whenever they failed to defecate in the manure gutter. "Each cow lived as cramped her in her stall as a big foot in a small shoe," writes Faruqi in her gripping new book, "Project Animal Farm: An Accidental Journey into the Secret World of Farming and the Truth About Our Food," (Pegasus Books, 2015). It's part memoir, part investigative report on her time traveling through North America, Central America and Asia, exploring the often appalling conditions in  which animals produce our dairy, meat and eggs. Faruqi certainly doesn’t spare organic farms from criticism, and she acknowledges that stronger regulations are needed. "The best farms I have visited around the world have not been organic," she writes. "Some of the organic farms I have visited with lofty expectations have been letdowns." Much of the book focuses on the scarily efficient world of factory farming, where robotics and other technology have replaced most human interaction with animals, making it easier for farmers to  distance themselves from animal suffering. Speaking in a phone interview from her home in Toronto, Faruqi told me that she was most distressed by how the owners of factory farms treated animals like “commodities” rather than living creatures. “On more than 95% of farms, animals are living in conditions that are crowded crammed, smelly and dark,” she said. Factory farming isn't just a North American phenomenon. Faruqi takes us inside a chicken farm in Malaysia that houses 65,000 egg-laying hens in small cages. "The necks of most hens were bare of feathers from pecking and wire grating, and the gaping pink skin looked like an open wound," Faruqi writes of her visit to such a farm. Certainly, this isn’t the first disturbing report on the evils of factory farming, but we do acutely feel the young author’s loss of innocence. We meet listless sows and terrified piglets that  have both their tails and testicles cut off; turkeys who are bred with breasts so large and heavy they often drop dead of heart attacks; hens that accidentally hang themselves in their cages. Faruqi, a graduate of Dartmouth College,  was just 25 when she started her investigations. She says she never planned to write a book when she started but “fell into it.” She recently turned 30. She was already a vegetarian when she began her inquiries. If not, her harrowing visit to a slaughterhouse would certainly have converted her. In the course of her reporting, Faruqi does find some bright spots. She visited some exemplary small operations, like those run by a family of Mennonite women in Belize, as well as some larger pasture-based farms that combine efficiency with the humane treatment of animals. Sonia Faruqi visited a Mennonite farm in Belize, where chickens roam free, instead of being confined... [+] to small cages as they are on factory farms. The extreme confinement of animals on huge factory farms was particularly disturbing to Faruqi. “ More than 95% of egg-laying hens spend their lives in a cage about the size of my book when it’s closed," she told me. "It’s a very small space for animals to be living their lives. And millions of sows are confined to living in crates. Pigs are known to be intelligent, and they do need to move. Those are practices that have changed in Europe. Hopefully, they’ll change in North America.” Of course, there are many small entrepreneurial farms that follow humane and sustainable practices. It's also true that the prices for pasture-raised meat, dairy and eggs are higher. To Faruqi, the answer lies in achieving scale by emulating dedicated entrepreneurs like Canadian farmer Roger Harley, who raises 1,500 pasture-based pigs, sheep and cows in Keene, two hours east of Toronto. He had just 300 animals when Faruqi first met him, and his herds keep growing. "It’s a whole different way of farming," Faruqi explained to me. "You need to understand animals.  If it's a factory farm, everything is monitored by machines, You're just able to press buttons, so you don't need to know anything about the animals themselves. In pastoral farming, whether it's small or large, you're the person taking charge and taking responsibility." Of course, for large pasture-based operations to replace factory farms with a more humane model, consumption of meat, eggs and dairy can't keep growing like crazy around the world. People will need to eat less animal products and accept higher food prices. As you might expect, McDonald’s and KFC don’t really figure into Faruqi's utopian vision. But I suspect many readers  might willingly give up at least some of their cheap burgers and fried chicken after spending some quality time with this book. I already eat very little meat, but it took me more than a week before I could face a chicken dinner again -- and even then, I hesitated long and hard.
fdc7ecf36b86e7f5ba58a71377438f6d
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robindschatz/2015/09/09/mcdonalds-move-to-cage-free-eggs-will-help-reform-industry-practices/
Why McDonald's Move to Cage-Free Eggs Will Help Reform Industry Practices
Why McDonald's Move to Cage-Free Eggs Will Help Reform Industry Practices Photo by Robin D. Schatz McDonald's announcement earlier today it would transition to buying 100% of its eggs from cage-free chickens at its 16,000 U.S. and Canadian restaurants within a decade is no small thing. The fast-food giant purchases some 2 billion eggs a year in the U.S. alone. That's more than 4% of the 43.56 billion eggs produced in the United States last year, the New York Times reports. Add in another 120 million eggs used by the chain in Canada, and that's a whole lot of Egg McMuffins. ( McDonald's   will be rolling out all-day breakfast in October, so we're likely talking about their buying even more eggs.) "Our customers are increasingly interested in knowing more about their food and where it comes from," said McDonald's USA President Mike Andres in a statement.  "Our decision to source only cage-free eggs reinforces the focus we place on food quality and our menu to meet and exceed our customers' expectations." McDonald's move reflects its recent efforts to remake the company's image and respond to pressure from animal rights advocates to make its sourcing of animal products more humane, reports The Wall Street Journal. It's not the first fast food company to take a stand on cages. In 2012, rival Burger King announced it would convert to cage-free eggs and pork by 2017. It's true, ten years  isn't exactly a short time, but it will take McDonald's  that long to convert its supply chain completely to cage-free farming. Over that period,  it's likely more egg producers will figure out how to raise their egg-laying hens without cages -- if they want to sell to McDonald's. Since 2011, McDonald's USA has already been purchasing more than 13 million cage-free eggs a year, according to the company. Typically, consumers pay more for cage-free eggs, but McDonald's spokeswoman Becca Hary told me in an email message that the chain doesn't anticipate any impact on prices. "Breakfast will always be a great value at McDonald's," she said. Recently, I wrote about Sonia Faruqi's new book, "Project Animal Farm," which chronicles her trip around the world to witness both the best and the worst of farming practices. Today, in reacting to McDonald's announcement, the former investment banker said that the chain's move was an "important indication of a turning tide toward a more humane and sustainable food system." Cage-free housing is not the gold standard when it comes to producing eggs, as Faruqi's book makes clear. In  the best of all worlds, hens get outdoor exercise and the chance to scratch around for bugs, but eliminating cages is big improvement over the way most eggs are produced in the U.S. and Canada. Cage-free hens in Belize Photo by Sonia Faruqi While most cage-free operations don't give the hens outdoor access, at the very least, they do allow them to flap their wings and move about an indoor space. Increasingly, fast food companies are responding to consumer concerns about health concerns, such as added hormones and antibiotics in meat, dairy and poultry. They're adding kale and other healthy eats to the traditional fries-and-burger fare. In April, Chipotle announced it would stop serving any products with GMOs. In 2000, McDonald's says it became the first in the industry to adopt a standard for hen housing, which required "more space per bird than the industry standard." What will the McDonald's decision mean for small farms? Most small producers, like the Hudson Valley's Heather Ridge Farm which I visited recently in Preston Hollow, New York aren't selling to the likes of McDonald's anyway. The customers for their pasture-raised eggs and meat are local folks who care about where their food comes from and they're not averse to paying a little more for a quality product. So I don't suspect McDonald's move means anything to such operations. But it does advance the conversation, and it certainly can't hurt the growing movement for sustainable and humanely raised food. The first McDonald's supplier to convert to a cage-free system is Herbruck's Poultry Ranch, a family-owned and operated farm in Michigan. According to the Times, it was already making the transition to comply with Michigan's 2009 animal welfare law. While Herbruck's is a third- and fourth-generation family operation, it's certainly not small. As the video on their Website explains, they raise 5 million hens in 81 hen houses, producing 4 million eggs a day. It's true that cage-free eggs aren't going to solve all the problems with our food system. Clearly, we still need to figure out how to make our consumption habits environmentally sustainable, particularly given the fast-growing world population. And that may mean eating fewer animal products down the road. But it's a start.
9ad3ee11435e0f9eb19e4a2890341449
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robindschatz/2015/12/17/enterprising-women-a-beirut-refugee-camp-catering-startup-crowdfunds-a-food-truck/
Palestinian Refugees In Beirut Crowdfund $60,000 To Buy A Food Truck
Palestinian Refugees In Beirut Crowdfund $60,000 To Buy A Food Truck Soufra is a social venture run by women refugees in the Burj el Barajneh camp in Beirut. Soon,... [+] they'll have a food truck. Photo by Sarah Hunter. You might remember the 2014 movie Chef, where a disenchanted culinary celeb, played by Jon Favreau, ups and quits his fancy restaurant in Los Angeles. He rebuilds his shattered career, and shaky relationships, by rehabbing an old food truck in Miami and taking it on the road with his son and gorgeous ex-wife (Sofía Vergara). Thousands of miles away, that flick inspired the women who run Soufra, a catering business based in the Burj el Barajneh refugee camp in southern Beirut, to think expansively about the future of their social enterprise, which is limited by seasonal demand and location. Next  year, thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign that closed today, Soufra can buy its own food truck. All but one of the 14 women who presently work in this fledgling social venture are Palestinians who were born at the camp. The other woman is a Syrian refugee who has lived there for 10 years. The camp is  a warren of narrow, crowded streets where poverty and unemployment are rampant and services we take for granted, like water, telephone and electricity, are sporadic, at best. Before the founding of Soufra, which means "feast" in Arabic, these women had no reliable means of supporting their families and they seldom left their neighborhood, says Teresa Chahine, the country director in Lebanon for Alfanar, a venture philanthropy headquartered in London that invested in Soufra two years ago. Alfanar, which has offices in Cairo and Beirut, invests exclusively in the Arab world by helping to build economically sustainable social ventures that help women and children. The philanthropy launched the Kickstarter campaign on Soufra's behalf. Right now, most of Soufra's revenue comes from selling their Palestinian specialties at the city's famed Saturday green market Souk el Tayyeb  and from catering special events, such as a Ramadan feast for the Spanish embassy. Having a food truck means the women will be able to sell their flaky spinach pies,  tabbouleh, stuffed grape leaves and other Palestinian delicacies to the lunchtime crowd at nearby hospitals and other workplaces for a more steady, year-round income. Woman from the Burj el Barajneh refugee camp preparing food for Soufra. Photo by Sarah Hunter. Soufra raised $60,317.95, according to current exchange rates, comfortably surpassing its funding goal of $46,973. The additional funds will help the social enterprise pay for educational and social programs to help women and families at the camp, says Chahine. Burj el Barajneh was established in 1948 by what was then called the International League of Red Cross Societies to house Palestinian refugees. These days, its also housing more recent waves of Syrian immigrants. Small scale entrepreneurship is a survival skill for many refugee families, who often face serious discrimination and limited job opportunities. Many have started their own Mom-and-Pop businesses within the camp -- repairing clothing, selling vegetables and the like. Soufra's tabbouleh. Photo by Sarah Hunter. The camp has its own "microeconomy," Chahine tells me in a telephone interview.  "What distinguishes this venture is that their market is people outside of the camp." About four years ago, Alfanar, which invests exclusively in social ventures in the Arab world, began looking for a successful grassroots organizer to partner with in Lebanon. Chahine and her team met Mariam Shaar,  who runs the Women's Program Association (WPA) at Burj el Burajneh. The nongovernmental organization, which also operates at eight other refugee camps in Lebanon,  provides education, vocational skills training and micro-loans to women. "What really struck us about Mariam is that she was so persistent," recalls Chahine. "She kept insisting we visit. She would really not let the opportunity pass her by." Mariam Shaar (left), who came up with the idea for Soufra, and Teresa Chahine, country director in... [+] Lebanon for Alfanar. Photo by Sarah Hunter. Shaar had already conducted a survey of women in the refugee camp to determine how they'd like to increase economic opportunities. Many expressed an interest in developing their culinary skills. Shaar proposed to Alfanar that the organization help her start a catering business. Alfanar initially invested about $40,000 in 2013, says Chahine. Alfanar helped Soufra outfit the kitchen and train the workers in proper food safety and business operations, with the help of experienced food-service partners.  The venture philanthropy doubled its investment the following year, says Chahine. A Palestinian dessert garnished with pomegranate seeds. Photo by Sarah Hunter. After the first year, the venture was already nearing break-even, and the women, who are paid for their work, are showing pride in their accomplishments, says Chahine. Once the food truck is up and running in mid 2016, Soufra should double or triple its revenue, enabling them to help pay for community programs, such as skills-based training and educational and recreational programs for children, within the refugee camp. Soufra faces the challenges that preoccupy any startup: establishing a market, running a sound operation and, of course, making a profit. But there are unique challenges here too: Because of frequent power outages in Beirut, they had to buy a backup generator to assure their kitchen operation doesn't suffer any downtime. There were also cultural barriers which are described on Alfanar's Kickstarter page. "Our idea was a bit a controversial at first – the camp is a pretty conservative society, and women rarely leave it on their own, let alone to cook and sell food out of a truck!" Security for the women as they venture out into the city is of paramount concern, says Chahine. All visits to local employers will be pre-arranged. Shaar is an Arabic speaker, who couldn't communicate with me directly. But when asked by Alfanar's executive director, Myrna Atalla, if she thought the catering venture could be replicated at other refugee camps around the world,  she said that building a viable business is critical to success. "As a refugee, I can assure you that charity does not work," Shaar told her. "It is not enough.  Instead of giving us fish, we need to learn to fish for ourselves.  That is what the food truck will do for us." Update: This post has been updated to reflect the final sum raised in the Kickstarter campaign.
1a862b9e38ac17cfaae5f00d9fcc0955
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robindschatz/2016/02/23/how-an-sf-startup-lets-you-eat-beer-by-making-granola-bars-with-spent-brewery-grains/
Eat Your Beer: Why A San Francisco Startup Is Making Granola Bars From Spent Brewing Grains
Eat Your Beer: Why A San Francisco Startup Is Making Granola Bars From Spent Brewing Grains Jordan Schwartz (left) and Dan Kurzrock, cofounders of Regrained, which makes granola bars using... [+] spent beer grains. Photo by Laura Miley. Dan Kurzrock was a freshman at UCLA when he started brewing beer in his frat-house kitchen. The process posed a moral dilemma for the 19-year old that had nothing to do with being under the legal drinking age. To his dismay, Kurzrock, an economics major with a keen interest in sustainability,  was generating 15-20 pounds of grain waste each time he made a batch of beer. “I was just blown away to see how much raw material we used to make five gallons of beer," recalls the now 26-year-old entrepreneur. "I had this moment of 'there has got to be a better way to do this.' I literally felt like I was dumping out these tubs of oatmeal." By his junior year, Kurzrock and his longtime buddy Jordan Schwartz, also a student at UCLA, had started baking and selling bread made from spent beer grains, which still had a lot of fiber and protein. They worked out of Schwartz's apartment and sold about 20 loaves a week to people on campus, earning enough profit to finance their hobby. "We  found they were fascinated by the story, not that it was just fresh-baked bread but that the main ingredient was the waste product from pretty much everyone’s favorite beverage," says Kurzrock. The two friends officially launched their business, called ReGrained, in 2012, right after graduating a semester early from college. They  switched from baking baking bread to granola bars, thousands of them a month. Bread was too labor intensive, Kurzrock explains. "We wanted a product we could scale." ReGrained is telling a compelling environmental story, at a time when the food industry is grappling with a mountain of  food waste. All of the grains used in their bars come from craft breweries in the city, and their other baking ingredients, such as almonds and puffed quinoa, are sourced from environmentally responsible producers, some of them organic. In London,  in another twist on the beer-grain story, Toast Ale makes beer from the  heels of bread loaves that sandwich makers normally discard.  (The two companies like to tweet back and forth at each other, says Kurzrock.) ReGrained's Honey Almond IPA Bar is made with spent grain from the beer brewing process. Photo by... [+] Marc Atkinson/Jesse Rogala. In agricultural regions, breweries can more easily sell the grain residue to farmers for animal feed or compost. Disposal is more problematic for small urban craft breweries. In some cities, the leftover grains go right into landfills. In ReGrained's case, they're finding that breweries are more than happy to let them haul away the grain residues, for free. One of their suppliers is 21st Amendment, a brew pub and microbrewery in downtown San Francisco.  Cofounder and brew master Shaun O'Sullivan says each brew generates over 5,000 pounds of grain -- much more than tiny Regrained can handle. Most of their grain waste goes to a rancher in the Central Valley to feed his livestock. "As ReGrained's capacity grows, we're looking forward to sending more their way," O'Sullivan tells me by email. "Their bars are delicious and it's a great repurpose of what would normally be a discarded material." In December, the cofounders raised $30,670 on Barnraiser, a crowdfunding community for food entrepreneurs and farmers. They used the cash to develop a "2.0 version" of their almond IPA bar and Chocolate Coffee Stout bar. I particularly liked the stout bar, which had a sophisticated, not-too-sweet flavor. (You do need to chew them well. ) Chocolate Coffee stout bar is a granola bar made with the grainleft over from beer making. Photo by... [+] Marc Atkinson/Jesse Rogala What the cofounders have going for them besides an earnest mission and a  product that tastes good is  a really catchy slogan. "Eat Beer"  appears on their packaging, promotional material and T-shirts. Until the crowdfunding campaign, the business was entirely bootstrapped with the cofounders' personal savings. At first, they worked out of  a home-based  kitchen that was certified as a cottage business under California law. In late 2014, they moved into a commercial kitchen space and spent about a year targeting smaller retail accounts where they could get a lot of feedback on the product. They also sold their bars online and at events. "Along the way, we figured out a bunch of things," says "Executive Grain Officer" Kurzrock, who is earning his MBA in sustainable management at Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco. "Chief grain master"  Schwartz, who's passionate about food and cooking, focuses on developing the company's new products. Regained cofounders Dan Kurzrock and Jordan Schwartz in the kitchen. Photo by Marc Atkinson/Jesse... [+] Rogala. Their first big recipe improvement came from removing eggs and replacing it with other emulsifiers. They were concerned about sourcing their eggs ethically and sustainably, and they also wanted to bring down the product's cost, Kurzrock says. Their new formulations also improved on the texture, making the bars less crumbly, and reducing the sugar content and calories. (A 1.16-ounce Stout bar has 140 calories, 3 grams of protein,  6 grams of sugar and 3 grams of fiber.) The money from the crowdfunding campaign also gave them the working capital to order new compostable packaging. Later this year, they plan to release a cookie mix made with beer grains (It was one of the rewards in their crowdfunding campaign.) Other baked goods and new bar flavors are in the works too. "We're ready to expand and grow," says Kurzrock. "It's going great, but we still don't have the new recipe on the shelves anywhere yet. We're waiting for the new packaging." Eventually, they hope to scale the business to the point where they're making a significant dent in the craft-brew industry's beer-waste problem. Repurposing spent grain was  a commendable idea, but, says Kurzrock, that wasn't enough. "Now we've taken it to a great product reinforced by a great idea."
53d524ed4e4f9c1799b2031bf3c0e9c8
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robindschatz/2017/01/28/lessons-from-the-bug-factory-how-tiny-farms-is-redefining-the-cricket-business/
Lessons From The Bug Factory: How Tiny Farms Is Redefining The Cricket Business
Lessons From The Bug Factory: How Tiny Farms Is Redefining The Cricket Business Andrew and Jena Brentano, cofounders of Tiny Farms, which raises food-grade crickets in San Leandro,... [+] CA. Photo by Rush Jagoe, courtesy of Modern Farmer. “Each cricket is like a little Spiderman,” says Andrew Brentano, a cofounder of Tiny Farms, a high-tech bug farm in a former auto plant in San Leandro, CA., near Oakland. “They can walk up walls and upside down. Any path out of their habitat, they will find it.” In fact, one day he found himself pursuing a wily brood of baby crickets after he had accidentally left a cable in their habitat and they used it to climb to freedom. “I came in and they were all over the floor," he recalls. To be sure, cricket farming is a challenging and idiosyncratic business for the three cofounders who came out of the tech industry. Andrew and his wife, Jena Brentano, both 29, used to run their own Web design firm, before they teamed up with Daniel Imrie-Situnayake, a software engineer, 30,  to build their urban insect farm. Tiny Farms uses stacked-up cardboard egg cartons inside their high-tech habitats because they give... [+] the crickets plenty of places to hide. Photo by Rush Jagoe, courtesy of Modern Farmer. Tiny Farms aims to eventually make food-grade crickets widely available and affordable for food producers and adventurous chefs by applying a large-scale industrial approach, without overcrowding or stressing  out their tiny livestock. “You can use a whole colony overnight if a pathogen gets in there,” says Andrew. The goal is to license the technology for their turnkey insect farms to  other would-be insectpreneurs across the country, and eventually the world. They’ve garnered the support of high-profile impact investors including Arielle Zuckerberg, the sister of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. “For all of us, the most fun part is we get to spend most of our time just inventing stuff," Andrew tells me. Jena and Andrew Brentano show off some of their cricket farming supplies. Photo by Rush Jagoe,... [+] courtesy of Modern Farmer. Jena, admittedly, wasn't much of an insect lover before they began this entrepreneurial adventure -- almost at the same time they began married life. “Farming crickets has really changed the way I look at bugs,” she says. “If a bug gets on me now, I don’t just wildly swat it away. I’m wondering, ‘how would I farm this and what does it live on?’” When I first chatted with Andrew and Jena over the summer, they were selling Tiny Farms cricket "flour" -- dried and pulverized crickets -- to other startups, like New York-based Exo, which  scored a $4 million funding round last year for its cricket protein bars. But Tiny Farms isn't just barreling ahead full-steam. They want to get things right. So they recently put a hold on all processing, while they figure out how to do it at a lower cost and evaluate competing technologies. They've scaled back production at present to supply just a couple of adventurous chefs in the Bay Area with whole, live crickets. While mastering the peculiar ins and outs of cricket farming, these cofounders face the sort of challenges that apply to any startup. "Everything about our business is pretty standard, except that out core product is insects," Andrew says. That means  managing a complex supply chain, producing a product people want -- in the most efficient way possible--and making plans to eventually scale up. Here's what they've learned so far in the process, Find the right mentors. In October, Tiny Farms joined Food System 6, a four-month accelerator program that provides mentorship for food system innovators and helps connect them with sources of capital and strategic partners. "It’s been quite mentorship focused," says Andrew. Besides intensive in-person sessions on topics ranging from legal issues to fundraising, they're also learning a lot about storytelling, he says: "How are we presenting ourselves and getting the right message out there, and how  are we conveying the opportunity to investors." Stick to the Plan: "In general, it's been about following the road map, as opposed to any surprises," says Andrew. They got started on Tiny Farms in 2012. Glitches happen, but they overcome each challenge and move on. Iterate till you can't make any more improvements: Tiny Farms is "continuously refining what's happening at the farm" says Andrew--everything from improving habitat design to refining how they feed and water the crickets to streamlining the harvesting process. Scale up systematically.  "We’re working on plans to expand beyond our pilot farm and launch a larger commercial farm.," says Andrew. "That's on our radar and we're working actively to figure out the details." Find the right investors. While the company raised a successful seed round to build their demonstration farm, they'll soon need to find more investment capital to move the business to the next level. "Certainly when you talk to investors, There's a lot of skepticism: 'Do you really think Americans are going to eat bugs?'  We see a big response, people paying attention to the issue. Obviously it's a new market and it will take time to build," Andrew explains. That means finding the right match, with investors who are fully committed to their vision. "Over time we've seen a continually growing level of acceptance and understanding of what we're trying to do." "
2bab84bbff70bb70672cc6e6f0a6ec98
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robindschatz/2020/01/31/new-products-is-this-aussie-favorite-your-next-superfood/?sh=caf80507b39a
Is This Aussie Favorite The Next Superfood?
Is This Aussie Favorite The Next Superfood? Emily Griffith founded Lil Bucks to bring sprouted buckwheat, to America, after falling in love with ... [+] the cereal in Australia. Lil Bucks Emily Griffith, the 27-year-old, Chicago-based founder of a new brand called Lil Bucks, has been obsessed with sprouted buckwheat ever since she first tasted it several years ago in a “life-changing” acai bowl in Sidney, Australia. “This one was so amazing because it had this incredible texture. I loved the crunch and felt amazing after eating it,” said Griffith, who was working as a digital designer for a Sidney advertising agency and indulging her passion for surfing. Griffith later returned to the cafe and pressed them for details about the topping. “That kickstarted my obsession with sprouted buckwheat,” she said. Lil Bucks, a crunchy cereal topping made of sprouted buckwheat and other ingredients, comes in three ... [+] flavors with a fourth on the way. Lil Bucks In Australia, sprouted buckwheat, which they refer to as “activated,” is a common health-food cereal, typically sold in one-pound bags and available at many cafes. Griffith tasted it atop salads and avocado toast and in desserts. When she returned to the U.S. and set up her own digital consulting business, she was surprised to see that no one in the health food industry was marketing a sprouted buckwheat product despite the growing interest in plant-based proteins. MORE FOR YOUPlant-Based Milk Companies Are Doubling Down On Efforts To Address SustainabilityConstellation’s Wine Premiumization Strategy Is Starting To Pay OffIf The U.S. Is A Nation Of Innovation, Why Aren’t We Embracing Cell-Cultured Meat? “It became my mission to bring it to the U.S., to make cool packaging and share it with the world,” she told me. Since American consumers aren’t familiar with the term activated, she opted to brand it as sprouted. In 2018, Griffith launched Lil Bucks in Chicago, bootstrapping the company with $75,000 in savings from her digital design business, and learning all about the consumer packaged goods industry along the way. She debuted her product at a fitness festival, shivering in the city’s 32-degree March weather and handing out all of the samples she had. A year later, in April 2019, she won a competition for a one-year kitchen sponsorship from Bel Brands for a spot at the food and beverage incubator Hatchery Chicago. “I did all the branding and design for Lil Bucks, I just love bringing brands to life,” Griffith said. “I wanted to rebrand buckwheat.” In the U.S., buckwheat mostly appears in pancakes, soba noodles and buckwheat groats, also called kasha, a staple of Eastern European cuisines. Despite its name, it is not technically a grain; it is actually the seed of a fruit related to rhubarb and sorrel. One of buckwheat’s key selling points is that it’s gluten-free, assuming no cross-contamination. Because it’s grain-free it’s also suitable for paleo diets. Furthermore, it’s low on the Glycemic Index, meaning the carbohydrate doesn’t cause a big spike in blood glucose levels. And it’s high in magnesium and antioxidants. In December 2019, Griffith raised a friends-and-family round. Until now, she has mostly sold Lil Bucks at local festivals and online, but she’s getting her big break into retail this year. In February, Lil Bucks will launch its sprouted buckwheat cereal in three flavors in the midwest region of Whole Foods Market. Griffith hopes to expand into other Whole Foods regions in the future if the rollout proves successful. Her other line, called Cluster Bucks, is aimed at the snack food aisle rather than the granola section. Buckwheat is a highly sustainable crop, which organic farmers often use as a cover crop that’s turned into the soil as “green manure.” “The mission of this company is to help motivate farmers in North America to include buckwheat in their crop rotations, rejuvenating the soil,” Griffith said. She has engaged scientists to look for varieties more akin to the buckwheat she sources from an organic grower in China because it doesn’t get mushy when sprouted. Lil Bucks sprouted buckwheat cereal adds crunch and protein to a fruit smoothie Lil Bucks Given her current reliance on organic buckwheat from China, I sent Griffith a followup question about the coronavirus epidemic, which was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization on January 30. “The coronavirus epidemic is affecting all parts of the supply chain, from logistics to labor to product quality,” she wrote in an email. “Fortunately we have enough buckwheat to get us through the next year at least (imported long before the outbreaks began), but this only lights even more fire to study the genetics of North American buckwheat to get it sproutable! “ She said they are testing buckwheat from a few Canadian and American farms now. “We also have other sources in Russia, but since we have time until we need another large order of buckwheat we will wait to see how this disease affects our supply chain in different parts of the world in the near to long term.” Lil Bucks exclusively uses organic buckwheat, which is sprouted by a partner in Canada, and then dehydrated to be shelf stable for up to a year. I sprinkled some of the matcha-flavored Lil Bucks on my blueberries and oat milk yogurt for breakfast one morning, and loved the crunch and subtle sweetness it added. A quarter cup of offers 150 calories, five grams of fiber, six grams of protein and just two grams of sugar. The sweetness comes from maple syrup. Lil Bucks recommends adding the cereal to everything from eggs to salad to chia pudding. “My dream is to be the Quaker Oats of sprouted buckwheat,” Griffith said. Granted, that’s a grandiose goal for a fledgling entrepreneur. She hopes to eventually introduce different product lines and other ingredients with “an amazing sustainability story or crazy health benefits.” “I have a zillion ideas, but I’m trying to slow down my entrepreneurial ADD and solidify the product lines we do have,” she said.
c0830cf9ba1af816e2a07492d96eafe5
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robindschatz/2021/02/26/how-dole-asias-new-2-million-a-year-fund-is-seeking-solutions-to-end-malnutrition-promote-sustainability/
How Dole Asia’s New $2 Million-A-Year Fund Is Seeking Solutions To End Malnutrition, Promote Sustainability
How Dole Asia’s New $2 Million-A-Year Fund Is Seeking Solutions To End Malnutrition, Promote Sustainability Pier Luigi Sigismondi, president of Dole Packaged Foods Worldwide, says the company’s new $2 ... [+] million-a-year Sunshine For All Fund will help support projects and ventures that promote sustainability and seek to end malnutrition. Dole Asia Plastic waste is choking the world’s oceans; hundreds of millions of people face hunger or food insecurity; about a third of all food produced for human consumption goes to waste; and climate change remains an existential threat, hitting vulnerable communities the hardest. These are some of the big global challenges that preoccupy Pier Luigi Sigismondi, president of Dole Packaged Foods Worldwide, which makes canned pineapple, frozen fruit and other food products. (Dole Asia Holdings, which includes Dole Packaged as well as Asia Fresh Produce, was acquired by Itochu Corp. in 2012.) What can one food company do to make a difference? In June 2020, Dole Asia issued The Dole Promise, pledging to tackle global malnutrition and food insecurity, as well as to improve the sustainability of its own operations and the wellbeing of its workers and farmers. Among other things, Dole Asia, by 2025, pledged to end the use of petroleum-based plastic packaging, reduce its fruit waste to zero and remove all processed sugar from its products. By 2030, the company said it would strive to make its operations carbon neutral. Now, to help make good on its commitments, Dole Asia has officially launched The Sunshine for All Fund. Dole Asia will initially provide $2 million a year to support innovative solutions to achieve its lofty goals. And it’s calling on entrepreneurs, NGOs, social enterprises, influencers and investors to become their strategic partners. “We’re just too small and too humble, to be honest, to think we can solve this by ourselves,” Sigismondi told me in a Zoom call from Singapore, Dole Asia’s global headquarters. Sigismondi said that even investments or grants of $50,000 to $75,000 can be enough to jumpstart big ideas. Unlike a traditional venture capital firm, Dole won’t take an equity stake in the startups it helps, but it could benefit, for example, from pilot programs intended to make growers more productive and sustainable. MORE FOR YOUFat Tire Releases Beer Made From Ingredients Available In The Future. It’s Awful And They Know It.First American Woman To Raise Over $1 Million Pre-Seed Funding In Food And Beverage Wants You To Cut Carbs Starting With BagelsLack Of Locally Produced Food Propels Singapore Into Global Race To Attract Meat Alternative Companies The details are still somewhat scant, and the fund is still very much a work in progress, as Dole sees what works best. “We will remain very flexible,” said Sigismondi. “It’s a long-term project.” The initial focus areas include crop nutrition, upcycling solutions to reduce food waste, and environmental impact and packaging. The fund is interested in technologies including robotics, IOT software and hardware, biotech and data analytics. “We are eager to engage with start-ups and scale-up(s) from any stage,” the fund states on its website. “Depending on where you are on your journey, our engagement can go from mentoring to piloting or investment with a big priority put on experimentation and pilots. And for social social enterprises and NGOs, the Sunshine For All Fund advises: “If you are trying to bridge the gap between technology and access to food and nutrition, or if you have developed a model allowing us to reduce our food and water waste, to reduce our plastic footprint and more, please connect with us”. Around the same time it announced the new fund, Dole Asia conducted a public information campaign called Malnutrition Labels, displayed on outdoor landmarks in Baltimore, New York City and Los Angeles to raise awareness about food insecurity and malnutrition. Dole’s campaign to educate people about malnutrition facts aired in cities New York City, Los ... [+] Angeles and Baltimore. Dole Asia Before the fund’s launch, Dole Asia had already forged a partnership with Solidaridad, a Netherlands-based development organization. The partners are collaborating on efforts to benefit Dole’s farmers in Southeast Asia, particularly in Thailand. Solidaridad is matching any funds that Dole invests in its effort to digitize farming operations and work directly with farmers, rather than through brokers. In the U.S., Dole has also started a pilot program last year to improve nutrition in the city of Jackson, Miss. As in many urban areas, the city has food deserts,where fast food is cheaper and more accessible than healthy fruits and vegetables. It is partnering with more than 20 different public and private entities to improve access to healthy food and advance healthy eating, with a particular focus on educating young people through cooking camps and other programs. They plan to expand the initiative to other U.S. cities soon. Sigismondi stressed in our conversation that making the large-scale changes called for in the Dole Promise isn’t a totally altruistic endeavor. The company’s stated goal is to increase the value of its business by 50% by the year 2025—and he hopes that greater sales will stem from innovative new products as well as their socially responsible and climate-friendly solutions. Clearly, he’s not the first corporate leader to suggest that purpose and profit can co-exist and even thrive together. It remains to be seen if Dole’s actions, and its new Sunshine For All fund, in particular, can spur significant changes, making supply chains more sustainable and getting fresh, healthy food to more people. “My perhaps naïve ambition is to prove that Dole can be much more financially successful than many other companies with a very strong sense of purpose, by talking to directly to consumers and telling them where we are and how much we need them to join us so we can drive systemic change,” Sigismondi said.
47db16da68c612911e612e3818c44dbc
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robindschatz/2021/03/11/robots-and-bees-vertical-strawberry-farm-in-nj-raises-50-million/?sh=4626ca163a80
Robots And Bees: High-Tech, Vertical Strawberry Farm In N.J. Raises $50 Million In Series A Round
Robots And Bees: High-Tech, Vertical Strawberry Farm In N.J. Raises $50 Million In Series A Round Oishii grows its $50-a-box Omakase berry at an indoor vertical farm in Kearny, N.J. Thanks to a $50 ... [+] million Series A funding round, it will be expanding to other locations and eventually growing more varieties of strawberries and other produce. Drew Escriva In 2018, Oishii, a vertical strawberry farm in Kearny, N.J. that depends on both bees and artificial intelligence, introduced New Yorkers to the Omakase Berry. The fragrant Japanese variety became the darling of Michelin-star chefs and the patrons of tony Eli’s Market on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. At $50 for a box of eight, this was luxury branding at its best. But Oishii CEO Hiroki Koga believes that everyone should have access to delicious, sustainably grown strawberries and other quality produce Now, he and his cofounder, COO Brendan Somerville, are on their way to achieving that goal. Today, March 11, the New York-based company announced it has raised $50 million in a Series A round, bringing its total funding up to $55 million and positioning it for expansion into new crops and other metropolitan areas. The funding round was led by SPARX Group’s Mirai Creation Fund II. Other investors include Sony Innovation Fund, PKSHA Technology, and Social Starts. “Oishii is the farm of the future,” SPARX Group Co. President and Group CEO Shuhei Abe said in a statement. “The cultivation and pollination techniques the company has developed set them well apart from the industry, positioning Oishii to quickly revolutionize agriculture as we know it.” Hiroki Koga, CEO of Oishii, a vertical farming company in a converted warehouse in Kearny, N.J. that ... [+] just raised $50 million to expand its strawberry operations Oishii MORE FOR YOUUSDA Settles Cases, Expands Food Stamp Benefits For Lowest-Income HouseholdsMaker Of Mushroom-Sourced Bacon Raises $40 Million To Reach Grocers At ScaleMolson Coors Buys A Minority Share In A Craft Brewery Staffed By Rival Gang Members Oishii, which means “delicious” in Japanese, currently grows its famed Omakase Berry in a warehouse-turned-vertical-farm. The crop is pesticide-free but pollinated by real bees, which live in hives on the premises—queen bees and all. “These bees are very happy; they live in harmony with our farmers and robots,” Koga told me in an interview before the announcement. While he didn’t give me details on Oishii’s technology, Koga did disclose that the vertical farm uses both water and soil as growing mediums and that robots play an important role, some of them taking millions of pictures a day to provide a constant flow of visual data. Other machines monitor environmental data, such as temperature, humidity, CO2, wind speed and light to make sure the levels remain consistent. Human farmers, who are important, too, must go through three levels of decontamination procedures before entering the facility. Currently, Oishii has about 50 employees in all, and will be ramping up hiring with the new funding. The Omakase berry is one of 250 sweet and fragrant varieties that grow in Japan’s foothills, only in the winter. The vertical farm recreates the unique climate the berries need to flourish year-round and indoors. The funding round will enable Oishii to expand the footprint of its New Jersey facility, said Koga, who had previously worked in vertical farming in Japan before moving to the U.S. six years ago to get his MBA. Next, they plan to move on to growing other types of produce and opening up facilities elsewhere. “Our vision is to create a new standard for fresher, tastier strawberries, where everybody around the world has access to this hyper-local food,” Koga told me. Oishii's Omakase Berry, which is grown at a high tech indoor farm in New Jersey, costs $50 for a box ... [+] of eight. Drew Escriva Part of the money Oishii raised will go to continued R&D, as the company introduces other strawberry varieties and other types of produce, such as tomatoes, grapes and melons. Traditionally, most vertical farming operations have focused on greens because they’re relatively easy to grow and don’t require pollination. But strawberries, said Koga, have remained “the holy grail of vertical farming.” They are notoriously difficult to grow indoors because of their long cultivation cycles. “ I always want Oishii to stand as a brand of excellence, but our goal is to democratize this technology and make it successful for the rest of the world, “ Koga said. From an environmental perspective, Oishii’s growing methods are enviable, using less water and land than traditional strawberry farms and eschewing all pesticides. And by having vertical farms in major metropolitan areas, produce doesn’t have to be shipped far to get to customers. Strawberries routinely top the “Dirty Dozen” list of conventional produce that have the highest levels of pesticide residues. Environmental cred is important,, but you are no doubt wondering, what does the Omakase Berry taste like? The large berries are more orangey in color than your average red supermarket strawberry, to the point that I thought they weren’t ripe. But when I bit into one (a sample that did not meet the standards for sale), that was clearly not the case. The first thing I noticed was the fruit’s intoxicating perfume.The berry tasted almost floral and very sweet. Koga compared his pricey strawberries to the first Teslas with their eye-popping price tags. As production has expanded, the vehicles have become more affordable. No doubt, Oishii’s vertically farmed produce will come down in price as they scale up operations. But don’t expect to be gobbling Omakase Berries by the handful—unless , perhaps, you’ve raised $50 million recently. The berries will continue to retail for $15 for a box of three medium berries up to $50 for eight big ones. “We’re currently developing a few other strawberry varietals that are designed to deliver exceptional flavor for everyday occasions,” Koga said in a followup email.“The Omakase Berry will remain our flagship berry that is meant for life’s celebratory moments and special occasions.”
0d10c8c4f0eb6add2346045fbb0e69f1
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinferracone/2011/01/25/executive-compensation-before-and-after-the-ipo/
Executive Compensation: Before and After the IPO
Executive Compensation: Before and After the IPO Image by Getty Images North America via @daylife It’s unmistakable that the IPO market is heating up.  According to IPO Monitor, the number of IPOs increased in 2010, up threefold from 2009, and there’s no slowing in sight. I recently attended a board meeting for a company that just IPOed.  The Compensation Committee was having its first post-IPO meeting, and not surprisingly, had more questions than answers.  These questions ranged from compensation strategy and design to the nuts and bolts of good governance processes. Having assisted a number of companies through IPOs, I’ve learned some lessons about what challenges companies face when transitioning through IPOs and what are the most successful strategies in dealing with these challenges.  Here’s my “top ten” list of what I’ve seen works best: 10.       Cash compensation will become more important in the pay mix – Venture-backed IPO executives often will be paid less than the market in salary and bonus, since cash was scarce prior the IPO and equity was counted on to “carry the day.”  As a result, companies, ideally before they get to the IPO, should conduct a competitive pay analysis and take steps to correct inequities. This competitive look also provides an excellent platform for discussing and establishing a pay positioning strategy post-IPO. 9.           Go ahead – fix internal inequities before the IPO – Companies should assess where everyone is in the pecking order in terms of ownership and equity position before the IPO.  It’s easier to at least partially even up internal inequities before the IPO happens because the valuations are lower and topping up executives is not as costly or visible as after the IPO. 8.           Don’t expect to fix the “inequities in equity” after the IPO – It’s simple math.  The “haves” are those who came into the company prior to the IPO, and the “have-nots” are the ones who came in afterwards.  Most executives understand that those who were there prior to the IPO took more risk, and therefore, deserve to be rewarded for that risk, and the company can’t possibly afford to put all executives on equal footing in this regard. 7.           Don’t think in terms of reloads post-IPO – Those who made it big on the IPO can’t expect to replicate that experience post-IPO.  With one of my IPO clients, the CEO expected to be “topped up” after taking money off the table post-IPO.  My view was that the “top up” was not warranted as it would have led to overcompensation.   Compensation Committees should not fall into the trap of thinking that they need to “reload” executives as a result of equity liquidations following an IPO. 6.           Plan for declining burn rates and overhang – A burn rate is the percentage of shares that a company uses annually for incentive grants.  Overhang is the percentage of shares that are outstanding and available for incentives.  In other words, overhang is a “sharing ratio” or percentage of the company that shareholders are sharing with employees.  The fact of the matter is that both burn rates and overhang are higher for pre-IPO than post-IPO companies.  Overhang comes down as employees exercise their options and take gains off the table following the IPO.  So, IPO companies need to carefully budget their equity usage and manage to a declining burn rate and overhang over time. 5.           Consider pay structures to be your friend – High growth IPO companies often eschew anything that is perceived to constrain creativity.  But establishing a pay structure (i.e., setting salary ranges, target bonus opportunities as a percent of salary, and equity grant ranges) is one of the keys to scaling the business.  If there is no structure, then everything is an ad hoc negotiation, which is sure to lead to pay inequities (and discontent). 4.           Expect to redesign the short-term and long-term incentive plans – In my experience, venture-backed companies typically focus on bookings and revenue for bonus purposes, and private-equity-backed companies tend to focus on EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization).  In addition, publicly-traded stock post-IPO is a different sort of incentive vehicle than one pre-IPO, having virtually no liquidity.  These issues almost always prompt a relook at the short- and long-term incentive plans as part of the IPO. 3.           Aggressively manage talent – sooner rather than later – Some executives will take to the post-IPO environment like a duck takes to water.  Others will remain on land.  It’s extremely important to determine which executives will succeed in the public environment.   As a result, a deliberate executive assessment process, and pay actions that are consistent with these assessments, are critically important before the IPO. 2.           More growth requires increased differentiation – In the early days, almost everyone is a star, or they don’t survive in a start-up or high-change environment.  As the company grows, it gets increasingly populated by value maintainers that surround the value creators.  As a result, it becomes increasingly important to identify the value creators and pay them at a premium.  This helps the organization allocate resources more efficiently, and also helps fill talent gaps more quickly. 1.           Good governance is always in vogue – New IPO companies can get caught flat-footed if they are not prepared for the new governance environment.  For example, some legal advisors still encourage IPO companies to put evergreen share authorizations into their equity plans.  But shareholders strongly dislike evergreens, so why establish them in the first place?  My view is that it is best to establish good governance processes, preferably before the IPO happens, so that no one has to break bad habits later on. If your company is planning an IPO this year, congratulations.  My experience is that the best time to ask questions (and get answers) is before the IPO happens, not after.  Also, it is helpful to obtain the best professional compensation advice from those who are experts, not from investment bankers or legal advisors.  The good news is that it’s easy to avoid mistakes before they happen.  You just have to know what they are. _______ Robin A. Ferracone is the Executive Chair of Farient Advisors, LLC, an independent executive compensation and performance advisory firm which helps clients make performance-enhancing, defensible decisions that are in the best interests of their shareholders.  Robin Ferracone is the author of a recently published book entitled Fair Pay, Fair Play: Aligning Executive Performance and Pay, which explores how companies can achieve better performance and pay alignment. Robin can be contacted at [email protected].
d22cbd20dc2cf7fe8492cde54abafd27
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinferracone/2011/04/26/the-role-of-environmental-sustainability-in-executive-compensation/
The Role of Environmental Sustainability in Executive Compensation
The Role of Environmental Sustainability in Executive Compensation Image via Wikipedia In the spirit of Earth Day last Friday, I did some reading on what companies are doing these days to improve environmental sustainability, curious to see whether such programs are finding their way into incentive plans, and whether they are providing tangible results.  So, I asked myself the following questions: To what extent are companies incorporating sustainability measures into their incentive plans? To what extent are such measures quantifiable and challenging vs. a walk in the park (so to speak)?  Are there good examples of what companies are doing in this regard? Is sustainability accretive to the value of businesses that have sustainability measures and rewards?  In other words, we know that sustainability is good for saving our planet, but is it good for shareholder value? Well, I didn’t have far to go to find companies that are incorporating some sort of sustainability agenda into their incentive plans.  According to Farient Advisors, approximately 10 percent of the S&P 100 are currently factoring environmental issues into their incentive compensation plans, either as strategic objectives or quantifiable goals.  These companies are employing a broad portfolio of sustainability goals, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, waste management, water conservation, and being a sustainability leader, as indicated by being included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, for example.  (For those of you not familiar with the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, it uses “a defined set of criteria to assess the opportunities and risks deriving from economic, environmental, and social developments.”) To better illustrate the point, I found a number of real life examples on how companies can incorporate sustainability into their incentive plans, three of which are shown below: Dean Foods: Dean Foods expressly charges board members with governing sustainability.  The Audit Committee oversees corporate social responsibility policies, including those covering sustainability, ethics, compliance, and reputation, while the Compensation Committee evaluates executive officers on the basis of these factors, weighted 40 percent.  The CEO is measured on the basis of instilling a culture of ethical behavior and social responsibility.  The Chief Supply Chain Officer is measured on the basis of saving water, improving energy efficiency, and reducing waste output in the supply chain.  With the aid of such goals, Dean Foods has cut water use by 5.6 percent over the last year, and has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 6 percent over the last three years. Xcel Energy: As an energy and utility holding company, Xcel has a significant stake in environmental preservation and marks its commitment to sustainability at the highest level by applying specific quantitative metrics to incentive awards.  In fact, one-third of the CEO’s annual bonus is tied to environmental performance, as measured by renewable energy, emission reduction, energy efficiency, and clean technology. Environmental sustainability is also taken into account in long-term incentive awards, as 25 percent of restricted stock units granted have a performance-based vesting schedule related to Xcel’s position as a leader in environmental conservation. Alcoa Inc: Since 1993, Alcoa has published its long-term environmental sustainability goals and progress. Last year, Alcoa took a step forward in its level of commitment by including such goals in its executive annual bonus plan.  With 80 percent of the bonus plan tied to traditional financial metrics, 20 percent is reserved for non-financial goals including safety, diversity, and environmental health, as indicated by reducing CO2 emissions by 400,000 tons in 2010 (weighted 5 percent). Many of the companies that incorporate sustainability objectives into their incentive plans report on how these objectives are helping them create value for investors through things like reducing costs, attracting and retaining customers, spurring innovation in the design of new and improved products, enhancing reputational value, and providing a more inspiring place for people to work. Many investors now make their investment decisions on the basis of corporate social policies, including sustainability.  In addition, others cast their shareholder votes in accordance with shareholder resolutions that support sustainability.  For example, TIAA-CREF, the largest of the institutional investors with over $450 billion in funds under management, states that their policy for Global Climate Change is to “generally support reasonable shareholder resolutions seeking disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions, the impact of climate change on a company’s business activities and products and strategies designed to reduce the company’s long-term impact on the global climate.” To be sure, the trend toward a focus on sustainability is not a short-term fad or fix.  Corporate social objectives are big ideas that take time.  Diversity, for example, has been a corporate social objective for the last 30 years, and we’re still working on it.  Similarly, sustainability will attract increasing attention over the next several decades.  If your company has not yet addressed the sustainability issue, it might be a good time to start.  After all, it seems as though what’s good for the planet is good for business. _________ Robin A. Ferracone is the Executive Chair of Farient Advisors LLC, an independent executive compensation and performance advisory firm that helps clients make performance-enhancing, defensible decisions that are in the best interests of their shareholders.  Robin Ferracone is the author of a recently published book entitled Fair Pay, Fair Play: Aligning Executive Performance and Pay, which explores how companies can achieve better performance and pay alignment. Robin can be contacted at [email protected].
0edd2ac3be2f8779234d5a9337ca89bb
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinmoriarty/2019/11/21/being-an-inclusive-leader-in-meetings/?sh=569be0db42cd
Being An Inclusive Leader In Meetings
Being An Inclusive Leader In Meetings For years, we have been hearing about diverse leadership teams driving better financial performance. In an HBR.org article, it was noted that the performance was better because diverse teams gathered more facts, processed those facts more carefully to guide actions, and were more innovative because of the different perspectives at the table. More recently, the conversation has turned to recognize that it is not just diversity but also the inclusion of different perspectives that drives the performance improvements. After all, per Gartner, “Diversity is the first and easier step, but inclusion is the key to leveraging diversity.” If your people can’t actually engage and contribute in ways that make sense to them and that are comfortable for them, then you’re not going to be able to benefit from their diverse strengths and skills. Over the course of my career, I have had the benefit of being in some meetings where leaders were truly inclusive. Instead of letting the same people talk over others and dominate, they intentionally pulled out the voices of the quieter, less-verbal team members to get the best out of everybody. Here are three techniques I have found to be particularly effective and impactful. Amplification. Have you ever been in a meeting where someone mentioned a great idea, no one really paid attention to it, then someone else presented the same idea as their own, and everyone thought that person was a genius? In amplification, team members repeat the idea of the person who initially presented the idea in order to literally pull out and amplify the idea—not just the volume but to assign proper ownership of the idea, give it credibility, and validate its worthiness of being discussed. Check out more here.   Advanced Written Preparation. When working in Hong Kong, I was faced with issues in staff meetings related to language, hierarchy, and a room full of great employees who were not going to engage in lively verbal debates (although the non-verbal communication was tremendous). Realizing that I needed to take a different approach to meetings than the very Western, “So tell me how xxx is going,” I started handing out index cards before meetings with questions on them. I phrased the questions like, “Write down three things that worked well with this launch” and “Write down three things that we can improve upon for next time.” And then I asked people to hand in their index cards at the beginning of the meeting. When we would reach a topic, I’d read out the feedback written on the index cards but without even knowing who said what. It was a great way to pull out information without requiring people to think and speak on their feet in their second language and in a hierarchical group setting. Since then, I have found this effective across many cultures, especially whenever a topic is sensitive or when the majority of the participants are more introverted in their style or speaking a second language. Hearing From Everyone Before Starting the Discussion. In Japan, I was in a meeting with participants from Korea, Brasil, London, New York, Saudi Arabia, and… well… me. We were deciding about funding for entrepreneurs and I was concerned about being heard in that group of very smart people. But the leader of the meeting put me at ease when she required that each of us speak for 2 minutes—uninterrupted—at the beginning of the meeting to give our opinions. She encouraged everyone to actively listen as each person had their say, and then we debated more freely. As we debated, she always ensured that all voices were heard which was reinforced by her opening approach which established the credibility and validity and worthiness of all of the voices of the table. The tone she set carried throughout the meeting, and it was one of the most effective tools I’ve seen used—especially with smart senior people. There is no one way to run a meeting, but if your goal is to create a more inclusive environment in order to leverage the diversity of your organization in order to drive better results, try out some of these tools and see what works for you and your team! MORE FOR YOU3 Reasons To Turn Down A “Good” Job OfferTo Be Successful, Think About How You Think.This One Quick Morning Habit Makes You A Better Leader, New Study Says
c8a31c55c0fc5a319ac960a70e997ead
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinraven/2021/02/08/valentines-day-gift-guide-the-top-travel-journals/?sh=7bc56732689d
Valentine’s Day Gift Guide: The Top Travel Journals
Valentine’s Day Gift Guide: The Top Travel Journals Hans Christian Andersen once wrote, “To travel is to live.” This passion for travel is probably felt more fervently than ever during a time when people choose not to travel to help protect themselves and others during the pandemic. As people plan to embark on future international adventures when it will be safe to do so, what could be more fun than starting a journal to plan the exciting adventures that are yet to come? Help your valentine get a head start on planning their next adventure with one of these beautiful travel journals. Carry a travel journal to capture moments of inspiration. getty The Traveler's Playbook The Traveler's Playbook - World Edition The Traveler's Playbook For a travel journal that is designed to record your valentine’s worldwide adventures, consider a World Edition copy of the The Traveler’s Playbook. It has a dedicated space for every country in the world. This hard cover journal was designed to be sturdy for years of use, and it’s small so it can easily fit in a purse or suitcase. Every page has guided prompts to help inspire any traveler to write down memorable details about their trips. Price: $29.99 from The Traveler’s Playbook Plum Paper Customized Large Travel Journal Customized Travel Journal Plum Paper MORE FOR YOUTravel Check: This Is The World On CovidFrance Will Allow Vaccinated American Travelers To Visit With ‘A Special Pass’Hawaii Travel Restrictions Have Been Updated Plum Paper is perhaps best known for their wonderfully customizable planners, and they put the same attention to detail and care in their blank journals. You can personalize everything from the image on the cover to the text on the journal to show your significant other how much you know their preferences and tastes. It’s easy to carry and handle. With its wire binding, your valentine can open it and jot down notes in the sturdy journal no matter where they are in the world. Price: Starting at $14 at Plum Paper Aya Paper Co. Intention Journal Aya Paper Co. Intention Journal Aya Paper Co. When your valentine is traveling, they may want to set intentions for their trip and the type of experiences they hope to create for themselves during the journey. The Intention Journal from Aya Paper Co. has a cover that reminds the writer to do “nothing without intention”. Made from 100 percent recycled materials, this journal has 100 pages, and you can choose whether you want it to have lined or unlined pages. Price: $20 from Aya Paper Co. Papier’s  The Pahari Journal Papier's Desmond & Dempsey Pahari Journal Papier Available as a hard cover or paperback journal, The Pahari Journal from luxury brand Desmond & Dempsey is striking with its blue and white cover. You can buy it with the “Dream Destinations” text on the cover or choose to print anything you’d like to say to your valentine on the cover. If you think they may want to use the journal for all their travels, you may simple call it a travel diary. Further customize the journal by choosing between lined, dotted, or plain pages. The dotted pages can turn it into a bullet journal planner for travelers who enjoy this precise kind of journaling. Price: $26.99 from Papier Erin Condren PetitePlanner Travel Journal Erin Condren PetitePlanner Travel Journal Erin Condren You probably know Erin Condren best for the brand’s wildly popular yearly planners. They also make a wide variety of journals and notebooks to suit all kinds of journaling enthusiasts. The PetitePlanner Travel Journal is striking with its lovely pastel colors and gold lettering. This diary is sturdy, and it has a sewn-stitch binding to make it easy to open, fold over, and write in. It includes stickers to make journaling more fun and colorful, and there’s an interior pocket for storing paper mementos. Price: $14 from Erin Condren DEMDACO Exactly As It Should Journal Exactly As It Should Journal DEMDACO DEMDACO’s journals from the Kelly Rae Roberts Collection are calming travel journals for the eternal optimist. This notebook has a thought-provoking question on the cover, asking, “What if we trusted that everything was unfolding exactly as it should?” With the unpredictable nature of travel, this diary might bring some calm to the adventurer during a flight delay or unexpected trip extension. There’s a designated space inside for you to write a customized message to your valentine, too. Price: $10 from DEMDACO Paper Source Large Vintage Map Journal Paper Source Large Vintage Map Journal Paper Source Large Vintage Map Journal Paper Source has a variety of journals for any traveler’s taste. Cavallini & Co.’s Large Vintage Map Journal is just right for many adventurers who dream of exploring many countries. It has Cavallini & Co.’s class cream lined paper, and it’s been their signature notebook since 1989. It has an interior pocket where travelers can store things like tickets, receipts, or paper mementos of their journeys. Price: $14.50 from Paper Source Molly & Rex Happy Camper Guided Journal Molly & Rex Happy Camper Guided Journal Molly & Rex If your valentine thinks of a camping expedition as the ultimate adventure, they will likely adore this camping-themed journal from Molly & Rex. The Happy Camper Guided Journal features a clever play on words on the cover, saying, “Let’s Get In-Tents”. The journal for explorers has decorated pages and guided prompts to record details about each campsite, the people the diary-keeper met along the way, and the sights that were seen. It also doubles as a planner with guided space to create an itinerary and a checklist for gear that will be needed during the trip. Price: $16.50 from Molly & Rex
e2e7ca2815cf98b0d3fe469ceb36574c
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinryan/2019/03/07/how-to-write-a-linkedin-headline-that-gets-you-noticed/
How To Write A LinkedIn Headline That Gets You Noticed
How To Write A LinkedIn Headline That Gets You Noticed Start working on your LinkedIn profile by improving your headline. photo credit: jack ryan This post is the fourth in a series called “The Baby Boomers’ Guide To LinkedIn.” For part one, click here;  part two click here; part three click here. Every career counseling client I worked with seems to have made the same mistake when it comes to the crucial headline section of LinkedIn. If you search your friends and connections, you’ll notice that almost all baby boomers make this same error on LinkedIn. They do not understand the importance of keywords in their headline. Most tell me they didn’t realize they could change the headline or that they should change it. Big mistake. If you look under your name, LinkedIn by default lists your current job title and that is your headline. Unless you are Oprah and the world knows who you are without any words under your name, your job title isn’t the only thing you want in your headline. You may not even want that title listed at all if it doesn’t have the right keywords in it. Personal Brand You must pay close attention to your personal branding and how you want to be known on LinkedIn. The headline is how you attract recruiters, hiring managers, HR, connections and potential clients. It is the most searched section on LinkedIn’s platform. This is your big advertisement to market yourself to the world. It needs to be well thought out, concise and strategically written. It also offers the words that would attract someone to check you out in the search – that is if they find you at all. The goal is to be discovered by telling people who you are, what you do or what kind of client or job you seek. The headline has a limit of 120 characters so you need to utilize this marketing space as effectively as possible. Examples for Consultants and Business owners: Henry DeVries Best-Selling Author & Ghostwriter | CEO of Publishing Company | Columnist at Forbes.com From Henry’s headline, you know exactly what he does. He is a writer and he’s stressing that. He is also pointing out that he is a ghostwriter, something that is very unique and interesting. Thirdly, he owns a publishing company. If you own a business you must distinguish yourself in order for potential clients to find you amongst the 500+ million users on this website. So you want to use the headline space to say what you do and try to attract the niche market you work in. Here’s another example: William Chase Serving healthcare clients who need help working with Veterans Affairs and Dept. of Defense l DoD Access l VA Access Bill was a career counseling client looking to reach a specific audience. He needed help to define who he was on LinkedIn. He works in a small arena. Originally he had the default job title noting he was CEO and founder of his company but that didn’t help him attract clients. This headline targets what he does and who he can help. If you are a consultant or small business owner you need to do the same. You must determine who your client is, and use the headline to attract that customer. Whether you are a job hunter or an individual who is happy with your current position you still want to be found. So you need to add in the most effective keywords about your position plus some industries or even a particular skill that you might have that is appealing to employers, i.e. LEAN expert, or SCRUM master or C++. Examples for job hunters: Both of these ladies needed to determine what they wanted and then needed to advertise the right words so recruiters could find them. Mary wants a promotion Healthcare Consultant l Vice President Pharmacy l Vice President Healthcare l VP Pharmacy Mary was a career counseling client who was stuck at the Director level and kept getting passed over. At 57, she needed to make a move and needed help with LinkedIn. She said, “I never realized you could optimize your headline. Certainly, I never thought of using it to target where I want to go.” She was worried that her boss would look at her profile so no mention of job hunting was made on her page but this headline was doing that advertising to recruiters for her. We developed all the job titles and areas anyone might look for her. This headline attracted the appropriate recruiters to contact her. You need to do the same thing. If you are job hunting you select the job title you want and any special words Cathy wants a new job Sales Software Engineer l Technical Sales Account Executive l Technical Software Sales Cathy was a 55-year-old career counseling client who needed to make a change. She traveled a lot for her current job and wanted to be able to cut that travel down. She lived in a small city and the job opportunities had been slim so she decided to mention she would relocate on her LinkedIn profile. When you develop your headline, notice one thing that we use and that is the “l” slash sign. That “l” tells the search engines to keep those words together. So when you select your keywords for your headline you need to separate the different words by the “l.” You can attract recruiters, potential clients and more connections, simply by making improvements to your headline. Don’t let the LinkedIn default headline remain on your page after your name. Caution When you add a new job to your work experience there is a checked box that automatically changes your headline to this new job title. Be sure to uncheck it so the new headline you have created does not get erased any time you add a new job to your work history. To summarize, your LinkedIn headline is one of the most visible sections of your LinkedIn profile. You will appear in more LinkedIn searches by using strategic keywords in your headline. After you improve it, more people will find you.
787f54be07111bd25d22eea60798299d
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinryan/2019/06/27/relocating-15-ways-to-make-new-friends/
Relocating? 15 Ways To Make New Friends
Relocating? 15 Ways To Make New Friends Summer community concerts are a great way to meet new people. robin ryan Relocating for a new job is an exciting and anxious time. You need to prove yourself and you are also now living in a brand new place. I was working with my career counseling client, Barbara, 59, who secured a new VP job in Seattle. I was able to offer extra advice on the relocation as I live in the Seattle suburbs. Barbara knew that because of her job level she would likely not be making friends at work that she could socialize with. A single lady, she needed to make new friends and asked me for my best advice on how to do just that. I told her the other night my neighbor invited me to go to a concert at Chateau Ste Michele Winery. She was going with her Sip, Chat & Be Human Meetup group all ladies in their 50s and 60s. Some were still working and a few were retired. They all have one thing in common. They wanted to make new friends and be able to do some new activities. It was the perfect evening to do this. It’s rare in June for Seattle to have high 70° weather. We all sat around listening to the tribute band playing Elton John and Billy Joel songs. I got to talk to a few different ladies and possibly made one new acquaintance. Because when you first meet people no matter how much you talk to them they’re just an acquaintance. It takes time and multiple meetings to actually make a new friend. Whether you moved for a new job or you have retirement on the horizon, you are going to find that you have a need to make new friends. Many people are not aware of Meetup a great website and app that has all kinds of activities and clubs getting together in your local area. You simply look over the choices and see what’s available. There is no charge to join in, and usually, the activities are not very costly at all. Our summer music experience was free. You will find that any interest you have probably already has a group on Meetup. Hiking, golfing, going to community events, going to plays, photography, knitting, anything you can think of has likely already been started. If not, you can start a group in your local area. If you’re looking for other ways to make new friends here are 14 more. Volunteer – strategically. Not all volunteer organizations will fit your needs. If you are giving your time away, be sure you enjoy it. Go with an open mind but if you go once or twice and that group isn’t a good fit for you – keep looking elsewhere. Join a Church. Large churches often have groups within them where you can meet people. A friendly church is likely not too large, maybe 100-300 people, and it will have activities and ways you could volunteer and meet some new folks instantaneously. Work on a Political Campaign You can meet a lot of people young and old alike working on a campaign. Maybe you start with someone running for Congress or Mayor or your School Board. You’ll meet a lot of terrific and interesting people. And you all have one thing in common—the candidate. Join an Exercise Class or league. Swimming, golf, dance, Tai Chi, tennis, spinning, yoga -- pick something you can commit to doing and go to it regularly. Make an effort to chat with other people in the class. Invite someone to coffee. You have to make the first move here but if you do come across a new person you might want to get to know a tiny bit better, take the first step. Everyone hangs out at coffee shops these days. It’s the perfect way to start a new relationship. Find a club. Love knitting? Books? Movies? Biking? Hiking? Photography? Bible Study? Cooking? Check online listings and with a local librarian about your interest and discover where there are clubs you can join. Can’t find one? Start one! I used the neighborhood social media Facebook page to launch my book club. Take a dance class. Many of these organization have parties and even competitions. They can be a lot of fun. Try it! Attend a course. Colleges offer every subject imaginable. You can take a subject you find interesting but never had time for before. Try an English Lit course, learn a foreign language, try an Art class, learn more about the Environment or take Astronomy. Try your hand at a writing class. Pick something you want to learn more about. Sign up and start. Host a potluck with extra guests. Decide on a dinner main dish and list the friends you do know. Invite 3, 4 or 5 friends over but tell each one they need to bring a friend with them. This way you’ll meet each one of your friends’ friends. And the host often gets invitations back as reciprocation for the dinner you hosted. It works for couples or all ladies or all men. Play cards night. Do you enjoy Poker? Bridge? Blackjack? Hearts? Invite a few people over to play cards. Doesn’t matter if they know the game –teach it to them. Throw a Party inviting strangers. New to a town, street, condo complex, community? To meet the people near you fast, throw an Open House or “come meet your neighbors” party. People will come and you’ll meet them. Most importantly, they will all meet you. Advertise a dog walk. Find other dog lovers as they enjoy talking about their dogs too. You can put an ad on Facebook, or a community newsletter and organize a day, time and location for a dog walk. See who shows up – these are instant friends. Organize Movie Nights (or afternoon). Set up the group so you meet before, attend the movie together, and afterward go somewhere to discuss the film. Check Out the Library. You’ll find book clubs, computer skills for those 50+, even Genealogy programs to trace your family history.
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinryan/2020/03/17/how-to-manage-workplace-stress-dealing-with-the-coronavirus-pandemic/?sh=70589ce464d6
How To Manage Workplace Stress Dealing With The Coronavirus Pandemic
How To Manage Workplace Stress Dealing With The Coronavirus Pandemic Woman working from home is suffering from stress wondering what can help her handle it better. Getty This morning, Laura called inquiring about career counseling services and wanting to look for a new job. She started out talking about how stressful her work was right now and that her husband was going through surgery today, and she needed to take time off to help him. An event planner, Laura felt so much anxiety over all the work problems compounded by the coronavirus and the need to keep her husband safe. He’s over 60, and she is 57. A large part of her job is planning special events, and these events needed to be canceled and rescheduled months from now. Contacting the venues and the speakers plus handling all of the tasks required had her anxiety so high that she thought for sure she was going to have a panic attack. She admitted that the stress level was the highest that it’s ever been. Many people at her work were freaking out, and that wasn’t helping at all. She felt the answer was looking for a less stressful job. Dr. Richard Citrin is an organizational psychologist who also holds an MBA and is the author of The Resilience Advantage: Stop Managing Stress and Find Your Resilience. “To manage your stress is impossible to do. It’s your body reacting to your environment. You need to recognize the stress, then work with it and learn how to deal with it,” says Citrin. “I’m not a fan of social distancing. We need physical distancing, but not social distancing. We should socialize and reach out and make connections. Right now, you may need to use FaceTime or Skype to see people you care about. We need to be more socially connected now and not more isolated. Citrin offers some advice on dealing with stress in these tough times. You are resilient. The stress in the workplace right now can feel overwhelming, so ask yourself, what do I need to do to get a handle on it? How can I problem solve and make things better? Resilience is hardwired into us. You need to tap into this trait to get some control over your life. Navigate through life in real-time, and tell yourself I’ll bounce-back or better still, bounce forward. Learn to work remotely. If you are a manager of employees who are new to remote work, reach out and check in with them a couple of times a day. They don’t have a routine down yet and may feel guilty or like they’re cheating if they take a break. Managers need to set expectations and suggest a routine to do the work. Discuss the need to take time to have lunch or to go outside for a little walk. Offer ideas that will help your employees to better manage this whole new routine of working from home. As a worker, you need to create an environment of control for yourself so that you’re able to handle that you may be working from home for a while. Let employees know you care. You want to have an open-door policy right now, and that translates to telling your employees, “let’s talk.” A manager can help the employee feel like you are there for them. Be transparent with what you know. You will increase loyalty and retention as a byproduct because of your concern. People want something to hold onto right now. The company is a great thing to anchor to. Talk to your employees about what they can do to reach out to customers. It’s customers that you’re going to want to keep or get back once the economic climate changes. So help your employees. Coach them, mentor them. MORE FOR YOUExhibit A Bill Maher: Why White People Should Stop Using The Term ‘Woke’…ImmediatelyMeet America’s Best Employers For Diversity 2021Need Help Landing A Post-Grad Job? This Startup Says It Can Give You A 60% Shot At Scoring An Interview Self-care is key. Do whatever you can to take good care of yourself. Get a good night's sleep. Exercise is important. The gym’s closed? Try doing a YouTube video for Pilates, yoga, or Tai Chi. Go outside and go for a walk. Listen to upbeat music. Eat as healthy as you can. Connect to your friends and family. It would help if you had social connection right now. You’ll have more time on your hands, so consider learning a new hobby. All those home projects you’ve been putting on hold, get them off your to-do list. Erik Gabrielson, a consultant and co-author of the new book, Our Fear Never Sleeps, says, “Fear is predominant in just nearly everyone right now. We need to give our employees the skillset to manage stress and to be able to navigate all the uncertainty. We need to individually and collectively take aligned action in the face of the coronavirus fear,” he noted. Gabrielson offers several things you and your company can do to try to handle stress better during this challenging time. Acknowledge that our biology, the amygdala, is in overdrive to keep us safe. You can’t control what is happening around you, but you can control how you respond to it. Get to a place of acceptance. This does not mean agreement, but you must accept reality as it is happening. Company leaders and managers need to offer support and tell employees you have their back. Right now, employees are scared that they might get sick, their family might get sick, and ultimately they are worried their work hours will be cut, or they will lose their jobs. Your role as a leader is to help support them and reassure them that everything is going to be okay. Stress that the company has this under control in terms of taking care of its employees. It understands if you have to balance working from home and childcare. In Laura’s case, her employer needs to realize that she has to balance the needs of a sick husband and her workload. Share something you are grateful for. Focus on the positive it keeps you away from all the negative reports that can put you and employees in a place of fear. For example, a manager can start a conference call or online meeting with each person saying, “Tell us one thing there grateful for you.” Offer an example, such as “I’m grateful that my family is healthy.” Or “I’m grateful for friends who are supporting me now.” The best way to manifest the idea of gratitude is to acknowledge people around you. Ask friends and neighbors if they need any help. One example was a person who posted on Facebook and said, “Hey, I’m healthy. I can go to the grocery store. I can go pick up prescriptions at the pharmacy. I can even cook you dinner if you need it.” By focusing on the positive things that you can do to help others that will help you. Act compassionately towards others. Many baby boomers are managers out there, and they need to take over the role and inquire about how each member of their team is really doing. Don’t try to plow through the work. Touch base with the person and get them to talk about what they’re thinking and worried about. Showing compassion and empathy during this time is critical. Now is the time to be a champion inside your organization so that the employees feel like they’re not alone, and the company does care about them. “Eventually,” Citrin reassures, “we will get through this, and it will get better.” Full coverage and live updates on the Coronavirus
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinryan/2021/02/02/future-looks-bright-for-high-paying-contract-worker-jobs/?sh=2ba343bf7424
Future Looks Bright For High Paying Contract Worker Jobs
Future Looks Bright For High Paying Contract Worker Jobs A woman who is part of a work Zoom conference call. getty Susan, 57, is a career counseling client who needed help landing a new job. She lives in the South, and the salary levels there are low. Susan had been job hunting for an HR position and could not find one near her smaller city. I talked with her about looking for a contract position and how these would have a higher salary if she opened her search to look at remote jobs. She did. It was the answer to her prayers. She found a job that came with a $20,000 salary increase over the position she had lost. Shahar Erez, Co-founder, and CEO of Stoke Talent, a technology company offering a talent management product to help companies handling the administration of contract workers, stated that the IRS shows that 42% of the workforce are 1099 workers or independent contractors or freelancers. McKinsey & Company reported that the number of contract jobs, often called freelance or gig jobs, increased during the pandemic. Harvard Business School researchers said that 90% of companies are moving to a blend of full-time and freelance employees. With a surge in remote work due to Covid-19, the move to an on-demand workforce is expected to accelerate. “60 Million Americans are engaged in some form of independent work,” notes Erez.  “although when the pandemic hit, countless companies released many independent contractors. These people are very resilient. They were first to find new jobs and quickly landed a new position compared to the company employee who was much slower to rebound and launch a job search and locate a new, permanent job.” Difference between contractor and employee Inside a company, you often cannot tell the difference between a contractor and an employee. The contractor is skilled, onboards fast, and is a productive part of the team. White-collar contractors are typically paid a higher salary contingent on experience and how good you are at your job. Technology companies are flooded with contract workers. They are in every field, from C-suite to the entry levels. Contractors receive no benefits from the company they work at. No health insurance, no 401K, none of the employer’s benefits perks. Although many times contractors do such a good job, the employer offers them a permanent position. How does a person find these job opportunities? Erez says that contractors find their jobs through word of mouth, networking, former colleagues, Facebook, and LinkedIn, with recruiters messaging them directly. “I recommend they use the LinkedIn tag, OPEN to WORK or note in the LinkedIn headline the type of job they seek,” stated Erez. MORE FOR YOUExhibit A Bill Maher: Why White People Should Stop Using The Term ‘Woke’…Immediately5 Job Search Mistakes That Keep You From Getting Hired For Senior RolesA War For Talent Is Starting—Spoiler Alert: Workers Will Win Currently, the hiring process for regular employees is long. Yet, employers view hiring a contractor much differently. Erez says, “The employer's attitude is let’s get someone in quick, try them out, and if they don’t work, we simply let them go and try another person.” The result is that the hiring process is much faster, taking a week or two and not the months that it is taking for employers to select a permanent hire now. Like a chief marketing Officer or Data Scientist, these aren’t try out jobs so the process runs longer for a very high-level job. Keep in mind that contractors are usually good networkers since this how most land their jobs. Here are few key strategies to try. Use Facebook Start by telling your Facebook friends that you are job hunting. Clearly state the job title and industry if it is relevant. Ask if they know of any organizations looking for a contract worker. Then follow up on all leads. Facebook says, you may see job posts in your News Feed, but you can also find job posts by: · Clicking Jobs in the left column of News Feed. In Jobs on Facebook, you can search for jobs, change your location or select an industry or job type. Click Subscribe in the right column to get notified about new job openings. Build an attractive LinkedIn Profile Recruiters and hiring managers cannot find you if you don’t have a great profile complete with experience, results you deliver on past jobs, and rich with keywords. Use the headline to note specific job titles in the headline you seek. Have a recent, smiling headshot photo that allows them to see you at your best. Read this Forbes article series for step-by-step guidelines on creating your LinkedIn Profile. Search for others doing your type of job Look on LinkedIn and search your network for anyone who has the job title you seek. Connect with them. Tell them you are looking for contract work. Ask if their company hires contractors. If they do, ask who you should talk to and if they can make an introduction for you. Predictions for 2021 jobs opportunities The COVID pandemic brought hiring freezes to a lot of companies, especially midsize and large ones. Although hiring permanent employees was stopped, many companies still allowed managers to hire contractors. COVID accelerated contractors' use as companies do not know what is to come and like having this flexible workforce. Managers can actively hire contractors, which is excellent news if you want to get back to work fast.
eb9f9b57371486b37911ca7cde1698b1
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinryan/2021/02/23/google-offers-new-short-term-training-certifications-leading-to-high-paying-jobs/
Google Offers New Short-Term Training Certifications Leading To High Paying Jobs
Google Offers New Short-Term Training Certifications Leading To High Paying Jobs Man is watching educational class online, studying and writing notes. getty I talked to Don, a Baby Boomer who was wondering if it was too late for him to switch fields and kick off a new career. “I realize my job is gone for good because of Covid,” said. Don. “I am open to getting some new training but not years’ worth. I want to be careful that I elect to study something I find interesting, and also that will land me a decent paying job.” Google is introducing a solution that Don found very appealing. They are offering career certificates that teach you the essential job skills to land a new career position. In addition to their IT Support certificate, in March, Google is launching three new certificate programs: Data Analyst Project Manager UX Designer These programs take approximately six months to earn the certification. And most importantly, you need no prior experience or education in any of these roles. Kent Walker, Google’s SVP of Global Affairs, says the certificates will hold the same weight as a four-year degree in a related field. “In our own hiring,” stated Walker, “we will now treat these new career certificates as the equivalent of a four-year degree for related roles.” From a career counseling standpoint, if you have any interest in one of these certificates, this training will help you launch a terrific new career earning a high paying salary. Also, the cost to get the education is very low. The courses will be online. It costs $49 per month to access the training and job search help that aids you once you complete the program, estimated to take about six months to finish. MORE FOR YOUStricken With A Debilitating Tick-Borne Illness, The First Female Thunderbird Pilot Shares Her Resilience SecretHow To Build Relationships And Enhance Happiness: 4 Insights From NeuroscienceLinkedIn Adds ‘Stay-At-Home Parent’ To Job Titles — Research Says Don’t Use It Job Duties, Opportunities and Salary DATA ANALYST The average salary for a Data Analyst, according to Payscale.com is $61,111. Just look at the job opportunities for this role. I searched Indeed.com and found thousands of job openings. Keep in mind these positions can be done remotely, which is an advantage too. According to DataScience.org, a data analyst takes data and uses it to help companies make better business decisions. A data analyst acquires information about specific topics and then interprets, analyzes, and presents comprehensive report findings. Many different types of businesses use data analysts to help collect and analyze data. As experts, data analysts are often called on to use their skills and tools to provide competitive analysis and identify industry trends. They often find themselves tackling specific business tasks using existing tools, systems, and data sets. They discover how to use the information to answer questions and solve problems for the benefit of their business/industry. Data analysts translate numbers, trends, and trajectories into digestible and accessible information. Businesses collect data (i.e., sales figures, inventories, market research, profit margins, logistics, and transportation costs). A data analyst’s job is to take that data and use it to help companies make better business decisions. Often, a data analyst's primary goal is to solve issues that cost the company money and help expand the business. Data analysts are responsible for collecting, manipulating, and analyzing data. Data analysts use systematic techniques, standard formulas, and methods to analyze the relevant information. They then typically prepare reports detailing the results from their analysis for the leadership team. PROJECT MANAGER The average salary for a beginning project manager is $76,803, according to Salary.com and this position often brings a very nice bonus on top of the annual salary. One look on Indeed.com, and you’ll see that there are over 37,000 entry-level open positions across the US. Many of these roles are remote so where you live isn’t an obstacle to employment. Employers predict they will need 87.7 million individuals working in project management roles, so the job prospects are very positive. Project managers are responsible for planning, organizing, and directing the completion of specific projects for an organization while ensuring these projects are on time, on budget, and within scope. A project manager's exact duties will depend on their industry, organization, and the types of projects that a person is tasked with overseeing. Typically, they handle the “project life cycle,” which consists of five phases: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring, Controlling, and Closing. The project manager is accountable for the entire project scope, project team, resources, and project's success or failure. The person does not have direct authority over anyone they work with; typically, you need to have excellent communication, buy-in, and persuasive skills to excel in this role. UX DESIGNER - User Experience Designer Payscale.com states the average salary for a UX Designer is $74,274 after one to two years of experience. (Starting salaries are about $63K). Again, this is a role in demand. UX is short for user experience, and these roles typically apply to computer hardware or software areas. UX design focuses on the interaction between real human users (like you and me) and everyday products and services, such as websites, apps, and even coffee machines. It’s an incredibly varied discipline, combining psychology, business, market research, design, and technology. As a UX designer, you’re there to make products and technology usable, enjoyable, and accessible for humans. UX designers tend to work as part of a broader product team and will often find themselves bridging the gap between the user, the development team, and key business stakeholders. As a UX designer, you advocate for the end-user or customer. Whether you’re designing a brand new product, coming up with a new feature, or making changes to an existing product or service—the UX designer must consider what’s best for the user and the overall user experience. At the same time, you are also responsible for making sure that the product or service meets the business's needs. You work with developers, analysts, and other designers to determine changes and preferences in the market. UX designers may design and create wireframes for products and develop and test prototypes. Actual end-users are often involved in determining whether a product can be used as intended. After testing is complete, modifications are frequently introduced, and more testing will be carried out until the product reaches its best form. Much of this work is done on teams, though there are also individual responsibilities that include meeting time-constraints. After the product has been introduced to the market, it must then be evaluated for success and feedback from customers, and modifications may be made for future editions. In short, they do NOT usually deal with the VISUAL DESIGN of the product, but instead work: Conducting user research Creating user personas Determining the information architecture of a digital product Designing user flows and wireframes Creating prototypes Conducting user testing Be sure you read more about these job roles to ensure you’d enjoy that type of work. If the answer is yes, these Google programs may be a great solution to get you launched into a new high-paying job.
e69a3b9d416a7b6114101e24252f1ea2
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinryan/2021/03/02/handling-salary-in-todays-job-search-is-tricky-heres-how-to-secure-top-dollar-from-an-employer/
Salary Negotiations Can Be Tricky In Today’s Job Market: Here’s How To Secure Top Dollar From An Employer
Salary Negotiations Can Be Tricky In Today’s Job Market: Here’s How To Secure Top Dollar From An Employer Because of effective salary negotiations, man is pulling a lot of $100 bills out of his wallet. getty The largest salary increase you are likely to obtain in your career comes when you quit your job and go to work for another employer, but only if you avoid the minefield of mistakes people often make. Whether you are a Baby Boomer, a Xer, or a Millennial, just thinking about salary negotiations freaks people out. The worst offenders who don’t even try to tackle salary negotiations are Baby Boomer women. Linda, 57, is a program manager who called to say, “I can’t do it! Robin, I am scared and downright afraid of trying to ask for more salary. What if they rescind the offer? I worry so much about this part of my job search. I got laid off because of COVID, and I need a job, so I should just be grateful for whatever salary they offer?” No, absolutely not. In my experience counseling during the last six months of COVID and throughout my career, I’ve helped thousands of job hunters secure a higher salary than was initially offered. The first salary offer is not the employer’s best offer Employers often start with a lower just to see if you will take it. The Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) noted that throughout a person’s career, anyone who did not negotiate for a higher salary every time they started a new job would earn $500,000 to $1,000,000 LESS in lifetime income than an individual who was savvy when handling their salary compensation package. The unemployed typically feel they sit in a difficult spot. They often need the job, and the employer knows it. Yet my career counseling clients who know their worth have been able to negotiate for a higher salary and better perks. All it takes is the right strategy and some self-confidence. The bottomline is that it pays to negotiate the salary offered. In just minutes, you can see $5,000 or $10,000 added to the offer. Here are eight negotiation strategies to enable you to secure more $$$$$ in your next paycheck. Know What Your Skills are Worth MORE FOR YOU7 Things You Can Do Outside Your Current Job To Advance Your CareerHere’s How To Succeed In Salary Negotiations When You Receive A Job Offer5 Job Search Mistakes That Keep You From Getting Hired For Senior Roles Do some research to learn what you should expect to be paid for your years of experience, education, certifications, and any specialized training you possess. Try Payscale.com, which offers free salary surveys that provide detailed information to help you get an estimate on what you should be earning. You can also check the salaries employees report listed by company name on Glassdoor.com to determine the amount you should expect to receive. Never Mention Money First This is the cardinal rule of salary negotiation. NEVER BREAK IT! Whoever mentions money firsts loses. Never let it be you. If asked your current salary or what you expect to be paid, turn the question around and ask, “What is the range that this job pays?” Many job hunters are surprised the salary is much higher than what they were expecting. If you throw out a number and the employer thinks its too low, that hiring manager will devalue your skills and experience and sometimes exclude you from landing the job. Stress Employer’s Needs Begin your conversation with the hiring manager by reselling yourself. Reaffirm the reasons they want you, the skills you’ll bring, and how you’ll solve their problems. Mention your key strengths and experience plus stress how quickly you will be productive. In other words, give them reasons to pay you more. Restate Your Interest A reliable way to bridge this negotiation is to say, “I’m interested in the position. I was a little disappointed that the offer was lower than I expected, especially since I have this experience or these skills (note something specific) and will come up to speed quickly. Is there anything you can do?” Allow the employer to make the next move then. Be Specific When It Counts The employer may ask you what figure you have in mind. Know what you want and state it. Be willing to wait. The hiring manager may say they need to go back and ask their boss to get the additional dollars. If they want you, they will be your advocate and almost always come back with more than they originally offered. Patience here pays off. Do keep in mind that CASH remains king. Promised bonuses, raises, stock options, and reviews in a few months all have a way of never happening down the line. Every dollar you negotiate into the salary base now is more money you can spend on things you and your family want. Negotiate the Perks You can negotiate for more vacation time, extra monies to cover out-of-pocket healthcare expenses, etc. Vacation is easier for many employers to give out than cash. Nicely make your request, stating how much more time off you want. You can reveal your current vacation level and ask if they can meet it or at least offer more vacation than stated. Also, review the medical plan and the deductible and dependent costs. Many companies’ health plans offer lousy coverage with $5,000 to $10,000 annual deductibles. You can argue for a higher salary to compensate for switching medical plans because of these high deductibles. Many companies have been willing to add to salaries for this reason. Roleplay Think through the negotiation interview. Visualize a successful outcome. Then ask a friend to roleplay the conversation with you. Defend why you are worth more money and additional perks. Make sure you overcome any objections you might hear. Did you convince them? Listen to your partner’s feedback. This preparation will decrease your anxiety and increase your confidence and success. Get an Employment Letter This letter should outline all the terms of your employment, covering salary, signing bonuses, stock options, starting date, benefits, and particularly note anything different from the organization’s standard policies. Too many promises are made and quickly forgotten once you begin the job. Get the details in writing, so there are no misunderstandings later. People who have failed to do so have suffered when the promised extra week of vacation was “forgotten” once they started. A written agreement protects what you’ve negotiated for. These letters are prevalent, and it’s wise – and necessary – to obtain one.
c6562521e27f622b9275aa439a65c0a4
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinryan/2021/03/29/how-to-remain-a-viable-job-candidate-when-someone-else-gets-the-job-offer/
How To Remain A Viable Job Candidate When Someone Else Gets The Job Offer
How To Remain A Viable Job Candidate When Someone Else Gets The Job Offer Desired workplace with a group of company employees. getty Did you know that up to 15% of all new hires do not work out within the first two months? The reasons vary—perhaps the candidate continued interviewing and got a better offer, or his performance and personality did not fit the employer's needs. Most people never follow up when they aren't the top choice. Instead, when a candidate does, they demand to know "why" he or she wasn't hired. Most times, the employer will never share the real reason and mumble someone else was better qualified. I just had a career counseling client who did not initially get the dream job. Carol was a strong candidate for that VP role, and I advised her on exactly what to do to leave that door to the employer open. She recently wrote me to say: "I just landed a VP role. I had interviewed with the company a while ago and did not secure the position. The candidate they selected did not work out, so they reached out to me again, and I got the job! I'm super happy with how things are going in this new position so far." Bill wanted an executive assistant role and endured multiple interviews. They selected another candidate. He wrote a nice email restating his interest and mentioning that the employer should keep him in mind if the other person didn't work out. Four weeks later, Bill got a phone call asking him to come in and talk to the hiring manager. Bill was all smiles and enthusiastic and ready to sell himself. It worked. He got the job. Apparently, the selected candidate changed her mind the first week on the job and went somewhere else. It's always disheartening when you aren't the top choice. But there are times when a follow-up can win you the job. Do not let your pride stand in your way. Pride does not pay your bills. Perhaps you did not get the initial offer because you didn't sell yourself as effectively as you could have. Whether you are second, third, or fifth choice does not matter if, in the end, you're the one who takes the job and goes home with the paycheck. Here is what to do to remain viable if you don't get the initial offer: · Connect with the hiring manager to verify that the employer selected another candidate. Reiterate that you are still interested in the job if the person doesn't work out and ask the employer to reconsider you if that should happen. A few of my clients ended up with the job simply because they did this and made it easy for the employer to call them again. In Carol's case, she emailed the CEO and gently expressed her disappointment saying she was still very interested. She mentioned a few critical skills stating she knew she could do an excellent job for the company. Carol also added that if the selected candidate didn't work out, to keep her in mind for the role. The CEO did since Carol now has that coveted VP job. MORE FOR YOU3 Reasons To Turn Down A “Good” Job OfferWhy Too Much Work From Home Could Be Bad For Your CareerThis Just Might Be The Worst Way To Ask Someone To Mentor You · Don't burden the employer or the recruiter with questions about what you did wrong—he is not likely to honestly share that information. And never argue or get defensive. The employer will hire the person he feels is best suited for the job. A great technique, which clients have had success using, is to inquire of the hiring manager whether the company has any other available positions that you might qualify for. This approach has worked for some clients. They have gone on to be considered – and hired – at that company often for a higher level or different role. · Mark your calendar. Check back in four to six weeks to see if the person is working out. If he or she isn't, the employer will be happy to hear from you. · Be humble if you are called back, express your interest, and resell the employer on your abilities to do his job well. You will not salvage every lost opportunity. But so few candidates ever practice good follow-up techniques that you will be among scant competition if you do. And under the right circumstances, you will grab the job from the jaws of defeat and get the position you wanted.
8aaa2006f50fbb728395ca77126bb7a1
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinseatonjefferson/2017/05/25/10-ways-all-ages-can-celebrate-older-americans-aging-out-loud/
10 Ways All Ages Can Celebrate Older Americans Aging Out Loud
10 Ways All Ages Can Celebrate Older Americans Aging Out Loud What it means to age has changed. Like every other age group, older Americans are making more noise than ever. From private organizations to social media to the voting booths, they’re being heard. So it would only make sense that this year, the nation is celebrating what it means to “Age Out Loud.” Shutterstock According to the Administration on Aging (AoA), to Age Out Loud means "having the freedom to live with dignity, choice, and opportunities." Since 1963, Older Americans Month has celebrated the nation’s older citizens each May. Every year, the AoA and the Administration for Community Living (ACL) lead the nation’s celebration of Older Americans Month (OAM). Both work every day to promote the well-being of older adults by supporting and advocating for them through programs and services made possible by the Older Americans Act (OAA). This year the ACL chose the theme “Age Out Loud,” to give aging a new voice—one that reflects what today’s older adults have to say. This year for Older Americans Month, the ACL chose the theme “Age Out Loud,” to give aging a new voice—one that reflects what today’s older adults have to say. The theme speaks to the fact that more than ever before, older Americans are being heard. They are working longer, trying and learning new things and engaging in their communities. According to the ACL, older Americans are “taking charge, striving for wellness, focusing on independence and advocating for themselves and others.” In his proclamation declaring May 2017 as Older Americans Month, President Donald Trump said, “Older Americans are our nation's memory.  Some of today's grandparents and great-grandparents were born during the Great Depression, lived through the Second World War, witnessed the rise and fall of Communism, fought in Korea and Vietnam, marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. and watched the first man walk on the moon.  Now, they surf the internet and share family photos on their phones in a world that is richer and freer than the one into which they were born. Listening to the stories of our older citizens allows younger Americans to appreciate the country they inherited and gain the wisdom necessary to make it even better for their children and grandchildren. As we celebrate Older Americans Month, we take the opportunity to thank our seniors and recognize the enormous contributions they make to the Nation.” And there are plenty of seniors to thank and recognize. According to the U.S. Census, more people were 65 years and over in 2010 than in any previous census. In 1900, there were 3.1 million people age 65 and over or just 4.1 percent of the total population in the United States. By 2010, people 65+ represented 13 percent of the total population or 40.3 million people. The ACL wants people all over the country to recognize Older Americans Month 2017 and to celebrate what getting older looks like today all year long. Here are several ways all ages can celebrate older Americans this and every month and recognize the 2017 theme of aging out loud: Talk to older people everywhere. Find out what they have to say. Learn about their experiences. Interview people in your community who exemplify what it means to Age Out Loud. Gather a mix of individuals, such as older public servants, elder rights advocates, back-to-schoolers, moms and grandmas, athletes, authors, retired professional people who broke barriers or people trying new careers. Everyone has a story. Share your interviews through written pieces or videos. Arrange for older adults to share or read stories in a workshop or for a “Senior Day” at a local school. Find out about older adults reading books to children at a local library. Teachers and others, help local school students set up interviews with residents of a retirement community, assisted living community or nursing home, and write short biographies for a school assignment. Plan a program for wherein the students would read aloud their stories. Invite families of students and seniors and even the media to attend. Ask your older followers and friends on social media to share their wisdom, tips and stories online. You can use a unique hashtag or post to a page or forum you create or manage. Arrange a celebratory event with a community leader or keynote speaker from your community. Invite community members to a special event celebrating older Americans. It could be a sit-down meal, a networking gathering or a special program like a storytelling or talent show. Plan activities that will result in proceeds like those from a raffle, and donate the funds to a local charity or program or agency that supports older adults. Plan a volunteer event for older adults who want to give back. The purpose could be anything from picking up litter or gardening in public areas to collecting clothing and food donations for those in need. If you need ideas visit Serve.gov.  If resources are available, create matching volunteer t-shirts that say “Age Out Loud!” This creates a sense of unity and raises awareness among those who see your group volunteering. Coordinate an education event like a resource fair, class, workshop or lecture a topic covered by this year’s theme. The gathering could hone in on self-expression with activities like painting, acting and singing or focus on maintaining health and independence with a yoga or strength training class. Nutrition tips can be added to any wellness event. Consider teaching a group about self-advocacy, technology or starting a new career. Help an older person gather family photos and make an album or scrapbook about their life and the legacy they will leave. Consider participating in a life review project such as The UMSL Life Review Project at the University of Missouri – at St. Louis, where Dr. Tom Meuser, Ph.D., clinical psychologist, applied gerontologist, and director of the University of Missouri-St. Louis’s Gerontology Graduate Program is recruiting older adults and their adult children in pairs to either be interviewed or complete questionnaires in support of his research. He will be recruiting through July 2017 and welcomes participants to contact him by email at [email protected] to volunteer or learn more. The project flyer can be found at here. https://sites.google.com/a/umsl.edu/legacy-project/home. And finally, simply spend time with an older person, no matter what age you are. Chances are you can learn a lot from them and vice versa.
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinseatonjefferson/2017/06/16/how-to-avoid-the-jaw-dropping-costs-of-poor-oral-health-no-matter-how-old-you-are/?sh=1dd6d84ebfa0
How To Avoid The Jaw-Dropping Costs Of Poor Oral Health No Matter How Old You Are
How To Avoid The Jaw-Dropping Costs Of Poor Oral Health No Matter How Old You Are Americans are investing in their looks more than ever before, and one of the things they're sinking their teeth and their money into is cosmetic dentistry. According to the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD), Americans are spending at least $2.75 billion annually on cosmetic dentistry and well over $1 billion just to make their teeth a few shades whiter. Finding a dentist and following good oral health care are critical to prevent other health issues. (Photo Courtesy of Great Expressions Dental Centers) And yet according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 40 percent of adults aged 65 and over didn’t even visit a dentist in the past year. A 2016 survey from the American Dental Association's Health Policy Institute reports that 49% of people ages 65 and over who did not visit the dentist in the last 12 months cited cost as the top reason. So while a huge segment of the population are improving their smiles and investing billions to do it, there are those Americans, especially seniors, who simply struggle to keep their teeth healthy and prevent other health problems that can arise when oral health is neglected. Nearly 70% of older Americans have no form of dental coverage, according to Oral Health America via a report from the Center for Medicare Advocacy. According to absolutedental.com, oral health is about much more than just the health of the mouth, teeth and gums. “Because the mouth is a primary entryway into the body, poor oral health can have negative consequences for the entire body,” an article on the site says. Dr. Robert Brody, Chief Clinical Officer for Great Expressions Dental Centers, one of the largest networks of dental care providers in the United States with more than 280 practices in 10 states, said poor dental care in seniors not only affects their mouth and surrounding tissues, but can also increase the risk for systemic disease like diabetes and heart disease. “Seniors should visit the dentist and receive a diagnosis and treatment plan. The most important part of dental care is that the dentist treats the disease – so multiple visits may be required to treat existing conditions,” he said. Dr. Robert Brody, Chief Clinical Officer for Great Expressions Dental Centers. (Photo Courtesy of Great Expressions Dental Centers) Brody recommends seniors first review prescription medication side effects when thinking about oral health. “Typically, the intake of prescription medications is likely to increase as you age,” Brody said. “It is important to learn about the side effects of each medication. Some prescription and over-the-counter medications can reduce saliva production that can lead to tooth decay and gum disease.” In fact, over 400 commonly used medications can be the cause of a dry mouth which increases the risk for oral disease, since saliva contains antimicrobial components as well as minerals that help rebuild tooth enamel attacked by decay-causing bacteria. Good oral health care can prevent many diseases including cancer and even Alzheimer's. (Photo Courtesy of Great Expressions Dental Centers) There are many common problems associated with or caused by poor oral health, and added risk to seniors, according to absolutedental.com. They include: cardiovascular disease, dementia, respiratory infections, diabetes, erectile dysfunction, cancer, kidney disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Cardiovascular disease: The same bacteria that causes periodontal disease can get into the bloodstream and cause plaque buildup and hardening of the arteries. Blood flow problems and heart blockages caused by these conditions increase the likelihood of having a heart attack, and the damaging impact on the arteries and blood vessels can lead to hypertension and increase the risk for strokes. Dementia: Substances that are released from gums inflamed by infection can also kill brain cells and lead to memory loss possibly even Alzheimer’s disease. Respiratory Infections: Bacteria in the mouth from infected teeth and swollen gums can also be breathed into the lungs or travel there through the bloodstream. These bacteria can lead to respiratory infections, pneumonia, acute bronchitis and even COPD. Diabetes: Diabetics are already more susceptible to infection, but periodontal disease can in turn make diabetes more difficult to control. And because gum disease can lead to elevated blood sugar levels, a person with poor oral health is at an increased risk of developing diabetes. Erectile Dysfunction: Chronic periodontal disease (CPD) is an infection that occurs when gums pull away from teeth and creates pockets that hold bacteria and allow it to spread to the bone surrounding teeth. If the bacteria gets into the bloodstream, it can cause blood vessels to become inflamed blocking the flow of blood to the genitals and making erections more difficult or even impossible to achieve. Cancer: It’s no secret that poor oral health can lead to oral and throat cancers, but kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer and blood cancers are also more common in people with poor oral health. Oral and pharyngeal cancers, which are primarily diagnosed in older Americans, result in about 7,400 deaths each year. Kidney Disease: Chronic kidney disease affects the kidneys, heart, bones and blood pressure. Because people with gum disease generally have weaker immune systems and are more likely to acquire infections, periodontal disease can lead to kidney disease, which can be fatal if it leads to kidney failure or cardiovascular disease. Rheumatoid Arthritis: According to the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society, people with gum disease were four times more likely to have rheumatoid arthritis. Inflammation is the commonality that these diseases share. Bacteria from gingivitis can increase inflammation throughout the body increasing the risk for developing rheumatoid arthritis, a painful and debilitating inflammatory disease. A 2015 report from the U.S. Census Bureau states by 2025, the population of people aged 65 and older will reach approximately 236 million. In the 25 years after that, the older population is projected to almost double to 1.6 billion globally, whereas the total population will grow by just 34 percent over the same period. The American Dental Association (ADA) contends that this demographic will be an increasingly large part of dental practices in the coming years. The ADA reports conditions associated with aging include dry mouth (xerostomia), root and coronal caries and periodontitis. Many older Americans do not have dental insurance, often because benefits are lost at retirement. And although Medicaid funds dental care for low income and disabled elderly in some states, reimbursements are low, and Medicare was not designed to provide routine dental care. Meanwhile, most dental insurance policies are designed to cover preventive care with a $1,000 annual maximum. According to a 2012 survey by Consumer Reports National Research Center, the average cost of a root canal is $1,201 without insurance or a discount program. So, all it takes is one jaw-dropping procedure and either the senior takes the hit out-of-pocket or delays it, which could lead to serious oral health and overall health problems while adding hundreds or thousands of dollars to future dental and medical bills. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that about 25 percent of adults 60 years old and older no longer have any natural teeth, and having missing teeth can affect nutrition. The CDC also reports that older adults may have new tooth decay at higher rates than children, and the severity of periodontal (gum) disease increases with age. With so many health risks and quality of life issues associated with poor oral health, health care professionals want seniors to know just how important their oral health is and what they can do to improve it. Allen Erenbaum is the president of Consumer Health Alliance (CHA), the national trade association for discount health care programs . Founded in 2001, CHA serves to educate consumers and regulators about non-insurance discount programs, promote programs that operate in a consumer-friendly manner, and work with state legislators and regulators to protect consumer access to affordable health care services at discounted rates. Erenbaum had these suggestions for older Americans who are concerned about their oral health. Join a dental savings plan: For many seniors, these non-insurance membership programs can fill the dental care gap in Medicare coverage. With a low-cost dental savings plan, you’ll save anywhere from 10% to 60% off the regular cost of procedures. Also, there are no waiting periods or annual limits. Many plans include discounts on dentures and other services excluded from Medicare, like eye exams and hearing aids.  You can learn more about dental savings plans at ConsumerHealthAlliance.org. Find a dental savings plan: The easiest way to search for plan options is to go directly to trusted companies and plans online at :DentalPlans, Careington, Carefree Dental and New Benefits. You’ll also find dental savings plans being offered by employers to employees, banks to customers and associations to members. Go to a local dental school: Many universities have a college of dentistry with a dental clinic for the public. The cost for services is typically a fraction of what you would pay at a private practice. You can check out this listing from American Student Dental Association to see if there is a dental school in your area and visit their website to learn more. If you go to a dental school, keep in mind: It’s high-quality care done by students-in-training and under the guidance of dental professional instructors, so your appointments will take more time to complete. There also might be a waiting list to get in or you might not be accepted for full treatment after an initial exam. Check your costs: You can lookup “fair” prices for procedures in your area using FAIR Health’s free Dental Cost Lookup tool. If the cost estimate seems high, you may want to consider getting a second estimate from another dentist. You can also use this tool to plan for out-of-pocket costs for procedures you know you need to have done. For veterans: Dental benefits are provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In some instances, the VA is authorized to provide extensive dental care, while in other cases treatment may be limited. If you’re a veteran, visit the VA online to see what dental care services you may be eligible for. Talk to your dentist:Ask your dentist for a discount or options to pay over time. Some practices might even offer a small discount for referrals or if you're paying upfront with cash. You can also look up fair prices for dental procedures in your area using FAIR Health's Consumer Cost Lookup tool. If your estimate seems high, contact other dentists in your area for a quote. Greg Nodland is the chief operations officer at Great Expressions Dental Centers. (Photo Courtesy of Great Expressions Dental Centers) Greg Nodland is the chief operations officer at Great Expressions Dental Centers. Nodland took the search for good dental care a bit further. Review plans and network types: There are two main insurance plans to consider: Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) and Preferred Provider Organization PPO, as well as discount plans. First find out what dentist and services are included under the plan or network. If they limit options, research which are available near you or what the extra cost would be to go to a dentist of your choice. Know the costs tied to a plan: As you shop for a plan, don’t forget to consider the monthly payment. Also, review the out-of-pocket costs as these will add to your overall payment. Visit the dentist before you retire: If you have employer-sponsored insurance, you can try to take care of what is needed prior to retirement. Use the maximums of your plan to your benefit: Consider the maximum on an insurance plan. Typically, they are about $1,500 to $2,000. If someone is expecting a lot of dental work, they can easily hit their max and should save in any kind of pre-tax health care savings account, making the care more affordable. Try to go to a Dental Service Organization (DSO): These are generally able to offer more cost-effective care because they get cost-saving on their operations due to size. They are independent business centers that contract with dental practices. They provide non-clinical operations and business management and support to dental practices. There are a handful of DSOs, like Great Expressions Dental Centers, that have offices in locations throughout multiple states, but almost every state has a DSO.  Search for Dental Service Organization online. As with any healthcare provider, spend time researching DSOs in your area to make sure they are the right fit for you and your family. A DSO offers all dental services, accepts all insurances and offers a discount dental plan for those without insurance.
18d732b024a841f4260c16d934eb1a75
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinseatonjefferson/2017/10/30/as-alzheimers-numbers-soar-new-poll-focuses-on-caregivers/
As Alzheimer's Numbers Soar, New Poll Focuses On Caregivers
As Alzheimer's Numbers Soar, New Poll Focuses On Caregivers A new study suggests that caregivers need and want to access support resources and that perhaps the experience of caregiving has made them consider the possibility of their own future needs. And there is no doubt that the current number and expected increase in the foreseeable future of individuals with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease will necessitate it. According to the Alzheimer's Association, "the number of Americans living with Alzheimer's disease is growing — and growing fast. An estimated 5.5 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer's disease." Of those Americans living with Alzheimer's dementia in 2017: One in 10 people age 65 and older (10 percent) has Alzheimer's dementia. Almost two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer's are women. African-Americans are about twice as likely to have Alzheimer's or other dementias as older whites. Hispanics are about one and one-half times as likely to have Alzheimer's or other dementias as older whites. "Because of the increasing number of people age 65 and older in the United States, particularly the oldest-old, the number of new cases of Alzheimer's and other dementias is projected to soar," the Alzheimer's Association states at alz.org. "Today, someone in the United States develops Alzheimer's dementia every 66 seconds. By mid-century, someone in the United States will develop the disease every 33 seconds." Shutterstock Organizations such as AARP are developing and deploying more local and online resources for caregivers every day, and for good reason. “The rise in the number of people with dementia has led to the creation of many resources for caregivers that can provide vital support,” said Erica Solway, Ph.D., associate poll director and University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation (IHPI) senior project manager.  “These range from self-help tools and classes for learning new skills that may be needed in the role, to support groups and respite care that can help give caregivers a break from their duties.” She added that health care providers who tend to dementia patients’ medical needs could be a key gateway to specific local and electronic resources for their patients’ caregivers. “Health care providers should routinely ask patients if they serve as a caregiver to a loved one, so they can identify and address needs and concerns during the caregiver’s own appointments,” she said. The “November 2017 Report: Dementia Caregivers - Juggling, Delaying, and Looking Forward” poll was conducted by the University of Michigan IHPI and sponsored by AARP and Michigan Medicine, the University of Michigan’s academic medical center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The poll results are based on answers from those who identified themselves as dementia caregivers among a nationally representative sample of 2,131 people ages 50 to 80. It focused on unpaid dementia caregivers, family, and friends who help people with memory problems manage health issues and provide personal care. Two-thirds of dementia caregivers polled said that their caregiving duties had interfered with work, family time or even getting to the doctor for their own health problems. Some 66 percent say their duties interfere with their own lives and jobs – including 27 percent who said they had neglected something related to their own health because of caregiving’s demands on their time. In fact, one in five caregivers rated their physical health as fair or poor, and 7% rated their mental health as fair or poor. One in seven believe their physical or mental health are not good enough to provide care to the care recipient. Statistics gleaned from the National Poll on Healthy Aging. (Photo Courtesy of the University of Michigan) Poll respondents answered a wide range of questions online which were then written, and data interpreted and compiled, by the IHPI team. Laptops and Internet access were provided to poll respondents who did not already have them. Solway stressed that these are people who are unpaid, unsung and for the most part spending many hours a day helping someone who may not even recognize them anymore. She said the new poll gives a glimpse into the lives of the spouses, grown children and other family members and friends who act as caregivers for millions of Americans with dementia. Overall, 7% of poll respondents identified as a caregiver of a person age 65 or older with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, or another cognitive impairment. Solway said caregivers are most likely to be women under 65 years of age and caring for a parent. To be exact, three in five  or 60% provided care to a parent, 19% to a spouse, and 21% to another relative, friend, or neighbor. And he majority of care recipients - or some 70% - have another health condition and/or disability in addition to memory problems, the caregivers reported. Nearly half of caregivers responding had other jobs in addition to being caregivers. They took care of medical needs, household tasks, and other activities to keep their loved one safe. One-quarter said the person they were caring for couldn’t be left alone for more than an hour. While some 78 percent of respondents said that caregiving is stressful, even more said it was rewarding, however. In fact, 85 percent of family caregivers called caregiving a rewarding experience. The fact that 45 percent rated it as “very rewarding,” compared to 19 percent who called it “very stressful” should speak to the positive side of caregiving, Solway said. It should be noted, however, that of the 40 percent of those who called dementia caregiving very stressful also said it was not rewarding. Another potential benefit that Solway realized was the extent to which a younger generation may learn from the experience and to plan ahead. Ninety-one percent of the caregivers responding said they had thought about their own future care needs because of their experience taking care of someone with dementia. “The experience of caregiving may actually help encourage the kind of planning that many Americans haven’t attended to but should," Solway said. Respondents to this poll said they believe that being a caregiver has made them think about their future needs. “As they experience the realities of daily life for a person living with dementia, caregivers may be better prepared than others to consider and plan for their own wishes as they age,” she said. “Caregivers may think about and take steps toward completing advance directives, designating power of attorney, or purchasing long-term care insurance, and may be more likely to engage in conversations with those close to them about their hopes for the future.” The study found that only 1 in 4 caregivers reported that they had taken advantage of resources designed to help them, but a full 41 percent of those who didn’t expressed interest in such support. Shutterstock “Caregiving is a complex experience that affects people across every demographic,” said Alison Bryant, Ph.D., senior vice president of research for AARP. “Providing family caregivers with resources to support them in balancing work and life pressures and reducing their stress is critical not only for them but also for those that might care for them in the future.” Solway said her team hopes the findings can form the basis for further exploration of caregiving issues specific to dementia. “We need to understand the challenges, benefits and barriers that dementia caregivers face, because of the important role they play for their loved ones, in their families and in our society and economy,” she said. “We can see from this report that better support to these family caregivers is needed, which health care providers, family, friends, social service organizations, clergy and policymakers can all help to address.” Statistics from the National Poll on Healthy Aging. (Photo Courtesy of the University of Michigan) Most communities offer resources through Area Agencies on Aging, the Alzheimer’s Association, other social service agencies, and churches or faith groups. But caregivers may not be able to use them because of time constraints or flexibility in their schedules, cost, logistical challenges, other priorities, or simply lack of awareness about the resources. “Recognizing and understanding the barriers to accessing resources is key to improving support for caregivers,” Solway said. She hopes the information her team has assembled will change that. “The findings in this report suggest that there are opportunities to provide better support to dementia caregivers. Health care providers, other family members and friends, clergy and policymakers can be an integral part of helping meet caregivers’ needs,” she said, adding that, “Health care providers should ask about caregiving responsibilities as a routine part of clinical care. Family and friends can offer to provide additional help when caregivers need to take time for their own health and well-being. As the population ages and the number of available caregivers is unlikely to keep pace, it is critically important to ensure that resources to support dementia caregivers are readily available and accessible.”
28c4d7390883bffeef0297b7850c5773
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinseatonjefferson/2018/09/24/senolytic-therapies-seem-to-stop-alzheimers-disease-in-its-tracks/
Senolytic Therapies Seem To Stop Alzheimer's Disease 'In Its Tracks'
Senolytic Therapies Seem To Stop Alzheimer's Disease 'In Its Tracks' Scientists at the University of Texas have implicated a type of cellular stress for the first time as a player in Alzheimer's disease. And their discovery could lead to treatments for more than 20 human brain diseases including Alzheimer's and traumatic brain injury. One author of the study went as far as to say the treatment that researchers used on mice to rid them of the stressed cells actually stopped Alzheimer's disease "in its tracks." Alzheimers disease, conceptual artwork. Image of a womans head dissected to reveal an empty room... [+] where her brain should be. He head is surrounded by objects which should be in the room. This illustration could represent memory loss or the loss of brain functioning associated with Alzheimers disease. Alzheimers is a neurodegenerative disease and a common cause of dementia in the elderly. It is caused by the formation of protein plaques in the brain, which kill surrounding neurons. The cause of Alzheimers is not known and there is no cure. Photo Credit: Getty Royalty Free Researchers at the The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, now called UT Health San Antonio® established a link between tau tangles and the stressed or senescent cells they found in Alzheimer's-diseased tissue. Senescence is the process by which cells irreversibly stop dividing or growing without actually dying. Already proven to be involved in cancer and aging, tau protein accumulation is known to exist in 20 human brain diseases. “Tau protein accumulation is the most common pathology among degenerative brain diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), traumatic brain injury (TBI) and over twenty others,” the research paper notes. Senescent cells are stressed. They are toxic. But they don’t die. They are, in effect, zombie cells. And what’s worse, these senescent cells accumulate in tissues and may contribute to tissue damage, inflammation and the development of various age-related and chronic diseases. The scientists at UT Health used senolytic drugs (agents that selectively destroy senescent cells or induce cell death) to clear the senescent cells and tau tangles in Alzheimer's mice. In the end, their experiment improved both brain function and structure. The researchers reported their findings in August in the journal Aging Cell. Cellular stress is what happens to our cells in response to environmental stressors like temperature, exposure to toxins and mechanical damage. According to an article from the Bosnian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences, different stressors trigger different cellular responses such as inducing cell repair, adaptation or remodeling or even triggering cell death. “Inability to repair the damage or exposure to prolonged stress may contribute to aging. Persistent cell stress often enhances susceptibility to cancer and aging-associated diseases,” writes article author, Borut Pojsak, of the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia. He said because cells and tissues are being used more and more for new therapies and transplantations, discovering how and why they respond to stress and ameliorating negative response is important in the prevention of all kinds of disorders that develop because of persistent stress. Researchers at UT Health stated that they saw tau as an appealing molecular target for intervention because so many studies have indicated that the causes and effects of tau protein tangles may be associated with cell deterioration. They hypothesized that tau accumulation may activate cellular stress response, and thus initiate a chronic degenerative process that leads to loss of neurons and brain dysfunction. The UT researchers tested their hypothesis by looking at human brain tissue with Tau-containing neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and used genetically modified mice that develop tau. In addition, they genetically reduced NFTs and used senolytic drugs to get rid of senescent cells. Though cellular senescence allows a stressed cell to survive, the cell may behave like a zombie. It can function abnormally and secrete toxic substances that kill cells around it. "When cells enter this stage, they change their genetic programming and become pro-inflammatory and toxic," said study senior author Miranda E. Orr, Ph.D., VA research health scientist at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System, faculty member of the Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies, and instructor of pharmacology at UT Health San Antonio. "Their existence means the death of surrounding tissue." The team confirmed the discovery in four types of mice that model Alzheimer’s disease, UT Health reported. “The researchers then used a combination of drugs to clear senescent cells from the brains of middle-aged Alzheimer’s mice. Such drugs are called senolytics. The drugs used by the San Antonio researchers are Dasatinib, a chemotherapy medication that is U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved to treat leukemia, and Quercetin, a natural flavonoid compound found in fruits, vegetables and some beverages such as tea.” After three months of treatment, UT Health said their findings were “exciting.” Orr said in a statement that the Alzheimer’s mice were 20 months old and had advanced brain disease when researchers started the therapy. “After clearing the senescent cells, we saw improvements in brain structure and function. This was observed on brain MRI studies (magnetic resonance imaging) and postmortem histology studies of cell structure. The treatment seems to have stopped the disease in its tracks,” she said. “The fact we were able to treat very old mice and see improvement gives us hope that this treatment might work in human patients even after they exhibit symptoms of a brain disease,” stated Nicolas Musi, the study’s first author, professor of Medicine and director of the Sam and Ann Barshop Institute at UT Health San Antonio. Illustration of a neuron affected by Alzheimers disease. Neuronal degeneration is linked to the... [+] build up of tau proteins (pink) between cells, as well as a build up of the beta-amyloid peptide outside the cells, causing amyloid plaques (the cluster top right). “Alzheimer’s is linked to accumulations of beta-amyloid, which occurs early in the disease, and tau proteins, which occur later in the disease,” BioSpace reported. “The researchers found that the cell senescence was caused by the tau accumulation. They went on and compared Alzheimer’s mice that only had tau tangles with mice that only had amyloid beta. Senescence was only seen in the mice with tau tangles. They also confirmed that reducing tau genetically also reduced senescence, and vice versa.” Senolytic drugs only target and only kill senescent cells. They are cleared quickly by the body, and researchers saw no side effects. Mice were treated with a drug combination including Dasatinib every other week. "So in the three months of treatment, they only received the drug six times," Orr said. "The drug goes in, does its job and is cleared. Senescent cells come back with time, but we expect that it would be possible to take the drug again and be cleared out again. That's a huge benefit -- it wouldn't be a drug that people would have to take every day." Musi said he anticipates many further studies to understand the process using senolytic drugs. “Because these drugs are approved for other uses in humans, we think a logical next step would be to start pilot studies in people,” he said. For more information on senolytic therapies, click here.
cb6a6d573fd7ce617cf62fc2e42fc5aa
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinseatonjefferson/2018/10/29/mounting-evidence-links-sleep-disturbance-to-alzheimers-disease/
Mounting Evidence Links Sleep Disturbance To Alzheimer's Disease
Mounting Evidence Links Sleep Disturbance To Alzheimer's Disease Once again researchers have found evidence of the critical role quality sleep plays on our overall health. And addressing the common causes of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) could have huge implications for the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. From sleep apnea which, left untreated, can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, depression, diabetes and other ailments, to Alzheimer’s disease, researchers continue to discover why we need to sleep. Now investigators from the Intramural Research Program (IRP) of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) are saying feeling excessively sleepy during the day could be a sign of increased risk for the brain pathology of Alzheimer’s disease. According to a new study published in the September 25, 2018 issue of the journal Sleep, older adults who felt sleepy during the day when they wanted to be awake were almost three times more likely to have deposits of beta-amyloid—the protein that clumps in the brain as part of Alzheimer’s pathology. The research team was led by Dr. Adam Spira of Johns Hopkins University and included Dr. Murat Bilgel, Dr. Luigi Ferrucci, Dr. Susan Resnick and Dr. Eleanor Simonsick of NIA’s Intramural Research Program. Using  Neuroimaging Substudy data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA), researchers looked at the reported daytime sleepiness levels and napping habits of 124 cognitively healthy men and women and then matched that information with PET and MRI scan results from an average of 16 years later. The BLSA is America's longest-running study of human aging. Between 1991 and 2000, BLSA participants were asked “Do you often become drowsy or fall asleep during the daytime when you wish to be awake? (e.g. falling asleep watching TV or reading).” They also were asked, “Do you nap?” Overall, 50% of BLSA participants were women and 21% were non-white. About 24% had EDS and 29% were nappers. Those with EDS were older than those without EDS, and compared with non-nappers, nappers were older, more likely to be male and had slightly more education. “They found that people who said they often felt sleepy during the day were nearly three times more likely to have deposits of beta-amyloid, the protein that clumps in the brain as part of Alzheimer’s disease pathology, than their peers who didn’t report daytime sleepiness,” researchers reported. “While not a direct correlation, the researchers see the results as further evidence that sleep problems and Alzheimer’s pathology may be connected. The exact mechanism that connects disturbed sleep with beta-amyloid buildup is unclear, but multiple studies have shown that people with dementia often experience sleep disturbances, and other studies have shown buildups of beta-amyloid in the brains of animals whose sleep was disturbed.” Napping habits were not significantly connected to beta-amyloid deposits, the team reported. Researchers concluded common causes of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) (e.g., sleep-disordered breathing, insufficient sleep) being associated with biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease could help identify those with elevated dementia risk and have important implications for prevention of the disease. Disturbed sleep has emerged as a candidate risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, multiple studies link poor sleep to cognitive impairment and decline, and more recent studies link sleep disturbance to biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease, study authors wrote. Researchers showed that shorter sleep duration and poorer sleep quality were associated with greater beta-amyloid buildup as shown on positron emission tomography (PET) scans. They noted another study had linked poorer sleep and reports of frequent napping with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) measures of beta-amyloid deposition. The authors said that numerous studies have linked sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) to poor cognitive outcomes, and more recent studies have tied SDB to Alzheimer’s disease. Study authors said their results could support at least four possibilities: Excessive daytime sleepiness may have resulted directly from disturbed sleep that itself promotes beta-amyloid deposition. Beta-Amyloid deposition may promote EDS by limiting sleep duration or quality. “The current consensus is that a feed-forward system exists in which disturbed sleep increases beta-amyloid deposition, which disturbs sleep, etc.,” authors wrote. “Although there is not yet evidence that interrupting this cycle by treating disturbed sleep resulting from beta-amyloid deposition slows Alzheimer’s disease progression, this is an important area for investigation.” Rather than being a marker of risk for beta-amyloid deposition, EDS actually promotes beta-amyloid clustering. (However, no pathway has been identified by which EDS itself might increase beta-amyloid aggregation, making this a less plausible explanation, authors noted.) The fourth possibility is that alterations in circadian rhythms may have played a role in all of the above scenarios. “Circadian rest/activity rhythm alterations have been tied to an increased risk of mild cognitive impairment or dementia diagnosis and preclinical amyloid deposition in humans…Several other factors, including medications, psychopathology, narcolepsy and insufficient sleep can result in EDS…If they are also found to promote beta-amyloid deposition, targeting them directly may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease in addition to relieving EDS and enhancing daytime function.” According to its authors, the study’s strengths are its large sample of cognitively normal adults with Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) PET data, and the substantial interval between EDS and napping assessment and subsequent PiB imaging. “To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study with these characteristics.” Authors noted the study’s primary limitations as well, including its observational design and the absence of a baseline beta amyloid measure, which they say limited them from drawing firm causal inferences. In the end, researchers said their findings provide further support for the literature on sleep disturbance as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. “Screening for EDS could help identify those at elevated AD risk, and further support for a causal role of sleep disturbance would recommend that sleep-related interventions be included in AD prevention efforts.” While healthy diet and mental and physical exercise habits have been pushed as smart strategies for reducing dementia risk, getting the right quantity and quality of sleep hasn’t been emphasized enough, say the researchers. “The study showed that a simple yes or no question on if people felt drowsy or fell asleep in the daytime when they wanted to be awake was effective to screen those at risk for having beta-amyloid deposits in their brains. While not everyone who has Alzheimer’s disease pathology goes on to develop cognitive problems, adding this question to routine clinical screenings could help identify people who should consider follow-up testing for Alzheimer’s and related dementias risk.” According to the NIA, future steps for this research include examining if sleep apnea and similar disorders, medications or other health conditions that often affect sleep quality in older adults may be a factor in beta-amyloid accumulation.
25f751c1cff42a520f8f9668363a9d0f
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinseatonjefferson/2018/11/23/ut-researchers-discover-alzheimers-vaccine-hope-to-test-in-humans-soon/
UT Southwestern Medical Center Researchers Discover Alzheimer's Vaccine, Hope To Test In Humans Soon
UT Southwestern Medical Center Researchers Discover Alzheimer's Vaccine, Hope To Test In Humans Soon Researchers at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center reported Tuesday that they have developed a vaccine that could arm the body to attack Alzheimer's plaques and tangles before they even start to shut down the brain. They hope to begin testing the vaccines in humans soon. Their new vaccine for the first time has targeted both amyloid-containing plaques and tau—both considered hallmarks for a definitive identification of Alzheimer’s disease—in a mouse with the disease. The shot uses DNA from Alzheimer's proteins to teach the immune system to fight these compounds and keep them from accumulating in the brain. Researchers say their new Alzheimer's vaccine—so-called DNA Aβ42—could conceivably cut the number of dementia cases in half. The new vaccine—unlike a previous attempt that caused swelling in the brain when DNA was injected into the test mice's muscles—is administered by injecting it superficially into the skin. The injected skin cells then make a three-molecule chain of beta-amyloid, and the body responds by producing antibodies that ward off the build-up of amyloid and tau. “The significance of these findings is that DNA Aβ42 trimer immunotherapy targets two major pathologies in AD—amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles—in one vaccine without inducing inflammatory T-cell responses, which carry the danger of autoimmune inflammation,” wrote lead author, Roger N. Rosenberg, founding director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded Alzheimer’s Disease Center at UT Southwestern Department of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics. Co-authors include Min Fu and Doris Lambracht-Washington also of UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. The researchers published their findings in the journal, Alzheimer’s & Research Therapy, a BMC-series journal publication. As researchers do not currently know precisely when amyloid and tau begin to form, Rosenberg said physicians would determine when to administer the vaccine by conducting amyloid and tau PET brain scans. Though Rosenberg’s research has nothing to do with that of Rudolph Tanzi, the Harvard scientist who co-discovered all three familial early-onset Alzheimer’s disease genes and leads the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund's Alzheimer’s Genome Project, their premises are similar. Keep amyloid low. Avoid Alzheimer’s. Tanzi’s lab at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) are mapping the microbiome of the brain—the population of microorganisms, some helpful and some pathological, that exists inside the brain—utilizing autopsied brain samples that tested positive for Alzheimer’s disease pathology. Researchers with The Brain Microbiome Project are looking for the most common germs found in the brain to attempt to determine which ones ultimately lead to Alzheimer’s disease. With the information, they hope to develop therapeutics for preventing and treating the disease. That’s aside from the three-dimensional human stem cell-derived neural culture system (or simulated human brain organoid), “Alzheimer’s-in-a-Dish,” that Tanzi and colleague Dr. Doo Yeon Kim created with Alzheimer’s genes. That system essentially replays the Alzheimer’s disease plaque and tangle processes. Using the system, Tanzi developed a drug for Alzheimer’s disease including gamma secretase modulators and metal chaperones to lower beta-amyloid and tangle burden in the brain. Though the research is incredibly complex, scientists used stem cells to create human nerve cells. They then put them in a gel to simulate the human brain, and thus created full blown Alzheimer’s pathology in a Petri dish allowing them to have the first real view of the events that typically happen over decades—the formation of amyloid plaques that then lead to tangles and inflammation—in the brain, he said. Alzheimer’s-in-a-Dish solved the decades-old argument of whether the amyloid plaques or the tangles are to blame for Alzheimer’s disease, Tanzi said. “There is not a debate anymore,” he said. “All data say that if you keep the amyloid low, than you stop Alzheimer’s.” Similar to Rosenberg’s quest to stop Alzheimer’s before it starts, Tanzi likens the need for early intervention and treatment of dementia to cancer and heart disease. “Unlike with heart disease and cancer, we don’t diagnose and treat Alzheimer’s disease until the symptoms hit, and then we treat the cause, the amyloid plaques. We needed to stop the amyloid plaques 10 to 20 years before the person shows symptoms.” Tanzi said we can now determine the possibility of a person getting Alzheimer’s later in life using brain imaging and biomarkers when they are still asymptomatic, just like doctors do with cholesterol tests for heart disease. He said the time is not far in the future where blood tests will be available for Alzheimer’s as well. In the same way Americans now take a drug to prevent the buildup of cholesterol, Tanzi hopes that in the near future they will take one to bring their brain amyloid protein levels down. “Someday, once we have an effective and safe anti-amyloid drug, everyone will have their amyloid checked by 50 years old, let’s say, like they do with a colonoscopy. If you have a higher than normal amount, you can take a drug to prevent Alzheimer’s symptoms of dementia from occuring. By 2025, I think we’ll be there. If all goes swimmingly well, a GSM can be available in as little as five years.” Or maybe they’ll just get Rosenberg’s vaccine. “We report, for the first time in an AD mouse model, that active DNA Aβ42 immunization into the skin targets two pathologies: amyloid-containing plaques and tau,” researchers from UT wrote in their study. “DNA vaccination, in which not the antigen (peptide or protein) but the DNA encoding this peptide is administered, is an alternative route of vaccination. Genes encoded by the DNA are expressed within the skin, and the peptides are taken up by dendritic cells traveling to the regional lymph nodes and presenting the antigen to B and T cells.” The researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have already shown that full-length DNA Aβ42 trimer immunization is non-inflammatory and induces measurable immune response “DNA Aβ42 trimer immunization has been shown to be effective in removing amyloid from the brain in immunized double-transgenic mice,” the researchers wrote.” Now they have found that immunotherapy with DNA Aβ42 trimer leads to reduction of amyloid peptides and amyloid plaques as well as “…for the first time that DNA Aβ42 trimer immunization leads also to significant reduction of tau from the mouse brain.” A neurodegenerative disorder, Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia found in the aging population. Rosenberg and others have contended for years that immunotherapy targeting amyloid beta (Aβ) build-up in the brain may provide a possible treatment option and may help prevent the disease from progressing. A number of immunization approaches have been fruitless, including one that was stopped after researchers noted the development of autoimmune encephalitis in 6% of their patients. Today, Alzheimer’s disease is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. It cripples the brains of those who have it as they age as beta-amyloid proteins in the brain get stuck together and form tangles of tau proteins inhibiting neural connections. There is no cure and to date only symptomatic treatment options are available. The pathologic features of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles are considered hallmarks for a definitive identification of Alzheimer’s disease. And the origin and development of the disease has been strongly associated with the accumulation and clustering of amyloid beta in the brain. Nearly 30 years ago the amyloid cascade hypothesis was formulated, which postulated that amyloid deposition is the initial event leading to Alzheimer’s. Injected into the skin, Rosenberg's vaccine has shown to trigger the skin cells to produce a three-molecule chain of beta-amyloid. Anticipating the Alzheimer’s plaques and tangles before they form, the immune system is then activated to produce antibodies to fight beta-amyloid and tau proteins. The research at UT Southwestern Medical Center tested four groups of mice. Some 40% of beta-amyloid plaques were reduced in vaccinated mice, and as much as 50% of their tau tangles diminished. Researchers said they observed no adverse immune response with the vaccine. The result, say researchers, show that with the vaccine, the body is armed and ready to attack the Alzheimer's plaques and tangles before they start to shut down the brain. Scientists throughout the U.S. are going to great lengths to develop treatments for dementia. In an article featured in Elsevier’s Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions, Jeffrey Cummings, of Cleveland Clinic’s Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health reports that there were, as of January 2018, 112 agents in the Alzheimer’s disease treatment pipeline. Of these, Cummings reports, “63% are disease-modifying therapies, 22% are symptomatic cognitive enhancers, and 12% are symptomatic agents addressing neuropsychiatric and behavioral changes.” (Cummings review is based on clinical trial activity as recorded in clinicaltrials.gov, a comprehensive US government database. Federal law requires that all clinical trials conducted in the United States be registered on the site.) And the Alzheimer’s disease drug development pipeline is larger this year than it was in 2017.
174e5759d16ce59cb0ebe2d0f2cb63bb
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinseatonjefferson/2018/11/29/top-biopharmaceutical-research-companies-publish-update-on-the-state-of-alzheimers-research-in-us/
Top Biopharmaceutical Research Companies Publish Update On The State Of Alzheimer's Research In US
Top Biopharmaceutical Research Companies Publish Update On The State Of Alzheimer's Research In US The country’s leading biopharmaceutical research companies seem cautiously optimistic in their latest update on the state of Alzheimer’s research in America. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) has released its latest report—Researching Alzheimer’s Medicines: Setbacks and Stepping Stones. In it, PhRMA reported that between 1998 and 2017 there were some 146 failed attempts to develop medicines to treat and potentially prevent Alzheimer’s disease. And only four new medicines were approved to treat the symptoms of the disease. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) released its latest... [+] report--"Researching Alzheimer’s Medicines: Setbacks and Stepping Stones." (Photo Courtesy of PhRMA) That means, for every research project with the goal of finding a new medicine for Alzheimer’s disease that succeeded, about 37 failed. Still, there are currently 92 medicines for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and other dementias in clinical development today. Since 2000, PhRMA member companies—including Bayer Corporation, Eli Lilly and Company, GlaxoSmithKline (now GSK), Merck & Co., Inc., Pfizer Inc. and 33 others—say they have invested more than $600 billion in the search for new treatments and cures, including an estimated $71.4 billion in 2017 alone. The new report builds upon past knowledge of Alzheimer’s setbacks as well as victories. The last report was completed in 2015. Though there have been many failures in the quest to treat or cure Alzheimer’s disease, George Vradenburg, co-founder and chairman of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, remains optimistic and encourages others to do the same. “In recent years, a dearth of new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease has left many to conclude that a cure is out of reach,” he said. “As this report demonstrates, there’s no doubt that setbacks are inevitable and instructive when tackling a complex disease like Alzheimer’s. But given the increase in understanding of the disease in the past few years and the steady rise in Alzheimer’s treatments in development, patients and their families have good reason to be optimistic.” In fact, a recent analysis of late stage Alzheimer’s drugs, conducted by ResearchersAgainstAlzheimer’s, a global network of leading researchers, found nearly a hundred treatments in Phase 2 and 3 development in 2018, Vradenburg said. “The analysis demonstrates that the drugs in development are increasingly attacking the disease in different ways – an important fact given that successful future treatments will likely rely on multiple therapies to stop the disease.” What’s just as concerning to Vradenburg, though, is that there are signs that indicate the U.S. healthcare system may not be prepared to administer novel treatments to patients when they do become available. “As the science progresses, physicians, lawmakers, advocates, and industry leaders must work together to ensure we’re all ready for life-saving treatments,” he said. Despite the diversity of treatments in development, Vradenburg contends: There is a shortage of geriatricians to care for the country’s aging population. Patients are commonly misdiagnosed. There continue to be long wait times to see neurologists, racial disparities persist and many patients are never told of their diagnosis by their doctor. Primary care practices are not equipped, trained or incented to build brain health practices into routine standards of care. “This lack of preparation and training has led to a shortage of treatments for cognitive impairment, an oversight of potential risk reducing behaviors, and often late and inaccurate diagnosis of Alzheimer’s,” Vradenburg said. “From polio to HIV/AIDS, past global health efforts have taught us that we can successfully tackle challenging healthcare issues if we are focused and collaborative. And at a time when the global impact of Alzheimer’s is sharply rising, it’s now more important than ever that the Alzheimer’s community – including researchers and advocates – come together to accelerate a cure.” According to Eric Karran, a molecular biologist and vice president of the Foundational Neuroscience Center at AbbVie, scientists’ understanding of complex neurodegenerative diseases has indeed evolved in recent years. “What’s really changed is the recognition that the disease process starts very early on in people, and it precedes the actual symptoms that they suffer from by about 10 to 20 years,” he said. “This is incredibly important because it shows us that for medicines to be effective we need to find a way to treat people even before they present with clinical symptoms. And that has driven a whole lot of the science that we call biomarkers. These are things that you can measure that correlate with disease process. And we ultimately hope that we can measure some of these pathological processes going on in the human brain with imaging agents.” Prior to working for AbbVie, Karran was the director of Research for Alzheimer’s Research UK. He has also held senior positions in a number of companies, including SmithKline Beecham (now GSK), Pfizer, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company and at Johnson & Johnson. Karran said to date, scientists’ understanding of Alzheimer’s is that a small protein called Abeta starts to deposit in the brain to form abnormal aggregates called plaques. “That seems to be the first thing that occurs in the brain,” he said. “And for reasons we don’t fully understand, that provokes a response in the brain whereby another pathology called tau tangles forms in neurons and then spread throughout the brain. This starts in one part of the brain, called the entorhinal cortex, which is very important in memory consolidation and retrieval. But then it spreads throughout the brain ultimately causing the cognitive decrements that we see in Alzheimer’s disease—loss of memory, loss of the ability to make decisions, and ultimately loss of language.” Genetics also plays an important role in Alzheimer’s disease and has impacted scientists’ research and the types of treatments that they pursue since the 1990s. “What scientists discovered was that a single change to a gene called the amyloid recursor protein was able to initiate early Alzheimer’s disease with 100 percent certainty.” He said. “So, this was a very, very important clue that this process—which ultimately leads to the amyloid plaque—is critically important in Alzheimer’s disease. And with that understanding, we were able to design animal models in species like the mouse that have some of the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease. And in turn that has enabled us to test compounds and therapeutic approaches to either delay or clear the amyloid from the brain. These therapeutic approaches have been or are now being tested in human clinical studies.” The PhRMA report holds that “despite numerous studies and significant investment by biopharmaceutical companies and others, setbacks continue to outnumber successes in Alzheimer’s drug development.” And few candidate medicines—about 12 percent—are approved by the FDA and thus ultimately reach patients. According to the report, scientists still do not have a full understanding of the underlying causes and mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease. “In fact, it is unknown whether many of the defining molecular characteristics of the disease are causes, effects, or signs of progression. This knowledge gap compounds the challenge of identification and selection of viable targets for new medicines.” Still, scientists believe that even the failures can be tremendously valuable, as they provide crucial insights that help shape future research efforts. “As the data from a negative outcome are analyzed, the key findings are applied in the design of new studies and approaches, until ultimately a successful outcome or proof-of-concept for a new therapy is achieved.” And there is more good news. An analysis by UsAgainstAlzheimer’s of the 92 medicines in development found that of those in Phases 2 and 3, approximately 75 percent have the potential to be disease-modifying treatments. “These drug candidates could stop or slow down disease progression by targeting one or more of the changes in the brain associated with the disease,” the report states. “The majority of drugs in the pipeline target beta-amyloid plaques, tau protein tangles, and a receptor that decreases a neurotransmitter necessary for the brain to think and function normally.” The caution, say researchers, is in realizing the size of the hurdle without believing it to be insurmountable. They recommend much collaboration and research-friendly public policy. “Despite this promising pipeline, the substantial complexity of Alzheimer’s disease indicates that we must be prepared for many more setbacks before researchers discover how to prevent, halt, or cure Alzheimer’s,” the report states. “The findings in this report illustrate why it is important to support a broad and vibrant research enterprise to foster this progress. Thoughtful public policies are needed that encourage innovators to continue taking the risks, making the substantial research investments required, and building upon setbacks to achieve eventual success against serious diseases and conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.” The report praises the FDA’s commitment to continue to modernize its drug regulatory programs and its efforts to keep pace with the latest scientific developments. “For example, in 2018, FDA issued guidance to inform research efforts into interventions that stop Alzheimer’s disease before it causes clinical problems. This guidance provides innovators with important information on ‘approaches to studying very early disease before the onset of dementia, including strategies for trials incorporating patients with Alzheimer’s who haven’t experienced any visual impairment (in the form of cognitive or functional deficits), but who may be identified through the use of sensitive cognitive screening, imaging tests, or biomarkers.’” Below are three examples of innovative partnerships listed in PhRMA’s report that are bringing together the brightest minds to overcome one of society’s great challenges: UsAgainstAlzheimer’s AD-PACE Program. In May 2018, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s launched a multi-phased collaborative with pharmaceutical companies, advocacy organizations, academic institutions, and care services organizations to identify and prioritize the needs and preferences of those living with and affected by Alzheimer’s disease. The partnership, Alzheimer’s Disease Patient And Caregiver Engagement (AD-PACE), brings together Alzheimer’s patients and caregivers to ensure that their perspectives are integrated into clinical trial design, drug development, regulatory reviews, payer value models, coverage and payment determinations and research on care and services. According to Ian Kremer, Executive Director of the Leaders Engaged in Alzheimer’s Disease (LEAD) Coalition, the collaboration is grounded in the belief that “every stage of Alzheimer’s drug development should be centrally-informed by the preferences and priorities of people living with the disease.” Accelerating Medicines Partnership–Alzheimer’s Disease. The Accelerating Medicines Partnership for Alzheimer’s Disease (AMP-AD) is a collaboration among government agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and FDA, 12 biopharmaceutical and life sciences companies, and several nonprofit organizations. The partnership focuses on advancing the discovery of novel, clinically relevant therapeutic targets and the development of biomarkers to help validate existing therapeutic agents. AMP-AD’s approach is two pronged. First, researchers are exploring the utility of tau imaging and novel biomarkers in indicating response to treatment. AMP is providing supplemental PET imaging and fluid biomarkers for three large, ongoing clinical trials, allowing the researchers to gain additional information on the ability of these techniques to track the impact of treatments. The second prong is an effort to accelerate the discovery and validation of disease drug targets by creating a large network of data, pooling molecular information from more than 2,000 patients. These data are available to researchers. AMP’s ultimate goal is to shorten the time between the discovery of a target and the development of an effective new medicine. Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. The Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) launched in 2004 as a collaboration initiative between the NIH and other federal agencies, nonprofit organizations and biopharmaceutical companies to develop ways to detect Alzheimer’s disease at its earliest stages and track its progression through biomarkers. This work is designed to support and speed up the development of new therapies by making it possible to measure their effects more readily and select patients in early stages of the disease that may benefit the most. Data collected from ADNI are made available at no cost to researchers to use as they design Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials and related research efforts. “Despite recent failures, we have learned a lot and have much reason to be optimistic,” said John Dunlop, Vice President of Neuroscience Research at Amgen. “This is particularly true when it comes to early intervention approaches, where the latest science is telling us we have the greatest opportunity to impact disease progression – an area of somewhat uncharted territory in the history of Alzheimer’s disease drug discovery.”
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinseatonjefferson/2019/11/21/geneticists-attempt-to-help-chemotherapy-patients-could-end-age-related-hair-loss-wrinkled-skin-and-reduced-energy/?sh=269ced3026bc
Geneticist’s Attempt To Help Chemotherapy Patients Could End Age-Related Hair Loss, Wrinkled Skin And Reduced Energy
Geneticist’s Attempt To Help Chemotherapy Patients Could End Age-Related Hair Loss, Wrinkled Skin And Reduced Energy A University of Alabama cancer geneticist is taking his anti-aging research to the next level to effectively end age-related hair loss, wrinkled skin and reduced energy. And he hopes to have products on the market in 5 years. A new startup out of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Yuva Biosciences, is essentially the result of Keshav Singh’s attempt to help chemotherapy patients re-grow the hair they lose as a result of the cancer treatment. But what he found could help everyone. Cropped composite image of a woman when she was young and old Getty Yuva–which means “youth” in Hindi–hopes to tap into the multi-billion-dollar hair loss prevention and anti-aging skincare market with cosmeceuticals, science-based cosmetics and pharmaceuticals based on its founders’ research into mitochondrial DNA—the tiny part of cells that produce 90 percent of the chemical energy they need to survive. Singh said along with causing skin to age and hair to fall out, mitochondrial dysfunction can drive age-related diseases. “A depletion of the DNA in mitochondria is also implicated in human mitochondrial diseases, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, age-associated neurological disorders and cancer.” Last year, Singh and his colleagues at UAB reversed wrinkles and restored hair growth in mice. The team triggered a gene mutation that caused mitochondrial dysfunction in mice, causing them to develop wrinkled skin and lose their hair. The UAB researchers discovered that turning off that mutation restored the mice to normal appearance making them indistinguishable from healthy mice of the same age. In effect, when the mitochondrial function was restored, the mice regained smooth skin and thick fur. MORE FOR YOUAre You Ready To Play The 401(k) Game? Hint: You Already ArePotential Prospective Tax Increases: A Look At What Might Be ComingUnderstanding The Roles Of A Beneficiary And A Trustee The mouse in the center photo shows aging-associated skin wrinkles and hair loss after two months of ... [+] mitochondrial DNA depletion. That same mouse, right, shows reversal of wrinkles and hair loss one month later, after mitochondrial DNA replication was resumed. The mouse on the left is a normal control, for comparison. (PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA BIRMINGHAM) Singh along with Bhupendra Singh, Trenton R. Schoeb and Prachi Bajpai, UAB Department of Genetics; and Andrzej Slominski, UAB Department of Dermatology shared their results in a paper in July 2018, “Reversing wrinkled skin and hair loss in mice by restoring mitochondrial function,” in the journal Cell Death and Disease. The work was supported by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants. Now in addition to his duties as a senior scientist in the Cancer Cell Biology Program and director of the Cancer Genetics Program at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB, Singh will serve as chief scientific advisor for Yuva Biosciences. Keshav Singh, Ph.D., cancer geneticist and chief scientific advisor for Yuva Biosciences (PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA BIRMINGHAM) The founding editor-in-chief of Elsevier’s Mitochondrion journal, Singh said scientists already knew that humans age as mitochondrial DNA content and mitochondrial function decline. He said the trick is to find a way to restore that content and function. And they’ve already done that in mice. Now they want to transfer those studies and hopefully similar results to human trials. “Our plan is to look for two things,” Singh said. “We want to identify natural products which can enhance mitochondrial function. We have already identified at least one of these natural products that enhances mitochondrial function and also seems to prevent hair loss and wrinkles. Secondly, we want to re-purpose drugs that are already FDA-approved.” Singh said the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) already has a library of thousands of FDA-approved compounds—drugs for everything from diabetes to Alzheimer’s disease. “We want to test them to see which ones might enhance mitochondrial function and even enhance energy,” he said, adding that researchers’ work last year at UAB “allowed us to develop a system where we can use different compounds that could enhance mitochondrial function.” Singh said the first of Yuva’s products will likely be a topical therapy to halt wrinkles and hair loss and perhaps restore damage already done. “Yuva Biosciences plans to prevent or undo many of the effects of aging, which is why we like to say our goal is to provide Youthfulness for LifeTM,” Singh said. “Currently, we are aiming to develop products to help people look and feel younger. Our long-term plan is to increase health span by addressing diseases associated with aging.” With the help of Greg Schmergel, a Boston-based serial entrepreneur, who will serve as chairman of Yuva Biosciences, Singh will occupy lab space at Innovation Depot, Inc. The Depot is a 140,000-square-foot office, lab and co-working startup space for technology companies located near UAB in Birmingham, Alabama. Yuva plans to hire two additional employees early next year. Schmergel brings more than 25 years of experience in launching multiple high-tech ventures and leading a Massachusetts-based nanotechnology company, Nantero Inc., where he is the co-founder and CEO. A former senior vice president of corporate strategy for About, Inc., Schmergel also serves on the Board of Trustees of Lahey Hospital & Medical Centera, a physician-led nonprofit teaching hospital of Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) based in Burlington, Massachusetts. In a statement, Schmergel said Yuva is “committed to building the company in Birmingham, where we’ll have access to resources like the world-class researchers and facilities at UAB, the startup-focused amenities at Innovation Depot, and the rising regional entrepreneurial network.” Scientists Robert K. Naviaux, MD. Ph.D. and Matt R. Kaeberlein, Ph.D. will serve on the Yuva Biosciences Advisory Board. Kaeberlein specializes in aging and is past president of the American Aging Association, and professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of Washington (UW), in Seattle. Naviaux specializes in mitochondrial and metabolic medicine and is a professor of Genetics at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). Singh said there is no telling how far Yuva could go in aging research, though there is much testing yet to be done. “We have discovered that mitochondria, which are the powerhouse of the cell, are the reversible regulator of wrinkles and hair loss,” Singh said. “The potential is huge as everyone develops wrinkles and most of us lose hair. So, any agent or drug which can slow down or reverse that will have a major impact.” Singh wouldn’t speculate on whether manipulating mitochondrial DNA could cause all human organs and systems to regenerate and whether it would reverse aging in them—for example the human brain and any implications his research could have on dementia. And although little change was seen in other organs when the mutation was induced, he did hint that there is indeed great potential for further disease research.
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinseatonjefferson/2020/01/30/what-living-to-150-might-look-like/
What Living To 150 Might Look Like
What Living To 150 Might Look Like We see the headlines every day. “13 Habits Linked to a Long Life (Backed by Science),” “There’s no limit to longevity, says study that revives human lifespan debate,” “Is longevity determined by genetics?” Eat this food. Take this supplement. Make these lifestyle changes. Read this study. Count on your genes. It’s a never-ending buzz surrounding longevity, and we’re all in, waiting to hear the latest news on how we can live longer and stronger. But what does it all actually mean in terms of our physical bodies? Will there even be enough food available if we start living to 150? What does retirement look like when you live past 100? Sergey Young, longevity expert and founder of the Longevity Vision Fund—which invests in breakthrough technologies that hope to increase the human lifespan—wants to bust some myths about what longevity really means and specifically what living to 150 (and beyond) might look like.  Here are a few of his theories: 1)     Myth: We Need to Live to 150 in the Same Physical Body. Fact: “For the time being, due to wear and tear, the human body doesn’t typically last much beyond 100 years,” Young said. “However, revolutionary approaches in medicine will push boundaries of what was previously thought possible and offer solutions to renew and replace our body parts.” MORE FOR YOUWhy Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Is Not The Answer To Long-Term Care Funding NeedsFinancial Advisors: Decrease Distraction With A Personal Kanban SystemAspiring To Retire By 55 Young said 3D bioprinting will allow patients to replace failed or poorly functioning body parts and benefit from a novel way of restoring lost tissue and its function. In fact, an article last year, TechCrunch, outlined ways in which 3D printing is already revolutionizing the healthcare industry through personalized prosthetics, bioprinting and tissue engineering, 3D-printed skin for burn victims, and pharmacology. Companies like United Therapeutics are already helping to solve the acute issue of national shortage of transplantable lungs, as well as bioprinting organs such as heart, liver, and kidneys, Young said. And going beyond replaceable body parts, certain companies will allow us to regrow our own tissue and organs, Young said. LyGenesis is currently working on regrowing patients’ tissues in their own lymph nodes, while Celularity is producing allogenic cells and tissues derived from postpartum placenta. 2)     Myth: Current State of Medicine Can Support 150-Year Lifespans Fact: “Medicine will transform from a one-size-fits all approach into highly personalized healthcare, focused on early diagnostics and treatment, and assisted by breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI),” Young theorized. “Therefore, health issues will be seen as ‘engineering’ problems rather than biological ones.” Young referenced English author and biomedical gerontologist Aubrey De Gray who said: “Our body is a machine and it can be subjected to maintenance and repair the same way a car does” “We will win the fight with ‘killer monsters’ like cancer by focusing on early diagnostics, which currently allows recovery rates for some types of cancer to exceed 90%,” Young said. And artificial intelligence (AI) will support unprecedented breakthroughs, cure previously fatal diseases, and make drugs more affordable and accessible, Young said. “Insilico Medicine used AI to find six promising treatments for fibrosis in just 21 days, while big pharma can take several months to develop a new drug without this technology.” Young said wearables are already assisting with everything from real-time health monitoring and emergency assistance to helping us sleep better. 3)     Myth: 150 Year Lifespans will Lead to Food Scarcity due to Overpopulation Fact:  Young speculates that the food industry will be transformed in the future and become efficient enough to support 150-year lifespans through optimizing production practices, usage of agricultural space and food waste. In fact, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation just yesterday announced it had picked St. Louis, Missouri as its headquarters for establishing a new nonprofit agriculture center focused on helping “smallholder farmers adapt to climate change and make food production in low- and middle-income countries more productive, resilient, and sustainable.” “Current food production and availability is not sustainable,” Young said, “and contributes to approximately 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, occupies about 40% of global land,” leaving a staggering 30-40% of food going to waste in the U.S. Young said he believes food production will be radically changed through practices such as vertical farming, growing produce in commercial greenhouses on urban rooftops, and using biological controls such as predatory insects to control pest populations without synthetic pesticides. Young said he believes plant-based meat alternatives such as Beyond Meat will replace conventional meat, which is more inflammatory and less sustainable for the planet. “The food supply chain will be shortened by emphasizing local production,” Young theorized. “In the future, 3-D food printers will produce highly nutritional and functional food personalized and optimized for each individual.” 4)     Myth: You Need to be 100% Vegan or Vegetarian to Extend Your Lifespan to 150 Fact:  Young said that while studies have linked plant-based diets to better heart health and a lower risk of dying from a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular disease, there is no need to stick to a vegan or vegetarian diet religiously in order to reap its health benefits and extend your lifespan. “Some nutrients, such as EPA and DHA, for example, are best obtained from fish, seafood and animal products such as eggs,” he said. “As such, it is best to get the majority of your calories from plant foods, while adding some organic, locally-farmed, high quality fish, meat and eggs for a varied and healthy diet.” 5)     Myth: Vegan or Vegetarian Diets Mean Less Optimal Brain Performance Fact: Young said while not many studies have been done on this subject, there seems to be a link showing that plant-based diets are able to influence brain function positively through altered microbial status and systemic metabolic alterations. “It’s not clear whether the beneficial effects are due to the plant-based diet per se, certain nutrients in the diet, or the avoidance of animal-based nutrients,” Young said. Despite the positive effect of plant-based diets on brain health, there is a risk of these diets creating deficiency in the essential brain nutrient choline–which is why some proportion of eggs and other animal-based products should still be kept in the diet, as good sources of this essential nutrient, he said. 6)     Myth: Contemporary Social Paradigms Can Withstand 150-year Lifespans Fact: Young said he believes our current social paradigms will become more diverse as our lifespans are prolonged. “For example, in addition to a traditional lifelong marriage, 150-year lifespans may make it completely normal to have a variety of relationships, such as multiple marriages, kids-based partnerships, or relationships dictated by one’s priorities at any given life stage,” he said. Young points to the fact that contemporary marriages are currently only lasting for about 7 years before ending in divorce and more women are choosing to postpone having kids or benefiting from options such as egg or oocyte freezing to manage their fertility. “To date, the oldest woman to give birth was 73, but with 150-year old lifespans, we will not only be able to choose to have kids much later in life than previously thought possible, but also have more time to spend with them,” he said. 7)     Myth: Living Longer Means We Will Have an Influx of the 50-plus Population Out of the Workforce Fact: On the contrary, says Young. The 50-plus population will be redefining longevity, contributing to the economy and supporting jobs. “The rising spending of the 50-plus cohort will provide direct benefits for employment for all generations,” Young postulated. For example,  it is projected that by 2050 over 102.8 million jobs (45% of the total) will be supported by the 50-plus population. According to AARP, people over 50 will contribute significantly to federal, state and local taxes, and their contribution will quadruple in dollar value terms between 2018 and 2050. 8)     Myth: Living Longer Means You Will Outlive Your Assets Fact: “While this is a valid concern, changing the way we approach pensions and plan retirement can dramatically reduce this risk,” Young said. “The risk can be mitigated by diversifying your assets and also adjusting your strategy as you approach retirement—for example, by shifting your investments to a more conservative portfolio strategy with less volatile investments.” Young suggests making use of the Health Savings Account (HSA), which can offer significant tax savings to pay for qualified medical expenses and long-term care now or during your retirement and working with a financial professional to help navigate your retirement planning and identify which risk factors may affect you. Young said his mission is to identify, fund and accelerate the most promising breakthroughs in life-extension technology and to make them accessible and affordable for everyone. He is development sponsor of the Longevity XPRIZE and Innovation Board Member at XPRIZE Foundation, a nonprofit organization that designs and manages public competitions intended to encourage technological development in biotech and life extension to benefit humanity.
f2dcbef38467f8bdcaa214dbb43621c8
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robisbitts2/2019/03/19/why-the-next-recession-will-be-different/
Why The Next Recession Will Be Different
Why The Next Recession Will Be Different The Fed is in a Precarious Position A recession is coming.  I don’t know when, and what specifically will trigger it.  But that is not the point.  Business and economics, like so much of life itself, is cyclical.  And particularly this time around, after so many years of central banks suppressing the “bad stuff” from happening naturally, in order to keep the economic party going, there will be some unique issues for investors to deal with. The chart below shows a 40-year history of the S&P 500 alongside the U.S. Federal Funds rate, which is one of the short-term interest rates the Fed controls.  As a reminder, the Fed does not set rates for things like the 10-year Treasury Bond, Corporate and Muni Bonds, and the like.  Those are set by the market itself, though Fed policy has a strong influence on how they move. I think we can zero in on this article’s key point by simply listing the percentage of the Fed Funds rate (excluding the decimals) that existed around the start of the last 6 recessions, which are the shown in the shaded areas of the chart: 9%    16%   22%   8%   5%   4% Where is the Fed Funds rate currently?  2.4%.  One weapon the Fed has in recessions and stock bear markets is to “loosen” credit conditions by lowering the interest rate they control.  That can spur economic activity and help consumers and businesses be more confident, as they feel “the Fed has our back.” At 9%, or 5%, and certainly at 22% as back in the 1980's, the Fed has plenty of room to lower rates.  But at 2.4% or anywhere near that level, they don’t have much room above zero.  THAT is one of the biggest threats to investors next time we do have a recession.  And did I mention, we will have one at some point? My advice: make sure you don’t get talked into believing that business is no longer cyclical, that accumulation of debt does not matter anymore, and that the markets will forever shrug off the pressure building due to low interest rates.  It has been a long time since sustained difficulties have befallen investors, and while I don’t know when it will occur again, simply blowing it off is not an option, especially for anyone within 10 years of retirement. For more insight, click HERE
c366e938cc965476f64f021f483277b2
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robisbitts2/2021/02/24/this-has-gone-up-more-than-bitcoin--and-retirees-should-take-notice/
This Has Gone Up More Than Bitcoin, And Retirees Should Take Notice
This Has Gone Up More Than Bitcoin, And Retirees Should Take Notice Boy screaming getty While Crypto and Stocks Play, The Bond Market Screams. Over the past 12 months ending last Friday, the price of Bitcoin is up 487%. That’s impressive to any investment market observer. However, that gain has likely been garnered more by younger investors and some early-adopters in the “big money” crowd. The retiree or pre-retiree has probably spent much of the last year trying to determine how much stock volatility they can take on. After all, last Friday was the one-year anniversary of last year’s S&P 500 top. Five weeks later, as of March 23, 2020, that index had lost about 1/3 of its value. Then, it made it back, and more. That was about the fastest drop and fastest recovery of that magnitude investors have ever seen. Regardless of how the past 12 months have treated your portfolio, it should have been a great time to take account of your objectives and strategy as an investor. As noted above, and shown in the chart below, Bitcoin has been on a tear during that time, barely stopping to catch its breath and let new potential investors in. Regardless of what you think of the fundamental rationale for owning cryptocurrencies, the one thing that doesn’t lie is price. And when it comes to price, Bitcoin has been a winner the past 12 months. However, if you are the type of investor that is reticent to place a big chunk of your fortune in something as speculative as the crypto space, I have some good news. There are other areas of the investment markets that are also “breaking out” in a way that you can consider taking advantage of. And their fundamental story is somewhat more tangible. One in particular is worth paying close attention to, for multiple reasons. MORE FOR YOUElon Musk’s Fortune Falls Nearly $6 Billion After Tesla Crash Leaves Two DeadLumber Prices Rocket Higher As Demand Overwhelms SupplyAre Hedge Funds Predicting A Stock Market Crash? 10-2 Treasury spread vs Bitcoin price, 1 year ending 2/19/21 Ycharts.com The chart above shows that gigantic move in Bitcoin, most of which occurred since last autumn. That’s the orange line. You’ll also notice a purple line that has increased in value by much more than Bitcoin over the same time period. And, like the spike in the price of Bitcoin, most of this move has taken place since last autumn. Yet I suspect the investors who most need to follow it are largely unaware. The purple line is the growth of the spread between the 10-year U.S. Treasury Bond and the 2-year U.S. Treasury Note, or the “10-2 spread” for short. In other words, this measures how much more yield you get for a 10-year bond versus a bond that matures in just 2 years. That spread was under 0.2% a year ago. As of last week, it was closer to 1.2%. And, it is rising at an increasing rate, as Bitcoin is. Now, you can’t invest in the 10-2 spread directly as an asset, at least not easily. However, that’s not the point. The key to retired and pre-retired investors is that the bond market is telling us something. Or rather, it is telling us a few things: Rates on long-term bonds are climbing, regardless of how much the Fed continues to suppress the short-term rates they control Translation: the bond market doesn’t care what the Fed is doing. It sees more risk of inflation, and it is taking action on its own. For what it’s worth, the size of the bond market dwarfs that of the stock market. So we need to take notice. This move may be starting to crush your bond investments, and your 60/40-type portfolio Investment managers developed a dangerous habit over the past decade. In a search for yield, they moved toward owning longer-term securities and lower-quality securities. The latter are still being protected by the Fed, who has been buying some lower-quality bonds to support that market during the pandemic. But if the Treasury market falters, it’s not hard to imagine a domino effect on corporate and junk bonds. Eventually, this could be a boon to retired investors 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield about 1.3%. That is a far cry from where retirees could be comfortable parking a chunk of their savings to earn income from. However, just like the stock market, the bond market has a history of going on “runs” like this. And, as a contrarian investor, the best reason to follow this closely is that it seems investors are down-playing what’s happening. Wall Street forecasters tend to be bunched around 1.5% or so as the destination of this move up in the 10-year rate. That’s why I am looking out for the potential to go to the 2-3% range faster than the mainstream expects. If we get to the upper end of that range and inflation is not the runaway variety, that might offer the first glimpse of hope for eventually using bonds as a long-term retirement investing tool again. It’s early, but not too early to keep an eye on this. This IS an investable “event,” if you have the tools and know how to use them There are ETFs that are designed to profit when interest rates rise, or when bond market volatility rises. For those trained in using options, that market also has some ways to try to capitalize on rising bond rates. So, while many investors look at bonds as a buy-and-hold asset class with minimal return, the conclusion is clear. Bonds are a potentially dangerous asset to hold the traditional way, given low but rising rates. But as one of many tools in the investor’s toolbox, there are ways to potentially profit from the rare, current conditions and events we are seeing in the Treasury Bond arena. This is one of many “tactical” areas investors should seek to learn more about, in the era of sky-high stock valuations and Bitcoin mania. Comments provided are informational only, not individual investment advice or recommendations. Sungarden provides Advisory Services through Dynamic Wealth Advisors.
137b1c9a64cbf12d1030b80e3e0e67a3
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robisbitts2/2021/02/28/this-stock-market-bubble-may-not-be-so-bad/
This Stock Market Bubble May Not Be So Bad
This Stock Market Bubble May Not Be So Bad Bubbles that are not so bad getty As investing looks more like a casino, here’s how to keep risk in check Bitcoin, meme stocks, SPACs, and penny stocks are all the rage to start 2021. What could possibly go wrong? Perhaps nothing will. But if you are someone who is more of the “stay wealthy” type instead of one of those “get wealthy now” folks, this is an uncomfortable market climate. Some historical perspective can help. This is where we are through the first 7 weeks of 2021: 2021, for starters Ycharts.com Observations The Russell 2000 Small Cap Index (blue line) is flying, up more than 2% per week to start the year Microcaps - the smaller group of the Small Caps, have gained nearly double the Russell 2000. That index is up more than 27% in these first 7 weeks. If you are keeping score at home, that’s about a 200% annualized return to start the year. No, I am NOT forecasting that! Just doing the math. Those “old codgers,” the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 are “only” up 4-5% each. Naturally, I am being facetious. Those indexes are surging to start the year, to0. Yet in this pandemic-era bull market melt-up, something is troublesome about that. As someone who follows the markets with great intensity, and has since the 1980s, when the mainstream indexes get overshadowed every day by the level of excitement and attention being paid to the most speculative ends of the market, it calls for an assessment. And, some history. Back in 2000, as the D0t-Com Bubble was playing its final inning, the Nasdaq was the toast of investors everywhere. It was, after all, the home of the cool new companies. The S&P 500 was pushed to the background, relatively speaking. MORE FOR YOUThis Billionaire Investor Thinks Elon Musk Will Be A ‘Trillion Dollar Man’Lumber Prices Rocket Higher As Demand Overwhelms SupplyAre Hedge Funds Predicting A Stock Market Crash? 2000 - also a nice start, but... That’s what happens when a bubble is in place, and a market index (Nasdaq 100) floats up 29% before the first quarter is even finished. That’s what happened in 2000. The S&P 500 had a fine quarter, but its sub-5% return to start that year was, in a strange way, not so noticeable. 2000's fast start Ycharts.com However, in 2000, that was the end of the ride for the Nasdaq. Here’s how the full year 2000 looked for that index. Despite that roaring start, the bubble burst, sending the “Naz” down below where it started the year. In fact, that happened in only 2 weeks. 2000: late March, the stocks hit the fan QQQ in 2000 Ycharts.com Let me clarify that: when the bubble popped, the Nasdaq 100 fell over 30% in 2 weeks! And that decline continued in fits and starts, before ending with a full year 2000 loss of more than 36%, as you see in purple above. Not shown is that the S&P 500 fell 10% in those first 2 weeks, and ended up down about 9% for the full year 2000. Takeaways Don’t underestimate how quickly the “sexy” parts of the market can drop hard when bubbles finally pop Timing bubbles is useless. It’s better to focus on recognizing them, and avoiding “all-or-nothing” investment approaches, the more insane the bubble seems. To me, it seems pretty insane right now. But that does not mean it can’t last weeks, months or longer until the next big blowup. The investment markets are more than just what is currently making headlines, and more than the S&P 500. As I have highlighted in other articles recently, there are always pockets of opportunity, regardless of market conditions. At times, you just need to look in some places you are not used to looking in. This is an excellent time to take account of where some of those less-travelled investment roads are. Rising interest rates, commodities and some value sectors and non-U.S. areas increasingly look like non-bubble areas. So, enjoy the bubble in stocks while it lasts. But don’t let your FOMO-emotions overtake your most high-priority investment objectives. Comments provided are informational only, not individual investment advice or recommendations. Sungarden provides Advisory Services through Dynamic Wealth Advisors.
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robkaplan/2021/02/18/2021-the-mainstreaming-of-climate-finance-and-innovation/
2021: The Mainstreaming Of Climate Finance And Innovation
2021: The Mainstreaming Of Climate Finance And Innovation It’s been a long time coming. For those of us who have been innovating and investing in sustainable finance for the past decade 2021 may be the watershed moment we’ve been waiting for where climate investing goes mainstream, galvanizing both Wall Street and Main Street to hop on the climate bandwagon. We need to look no further than Larry Fink’s January 2021 letter where he and BlackRock BLK continued to use their considerable heft as a $9T asset manager to incite Wall Street investors to insist on more climate reporting and metrics from companies. While we can all debate whether BlackRock should go further than it has in committing itself to a carbon-free portfolio, as Andrew Ross Sorkin said last month in the New York Times NYT , the real impact of these letters is the water cooler conversations that they will provoke, ultimately forcing climate finance and innovation to be part of everyone’s investor conversations. Solitary polar bear (Ursus maritimus / Thalarctos maritimus) yawning on ice floe in Arctic ocean. ... [+] (Photo by: Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) Universal Images Group via Getty Images Here are three reasons why I believe the road ahead will be paved with climate innovation. 1: The Wind Is Now In the Sails of Climate Investors – There are already a number of signs that 2021 will be the year that unleashes powerful forces that will move climate investing from the fringes to the mainstream. ●     Build Back Better Will Fuel Climate Finance – In its first few weeks in office, the Biden Administration has signaled that the U.S. is fully re-committed to combatting climate change and pursuing a green agenda. In addition to signaling his intention for the U.S. to rejoin the Paris climate accords, President Biden has already signed a number of executive orders ranging from investment in green infrastructure to advancing reforestation and sustainable agriculture – all designed to move the U.S. on a path to a net-zero carbon economy by 2050 and a pollution-free power sector by 2025. MORE FOR YOUBanks Can Suffer Financial Losses From Physical And Transition Climate Change Risk DriversU.S. Corporates Continue To Gorge At The Debt TroughLook For Hidden Investment Gems In The Gloom And Doom About Latin America ●     The ESG wave is real – It’s not a coincidence that ESG indices outperformed the S&P during the crazy market ride of Q1 2020. ESG investing has moved from the sidelines and we can expect all of the mainstream stalwarts – from asset managers to RIAs to financial advisors of all stripes – who may not have been on board to be jumping in with two feet. That’s going to increase the noise but also help sustainable finance take center stage. ●     Family offices and other private investors are going to continue to drive the climate agenda – Family offices and private investors have always been at the forefront of sustainable investing to drive change and I believe they are primed to play an even bigger role. There is also a lot of pent up demand. Investments in technology and renewables are now seeing the light of day. Investors have new funds and goals that they are ready to deploy against. Many of the funds that have been incubating new solutions are ready to come to market in ways that will attract family offices and other mainstream investors to scale solutions. 2: Climate Innovation will spark exciting new investment opportunities that can lead us to the holy grail of a circular economy ●     New Materials Innovations – One of the things I’m most excited about is new materials innovations, in particular the marine bio economy, which will hasten the development of a true circular economy for recycling and the circular economy. These are innovations based on synthetic biology that turn things, such as seaweed, into sustainable plastic alternatives. At the same time we’re going to see more advanced ways to process plastics that will turn our recycling and waste management sector into a true use, return and reuse circular economy. ●     Clean Tech 2.0 Is Ready for Liftoff – Success breeds success they say, but in finance it tends to create bubbles. With more capital coming into the mix, there will be good bets and bad ones, and investors will need to take care to evaluate which kind they are chasing. A lot of the capital is surely going to go to the well-established firms with new clean tech funds, but this doesn’t mean they’re a better steward of your investment. The good news is that it’s been over a decade since the first clean tech bubble. In Clean Tech 1.0, which ended with the Great Recession, many VCs got burned as they tried to take an investment model proven with software companies and apply it (often unsuccessfully) to      hard tech-driven business models. Today’s clean tech investors have learned from those experiences. The field is attracting well known VC firms. What’s more, the fundamentals of the industry are more sound, in large part due to significant cost declines thanks to the further development and proliferation of renewables over the past decade plus. So while there will surely be overvalued assets in wave 2.0, expect to see a more sustainable wave that will bring in more investors. 3: Corporates will continue to lead the way – While the U.S. largely stood on the sidelines of the climate agenda for the past few years, corporates never lost their conviction on moving towards a cleaner future. Taking seriously the science-based targets, they have been working on new products that are now seeing the light of day. Perhaps the biggest sign of corporate action is GM’s stunning electric vehicle announcement, which though timed to coincide with Biden’s climate executive orders, had been in the works for years and certainly caught the U.S. auto sector by surprise (in a good way!). We’ve also seen an explosion of interest from leading corporates of all stripes – VF Corporation VFC , Apple AAPL , Adidas to name a few – to issue green bonds to help finance their green operations and investments. This is a signal that corporates want to engage their investors and the public markets to join in and be part of the solution. I expect the pace of issuances to accelerate, and investors will want to become more discerning to identify those investments where the impacts are truly additive and tie directly to ESG goals of the public markets. I am tremendously excited by the opportunities ahead for climate investing. For those of you who follow my column and who have been on the sidelines of sustainable investing, this is the year for the mainstreaming of impact, and we need everyone to have a stake. I look forward to writing more on some of the exciting developments in climate finance in the weeks and mo
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robpascale/2019/08/26/mentoring-helping-others-while-helping-yourself/
The Power Of Mentoring In Retirement: Helping Others While Helping Yourself
The Power Of Mentoring In Retirement: Helping Others While Helping Yourself When we retire,  we take with us all the knowledge and experience we've accumulated over the years. And we also take our living experiences -- what we've learned about relationships, building a career, working with others, and managing our lives. That means there's a lot of professional talent dumped into the trash and wasting away. On top of that, there are many in retirement who feel they're not productive enough and need to add a sense of purpose to their lives. While spending time on personal interests or loading up on travel helps, there's just so much travel you can do year in and year out. And if you spend too much time on your other interests, they can become boring. There's another option -- one that can make you feel you're doing something meaningful, and at the same time pass along all the things you've learned over the years. I'm talking about mentoring, taking a younger person under your wing and teaching them the ropes. ​Mentoring is a volunteer program, but with a difference -- it's more intimate and personal. It's also goal oriented. It's not just about empathy and kindness, filling in where needed. It's about developing an on-going relationship with a novice or young person and guiding them down the path so they can lead successful lives. Mentoring works like an artificial grandparent/grandchild relationship. You're matched with a young person with whom you meet regularly, either in person or by the internet, and help them with whatever is called for -- homework, applying for college, career paths and goals, etc.  These programs are particularly valuable for high-risk kids, but even colleges are turning to older adults to mentor their graduates through the process of finding a job and career. ​The best part about mentoring is that it works. Research has shown that kids who have a mentor are: More likely to enroll in college More likely to hold leadership positions. Have better attendance and better attitudes toward school Are less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol Are more confident about academics and social relationships But the benefits go both ways. For example, mentoring youth helps you maintain your cognitive skills -- those who tutor children are able to delay or even reverse declining brain functions. Many mentors also describe the experience as fun, and has improved the quality of their own lives in a number of ways: Achieve personal growth and learn more about themselves  Improved self-esteem   Feel they are making a difference  Feel more productive and have a sense of purpose  Enhance their relationships with their own children  Feel more connected to the community There are a number of non-profit organizations, such as those listed below, that you can contact to get involved or to obtain more information. You can also contact colleges or corporations in your area -- your former employer, for example. seniorcorps.org -- Mentor at-risk children and youth with special needs through community organizations. sccis.org  -- Mentor by email, helping students develop their own career path. rhodeslab.org -- An information source that provides research, policy, and practices on mentoring. mentoring.org  -- Find a mentoring opportunities and partnerships near you.
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robpegoraro/2020/08/13/no-facebook-isnt-getting-political-clickbait-out-of-its-news-tab/
No, Facebook Isn’t Getting Political Clickbait Out Of Its News Tab
No, Facebook Isn’t Getting Political Clickbait Out Of Its News Tab NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 25: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and News Corp CEO Robert Thompson speak ... [+] about the new Facebook News feature at the Paley Center For Media on October 25, 2019 in New York City. Facebook News, which will appear in a new dedicated section on the Facebook app, will offer stories from a mix of publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, as well as other digital-only outlets.(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Getty Images A new policy Facebook FB announced Tuesday suggests the social network will finally punish political propaganda disguised as news. But you should expect much less, thanks to a loophole big enough to shove a printing press through: This rule won’t touch sites funded by political actors, only those they own or lead. The headline on the Axios post that broke the news—“Exclusive: Facebook cracks down on political content disguised as local news” suggests more. So does the blander title of Facebook’s own announcement: “A New Policy for News Publishers Connected to Political Entities.” But not for the first time at Facebook, the words in smaller print govern. A different Facebook posting defines four “direct, meaningful ties”: • ownership by a “Political Entity” (an organization working to influence politics, policy or elections) or “Political Person” (an elected official, candidate, legislatively-confirmed appointee, or decision-making employee of a political person or entity); MORE FOR YOU‘That’s B.S., I’m Done’: Eric Bolling Walks Out During Live BBC SegmentMadHive’s One Stop Ad Solution Finds Favor With Local Broadcast GroupsTheStreet Launches A New Cryptocurrency Media Brand, As The Market Tops $2 Trillion • having a Political Person lead the news organization or direct its editorial operations; • sharing inside details of its Facebook presence with a Political Person or Political Entity; • listing a Political Person or Entity as owner or partner of its Facebook page. News sites that check any of those boxes can lose these privileges: buying Facebook ads exempt from authorization restrictions on political and social issues, using Facebook messaging to send updates to readers, and appearing in the Facebook News tab in the social network’s mobile apps. The last item represents a major venture into supporting news publishers. Facebook News headlines, curated by humans and algorithms, can help elevate a news site’s reach, and Facebook also directly pays some high-profile participants. Since day one, Facebook News has also been a place to find Breitbart News. That far-right and frequently-inaccurate publication, bankrolled generously by the Mercer family of Republican donors, most recently landed in headlines for posting the “you don’t need a mask” video of doctors claiming inaccurately that hydroxychloroquine cures COVID-19. The new policy apparently won’t affect Breitbart’s privileged perch. “We are not structurally tied to any political entity,” said Breitbart spokeswoman Elizabeth Moore. Instead, Facebook’s rule—which spokeswoman Mari Melguizo said will go into force in the next two weeks—will reach a much more limited set of sites with org-chart-obvious links to political players. There are real problems here, as Snopes noted in a 2019 report of a clumsy attempt by Republican activists to launch a chain of news sites under the Star News Digital Media brand. Two editors there did not answer an email sent Wednesday afternoon about Facebook’s policy. On the Democratic side, there’s Courier Newsroom, a group of seven sites owned by the progressive non-profit Acronym—also known for its role in the vote-counting app that failed disastrously during the Iowa Democratic caucuses. Courier editor in chief Lindsay Schrupp said in an interview Wednesday that Facebook told her shop this week that it wouldn’t get into Facebook News. “We have been very transparent about our relationship to Acronym,” she said. “We think that’s how you actually operate a newsroom with integrity.” Such Courier sites as the Virginia-specific Dogwood exhibit an obvious leftward tilt but also recognizable news reporting, if not as frequent as at other local-news sites. Schrupp said Courier has now hired about 40 journalists nationwide and sees itself as a remedy for a news business crushed by Facebook (and Google GOOGL ) devouring ever-more digital ad revenue. “Facebook has been a death knell for local journalism for years and to discriminate intentionally against a new model that seeks to amplify the work of local journalists across the US is incredibly dispiriting,” Schrupp wrote in email. But Facebook has decided that funding doesn’t count. That will leave numerous right-wing voices unscathed—see, for instance, the usually-wrong Federalist. which doesn’t even disclose its backers. It will also accept more legitimate non-profit news sites that have taken funding from political activists and sometimes been decried for it. For example, the Virginia Mercury provides serious coverage of my state but took seed funding from the progressive Hopewell Fund (which itself didn’t disclose its donors) and didn’t reveal that support until after its launch. The other important thing about Facebook’s new rule isn’t detailed in the company’s posts but did get mentioned in the Axios post by Sara Fischer and confirmed by Facebook’s Melguizo: The company’s Washington-based policy team will make the final call. That’s the shop run by former Republican lobbyist Joel Kaplan that the Washington Post, BuzzFeed News and others have shown functions as a giant thumb on the scale for Trump supporters—even when they violate Facebook rules against misinformation or coordinated inauthentic behavior. So if you need another reason to feel cranky about Facebook, consider this: This new rule will probably do nothing about the already-debunked stories your friends keep sharing there.
96ac9b1c50d5bc32d3e07efdba237d6e
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robpegoraro/2021/03/02/analyst-report-the-pay-tv-bundle-looks-even-more-doomed-and-streaming-wont-save-it/
Analyst Report: The Pay-TV Bundle Looks Even More Doomed—And Streaming Won’t Save It
Analyst Report: The Pay-TV Bundle Looks Even More Doomed—And Streaming Won’t Save It MOUNT PROSPECT, IL - DECEMBER 05: Comcast service trucks are seen beyond security fencing outside a ... [+] Comcast Payment and Technical Facility December 5, 2005 in Mount Prospect, Illinois. Comcast, along with other cable companies nationwide, are planning on raising their rates as soon as the first of the year. (Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images) Getty Images It’s 1994 again for the pay-TV industry—and the most apt show from that year for today’s ailing business has to be ER. A new report from the market-research firm MoffettNathanson looks back at canceled subscriptions in the fourth quarter of 2020, looks forward to where demand is moving in pay TV, and finds little to comfort cable, satellite or even streaming-TV providers. “The media industry just suffered from the worst year ever for cord-cutting,” lead off analysts analysts Craig Moffett and Michael Nathanson. “Q4 2020 Cord-Cutting Monitor: Revisiting the Value Chain,” posted Tuesday morning, finds that declines in traditional pay TV aren’t being made up by slower growth in streaming-TV bundles, leaving an increasingly large market for subscription and ad-supported video-on-demand services. “The decline in Q4 brings residential penetration of traditional Pay TV down to around 60% of occupied households,” the report notes. That’s a level the U.S. last saw in 1994, before DirecTV debuted as the first small-dish satellite TV service. Cable and satellite combined for 1.4 million canceled subscriptions in Q4—“the tenth consecutive quarter with losses of 1.0M subscribers or more,” the report observes. The annual rate of decline has tipped from barely more than 3% two years ago to 6.9% last year to 7.3% now. MORE FOR YOUCNN’s John Berman: ‘Ted Cruz Needs To Look In The Mirror, Which Can Be Tough. Especially For Him’Streaming-Video Subscriber Churn Up 85% As Audiences Seek Next Hot ShowTrump Says He’s ‘Beyond Seriously’ Considering 2024 Run As Critics Pan ‘Retirement Home’ Interview Moffett and Nathanson note that many cable providers, which make much better margins selling internet access, no longer mope much about TV cord cutting. Comcast CMCSA , for example, can sell its Xfinity Flex streaming box to residential broadband subscribers, who as of its fourth quarter of 2020 outnumbered residential TV subscribers by 28.4 million to 19 million. Among cable operators smaller than industry-leading Comcast, the trend of TV surrender is even more dramatic. Monday, Altice USA CEO Dexter Goei told CNBC that he could see the company behind Cablevision ATUS and Suddenlink no longer selling TV at all. “Yeah,” he told the business-news channel’s Alex Sherman. “Because the economics get worse and worse every year.” Last week, the mid-sized operator WideOpenWest WOW forecast on its earnings call that it will lose two-thirds of its current TV base of 308,200 subscribers over the next three years. Streaming providers offering a similar bundle of channels—but without the junk fees padding cable bills—were supposed to be the next stop for cord cutters. But Moffett and Nathanson don’t see enough hope there after a Q4 bump of just half a million subscribers raised that sector to almost 12 million subscribers. “Yes, it is a sizable number,” they write. “But it is certainly far short of what was expected of the category in its infancy in 2015 and 2016.” Multiple rounds of rate hikes at such streaming services as AT&T TV, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV and Sling TV help explain that. Online distribution hasn’t bestowed them any immunity from demands of widely-viewed local and sports channels for more money—and the resistance of any one channel to getting dropped from a TV bundle. “These pricing actions fly in the face of what consumers actually desire: fewer channels at lower prices,” Moffett and Nathanson write. As a result, of the 34.7 million households they count as having cut the cord or never having subscribed to traditional pay-TV at all, only 12 million have moved on to streaming TV packages. That, in turn, leaves 22.7 million potential viewers up for grabs by subscription video on demand (SVOD) or ad-supported video on demand (AVOD). “Media companies have no choice but to target this huge market,” they write. That’s good news for the likes of Netflix NFLX and Disney+. It’s less obviously positive for all the other plus services looking to win a spot on people’s budgets. And it leaves a fair amount of mystery around the fate of local channels and sports networks stuck with a shrinking base of TV-bundle subscribers underwriting their costs. In an email exchange, Nathanson predicted that local channels would stay in all traditional bundles but charge even more—high enough to offset cord-cutting—on the theory that carrying NFL games makes them too valuable to drop. But, he added, regional sports networks have no such leverage and will either have to accept relegation to pricier tiers of service or wait for more distributors to drop them. The latter has already happened to dozens of baseball networks after last year’s boomlet in streaming carriage of those channels. Nathanson’s advice to sports networks: Forget trying to get to even 80% of households and learn to live with 50%, because the market for TV bundles isn’t there any more. Or as the report concludes: “For most customers, the answer is not to replace the existing bundle of networks at a somewhat lower price, but instead to blow up the bundle entirely and replace it with SVOD and AVOD subscriptions that are by almost any measure a better solution.”
f9c59eafee0b30f998252eabc73b0cad
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robpegoraro/2021/03/19/facebook-wants-to-put-news-back-on-its-friends-list/
Facebook Wants To Put News Back On Its Friends List
Facebook Wants To Put News Back On Its Friends List NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 25: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks about the new Facebook News feature ... [+] at the Paley Center For Media on October 25, 2019 in New York City. Facebook News, which will appear in a new dedicated section on the Facebook app, will offer stories from a mix of publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, as well as other digital-only outlets.(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Getty Images Facebook FB has once again been sending friend requests to the news business, but you can’t blame journalists for ignoring them. Or deleting them. Monday brought news of the social network signing a sweeping deal with News Corp to add its Australian properties to its Facebook News feature. A day later, it announced an upcoming platform for independent writers that will let them sign up paying readers for subscriptions. Facebook’s new news initiatives address different threats but share the same problem: Facebook’s history of botched or bad-faith experiments in journalism. The three-year News Corp deal caps Facebook’s efforts to stave off digital-platforms legislation in Australia that would have required it to pay government-registered news publishers—which Facebook earlier countered with a clumsy ban on sharing news stories from the Lucky Country. Instead, News Corp’s Australian sites will get paid for appearing in Facebook News, giving that publishing conglomerate a revenue stream independent of the problematic display-ads business. The only surprise about this development was how long it took—the October 2019 U.S. launch of Facebook News featured News Corp CEO Robert Thomson. Meanwhile, News Corp is so influential in Australia that a local comedy group satirized the “news media bargaining code” bill in a YouTube clip as the “News Corp Bargaining Code.” MORE FOR YOUTrump Says He’s ‘Beyond Seriously’ Considering 2024 Run As Critics Pan ‘Retirement Home’ InterviewCNN’s John Berman: ‘Ted Cruz Needs To Look In The Mirror, Which Can Be Tough. Especially For Him’Streaming-Video Subscriber Churn Up 85% As Audiences Seek Next Hot Show Facebook’s bid to host the work of self-employed writers also seems an obvious response to the rise of platforms like Patreon and Substack that have been drawing indie creators to post there to paying fans (in return for which these sites take about a 10% cut). Substack has also begun handing out six-figure advances to a group of newsletter authors that reportedly includes Vox co-founder Matthew Yglesias and former BuzzFeed reporter Anne Helen Petersen, but Substack won’t name them all. Facebook’s post announcing this new platform touts a list of publishing and audience-engagement features, some of which sound like existing features for Facebook pages and some that Facebook doesn’t offer today: “Monetization tools to build successful individual websites and businesses, starting with subscriptions.” In a conversation Thursday afternoon hosted in the Clubhouse app, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg dodged a question from moderator Josh Constine about whether Facebook would offer its own advances to writers, saying “I think people will be happy with what we’re doing here.” (Disclosure: I have a Patreon page that I now put more work into than my Facebook page, in part because it generates income instead of nagging me to pay to promote my own posts.) But Facebook’s latest news initiatives follow a history of the company inviting publishers to jump on new features or trends that then fall well short of its advance billing. The “social reader” apps it pitched in 2011 gave a few sites a boost in traffic but then saw their usage fall off a cliff after Facebook changed up its News Feed. A few years later, Facebook urged sites to invest massively in video—and many obliged, firing writers to free up budgets for their pivots to video. But the touted traffic never materialized, and Facebook’s own data about video views turned out to be massively overinflated. A more recent Facebook journalism feature, the Instant Articles format that lets publishers post stories direct to Facebook, may be faring better, with some publishers reporting modest ad-revenue increases. Facebook News itself—featured in its smartphone apps, somewhat buried in its desktop site and unavailable in its iPad app—remains a bit of a mystery. Facebook doesn’t list the publishers it pays in this program, although spokeswoman Mari Melguizo wrote in an email that they include ABC News, BuzzFeed, the Dallas Morning News, the New York Times NYT , the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. Some reports have put the right-wing site Breitbart News on that list, but she said it’s never been a paid partner. Many more publications would presumably like a chance to get paid for posting their work to Facebook, but Melguizo said there’s no formal process for them to apply. Meanwhile, publishers still struggle with inadequate information from Facebook about their audiences. “The analytics are not that helpful, and you don’t really know where anybody’s coming from,” said Mandy Jenkins, who until recently was the general manager at the Compass Experiment. That collaboration between Google GOOG and McClatchy is now being dismantled after that newspaper group’s bankruptcy and subsequent purchase by a hedge fund. Her big wish: some way for publishers to distinguish between traffic from their own Facebook pages and from people’s posts. Local and little publishers—among the more battered members of the news business—seem especially unlikely to profit from Facebook’s newest overtures. “Whether or not smaller publishers benefit in the short or long-term is as always to be decided, but doubtful,” emailed Damon Kiesow, a journalism professor and a chair in digital editing and producing at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. His advice to publishers considering any new feature from Facebook or any other tech giant: “it should be budgeted as a marketing expense and any revenues received should be treated as a windfall, not a dependable new source of income.” “They tend to have their friends that they go to first, and foes that they desperately have to win over,” said Jenkins. For everybody else? “It’s definitely been a don’t-call-us, we’ll-call-you situation… with all of the tech platforms.”
f47c4224a3d0a6528acf7558a153eb7f
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robpegoraro/2021/03/27/the-paper-to-pixels-workaround-activists-want-to-use-to-keep-libraries-online/
The Paper-To-Pixels Workaround Activists Want To Use To Keep Libraries Online
The Paper-To-Pixels Workaround Activists Want To Use To Keep Libraries Online ILLUSTRATION - An iPad displaying 'eBooks' stands next to a stack of books in the city library in ... [+] Eisenach, Germany, 23 February 2015. (Photo by Sebastian Kahnert/picture alliance via Getty Images) picture alliance via Getty Images Decades after the recording industry decided, however grudgingly, to accept people ripping CDs into digital-music files, librarians have yet to get an equivalent signature on a permission slip to do the same with books. But the continued plagues of online disinformation and pandemic-forced closings or cutbacks of library services may breathe more life into a concept called Controlled Digital Lending. “CDL” is not a format but a framework: After they scan one copy of printed book, libraries can loan one digital copy at a time, using digital-rights-management software to impede readers from duplicating it. (Books out of copyright can be shared at will, but the newest crop to enter the public domain dates to 1925.) Digital-freedom advocates usually resent imposing artificial scarcity. But at an online panel hosted Wednesday by Georgetown Law’s Institute for Technology Law & Policy, CDL advocates explained why they’ll pay that price—and griped that publishers won’t take their attempt at yes for an answer. MORE FOR YOUCNN’s John Berman: ‘Ted Cruz Needs To Look In The Mirror, Which Can Be Tough. Especially For Him’Streaming-Video Subscriber Churn Up 85% As Audiences Seek Next Hot ShowThe Impact COVID-19 Had On The Entertainment Industry In 2020 “The tl;dr on Controlled Digital Lending is that it is a way for libraries to lend digital copies of the books that they already own,” said Georgetown professor Amanda Levendowski after a brief speech by Sen. Ron Wyden (D.-Ore.) calling libraries central to defeating misinformation. Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle defended CDL—used by some 80 libraries, including the Boston Public Library—as a needed response to publications being out of print or only available to libraries as ebooks under restrictive licenses. “We have been digitizing the materials and respectfully lending them, one copy at a time,” he said. “But only one reader at a time per copy.” Kahle added that digitizing books can enlighten Wikipedia entries by letting people read relevant passages in cited titles: “The idea is to go and make footnotes live.” Former Georgetown Law library director Michelle Wu further emphasized CDL’s single-copy rule: “The library can only lend simultaneously the number of copies that it owns.” But at the start of the pandemic, the Internet Archive waived that limit for its “National Emergency Library,” with authors invited to opt out of that program. The Archive closed the Emergency Library early on June 16 after major publishers sued that San Francisco nonprofit. The complaint by publishers Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, John Wiley & Sons and Penguin Random House (posted by Bloomberg Law) calls the Emergency Library massive copyright infringement and slams Controlled Digital Lending as an “invented theory” that “affronts the most basic realities of the law and the markets it propels.” At the Georgetown Law event, Wu—who outlined CDL in a 2011 paper—emphasized her original goal of keeping works available in emergencies without trampling established business models. “I structured it specifically to take into account the interests of copyright,” she said. “You do want to reward authors for creating the work.” A 2019 paper by Wu offers a deeper argument for CDL on fair-use defenses. “The arguments for CDL are strongest for public libraries, funded by taxpayers, with an obligation to maximize access to information resources for their communities,” she wrote then. “Spending funds repeatedly on the same content, when only the container has changed, reduces the amount of unique content a library can purchase for its users.” CDL can also help libraries make titles accessible to people with impaired vision by performing optical-character-recognition on their text, but that’s not a requirement. A copy of Carl Sagan’s 1994 book “Pale Blue Dot” borrowed from the Internet Archive’s Open Library consisted of images of its pages, complete with a handwritten inscription from its earlier owner: “To Clyde from John & Tam - Christmas 1994.” (The publishers’ lawsuit warns that CDL “produces mirror-image copies,” then complains of the Archive’s “low quality scans.”) The Georgetown Law panel raised another cause for CDL: publishers not offering ebooks to libraries at all. Heather Joseph, executive director of SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition), called out one among them. “Amazon as a company will not sell, by and large, ebooks to libraries and allow them to lend,” she said. Earlier this month, the Washington Post’s Geoffrey Fowler wrote that Amazon “is the only big publisher that flat-out blocks library digital collections,” making ebooks published through its labels off-limits to libraries. Amazon has said it plans to provide ebooks it publishes through the Digital Public Library of America Exchange (which Fowler’s story observed isn’t compatible with many libraries’ ebook apps), and Amazon reiterated that to me. “Amazon Publishing is in active discussions to make ebooks and digital audiobooks available for library distribution through the Digital Public Library of America Exchange and expects to test a variety of approaches to digital library lending,” Mikyla Bruder, publisher of Amazon Publishing, said in an emailed statement. This, however, excludes Amazon’s self-serve Kindle Direct Publishing platform. States are considering laws to require ebook publishers to make their works available to libraries—one such bill in Maryland passed unanimously. Pending laws like that, using CDL to turn a purchased print copy into a digital copy remains a possible library workaround for uncooperative publishers. As Wu wrote in email Wednesday afternoon: “Such an approach ensures that a community won't be deprived of the content of a work if a publisher refuses to sell an ebook to a library.” But CDL has yet to get a definitive verdict from courts, with the publishers’ lawsuit against the Internet Archive awaiting a hearing. In the panel, Kahle held out hope for this initiative’s possibilities: “We could build the Library of Alexandria version 2!” But courts have a history of deciding that introducing a computer to a copyright argument, no matter the nuance of the situation, requires harsher restrictions. And a losing verdict in the Internet Archive’s case risks furthering a future Joseph warned of in the panel: “It’s no longer a library card, it’s increasingly a credit card.”
96da8f296b2eccfbda95219699e3639d
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robpegoraro/2021/03/30/t-mobile-turning-off-tvision-bundle-philo-and-youtube-tv-instead/
T-Mobile Turning Off TVision, Will Bundle Philo And YouTube TV Instead
T-Mobile Turning Off TVision, Will Bundle Philo And YouTube TV Instead A screengrab from T-Mobile's TVision webcast shows CEO Mike Sievert introducing the new video ... [+] service. Rob Pegoraro T-Mobile’s attempt to blow up pay TV will have a shorter life than many new sitcoms. The wireless carrier announced Monday afternoon that it would wind down its TVision service April 29—less than five months after it introduced that streaming-video offering. Bellevue, Wash.-based T-Mobile will instead offer two other streaming services to its customers: Philo, a $20/month assortment of 60 entertainment channels that excludes sports and local programming, and Google’s GOOG YouTube TV, a $64.99 bundle of some 80 channels that approximates the fare of a traditional pay-TV bundle. Philo effectively takes the place of TVision Vibe, a $10/month of 30-some channels that also emphasizes entertainment to the exclusion of sports and local news. T-Mobile will give current Vibe subscribers a $10/month discount for Philo as long as they stay on its wireless service. YouTube TV doesn’t map quite as closely to TVision Live, which comes in $40, $50 and $60 bundles of local, sports and entertainment channels. Again, T-Mobile is giving existing TVision subscribers a $10 discount—but those who had signed onto the skinniest, $40 version of TVision Live will now pay considerably more. And between raising its rate by $10 last summer and then dropping more than 20 regional sports networks over last year, YouTube TV’s own appeal has taken a few dents. MORE FOR YOUTrump Says He’s ‘Beyond Seriously’ Considering 2024 Run As Critics Pan ‘Retirement Home’ InterviewCNN’s John Berman: ‘Ted Cruz Needs To Look In The Mirror, Which Can Be Tough. Especially For Him’Streaming-Video Subscriber Churn Up 85% As Audiences Seek Next Hot Show Starting April 6, T-Mobile consumer wireless subscribers (as in, not postpaid or business customers) can also get $10 a month off either Philo or YouTube TV for 12 months. T-Mobile separately announced plans for broader collaboration with Google Monday that will include making its Messages app the standard messaging app for its Android phones and promoting Google’s Pixel phones to its customers. T-Mobile’s blog post by CEO Mike Sievert acknowledges that the quick demise of TVision might seem odd. “Since launching the TVision initiative, we’ve learned a lot about the TV industry, about streaming products, and of course, about TV customers,” he wrote, adding that T-Mobile had seen “our TV software provider encountering some financial challenges.” Sievert’s post does gently critique the streaming-TV business as “incredibly fragmented” but does not mention the company’s dispute with Discovery DISCA , which had resisted T-Mobile’s decision to include its flagship Discovery Channel on the basic TVision Vibe service but not on higher-end Live tiers. T-Mobile responded by putting Discovery as well as some 30 others back on Live—which could not have done the economics of TVision any favors. T-Mobile declined to say how many people had signed up for TVision since its Nov. 1 debut. Analyst Brett Sappington, a vice president with Interpret, suggested that figure amounted to not many. “Clearly, subscribers weren’t on-board with their offering,” he wrote in an email. “Not enough current mobile subscribers were adding the service, and it wasn’t bringing in enough new customers to make it worthwhile.” The impending sunset of that service will also put a period on the carrier’s attempt to get into the video business that effectively began with it buying Layer3, a Denver-based TV provider, in 2018 for $325 million, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. “We’re getting ready to take on & disrupt another broken, arrogant industry – CABLE!” then-CEO John Legere tweeted when T-Mobile announced the Layer3 acquisition in December 2017. He wasn’t wrong that people don’t like getting asked to pay ever-higher rates for large bundles of content that they don’t want. But as long as so many channels act as if rate hikes are everybody else’s fault while their own programming inflation should be passed on to subscribers as usual, the pay-TV pain seems bound to be renewed for future seasons. “Pay TV is an expensive, challenging, thin-margin business,” said Sappington. “For T-Mobile to shutter the service so quickly suggests that it was a net minus for the organization, likely drawing resources, and perhaps profits, away from more promising initiatives.” Updated to add Sappington’s comments.
6c5d00efff3a24acf653eab5f3eebd28
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robpegoraro/2021/04/01/as-streaming-services-drop-baseball-networks-many-cord-cutters-can-only-say-wait-til-next-year/
As Streaming Services Drop Baseball Networks, Many Cord-Cutters Can Only Say ‘Wait Till Next Year’
As Streaming Services Drop Baseball Networks, Many Cord-Cutters Can Only Say ‘Wait Till Next Year’ BOSTON - MARCH 30: A worker spray-paints "Opening Day" behind home plate at Fenway Park in Boston on ... [+] March 30, 2021. Preparations were made for Opening Day on Tuesday as workers were busy sprucing up the park and making it safe for spectators (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) Boston Globe via Getty Images One year after a baseball season that featured almost no fans in the stands, you might think that teams and the regional sports networks airing most of their games would work even harder to connect with fans. Alas, you would be wrong. Continued programming-cost inflation at “RSNs” last year caused multiple streaming services—Hulu and Google’s GOOG YouTube TV in particular—to run away from sports networks like the Boston Red Sox's NESN and the New York Yankees' YES as if they were a dropped third strike. And now it’s given us an Opening Day on which 22 teams are available only on one streaming service, AT&T T TV. The cheapest bundle there to cover regional sports networks runs $85 a month—$5 more than the comparable tier last year on that Dallas firm’s now-shuttered AT&T TV Now service. After AT&T TV, sports-centric FuboTV carries the second-most baseball RSNs: eight, including Wednesday’s addition of the Chicago Cubs’ Marquee Sports Network. That represents a huge step back from last year. We’ve sunk from 18 of the 30 MLB franchises available on at least three streaming-TV services to having only five that accessible: the Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants. MORE FOR YOUCNN’s John Berman: ‘Ted Cruz Needs To Look In The Mirror, Which Can Be Tough. Especially For Him’Streaming-Video Subscriber Churn Up 85% As Audiences Seek Next Hot ShowThe Impact COVID-19 Had On The Entertainment Industry In 2020 The blunt judgment of MoffettNathanson founding partner Michael Nathanson: The streaming-TV market at large “does not see the value in carrying these networks.” Viewers who don’t want to pay AT&T’s elevated price—to be fair, that $85 rate still beats cable or satellite TV costs after you add in their unadvertised add-on fees that escalate every year—aren’t out of options. But none of them are as simple as signing up for an “over the top” video app and handing over a credit card to that OTT service. Yankees fans who don’t want to ante up for AT&T TV but do subscribe to Amazon Prime AMZN will get 21 games this season on that service. YouTube will stream 21 games for free without regional blackouts, ESPN subscribers can watch Sunday-night games, and some teams continue to air games on local broadcast TV. Tech-savvy types have spent years signing up for Major League Baseball’s MLB.tv (which T-Mobile subscribers once again get free) and then evading its blackouts of local teams (“local” can mean hundreds of miles from the ballpark in question) using virtual-private-network apps or such location-proxy services as Unlocator.com. And at some point this season, the continued march of coronavirus vaccinations should permit many fans to return safely to ballparks. Maybe even sports bars? Many cord-cutting baseball fans might prefer to pay directly to watch their team’s games instead of worrying which service will add or drop that feed next. Sports networks could use new OTT options too. “Every lost OTT partner is a reduction in the RSNs’ distribution footprint that might not be easily replaced,” emailed GlobalData senior analyst Tammy Parker. Nathanson noted that AT&T’s pending spinoff of its video services into a new company partially owned by the private-equity firm TPG could lead to tighter budgets there. But only one team offers local fans a direct-to-fans service: The Toronto Blue Jays’ SportsNet Now sells standalone subscriptions to Canadian fans. Major League Baseball would like more of that, to judge from a March 17 online media preview of the 2021 season. There, MLB chief operations and strategy officer Chris Marinak answered a question about declining streaming availability of games by saying baseball is coaxing teams to add a direct-to-consumer approach. “What we’re trying to do is create ways for direct offerings in those markets,” he said. Just not this year, he added: “There’s nothing I believe that is gonna be available for this season in that vein, just because it takes time to kind of stand some of those things up.” Nathanson noted an upfront risk of that for RSNs: “it would give all distributors a reason to drop these networks for good from their lineups.” Parker voiced a similar concern, saying “they have to get the fans onboard and keep them on all year, and I’m not convinced they can.” In other words, the problem might be not that cord cutting is eating into the existing TV business model, but that it hasn’t devoured enough of it yet to force the parties involved into their own equivalent of a rebuilding year.
fc123a75adb0b83fddffa46d2309ca0c
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robportman/2014/02/25/defusing-washingtons-debt-bomb/
Defusing Washington's Debt Bomb
Defusing Washington's Debt Bomb When President Obama signed the clean debt limit increase that recently passed Congress, he squandered another opportunity to deal with an unprecedented national debt that now tops $17 trillion. Under the Constitution, only Congress can authorize the United States to borrow money to pay its bills. And since World War I, Congress, recognizing the danger of runaway borrowing, has placed a ceiling on the amount of debt Washington can accumulate. Once that limit is reached, Congress either has to find savings to keep the debt from rising, raise the debt limit with or without budget reforms, or refuse to raise the limit, putting the federal government in a situation where it can't pay all of its bills because it can't borrow. There is a healthy debate over whether or not this last option means the federal government would default on its debt obligations. If debt were prioritized, current revenues could probably cover those payments, but that leaves many other critical obligations unfunded. Going over the debt limit is not the right solution. But neither is simply raising the debt limit without doing anything to address the underlying problem, especially at a time of record debt. The American people understand this. Think about it as parents: when one of our kids goes over the limit on the credit card, we don't just pay the bill and ask the bank to raise the limit. We take steps to address the overspending problem and make sure it doesn't happen again. The American people expect that when Washington maxes out the nation’s credit card, the same wisdom applies.  That's why throughout the past three decades, the debate over the debt limit is the only thing that has resulted in any significant deficit reduction, including the 1997 Balanced Budget Agreement and the Budget Control Act of 2011 that saved the American people $2.1 trillion. Whether Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton, Presidents of both parties have used the debt limit as an opportunity to sit down with Congress and work out meaningful plans for deficit reduction. President Obama chose to turn his back on this tradition, refusing to work with Congress to reduce the deficit as part of a debt limit increase. That's a shame. The debt limit is only relevant to the extent that it causes us to stop and reconsider how we are managing the nation’s finances. If instead we simply raise the debt ceiling whenever it is reached without any spending reforms, we might as well not have a debt ceiling at all. Given the unprecedented budgetary challenges we are facing, we cannot afford to be so irresponsible. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently painted a troubling picture of our economic future if Washington continues its borrowing-and-spending spree. Before President Obama came into office, the federal government had never run a trillion-dollar deficit.  Since then, it has run four years of trillion-dollar deficits, and now CBO says there will be permanent trillion-dollar deficits returning within the decade—a decade in which the record national debt is projected to expand by another $10 trillion. When it comes to our nation's finances, we are witnessing a slow-motion train wreck. We can see it coming, and we know exactly what is causing it. We are not undertaxed; tax revenues as a percentage of the economy will soon exceed the historical average on their way to record levels. Discretionary spending—the 1/3 of the budget that Congress spends every year through the appropriations process—has been falling. What is driving our deficits? Nearly 90 percent of all new spending over the next decade will come from Social Security, health care entitlements, and interest on the soaring debt. These obligations make up the bulk of what is called mandatory spending. Every day, 10,000 baby boomers retire into Social Security and Medicare programs that are heading toward bankruptcy due to unsustainable costs. Social Security is already in permanent deficit and is on track for bankruptcy within 20 years. Medicare is just over a decade away from bankruptcy, a predictable result of the program offering $3 in benefits for every $1 the typical retiree contributes in Medicare taxes and premiums over his lifetime. Obamacare digs the hole deeper. The CBO predicts that Obamacare will result in the equivalent of 2.5 million Americans leaving the workforce, meaning lower economic growth, lower tax revenues, and even less money coming into the Social Security program. It's bad enough that Obamacare subsidies will cost $1.5 trillion over the next decade, but by undercutting our economy, it will prevent more people from rising into the middle class, and may even accelerate Social Security's deficits. This spiral will spin even faster as interest rates—and the amount we must pay to finance the debt—rise. Every time interest rates rise by one percentage point, the cost of paying interest on the national debt rises by $140 billion annually. Right now, interest rates on the 10-year Treasury note are just under 3 percent—much lower than the 6 percent rate typical in the 1990s, and the 8 percent rate throughout much of the 1980s. Already, CBO predicts that a decade from now, interest payments on the debt alone will be nearly four times what they are now, or $880 billion. And that's the optimistic view. It doesn't take a mathematician to see that we are sitting on a ticking time bomb of debt.  The escalating national debt, an economic recovery, and an end to the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing policies are each likely to push interest rates steeply higher—triggering that debt bomb, and taking jobs, investment, and opportunity with it. To avoid this future, we must act now to reform mandatory spending before our debt becomes unsustainable and we see these critical programs go bankrupt. That is why the debt limit vote is needed. Mandatory spending is not appropriated every year; it’s on autopilot. That means that the only time Congress can truly force action on mandatory spending—the largest and fastest growing part of the budget—is as part of the debt limit debate. President Obama and most of the Washington establishment are trying to make the debt limit a blank check or a rubber stamp. Some are even calling for ending the debt limit vote, essentially ceding Congress’s constitutional responsibility to approve new borrowing. Instead of eliminating the vote or making it irrelevant, why not make it more effective by requiring that the President accompany any extension of the statutory debt limit with a proposal for deficit reduction that deals responsibly with the fiscal problem we all acknowledge? I have offered legislation that requires a dollar-for-dollar reduction in deficits for every dollar of debt limit increase over ten years, as was done in the 2011 Budget Control Act. The United States should never default on its debts, but we also shouldn’t mortgage our nation’s future by continuing to recklessly spend money we don’t have. Restoring the importance of the debt ceiling is necessary to finally get our nation off the path to fiscal ruin and back on course for prosperity, job-creation, and rising incomes.
a780af9cf1d02725db282039f7e13278
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robreed/2019/02/14/a-tale-of-two-premium-cycling-brands-assos-vs-rapha/
A Tale Of Two Premium Cycling Brands: Assos Vs. Rapha
A Tale Of Two Premium Cycling Brands: Assos Vs. Rapha The Assos Vibe Assos There's a duopoly in premium cycling apparel. This is just my opinion, of course. And it is reflected in the fact that 80% of my road-cycling wardrobe is either Swiss-based Assos or UK-based Rapha. My respective stake in these two brands is roughly equal on a piece-by-piece basis, but the item distribution is not. In other words, each brand has clear strengths when it comes to bib shorts, jerseys, base layers, outer layers and ancillary items like arm warmers and socks. These strengths originate from a combination of technology, design, style and the individual philosophies of the brands themselves. My wardrobe has been curated accordingly. The other 20% is represented by brands like Black Sheep and Pearl Izumi. Plus, there's a Borah kit from Rally UHC Cycling and a Castelli kit from MTN-Qhubeka, the South African WorldTour team that is now Dimension Data. But when I want to maximize performance, comfort and style, I'm almost aways looking to a combination of Assos and Rapha. The Rapha Vibe Rapha Beyond the chamois and lycra, though, each of these companies has a compelling story. These are true brands. They are unique in their values and principles. Their founders have strong personalities. And they have meaning for those who use their products, which is important. These companies exist to do more than just sell widgets. Each has a unique vision for and approach to the great sport of cycling, which comes through in their apparel. But while Assos and Rapha produce and sell the same things—superb bike clothing—they are as different as Google and Facebook. Assos tattoos Assos Assos draws from more than four decades in the cycling industry. Founder Toni Maier is credited with developing the first carbon fiber bicycle frame in 1976. His motivation and goal was to improve aerodynamics. He quickly realized, though, that the wool- and cotton-based bike clothing of the time was the main cause of drag. That same year he introduced the first Lycra cycling shorts. Indeed, you can thank Assos for the double-edged sword of skin-tight cycling apparel. Rapha tattoos Rapha By contrast, Rapha launched in 2004. Founder Simon Mottram was shocked at the lack of style-conscious clothing and general creativity in the industry. The colors were obnoxious; the cuts were unflattering for all but the thinnest among us, and nothing he found sought to represent the greatness of the sport itself. Rapha's first product was the Classic Jersey. The cut can be described as more casual club ride than Giro d'Italia. The colors were muted—black, navy blue, white—and the design featured an arm band on the left sleeve, which drew from cycling's glory years in the '50s and '60s. The fabric? A merino wool blend. Introduction of the new Assos Equipe RS Bib Shorts S9 Assos To summarize, Assos launched in 1976 by introducing the first Lycra cycling shorts because wool didn't perform as well. And Rapha launched in 2004 with a wool jersey because the fit and style of Lycra was less than stylish. If you want to get really specific, Assos launched as a cycling short company and Rapha launched as a cycling jersey company. These were their respective footholds in the apparel market and have been their advantages ever since. Introduction of the new Rapha Cargo Bib Shorts Rapha While Assos claims a deep history in the sport, you wouldn't know it from their branding or approach. The company is entirely focused on the future. It uses the most advanced materials and processes to construct cycling apparel that performs at the highest level, from its patented, multi-dimensional chamois to targeted compression zones and a temperature-specific layering system. Assos employs two key tag lines: "Sponsor Yourself" and "Suffer in Comfort." The former hints at the premium price point, while the latter is an ode to its superior chamois. In 2015, Maier sold a controlling interest to a private equity firm lead by Phil Duff (avid cyclist), who previously served as CFO of Morgan Stanley. He also lead a similar (successful) buyout-and-growth strategy at Black Diamond Equipment. Duff stepped into the role of Chairman and CEO, while Maier shifted focus to product development. Since then, Assos added the vital direct-to-consumer sales channel via its website, started sponsoring professional teams after a 25-year hiatus, and expanded more heavily into the mountain bike market. Assos sponsors USA Cycling Assos Rapha is a young and modern brand that seems like it's been around for 100 years. The company's bold mission is to make cycling the most popular sport in the world. In this sense, Rapha positions itself as a cycling company that just happens to design and produce high-end apparel. It sells this apparel direct to consumers at great margins so it can afford to pursue its larger mission. This is realized through the Rapha Cycling Club (RCC), a semi-exclusive club with unique kits and clubhouses throughout the world where members can gather for group rides, drink espresso and watch pro races on TV. It was realized through Rapha Travel, which launched in 2011 and provided multi-day cycling adventures all over the world (though it was shuttered last year). And it's realized by producing copious content in the form of coffee table books, blogs, podcasts and videos about the sport of cycling. In 2017, Rapha sold a controlling interest to private equity firm RZC Investments, which is run by the Walmart heirs (avid cyclists), for a reported $260 million. Mottram has remained CEO. Rapha sponsors Team EF Education First Rapha Which brings me to the clothing. The Assos and Rapha lines are quite extensive. Everything they make is high quality, but each line has signature, stand-out pieces that I use on a daily basis. The world's finest bib cycling shorts: Assos T.Cento S7 Assos Assos T.Cento S7 Shorts ($299) The flagship Assos bib short is a masterpiece of high-performance, high-comfort cycling apparel. Per the name, it is designed for rides of 100 miles or more. The core feature is the chamois, which is constructed of plush memory foam and almost floats such that it's partially independent from the outer layer. The front of the chamois includes an area Assos calls the kuKuPenthouse. Most shorts just slam the male anatomy against the pelvis. The T.Cento and many other Assos bibs are more accommodating of our junk. It's like a baseball cup, but it's soft and breathable. The unified leg panel features compression material to support the quads and hamstrings, and the shorts are constructed with a single seam to maximize fit and comfort. The front of the short is cut low, which is great for heat management but can also enhance one's muffin top. Nevertheless, this is my go-to bib short for any day gets above 70 degrees F. The world's finest cycling jerseys, complete with tribal band. Rapha Classic Jersey II (left) and... [+] Pro Team Training Jersey (right) Rapha Rapha Classic Jersey II ($150) The Rapha Classic Jersey was recently updated with a second generation (II). It features a new merino-based fabric that is lighter, softer and more breathable. Plus, the cut is more tailored (less boxy), which makes for a better fit and lighter package. It is available in 10 colorways, which are no longer just the basics, and each features the signature arm band. My favorite is the dark navy/hi-vis pink pictured above. The core benefit of this new material, known as Rapha Performance Merino, is that it performs in a wide range of temperatures and conditions. This is my go-to jersey when temps will hover in the 60s. But with the right base layer and some arm warmers, it has a comfortable range of 50 to 75 degrees F. Rapha Pro Team Training Jersey ($115) Rapha's Team collection was previously worn by Team Sky through several Tour de France victories. As you'd expect, the cuts are skin tight, and the fabric is very light. It comes down lower on the neck than the Classic for better air flow, and the arms extend closer to the elbows to reduce drag. This is my go-to jersey on days in the high 70s and up. It's also my choice when seeking a Strava PR, as putting it on just makes you feel fast. It's available in seven colorways, complete with the Rapha arm band. Why is that important? Because it's a signal to other Rapha fans that you share an appreciation for the brand and mission. Assos Skinfoil base layer (left); Rapha Merino Mesh base layer (right) Assos/Rapha Assos Skinfoil Summer Base Layer ($99) The Assos Skinfoil Summer sleeveless base layer is the one item in my wardrobe that gets the most use...by orders of magnitude. Whether it's road or mountain or gravel or indoor, I'm most likely wearing one of these. True to the brand, it's a form-fitting layer that sits perfectly flat on the skin. When tucked into bib shorts, it extends just low enough that it doesn't bunch up (in the proper size). As a high-performance layer, it's superb at transferring moisture and delivering air to the body when you need it. If the day starts in the 60s and will get into the 70s, I'd pair this with the Rapha Classic Jersey II. However, the Rapha Pro Team base layer is better for the Team Training jersey. Rapha Merino Mesh Base Layer ($75) As with the Classic Jersey II, Rapha's line of merino wool base layers leverage the many qualities of this natural fabric. If it's going to be chilly and I won't be going too hard, there's something very comforting about having this layer against my skin. It still has an impressive temperature range, but it's my personal antidote for cloudy and overcast days because the feel of the merino wool is somehow mentally uplifting. Rapha Classic Gilet II (left); Assos Tiburu Gilet Equipe (right) Rapha/Assos Rapha Classic Gilet II ($135) If the wind is blowing or rain is threatening, my automatic reaction is to grab a Rapha Classic Gilet II. It's both windproof and water resistant while fitting neatly into the center pocket of a jersey. The dropped tail will protect your back and butt from road spray, and it has all the pockets you need for a toolkit, nutrition, phone, etc. Assos Tiburu Gilet Equipe ($219) By contrast, the Assos Tiburu Gilet is more of an insulating layer that breathes exceptionally well. I wore this for last year's Park City Point-to-Point race, where the temperature at the start was in the 40s, and by the finish (almost eight hours later) it was well into the 80s. I shed the vest after the first couple hours. Per the Assos design philosophy, it is a form-fitting layer that wraps tight to the body with nothing left to flap in the wind. This also keeps the three rear pockets tight so your riding essentials stay firmly in place but are still easily accessible when you need them.
3fac18609e2ec77ab6f7a311abdf62a5
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robreed/2019/05/15/the-2019-ferrari-488-pista-is-a-track-car-that-can-also-be-driven-on-the-street/
The 2019 Ferrari 488 Pista Is A Track Car...That Can Also Be Driven On The Street
The 2019 Ferrari 488 Pista Is A Track Car...That Can Also Be Driven On The Street Ferrari's finest sportscar to date: the 488 Pista Ferrari If a Ferrari dealer granted you the privilege of buying a 2019 488 Pista, Ferrari's new flagship, mid-engine sportscar, the entry price would start at $350,050. This would imply you'd been a dutiful Ferrari customer for some years, paying your dues through pre-owned models and waiting patiently to earn the prestige of becoming not only a "new Ferrari" customer but one worthy of the coveted 488 Pista. When the sun rose on this day, you'd also want to enroll in Ferrari's factory driving program, Coros Pilota. Here, you'd learn how to drive the 488 Pista on a track, as it was intended, with instruction from some of the best race car drivers in the world—an exclusive privilege for Ferrari customers. LED shift indicators along the top of the steering wheel are borrowed from Formula 1 Ferrari It will be a few years before I'm prepared to join the ranks of Ferrari customers, but I had the rare opportunity to experience this private club from the inside. Corso Pilota USA is a two-day "precision driving school that allows Ferrari Owners and special guests to experience the performance of a Ferrari in the controlled environment of a race track," according to the website. It is offered at three tracks: New York, Las Vegas, and Miami. I joined a group at Homestead-Miami Speedway as a special guest for a compressed one-day version of this program. Wet Mode Ferrari The 2019 Ferrari 488 Pista After arriving in Miami and checking-in to the recently remodeled Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove, we gathered for drinks, dinner and a detailed presentation about the 488 Pista, which we'd be driving the next day. I'll cut to the chase: this is the biggest jump in performance on a special series ever. Compared to the previous 458 Speciale and outgoing 488 GTB, it is lighter, faster and grippier. The almost entirely new twin-turbo V8 produces 710 horsepower compared to the GTB's 660 horsepower. Generous weight savings are achieved through so much carbon fiber, aluminum and titanium (18kg saved in the engine alone). As such, the weight-to-power ratio drops to 1.78 kg/HP, the lowest for a production car in Ferrari history. This makes everything happen faster: acceleration, deceleration, cornering. The patented S-Duct: Centerpiece of the new aerodynamic package Ferrari The new aerodynamic package, which borrows heavily from Formula 1 and the 488 Challenge GT race car, improves downforce by a whopping 20%. And by some small miracle, this doesn't come with a drag penalty because only 15% of the improvement is achieved with the drag-inducing rear wing. The remainder is accounted for in how the front bumper and diffusers direct air along the underbody of the vehicle through "vortex generators" and to the rear diffuser. The highlight, though, is the F1-derived S-Duct on the nose of the car. This applies downforce specifically to the front axle, which improves cornering grip and mitigates understeer. It's a street-worthy track car Ferrari All of which makes the 488 Pista perhaps the most track-suited production car ever built. Hence, the name. Pista is Italian for track. Test Driving the Ferrari 488 Pista Computer-controlled driving modes are the sauces of today's high-performance cars. With a couple clicks or taps, you can fundamentally alter how a car handles and performs, from throttle, steering and braking response to shifting speed and suspension setup. You can spice them up like an arrabiata or create a rich and creamy Alfredo to satisfy that comfort-food craving. The Pista offers a tasty range: Wet, Sport, Race, CT Off, and ESC Off. We sampled them all. A little help with the apexes Ferrari First I headed away from the track on a short road course in Wet Mode, since it had briefly rained and the track needed to dry. Ostensibly, this was to demonstrate that the Pista can be driven on public roads. I followed the navigation system's prompts and effectively checked this box. Honestly, it wasn't enough to fully judge its road friendliness, but that's not why I was there. The Scuderia's finest Reed Back at the track, I was paired up with two Corso Pilota instructors. Daniel Mancinelli is an Italian who's won the Formula 3 Italian Championship and currently drives a Ferrari in the GT3 series. Terry Borcheller is an American who's won the Rolex 24h at Daytona and had a podium finish in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In other words, these are some of the best drivers in the world. Autocross course to test all driving modes Ferrari The program started with a ride along in the Pista, where Daniel pointed out the braking zones, turn-in points and apexes along with the shifting points. My last track experience was in the Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO, which is a GT race car, so I needed to recalibrate a bit to a street car. But I was prepared for the Pista to exceed my street-car expectations. The 488 Challenge is one of the Pista's parents Ferrari My first set of laps with Daniel were still in Wet Mode, as the track was still drying. This naturally feels a bit sluggish, as 710 horsepower and semi-slick tires will wreak havoc on wet surfaces. Still, I was able to get a feel for the car and the track, and this session recorded a baseline of telemetry data that Daniel and I could review. The focus of Corso Pilota is to truly make you a better track driver, as opposed to just clocking the best lap time by feeding you constant instruction over the radio. Indeed, lap times were not even acknowledged. Corso Pilota pin lane Reed After lunch, I headed back out on the track for two more sessions. For these, I'd be driving with Terry. Since the track was dry, we opted for Race mode, and the difference was phenomenal. While it doesn't have the grip of slick racing tires, the tightness and response felt on par with a race machine like the 488 Challenge car. Acceleration, braking, steering and shifting were all enhanced and lightning quick. And the suspension was tight. Going from Sport to Race mode made it feel like a completely different car. In between sessions, Terry and I reviewed the telemetry data in the form of side-by-side videos of myself and one of the instructors. He was the benchmark, and I could see where my acceleration, braking, shifting and cornering fell short. In particular, I wasn't braking hard enough at the start of the braking zones. So I had to brake harder in the middle, which made it difficult to ease out of the brake—trail braking, as it's called—in preparation for a turn-in point. The key feedback from Terry was to hit the brake harder initially and then trail it until the turn is actually initiated and the car pivots. I'd apply this learning with mixed success on my final session. There's definitely a smile behind that mic Reed Like the 458 Speciale and 488 GTB, along with their GT racing counterparts, the 488 Pista is an incredibly balanced sportscar. Compared to its Porsche and Lamborghini counterparts, it far more forgiving and easy to drive. Even in the CT Off and ESC Off modes, where the rear wheels are free to spin, the car sends clear signals and enables amateurs (like me) to quickly recover. The Pista is everything that was great about the Speciale and GTB, combined with years of Challenge racing development, only faster, more precise and even more fun to drive on a track.
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robreed/2019/08/22/colorados-breck-epic-stage-race-six-days-in-an-alternate-mountain-biking-reality/
Colorado's Breck Epic Stage Race: Six Days In An Alternate Mountain Biking Reality
Colorado's Breck Epic Stage Race: Six Days In An Alternate Mountain Biking Reality Mt. Guyot at 13,336': The Breck Epic Queen Stage Devon Balet It's the penultimate climb on Stage 4 of the Breck Epic mountain bike stage race. Otherwise known as the Aqueduct stage, it totals 41 miles and nearly 7,000 feet of elevation gain at altitudes ranging from 9,600' to 11,200'. The route goes from Breckenridge to Keystone Resort and back. I'm at mile 34 — about four hours into the race — and I've just caught one of my closest competitors. Until today, I didn't know who I was racing against. With 600 total competitors and a mass start format, it's difficult to know who's in your category. After a few stages, though, the names and bib numbers of those in the overall standings become familiar. I'm currently in fourth place among the 40 - 49 Cat 2/3 riders, and I've just caught number 175, who's just behind me in fifth by a small margin. Can I beat him to the finish? Can I increase my lead? That's what I ask myself as I follow his wheel onto the climb. Stage 2: The Colorado Trail Devon Balet One of the indispensable tools for the Breck Epic is the Garmin Edge 820 bike computer. With the stage routes loaded onto it, I can track the elevation profile — the climbs and descents — of each race in fine detail. In other words, despite never riding the Breckenridge area, I can know just how long and steep each climb will be while I'm on it. Specifically, I know when I'm approaching the summit and, therefore, when to boost the pace. MORE FOR YOUSaudi Crown Prince MBS Pressed The Louvre To Lie About His Fake Leonardo Da Vinci, Per New DocumentaryItaly Introduces Covid-Free Islands To Save Summer TourismIs The Covid-19 Vaccine Mandatory For Travel? High Alpine in the Colorado Rockies Liam Doran As soon as I can see the summit on the elevation profile, I attack. I'm out of the saddle, charging up the final climb. As I pass number 175, he says something to the effect of, "Nice work." Because, while this is technically a race, it's also just a bunch of passionate mountain bikers doing six epic rides in the Colorado backcountry...together. At our level, camaraderie often trumps competition. Epic views are part of the package Devon Balet The final descent is down Sidedoor, which is flow trail with burms and jumps. It's actually the second time we're coming down this in the past two days, so it's more familiar and faster. I keep the hammer down and cross the finish line in fourth with a time of four hours and 24 minutes. While it's five minutes off of third place, my attack gains another five minutes on number 175. This is after four days and more than 17 hours of racing. There's only two more stages left. Why Breck Epic? Stage 5: The Wheeler Death March Devon Balet This is the eleventh year for the Breck Epic, which takes place in mid-August, and for the first time it's a UCI Class 1 event with a $30,000 pro purse. Indeed, the current US XC national champion, Keegan Swenson, is competing for the win and to earn points toward an Olympic birth in 2020. The field of 600 "competitors" represents a massive cross-section of the mountain biking universe with riders from 40 states and 20 countries, according to race organizers. In my category alone, the third-place rider is from Belgium; the second-place rider is Colombian; and fifth-place-rider 175 is a Breck local. While we're being competitive at the top of the general classification (GC), many riders simply have a goal of finishing the event and earning the coveted Breck Epic cowboy belt buckle — proof that you rode the equivalent of a marathon for six days in a row at 10,000 feet. 2019 US XC and Breck Epic Champion, Keegan Swenson Liam Doran What makes the Breck Epic so attractive as an event are four things: the incredible terrain and Rocky Mountain scenery; the challenge of riding more than 220 miles of dirt with 40,000 feet of elevation gain (and loss) at high altitude; the fact that every stage starts and ends in downtown Breckenridge; and its one-of-a-kind vibe. Race organizer, motivational speaker, and MC Mike McCormack with his family Liam Doran Race organizer Mike McCormack is an old-school, fat-tire guy from the early '90s — the true heyday of mountain biking — and the Epic is a living tribute to that golden era. It's like an old NORBA National race, the original 24 Hours of Moab, and the Crested Butte Fat Tire Festival rolled into one. And yet it's entirely unique because you don't just compete or ride in the Breck Epic. You enter an alternate reality for six days, where your existence is reduced to riding and recovering. The outside world doesn't exist. All that matters is the stretch of trail in front of you or else preparing your body, bike and mind for the next stage. You can't help but to be fully present in every moment, which is so rare in this age of perpetual distraction. The Breck Epic is truly all consuming. The Epic Family Vacation Main Street, Breckenridge, Colorado Vail Resorts Breckenridge, Colorado, is a premier summer destination in and of itself. So rather than go to the race alone, I choose to make the Epic part of a family road trip through Colorado. We start with a few days in Aspen, which is a six-and-a-half-hour drive from our home in Park City, UT. This takes us from 7,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level to start my acclimation for Breck at 9,600 feet. While in Aspen, I spend a couple days riding the Snowmass Bike Park, both with the family and a local friend. After one lift-serviced run down the beginner flow trail (Verde) with the family, I proceed to do hot laps with my buddy, Dr. Josh, on the intermediate and advanced downhill trails: Viking, French Press and Valhalla. This is part of my pre-race recovery plan i.e. working the descending skills while minimizing cardiovascular load. Town of Aspen, Colorado Reed Conclusion: the Snowmass Bike Park is legit. With more than 2,000 feet of vertical, six downhill-only trails and 20 cross-country trails, there's plenty of terrain for several days of riding. Plus, the resort plans to open four more trails before the end of the 2019 season. The Snowmass Lost Forest, on the other hand, is a mountain playground for all ages with a climbing wall, zip line, ropes course, mountain coaster and more. This is where my family spends time while I'm "recovering" in the bike park. Plus, the Elk Camp restaurant is located at the center of the action at the top of the Elk Camp gondola, so lunch and snacks are never far from the activities. From Aspen, we drive over Independence Pass at over 12,000 feet and head to Breckenridge by way of Leadville, Colorado, where the iconic Leadville 100 mountain bike endurance race is taking place. The Breck Epic starts the next day. Another quality of this event is that each stage ends uphill from Breckenridge. Which means that if you stay in town, each stage can be followed by an easy cool-down spin right to your front door. The best location and property I found is Mountain Thunder Lodge. Not only is it walking distance to Main Street, where most of the restaurants are centered, it also offers a free, on-call shuttle. This is especially convenient for getting to and from the daily rider meeting at Beaver Run Resort without having to deal with parking (or driving). Breck is the quintessential Colorado mountain town ANDREW MAGUIRE Mountain Thunder Lodge accommodations range from studio condos to full town homes with a garage, kitchen and washer/dryer. We opted for a two-bedroom town home given that this would be our family's home base. Also, I chose to bring a bike stand and maintenance kit to take care of my bike in between stages. So the garage became my shop, complete with a spigot and hose, which was kindly provided by the maintenance crew. The easier option is to purchase a Breck Epic service package for $350, wherein your bike is cleaned and dialed — with new parts, if needed, for additional charge — each day during the 5pm rider meeting. With this option, you'll save on both headache and calories. The Breck Epic Alternative Performance Tours While I'm racing for the first three days, my family embarks on local adventures including a rafting trip on the Arkansas River with Performance Tours and mountain bike tour with Colorado Adventure Guides. The rafting becomes the highlight of the trip, as my wife and kids tackle their first Class 3 rapids under the leadership of Haley, who was "the best guide ever," according to my kids. As a result, we're now planning a multi-day rafting trip. The Breck Epic Stages The mass start format Liam Doran The first four stages of Breck Epic are fairly similar and equally brutal. For the uninitiated, the stage names have zero meaning. If you've raced these routes, though, the terms Pennsylvania Creek (stage 1), Colorado Trail (stage 2), Mt. Guyot (stage 3) and Aqueduct (stage 4) will all gain profound meaning. Just before the skies opened up on Stage 1 Liam Doran These first four stages average more than 40 miles with more than 6,000 vertical feet of climbing. The terrain is tough, as the routes connect dirt roads, jeep trails and singletrack. Very little of it was built for mountain biking, so the grades can be punishing. Hike-a-bike sections are a constant, and many of the descents could be enduro stages. Each race takes four to five hours for a fit rider. Six to seven hours is not uncommon. And then you get up and do it again the next day. Starting the suffering off with cold, rain and mud Stage 1: Pennsylvania Creek The Pennsylvania Creek stage, however, was unique this year in that it started raining about half-way through. This turned already wet trails into flowing rivers of muddy water. Puddles on the road sections were axle deep and unavoidable, while the temperature dropped into the low 40s. McCormack later said that it was the toughest stage in the race's 11-year history and that he would have cut it short if the pros hadn't already passed the second aid station when the rain started. That would have been the only place to reasonably make that call. Otherwise, each of the next five stages saw ideal race conditions with sunny weather in the 70s. Cold comfort at the top of Wheeler: bacon and whiskey Liam Doran After four stages of racing, I'm running fourth in my GC. What I don't realize, however, is that Wheeler is up next. Stage 5 is not proper mountain biking. McCormack says Wheeler is what makes the Breck Epic "epic", but I disagree. The majority of its 24 miles is hiking up and over two alpine passes at 12,000 feet. In other words, you're hypoxic and pushing your bike for miles on a trail that's barely wide enough for a person. Then there's the wind trying to blow you off the mountain and exposure as you descend deliriously on an equally steep hiking trail back to the valley. The Strava elevation profile below illustrates this absurdity. The hiker's stage Reed The final nine miles, following the second aid station, are proper mountain biking trails. This is where I make up some time. Nevertheless, number 175 finishes second to my fifth place (at four hours, seven minutes), which claws back about 16 minutes on my lead. I still have a 20-minute buffer going into the final stage. Descending Wheeler ©Eddie Clark Media If there's one reason not to do the Breck Epic, it's Wheeler. On the other hand, if there's one reason to get to the end, it's Gold Dust aka Stage 6. Unlike all previous stages, Gold Dust is fast. There are no hike-a-bikes, and the singletrack descent on the eponymous Gold Dust trail is worth the entire week's suffering. This is a top-tier singletrack that starts with 1.7 miles and 664 vertical feet of descent. It empties onto a false-flat "luge" section (just a 2% downhill grade), where you're pedaling full gas through a singletrack channel for almost three miles. On either side of these singletrack sections are two long dirt road climbs at modest 4% grades that cross the Continental Divide at over 11,000 feet. At the top of the second one, which is a Category 2 climb, there's Pabst Blue Ribbon handoffs, and it's all downhill to the final finish line of the Breck Epic. The end Devon Balet The Gold Dust starting format is staggered into waves of 10 riders based on one's Wheeler finishing time. Which means I start in a wave behind both my third- and fifth-place competitors. In order to podium on the stage, I need to catch both of them. In order to secure my fourth place overall, I need to finish within 20 minutes of number 175. Alas, I'm able to pass 175 and distance myself by another three minutes. My chase for third, however, comes up short by a minute. After 24 hours and 10 minutes of racing over six days, I finish fourth in Gold Dust and secure fourth overall in my category...missing the podium by one place for the fourth and fifth time this week. Regardless, it's a great personal victory and the culmination of eight months of training and planning. Though I still can't help but to long for the days of NORBA and the five-person podium. The author, feeling the full Breck Epic stoke Mike Chao
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robreed/2020/12/01/the-camping-boom-of-2020-takes-many-forms-but-theres-nothing-quite-like-going-off-the-grid/
The Camping Boom Of 2020 Takes Many Forms, But There’s Nothing Quite Like Going Off The Grid
The Camping Boom Of 2020 Takes Many Forms, But There’s Nothing Quite Like Going Off The Grid Lakes Basin, California getty Camping is perhaps the ultimate form of socially distant travel and recreation. It’s literally an escape from civilization, which is precisely how COVID-19 spreads. If there’s one silver lining to the tragedy that is this global pandemic, it’s that so many people discovered the treasures we have, as a country, in our National Parks and shared outdoor spaces through the simple act of camping. The numbers and demand for camping speak for themselves. Equipment is backordered for months. RVs and camp trailers have long waiting lists, and used models are exceeding the price of new ones. Interstate 15 in Utah during the summer of 2020 seemed to have as many campers as passenger cars...and my family was one of them. I started tent camping with my dad when I was about 12 years old. Our first trip was to the Adirondacks in upstate New York. The memories are as vivid as any from my childhood. Soon after, our family graduated to a Coleman popup trailer, and we’d go to Old Orchard Beach, Maine, for two weeks each summer. This was a specific type of camping experience—a camp resort with a pool, hot tub, lake, general store, multiple restaurants and a social club for the kids. We’d bring our bikes and skateboards, and it was an annual party with friends we only knew from these two weeks of camping. When I was in college at the University of Arizona, I started a mountain bike outfitter (Arizona Off-Road Adventures) with a good friend and business partner. Between leading multi-day tours and doing research for other ones, we camped more than 100 days per year. Destinations ranged from the immediate mountains surrounding Tucson to Sedona, Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon, the White Mountains and various spots along the Mexican border. Like that first trip with my father, I can recall these trips in especially vivid detail. There’s just something about camping that creates high-def memories. As we emerged from the pandemic lockdown in the spring of 2020, our friends invited us to join them on a camping trip to Bryce Canyon National Park, which is a four-hour drive south of Park City, Utah, where we live. However, this invitation to go camping could mean many things, as the world of camping is so broad and nuanced. Do we need an RV? Do we need a reservation? Do we need a high-clearance vehicle? Do we need sleeping bags and a stove? What is the toilet situation? MORE FOR YOUPhotos: Egypt’s 3,400-Year-Old ‘Lost Golden City’ Is Unearthed From Desert SandsHarry Potter New York Slated To Open On June 3A Flight Just Set A Record For Positive Covid-19 Cases — Here’s Why That Will Not Happen In The U.S. That trip started our journey as a camping family. Through some research, experience and debate, we decided on a specific type of camp experience that is ideal for us. But there are plenty of ways to escape our homes and enjoy the outdoors. From the basics of tent camping to the luxuries of RV life and the cult of overlanding, these are the seven major camping categories. There’s truly something for everyone. Get started with your car and a tent getty 1. Car Camping: This is the most basic and economical type of camping. Starting with a tent that can accommodate the whole crew, you load up the car, truck or SUV with all of your camping essentials. It’s minimum viable camping with a sleeping bag, mattress, cooler, stove and cooking utensils. Everything else can be bought at the grocery store. More than likely you’ll want to go to a proper campground (see below) that offers amenities like toilets, fresh water, picnic tables, fire rings and trash bins. Going places where cars can't getty 2. Backpacking & Bikepacking: The purest form of camping (and the most hardcore) is to load up your backpack with super-light equipment, head into the wilderness by foot and set up camp at various points along your route. The level of difficulty increases significantly when you add rock climbing or backcountry skiing to the equation. The two-wheeled version is called bikepacking, where you use racks and/or a trailer to tow your gear. As a cycling discipline, this has experienced a boom in recent years due to the advent of modern gravel bikes. For the most part, though, these types of camping are not compatible with small children. As long as the goal is for them to have fun. The gateway to a true camping experience getty 3. Glamping: As the name implies, this is camping for non-campers. It requires no gear, and there is very little effort involved. You just show up to El Capitan Canyon outside of Santa Barbara, California; Under Canvas near Moab, Utah; or Conestoga Ranch on the shores of Bear Lake, Utah. Everything from shelter and bedding to food, fire wood and lattes are taken care of for you. This multi-billion-dollar camping segment is growing by 12.5% annually and has likely accelerated through the pandemic. Truth be told, this is how our family started out when the kids were really young. Glamping is fun and efficient. And it can be the gateway drug to more authentic and remote camping experiences. The RV lifestyle getty 4. RV Camping: This is the most visible breed of camper. You can’t miss them driving on the freeways and backroads, as some of these vehicles rival the size of Greyhound buses. There are really two types of RV: those you drive and those you tow. It’s a bit like glamping in that the level of comfort can mimic that of a luxury home. But you have the flexibility to go anywhere the highways will take you. The vast majority of RV camping takes place in a proper campground, where you benefit from water and electricity hookups...not to mention dump stations and friendly camp hosts. Certain classes of RV, such as converted Sprinter vans and high-clearance trailers, offer more flexibility in being able to handle dirt roads, where you can access more remote camping spots. And there is a sub-species of RV camper—the OHV RV camper—that tows dirt bikes, side-by-sides and other dirt toys, such that camping is oriented around this type of recreation. Choose your camp spot wisely getty 5. Campground Camping: This category isn’t so much about the type of camping you do but rather the type of camper you are. Formal campgrounds, such as those run by state parks, the National Park Service (NPS), the United States Forest Service (USFS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and private operators alike, offer both structure and peace of mind. They provide basic amenities, which can include warm showers and a general store. You can make reservations in advance, and they are often booked six months out. However, for all this planning and effort, the sites themselves are often closer to one another than your next-door neighbors at home. Indeed, the noise can be worse than a second-level apartment in New York City. Not to mention the smell if you’re camped anywhere close to the toilets. These are the big trade-offs of campground camping, whether in a tent, trailer or RV. Are you a campground person or a non-campground person? When I proposed to my 13-year-old that we might stay at a campground, her quick response was, “Campgrounds suck!” So that’s her choice. Indeed, there’s no bigger question in deciding the type of camp experience you want. Overlanding starts with choosing a vehicle worthy of the pursuit getty 6. Overlanding: As both a type of camping and a distinct subculture, overlanding is truly its own thing. The equipment is defined by specialized tents, such as those from Thule and Overland Vehicle Systems, that mount to rooftop racks of highly capable off-road vehicles like the Toyota Tacoma or Jeep Wrangler. The whole point is to use these vehicles, which are often modified for aggressive off-roading, to go where most campers cannot and then to have a relatively plush experience that goes far beyond car camping. So you’ll have integrated stoves that slide out from the truck bed; there is storage capacity for plenty of drinking water; and refrigerators that run off dedicated 12-volt batteries. It’s a highly complex system to construct, starting with the base vehicle, which essentially becomes an RV that can go anywhere. It makes camping deep in the backcountry quite comfortable and even simple, thanks to the way overlanding camp gear can be easily packed and unpacked. Off grid near Canyonlands National Park in Southern Utah Reed 7. Off-Grid Camping: This is the term I use for the type of camping we do and the type of camping family we’ve become. It’s also known as primitive camping, dispersed camping, dry camping and backcountry camping. The primary distinction is that it does not take place in a formal campground. Off-grid camp sites are widely available throughout public lands administered by the USFS and BLM. Camping is permitted in most areas for a maximum of 14 consecutive days, unless otherwise prohibited. Popular sites are denoted with makeshift fire rings, though USFS and BLM camping is pretty much wherever you find it. There are no amenities. You bring everything you need and pack out everything you bring. Unlike car camping, going off grid requires much more in terms of equipment. And unlike RV camping, it requires a more versatile platform. We opted for a unique type of popup camp trailer—the Air Opus 4 Off-Road—which is designed for serious off-road terrain. Plus, there is plenty of additional equipment to complete an off-grid camping system that supports a family of four. Unlike overlanding, though, where driving and camping are the true end goals, off-grid camping (by my definition) is also a means to other recreational pursuits...namely, mountain biking, standup paddle boarding (SUP), off-road driving and other outdoor sports. This means we need to haul more than just camping gear. We also need our vehicle to be independent of the camping setup (as opposed to an integral part of it). In other words, we set up a basecamp and then use our vehicle to explore the area, to drive to the trailhead or to shuttle up river for a float on the SUPs. The goals of off-grid camping are to be comfortable and yet isolated from society. To be deeply immersed in Nature with just your family and perhaps a few close friends. It’s to go beyond the reach of cell phone towers, forcing a digital vacation, and to create lasting memories for our kids. Frankly, I didn’t anticipate the degree to which my kids would embrace off-grid camping, such that it’s become their preferred type of vacation. Truly, they’d rather camp in Moab than stay at the Four Seasons in Maui. They feel more at home and more fulfilled by vacationing in the wilderness. Why? I’m not exactly sure. My guess is that camping is more suited to a child’s psyche than the trappings of modern civilization. I first noticed this phenomenon in our move from Los Angeles to Park City four years ago. I assumed that my kids, who were six- and nine-years-old at the time, would only appreciate this privilege—that of growing up in a small mountain town, where the power of Nature is omnipresent—when looking back on it as adults. But I was wrong. The further removed they become from cities and the weight of civilization, the happier they seemed. What I observed from our move to the mountains is being repeated in our newfound passion for off-grid camping. And it makes perfect sense. They are not just our children. They are children of the earth. When we get off the grid for a few days at a time, it’s an opportunity for them to connect—indeed, to reconnect—with their true origins and to revert to a more natural state, one they instinctively know but to which they’ve been largely deprived.
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robreed/2021/01/11/the-10-best-ford-raptor-upgrades-to-improve-performance-and-add-functionality/
The 10 Best Ford Raptor Upgrades To Improve Performance And Add Functionality
The 10 Best Ford Raptor Upgrades To Improve Performance And Add Functionality The Raptor Overland Edition KC Hilites Certain vehicles exist in a category of one. They are unique and iconic, as there really is no alternative. This creates a bond among owners. If you’ve ever driven a Porsche 911 or Jeep Wrangler, then you know what it’s like. You get the daily wave of acknowledgement when you pass fellow drivers. The Ford Raptor is another such vehicle. Though it’s only been in production for 10 years across two generations, with a third coming in 2021, the Raptor is in a class of its own. It’s an F150 pickup truck built to handle Baja 1000 terrain out of the box. That said, what makes the Raptor truly exceptional—and what becomes a competitive moat against Dodge and Chevy—is the extensive aftermarket i.e. the ability to upgrade and customize the Raptor to suit your driving needs and personality. As a new Raptor owner, I’ve spent the past five months researching (and obsessing about) the best ways to improve the 2020 second-generation Raptor. I followed the message boards, talked to aficionados, consulted with my dealer and grilled the instructors at the Raptor Assault off-road course. All in an effort to determine the best upgrades to improve performance and add functionality. I’ve narrowed it down to the following top 10 (in alphabetical order): 1. Alcon Brake Kits ($3,040, front) Red calipers = more stopping power Alcon MORE FOR YOUPhotos: Egypt’s 3,400-Year-Old ‘Lost Golden City’ Is Unearthed From Desert SandsHawaii Travel Restrictions Have Been UpdatedThe Promise Of International Travel: April EU Travel Restrictions, Covid-19 Test Requirements, Quarantine By Country There are a few options when it comes to brake upgrades, but Alcon is the only high-performance model I found that is compatible with the Raptor’s stock 17-inch wheels. And going with larger wheels is a non-starter for me, as it would undermine off-road handling. Alcon’s claimed performance improvements include a 10% reduction in brake temperature rise, a 33% reduction in pad work rate and up to a 15% reduction in pedal effort. The front and rear kits cost about $3,000 and $2,500, respectively. However, the rear kit is not currently compatible with the electronic parking brake on newer Raptor models. These are pretty expensive upgrades, so it remains to be seen if it’s worth the investment for having colored calipers. Yes, they are offered in a range of different colors in addition to racing red. 2. BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 Tires ($330/tire) More aggressive than stock KO2s BF Goodrich The Raptor’s stock BF Goodrich All-Terrain KO2 tires are specifically designed for the Raptor with stiffer sidewalls and a unique tread pattern. They are plenty capable in all conditions, including snow. If you want to opt for something more aggressive, though, that’s even better suited to off-road conditions while still being road friendly, the Mud-Terrain KM3 is a solid option. Everything about it, from the casing to the tread pattern and sidewalls, is more burly than the KO2. 3. COBB Tuning Stage 2 Redline Carbon Fiber Power Package ($2,950) The brains behind the brawn COBB Tuning COBB Tuning’s top-of-the-line package for the second-generation Ford Raptor includes a larger intercooler, a carbon fiber intake system and the Accessport V3 control unit (pictured). The idea here is to unlock additional power from what amount to pretty conservative factory settings. The full package claims to add double-digit gains in both horsepower and torque through a combination of hardware and software. Will it void the warranty? No. Certainly not in any blanket fashion. And using the control unit, one can easily uninstall it from the vehicle’s ECU as if it was never there. 4. KC Pro6 M-RACK ($2,850) Let there be light KC Hilites This vehicle-specific roof rack adds just 2.75 inches to the Raptor’s height and clearance. For reference, the stock Raptor clears my garage by 15 inches. So there’s still enough room to add a lift kit and some low-pro gear strapped to the rack. The M-Rack is shaped to the roof line of the Raptor for a customized look, and it attaches semi-permanently to the roof with rivets. The big feature, of course, is the the 9-Light KC Gravity LED Pro6 Light Bar with a whopping 23,009 lumens of output and the classic KC aesthetic. There are also four slots for side lights, and an optional rear-facing chase bar can be mounted on the back. All of which connect easily to the Raptor’s bank of auxiliary light switches. 5. Retrax PRO XR Tonneau Cover ($1,929) Not a Ford Raptor Retrax To tonneau or not to tonneau? That’s the first question. If you decide on the former, then the Retrax Pro XR is one of the more secure and functional covers available. It’s an aluminum, roll-up design that can be locked at multiple points along the track. So it makes the bed a secure, weather-proof storage area. The key feature, though, is the Trax Rail System, which is compatible with a range of T-slot racks from Thule, Yakima and others. This allows you to mount load bars (see below) for bike racks, cargo carriers and overland-style tents on top of the secure bed area. 6. SVC Offroad Stage 1 Starter Kit ($3,200) Raptor Suspension 2.0 SVC Offroad SVC Offroad offers some extreme suspension upgrades for both Raptor generations. But this is just the “starter kit.” It includes an adjustable bump-stop system with Fox 2.0 Bump Stops. This mounts to the frame and gives you progressive, bottom-out control for the rear suspension with an option to adjust the bump stops to reduce rear sag from towing and load carrying. Up front, SVC’s Coil Adjustment System (C.A.S) mounts to the front springs and enables you to get up to 2.5 inches of lift and also to precisely level the truck side-to-side—all of which is adjustable based on driver preference. 7. SVC Offroad Baja Flush Bolt-On Front Bumper ($1,500) All about approach angle SVC Offroad SVC Offroad has a full line of Raptor bumpers, some of which require the frame to be cut in achieving the most extreme approach angles. If you’re more conservative, though, and want the option to switch back to the factory bumper, the Baja Bolt-On Flush model is a great option. It’s still compatible with the factory intercooler (which should still be upgraded), as well as the adaptive cruise control, while improving the approach angle and providing space for a 20-inch light bar or five cube lights. 8. Titan 7 T-AK1 Forged Off-Road Wheels ($1,920) Forged for performance Titan 7 It took me a while to find an aftermarket wheel that would truly be an upgrade to the Raptor’s factory, beadlock-capable wheels. Because I’m only searching for performance as opposed to aesthetics. There are hundreds of wheel options, but the T-AK1 is the only off-road racing wheel designed specifically and exclusively for the Raptor. AK1 stands for All-terrain attacK, and it’s only available in a 17-inch version because anything larger would forfeit performance. The main differentiator is that Titan 7 wheels are forged versus casting or flow formed. This makes them stronger and lighter. The AK1 also includes anti-slip knurling on the inner rim for added bead traction. 9. Thule ProBar Evo ($370) The low bed rack Thule The Retrax Pro XR cover (above) is specifically designed for load bars that attach with the T-track interface. This makes it highly modular and easy to install, adjust and remove when not needed. And because the Raptor is so wide, it allows you to run massive 79-inch Thule ProBar Evos. This is enough space for six of the Thule Upride bike mounts...although the truck only seats five. Multiple mounting tracks also make it very flexible for mounting cargo baskets and other accessories. 10. Yakima Overhaul HD Tonneau Set ($750) The high bed rack Yakima If you’re planning to mount an overlanding style tent or transport standup paddle boards for river shuttles, you need some height above the bed. Yakima’s Overhaul HD Tonneau Set is designed specifically for the Retrax Pro XR cover (see above), which means the towers mount using the T-slot interface. This supports a 300-pound load for on-road driving and a 180-pound load for off-road driving. Fortunately, the latter is right in line with most rooftop tents. The load bars also need to be added, and they are available in three lengths: 60, 68, and 78 inches. The Raptor certainly accommodates the longest option, which gives you the most real estate for gear and accessory mounting.
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robreed/2021/02/16/cycling-legend-greg-lemond-launches-a-new-signature-bike-brand/
Cycling Legend Greg LeMond Launches A New Signature Bike Brand
Cycling Legend Greg LeMond Launches A New Signature Bike Brand The sporting comeback of the century to win the 1989 Tour de France after a near-fatal hunting ... [+] accident LeMond Bikes Greg LeMond is a living legend in American cycling, though his brand is even more recognized and revered outside the States. He remains the only American to win the Tour de France, and he did that on three occasions. His story is one of humble beginnings and overcoming adversity. First, he had to break through and prove himself in Europe, something no American cyclist had done before. He battled his teammate and five-time Tour winner Berdarnd Hinault, along with the French cycling establishment, to claim his first Tour victory. Then he was the tragic victim of a hunting accident that left him fighting for his life. But he fought back and won two more Tours in ‘89 and ‘90. LeMond is currently living in Knoxville, Tennessee LeMond Bikes LeMond retired from professional cycling in 1994, in part because the practice of doping had become so widespread. His reputation was attacked throughout the Lance Armstrong era for expressing doubts, only to be vindicated when the largest doping scandal in cycling history was finally exposed. But not before his partnership with Trek Bicycles was ended in the process. Today, Greg lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, which is also headquarters for LeMond Bikes. The iconic American cycling brand has been reborn. LeMond Bikes 1.0 (Photo by Thierry PRAT/Sygma via Getty Images) Sygma via Getty Images MORE FOR YOUA Flight Just Set A Record For Positive Covid-19 Cases — Here’s Why That Will Not Happen In The U.S.Travel Check: This Is The World On CovidFrance Will Allow Vaccinated American Travelers To Visit With ‘A Special Pass’ Rob Reed (RR): You have a new company, a bunch of new models. What iteration of LeMond bikes is this? Greg LeMond (GL): I started my bike company in 1986, after I won the Tour de France on a carbon fiber frame. I realized the importance of good equipment and especially weight. At that point when you're racing, you race on whatever the team is sponsored by. Fortunately, I was on La Vie Claire. There was no main bike sponsor and Look had just developed the clipless pedal. Once you win the Tour de France, in theory, you can impose things. You have a little power to insist on things. For me, I didn't ever want to be at a disadvantage of not having the best equipment. I decided I would create a company, LeMond Bicycles. When I got done with cycling in 1994, I was done with racing, then I started looking at how do I really build a bike business and at the same time, Trek had approached me. At that time, I think they bought Fisher, Bontrager and they came to me to see if they could buy the company. We ended up working out a licensing agreement. That started in 1995 and it went ‘til 2010. It ended prematurely in 2008. It was a very stressful partnership. At a point—at the end of, let's say, 2008, 2010, it really—I was burned out in the bike industry and really had a bad taste in my mouth. Three or four years later, I decided I really loved design. I had a lot of good design ideas. I also realized that if I wanted to get back in the industry, I should really try to control the supply side myself and figure out how to make bikes myself. That started me on a quest of seeing how I could build a manufacturing process here in the United States. That led me in 2015 to Oak Ridge National Laboratory. We ran into a team that had invented a new process to make carbon fiber for industrial use at 50% lower cost, which is significant. I realized the huge opportunity and I'd met with the team and talked with Oak Ridge and tried to figure out how I can get into the carbon fiber business. Of course, you have to know how to make carbon fiber, which I didn't. So I hired a whole team of inventors, and we started LeMond Carbon in 2016. LeMond Bikes 2.0: The Prolog e-Bike commuter model with 250 watts of pedal-assisted power at only 26 ... [+] pounds LeMond Bikes RR: And how did you start down the path of e-Bikes? GL: I rode a couple of them in Europe back in 2013, and I really believed that the e-Bikes have a huge future in terms of transportation, but also getting people that might not ride a bike into cycling. It's the closest thing you get to a bionic person, when you’re on an e-Bike. You literally feel like you're in a great shape. I do believe one of the reasons people really love cycling and why it becomes addictive and why people want better equipment is the inertia. When you go faster on a bike, you create more inertia. It’s proven with more inertia, even from a physical perspective, you can work out harder in a rhythm. When you're out of shape and you're riding a very heavy bike, a poor-quality bike, it is painful. Imagine going on your mountain bike with a flat tire, a brake rubbing, it's painful. Now a high-quality bike, you're going faster, things feel better. I really believe e-Bikes have a way to transform people into healthier people. Because cycling is a sport where, once you get to a level of fitness, it is incredibly pleasurable. You hurt, but you feel good. I think that's where I really got excited about e-Bikes. Now there's a huge group of people—older people are getting into it. For me it's all about having fun on a bike. So we came up with two e-Bikes. The first one is a classic Dutch bike, and it's my wife's favorite bike. Mine too, if I'm riding around town. It's a carbon fiber, 26-pound e-Bike. Then we have a bike called the Prolog, and it’s pretty much a gravel bike geometry. It's a fairly fast but stable bike. I've been riding it for the last three months. I don't think I would go back to a road bike. Immaculately crafted and integrated cockpit LeMond Bikes RR: The Prolog reminds me of my first e-Bike experience, which was the Specialized Turbo back in 2014. I was living in LA, commuting from Pacific Palisades to Santa Monica along the beach path. I'd wake up early in the morning and go for a 30-mile road ride. Come home, shower, and then get on the e-Bike and ride to work, so I could get to work without sweating. And I would have everybody in my company come out and just try it. You could see the look on their face, that bionic feeling. They're like, “Oh my God. That is amazing.” You just cannot describe what it's like to ride an e-Bike for the first time. Once you do it, you get it. I remember thinking at the time that if everybody had one of these, the world would be a much better place. GL: That’s right. I bought my wife a Roland Della Santa—a frame builder from Reno, Nevada, he made my wife a road bike. I think she's ridden it 10 times. That's it. She rides the Dutch e-Bike around town. She's putting at least three times as many miles than she has in our 40 years of marriage. I'm riding road bikes, she's riding the e-Bike and we ride together. LeMond out for a spin LeMond Bikes RR: I have to say that the Prolog does remind me of that original Specialized, but it's evolved in so many ways. The first thing I like is having the motor in the rear hub. I think for that type of bike—I've ridden some where they're in the bottom bracket and maybe mountain bikes have to be that way. But for this type of bike, a commuter bike, I just feel it's better in the rear hub. And you've somehow miraculously got the thing to 26 pounds. That Specialized was 50-plus pounds. GL: The thing is, there's never been a lot of good development on hub motors. In theory, the torque, the power should be equal out of a hub as out of mid-drive. I think what happened in the early rear hub motors, they had some overheating issues. I think Bosch really started to focus on the mid-drive. That became the rage. I chose this because we have an omnichannel distribution model. One of the issues about e-Bikes is how do you service them? We can do remote diagnostics on the motor. If the customer has a problem, they can remove the wheel and ship it back. If it's the battery, they could take the battery out, we could ship them a battery at the same time, so there's no downtime. RR: What can you tell me about the forthcoming road bike? Sounds like it's shipping in the spring? GL: We have developed a new core material that will strengthen the frame by two times, maybe three times. It'll make the bike almost indestructible. We’ll run prototype production in March and then production in May for June delivery. We want to do a lot of iterations, but there's so many limitations today with components, so we are literally trying to time things when we can get components. It's been crazy, the supply chain, because of – RR: The COVID boom. GL: Yeah, the COVID boom. I'm really excited in this one process we're going to bring to an aero gravel bike based off this aero road bike. I don't believe you need two bikes. You don't need an endurance bike, an aero bike, and a lightweight bike. It’s just going to be both. It’s going to be aero and lightweight. RR: It's an e-road bike, or – GL: No, road bike. Traditional road bike. RR: Traditional road bike. Oh, nice. Okay. GL: Yeah, yeah. We have a whole product plan of road and gravel, both will have e-Bike versions. In 2022 we’ll have mountain bikes. When we do a mountain bike, we're going to do it because it makes a difference between winning and losing. I want to have a reason why you're coming up with a bike. There should be a reason that we're doing it. We have some exciting products that we're developing that will make things lighter and stronger and more reliable over the next 24 months. RR: Are you going racing with these bikes? GL: Yeah, we will. I want to have bikes and equipment that pro teams want to use, because they need to use it, because they're going to win the race with it. French road racing cyclist Laurent Fignon, one of the big favourites, by 8 seconds, behind American ... [+] Greg LeMond. at the third place, Spanish Pedro Delgado. (Photo by Jean-Yves Ruszniewski/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images) Corbis/VCG via Getty Images RR: Nice. LeMond back in the Tour. Let's talk about some career highlights. How about the 1989 Tour? Can you recap that final stage and final time trial? GL: Oh, that's easy. I went fast. No, I think, well, if I go back before I got to that stage, I won the Tour de France in ’86. Following year, I was shot in a hunting accident, a freak accident. I did a lot of suffering. Really, almost six weeks before that tour, I was ready to give it up and just couldn't stand getting dropped anymore. Somehow, I don't know, released pressure, but I had some other physiological things that might have improved. At the last time trial in the Giro d’Italia, I had raced against Fignon. He was winning that race. I decided I had to really test myself because I started feeling good the last week. I did a time trial with the same equipment, no aero bars, and I beat him by about a minute and 21 seconds in a 50-kilometer time trial. I lost the lead of the yellow jersey in ’89, I think three days before. I had two tough days in the Alps that I just wasn't feeling good. Three days before the last smaller alpine stage going in, my legs came back. Just feeling great. I won that stage. The next day before the time trial, Fignon came up to me and tapped me on the shoulder. He said, “Well, congratulations on your second place.” I'm like, “What? You've lost the race.” We had the same coach from Renault. The one thing he taught me, the race is never over ‘til the finish line, ever. RR: In that particular Tour, it was literally the case, because it was the final time trial to Paris. GL: Right. When you believe you have it, you become cocky or overconfident. Even a road race, if you think you're going to win it, you'd end up making mistakes tactically, you end up wasting energy. Anyways, I went into that last stage. I felt great in the warm up. It was a very fast time trial. It started – RR: He had, what, 40 seconds on you at that point? GL: 50 seconds. It was 26 kilometers. It was a fast time trial. I knew that I had to take the time immediately. I knew that in his cockiness, he would start off slowly and build into it. I think I took 10 seconds in the first couple of kilometers on him. In fact, I think Fignon started panicking about the time he lost, because he was standing up. He might have lost even more time because of that. He actually did a good time trial. I do believe that. I couldn't tell where things stood until I got to the finish line. Even then, I didn't know if I had a 20-second, 10-second lead, or 30-second lead. Then I got to the finish. Somebody said, “I think you're in the lead,” and I was trying to just get the information. Another minute later, they told me I won. I was like, “Holy cow.” I believed I could, but until you really win it, you never know. French cyclist Laurent Fignon (R) rides next to US cyclist Greg Lemond during the 19th stage of the ... [+] Tour de France between Villard de Lans and Aix-Les-Bains on July 21, 1989. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo credit should read -/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images RR: You've said that that ’89 tour was your favorite, or your most fulfilling of the three. Is that true? GL: Well, emotionally, I mean—I won the Tour de France in ’86 and it was athletically—I think I was at the very best physically. I think I raced a race against one of the greatest Tour de France winners, Bernard Hinault. I raced against him. We were teammates. RR: You were on the same team. Yeah. GL: Yeah, we were on the same team, which is very unusual. I had very little teamwork. If I look at it, what's my best tour as an athletic achievement, ’86. But ’89 really was about—I thought I was going to quit cycling. I mean, I almost died in 1987. It was good, I didn't think about – I didn't realize. I mean, I was really seriously injured. The trauma surgeon said, “Well, we didn't remove your lung and you're all there. There's no reason you can't come back.” With trauma like that, I lost, I don't know. I think I lost 30 pounds of muscle mass. I was 18% body fat versus 3% or 4% at 148. I lost that much muscle mass and my right lung collapsed. That never came back. I lost about 70% of my blood. That type of trauma takes a long time to come back. I wish I would have had some of the training tools that I had later on, with the SRM power meter, because I could have actually monitored myself, got to a better level of conditioning before I ever entered a race. Because racing is very intense. You have to go there in decent shape. I had this yo-yo cycle of – part of it I was a survivor. No team would take me as a pro after I got shot. They didn't believe I'd come back. I started ’89 pretty much from scratch. I tend to forget, but I had some decent results earlier on. I was sixth place at Tirreno-Adriatico. A lot going on there. I wasn't getting paid from the team. I wasn't performing like I wanted to. Around April, May, I really hit rock bottom. Then I went to the Giro d’Italia in the last 10 minutes of the first stage and it was just – I went from floating into the peloton, never hurting as a pro all the way. I mean, I don't remember suffering, truly suffering, in pro racing. The only time I remember suffering was the ’84 Tour de France when I got bronchitis. And the Tour de Spain, which I also got bronchitis two times. Besides that, almost every race I'd never suffered. The suffering was pushing myself to win or to be competitive. When you're dropped off the back and you can't breathe and your legs are burning all the time. I never experienced that. For two years, I rode that way. Finally, at the end of the Giro d’Italia, I started getting my legs back and I started feeling good. I've always used the Giro as a training race overloading myself. Then, after a week of recovery after the Giro, my legs were just flying. I still hadn't tested myself. When I got into the Tour, I still had no confidence. I took the lead after the first time trial. Even when I got to the Pyrenees, I kept waiting to get dropped. The whole time, I was waiting to get dropped. When I got to it, when I entered that ’89 tour, my hope was maybe a top 20 or 30 and a stage win. Then I started getting a little better. I went to top 10. Then top five and then finally, I got through the Pyrenees. I thought, well, why not top three? I got a few days in the Alps. Well, why not winning it? If you're coming from that mindset, I was prepared to lose, because I was so happy to be back. Frenchman Bernard Hinault (R) and his teammate US Greg Lemond smile as they cross the finish line ... [+] together at the end of the 18th stage of the Tour de France between Briançon and l'Alpe d'Huez on July 21, 1986. Hinault won the stage and Greg Lemond retained his leader's yellow jersey and went on to win his first Tour de France in Paris becoming the first American to do so. (FILM) AFP PHOTO / AFP / - (Photo credit should read -/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images RR: Yeah. It's good to be the underdog. GL: I didn't have expectations, but I kept surprising myself. Then I moved up the goal to win it. At the end of the day, I was just happy to be back racing. To go from literally nearly quitting the sport, in midway through the Giro, I lost another 17 minutes in the mountain stage and I said, “I just can't do it. I'm quitting.” My wife convinced me to stay in the sport ‘til the end of the year, knowing I may regret it the rest of my life. The pressure was intense. I put the pressure on myself for two years and I kept judging myself, every race was a do or die. You do that for two years, it gets old. When I got to the end of the Tour and winning the Tour that year, honestly, the first thing you think about is all the difficult periods. I said to my wife, “Can you believe I was ready to quit six weeks before?” That would have been a huge mistake. RR: I don't know that your comeback story has been well documented, at least from what I've read and seen. A lot of the documentaries and articles seem to skip right from your ’86 win to your ’89 win, without telling that story in between very much. GL: It might have been because I downplayed the injury. Yet, I know that bike racers, they have no clue. I don't think there's been a racer ever injured like I have that’s ever come back. It was so much more severe than I even led it to be. I'm still suffering from lead poisoning from that. That's why I said it. When I look back, I go, “I'm really glad I came back. I'm amazed I came back,” and still won two tours. Although, I think I would have continued on doing really well. The EPO period came in and at 1991, I think I was better than ’89 to ’90, equal of ’86. I just got my rear-end handed to me. I took the lead right away in the Tour, even in a 70 kilometer time trial, I've lost maybe 8 or 10 seconds to Miguel Indurain. That's the real test. The race never got slower, never slowed down on certain days, which it did traditionally, because everybody got tired at the same time. Nobody was tired. If you're not doing something, eventually you can't keep up. Oxygen-wise, I still believe I had the capability of somebody on EPO. If somebody else was cheating to get on EPO, I had very good oxygen capacity, but it's your recovery. People were recovering. It wasn't just EPO. It was testosterone, growth hormone. Physically, I was recovering like everybody else and it hit me in the Pyrenees. 7 JULY 1994: GREG LEMOND OF TEAM GAN CHATS WITH LANCE ARMSTRONG OF TEAM MOTOROLA TODAY DURING THE ... [+] FIFTH STAGE OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE IN PORTSMOUTH, ENGLAND. ARMSTRONG REMAINS IN FIFTH PLACE OVERALL, 26 SECONDS BEHIND LEADER FLAVIO VANZELLA OF ITALY. Mandatory Credit: Pascal Rondeau/ALLSPORT Getty Images RR: Was there a moment during ’91, where you really became aware of the doping? I mean, do you recall that precise moment, like the a-ha moment? GL: I didn't ever think, “Oh, I'm losing because of that.” Only in hindsight, because I do remember the one stage. We had stopped for three railroad trains. We had to stop. I had never raced a stage that fast, ever. We averaged, I think, 53, 54 kilometers per hour for 140 miles, over 240 kilometers. I still remember Charly Mottet, looking at Charly going, “Oh, my gosh. We can't understand it.” Even then, we knew that one of my ex-teammates in PDM died of a heart attack, we suspected EPO. You hear some rumors, but it wasn't apparent at that time. I never thought, “Oh, I'm not racing well because somebody else is cheating.” I'm just thinking, “What am I doing wrong?” Only in hindsight, I think it was really by ’92, ’93 that rumors started going around about Dr. Ferrari. The joke in ’93 was the highest paid rider in the Peloton was Dr. Ferrari, because he was getting a percentage of all these riders. He had 40, 50 riders. If you have 200 riders in the Peloton, maybe it's 50 in the beginning and then 75, 100, 125. When you have that many riders doping, that keeps the pace very high. Anybody else who’s not on it, they're at a huge disadvantage. It's funny, because I don't even remember the last two, three years of my career, because it was worse than when I was coming back from my hunting accident. It was so fast and I was always tired. Literally, always tired. I was chronically overtraining. RR: Did that single-handedly drive you out of the sport and into retirement? Was that the only factor? GL: Yeah. The funny thing is though, I didn't think that it was only that. I felt okay. I felt there was some health issues going on, because I didn't know the advantage of what EPO, or what any of the drugs, was having. Even then, I believed people were doing something in the ‘80s too. Cortisone is what I heard. I still won. I still won. I had that same mentality, and I don't think I looked at the dramatic increase in performance in the ‘90s. PARIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 20: Podium / Primoz Roglic of Slovenia and Team Jumbo - Visma with his son ... [+] Levom / Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia and UAE Team Emirates Yellow Leader Jersey / Richie Porte of Australia and Team Trek - Segafredo / Celebration / Trophy / Mask / Covid safety measures / during the 107th Tour de France 2020, Stage 21 a 122km stage from Mantes-La-Jolie to Paris Champs-Élysées / #TDF2020 / @LeTour / on September 20, 2020 in Paris, France. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images,) Getty Images, RR: Let's talk about the modern era for a bit. The 2020 Tour, I have to say, was one of the most exciting in my experience as a spectator. How do you rate 2020 historically? GL: I think I would agree with you. I would say last year's race was absolutely one of the most exciting. It was really great to watch two people from a country of two million people take first and second. I do think the racing in the last couple years is so much more like the ‘80s. You see people getting dropped, you see more fatigue. They're going fast. I think it's impossible to compare times on a climb. In fact, I feel bad for them, because there's so much pressure to lose weight, lose muscle mass. In theory, if you lose muscle mass, your power to weight ratio goes up, so you climb faster. I don't look at those times on the climbs, like some people are saying, “Oh, that's proof of something going on.” I think it's an incredibly hard sport. I think the riders today have – the TV coverage is constant, radios, you've got the directors forcing these guys up front. It's a very hard sport for these guys. I do think that the sport and seeing the riders race, it's really close. There was a lot of robotic racing in previous Tours, especially in the ‘90s and 2000s. Today, you see more human suffering and faces that suffer. It really was unnatural when you saw riders get done with a mountain stage and they're just breathing through their noses, no suffering. That's changed, which is great.
a78407cdcead6de771b7a2ab37ae2cf6
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robreed/2021/02/18/the-gravel-revolution-in-cycling-is-being-driven-by-epic-events-like-sbt-grvl/?sh=30dd3e375d55
The Gravel Revolution In Cycling Is Being Driven By Epic Events Like SBT GRVL
The Gravel Revolution In Cycling Is Being Driven By Epic Events Like SBT GRVL SBT GRVL ©Steamboat Gravel/Ian Hylands 2019 Amy Charity is co-founder of SBT GRVL, the annual gravel event based in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. This new-ish gravel event has only been run once in 2019, yet it's become one of the core destinations on the gravel calendar. The event was cancelled for 2020 due to the pandemic, but it’s back on and sold out for August of 2021. Charity’s story is one of courage and living life with purpose. At the age of 34, when others might be retiring, she decided to pursue a career in professional road racing. She left a stable job in finance for the uncertainty of competing at the highest level of the sport. Then she won a national championship. This journey of discovery, victory and defeat is captured in her book, The Wrong Side of Comfortable. It’s a story of “taking chances, having a vision, and living life without regrets,” according to Amazon. Today, Amy is one of the de-facto leaders in the gravel revolution, which is the fastest growing segment in the cycling industry. Having achieved what could be described as overnight success with SBT GRVL, we talk about how the event and the gravel discipline might grow in the years to come. Amy Charity, co-founder of SBT GRVL SBT GRVL Rob Reed (RR): We met just over a year ago, at this event called Gravel Camp in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was organized by ENVE, Evil Bikes, Clif Bar and a few other sponsors. The group was a combination of sponsors, journalists and some pros. The featured guests, though, were the organizers of the biggest gravel events in the US. You had the folks from Dirty Kanza, which is now Unbound Gravel. You had The Crusher in the Tushar, The Mid South and Rebecca’s Private Idaho. These are some of the big gravel monuments, if you will, on the calendar. Then there was Amy Charity from SBT GRVL. MORE FOR YOUPhotos: Egypt’s 3,400-Year-Old ‘Lost Golden City’ Is Unearthed From Desert SandsThe Promise Of International Travel: April EU Travel Restrictions, Covid-19 Test Requirements, Quarantine By CountryHawaii Travel Restrictions Have Been Updated Amy Charity (AC): That’s right. RR: You were the new kid on the block because you’d only run the event once in 2019 and you’d already sold out the 2020 event. Then, of course, we hit COVID. I want to start with your thoughts, in general, about the gravel movement and what’s really behind this cycling trend. AC: That was an amazing weekend to kind of pull together that different group of people. Chris Lyman and his team really I think had some insight into, “Wow! If we bring together not only media and the pros, but why don’t we talk to some of the race directors who were all in very different stages of having planned these races and get their perspective on where gravel is heading?” What I found so interesting on that weekend was, we all loved the fact that it didn’t have any prescribed rules. I think that so many of us came from these backgrounds of cycling, where if you come from a roadie background, it was so specific—these are the regulations, these are the categories, this is how it all works. With this gravel revolution that’s happening, we each have a very different take on what is important in our events, and that’s what makes them so incredible. For example, Unbound Gravel has never been a race where you have navigation out on the course. You have to have a bike computer, you have to have a way to navigate or you will get lost in Emporia in the Flint Hills. Or you’re sticking with someone who has—my first year, I was behind someone with cue cards and I was like, “You’re my only hope!” That’s how they structure their race and everyone knows that going in. SBT GRVL took a completely different approach and our thought was, navigation is really stressful, it can be scary. This is not something we want people to worry about. We’re going to put signs absolutely everywhere so you cannot get lost on our course. What came out of this weekend that we had was—what’s so amazing—is we don’t have a governing body. We don’t have anyone telling us what needs to happen. Each race director has that freedom to choose what they want to have in a race, and then the racers get to choose what they find important and what they want to do. Start line at 6:30am SBT GRVL RR: Gravel really is like a melting pot of the cycling world. What are some examples of where you’re seeing people make the shift to gravel? Is it all from the cycling world, or is some of it coming from outside of cycling? AC: I think the beauty of gravel is that it is incredibly inclusive. It’s certainly true of SBT, but I think it’s true of all of the events. Every one of the event organizers are trying to find ways to bring in new populations. I think that I can speak for the other race directors in that we all want to see more people on bikes. We’re reaching out to different categories. I think where that began was, okay, mountain bikers and roadies, and then the triathletes came along. Now, we’re opening up to e-Bikes in our situation. Then how about the kids, how do we get younger kids? Maybe they’ll sit on a mountain bike, but they’ll do a gravel race. Then we’re trying to appeal to older populations. To your point, to people who maybe didn’t used to ride bikes. I think that people are coming in from all of those different categories, different sporting backgrounds, and different cycling disciplines and then you have the diversity of ages. In our race, we have 12- to 83-year-olds, which is just out of this world. How many sports can you have those two on the same start line? For the love of dirt ©Steamboat Gravel/Ian Hylands 2019 RR: Tell me how you started SBT GRVL. What was the motivation? What was the insight? Where did you see the opportunity? AC: SBT GRVL started from people who are passionate about cycling and really started to get interested in racing gravel. We understood that we had this unbelievably unique situation in Steamboat. This resort town is used to accommodating tens of thousands of visitors in the winter time, and we have the infrastructure with our lodging, our restaurants and our transportation to really accommodate that many visitors in any given time. Then we happened to be right next to these ranches and literally 700 miles of connected dirt roads—gravel roads—that surround Steamboat. In our county, Routt County, it’s endless. You couldn’t cover it all in a week. It would be a giant week. We saw that gravel is this amazing thing that’s happening. We all ride on these gravel roads. At the time we were planning the race, this is 2018. We were traveling to Lincoln, Nebraska; Emporia, Kansas; Beaver, Utah—some of these classic places to do gravel events and we thought, “Why is there not one in Colorado? Specifically, why is there not one in Steamboat? We were made to have a gravel race here.” We put our heads together and asked, “What should this be? Should this be a Steamboat race or should we go big and make it a Colorado race? Should we go bigger and make it a national race?” Then, of course, our eyes all lit up and we decided, “Let’s go international. Let’s see if we can get some people from other countries here.” Everything we did going forward was about how we make this a world-class, international-level gravel event in Steamboat. RR: What’s the breakdown of the event of what people can sign up for? AC: We loosely follow ski route colors with our distances. So green is that shortest route at 37 miles. Red is a new route that we added for 2020, and so 2021 will be the first year that racers get to do this 65-mile route. That was a request that came in the feedback, that the jump from the green to the blue course was too big. The blue course is just over 100 miles and the black course is 144 miles. There’s something for everybody. The green course, we did open up to e-bikes this year. That will be a fun and different race that will go off after all of the green course riders go. We’re really excited to see how that unfolds. But we try to create a race that, depending on if you want to spend a couple of hours in the saddle, all the way to 12 hours in the saddle, we have something for you. A slight crosswind would be nice SBT GRVL RR: This year there is also a combined event with Leadville 100, right? AC: Yeah. This is called LeadBoat. It actually started with a scheduling conflict. Every four years, Leadville moves their date, and it has something to do with the town of Leadville, and they’re required to move the date of the Leadville mountain bike 100-mile race. We found out that Leadville would be the day before SBT. We had a few dozen people who do both—some of the pros, and there are actually some amateurs that will do back-to-back weekends of these big races. When we saw that they were one day apart, we called Lifetime and said, “Can you move your date? You guys are — what are we going to do? It’s the same weekend. This is going to impact some of our pros. We’re putting them in a rough situation. What can we do?” Instead of having one of us move our dates, we came to this, “Well, actually, that sounds like an amazing challenge.” It all began there with this great idea. We’re like, “LeadBoat it is. You do the Leadville 100-mile mountain bike race on Saturday and the SBT GRVL black [course] on Sunday.” That was really the mindset and we came up with this list. All the pros we invited were like, “Yup, we’ll do it.” Then we opened up applications and decided to take 25 men and 25 women amateurs. And we had hundreds of applications and it was just overwhelming how many people wanted to do this. We only took those 50 amateurs, invited 12 pros and then we have this additional group of people who got in organically. Basically, they got in through the Leadville Lottery and they got in through SBT. They were able to register. We now have about 150 people who are signed up to do the two races. I think it’s going to be one of the biggest stories in cycling, definitely in the State of Colorado, but I think in the country in 2021. It’s such a unique challenge. This is taking a mountain bike on Saturday and a gravel bike on Sunday. Champagne gravel ©Steamboat Gravel/Ian Hylands 2019 RR: I ask a lot of gravel riders, who came from a different discipline, do you now identify as a gravel rider? Are you basically like, “I’m a gravel rider” or do you still consider yourself a roadie? AC: Yeah. I would definitely say I’m a gravel rider. I guess the last road race I did, I raced the Colorado Classic in 2019. That was my last road race. But even in the Colorado Classic, I was sort of prefacing it with my teammates, like, “Hey, guys. I’m a gravel racer. I’m not used to this tight peloton. I’m not used to riding like 30 miles per hour. I like to go slow on the dirt.” I definitely transitioned. All the races on my calendar going forward are gravel races. I think road racing is just — especially having spent all of my background in road racing, once you move away from it, it really seems daunting. Like in my mind, racing a crit sounds terrifying, and the team dynamic and being on a team, it’s all very different than gravel. Charity competing on the US National Team SBT GRVL RR: That’s actually a great pivot to your pro-racing career, because that’s how you got here. Tell me the story about how you first thought, “I can become a professional road racer and do that as a career” as opposed to the career you currently had. AC: I had lived in Steamboat for a few years at that point, and I had this unbelievable job. I worked at a hedge fund in Steamboat and did investor relations, and it was not a high-stress job. It’s just great colleagues, everything about it was good. That’s when I started to discover bike racing and at this point, I was in my early 30s, and it was actually my boss at the time at the hedge fund who talked me into doing a race. We drove down from Steamboat to the front range. I guess it wasn’t even a road race, it was a hill climb. But it went well. I ended up winning the race and I got the bug for cycling. From there, I signed up for as many as I could across the state and started to learn a little bit more about riding in a pack. I just absolutely loved it and I was sort of finding the—I’ve done sports my whole life, but I was finding what I thought was kind of my calling in a sport, just that everything came a little bit easier in cycling than it did in other sports. Went through that summer, kind of went through all the categories and sent my resume out to a bunch of different cycling teams. I ended up getting a contract with a team out of California called Vanderkitten. That was really the turning point. It was a domestic elite team. In my mind, that meant pro, so it was a dream come true to be given a zero cash contract where you get to do bike races with other girls who are also domestic elites. I was still learning a lot about what cycling meant at that level and I just — there’s no way I could’ve stayed in the traditional financial career path that I was in, given that I have this opportunity somewhere else. So I ended up jumping over and signing a contract with Vanderkitten and racing pro for the next few years. Off the front Foto Anton Vos RR: But you were 34 at the time, which is probably when most pro women are thinking about retiring and getting out of the sport or maybe at least aging out of being on a pro team. What was that like? AC: The dynamic was really interesting and I will say for people who aren’t familiar with pro racing, it is not glamorous. There’s no budget, even when you’re —whatever race you are at you’re almost always at host housing, and sometimes host housing means you get your own bedroom and sometimes it means you’re on a couch and someone’s on the other side of the L-shaped couch. Then the host house cats are around. It’s not a luxury lifestyle at all. I think that that part of it was really interesting to go into. The average age is 23 for a pro female cyclist and I was 34. I had a lot of business experience and I had very little racing experience compared to these girls who had grown up racing, started when they were in their teens. They’d been racing for years. So standing on the start line, I’m the one shaking with this girl who’s 15 years younger than me is like, “You’re fine. You need to calm down.” Like, “What’s going on? You need to sit on my wheel” and they really took on that kind of mentoring role. I’d like to think that I offered them some career advice and was helpful in other ways, but I will tell you, I was 100% the rookie at all points. Even in team meetings, I would be like taking notes on what we were doing the next day, like what my job was. They were like, “Oh my God, like this old girl is, like, taking notes.” There was a big learning curve, and it’s always rough being the rookie, but it’s especially rough when you’re the older one and you come from a long-established career. Being humbled is an understatement, but I definitely learned a lot. RR: You achieved some significant things in the sport, so talk to me about some of your big wins. AC: If I look back at the biggest moments in cycling, one is the Team Time Trial. I raced for Optum and that was their top priority in 2015. They raced worlds the year before and they finished fourth overall, which is a tough position to finish right off the podium. So a lot of investment into the Team Time Trial team for 2015, and they brought me on for that role. It was challenging, we were always trying to figure out, like, who the strongest six were. There were probably eight of us who were all pretty strong, so that was tough. You’re constantly battling with your teammates for position, but you are also — you have to be totally aligned and in sync with your teammates. Team Time Trial is innately challenging in that way, but I was able to make the team to race Nationals, and we won Nationals. UHC was a big competitor and we had a handful of other teams that were really strong. I would say that was probably one of my favorite moments in sports and it was just — you know what every single teammate is thinking, you know how they’re feeling, you know that like—we don’t even talk in Team Time Trial. You say maybe one word and it’s like up, down, over, steady. Like there are four words you’re allowed to use. And just by how my teammates would say them, I knew the state they were in. I think that raising your heart rate for yourself is one thing, but to just stay on a wheel because it’s for your team, there’s no better feeling than that. When we crossed the line and knew that we had won Nationals, I can’t think of a better moment in sporting life than that and to be with my teammates for that. All smiles and ready to suffer SBT GRVL RR: All of this experience inspired you to write a book, The Wrong Side of Comfortable. What went into that? AC: One piece of me was like, “What just happened?” After I raced in the World Championships in the Team Time Trial for Optum, at that point, 37 years old and I was like, “Oh my gosh! Three years, I left a career.” So many crazy things happened, and there are definitely some life lessons to glean out of this, and I think that they can be applied no matter what you’re doing. That was really the thinking of, there’s a lot about perseverance, there’s a lot about—like you’re thrown into these situations where you have to adapt and you have to be on your toes. Racing in El Salvador made its own chapter because so many things happened and I always thought, “I’ll be ready for anything in my life after this.” I wanted to really capture all of those, so I remembered them, but I was also hopeful that other racers or aspiring racers and other people in the business world or whoever’s out there, and they go through these difficult times or massive transitions in their life that maybe they could glean some insight—you’ll get through those tough times and the high points are worth it. And getting outside of your comfort zone is, like, every good experience comes from getting outside of your comfort zone. Like very few people think, “Oh, I was laying on the beach and then I had the best day of my life.” You don’t even remember those days, but you remember when you’re starving in El Salvador, like you wouldn’t forget that. I just think that there’s such a lesson there to push those boundaries of what you feel comfortable with, and it doesn’t have to be physically, because the outcome of that and what you’re able to achieve outside of that is so much greater than staying inside your comfort zone. I just wanted to get that message out there and hope that others can relate to it from some perspective and that they take on a new challenge if they read that and understand that.
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robreischel/2019/11/01/green-bay-packers-fast-start-could-hurt-mike-mccarthys-job-search/
Green Bay Packers’ Fast Start — And Other Factors — Could Hurt Mike McCarthy’s Job Search
Green Bay Packers’ Fast Start — And Other Factors — Could Hurt Mike McCarthy’s Job Search Former Green Bay Packers' head coach Mike McCarthy would love to coach again. But he'll have some ... [+] tough questions to answer when he begins interviewing. ASSOCIATED PRESS The NFL’s coaching carousel began spinning on Oct. 7, when Washington fired Jay Gruden. Atlanta’s Dan Quinn, Cleveland’s Freddie Kitchens and the New York Jets’ Adam Gase are all on life support. Others like Dallas’ Jason Garrett, Cincinnati’s Zac Taylor, San Diego’s Anthony Lynn and Denver’s Vic Fangio are squarely on the hot seat. Eight teams hired new head coaches in 2019, and there could be just as many openings this offseason. That means Mike McCarthy — who was fired in Dec., 2018, after 12 ¾ seasons in Green Bay — could draw some interest. McCarthy, who turns 56 on Nov. 10, went 125-77-2 in Green Bay and his .618 winning percentage ranks fourth in team history behind Vince Lombardi (.754), Mike Holmgren (.670) and Earl “Curly” Lambeau (.668). McCarthy guided Green Bay to a win over Pittsburgh in the 45th Super Bowl, a year where the Packers got red hot as the NFC’s No. 6 seed. Green Bay also went to four NFC Championship games under McCarthy, where it was a disappointing 1-3. McCarthy posted a 10-8 record in the postseason. And the Packers won six NFC North titles under McCarthy, including four straight divisional crowns between 2011-’14. McCarthy is being paid $9 million by the Packers to not coach this season, and he’s spent the year at his home in Green Bay. While McCarthy’s on-field résumé is impressive, there will be several factors working against him, including: • Green Bay’s 7-1 start in 2019. • His relationship with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. MORE FOR YOUJake Paul Vs. Ben Askren Live Results, Odds, Purses, Prediction (Video)Jake Paul Vs. Ben Askren: Odds, Records, Prediction (Updated With Betting Results)The World’s Most Valuable Soccer Teams: Barcelona Edges Real Madrid To Land At No. 1 For First Time • Why he didn’t win more than one Super Bowl, despite having two Hall of Fame quarterbacks? • And why he berated a high school basketball official in Feb., 2019? Brian Billick led Baltimore to a Super Bowl championship in 2000, lasted seven more seasons with the Ravens, and was never given another head coaching job. Could a similar fate await McCarthy? On Thursday, I talked with two front office executives who know the Packers’ present — and past — extremely well. Both men are working for teams that almost certainly won’t be looking for a new head coach in 2020. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity and discussed the tough questions McCarthy will have to answer and his chances of landing another job. GREEN BAY’S FAST START The Packers were 4-7-1 when McCarthy was fired last December and went on to finish 6-9-1. That followed a 7-9 season in 2017, marking the first time the Packers missed the playoffs in back-to-back years since 2005-’06. Under rookie head coach Matt LaFleur, the Packers are off to a 7-1 start and tied for the second-best record in the NFC. Will some owners and general managers downgrade McCarthy now that the Packers are thriving without him? “I don’t think so,” one executive said. “That GM (Brian Gutekunst) went out and found them a lot of players in free agency, then he had a hell of a draft. That’s a lot of new talent McCarthy didn’t have.” The second executive wasn’t so sure. “Well, it’s not a great look when the team fires you, then they’re a Super Bowl contender the next year,” he said. “I know (McCarthy) won a lot of games, but he didn’t win a lot the last few years. Memories are short. That Super Bowl he won seems like another lifetime ago.” THE RODGERS-MCCARTHY RELATIONSHIP It’s no secret that Rodgers is a tough employee to manage. He’s strong-willed, sensitive and has traditionally blamed others before himself. McCarthy appeared to work hard at this marriage throughout his time in Green Bay. But the Rodgers-McCarthy relationship bottomed out in recent years, something well-documented in a Bleacher Report story published in April. Rodgers has regained his MVP-form under LaFleur. And many teams looking for coaches might hold that against McCarthy. “For whatever reason, that relationship blew up and it ended badly,” one executive said. “The quarterback-head coach relationship is enormous, and Mike’s going to have to convince people that he can make that work again.” The second executive added: “I wouldn’t kill Mike for the whole Aaron thing. Hell, (John) Elway got rid of Dan Reeves once (in 1992) and Dan Reeves was a hell of a football coach. He went to another Super Bowl (with Atlanta in 1998) after that Elway (expletive)-show. So I’m not putting all of that on Mike by any means.” JUST ONE SUPER BOWL McCarthy coached Brett Favre in 2006-’07, and Rodgers from 2008-’18. Favre was a first ballot Hall of Famer and Rodgers will be after he retires. So how did Green Bay win just one Super Bowl in that time? “That’s a very fair question,” one executive said. “They should have had three or four rings in there.” Instead, the Packers had some legendary losses in that time. Green Bay was an NFL-best 15-1 in 2011, but lost its first playoff game to the New York Giants, 37-20. The Packers led Seattle, 19-7, in the 2014 NFC Championship Game with just more than 3 minutes remaining. At that point, Green Bay had a 99.9% chance of winning according to ProFootballReference.com. Instead, everything that could go wrong did and Seattle rallied for a 28-22 win on overtime. McCarthy’s teams also suffered overtime playoff losses to the New York Giants in 2007 and to Arizona in both 2009 and 2015. “Can you imagine being handed Favre and Rodgers?” the second executive said. “That’s unbelievable. Look how many Super Bowls San Francisco won with (Joe) Montana and (Steve) Young (five). Did Mike win enough? Probably not.” BERATING A HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL REFEREE On Feb. 26, McCarthy was involved in an incident with three high school basketball officials following a WIAA Division 2 playoff game between Green Bay Notre Dame and Pulaski. McCarthy’s stepson plays for Notre Dame, and the Tritons suffered a 67-66 loss to Pulaski. Video obtained by FOX 11 in Green Bay showed McCarthy following officials after the game and berating them. “This parent chose to follow the officials and berate them, which is clearly unacceptable,” Pulaski athletic director Janel Batten told FOX 11 at the time. “Some things were said, some language was used that we don't want in our gym, unsportsmanlike language.” McCarthy did not publicly apologize for his outburst. Instead, Notre Dame issued the following statement: “Notre Dame Academy is founded on the values of faith, respect, responsibility, service, and trustworthiness. The behavior exemplified by the parent at Tuesday night’s game is unacceptable at athletic events and does not reflect our institution as a whole.” The incident took place while the NFL Combine was taking place in Indianapolis. And the following day, McCarthy’s antics were all the buzz. “I’ll just say this: everything you do these days is put under a microscope,” one NFL general manager told me. “And if it’s close between (McCarthy) and another guy, maybe this kind of thing tips it to the other guy. “(McCarthy) might think he’s out of the spotlight this year because he’s not coaching. But if he’s running around doing stupid things like this, he won’t find a job.”
b9f623ec35c7359bd94f77ea58245224
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robreischel/2020/04/18/michigans-cesar-ruiz-would-give-the-green-bay-packers-several-options-up-front/
Michigan’s Cesar Ruiz Would Give The Green Bay Packers Several Options Up Front
Michigan’s Cesar Ruiz Would Give The Green Bay Packers Several Options Up Front Cesar Ruiz of Michigan is the No. 1 rated center in the 2020 NFL Draft. Getty Images Note: The NFL Draft begins April 23 and the Green Bay Packers have the 30th pick in the first round. I’m in the process of examining 30 players the Packers could select with that pick. Today, we look at Michigan center Cesar Ruiz. A full list of players that have been spotlighted is at the bottom of this story. CESAR RUIZ, C, MICHIGAN THE SKINNY Ruiz started 31 of 36 games during his three years at Michigan, then declared for the draft after his junior season. Ruiz started five games at right guard in 2017, then moved to center the last two seasons. Ruiz was a third-team all-Big Ten Conference selection in 2018 and a second-team all-league pick in 2019. Ruiz grew up in Camden, N.J., then transferred to Florida’s IMG Academy for his final two years in high school. Ruiz’s father was hit by a car and killed while he was helping someone change a tire. Cesar was just eight at the time. “Every night, every day, I think about it,” Ruiz said of losing his father. “If my dad was here to see what I'm doing right now, he would be mind-blown. So, I'm still playing for my dad, I still play through my dad, my dad still lives through me, and that's how it's always going to be. MORE FOR YOUEuropean Super League Aims To Swipe Champions League’s $2.4 Billion In TV Money — And Bury UEFASteph Curry, With 72 3-Pointers In His Last 10 Games For Warriors, Is Rewriting The NBA Record BookThe World’s Most Valuable Soccer Teams: Barcelona Edges Real Madrid To Land At No. 1 For First Time MEASURABLES Height: 6-3 Weight: 307 Bench press: 28 40-yard dash: 5.08 Vertical jump: 33” Broad jump: 113” Arms: 33 1/8” Hands: 11” SCOUTING REPORT Ruiz is the top center in a mediocre class. Much like Rodney Hudson of the Las Vegas Raiders, Ruiz is a big-bodied center who’s extremely powerful and possesses rare athleticism for a man his size. Ruiz has a lot of pop in his punch, has terrific balance and the quickness to get to the second level. Ruiz could play in a gap or zone scheme and could also play any of the interior positions. He’s also highly intelligent and made all of the line calls while at Michigan. Ruiz’s reach and extension aren’t ideal. His body also could be reshaped and NFL teams might ask him to drop weight. PACKERS’ PREDICAMENT Green Bay, which had one of the top offensive lines in football in 2019, needs help. And Ruiz would give the Packers tremendous flexibility inside. The Packers let elite right tackle Bryan Bulaga leave in free agency, and signed former Lion Rick Wagner to replace him. That’s risky business, considering Pro Football Focus ranked Wagner just 62nd overall among offensive tackles last season and Detroit released him on March 13. In addition, left tackle David Bakhtiari and center Corey Linsley will become free agents in March, 2021, and the Packers will be hard-pressed to pay both. Ruiz could play guard in 2020 and either incumbent — Elgton Jenkins or Billy Turner — could slide to right tackle if Wagner struggles. Ruiz could also be Green Bay’s center of the future if Linsley leaves after the 2020 campaign. Either way, Ruiz would give Green Bay tremendous depth and versatility this season — and beyond. THEY SAID IT Ruiz, on if he’s a first-round talent: “If you look at the film, if you look at how I dominate people, if you look at my character, how smart I am, I have everything for a first rounder. I'm very confident in myself that I am a first rounder.” ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper on Ruiz: “I really like Ruiz’s 2019 film, and I have a higher grade on him now than I did last year on (Minnesota’s) Garrett Bradbury, the 2019 draft class’ top center. Ruiz can play guard — he started five games there for the Wolverines — and that’s why his value is so high. NFL teams love versatile interior linemen, and I could see a team drafting him to play guard.” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh on Ruiz: “The feet are so good that he’s getting to places he’s never gotten to, in terms of the second level and pulling on the edge. And he’s doing all that while he’s snapping the football, while he’s making calls.” Ruiz, on making the calls for Michigan’s offense: “I believe that's one place that I've excelled a little bit in some of my formal interviews, my ability to remember plays and reiterate plays on the board and the way I am able to describe my film. I think that's one thing I maybe impress teams with.” PREVIOUS PLAYERS SPOTLIGHTED • LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson • TCU defensive lineman Ross Blacklock • USC offensive tackle Austin Jackson • Oklahoma linebacker Kenneth Murray • Utah State quarterback Jordan Love • Clemson wide receiver Tee Higgins • Oklahoma defensive lineman Neville Gallimore • Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor • Clemson cornerback A.J. Terrell • Colorado wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. • LSU linebacker Patrick Queen • Houston offensive tackle Josh Jones • Alabama cornerback Trevon Diggs • Baylor wide receiver Denzel Mims • Iowa defensive end A.J. Epenesa • Georgia running back D’Andre Swift • LSU cornerback Kristian Fulton • Washington quarterback Jacob Eason • Alabama defensive end Raekwon Davis • Arizona State wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk • Penn State outside linebacker Yetur Gross-Matos • Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet • Georgia offensive tackle Isaiah Wilson • Zack Baun, LB, Wisconsin • TCU wide receiver Jalen Reagor • Auburn defensive end Marlon Davidson
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robreischel/2020/07/23/the-most-important-green-bay-packers-aaron-jones-poised-for-big-year-huge-contract/
The Most Important Green Bay Packers: Aaron Jones Poised For Big Year, Huge Contract
The Most Important Green Bay Packers: Aaron Jones Poised For Big Year, Huge Contract Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones tied for the NFL lead in rushing touchdowns (16) and ... [+] total touchdowns (19) in 2019. Getty Images The Green Bay Packers went 13-3 last season, won the NFC North and reached the NFC Championship Game. San Francisco routed the Packers, though, 37-20, in the conference title game and Green Bay enters the 2020 season with several questions. The NFL informed teams last Saturday that training camps will open on time and all players are expected to report by July 28. Between now and the start of camp, I will count down the ‘30 Most Important Packers’ heading into the 2020 campaign. Running back Aaron Jones checks in at No. 6. The other players that have been revealed in the top-30 are listed at the bottom of the story. No. 6 RB, Aaron Jones Last season: After struggling with injuries his first two years, Jones played all 16 regular season games and led Green Bay with a career-high 1,084 rushing yards last season. Jones finished the regular season with 16 rushing touchdowns, which tied for the league lead with Tennessee’s Derrick Henry. He also had 19 total touchdowns, which tied Carolina’s Christian McCaffrey for the NFL lead. Jones had a pair of rushing touchdowns in Green Bay’s divisional playoff win over Seattle. Then in the Packers’ 37-20 loss to San Francisco in the NFC Championship, Jones had a rushing and receiving touchdown. Jones, who was raised in a military family, is a terrific teammate and an emerging leader. He finished second on the Packers last season with 49 receptions and his pass blocking has improved dramatically. MORE FOR YOUNeymar Refuses To Sign PSG Contract Extension And Wants To Hear FC Barcelona Offer, Claims ReportThe World’s Most Valuable Soccer Teams: Barcelona Edges Real Madrid To Land At No. 1 For First TimeSteph Curry, With 72 3-Pointers In His Last 10 Games For Warriors, Is Rewriting The NBA Record Book The only reason Jones isn’t higher on this list is Green Bay has quality backups at the running back position. So, if Jones were to miss time, the Packers wouldn’t be in dire straits like they would be at some other positions. Career to date: Jones missed four games each of his first two seasons due to injury. But former Packers coach Mike McCarthy — who now has that same position in Dallas — often forgot about Jones, too, which drove the fan base crazy. Jones averaged a whopping 5.53 yards per carry as a rookie in 2017 and 5.47 yards per attempt in 2018. The pass-happy McCarthy often ignored the running game, though, and Jones averaged just 107 carries per year in his first two seasons. In 2019, Jones had 236 carries — more than his first two years combined. Jones proved that he can stay healthy for a full season and still produce at an incredibly high level. Outlook: Jones is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and could be poised for a monster deal with another big season. Jones will make $2.13 million this year, and could earn five times that amount a year from now. Jones, 25, was Green Bay’s best offensive player a year ago and is entering his prime years. He could face stiff competition in the free agency market, though, as Dalvin Cook (Minnesota), Alvin Kamara (New Orleans), Joe Mixon (Cincinnati), Leonard Fournette (Jacksonville) and Kenyan Drake (Arizona) are among the standout backs entering the final year of their contracts. Jones could be in a terrific position, though, to command a big pay day. Packers head coach Matt LaFleur would like to run the football more this season. And if Jones can put together a season that resembles his 2019 campaign, someone will gladly open their checkbook for his services. COMMENTS “Whether it’s my first year or my last year on a deal, I’m going to be just as motivated. It doesn’t change just because a contract is on the line for me. I mean, I’m going to continue to work and do everything in my power. I trust my agency and the Packers. With that, I would love to be a life-long Packer. That’s my take on that.” — Jones on his future in Green Bay “Certainly, Aaron was dynamic for us. I think I was impressed with his ability to stay healthy and stay out there. He certainly had more touches than he’s had. So that proved a lot to us. He’s such important part of what Matt’s trying to do on offense. He’s a versatile piece. You can move him all around. Really makes it tough on defenses. So, really excited to see him in Year 2 of Matt’s offense.” — Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst on Jones “I think he was always a very versatile back, but I think he's just kind of added to it. He can do it all. Obviously, he's been a great runner for us. He's really good out of the backfield and he's always had good hands. So, he's just kind of getting a little more opportunities in this offense.” — Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Jones “He’s done a great job staying healthy. He’s been taking care of himself. We’ve tried not to overload it too much and still get him enough touches that we’re able to utilize his abilities, but he’s been awesome. I mean, all year, from every single aspect of the game. From out of the backfield to running the ball, pass protection, everything has been really good.” — Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said of Jones late in the 2019 season “I did sit back a little bit, just a second to reflect on leading the league in touchdowns. That was one of my goals going into last year, and I said (on a national radio show). So, when I said it, people were probably like, ‘Who is this guy? He’s not even a full-time starter.’ And probably laughing. To just accomplish that and keep your goals and achieve them, you set them high and achieve them, that feels good.” — Jones on his 2019 season THE TOP 30 • No. 30 — WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling • No. 29 — TE-FB Josiah Deguara • No. 28 — RB Jamaal Williams • No. 27 — DE Kingsley Keke • No. 26 — TE Jace Sternberger • No. 25 — RB A.J. Dillon • No. 24 — QB Jordan Love • No. 23 — CB Chandon Sullivan • No. 22 — OL Billy Turner • No. 21 — OG Lane Taylor • No 20 — WR Devin Funchess • No. 19 — RT Ricky Wagner • No. 18 — OLB Rashan Gary • No. 17 — WR Allen Lazard • No. 16 — DE Dean Lowry • No. 15 — CB Kevin King • No. 14 — K Mason Crosby • No. 13 — SS Adrian Amos • No. 12 — C Corey Linsley • No. 11 — ILB Christian Kirksey • No. 10 — LG Elgton Jenkins • No. 9 — FS Darnell Savage • No. 8 — OLB Preston Smith • No. 7 — CB Jaire Alexander
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robreischel/2020/08/30/5-reasons-the-green-bay-packers-will-win-the-nfc-north---and-maybe-more/?sh=50911f214545
5 Reasons The Green Bay Packers Will Win The NFC North — And Maybe More
5 Reasons The Green Bay Packers Will Win The NFC North — And Maybe More Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones leads one of the best backfields in football. Getty Images The website betmgm.com picks the Minnesota Vikings to win the NFC North at +160, slightly ahead of the Green Bay Packers (+175). Green Bay has just the eighth-best odds to win the NFC (+1600) and 14th-best to win the Super Bowl (+3500). Things aren’t much different at Fanduel.com, where the Vikings (+165) are even bigger favorites to win the division over Green Bay (+190). The Packers are again given the eighth-best odds to win the conference (+1400) and 14th-best to win the Super Bowl (+3100). It seems like the folks in the desert have forgotten Green Bay won its division and reached the NFC Championship just seven months ago. Or they simply thought the 2019 Packers played above their heads on their way to a 13-3 regular season and a 14-4 overall mark. Regardless, here are five reasons the 2020 Packers can — and will — win the NFC North and make a deep playoff run again this season. 1. Run to daylight Few teams in the NFL can match Green Bay’s trio of running backs. Aaron Jones tied for the NFL lead in rushing touchdowns (16) and total touchdowns (19) last season. Jones is coming off his first 1,000-yard rushing season, has a career average of 5.0 yards per carry and was second on the team in receptions (49) last year. MORE FOR YOUThe World’s Most Valuable Soccer Teams: Barcelona Edges Real Madrid To Land At No. 1 For First TimeWWE WrestleMania 37 Results: Alexa Bliss Distracts The Fiend As Randy Orton WinsBarred From Canada By Pandemic, Toronto Blue Jays Start In Florida But Plan Return To Buffalo Jamaal Williams is the only player in franchise history to register 400-plus rushing yards and 200-plus receiving yards in each of his first three NFL seasons. And rookie A.J. Dillon is a 6-foot-1, 247-pound beast who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.53 seconds. The Packers ran the ball just 41.8% of the time last year. When you take quarterback runs and make them passes — something they were designed to be — the number of run plays dips to 36.6%. Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur would love his team to run the ball 50.0% of the time. If the Packers can come close to that number, their stable of backs could give them an edge most weeks. “We always want it to be a balance,” Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said. “We always want a marry between the run game and the play pass and the play actions. That’s always what our philosophy is going to be.” 2. Three of a kind? The Packers return one of the NFL’s better outside linebacking duos in Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith. One of the stars of training camp, though, has been second-year outside linebacker Rashan Gary. If Gary can make a substantial leap, Green Bay’s trio of outside linebackers would rival any in football. Za’Darius Smith finished sixth in the league with 13.5 sacks last year, led the NFL with 93 pressures and tied for the league lead with 37 quarterback hits. Preston Smith finished eighth in the NFL with 12.0 sacks and had four games with at least 1.5 sacks. And Gary — a first round pick in 2019 — appears poised for a breakout season. “Everything I did in the offseason coming up in to this point is about being the best me, coming back and being an impact player,” Gary said. “You know that’s what I want to be and that’s what I will be. So that’s just been my whole mindset and I’m just down and grinding.” 3. Angry Aaron Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has said and done all the right things since Green Bay selected Jordan Love as its quarterback of the future in April. Not only did the Packers use a first-round draft pick on Love, they traded up to get him. Rodgers, 36, remains among the top-10 quarterbacks in the league and has said he’d like to play into his 40s. But teams don’t let first round draft picks — especially quarterbacks — sit on the bench for long, meaning Love will likely take over by 2022. That means Rodgers is auditioning for future employers while still trying to help Green Bay win games now. Rodgers has been extremely sharp all summer and could be ready for a big year. “I like how he’s playing right now,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said of Rodgers. “He is very decisive, and he is letting it rip and he’s throwing extremely accurate. He’s paying with a lot of confidence.” 4. Continuity In 2011, the NFL owners imposed a work stoppage on the players that lasted from March 12 until July 25. The player lockout took away the entire offseason. In many ways, the COVID-19 pandemic did the same thing this year. Sure, teams had Zoom meetings, but they didn’t return to the field until this month. Back in 2011, Green Bay returned almost every key cog from its 2010 Super Bowl championship team. When other teams didn't have an offseason to gain ground on the Packers, Green Bay took full advantage and produced a 15-1 regular season. The truncated offseason of 2020 could yield similar results. Green Bay returns 21 of 25 starters, which should give it a jumpstart when the year begins. 5. The division remains mediocre Many argue the Packers had a rough offseason, losing right tackle Bryan Bulaga and inside linebacker Blake Martinez in free agency, then using early draft picks on players who might not help in 2020. Time will tell there. The good news for Green Bay is the rest of the division doesn’t appear to have made up much ground. Minnesota traded away Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs, and lost five key defensive players in free agency, including standout defensive end Everson Griffen. Chicago signed quarterback Nick Foles to compete with Mitchell Trubisky. If Foles wins the job, he could be a slight upgrade, but the Bears’ offense ranked just 29th overall a year ago. Detroit was active in free agency highlighted by the addition of linebacker Jamie Collins and offensive tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai. Still, Detroit was just 3-12-1 a year ago and hasn't won the division since 1993. The Packers, meanwhile, have won the NFC North six of the past nine years. And the bet here is they’ll do it again. “You’ve got to go earn everything that you get,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “We know it’s going to be a tough, competitive season. “There’s definitely going to be some motivation for some teams that we’re playing, within our division, to really come after us. I think our guys have embraced that and are just going to take it one day at a time.”
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robreischel/2021/01/16/the-green-bay-packers-are-one-step-away-from-the-super-bowl/?sh=2d9ca0b615b9
The Green Bay Packers Are One Step Away From The Super Bowl
The Green Bay Packers Are One Step Away From The Super Bowl Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers are just one step away from the 55th Super Bowl. ASSOCIATED PRESS The old adage that great defense beats great offense might not be applicable in today’s NFL. It certainly wasn’t on Saturday at Lambeau Field. And now, the Green Bay Packers are just one step away from the 55th Super Bowl. The Packers’ top-ranked scoring offense dominated the Los Angeles Rams’ No. 1 ranked defense. The result was a 32-18 Green Bay victory in the NFC Divisional playoffs played in front of 8,456 spectators that were remarkably loud throughout. Green Bay, the conference’s No. 1 seed, improved to 14-3 and advanced to the NFC title game for the fifth time since 2010. The Packers will meet either second-seeded New Orleans (13-4) or fifth-seeded Tampa Bay (12-5) in the conference title game Jan. 24 in Green Bay. “I was telling all my teammates in there, we gotta kick the door on this one,” said Packers nose tackle Kenny Clark, who’s been to two NFC Championship Games, but lost them both. “This is my third one. Guys don’t even get to one. This is my third NFC Championship I’m going to. We gotta just lock in, kick the door down and get over that hump and get in there.” The Packers certainly looked like a Super Bowl team in their win over the Rams. Los Angeles (11-7) finished the regular season ranked first in the league in total defense, points allowed and passing defense, second in sacks and third in rushing defense. On the flip side, Green Bay ranked first in scoring offense, fifth in total offense, eighth in rushing offense and ninth in passing offense. MORE FOR YOUWWE WrestleMania SmackDown Results: Winners, News And Notes On April 9, 202149ers Could Add Another Dimension To Offense With Aggressive Move In NFL Draft For Kadarius ToneyEl Clasico: FC Barcelona Versus Real Madrid Preview, Team News And Lineup On Saturday, though, LaFleur’s offense dominated Rams’ defensive coordinator Brandon Staley’s unit. Green Bay scored on its first five possessions — three touchdowns and two field goals — raced to a 25-10 lead and held off the Rams down the stretch. The Packers piled up 484 yards, and Rodgers — the NFL’s presumptive MVP — threw two touchdowns and ran for a third. Aaron Jones led a dominant Green Bay ground game, rushing for 99 yards and a touchdown. In all, the Packers ran for 188 yards on 36 carries (5.2). “We’re the No. 1 offense,” Packers wideout Allen Lazard said. “Like I just said, we’re not too worried on who’s on the other side of the ball. We know who we have on our side of the ball. “Obviously with (Rodgers) back there calling the shots and everything, coach LaFleur and the coaches do a great job of scheming up a great game plan. But I think who we have out there on the field, those 11 guys working all together, doing the best that they can to go out there and dominate, and I think we did a great job of doing that tonight.” Green Bay got the best of the NFL’s No. 1 defense and scored on all four of its first half possessions. The Packers rolled up 243 first half yards and held the ball for exactly 19 minutes. Rodgers completed 14-of-20 passes in the first half for 169 yards and a touchdown. After the teams exchanged first quarter field goals, Rodgers hit Davante Adams with a 1-yard touchdown to give the Packers a 10-3 lead early in the second quarter. On a third-and-goal from the 1, Adams motioned right to left across the field, then came all the way back to the right. Rodgers was operating from the shotgun, released the ball almost as quickly as it hit his hands, and fired a 1-yard dart to Adams, who had freed himself from Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey due to the motion. “I think the timing was perfect,” Adams said. “I really had the easy job. It’s just about timing it up and making sure I’m moving full speed because it’s tough to cover all of that ground. “And the hardest part is turning back and catching the ball that’s inside. That’s probably the toughest part, but even that was easy. I think it was just a great play design and Aaron put that ball out there for me to make a play and I made it.” On the Packers’ next possession, Rodgers channeled his inner Lamar Jackson on a 1-yard TD run that gave Green Bay a 16-3 lead. Rodgers rolled right and used a pump fake to elude linebacker Leonard Floyd, then beat safety John Johnson to the pylon. The Rams answered with a 9-play, 75-yard drive capped by Jared Goff’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Van Jefferson that pulled Los Angeles within 16-10. But Green Bay’s Mason Crosby drilled a 39-yard field goal on the final play of the first half and the Packers took a 19-10 lead to the break. Jones was integral in giving the Packers a 25-10 lead early in the third quarter. Jones ripped off a 60-yard run on the first play of the third quarter, then he capped that drive with a 1-yard touchdown run as the Packers pushed their lead to 25-10. “We had kind of been running that similar play a couple times and kind of seeing how the defense was fitting it,” Jones said of his long run. “And they put the linebacker over, which left the middle of the field wide open and allowed Corey to climb up to the safety. So it pretty much popped right open and was good blocking up front.” Late in the third quarter, Rams’ rookie running back Cam Akers lined up in the Wildcat, took a direct snap and scored from 7 yards out. Los Angeles converted the two-point conversion and pulled within 25-18 with 1:45 left in the quarter. The Packers put things away, though, when Rodgers hit Lazard for a 58-yard touchdown with 7 minutes left that gave Green Bay a 32-18 lead. Lazard ran past cornerback Troy Hill, safety Jordan Fuller was late and Rodgers threw a beautiful ball that Lazard took to the house. “When the play was called, I was thinking touchdown for sure,” Rodgers said. “Came up off the fake, really tried to sell it, came up off the fake and saw Allen digging, so I knew that kind of both guys had jumped it. Like I said, I did throw it a little more inside than I wanted to, and he made a really nice catch, kept his feet and put that thing away. That was pretty special.” The Packers now advance to the NFC title game for the fifth time since Rodgers became their starting quarterback in 2008. Green Bay defeated Chicago, 21-14, in 2010 and went on to win the 45th Super Bowl. The Packers lost at Seattle in 2014, lost at Atlanta in 2016 and lost at San Francisco in 2019. This will be the first time the Packers have a home game for the NFC Championship Game during the Rodgers-era. And he intends to make the most of it. “It will be exciting to enjoy this tonight, to celebrate and then to watch the game tomorrow and to know that whoever wins is coming to our place,” Rodgers said.
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robreischel/2021/01/24/green-bay-packers-coach-matt-lafleur-lost-his-nerve---costing-his-team-a-chance-to-reach-the-super-bowl/
Matt LaFleur Lost His Nerve, Costing Green Bay Packers A Chance To Reach The Super Bowl
Matt LaFleur Lost His Nerve, Costing Green Bay Packers A Chance To Reach The Super Bowl Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur made a controversial decision to kick a field goal late in the ... [+] Packers' 31-26 loss to Tampa Bay Sunday. ASSOCIATED PRESS Matt LaFleur is a widely regarded as a creative, cutting edge coach. He shocked many by winning 28 of his first 35 games as the Green Bay Packers’ head coach. And Sunday afternoon, he had the Packers in their second consecutive NFC Championship Game. In the biggest moment of LaFleur’s young tenure, though, he lost his nerve. And the Packers lost a chance to reach the Super Bowl for the first time since the 2010 season. With 2 minutes, 9 seconds left, the Packers trailed Tampa Bay, 31-23. Green Bay faced a fourth-and-goal from the Buccaneers 8. With the clock working against him, LaFleur seemed certain to have his team try for a touchdown and a potential game-tying two-point conversion. Instead, LaFleur trotted out kicker Mason Crosby for a short field goal that narrowed the deficit to 31-26. Green Bay never got the ball back. And instead of LaFleur giving presumptive league MVP Aaron Rodgers one last chance to tie the game, he turned things over to his mediocre defense which never got off the field. “I think any time something doesn’t work out, do you regret it? Sure,” LaFleur said afterwards. “But we’re always going to be process driven here and the way our defense was battling, the way our defense was playing, I felt like it was the right decision to do. It just didn’t work out.” MORE FOR YOUEuropean Super League Aims To Swipe Champions League’s $2.4 Billion In TV Money — And Bury UEFASteph Curry, With 72 3-Pointers In His Last 10 Games For Warriors, Is Rewriting The NBA Record BookThe World’s Most Valuable Soccer Teams: Barcelona Edges Real Madrid To Land At No. 1 For First Time LaFleur had three timeouts left when he called on Crosby. But he would have had those timeouts even if his offense would have failed on fourth down. By taking the field goal, Green Bay still needed a touchdown. And asking a defense that allowed 351 total yards to bail them out seemed like a tall order. That’s exactly what happened. Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady hit wideout Mike Evans for 9 yards on the Buccaneers’ first play as the two-minute warning arrived. The Packers then intentionally jumped offsides to preserve their timeouts. Green Bay stiffened on the next two plays and forced the Buccaneers into a third-and-4. But Packers cornerback Kevin King was then flagged for pass interference against wideout Tyler Johnson, which, in essence, ended the game. “I couldn’t believe it,” Tampa Bay linebacker Shaq Barrett said of Green Bay’s decision to kick a field goal. “I know if they could take that back, they probably wouldn’t do that next time.” LaFleur’s decision to bypass the touchdown attempt will scar Wisconsin sports fans for life. And what’s surprising is it was completely out of character. LaFleur drew a lot of attention in his 2019 rookie season by saying, “All gas, no brake,” during an early-season game against Oakland. He continued that aggressive, assertive coaching style, too, leading the Packers to the NFC’s No. 1 seed this season. On Sunday, though, he went from fifth gear to first with the season on the line. Green Bay reached Tampa Bay’s 8-yard line with 2:22 remaining and had a first-and-goal. Rodgers then threw three straight incompletions, which LaFleur said factored into his decision to kick a field goal. By doing that, though, LaFleur never gave Rodgers a chance. Green Bay’s offense — which ranked No. 1 in the league in red zone efficiency — was denied a final opportunity. And the Packers’ defense was asked to save the day, something it wasn’t capable of. “Yeah, any time it doesn’t work out you always regret it, right,” LaFleur said. “But it was just the circumstances of having the three shots and coming away with no yards and knowing that you not only need the touchdown, but you need the two-point (conversion). “So, the way I was looking at it was we essentially had four timeouts with the two-minute warning. And you know, we knew we needed to get a stop and I thought we were going to have a stop there at the end. But we got called for the P.I. and it didn’t work out.”
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robreischel/2021/02/14/3-positional-groups-the-green-bay-packers-must-improve-before-2021/
3 Positional Groups The Green Bay Packers Must Improve Before 2021
3 Positional Groups The Green Bay Packers Must Improve Before 2021 The Green Bay Packers could use an upgrade at wide receiver, where Allen Lazard and Marquez ... [+] Valdes-Scantling were their No. 2 and 3 receivers. Getty Images The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who won the 55th Super Bowl just seven days ago, are expected to bring the overwhelming majority of their key players back in 2021. San Francisco, which won the NFC in 2019, should be fully recovered from an injury-plagued 2020 season and could upgrade its quarterback position, as well. The Los Angeles Rams, who won the NFC in 2018, might have their best quarterback since Kurt Warner after trading for former Detroit standout Kurt Warner. In Green Bay, the Packers have knocked on the Super Bowl door each of the last two seasons, but lost in the conference title game both years. If Green Bay hopes to get over the hump in 2021, the following positions must be addressed: 1. Cornerback Does this sound familiar Packer Nation? Since 2015, the Packers have used five draft picks in the first two rounds on cornerbacks. That number figures to rise in April. Kevin King is an unrestricted free agent, and after his dreadful showing in the NFC Championship Game, his Packer days are almost certainly over. That leaves standout Jaire Alexander and a whole lot of question marks. Nickel corner Chandon Sullivan was up and down, and asking him to move into a starting role would be a leap of faith. Josh Jackson, a second-round draft pick in 2018, has been a bust and was inactive for both playoff games. MORE FOR YOUNew Logan Paul Vs. Floyd Mayweather Odds Have Been Released—And The YouTube Star Is Gaining TractionNeymar Refuses To Sign PSG Contract Extension And Wants To Hear FC Barcelona Offer, Claims ReportJulius Randle And The Kentucky Knicks Have New York Fans Believing Again So, the Packers will likely do what they’ve done so many times in recent years and draft a cornerback early. Green Bay has the 29th pick in the first round, where players like South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn or Syracuse’s Ifeatu Melifonwu could make sense. 2. Wide receiver In the last nine seasons, the Packers have taken just one wide receiver in the first two rounds. That was 2014, when Green Bay used a second-round pick on Davante Adams. While Adams has blossomed into a star, the rest of Green Bay’s wide receiver group remains subpar. Marquez Valdes-Scantling has big play ability, but had a drop rate of 11.8% last season. Allen Lazard is serviceable, but is slow and best suited to be a No. 3. Equanimeous St. Brown had a drop rate of 31.3% and can’t stay healthy. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers did throw 48 touchdown passes and won MVP honors with this cast of characters. Imagine, though, what Rodgers could have done with a receiving group close to what Tom Brady had in Tampa Bay. It’s another strong draft for receivers, and if the Packers go that direction in Round 1 they’ll have several options such as slot receiver Rondale Moore of Purdue or Minnesota’s Rashod Bateman. 3. Defensive end The Packers have one of the NFL’s dominant nose tackles in Kenny Clark. He needs more help up front, though. Dean Lowry has just three sacks in the last two years and only 10 in his five-year career. Kingsley Keke made a jump in his second year and had 4.0 sacks, but remains raw. Tyler Lancaster is a try hard, effort player who is limited. And Montravius Adams is an unrestricted free agent. Green Bay could make a run at state hero J.J. Watt, who was released by the Houston Texans on Friday. Or they could add a young buck like Alabama’s Christian Barmore (6-5, 310) or Washington’s Levi Onwuzurike (6-3, 288) in the draft. Either way, the Packers need to get better up front to take the next step as a defense.
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robreischel/2021/02/28/the-green-bay-packers-should-find-immediate-help-at-no-29/
The Green Bay Packers Should Find Immediate Help At No. 29
The Green Bay Packers Should Find Immediate Help At No. 29 Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst hopes to find a quality starter with the 29th pick ... [+] in April's draft. Getty Images The Green Bay Packers have the 29th pick in the NFL Draft two months from now. Green Bay held that same pick in 2017, and made a move that still haunts the franchise today. That year, general manager Ted Thompson traded the 29th pick to Cleveland for the first pick in Rounds 2 (No. 33) and 4 (No. 108). By moving back, the Packers missed a chance to select outside linebacker TJ Watt, who went 30th overall to Pittsburgh. Watt has since gone to three Pro Bowls, led the NFL with 15.0 sacks in 2020 and has 49.5 sacks in the last four years. Green Bay, on the other hand, took cornerback Kevin King at No. 33 and linebacker Vince Biegel at No. 108. King has been a disappointment and is expected to leave in free agency next month. Biegel played just one year in Green Bay and is now a member of the Miami Dolphins. While Green Bay blew it at No. 29 back in 2017, the history of the 29th pick should provide Packer Nation with some hope. Over the last 20 years, six players taken at No. 29 (30%) could be labeled “elite” and three others (15%) would be called “quality starters.” Another six players (30%) had — or are having — reasonable careers, but would be considered “below average” starters. Only four of the 20 players taken at No. 29 (20%) would be labeled “busts.” Here’s a look at the hits and misses of the last 20 players selected at No. 29. MORE FOR YOUJake Paul Vs. Ben Askren Live Results, Odds, Purses, Prediction (Video)Jake Paul Vs. Ben Askren: Odds, Records, Prediction (Updated With Betting Results)The World’s Most Valuable Soccer Teams: Barcelona Edges Real Madrid To Land At No. 1 For First Time ELITE PLAYERS Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, 2013 (Minnesota) — Patterson is one of the hardest players on this list to evaluate. He never became the wide receiver many believed he’d be and he has just 216 career receptions. But Patterson ranks among the greatest return men in NFL history. He holds the NFL’s all-time record for kickoff returns for touchdowns (eight), has gone to four Pro Bowls and been named first-team all-Pro four times. Harrison Smith, S, 2012 (Minnesota) — A five-time Pro Bowler and one of the top safeties in football, Smith is the best player chosen at No. 29 in the last two decades. Smith was named to the all-Decade team for the 2010s, has 28 career interceptions, 13.5 sacks and four defensive touchdowns. With a few more elite seasons, Smith will have a chance to reach the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Ben Grubbs, OG, 2007 (Baltimore) — A two-time Pro Bowler who started 125 career games over nine seasons. His career ended prematurely due to a neck injury. Nick Mangold, C, 2006 (New York Jets) — Mangold played 11 seasons and was the NFL’s best center in that time. Mangold was named to seven Pro Bowls and was voted All-Pro twice. Nick Barnett, LB 2003 (Green Bay) — Had more than 1,000 tackles, 20.5 sacks, 12 interceptions and six forced fumbles during an impressive 11-year career. Barnett spent eight of those seasons in Green Bay, where he led the Packers in tackles five times and was named All-Pro in 2007. Ryan Pickett, DT, 2001 (St. Louis) — Had an impressive 14-year career that included eight years in Green Bay (2006-’13). Made 185 career starts, played in 207 career games, and was a key figure in the Packers’ run to the 2010 Super Bowl title. QUALITY STARTERS Hakeem Nicks, WR, 2009 (New York Giants) — Peaked early with 24 touchdowns and 202 catches in his first three NFL seasons. Nicks had just seven touchdowns and 154 receptions in his final four years, though. Michael Jenkins, WR, 2004 (Atlanta) — Jenkins caught 354 passes and 25 touchdowns during a nine-year career. Marc Colombo, OT, 2002 (Chicago) — Struggled during his four years in Chicago, where he made just seven starts. But Colombo salvaged his career with seven solid years in Dallas and Miami, in which he made 88 starts. BELOW AVERAGE David Njoku, TE, 2017 (Cleveland) — Disappointing player who has 112 receptions and 11 touchdowns in his first four seasons with the Browns. He’s still just 24 and Cleveland exercised his fifth-year option. To date, though, Njoku’s potential hasn’t led to production. Phillip Dorsett, WR, 2015 (Indianapolis) — Had just 124 receptions and 11 touchdowns in his first five seasons with the Colts and New England. Spent the 2020 campaign on the injured reserve list (foot) and his career could be over. Dominique Easley, DT, 2014 (New England) — Had just 25 tackles in two seasons with the Patriots, then was released in April, 2016. Easley took a step towards salvaging his career with an impressive 2016 season with the Los Angeles Rams, but ACL and knee surgeries eventually ruined his career. Gabe Carimi, OT, 2011 (Chicago) — Former University of Wisconsin standout lasted just two years in Chicago and four total seasons in the NFL. Also played for Tampa Bay and Atlanta, and was out of football after 2014 season. Kyle Wilson, CB, 2010 (New York Jets) — Made 32 starts and had four interceptions in a six-year career. Marlin Jackson, CB, 2005 (Indianapolis) — A player Green Bay was highly considering at No. 24 before Aaron Rodgers fell into their laps that year. Jackson had a solid five-year career in Indianapolis, but his career was derailed by knee and Achilles injuries. BUSTS Isaiah Wilson, OT, 2020 (Tennessee) — Wilson played just four snaps in 2020, had a bevy of off-the-field problems and lacks a passion for football. Tennessee is now reportedly trying to trade Wilson. There’s certainly time for the 22-year-old Wilson to salvage his career. Right now, though, he’s on pace to be one of the NFL’s biggest busts in years. Taven Bryan, DT, 2018 (Jacksonville) — Bryan has 3.5 sacks and 69 tackles in his first three years. But the Jaguars benched him midway through last year and his future is in doubt. Bryan can rebound and save his career, but right now, he falls in the ‘bust’ category. Robert Nkemdiche, DT, 2016 (Arizona) — Talented player with checkered past who slipped in the 2016 draft. Nkemdiche then made just 44 tackles and had only 4.5 sacks during four-year stint in Arizona and Miami. He’s currently out of football. Kentwan Balmer, DT, 2008 (San Francisco) — Made 11 starts and posted 62 tackles in just three NFL seasons. After flaming out in San Francisco and Seattle, Balmer was out of football by 2011. TOO SOON TO TELL L.J. Collier, DE, 2019 (Seattle) — After an injury-plagued rookie season, Collier made a major jump this past season. He finished 2020 with three sacks, seven quarterback hits, four tackles for loss and two pass breakups. “Year 3, I’m really going crazy,” Collier recently said. If so, he’ll certainly jump several categories on this list. LAST 20 PICKS AT NO. 29 2020: Tennessee — Isaiah Wilson, OT, Georgia 2019: Seattle — L.J. Collier, LB, TCU 2018: Jacksonville — Taven Bryan, DT, Florida 2017: Cleveland — David Njoku, TE, Miami 2016: Arizona — Robert Nkemdiche, DT, Mississippi 2015: Indianapolis — Phillip Dorsett, WR, Miami 2014: New England — Dominique Easley, DT, Florida 2013: Minnesota — Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Tennessee 2012: Minnesota — Harrison Smith, S, Notre Dame 2011: Chicago — Gabe Carimi, OT, Wisconsin 2010: New York Jets — Kyle Wilson, CB, Boise State 2009: New York Giants — Hakeem Nicks, WR, North Carolina 2008: San Francisco — Kentwan Balmer, DT, North Carolina 2007: Baltimore — Ben Grubbs, OG, Auburn 2006: New York Jets — Nick Mangold, C, Ohio State 2005: Indianapolis — Marlin Jackson, CB, Michigan 2004: Atlanta — Michael Jenkins, WR, Ohio State 2003: Green Bay — Nick Barnett, LB, Oregon State 2002: Chicago — Marc Colombo, OT, Boston College 2001: St. Louis — Ryan Pickett, DT, Ohio State
91c84acf23e804dce2d9013b4e01b7ca
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robreischel/2021/03/02/the-green-bay-packers-must-use-the-franchise-tag-on-aaron-jones/
The Green Bay Packers Must Use The Franchise Tag On Aaron Jones
The Green Bay Packers Must Use The Franchise Tag On Aaron Jones Aaron Jones is tied for second in the NFL the last two seasons with 30 total touchdowns. Getty Images Aaron Jones wouldn't like it. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, would be even more ornery. But if the Green Bay Packers and Jones can’t work out a long-term deal in the next week, the Packers’ best move would be to place the franchise tag on their star running back. Jones will become an unrestricted free agent when the new league year arrives on March 17. The Packers have until March 9 to use the franchise tag on Jones or risk watching him walk in free agency. Green Bay, which has come within one game of the Super Bowl each of the last two seasons, certainly won’t improve itself by letting one of its best players leave. And even though the Packers have traditionally shied away from using the franchise tag, general manager Brian Gutekunst said Tuesday he’s strongly considering it with Jones. “We certainly could,” Gutekunst said of tagging Jones. “I think it’s something we’re working through. Again, it’s not a philosophical thing to avoid it. I do think there’s usually better ways to go about it, but certainly if I think as we get down the road here over the next week or so, if that becomes what is in the best interest of the Packers, I think we’ll do that but at this point, we haven’t done that.” The last time the Packers applied the franchise tag was in 2010, when they used it on nose tackle Ryan Pickett. But using it on Jones makes perfect sense. Jones is tied for second in the NFL the last two seasons with 30 total touchdowns. Jones, Tennessee’s Derrick Henry and Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook are the only three players in the NFL with more 2,000 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns the last two years. MORE FOR YOUNew Logan Paul Vs. Floyd Mayweather Odds Have Been Released—And The YouTube Star Is Gaining TractionNeymar Refuses To Sign PSG Contract Extension And Wants To Hear FC Barcelona Offer, Claims ReportAEW Dynamite Results: Winners, News And Notes On April 21, 2021 Jones has a whopping career average of 5.17 yards per carry, which ranks No. 5 in league history among backs with at least 600 carries. Jones and the great Jim Brown are the only two players in NFL history to post 3,000-plus rushing yards, 35-plus rushing touchdowns and average more than 5.0 yards per carry in their first four seasons. Jones has more rushing touchdowns (37) in his first four years than any player in team history. And including the playoffs, Jones set a team record with 23 total touchdowns in 2019. While Green Bay has high hopes for 2019 second round draft pick A.J. Dillon, there’s almost no way Green Bay’s ground game would improve with Jones in a different uniform next season. And if the Packers use the franchise tag, it would only cost them $8.074 million in 2021. The downside, of course, is players despise the tag as it prevents them from signing a long-term contract where far more money is guaranteed. That often leads to an unhappy employee, whose production declines after they’ve been tagged. That’s a risk Green Bay must take, though. According to spotrac.com., the Packers were an estimated $5.77 million over the cap at the end of business Tuesday. Green Bay would have to be creative to free up enough salary cap room to tag Jones, but where there’s a will there a way. And there definitely should be a will when it comes to keeping Jones, who’s undoubtedly Green Bay’s finest running back since Ahman Green nearly two decades ago. “There’s a lot that goes into that,” Gutekunst said of tagging Jones. “Really, I think it’s a way to keep a player on your team that you maybe feel you’re not able to sign long-term. Again, we’ve tried to avoid that just because we think there’s better ways to go about it but, at the same time, it is a tool that can be effective if you need it.”
61fe2d81a54bc1e6791c05da5c232d52
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robreischel/2021/03/19/the-green-bay-packers-should-dominate-the-nfc-north-again/
The Green Bay Packers Should Dominate The NFC North Again
The Green Bay Packers Should Dominate The NFC North Again The Green Bay Packers made the NFC North's biggest move in free agency by re-signing running back ... [+] Aaron Jones. Getty Images The Green Bay Packers won the NFC North by five games in 2020. The Packers won the division by three games in 2019. And in those two seasons, the Packers are 11-1 against their divisional rivals. By the looks of it, the Packers should be colossal favorites to run away with the division again in 2021. The first wave of free agency — the one where the biggest stars change teams — came and went this week. And by the looks of it, nothing seems to have changed inside the NFC North. The Packers made arguably the biggest move, signing Pro Bowl running back Aaron Jones to a four-year, $48 million deal. Green Bay lost All-Pro center Corey Linsley, but currently returns 19 of 22 starters from a team that reached the NFC Championship Game for a second straight season. Bovada.com has Green Bay’s odds to win the division at -240. That means you’d have to bet $240 to make $100. Here’s a look at what the rest of the division has done in the early days of free agency, and their current odds of winning the division. MINNESOTA (+300) The Vikings made a pair of splashes on defense, signing ex-Giants defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson (two-years, $22 million) and ex-Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson (one-year, $10 million). MORE FOR YOUJake Paul Vs. Ben Askren Predictions And Odds: Fighters Make Their PicksThe World’s Most Valuable Soccer Teams: Barcelona Edges Real Madrid To Land At No. 1 For First TimeThe Boston Celtics Are Peaking When It Matters Most Tomlinson and Michael Pierce should form a solid defensive tackle tandem. Peterson’s an eight-time Pro Bowler, but he’s slipped dramatically in recent years. The Vikings are crossing their fingers they can squeeze one more good year out of him. Minnesota veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph signed with the Giants, and safety Anthony Harris is as good as gone. The Vikings went 7-9 last season and finished third in the division. These free agent moves seem unlikely to vault them dramatically higher. CHICAGO (+500) The Bears, who went 8-8 last year and claimed the NFC’s final wildcard spot, appear to have stayed the same — or perhaps gotten worse. Chicago general manager Ryan Pace made a heavy push for Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson. When that failed, Pace signed Dallas backup Andy Dalton, who is 0-4 lifetime in the playoffs. At 33, Dalton doesn’t appear to much of an upgrade from 2020 starters Nick Foles and Mitch Trubisky. The Bears also put the franchise tag on standout wide receiver Allen Robinson and re-signed kicker Cairo Santos and punter Pat O’Donnell. On the flip side, Chicago released Pro Bowl cornerback Kyle Fuller Thursday night. Defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris signed a three-year, $24.4 million deal with Jacksonville, Trubisky signed a one-year contract with Buffalo and veteran cornerback Buster Skrine was released. DETROIT (+3300) The Lions are in the midst of a multi-year rebuild (sound familiar) and are tearing things apart. Detroit’s biggest move this offseason came last month, when it traded franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford to Los Angeles for Rams castoff Jared Goff. Detroit also picked up two first round draft picks and a third rounder in that trade that will certainly aid the rebuild. Overall, though, the deal dramatically weakens the Lions at quarterback in the present. Standout wide receiver Kenny Golladay is as good as gone, while productive wideout Marvin Jones signed with Jacksonville. Kicker Matt Prater also signed with Arizona. Detroit’s biggest signings have been a pair of Packer reserves — running back Jamaal Williams and quarterback Tim Boyle. Detroit also traded for Rams defensive end Michael Brockers and signed underachieving wideout Breshad Perriman. The 2021 season could be a brutal one for the Lions.
42a5bf107f23d3ed6099b8e052669a22
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robrussell/2013/12/14/investors-call-it-quits-on-stock-funds/
Investors Call It Quits on Stock Funds
Investors Call It Quits on Stock Funds Something meaningful happened this week in the investing world, yet it barely made headlines. It appears investors have 6.5 billion reasons to cash in their stock mutual fund holdings and put their money in more productive places. This event marked the largest mutual fund outflow in over 2 years and may be a harbinger for some rough times to come in the mutual fund industry. Mutual fund investors are calling it quits. Where do they go now? (Photo credit: fuzzcat) While it's not entirely clear where all of the $6.5 billion flowed to, what is clear though is that investors are feeling anxious about the recent volatility and finally picking their chips up off the table. I think that's smart. Investors should be locking in some of their gains at this point because of the extreme run up. It's been a great year in the markets, so why get greedy? Don't get lazy though. Instead of sitting in low-yielding money market funds, here's a handful of ideas that may provide you more yield on your money through the beginning of the new year when you can reevaluate your game plan: MINC invests in high-quality bonds throughout different sectors. This approach has remained pretty stable amid all the recent moves in interest rates causing traditional bond funds to fall in value. This ETF is probably the least volatile of my picks, but it still yields a money market thrashing 2.9%. HYLD offers a much higher yield of around 7.7% and consequently more potential risk as it invests in high-yield bonds. Besides the fact that HYLD, in my opinion, is probably the best run high-yield bond ETF, these types of bonds are typically less affected by the usual bond killer (rising interest rates) providing you some insulation from all this Fed taper talk. BKLN is a pure play against rising interest rates because the portfolio is made up of what's called floating rate debt, meaning as rates rise the interest you earn may float higher. The current yield on BKLN is around 4.4% with very little volatility within the last 52 weeks. KO is a stock that acts more like a slow and steady bond. Besides being the most recognized brand in the world, Coca-Cola yields 2.8%, is reasonably priced, and has been relatively quiet - only up 8% for the year - possibly giving you some room for growth. Disclosure: Rob Russell offers advisory services through Centum Capital Advisors LLC an independent RIA At the time of this writing the author owned positions in KO & HYLD. All yield quotes and YTD return(s) obtained from www. Morningstar .com
f0729c80b90600db8330cad7d0ef400c
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2015/09/19/batmans-co-creator-bill-finger-finally-receives-recognition/
Batman's Co-Creator Bill Finger Finally Receives Recognition
Batman's Co-Creator Bill Finger Finally Receives Recognition Various early influences of Batman, created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Courtesy Arlen Schumer,... [+] author of "The Silver Age of Comics.' The dark night of obscurity is finally over for the man who co-created one of the most iconic characters and most lucrative entertainment franchises of the past 100 years. Bill Finger, the writer who worked with artist Bob Kane to create Batman in 1939, is finally receiving official credit from DC Entertainment for his contributions to the character, the culmination of a long battle by his family and other creators on behalf of Finger and his legacy. On Friday afternoon, DC, a division of Warner Brothers, issued this statement to the Hollywood Reporter: DC Entertainment and the family of Bill Finger are pleased to announce that they have reached an agreement that recognizes Mr. Finger’s significant contributions to the Batman family of characters. "Bill Finger was instrumental in developing many of the key creative elements that enrich the Batman universe, and we look forward to building on our acknowledgement of his significant role in DC Comics’ history," stated Diane Nelson, President of DC Entertainment. "As part of our acknowledgement of those contributions," Nelson continued, "we are pleased to confirm today that Bill Finger will be receiving credit in the Warner Bros. television series Gotham beginning later this season, and in the forthcoming motion picture Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice." Finger’s role in the development of Batman has never been seriously disputed, although Kane consistently claimed the lion’s share of the credit and all the financial rewards. As very young men in the 1930s, the two developed the character, who first appeared in DC’s Detective Comics #27 cover-dated May, 1939. Kane based the concept and the costume on an earlier pulp magazine character called the Bat, as well as other contemporary pop culture influences. Finger is believed to have refined the costume, given the character his secret identity as millionaire Bruce Wayne, come up with his distinctive origin story and motivation, contributed to the dark, gothic atmosphere, and co-created the supporting cast including Robin, The Joker and Commissioner Gordon. Kane was able to retain the copyright in the 1940s by claiming that he was under age 18 when he signed the contract with DC, scoring a rare victory for creator’s rights in the early years of comics. Never an especially energetic or inspired cartoonist, Kane hired a stable of artists and writers, including Finger, to produce Batman stories for DC into the 1960s, when he was finally given a cash settlement to give DC clear title to the character. Finger toiled in obscurity as part of Kane’s studio and writing stories on a freelance basis for DC and other publishers. Professionals in the industry were aware of the situation but there was little recourse available because of deal that DC signed with Kane giving him sole creator credit. Over the past two decades, comic scholars including Batman movie producer Michael Uslan, cartoonist and fellow Batman artist Jerry Robinson, author Mark Tyler Nobleman, writer Mark Evanier and comics historian Arlen Schumer produced convincing historical evidence documenting Finger’s significant role in Batman’s creation and lobbying for his formal recognition as co-creator. In 2005, the Will Eisner Awards, presented annually at the San Diego Comic-Con to recognize excellence in the medium, instituted a Bill Finger Award for writers who did not receive their due during their careers. Batman has generated billions of dollars in revenue as a comic, television, film, gaming and merchandise property. Kane enjoyed a long life a celebrity recognized as the “father” of Batman” until his death in 1996. Finger died in poverty at age 60 in 1974.
6c906d54f319809fa14856d4207dbc40
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2016/02/02/is-amazon-really-opening-hundreds-of-physical-bookstores/
Is Amazon Really Opening Hundreds Of Physical Bookstores?
Is Amazon Really Opening Hundreds Of Physical Bookstores? A shopper browses the selection at Amazon's retail store in Seattle, November 3, 2015. Photo: R.... [+] Salkowitz Updated, Feb. 3, 11 a.m. Sandeep Mathrani, CEO of the shopping mall company  General Growth Properties , set off a storm of speculation Tuesday that he may have tipped Amazon's hand on plans for a large-scale brick-and-mortar expansion. Late in an earnings call with analysts, Mathrani said that Amazon's "goal is to open, as I understand, 300 to 40 bookstores." His comments were first reported in The Wall Street Journal. This follows the surprise opening of the first Amazon retail bookstore in Seattle in November, a move that perplexed many observers. Amazon is of course the world's largest online retailer, and is widely considered responsible for the decimation of traditional brick-and-mortar retail. At the time, I speculated that the Amazon retail store was actually a proof-of-concept for the company's state of the art data-based commerce model. By requiring customers to scan shelf tags to get the price of merchandise in the store, Amazon ingeniously found a way to associate in-store shoppers with their online profile, opening up new opportunities for upselling, cross-selling, improved service delivery, and potentially personalized pricing. The actual customer for this service, I speculated, was not the book-loving public but other large retail enterprises who might be coaxed onto Amazon's revenue-generating cloud computing platform, Amazon Web Services. One store or, at most, a dozen would serve the proof-of-concept purpose. Several hundred? That would be a roll-out at scale. It's possible that Mathrani was relaying hearsay, though as CEO of America's third-largest mall operator, it's also possible that he's been privy to approaches about leasing space. Amazon has declined to comment on the record to the media about his comments, as has General Growth Properties. The New York Times reported Tuesday night that a source with knowledge of Amazon's plans said that the online retailer is indeed planning to open more bookstores, but not nearly as many as Mathrani suggested. What would Amazon gain from hundreds of locations? Sure, Amazon could use its data to curate the stock to maximize sales, which perhaps gives it a marginal advantage over other mall bookstores. But if you want to buy a book from Amazon, just order it from the site's much larger inventory and chances are you can have it shipped free to your house in a day or less. Is the sales potential of physical retail worth the labor, real estate and logistics cost? Isn't avoiding those costs the whole basis of Amazon's dominance? Mathrani gave a possible explanation on the earnings call for why Amazon would want a brick-and-mortar footprint: to accommodate customer returns of items purchased online. Some 38% of online purchases of soft goods, he said, are returned via physical stores. But Amazon is already deploying lockers and other small-footprint drop points to facilitate returns in urban areas, which would seem a much more cost-effective way to address that issue. This one is a real head-scratcher, especially from a company that just took a huge haircut from the market by underperforming revenue estimates. Still, from a company as ambitious, unpredictable and seemingly indifferent to profits as Amazon, perhaps it's par for the course.
aafe39e57e3a2c691581f61c35dc9e6c
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2016/03/10/as-the-world-mourns-george-martin-the-other-fifth-beatle-gets-a-star-turn/
As The World Mourns George Martin, The 'Other' Fifth Beatle Gets A Star Turn
As The World Mourns George Martin, The 'Other' Fifth Beatle Gets A Star Turn The Fifth Beatle, an award-winning graphic novel, has just been picked up as a television event... [+] series. Image: Dark Horse Comics While most of the Beatles-loving world said goodbye to the quartet's longtime producer, Sir George Martin, who died March 8 at the age of 90, word came that the other non-musical figure who loomed large in the Beatles' career is going to be the subject of a television event series from Sonar Entertainment. The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story is being adapted from the best selling graphic novel by Vivek Tiwary, who will also serve as writer and executive producer on the show about the manager of The Beatles. In a first for a biographical Beatles project, the series will feature songs from the Lennon/McCartney catalog. No other previous production has received such authorized access. The critically acclaimed novel will be developed as a multi-part event series that tells the story of the Beatles' early days and the complex relationship between Epstein, their manager, and the members of the band, particularly John Lennon. Epstein overcame great obstacles, both personally and professionally, being a gay man in a time and place where homosexual acts were deemed a felony. As Paul McCartney himself once said, “If anyone was ‘The Fifth Beatle’ it was Brian.” “We are thrilled to be partnering with Vivek to expand his vision to another medium and expose a whole new audience to his riveting and audacious work,” said Tom Patricia, EVP, Event Series, Sonar Entertainment.  “This story of the man behind the rise of The Beatles will captivate fans around the world and make for a compelling series that is both intimate and epic.” Art from the Fifth Beatle by Andrew Robinson and Kyle Baker. (c) The Fifth Beatle, used by... [+] permission. Tiwary added, “Brian Epstein’s story is rich in inspiration and is set amidst a backdrop of great cultural change and the legendary history of The Beatles, so an event series truly feels like the only way to do Brian justice.  We’re going to do wonderful things with the extra creative room afforded to us and I’m thrilled to be working with Sonar to take advantage of all the exciting elements this format has to offer.” The graphic novel, published by Dark Horse Comics in 2013, and drawn by Andrew Robinson and Kyle Baker, was the toast of the comics world in 2013-14, winning the prestigious  Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based work among a field of exceptionally strong entries, and two Harvey Awards including Best Original Graphic Album. In 2014 The Fifth Beatle was added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Library and Archives, in conjunction with Brian Epstein’s official induction. Tiwary, a Broadway producer with several Tony Award productions in his resume, undertook the Fifth Beatle project as a labor of love. A lifetime Beatles fan, he spent more than 25 years researching all the existing materials and extensively interviewed "more people than I can remember." It was his first work in comics. Sir George Martin was of course a significant and authoritative source of information. "George Martin was a visionary and a gentleman," said Tiwary. "A great friend and champion of Brian Epstein's legacy, and an invaluable resource to me and The Fifth Beatle. He will be missed." Gallery: The World's Highest-Paid Musicians of 2015 34 images View gallery
8898c4cd385a12bb85638c36caa1cec3
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2016/05/24/amazons-comixology-debuts-digital-comics-subscription-service/
Amazon's ComiXology Aims To Rekindle Digital Comics Market With 'Unlimited' Plan
Amazon's ComiXology Aims To Rekindle Digital Comics Market With 'Unlimited' Plan Titles from some of comic's most popular series and creators are part of the new subscription plan.... [+] Image via Amazon/Comixology. If you like binge-watching comics themed TV shows like AMC’s The Walking Dead or Wynonna Earp through subscription-based video services, there’s now a comparable way to get up to speed on the comics themselves without spending a fortune on single issues or graphic novels. ComiXology, the digital comics platform that Amazon acquired in 2014, announced today that it is launching a service called comiXology Unlimited that provides access to thousands of titles from nearly a dozen comics publishers for a single monthly rate of $5.99. The company announced that comics from publishers including Image, Dark Horse, IDW Publishing, BOOM! Studios, Dynamite Entertainment, Kodansha Comics, Oni Press, Valiant Entertainment, Archie Comics, Fantagraphics Books, Humanoids, Action Lab Entertainment, Aspen Comics, Zenescope Entertainment and more will be part of the initial launch. ComiXology is the exclusive subscription platform for Image and Dark Horse, two top-5 US publishers in terms of market share. Single issues of digital comics typically sell for $0.99 to $3.99 apiece, with graphic novel collections going for $9.99 or more, so the monthly cost is an amazing bargain for fans looking to catch up. The company is also offering a free 30-day promotional offer to sample the service. ComiXology Unlimited is currently offered only in the US. Gallery: Comic-Con 2015: Here's What The Well Dressed Are Wearing 25 images View gallery More of a Tasting Menu than a Buffet. Comics gluttons hoping for a full “all-you-can-eat” subscription plan may need to keep looking. The purpose of comiXology Unlimited is to give readers a low-risk starting point into long-running series like Saga, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Attack on Titan or Love and Rockets. “Figuring out where to start reading comics can be overwhelming,” says comiXology’s CEO and Co-Founder David Steinberger. “But with comiXology Unlimited’s broad selection and great price you can take your time to explore and find books you’ll love. For everyone who has wanted to jump into comics and didn’t know where to start, comiXology Unlimited is here to help.” ComiXology Unlimited follows the model of other (non-related) programs within Amazon like AmazonPrime’s video and music service, which offers some free content as part of the monthly cost, along with other stuff that you need to buy separately by the episode or season. The incentive for the value-conscious buyer is to read as much and as widely as possible as part of the free plan, then delve deeper on selections that interest them – which aligns well with the goals of comiXology, the publishers and the creators. ComiXology, which is run as a separate division within Amazon, emphasizes that comiXology Unlimited is not to be confused with Kindle Unlimited, which also offers a small selection of digital comics to go along with its ebook subscription service. A Few Bites Short of a Mouthful.  ComiXology Unlimited offers a wide selection and a lot of titles. Fan favorites and award winners like Lumberjanes, Bitch Planet, Peanuts, Locke and Key and Scott Pilgrim are all part of the day-one lineup. But all the publishers at launch put together don’t equal half the market share of the most conspicuous absence, Marvel Entertainment, which dominates the comics publishing industry at a 48% unit share/43% dollar share according to the most recent industry data. DC, the #2 publisher with about 25% of the market, is also not part of the program. Without them, there's no Avengers, no Spider-Man, no Batman, no Justice League. Those titles are all still in comiXology's catalog for single issue and graphic novel purchase; they're just not part of the Unlimited plan. At least not yet. Marvel already runs its own subscription service, Marvel Unlimited, which provides access to tens of thousands of issues, for $9.99 a month. DC, which offers an extensive line of digital-first comics tied in to their media properties, as well as digital versions of their entire print line, has heretofore shown no inclination to offer comics on a subscription model. Some publishers like Archie already include a monthly all-access option in their app. Inventory titles from companies like Valiant, Aspen and other small publishers have been available on a bulk basis on sites like Scribd and ComicBlitz, but to date, no one has had much success with this kind of plan that does not include the biggest names. Of course no one else has the market footprint of comiXology – or Amazon – to build from. Jumpstarting a Stagnant Market. Even without the big guns on hand for the launch, ComiXology’s announcement is interesting as a rare burst of news from a sector that had gone quiet. From the debut of the iPad in 2010 until Amazon’s acquisition of comiXology in April, 2014, the digital comics space was an exciting, competitive and fast-growing market offering publishers and creators a new frontier of readers beyond the neighborhood comic shop. It went from zero to upwards of $100M revenue in those five years, reaching around 20% of the total market for comics periodicals according to the industry site ICv2. Now that momentum seems to have diminished. Industry insiders say that the digital market has not expanded much beyond its 20% share, and, outside of a few titles, digital comics are no longer the driver of growth or creative experimentation they were just a few years ago, despite the growing cultural footprint of comics and superheroes everywhere else in the media universe. Today's announcement may be an effort to restart that engine. Sure, a dirt-cheap sampling service will bring in some new readers and revenue, but that's never the whole story with Amazon. ComiXology is clearly strategic to Amazon in a number of ways beyond the comic publishing industry, which is altogether only a $1B business in North America inclusive of periodical, trade and digital channels. Comic readers are potential customers for the more lucrative media and merchandise business (and vice versa); anything that contributes data about them has value. Plus, comiXology’s cross-platform approach and Guided View technology for presenting comics on tablets and mobile devices are a huge improvement over Kindle’s native UX. Since the acquisition, comiXology has focused mostly on international expansion and sporadic efforts to increase the overall market and consumer spend for digital comics through targeted initiatives. Existing programs like comiXology Submit, a promising platform for digital self-publishing, have matured without much fanfare. Below the waterline, the company has reportedly been working on integrating its internal systems with Amazon and consolidating publisher agreements on favorable terms, as well as a long-delayed platform refresh. Back to the future? All those efforts may eventually bear fruit, but the comics market thrives on excitement. One of ComiXology’s great achievements in the early teens was the “charm offensive” that won over an industry and audience skeptical of the threats posed by digital distribution with a stream of win-win sponsorships, new initiatives, programs and features. Amazon is, on its best day, admirably indifferent to external perceptions, but is rarely described as charming, and hasn't done much to innovate or attract attention in this space since the acquisition. That may have been part of the problem, despite comiXology's earnest tactical efforts to push into market whitespace. Today’s announcement harks back to the days when there was a steady drumbeat of news on the digital front and a palpable sense of mission to the digital comics enterprise. A “sampling service” lacking 75% of the best-selling titles in the industry may not be the digital all-in-one program of comic fans’ dreams on day one or singlehandedly bring back double-digit revenue growth, but it at least feels like progress.
e9b751b1ef280e570ce663857fa4f3b3
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2016/07/21/at-san-diego-comic-con-toy-collectors-arent-playing-around/
At San Diego Comic-Con, Toy Collectors Aren't Playing Around
At San Diego Comic-Con, Toy Collectors Aren't Playing Around Incredible toys like this Voltron toy from Sideshow Collectibles wow fans at the San Diego... [+] Comic-Con. Photo: R. Salkowitz The most dangerous place to be when the exhibit hall at San Diego Comic-Con opens on Preview Night is anywhere near the Hasbro booth. All kinds of fans are eager to get their first taste of the convention, but the toy collectors seeking limited exclusive items from Hasbro, Mattel or any of the other purveyors of toys, figures and models will trample anyone who gets in their way, without remorse. At a show that has become best know for Hollywood celebrities, media announcements, crowds and even the occasional comic book, commerce in toys and merchandise is one of the biggest dollar generators on the show floor. My rough estimate is that 20% of the more than 700 exhibitors at San Diego Comic-Con feature toys and models of one kind or another, from artists selling plush toys of their created characters to artisans peddling incredibly rich and intricate reproductions of favorites from movies and comics. Toys are everywhere at Comic-Con. Photo: R. Salkowitz Official licensed merchandise based on Star Wars, DC and Marvel superheroes, Transformers and others are both popular and highly collectible. Manufacturers stoke demand by producing extremely limited editions available only at the shows, which can turn up on eBay at 5-10x their face value just hours after they sell out on the floor. Thus, the stampede. But it's not all big-time companies cashing in. "Fans and manufacturers, and that new blend of entrepreneurs who represent the best of both worlds,  are revving toys into high gear with an unprecedented number of options for collecting characters, properties and formats," says Ed Catto, a marketing/branding expert in the Geek culture space who recently revived the Captain Action toys from the 1960s for a new audience. Among the most eye-catching objects in the hall are the detailed figures sold at Sideshow Collectibles, displayed in their massive booth at the center of the floor behind DC Comics. These figures are more like sculptures than toys, and the prices match the level of craftsmanship. Be prepared to shell out $300-5oo or more for these meticulously-designed replicas and custom works. Gallery: Toys of Comic-Con 2016 14 images View gallery
d277053213cded2527ce17c5d5818e19
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2016/12/28/how-one-groundbreaking-publisher-got-us-to-take-comics-seriously/
How One Groundbreaking Publisher Got Us To Take Comics Seriously
How One Groundbreaking Publisher Got Us To Take Comics Seriously Fantagraphics' Gary Groth (left), Eric Reynolds (center) and Kim Thompson, as depicted by cartoonist... [+] Daniel Clowes. Image via Fantagraphics Books. Today no one looks twice when graphic novels (aka "really long comic books") are best-sellers, get respectful reviews in the New York Times or are the subject of serious academic study. No one clutches their pearls when the works of comic art masters like Robert Crumb or Charles Burns are exhibited in museum shows and high-end galleries, or when librarians extol the virtue of comics in the promotion of literacy. That long march toward respectability, which paralleled comics’ rise as a commercial force in entertainment and popular culture, was not some inevitable accident of history. It was the result of a concerted struggle by a small group of believers who took on the naysayers and their industry. Fantagraphics Books, an independent press co-founded by Gary Groth and stewarded for many years by Groth and his late collaborator Kim Thompson, was not the only voice crying in that particular wilderness, but they were certainly among the loudest and most relentless. This month, the Seattle-based publisher celebrated 40 years in business with a series of events and lectures and the release of a mammoth volume of its turbulent history, We Told You So: Comics as Art, An Oral History of Fantagraphics edited by Tom Spurgeon with Michael Dean. While Fantagraphics may not be a household name, they are a textbook example of a company that can realize long-lived success by achieving a mission, not by making a financial killing. Here's how they did it. Starting a Revolution 1976 was not an auspicious time for American comics. The superheroes published by DC and Marvel had taken over the market but were at a creative and commercial nadir. Many believed the entire enterprise would be finished before long. The underground comix from the 1960s, which championed more ambitious, adult and personal storytelling, were dying. Study of comics was mostly an amateur endeavor by fans motivated more by nostalgia than academic rigor. That was the moment that Groth, a young veteran of first-generation comics fandom, chose to leap into the fray with a publication called The Comics Journal, demanding that comics be held to higher standards of art and literature. “It was in some ways the best time to get going, in that there was so much to criticize and so little to like,” said Groth. “Comics didn’t have a tradition of high art [in America], but there was no reason they couldn’t be as good as fiction, fine art and film.” Co-publishers Gary Groth and Kim Thompson in the early years. Image via Fantagraphics. The Comics Journal made its name slaughtering the sacred cows of comics fandom and the industry, giving voice to creators who felt ripped off by corporate publishers, publishing critics and scholars who brought broader perspective to their writing about comics, and picking fights with various figures they saw as hacks and stooges. It polarized the industry, but the roar of blood and thunder woke a lot of people up to the wider potential of the medium. From Critics to Publishers After dipping their toes in the waters of publishing original content in the late 1970s, Fantagraphics made a discovery that would change public perceptions of comics and establish the company as trailblazers, not just naysayers. “These guys from LA sent us the first issue of a comic they were doing to review,” said Groth. “[co-publisher] Kim [Thompson] and I thought it was amazing and asked them who was publishing it. They said no one was, so we decided we had to do it.” The comic was called Love and Rockets, by two young brothers, Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez (assisted by a third brother, Mario), who each wrote and drew their own stories. The character-driven epics rang with honesty and authenticity, backed by artwork that matured by leaps and bounds with every issue. It was a huge sensation in the early 80s, feeding the demands of a nascent network of comics specialty retailers that catered to fans looking for higher quality work. Before long, Fantagraphics was an important player in the comics business that it continued to criticize in the pages of the Journal. The iconic Love and Rockets, by LA-based cartoonists Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez and published by... [+] Fantagraphics, redefined the medium in the early 1980s. Image via Fantagraphics Books. Comics and Grunge Culture In the late 1980s, Fantagraphics made a well-timed move from LA to Seattle, then an undiscovered backwater that was about to become ground-zero in the explosion of post-Boomer GenX culture. The caustic, ironic work of Fantagraphics-published cartoonists like Peter Bagge (Hate), Daniel Clowes (Ghost World), Charles Burns (Black Hole) and Chris Ware (Acme Novelty Library) harmonized with the sensibilities of the SubPop grunge bands like Nirvana, Mudhoney and Soundgarden who bumped elbows in the same early 90s scene. Fantagraphics actually employed many of those musicians in its warehouse. The crossover helped build awareness of “alt-comics” among 20-somethings who had no rooting interest in superheroes or standard comic book fare. “I didn't have a perspective on the history of comics,” said co-publisher Eric Reynolds, who started working for the company in the early 90s as a writer and editor. “I was drawn in by the subversiveness and transgressiveness of the contemporary cartoonists. They existed in opposition and reaction to a dull pop culture landscape.” Hate Comics, by Peter Bagge, struck a chord with Gen X slackers and grunge fans in the 1990s. Image... [+] via Fantagraphics. Suffering for Their Art Despite its success finding new audiences for comics among the 90s hip crowd, Fantagraphics got caught up in a general downturn in the comics industry that drove hundreds of retailers, distributors and publishers out of business. The company faced hard times over what Groth today says were “ridiculously small amounts of money, which might as well have been millions to us.” Still, he and Thompson were determined to stick it out. “When Kim and I would hit rock bottom, we were tenacious. We were stubborn. We would borrow money from our parents. We started Eros Comics [sexually explicit comics that, naturally, sold well], made other compromises." He says they were motivated by concerns about what would happen to them, their employees, their cartoonists and their inventory if they closed the doors. “Whatever was necessary to get it done, we did it,” said Groth. “When one of us went down, the other would pick up the slack.” Fantagraphics leadership team: Gary Groth, Eric Reynolds, Kim Thompson. Photo by Kevin Casey, via... [+] Fantagraphics. Success by the Book By the late 1990s, the book trade was starting to notice the increasing quality and diversity of graphic literature – and its sales potential through national retail chains like Borders and Barnes and Noble. Fantagraphics struck a distribution deal with W.W. Norton & Company to get its graphic novels onto more shelves and bring needed revenue into company coffers. Despite that, the independent press saw several of its mainstays like Clowes, Ware and Burns, depart for bigger imprints. They also faced another problem they didn’t anticipate. Just at the moment when comics had finally broken through into mainstream acceptance as art and literature, Hollywood discovered superheroes. The clatter and din of multi-million dollar marketing campaigns for clash-of-spandex blockbusters drowned out the polite discourse of connoisseurs. The timing was frustrating. Despite all that Fantagraphics and other serious comic presses like Drawn & Quarterly, Top Shelf and First Second have accomplished in terms of diversifying and up-leveling the kind of work comics are capable of, the superheroes from DC and Marvel, plus licensed properties from across the entertainment world, still account for upwards of 90% of sales through the direct market (comics retail). "It was 'mission accomplished,' but nothing has changed," said Groth. "We live in a comic book world now. Genre material in any medium is the standard [for commercial success].” Patience, a tour-de-force from graphic novel master Daniel Clowes, is one of this year's best works.... [+] Image via Fantagraphics. Surviving on Peanuts and Pride Ironically, Fantagraphics’ biggest commercial success in the past decade has come from arguably the most mainstream American comics property of the 20th century, Charles Schultz’s immortal Peanuts, which the company has reissued in a series of deluxe hardcover editions. That helped make up for some rough patches, the worst coming in 2012 with the unexpected death of  beloved and energetic co-publisher Thompson. Following a successful Kickstarter, Fantagraphics bounced back with a strong slate of new and archival material, and continues to play as important part in comics' literary and artistic present and future as it has in its past. Deluxe editions of Charles Schultz's immortal Peanuts have helped keep Fantagraphics afloat... [+] financially. Image via Fantagraphics Books. Despite its checkered business history, Fantagraphics at 40 has much to celebrate, not least the fact that they are still in business at all. The values they championed as a voice in the wilderness in the 1970s are now received wisdom. They outlasted most of their haters and continue to move the art and business of comics forward. They told us so, and they were right. For such a committed crew of contrarians, what could be more satisfying?
dffd0ce3a267420b56ee0cfab11165bc
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2017/06/14/isnt-that-iconic-90s-classic-jagged-little-pill-is-now-a-musical/
Isn't That Iconic? 90s Classic 'Jagged Little Pill' Is Now A Musical
Isn't That Iconic? 90s Classic 'Jagged Little Pill' Is Now A Musical Canadian Singer Alanis Morissette performs at The Paramount in Huntington, New York on Sunday Aug.... [+] 26, 2012. (Photo by Donald Traill/Invision/AP) If you're a 90s kid, you probably remember that stretch in the middle of the decade where there was no escape from the siren song of alternative rocker Alanis Morsisette. Her third album, Jagged Little Pill (Maverick Records), came out of nowhere to dominate the charts, camping out in the Billboard 200 Albums listings for over a year in 1995 and 1996. Now, more than two decades later, Jagged Little Pill is headed to the  stage, with rumors that Tony Award winner Idina Manzel (Wicked, If/Then) might be tapped for the lead. Featuring many of the best-remembered cuts from the record, including "You Oughta Know," "Hand in My Pocket," "Isn't It Ironic" and others, the theatrical production will center on the story of a modern and multigenerational family, touching on issues of gender identity and race. However, it's the urgent strains of Morissette's songs, which have buried themselves into our collective subconscious, that's likely to drive attention and interest in the project. The production is spearheaded by Vivek J. Tiwary, Arvind Ethan David and Eva Price, with the book by Diablo Cody (Juno) and Tony Award-winning director Diane Paulus (Pippin) at the helm. Tiwary, who also wrote the graphic novel The Fifth Beattle: The Brian Epstein Story, was behind the Broadway production of Green Day's American Idiot. "I was attracted to 'Jagged Little Pill' not just because the songs will work so well in a musical theatre format, but because the album presents that rare and precious opportunity to create an important pop cultural event that will shed light on the social issues of our times and inspire its audience toward positive change," said Tiwary. Tiwary said the team plans to build on the legacy already laid down by Morissette's masterpiece album. "I'm excited to bring all the experience gained and lessons learned from American Idiot. Rock music was my first love, so this feels like a natural next musical and return to the stage for me." Morissette isn't exactly a one-hit wonder; she followed up Jagged Little Pill with several other recordings and has revived the material in different arrangements over the years, but never with the kind of saturation-level success that the original album had. In today's fragmented media world, it may not be possible for any album or musical act to command public consciousness in that way anymore. That moment-in-time quality makes it an interesting candidate for musical theatre, a format that, in the 21st century, has had a lot of success infusing iconic, well-loved properties from earlier eras of pop culture with the immediacy of live performance. “This team that has come together for this Jagged Little Pill musical is my musical theatre dream come true,” said Morissette in a statement. “The chemistry between all of us is crackling and I feel honored to be diving into these songs again, surrounded by all of this searing talent. Diablo and Diane are already taking these deeply personal songs that are part of my soul’s marrow to a whole other level of hope, freedom and complexity.” According to the production company, Jagged Little Pill will debut at the American Reperatory Theater in Cambridge, MA in May, 2018. Playbill reported that Idina Menzel took "center stage in an Actors' Equity 29-hour reading" of the adaptation last month, but has not confirmed involvement in the project. Even if she were on board, the site reported that she's not expected to appear in the world premier because of prior commitments.
1baea5383722e76e7ed0943e89a0feb7
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2018/02/13/groundbreaking-publisher-forges-colorful-future-for-comics/
Groundbreaking Publisher Forges Diverse Future For Comics
Groundbreaking Publisher Forges Diverse Future For Comics Cover to Superb #7, published by Lion Forge Comics. Art by Nilah Magruder, image via Lion Forge Comics What if you had the resources to launch a new comic book company today, free of all the legacies, restrictions and preconceived notions that bedevil the century-old industry? Would you create titles for kids and teens, the hottest and fastest-growing audience for graphic literature? Would you spin up a concise, compact and accessible superhero universe that reflects the diversity of contemporary comics culture worldwide? Maybe make a few prestige acquisitions, like the publisher of acclaimed literary graphic novels, or a highly-respected comics journalism website? How about making comics that give voice to underrepresented creators and characters with powerful, personal stories to tell? For David Steward II and Carl Reed, cofounders of Lion Forge Comics, the answer to those questions is “all of the above.” Both men are longtime comics fans with a vision for a more inclusive industry and a greater variety of content than was currently offered by most of the other mainstream publishers. They also have uncommonly deep pockets to make their vision a reality. Steward’s father cofounded and serves as chairman of the multibillion-dollar World Wide Technology Inc., No. 30 on Forbes’ list of America’s largest privately held companies. Steward and Reed started Lion Forge in 2011, initially to take advantage of the growing momentum in digital comics, which they saw as a way to broaden distribution beyond the network of comic stores and the traditional fanbase. When digital sales plateaued earlier this decade, the company pivoted to debut a printed lineup, with imprints for kids (Cubhouse), young adults and teens (Roar), and a stable of seven interrelated superhero titles (Catalyst Prime). “Our mission is to create comics for everyone,” says Steward. “We offer stories for different ages and fans of different genres. But the key point is they have to be authentic. When we talk about the experiences of minorities groups, we make sure there are people on the creative team who can speak to that. If you don’t, it can lead to stereotyping and other storytelling problems.” Comics for everyone, by everyone. This question of authenticity is becoming a critical issue as the comics business struggles to expand beyond its aging fanbase and tap into the enthusiasm of a generation with much higher expectations in terms of who is represented in popular culture and how those stories are told. In an age where longtime publishers like Marvel endure fan backlash when they try to swap out the mostly straight, white, male faces underneath the masks of their superhero icons, or face charges of tokenism by making a spectacle of “diversity” in a few select cases, Steward and his team have approached the market with a fundamentally different strategy. “We’re not making ‘diversity’ for diversity’s sake,” says Steward. “We’re not forcing heavy issues on readers. But we do want fans who don’t see themselves represented authentically elsewhere to know they can come to us for stories that reflect their reality.” What does this look like in practice? One of the company’s titles, Superb, features a superhero duo including a young boy with Downs Syndrome. The writing team on the book, David Walker and Dr. Sheena Howard, have experience in special needs education and are working closely with the National Downs Association to make sure the character reflects a realistic picture of the condition without being defined by his differences. Lighter Than My Shadow, Katie Green’s memoir of her struggle with eating disorders, published under the Lion Forge Roar young adult imprint, has drawn critical praise and made it onto many “Best of 2017” lists. Executive editor Andrea Colvin says the company has “an amazing memoir by a nonbinary creator, Maia Kobabe, called Gender Queer: A Memoir that I’m describing as a gender nonbinary Fun Home,” due out next year.  Another upcoming title, Mooncakes, is a Chinese-American queer love story from Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker in which almost every character is female. Readers can also look forward to Black Comix Returns, a sequel to a well-regarded anthology edited by John Jennings, showcasing outstanding work by creators of color. Page from Noble #7 from Lion Forge Comics Art by Roger Robinson / Paul Mounts, image via Lion Forge Comics New Heroes for a New Era. This mission of representing a broader variety of creators, characters and genres can dominate the conversation about Lion Forge because it is central to the company’s identity and unusual in the industry, but Reed says the company’s fundamental commitment is to good, character-based stories. One example of that, he says, is Catalyst Prime, the company’s corporate-owned superhero universe. Superhero universes are notoriously complex: overgrown with “continuity” that can slow the pace of stories to a crawl and form a barrier to entry for new readers. Lion Forge tries to keep it simple. “Our stories are always character-based,” says senior editor Joe Illidge, who oversees the Catalyst line. “The [story] world looks like the real world. Adventures take place all around the globe. For readers, it’s an opportunity to start on the ground floor of something new. You don’t need to dive into a century-old mythology.” Illidge says everything starts with a single issue, Catalyst Prime, which was distributed on Free Comic Book Day 2016. Seven ongoing titles are published monthly and can be read as standalone works or part of an interconnected universe. Story arcs are collected in trade editions that make it easy to catch up. That kind of clockwork professionalism is not always common in the comics industry, especially among smaller publishers. But it’s absolutely essential to build up a loyal readership and earn the trust of retailers who have to order the books on a nonreturnable basis, where they compete on the shelves with hundreds of other superhero comics. From Secret Origins to Wide Horizons. Even if everything goes right for Lion Forge, the comics business is still a hard way to make a dollar. 2017 was a bad year for the industry, and 2018 has started off the same way. I asked one sympathetic industry observer what he thought of Lion Forge’s chances and he replied, “it depends on how much money they’re willing to lose” before things turn around. Luckily, the company has some runway and the resources to expand strategically when opportunities present themselves. Steward has used his family advantages and his own entrepreneurial instincts to keep Lion Forge growing despite the headwinds. Since 2016, the company has invested heavily in talent and assets. Lion Forge acquired Magnetic Press, a publisher of prestige-format graphic literature from the US and Europe. They hired several respected industry professionals including Colvin, Illidge, trade book expert Rich Johnson and others, under company president Geoff Gerber. The company forged a partnership with The Beat, a highly-regarded comics industry news site founded and run by journalist Heidi MacDonald, to support quality coverage of comics after the demise of several high-profile online news outlets. Lion Forge also operates a separate arm that develops comics and comic-style content for commercial clients. Steward says he has no plans to ease up on the growth. Between 2016-2017, Lion Forge doubled its publishing capacity and plans to do the same this year. The staff has grown significantly as well, up to  35 people at end of 2017, with another 20 hires by the end of Q1. Illidge says the owner’s big checkbook doesn’t suspend ordinary business judgment. Titles have to justify themselves on a P&L basis and remain viable in the market. No one would comment specifically on plans to take Lion Forge properties into other media, the natural path to revenue for comic publishers in the Peak Geek transmedia era, but no one said it was not on the table either. With Marvel’s Black Panther poised to set box office records while demolishing decades of studio myths about who can and can’t anchor an action film, a company with as strong and organic a commitment to inclusive storytelling as Lion Forge just might be in the right place at the right time.
86806a2f49ddbd4181ad8c8018e3af07
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2020/11/27/gifts-for-geeks-2020-best-holiday-swag-for-the-fan-in-your-life/
Gifts For Geeks 2020: Best Holiday Swag For The Fan In Your Life
Gifts For Geeks 2020: Best Holiday Swag For The Fan In Your Life Star Wars "The Child" Animatronic Toy from Hasbro Hasbro It’s been a tough year for the fan consumer. With no big conventions since March, fans have had nowhere to stock up on swag and nowhere to let their geek flags fly. But as we prepare to celebrate the end of 2020 and all its works, this is a great opportunity to pick up that perfect something for the comics/sci-fi/fantasy/horror/gaming enthusiast in your life. Here are a few new and fun items for every interest, age group and price range that caught my eye ahead of this year’s holiday season. And if you spring for any of these goodies, try to give your local retailer, small business or artisan some love: they’ve had a pretty rough year too. Star Trek Cocktails: A Stellar Compendium (Glenn Dankin, art by Adrian Salmon). Let’s drink to the future! If you could use a nice cocktail or two to warp you out of 2020, this Trek-themed bar guide really pours on the charm. Explore a galaxy of delectable concoctions ranging from Kirk’s Old Fashioned to the diabolical Borg Queen (“resistance is futile”). Just leave the keys to the starship in the jar. From a company best known for its awesome miniatures and collectibles, Hero Collector, $24.95. Star Trek Cocktails: A Stellar Compendium, by Glenn Dakin, published by Hero Collector/Eaglemoss, ... [+] 2020. Hero Collector Batman Tactical Jacket. If your idea of dressing for a cold dark night is to rock out as a cool Dark Knight, high end geekwear apparel purveyor The Hero Within has you covered. Their new officially licensed outdoor jacket features a premium nylon shell, winter insulation, bat logo embroidered on the back, Velcro name patches, bat logo zipper and Gotham City zipper pull. Cape and cowl not included. (The Hero Within, $149.00 list, currently discounted). MORE FOR YOUThe 25 Most Popular Shows On Netflix In 2021 - Update: April 3BTS’s ‘Film Out’ Is Officially The No. 1 Music Video In The World‘The Serpent’: The True-Crime Series On Netflix That Is Captivating Millions Batman Tactical Jacket from The Hero Within The Hero Within Star Wars “The Child” Baby Yoda Animatronic Edition. You can’t escape your destiny, young padawan, so you might as well give in to the dark side with this motorized, sound-enabled plush toy featuring the irresistible character from The Mandalorian. Touch its head to active over 25 sound and motion combinations including happy and excited sounds, giggles and more. Also comes in smaller sizes that lack some of the functionality. Likely to have a huge bounty on its head, so if you are hunting for this critter, may the Force be with you. Hasbro HAS , list prices $59.99 (animatronic), $24.99 (talking plush toy), $7.99 (2.2 inch collectible). Star Wars "The Child" Animatronic Toy from Hasbro Hasbro Umbrella Academy Card Game. Looking forward to when we can get together with our friends for in-person game night once again, here’s a fun way to bring the breakout Netflix NFLX series, based on the Dark Horse comics by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, to your tabletop. The card game lets you play as the seven superpowered siblings and defeat the villain. Can be played by 1-6 players in about 20 minutes. Studio71 Games, $25. Umbrella Academy card game based on the Dark Horse comic and Netflix series, from Studio71 Games Studio71 Games The History of EC Comics (Grant Geissman). In case 2020 wasn’t scary enough, here is the ultimate gift for fans of horror and top quality comic art. This deluxe, lavishly illustrated, tombstone-sized edition recounts the history of (in)famous comics publisher EC, famous for Tales from the Crypt, Weird Science, and MAD among many other vintage treasures, featuring glorious reproductions of original artwork by masters Frank Frazetta, Wally Wood, Harvey Kurtzman and others. At $200 list price, this tome will dent your bank account as well as your skull. Taschen Books. The History of EC Comics by Grant Geissman, a deluxe art book from Taschen, 2020. Taschen Books Marvel’s Loki Jewelry Ensemble. For that special trickster in your life, RockLove Jewelry has designed some attractive gold and green fashion accessories to bewitch any mortal. The designs by artisan/entrepreneur Allison Cimino are inspired by Thor’s scheming half-brother Loki (portrayed by Tom Hiddleston in the films) in his Dark World guise, and feature sterling silver, gold plating and green crystal. Available as a necklace ($135), cuff bracelet ($195) or Chevron ring ($115). Marvel X RockLove Loki Chevron Cuff Bracelet RockLove Jewelry Commissions from your favorite artists. If that special someone on your gift list has always wanted their own unique, personalized piece of original art, you can put a smile on their face and make their favorite artist’s day by reaching out for a commissioned piece, typically on Instagram, Etsy or their website. Most artists are happy to accommodate special requests for characters, media, size and format. Some artists have set prices, others will negotiate. Make sure to allow enough time for them to work their magic. Artist Bill Sienkiewicz at San Diego Comic-Con, 2016 R Salkowitz
30f23c6a502c4b6a7b01fed89fd25559
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2021/03/12/how-amazons-marketing-built-coming-2-america-into-a-global-streaming-hit/
How Amazon’s Marketing Built ‘Coming 2 America’ Into A Global Streaming Hit
How Amazon’s Marketing Built ‘Coming 2 America’ Into A Global Streaming Hit Eddie Murphy's 'Coming 2 America' was the top streaming feature film debut in the past 12 months. Amazon Prime Video Coming 2 America, featuring Eddie Murphy returning to the world of his 1988 comedy hit Coming to America, raised the bar for direct-to-streaming feature film releases. It was the #1 streamed movie last weekend and the #1 opening weekend of any streaming movie of the past 12 months. As Forbes’ Scott Mendelson wrote earlier this week, there are a number of factors weighing in favor of the film’s success. One of them is surely the innovative marketing approach taken by Amazon Prime Video, which acquired the picture from Paramount PGRE for $125 million, which has helped Coming 2 America connect with its audience worldwide. Amazon flooded the zone with promotions for the film, combining the highest profile mass advertising (a Super Bowl spot) with community-based social and influencer marketing designed to activate the built-in fanbase for the movie. Some of the highlights of the campaign included a watch party on Twitter, an infomercial series featuring Soul Glo, Randy Watson and My T-Sharp Barbershop, several Black History Month activations, theatrical releases in Nigeria and South Africa, and a Sexual Chocolates sweepstakes with Fooji. Even Amazon’s transportation fleet was pressed into service, with 220 delivery vehicles in 8 key regions around the country used to promote the film. Amazon also worked in tandem with Black-owned restaurants to provide meals to those in need. I had a chance to discuss the campaign and the streamer’s overall approach to marketing its original films and programming with Ukonwa Ojo, Global CMO of Amazon Prime Video & Amazon Studios. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Ukonwa Ojo, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video Rob Salkowitz: When did you start in your role? Ukonwa Ojo: I started in September and it’s been really fun. I didn’t hit the ground running, I hit the ground sprinting! We had just made some major acquisitions and I was thinking about how we maximize the opportunity for the brand and the service. It’s been great spending the time getting up to speed and launching our marketing campaigns. It’s been very exciting. MORE FOR YOUK-Pop Powerhouses SHINee Command Almost 30% Of The Top 10 On The World Songs ChartEvery Single Song On Astro’s New No. 1 Album Is A Bestseller On The Korean Download ChartYouTuber James Charles Is Set To Lose Millions In Annual Earnings RS: The Coming 2 America campaign features a lot of touchpoints to create excitement around the film. Can you discuss your overall vision and goals for the campaign, beyond, obviously, maximizing the viewership, because it seems like you went over and above to connect to the community. UO: My overall marketing philosophy is that best marketing is at intersection of brand sand culture. It’s hard to find an IP with a higher resonance in culture than Coming 2 America. There are all kinds of memes, people know the lines. In the Black community specifically, it’s iconic. When we had the opportunity to bring it in, we wanted to make it the most watched and interesting film, but we also wanted to make sure we were taking care of Eddie’s baby. It was really important to him and to the Black community to pay homage to the love and specialness of the movie. This wasn’t a situation where you take the movie and market it. We needed to have a tremendous amount of love and respect for all those around the world who see it as a core part of their lives. We wanted to make sure that whenever they interacted with any aspect of the movie, they could feel that it was created by a team who knew the movie, who knew its heritage, who knew it was iconic, and wanted to really respect that. RS: From the influencers to the partner strategy to the channel strategy, the C2A campaign reads like a list of best-practices for reaching the African American community and global African diaspora specifically. UO: Exactly! I am particularly proud that the top Twitter conversation about this film was in the US, but the second biggest was in Nigeria, the most populous Black country in the world. We have as much conversation going on in Africa as we have going on in the U.S. That just goes to show how deep the team went to make sure we were honoring and celebrating the film’s legacy — not only with the broader community, because it was obviously very widely watched – but we love the celebration that came from the Black community all over the world. RS: Was it the content of C2A in particular that made this strategy work, or is this an area of emphasis for you and Amazon? Is it something you think that entertainment marketers need to focus on, to reach Black or other communities that want to see themselves better represented in the films and the marketing? UO: Overall, it’s really important to us as a both a brand and as a streaming service, that our marketing represents the communities that we serve. That sits above everything that we do. It affects the vendors, partners, and creators we work with. We want to make sure we are truly diverse in the stories that we tell. That means we have to be diverse in how you go to market because you’re trying to reach different kinds of people and you can’t do that in a homogeneous way. Whoever is the audience for a particular film project, we want them to say “oh my God, they get me!” For us, that’s just part of the DNA of who we are. Our marketing philosophy is to create bespoke campaigns for every show and film. We don’t have a cookie cutter template. We start every show and campaign by asking “What are the unique insights? “What are the unique hooks for the communities we are trying to reach?” We start at the bottom and build up the campaign for that. If you see a campaign for Borat, it has a very different campaign than what we did for C2A or One Night in Miami. That really shows the commitment to be true to the stories that the creators want to tell and the communities we want to reach. You’ll see that as a through-line in everything we do. RS: The campaign appears to have generated great results, with C2A having the biggest opening weekend of any streaming movie in the past 12 months – I assume that includes Wonder Woman, Mulan, and all the other highly-touted films on other services. How do you think the marketing campaign led to those kind of results? Is there an effect that when you activate those core communities, it ripples out to become a mass success? UO: My fundamental philosophy is that the best marketing intersects with pop culture. So that means really paying attention to all the things that people care about in culture, and the points of intersection between that and the story you’re trying to tell. The C2A team spent a lot of time creating very bespoke marketing activations to reach the communities where it would resonate. When the film launched, we saw those communities come out to celebrate the film, to watch the film and to advocate for the film. That’s what made it so successful. RS: Finally, generally how did COVID affect the streaming landscape for direct-to-streaming feature films? What have you learned from the experience and what do you think will be the impact on the movie distribution industry moving forward? UO: One of the things that makes us so special is that Prime is one of the most valuable membership programs in the world. In the last year, we really got to live up to that. In the pandemic, it really made lives easier in that you could get things shipped to you when you couldn’t leave the house. When the world got difficult outside, that same brand helped you when you wanted to escape to something entertaining. That same Prime membership brought that escape to you. We were a respite for millions of people and we took that seriously. We loved the opportunity to be that over the last year. We believe a lot of new habits got created in that moment. People realized what an incredible value it is. If you think about a film like Coming 2 America – for a family that wanted to see it in a theatre at the regular ticket cost – you could watch that from your living room with your own snacks as part of your Prime membership, that’s such a meaningful benefit for people and families. I’m just so proud that I’m part of an organization that could deliver that in such a difficult year. As we look to the future, the new habits that have been formed will remain. People have been exposed to great sources of entertainment. We’re not going to let up on that. We have such a fun slate of shows and films coming up.  If anything, we want to make sure we surprise and delight and continue to be that kind of entertainment respite for people. Note: story updated 3/12/21 3pm to clarify some quotes.
2375f801666a679a6f9ea8631e10ebb5
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2021/03/22/robert-kirkman-on-invincible-his-new-mature-themed-animated-superhero-series/
Robert Kirkman On ‘Invincible,’ His New Mature-Themed Animated Superhero Series
Robert Kirkman On ‘Invincible,’ His New Mature-Themed Animated Superhero Series Mark Grayson, aka Invincible (voiced by Steven Yuen) and Atom Eve (voiced by Gillian Jacobs), from ... [+] Amazon Prime Video's Invincible S01E03. Courtesy of Amazon Studios If the name Robert Kirkman conjures visions of shambling zombies, that’s because the acclaimed comics creator is best known in the wider world for The Walking Dead, the massively popular comic, graphic novel and television franchise that has piled up hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide. But around the same time he launched the landmark horror comic back in 2003, he was also working on a unique spin on superheroes: a series called Invincible, which he co-created with artist Cory Walker, later drawn by Ryan Ottley. Invincible follows the exploits of teenager Mark Grayson, the son of a superpowered extraterrestrial known as Omni-Man and a human mother, Debbie. When Mark’s powers start to manifest, the high school student is drawn into a web of intrigue involving the rest of earth’s heroes. Though this sounds like the setup to a garden-variety superhero yarn, Kirkman took the plot in all kinds of unexpected directions, many of them violent, mature-themed, socially-charged and emotionally authentic, in the manner of postmodern, semi-realistic takes on superheroes that extend from Alan Moore’s Watchmen and Kurt Busiek’s Astro City in the 80s and 90s through Garth Ennis’s savage satire The Boys PBY , which showed up on comic racks a few years after Invincible. The series, published by Skybound/Image Comics, wrapped up in 2018 after 15 years and 144 issues, and is available in popular graphic novel collections and omnibus editions. Now Invincible is coming to the screen: first the small screen, through an animated series debuting March 26 on Amazon AMZN Prime Video, then eventually to the big screen with a planned feature film. The first season of eight roughly hour-long episodes stars the voice talents of Steven Yuen (Mark Grayson), Sandra Oh (Debbie Grayson), J.K. Simmons (Omni-Man), and Zachary Quinto (Robot), with folks like Jon Hamm, Seth Rogan, Mark Hamill, Ezra Miller and Mahershala Ali showing up in cameos. I had a chance to speak with Robert Kirkman about the new series ahead of the launch this week. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Rob Salkowitz, Forbes Contributor:  Can you give a quick rundown of Invincible’s journey to the screen? HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 23: Robert Kirkman attends the Season 10 Special Screening of ... [+] AMC's "The Walking Dead" at Chinese 6 Theater– Hollywood on September 23, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images) Getty Images MORE FOR YOUEvery Single Song On Astro’s New No. 1 Album Is A Bestseller On The Korean Download ChartK-Pop Powerhouses SHINee Command Almost 30% Of The Top 10 On The World Songs ChartYouTuber James Charles Is Set To Lose Millions In Annual Earnings Robert Kirkman: We had done some animation at Skybound [Kirkman’s comic imprint] based on Super Dinoasur, which is a comic I had done, so I was getting more and more excited about animation. We had just signed a deal with Amazon to produce more television with them at Skybound, and when we sat down to think about what the first thing we’d do with them would be, Invincible came up. We call it the crown jewel of Skybound because it has lasted as long as The Walking Dead but hadn’t really been adapted yet. We were waiting for the perfect opportunity to do something with it. In those early meetings with Amazon, we discussed doing an hour long animated show, something very mature, very true to the comics. They were 100% on board from the get-go and after that we were just off to the races. It was a natural evolution that slowly and truly brought us to this point. RS: I understand there’s also a live action film in the works. RK: Yes, we’ve also been developing it as a live action film for Universal concurrently with the Amazon animated series. But the two projects couldn’t be more different. RS: What was behind doing the animated series first [since series are often spun off successful films]? Did you just want to get it out there or is that just how the timing worked out? RK: It was just how the timing worked out. It was an easier, smoother process. RS: The art direction of the animation is really close to the comic. How important was it to get that same visual style on the screen? RK: A lot. My co-creator of the comic Cory Walker was brought on as lead character designer, so that was baked in. He’s putting a fresh coat of paint on everything, adapting and enhancing the character designs in very cool ways. For me, more than keeping it true to the comics, I just wanted to make sure this show had the colorful and bright sensibilities that a superhero world usually has. I think there’s a tendency when you realize how dark and violent the story of Invincible is going to be, you might want to make the style more dark and gritty. I wanted to work against that as much as possible so that when we get to those more mature parts of the story, it’s more jarring because you’re not expecting it to go there. Your brain is being told constantly “hey, it’s a fun superhero thing, aren’t we having a good time?” And then when people’s heads explode, you’re like, “whoa! This isn’t supposed to happen!” RS: You started doing Invincible early in your career and the show is starting from the beginning of the story. Are you getting some new perspective on the work looking back 20 years later, and are you also putting a fresh coat of paint on ideas that you had back when you were just starting out? RK: I think so. There’s possibly a little more nuance, a more mature take on the later issues of Invincible. I did those in my late 30s and 40s as opposed to my late 20s. Going back to the early issues as hopefully a more mature writer, I can slant things differently, add more dialogue that hints at the possibilities of what’s coming. It makes for a more solid second draft of the story as we move into an animated version. So it’s great to get to tinker and enhance things as we go on. RS: How much of the original story did you have plotted out in advance? RK: Invincible was very much made up as it went along. There were certain aspects I knew I wanted to get to and was building toward, but in the comic series, it was definitely something built month to month as the series progressed. There was no roadmap for where I was going. I started making more far-reaching plans as we got deeper into the run and it became clear we were going to be around for a while. So in the animated series, it’s going to be great to know exactly what our endpoint is and be able to more completely work our way towards that. RS: In the wider world, people know you as “the Walking Dead guy” but Invincible was around at about the same time, going concurrently for many years. What if anything will Walking Dead fans see that connects the sensibility of the two works? How does your storytelling voice come through in two such different projects? RK: I think that both projects are meant to surprise you, keep you engaged by keeping you guessing at all time. The Walking Dead explores a very dangerous world of zombies, with danger around every corner. There’s definitely a tremendous amount of loss of characters as we move through. Invincible doesn’t necessarily have it to that level, but it has that same level of danger and intrigue. In that respect, the two projects are very similar even though they cover wildly different subjects. RS: The success of The Boys has created a lot of excitement in some quarters for questioning the moral foundations of the superhero world. With Invincible, you have some of the same producers, are on the same Amazon Prime Video platform, and are, shall we say, exhibiting some of the same skepticism of all-powerful entities, but you were first by a couple of years. What are some of the differences in your approaches, and what might fans of The Boys like about Invincible? RK: Garth [Ennis]’s vision of The Boys is spectacular and that Boys vs. The Seven dynamic is great, but it’s one conflict, and progresses through that one conflict to a confrontation. Invincible has a lot the same themes, looks at superheroes in a lot of the same ways, but it’s a much more well-rounded world with a larger scope to the story. We spend time at the bottom of the ocean, in deep space. We’ll be doing that constantly. We’re telling a larger story about a larger world than The Boys. While there are some things that fans of The Boys will enjoy, it’s definitely a bigger story all around. We’re really taking advantage of the animated form to bring you that scope and scale. We have a literal cast of thousands by the end of the series. That’s something we’ll definitely get to explore as the series progresses. The first three episodes of Invincible debut on Amazon Prime Video March 26, 2021. Invincible is produced by Skybound and executive produced by Kirkman, Simon Racioppa, David Alpert (The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead), Catherine Winder (The Angry Birds Movie, Star Wars: The Clone Wars) with Supervising Director Jeff Allen (Avengers Assemble, Ultimate Spider-Man), and Linda Lamontagne serving as casting director.
2bac32cfa81e5cf30be2ab9a67cd7b6b
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2021/03/31/rick-and-morty-returns-to-our-plane-of-reality-this-summer/
‘Rick And Morty’ Returns To Our Plane Of Reality This Summer
‘Rick And Morty’ Returns To Our Plane Of Reality This Summer Rick and Morty return for a fifth season of animated adventures on Adult Swim. Adult Swim Rick and Morty, Adult Swim’s profane and hilarious animated series, has a famously elastic notion of time and space. That applies not just to the show’s wacked-out science fiction premise but also to its production schedule: creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon take their time cooking up episodes in their laboratory and release them on an unsuspecting world when they are damn well ready. In the meantime, anticipation among the show’s hardcore cadre of fans builds to fever pitch. According to a recent dispatch from Adult Swim, the advent of season five is now on the event horizon. The kickoff episode of Rick and Morty will drop on Sunday, June 20 at 11 pm ET and PT, presumably with others to follow. Previous seasons have featured 10-11 total episodes and have appeared roughly every two years, with Season 4 debuting in November, 2019 and dropping the tenth and final episode in May, 2020. To celebrate the new season, Adult Swim is promoting June 20 as Rick and Morty Day, with a string of extras, sneak peeks, behind the scenes footage and “special surprises” rolling out across various TV, streaming, social and digital platforms. Rick and Morty follows the adventures of cynical sociopathic super-genius Rick Sanchez and his insecure tweengage grandson Morty as they careen around time and space looking for trouble. Beth (Rick’s daughter and Morty’s mom), Jerry (her husband, Morty’s dad) and Summer (Morty’s older sister) are often along for the ride or end up dealing with the consequences of Rick’s escapades. The show’s intelligent scripts derive humor from send-ups of popular culture, shards of actual science, and an unsparing attitude toward human nature. Combined with kinetic animation that can turn extremely violent or gory in a heartbeat, Rick and Morty has built a cult following whose enthusiasms have sometimes caused heartburn in the real world, as when an offhanded reference to a decades-old McDonald’s Szechuan sauce promotion led to a feeding frenzy that almost turned ugly for the fast food giant. MORE FOR YOUYouTuber James Charles Is Set To Lose Millions In Annual EarningsK-Pop Powerhouses Shinee Command Almost 30% Of The Top 10 On The World Songs ChartEvery Single Song On Astro’s New No. 1 Album Is A Bestseller On The Korean Download Chart Rick and Morty stars Justin Roiland (Solar Opposites), Sarah Chalke (Firefly Lane), Chris Parnell (Saturday Night Live), and Spencer Grammer (Greek). The series is created by Dan Harmon (Community) and Roiland, who also serve as executive producers. The show has racked up a bunch of industry awards including Emmys for Outstanding Animated Show in 2018 and 2020. Aired on Adult Swim, a legacy Turner brand now part of the Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics (GKYAC) unit that rolls up to WarnerMedia, Rick and Morty episodes from earlier seasons are also available through HBO Max.
25779c59fc9440fcf8e2fda9bb08f2b3
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robtoews/2019/12/19/ai-will-transform-the-field-of-law/?sh=5d5c8a127f01
AI Will Transform The Field Of Law
AI Will Transform The Field Of Law The field of law has evolved surprisingly little since the days of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. ... [+] (1841-1935), considered by many to be the greatest U.S. Supreme Court justice in history. This will soon change. Bettmann Archive The law touches every corner of the business world. Virtually everything that companies do—sales, purchases, partnerships, mergers, reorganizations—they do via legally enforceable contracts. Innovation would grind to a halt without a well-developed body of intellectual property law. Day to day, whether we recognize it or not, each of us operates against the backdrop of our legal regime and the implicit possibility of litigation. At close to $1T globally, the legal services market is one of the largest in the world. At the same time, it remains profoundly underdigitized. For better or worse, the field of law is tradition-bound and notoriously slow to adopt new technologies and tools. Expect this to change in the years ahead. More than any technology before it, artificial intelligence will transform the practice of law in dramatic ways. Indeed, this process is already underway. The law is in many ways particularly conducive to the application of AI and machine learning. Machine learning and law operate according to strikingly similar principles: they both look to historical examples in order to infer rules to apply to new situations. Among the social sciences, law may come the closest to a system of formal logic. To oversimplify, legal rulings involve setting forth axioms derived from precedent, applying those axioms to the particular facts at hand, and reaching a conclusion accordingly. This logic-oriented methodology is exactly the type of activity to which machine intelligence can fruitfully be applied. MORE FOR YOU3 Key Cybersecurity Trends To Know For 2021 (and On ...)Utilizing AI And Big Data To Reduce Costs And Increase Profits In Departments Across An OrganizationCapturing Biases In the Age Of AI - The Interview With The Founder Of Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales Within the field of law, a few areas stand out as particularly promising for the application of AI. Exciting progress is already being made in each of these areas. Contract Review Contracts are the lifeblood of our economic system; business transactions cannot get done without them. Yet the process of negotiating and finalizing a contract is today painfully tedious. Each side’s lawyers must manually review, edit and exchange red-lined documents in seemingly endless iterations. The process can be lengthy, delaying deals and impeding companies' business objectives. Mistakes due to human error are common—no surprise given that attention to minutiae is essential and contracts can be thousands of pages long. There is a massive opportunity to automate this process. Startups including Lawgeex, Klarity, Clearlaw and LexCheck are currently working toward this vision. These companies are developing AI systems that can automatically ingest proposed contracts, analyze them in full using natural language processing (NLP) technology, and determine which portions of the contract are acceptable and which are problematic. “We believe legal professionals should be able to leverage large datasets to make more informed decisions in the same way that marketing and sales professionals have been doing for years,” said Clearlaw CEO Jordan Ritenour. For now, these systems are designed to operate with a human in the loop: that is, a human lawyer reviews the AI's analysis and makes final decisions as to contract language. But as NLP capabilities advance, it is not hard to imagine a future in which the entire process is carried out end-to-end by AI programs that are empowered, within preprogrammed parameters, to hammer out agreements. While this may sound futuristic, large businesses like Salesforce, Home Depot and eBay are already using AI-powered contract review services in their day-to-day operations. Expect adoption to go mainstream before long. “These solutions are helping legal teams offload the mundane aspects of reviewing and redlining contracts so that they can focus on more high-impact work,” said Lawgeex CEO Noory Bechor. “AI technology will ultimately broaden the lawyer’s role from a narrow focus on risk mitigation to more strategic engagement on company initiatives.” Contract Analytics Negotiating and signing a contract is only the beginning. Once parties have a contract in place, it can be a massive headache to stay on top of the agreed-upon terms and obligations. This challenge is particularly acute for organizations of any scale: large enterprises will have millions of outstanding contracts, with thousands of different counterparties, across numerous internal divisions. To a remarkable degree, companies today operate in the dark as to the details of their contractual relationships. AI offers the opportunity to solve this problem. NLP-powered solutions are being built that extract and contextualize key information across a company's entire body of contracts, making it straightforward for stakeholders throughout the organization to understand the nature of its business commitments. Kira Systems and Seal Software are two well-funded technology companies building such platforms, while newer startup challengers include Lexion, Evisort and Paperflip. The business opportunities that these solutions will unlock are numerous. Sales teams can more easily track when contracts are up for renewal and thus capitalize on revenue and upsell opportunities. Procurement teams can stay on top of the details of existing agreements, empowering them to renegotiate when necessary. Regulatory teams can maintain a comprehensive perspective on a company's activities for compliance purposes. Finance teams can make sure they are always ready for M&A and due diligence. The siloed, opaque contract environment in which most companies operate today will likely seem archaic a decade from now. Litigation Prediction A handful of AI teams are building machine learning models to predict the outcomes of pending cases, using as inputs the corpus of relevant precedent and a case's particular fact pattern. As these predictions become more accurate, they will have a major impact on the practice of law. For instance, companies and law firms are starting to use them to proactively plan their litigation strategies, fast-track settlement negotiations and minimize the number of cases that need actually go to trial. Toronto-based Blue J Legal is one startup developing an AI-powered legal prediction engine, with an initial focus on tax law. According to the company, its AI can predict case outcomes with 90% accuracy. "We are already starting to see significant advantages being gleaned by sophisticated parties leveraging machine learning legal prediction technologies," said Blue J Legal CEO Benjamin Alarie. "In the next ten years, these algorithmic technologies will become the natural starting point for legal advice." A related use case for AI is in litigation finance, a practice in which a third party funds a plaintiff's litigation costs in return for a share of the upside if the plaintiff's case is successful. AI is supercharging litigation finance by enabling investors to develop more sophisticated, data-driven assessments of which cases are worth backing. One startup doing particularly interesting work in this area is Legalist. In the words of U.S. Supreme Court great Oliver Wendell Holmes, presciently written over a century ago, "For the rational study of the law the blackletter man may be the man of the present, but the man of the future is the man of statistics." Legal Research A final area in which machine intelligence is increasingly making inroads is in legal research. Legal research was historically a manual process, with law students and junior firm associates consigned to searching through physical caselaw volumes to find relevant precedent. In recent decades, with the advent of software and personal computing, this process has gone digital; lawyers now generally conduct research using computer programs like LexisNexis and Westlaw. Yet beyond rudimentary search functionality, these legacy solutions do not possess much intelligence. In the past few years a new wave of startups has emerged seeking to leverage advances in NLP to transform legal research. Companies like Casetext and ROSS Intelligence are building research platforms that have more sophisticated semantic understanding of legal opinions' actual meanings. These platforms go beyond mechanical key-word matching to surface truly relevant existing law. Their semantic models enable them to provide nuanced perspectives on how different cases relate to one another. AI-driven legal research technology is beginning to get real traction in the marketplace: over 4,500 U.S. law firms today subscribe to Casetext. Conclusion Consider the main functional areas in a typical business: marketing, sales, customer success, finance, accounting, human resources, talent, legal. In nearly all of these functions, billion-dollar-plus enterprise software businesses have been built in the past two decades to enhance productivity and workflows. To give a few examples: HubSpot (marketing); Salesforce (sales); Zendesk (customer success); Workday (finance); NetSuite (accounting); Gusto (HR); LinkedIn (talent). The glaring exception is legal. Conventionally viewed as a cost center and largely overlooked by entrepreneurs, the legal function has seen little innovation in recent years. Today, Microsoft Word and email remain the dominant digital tools that legal teams use to carry out their work. Considering the size of the legal market, this represents a significant opportunity for value creation. As artificial intelligence, and in particular natural language processing, continue to mature, they will unlock massive opportunities to transform and revitalize the field of law.
8c185f33f410e54f0866c7d9f64a6e26
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robtoews/2020/03/22/a-massive-opportunity-exists-to-build-picks-and-shovels-for-machine-learning/?sh=3eb240bf7ab3
A Massive Opportunity Exists To Build “Picks And Shovels” For Machine Learning
A Massive Opportunity Exists To Build “Picks And Shovels” For Machine Learning Miners digging and sifting for gold ore in feudal Europe. Engraving by Georg Agricola, 1561. De Agostini via Getty Images Many multi-billion-dollar companies have been built by providing tools to make software development easier and more productive. Venture capitalists like to refer to businesses like these as “pick and shovel” opportunities, a reference to Mark Twain's famous line: “When everyone is looking for gold, it's a good time to be in the pick and shovel business.” Atlassian, which offers a suite of software development and collaboration tools, has a public market capitalization above $30B. GitHub, a code repository, was acquired for $7.5B by Microsoft in 2018. Pivotal, which accelerates app development and deployment, was valued at $2.7B in VMWare's acquisition last year. Many more of today's hottest high-growth startups—LaunchDarkly, GitLab, HashiCorp—offer tools for software development. Each of these companies’ tools are built for “traditional” software engineering. In recent years, an entirely new paradigm for software development has burst onto the scene: machine learning. Building a machine learning model is radically different from building a traditional software application. It involves different activities, different workflows and different skillsets. Correspondingly, there is a need—and opportunity—to build a whole new generation of software tools. The reward for developing this next wave of “picks and shovels”: many billions of dollars of enterprise value. How exactly do traditional software development and machine learning differ? In traditional software development, the core task is writing code. The human programmer’s job is to craft an explicit set of instructions to tell the software program what to do given different contingencies. For software programs of any sophistication, the volume of human-written code can be immense. The Internet browser Google Chrome has 6.7 million lines of code; the operating system Microsoft Windows 10 reportedly has 50 million. On the other hand, the fundamental premise of machine learning (as its name suggests) is that the program learns for itself how to act, by ingesting and analyzing troves of data. Human programmers need not write large volumes of rules (code) to guide the software's actions. MORE FOR YOUMove Over Artificial Intelligence, There Is A New AI In Town3 Key Cybersecurity Trends To Know For 2021 (and On ...)Coded Bias: An Insightful Look At AI, Algorithms And Their Risks To Society In this regime, the core set of tasks for software engineers is completely different. Their primary activities become, instead, to prepare datasets for the machine learning model to ingest and learn from; to establish the overall parameters that will guide the model's learning process; and to evaluate and monitor the model's performance once it has been trained. A widely referenced diagram from the 2015 Google paper "Hidden Technical Debt in Machine Learning ... [+] Systems" illustrates the broad set of activities beyond code required to develop a machine learning model. Paper authors: D. Sculley, Gary Holt, Daniel Golovin, Eugene Davydov, Todd Phillips, Dietmar Ebner, Vinay Chaudhary, Michael Young, Jean-Francois Crespo, Dan Dennison. Google The developer tools—the “picks and shovels”—to streamline and enhance this set of activities will look quite different from those built to support traditional software engineering. At present, a mature ecosystem of machine learning developer tools simply does not exist; machine learning itself remains a nascent discipline, after all. As a result, ML practitioners generally manage their workflows in ad-hoc ways: in documents saved on their local hard drives, in sequentially-adjusted file names, even by hand. These methods are not sustainable or scalable for production-grade machine learning deployments. This market gap represents a massive opportunity. In the years ahead, billions of dollars of enterprise value will be created by providing tools for the machine learning development pipeline. Below, we walk through a few key categories in which these tools will be needed. Data Labeling The dominant ML approach at present is known as supervised learning, which requires a label to be attached to each piece of data in a dataset in order for the model to learn from it. (Think, for instance, of a cat photo accompanied by a text label that says “cat”.) The process of creating these labels is tedious and time-consuming. A crop of startups has emerged to handle the unglamorous work of affixing labels to companies’ corpuses of data. These startups’ business models often rely on labor arbitrage, with large forces of workers labeling data by hand in low-cost parts of the world like India. Some players are working on technology to automate parts of the labeling process. The most prominent company in this category is Scale AI, which focuses on the autonomous vehicle sector. Scale recently raised $100M at a ~$1B valuation from Founders Fund. Other data-labeling players include LabelBox, DefinedCrowd and Figure Eight (now owned by Appen). It is unclear how durable these businesses will be over the long term. As has been previously argued in this column, the need for massive labeled datasets may fade as the state of the art in AI races forward. Dataset Augmentation More toward the cutting edge of machine learning, researchers and entrepreneurs are working on a set of innovations to reduce the amount of real-world data needed to train models and to enhance the value of existing datasets. One of the most promising of these is synthetic data, a technique that allows AI practitioners to artificially fabricate the data that they need to train their models. As synthetic data increases in fidelity, it will make machine learning dramatically cheaper and faster, opening up myriad new use cases and business opportunities. The first commercial use case to which synthetic data has been applied at scale is autonomous vehicles; startups focusing here include Applied Intuition, Parallel Domain and Cognata. Other companies, like recently-launched Synthesis AI, are seeking to build synthetic data toolkits for computer vision more broadly. A related category can be thought of as “data curation”: tools that evaluate and modify datasets pre-training to optimize the cost, efficiency and quality of model training runs. Gradio and Alectio are two promising early-stage startups pursuing this opportunity. A final set of data tools likely to become increasingly valuable relates to “semi-supervised learning”, an emerging technique that trains models by leveraging a small amount of labeled data together with large volumes of unlabeled data. Semi-supervised learning holds much promise because unlabeled data is vastly cheaper and easier to come by than labeled data. Snorkel.ai, out of Stanford University, is one project generating buzz in this space. Model Optimization Once an organization has prepared its dataset, a key next step is to establish the specifications of the machine learning model into which the data will be fed. This includes decisions such as which class of algorithm to use and which model parameters to set in order to optimize outcomes like accuracy and training time. To give a concrete example, for a deep learning model, such specifications would include how many layers the neural network will have and how many “training epochs” the model will run before stopping. The process of establishing these model specifications can be incredibly complex. New software tools can support and partially automate this process. One well-known company developing tools for model optimization is SigOpt, with a particular focus on hyperparameter optimization. Most of the “end-to-end” machine learning platforms (see section below) offer a similar set of features. “Firms are realizing that they don't need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to state-of-the-art modeling,” said Scott Clark, CEO and founder of SigOpt. “There are a wave of enterprise solutions that are transforming modeling from an art into more of a science. The best AI teams are taking advantage of these tools today and are seeing a massive impact on their ability to efficiently deliver results.” Experiment Tracking & Version Control Machine learning entails a great deal of trial and error. There are various “knobs” that practitioners continuously adjust in efforts to improve their models. Input variables include the dataset, the parameters and hyperparameters, the training code, the software environment and the hardware used. The key output to track is the model itself, along with associated performance results. ML researchers may run dozens or even hundreds of experiments for a given model. It is essential that companies keep systematic track of these model experiments for purposes of reproducibility and accountability. Such versioning will only become more essential as privacy regulations like GDPR roll out and concerns about the explainability of AI models proliferate. Startups building tools to aid in experiment tracking and version control include Weights & Biases, Comet, Verta.ai and SigOpt. “If software is eating the world, machine learning is eating software,” said Lukas Biewald, CEO and founder of Weights & Biases. “I got passionate about ML experiment tracking because it is underappreciated in the same way that data labeling was ten years ago.” (In 2007 Biewald founded early data-labeling company Figure Eight, which was acquired by Appen last year for $300M.) “I believe that in the same way no company today would dream of writing code without version control, in the near future no company will dream of building ML models without experiment tracking.” Model Deployment and Monitoring For those looking to drive real business value with machine learning, building a model is just the beginning. A trained ML model sitting in a Jupyter notebook on a developer's local machine may be impressive technology, but in order for it to have commercial impact it must be deployed into production. Deploying ML models at scale is a major challenge, in some ways more complex than building the model in the first place. Depending on the use case, machine learning workloads may need to run robustly in diverse hardware environments spanning multi-cloud, hybrid cloud and the edge. Efficient management of computing resources becomes increasingly important as model use scales. Algorithmia and Seldon are two promising startups offering tools for ML model deployment. Seldon's solution is architected specifically for Kubernetes, the open-source container orchestration platform that has become wildly popular among ML practitioners. After a model goes into production, its owners must monitor it on an ongoing basis to ensure that it continues to perform as expected. Many models will go “stale” over time as external conditions change and the dataset that the model was trained on obsolesces. Tools for monitoring and retraining will become essential as more companies put machine learning models into production. End-to-End Platforms In the preceding discussion, we have broken out various segments of the overall machine learning lifecycle and discussed tools that can support those individual segments. An alternative approach is to develop an “end-to-end” machine learning platform that encompasses most or all of this lifecycle in a single solution. A varied set of competitors is working to build such an end-to-end platform. The major cloud providers each offer some version of this. AWS’ Sagemaker is likely the most sophisticated. Google Cloud officially released its ML platform, Cloud AI Platform Pipelines, just this month. Robust open-source options also exist. Perhaps the most popular is Kubeflow, originally developed internally at Google. The Kubeflow team recently announced a major new release. Others in the end-to-end category include well-funded late-stage companies like DataRobot and H2O.ai. These players provide data science platforms with a broad set of capabilities, extending from data management at the front end to model monitoring at the back end. What they offer in breadth, however, they lack in depth: these companies’ offerings are often perceived as “starter” solutions for machine learning, not suitable for building differentiated, complex or cutting-edge models. Among early-stage startups, it is common for teams to begin by building a tool for a particular part of the overall ML pipeline, but to aspire to broaden this offering into a full end-to-end solution. Several of the startups mentioned above are working to evolve their product positioning from point solution to comprehensive platform. It is difficult to say whether the ML ecosystem will trend over time toward all-in-one platforms or more specialized tools. Today’s developer tool ecosystem suggests that there will always be some appetite among programmers to patch together a customized set of point solutions from various providers depending on particular needs, workflows and preferences. The market is large enough, and the types of ML use cases diverse enough, that end-to-end platforms and specialized tools will likely thrive side by side. Conclusion AI is the most important “gold rush” of our era. To date, the picks and shovels required to support this field remain underdeveloped. This represents a massive opportunity for entrepreneurs. Software development tools have always been an essential part of the digital economy and have always represented a massive market. As we enter the next generation of software development, oriented around machine learning, the ultimate purpose of these tools will remain the same: improved productivity, efficiency, quality assurance and collaboration. But because human programmers’ activities and workflows are fundamentally different in the era of machine learning than they are in traditional software engineering, a whole new ecosystem of tools will need to be built. For now, it remains anyone’s guess where the value generated by this new ecosystem of tools will accrue. A new crop of promising startups is pursuing these opportunities, but there is no guarantee that these challengers will prevail. Major tech companies and cloud providers like Amazon, Google and Microsoft are rolling out competitive offerings. Their sheer size gives them a formidable distribution advantage. Open-source tools like Kubeflow likewise continue to grow in popularity. It will be a dynamic and exciting category to watch in the years ahead.
f2044106c3e6b805eccf01d22b868f58
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robtoews/2020/10/12/the-next-generation-of-artificial-intelligence/?sh=434c76da59eb
The Next Generation Of Artificial Intelligence
The Next Generation Of Artificial Intelligence AI legend Yann LeCun, one of the godfathers of deep learning, sees self-supervised learning as the ... [+] key to AI's future. © 2018 Bloomberg Finance LP For the second part of this article series, see here. The field of artificial intelligence moves fast. It has only been 8 years since the modern era of deep learning began at the 2012 ImageNet competition. Progress in the field since then has been breathtaking and relentless. If anything, this breakneck pace is only accelerating. Five years from now, the field of AI will look very different than it does today. Methods that are currently considered cutting-edge will have become outdated; methods that today are nascent or on the fringes will be mainstream. What will the next generation of artificial intelligence look like? Which novel AI approaches will unlock currently unimaginable possibilities in technology and business? This article highlights three emerging areas within AI that are poised to redefine the field—and society—in the years ahead. Study up now. 1. Unsupervised Learning The dominant paradigm in the world of AI today is supervised learning. In supervised learning, AI models learn from datasets that humans have curated and labeled according to predefined categories. (The term “supervised learning” comes from the fact that human “supervisors” prepare the data in advance.) MORE FOR YOUXilinx Enters Module Market For Vision AIMove Over Artificial Intelligence, There Is A New AI In TownArtificial Intelligence In The Datacenter Means Power And Physical Structural Issues Must Be Addressed While supervised learning has driven remarkable progress in AI over the past decade, from autonomous vehicles to voice assistants, it has serious limitations. The process of manually labeling thousands or millions of data points can be enormously expensive and cumbersome. The fact that humans must label data by hand before machine learning models can ingest it has become a major bottleneck in AI. At a deeper level, supervised learning represents a narrow and circumscribed form of learning. Rather than being able to explore and absorb all the latent information, relationships and implications in a given dataset, supervised algorithms orient only to the concepts and categories that researchers have identified ahead of time. In contrast, unsupervised learning is an approach to AI in which algorithms learn from data without human-provided labels or guidance. Many AI leaders see unsupervised learning as the next great frontier in artificial intelligence. In the words of AI legend Yann LeCun: “The next AI revolution will not be supervised.” UC Berkeley professor Jitenda Malik put it even more colorfully: “Labels are the opium of the machine learning researcher.” How does unsupervised learning work? In a nutshell, the system learns about some parts of the world based on other parts of the world. By observing the behavior of, patterns among, and relationships between entities—for example, words in a text or people in a video—the system bootstraps an overall understanding of its environment. Some researchers sum this up with the phrase “predicting everything from everything else.” Unsupervised learning more closely mirrors the way that humans learn about the world: through open-ended exploration and inference, without a need for the “training wheels” of supervised learning. One of its fundamental advantages is that there will always be far more unlabeled data than labeled data in the world (and the former is much easier to come by). In the words of LeCun, who prefers the closely related term “self-supervised learning”: “In self-supervised learning, a portion of the input is used as a supervisory signal to predict the remaining portion of the input....More knowledge about the structure of the world can be learned through self-supervised learning than from [other AI paradigms], because the data is unlimited and the amount of feedback provided by each example is huge.” Unsupervised learning is already having a transformative impact in natural language processing. NLP has seen incredible progress recently thanks to a new unsupervised learning architecture known as the Transformer, which originated at Google about three years ago. (See #3 below for more on Transformers.) Efforts to apply unsupervised learning to other areas of AI remain at earlier stages, but rapid progress is being made. To take one example, a startup named Helm.ai is seeking to use unsupervised learning to leapfrog the leaders in the autonomous vehicle industry. Many researchers see unsupervised learning as the key to developing human-level AI. According to LeCun, mastering unsupervised learning is “the greatest challenge in ML and AI of the next few years.” 2. Federated Learning One of the overarching challenges of the digital era is data privacy. Because data is the lifeblood of modern artificial intelligence, data privacy issues play a significant (and often limiting) role in AI’s trajectory. Privacy-preserving artificial intelligence—methods that enable AI models to learn from datasets without compromising their privacy—is thus becoming an increasingly important pursuit. Perhaps the most promising approach to privacy-preserving AI is federated learning. The concept of federated learning was first formulated by researchers at Google in early 2017. Over the past year, interest in federated learning has exploded: more than 1,000 research papers on federated learning were published in the first six months of 2020, compared to just 180 in all 2018. The standard approach to building machine learning models today is to gather all the training data in one place, often in the cloud, and then to train the model on the data. But this approach is not practicable for much of the world’s data, which for privacy and security reasons cannot be moved to a central data repository. This makes it off-limits to traditional AI techniques. Federated learning solves this problem by flipping the conventional approach to AI on its head. Rather than requiring one unified dataset to train a model, federated learning leaves the data where it is, distributed across numerous devices and servers on the edge. Instead, many versions of the model are sent out—one to each device with training data—and trained locally on each subset of data. The resulting model parameters, but not the training data itself, are then sent back to the cloud. When all these “mini-models” are aggregated, the result is one overall model that functions as if it had been trained on the entire dataset at once. The original federated learning use case was to train AI models on personal data distributed across billions of mobile devices. As those researchers summarized: “Modern mobile devices have access to a wealth of data suitable for machine learning models....However, this rich data is often privacy sensitive, large in quantity, or both, which may preclude logging to the data center....We advocate an alternative that leaves the training data distributed on the mobile devices, and learns a shared model by aggregating locally-computed updates.” More recently, healthcare has emerged as a particularly promising field for the application of federated learning. It is easy to see why. On one hand, there are an enormous number of valuable AI use cases in healthcare. On the other hand, healthcare data, especially patients’ personally identifiable information, is extremely sensitive; a thicket of regulations like HIPAA restrict its use and movement. Federated learning could enable researchers to develop life-saving healthcare AI tools without ever moving sensitive health records from their source or exposing them to privacy breaches. A host of startups has emerged to pursue federated learning in healthcare. The most established is Paris-based Owkin; earlier-stage players include Lynx.MD, Ferrum Health and Secure AI Labs. Beyond healthcare, federated learning may one day play a central role in the development of any AI application that involves sensitive data: from financial services to autonomous vehicles, from government use cases to consumer products of all kinds. Paired with other privacy-preserving techniques like differential privacy and homomorphic encryption, federated learning may provide the key to unlocking AI’s vast potential while mitigating the thorny challenge of data privacy. The wave of data privacy legislation being enacted worldwide today (starting with GDPR and CCPA, with many similar laws coming soon) will only accelerate the need for these privacy-preserving techniques. Expect federated learning to become an important part of the AI technology stack in the years ahead. 3. Transformers We have entered a golden era for natural language processing. OpenAI’s release of GPT-3, the most powerful language model ever built, captivated the technology world this summer. It has set a new standard in NLP: it can write impressive poetry, generate functioning code, compose thoughtful business memos, write articles about itself, and so much more. GPT-3 is just the latest (and largest) in a string of similarly architected NLP models—Google’s BERT, OpenAI’s GPT-2, Facebook’s RoBERTa and others—that are redefining what is possible in NLP. The key technology breakthrough underlying this revolution in language AI is the Transformer. Transformers were introduced in a landmark 2017 research paper. Previously, state-of-the-art NLP methods had all been based on recurrent neural networks (e.g., LSTMs). By definition, recurrent neural networks process data sequentially—that is, one word at a time, in the order that the words appear. Transformers’ great innovation is to make language processing parallelized: all the tokens in a given body of text are analyzed at the same time rather than in sequence. In order to support this parallelization, Transformers rely heavily on an AI mechanism known as attention. Attention enables a model to consider the relationships between words regardless of how far apart they are and to determine which words and phrases in a passage are most important to “pay attention to.” Why is parallelization so valuable? Because it makes Transformers vastly more computationally efficient than RNNs, meaning they can be trained on much larger datasets. GPT-3 was trained on roughly 500 billion words and consists of 175 billion parameters, dwarfing any RNN in existence. Transformers have been associated almost exclusively with NLP to date, thanks to the success of models like GPT-3. But just this month, a groundbreaking new paper was released that successfully applies Transformers to computer vision. Many AI researchers believe this work could presage a new era in computer vision. (As well-known ML researcher Oriol Vinyals put it simply, “My take is: farewell convolutions.”) While leading AI companies like Google and Facebook have begun to put Transformer-based models into production, most organizations remain in the early stages of productizing and commercializing this technology. OpenAI has announced plans to make GPT-3 commercially accessible via API, which could seed an entire ecosystem of startups building applications on top of it. Expect Transformers to serve as the foundation for a whole new generation of AI capabilities in the years ahead, starting with natural language. As exciting as the past decade has been in the field of artificial intelligence, it may prove to be just a prelude to the decade ahead.
0ba9e5ab6ee9eb75a7df0b93878b4689
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robtoews/2021/02/28/a-wave-of-billion-dollar-computer-vision-startups-is-coming/
A Wave Of Billion-Dollar Computer Vision Startups Is Coming
A Wave Of Billion-Dollar Computer Vision Startups Is Coming The ability to automate human sight is opening up massive opportunities for value creation across ... [+] every sector of the economy. IBM Computer vision is the most technologically mature field in modern artificial intelligence. This is about to translate into enormous commercial value creation. The deep learning revolution has its roots in computer vision. At the now-historic 2012 ImageNet competition, Geoff Hinton and team debuted a neural network—a novel architecture at the time—whose performance eclipsed all previous efforts at computer-based image recognition. The era of deep learning was born, with computer vision as its original use case. In the decade since, computer vision capabilities have raced forward at a breathtaking pace. To put it simply, computer vision is the automation of human sight. Sight is mankind’s most important sense; it underlies much of human life and economic activity. The ability to automate it therefore opens up massive market opportunities across every sector of the economy. (To be sure, other areas of AI—natural language processing, for instance—have also become increasingly powerful in recent years. But core technology breakthroughs in NLP have come more recently, and as a result NLP remains more nascent from a product and commercial perspective.) The first wave of entrepreneurial activity in modern computer vision centered on autonomous vehicles. Several startup success stories in that field, including computer vision pioneer Mobileye’s $15.3 billion sale to Intel in 2018, highlight the technology’s power to transform markets and unlock massive economic value. Today, computer vision is finding applications across every sector of the economy. From agriculture to retail, from insurance to construction, entrepreneurs are applying computer vision to a wide range of industry-specific use cases with compelling economic upside. MORE FOR YOU3 Key Cybersecurity Trends To Know For 2021 (and On ...)Utilizing AI And Big Data To Reduce Costs And Increase Profits In Departments Across An OrganizationCapturing Biases In the Age Of AI - The Interview With The Founder Of Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales Expect to see many computer vision startups among the next generation of “unicorns.” A crop of high-growth computer vision companies is nearing an inflection point, poised to break out to commercial scale and mainstream prominence. It is an exciting and pivotal time in the technology’s journey from research to market. Agriculture Agriculture is one of the largest and most important industries in the world. Decisions about how, when and what to farm remain highly underoptimized and imprecise today. An opportunity exists to dramatically improve the food production process using visual data and machine learning. Based on aerial imagery collected via satellites, drones or planes, computer vision systems can empower growers with real-time insights to optimize their chemical inputs, improve their farming operations and increase their yields. For instance, image-based analytics can determine which crops would benefit from more or less irrigation, where pipe leaks or pressure failures are adversely affecting crop growth, which areas require more or less fertilization, which fields have suboptimal pest and disease control measures, and so forth. AI systems can make these determinations far more efficiently, reliably and scalably than can humans alone. Promising ag-tech startups pursuing these opportunities include Ceres Imaging, Prospera, Sentera and Hummingbird Technologies. Computer vision will enable the rise of "precision agriculture." This example of startup Ceres ... [+] Imaging's technology illustrates its ability to identify, with pinpoint accuracy, which crops need more or less water. Ceres Imaging Retail There are a number of high-impact use cases for computer vision in retail. Perhaps the most compelling of these opportunities is checkout-free shopping. The concept is both futuristic and elegantly simple: once a store has been equipped with the necessary sensors and computer vision systems, shoppers can enter, pick up the items they want to purchase, walk out, and receive an automated receipt for their visit without waiting in line. As with many innovations in retail, Amazon pioneered checkout-free shopping with its Amazon Go program, launched in 2016. A handful of startups is pursuing this opportunity today, including Standard Cognition, Grabango, Trigo Vision, Zippin and AiFi. Standard Cognition, the most well-funded of these competitors, announced a $150 million financing round from SoftBank’s Vision Fund earlier this month. “The in-person shopping experience will change forever now that computers can see,” said Grabango CEO Will Glaser. “Computer vision systems like Grabango’s detect every product that goes into your cart, so there is no need to re-itemize them at the end of a shopping trip. You just grab, go, and get on with your day.” In addition to an improved customer experience, checkout-free shopping will enable retailers to reduce labor costs and combat shrinkage. Inventory management is another important computer vision application in retail. Optimizing product mix on shelves and ensuring that aisles remain stocked throughout the day is a convoluted, dynamic challenge for retailers. Retailers lose many billions of dollars in revenue each year to out-of-stock shelves. Focal Systems is one interesting startup applying computer vision to automate inventory management and reduce out-of-stocks. Insurance The insurance business depends heavily on the visual assessment of assets: to accurately price and underwrite policies, for instance, as well as to determine the extent of damage after an accident for claims purposes. As in other industries, computer vision offers an opportunity to carry out this visual analysis faster, cheaper and more accurately than it is done today. Cape Analytics and Betterview are two startups applying computer vision to property insurance. Using geospatial data, these companies can automatically evaluate what material a building is made out of, what condition the roof is in, what the roof’s square footage is, how much yard debris the property has, how close a structure is to vegetation, and hundreds of other factors that collectively determine the property’s risk profile and the optimal insurance policy pricing. Computer vision systems can conduct this analysis instantaneously, at scale, based on learnings from decades’ worth of historical data. Compare this to today’s status quo approach of sending a human to manually inspect properties in person, one by one. Another startup to watch in this category is Tractable, a London-based company that uses computer vision to generate instant damage estimates after car accidents and natural disasters. These AI-driven estimates help accelerate claims processing and reduce human error. Computer vision can automate and streamline property insurance workflows, as startup Cape Analytics' ... [+] technology illustrates. Cape Analytics Construction Construction is a massive and historically underdigitized industry. There are numerous opportunities to boost productivity and save costs in construction through the application of computer vision. An active ecosystem of startups has sprung up to pursue these opportunities. TraceAir uses drones to collect aerial imagery of construction sites, enabling supervisors to remotely monitor projects and track progress over time. Disperse applies computer vision to build interactive “digital twins” of in-progress construction sites. 1build automates cost estimation in construction by applying computer vision to read floor-plan drawings, material schedules and architectural details on blueprints. “Cost estimates in construction essentially simulate the full construction process,” said 1build CEO Dmitry Alexin. “Machine learning and computer vision allow us to perform this simulation faster and more accurately, giving construction companies atomic-level visibility into their costs.” Security Visual monitoring is at the heart of physical security. The most ubiquitous security device is, after all, the camera. A natural opportunity therefore exists to apply computer vision to make physical security more robust and reliable. A number of startups are deploying computer vision in innovative ways to enhance and automate the physical security sector. Verkada offers an AI-enabled security system for commercial properties using hardware sensors, computer vision algorithms and an integrated software platform. The company was valued at $1.6 billion last year, making it one of the few computer vision startups to have already achieved unicorn status. Deep Sentinel has built a similar solution for home security. The company uses a clever human-in-the-loop model to enable human security personnel to remotely intervene in real-time via microphone when the AI system detects a threat. “Computer vision is changing everything about physical security,” said Deep Sentinel CEO David Selinger. “Our AI system acts as a tool to reduce distractions, highlight relevant facts and determine which human guards are right for each situation. Our AI is more accurate and fast-responding than any human can be—and it never has a lapse in attention.” Another area of security to which computer vision can be usefully applied is checkpoint security: for instance, at airports, live events and government buildings. Fatigued and inattentive human personnel often miss threats at these checkpoints. Computer vision can be applied to camera or X-ray feeds to automatically detect dangerous items with substantially greater accuracy and reliability than a human, improving public safety. Synapse Technology, one promising startup developing computer vision solutions for checkpoint security, was acquired last year by Palantir. It is important to note that the application of computer vision in security contexts can and sometimes does cross the line from safety-promoting monitoring to overly intrusive surveillance. Governmental use of facial recognition technology to track and monitor citizens has prompted widespread backlash around the world. In China, computer vision has reportedly been deployed in efforts to suppress Uyghurs, a minority ethnic group. As with any powerful technology, computer vision can be used in harmful as well as in value-creating ways. It is incumbent upon regulators, businesses and individuals to ensure that society marshals this technology as responsibly as possible.
0d63c1c70a1ee8620aeb63898d6eb4bd
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwaters/2013/05/21/coca-colas-frank-statement-a-slick-move-to-stave-off-regulation/
Coca-Cola's "Frank Statement" A Slick Move To Stave Off Regulation
Coca-Cola's "Frank Statement" A Slick Move To Stave Off Regulation with William L Haar From Coca-Cola Content 2020 Part One marketing video as seen on YouTube. Earlier this month, Coca-Cola unleashed a new PR blitz complete with full-page ads, press events and appearances on TV news programs, all aimed at showing the world that Coke folks are good corporate citizens that care—really care—about the global epidemic of diabetes, obesity and related chronic health problems. Yes, the company seems to be saying, we understand there’s a problem and we’re willing and eager to do our part. It reminds us of another advertising blitz by an industry whose products were coming under increasing scrutiny. On Jan. 4, 1954, the “Tobacco Research Institute” published a full-page ad in the New York Times and more than 400 other newspapers around the country. It’s title: A Frank Statement to Cigarette Smokers. In the Frank Statement, the tobacco companies said: We accept an interest in people's health as a basic responsibility, paramount to every other consideration in our business. We believe the products we make are not injurious to health. ...and, incredibly: We always have and always will cooperate with those whose task it is to safeguard the public health. Flash forward 60 years and Coca-Cola’s new “Coming Together” initiative expresses similar concern for the public’s well-being and touts its own commitment to promoting “moderation” in consumption and “transparency” in disclosing the calorie content of its products. Yet the company’s plans include no substantive changes to its basic business model of getting more people to drink more sugar, regardless of the health consequences. Coke’s real agenda is to stave off regulatory changes that would force them to change their current practices. For example, Coke and other soda companies have steadfastly opposed taxes on sugary drinks, including a bill currently in the California legislature that would impose a penny-per-ounce tax on soda. Research from UC-San Francisco suggests that such taxes would reduce consumption by 10 to 15 percent over a decade preventing nearly 100,000 cases of heart disease, 8,000 strokes, and 26,000 deaths. The California legislation, like most proposals, would channel the tax revenue into health programs. Legislatures in Vermont, Texas, Rhode Island, Mississippi, Oregon, Hawaii and Connecticut are considering similar bills. As consumer advocates increase the pressure on the soda industry through proposed taxes and regulations, Coke’s response is to position themselves as responsible stakeholders. Coke hopes to forestall policies that would have a real impact on their business by embracing voluntary, self-enforced corporate initiatives. This dovetails with the company’s bid to enhance its image by funding exercise and education programs through its Live Positively campaign. At the same time, Coke is making a concerted effort to coopt and subvert the public health message that soda is bad for health. An analysis released this week examining the link between soda and obesity found that four studies funded by the food and beverage industry found little evidence connecting soda to poor health, while 13 independent studies all found a significant evidence of soda’s harmful effects. Funding scientists to debunk other scientists is a page out of the tobacco industry’s handbook. So is misrepresenting data using eye-pleasing infographics that, for example, compares overall calorie consumption over a 35-year period to sugar consumption over a cherry-picked eight-year period to give the false impression that soda has added little sugar to the diet since the 1970s. In its new initiative, Coke claims to be a responsible partner because of its new worldwide commitments. Let’s take a look at those pledges: 1. Offer low- or no-calorie beverage options in every market. Coke’s principal business is still selling sugary sodas, priced lower and marketed more aggressively than alternatives. Sugary drinks remain the vast majority of the company’s portfolio. 2. Provide transparent nutrition information, featuring calories on the front of all packages. Front-of-package labeling is a small victory for consumer advocates but listing calories isn’t enough. Numbers on the front of a can don’t compensate for the $2.9 billion Coke spends on marketing each year. 3. Support physical activity programs in every country where Coke does business. Drinking soda has been linked to diabetes, heart disease, and about 180,000 deaths a year, according to data from Harvard researchers. Physical activity is important but it’s self-serving for Coke to suggest that the problem with their unhealthy products is the exercise habits of their customers. 4. Market responsibly, including no advertising to children under 12 anywhere in the world. Coca-Cola has long claimed it doesn’t market to children under 12 in the U.S. Yet the average American child sees 200 Coke ads per year on primetime TV—and children of color and adolescents see even more. We can expect this same as Coke’s current campaign goes global. A Coca-Cola marketing video is explicit about the company’s desire for positive branding. In classic marketing-speak, the company says: “Our brand stories must show commitment to making the world a better place. So we must partner with the brand teams to build the BVA (Brand Value Architecture) with a clearly positive lens.” The same video also reveals Coke’s underlying goal: “We intend to double the size of our business - that's a lot of incremental servings!” Indeed. Tomorrow: Allies of Big Tobacco and Big Soda invoke the Nanny state.
71d74f798afc61890cc859f0f8954b4e
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwaters/2013/05/22/ignore-evidence-deny-science-minimize-problems-then-cry-freedomand-invoke-the-nanny-state/
Ignore Evidence. Deny Science. Minimize Problems. Then Cry 'Freedom! (And Invoke The Nanny State)
Ignore Evidence. Deny Science. Minimize Problems. Then Cry 'Freedom! (And Invoke The Nanny State) with William L. Haar Freedom's just another word for... a bowl of Count Chocula cereal? First they ignore. Next they deny and bury. Then they minimize. Finally, they shout about freedom—and how politicians are taking it away. These are, to the best of our reckoning, the four stages of corporate response when the public and political leaders start demanding restrictions on products that make us sick or do us harm. And, of course, if political leaders do try and act, company executives and PR people lob inflammatory phrases like “nanny state” to rile people up. That’s what Karen Harned of the National Federation of Independent Business did recently on this website when she derided Mayor Michael Bloomberg for working to “expand the nanny state that has become New York City.” Bloomberg stands accused because he is attempting to limit the size of sodas—after previously oppressing New York residents by restricting public smoking and regulating sodium and trans fats in food. Pity the poor food conglomerate, whose God-given right to expose its customers to carcinogens and artery-clogging trans fats has been so savagely attacked! Next, Harned actually suggests, Girl Scouts may be forced to sell apples instead of cookies and employees may be required to use stairs instead of elevators. These kinds of absurd arguments aren’t new. Take a moment to snicker at this column from 1988, which makes the case that freedom died in America when the Reagan administration prohibited smoking on domestic flights of less than two hours. Despite the fact that such an idea is laughable 25 years later, the similarities to Harned’s column are striking. It’s all there: the allusions to totalitarian government, the invocation of the slippery slope that will lead to our loss of freedom, and, of course, the complete lack of evidence. But here’s the interesting thing. The stated arguments used to oppose regulations that would protect the public’s health are usually about consumer freedom. But the real drivers of the anti-regulatory agenda are almost always the very industries that want to keep selling harmful products with unfettered ease. When Congress asked the Interagency Working Group, a group of federal health agencies and regulators, to develop standards for the marketing of food products to children, they did just that. The IWG’s initial guidelines, released in 2011, said that any food promoted to children must have ingredients like real fruit, vegetables, whole grains, extra-lean meat or eggs, low-fat dairy, etc., making up at least 50 percent of its weight. In other words, food marketed to children should have, well, actual food. Seems like a good idea, right? Not to General Mills , maker of Lucky Charms, Trix and Count Chocula cereals. The company submitted a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, the lead federal agency developing the guidelines, noting that “of the 100 most commonly consumed foods and beverages in America, 88 would fail the IWG’s proposed standards.” That’s a pretty telling statement about the reality of American processed food. For good measure, the General Mills letter also invoked the specter of government coercion, arguing that the proposed standard “restricts free expression in violation of the First Amendment.” And sure enough, pressure from General Mills and other big food companies forced the IWG to withdraw the guidelines, even though they were only proposed as voluntary measures. Businesses shouldn’t have carte blanche to sell products known to make people sick, yet there is compelling and overwhelming evidence that soda is uniquely harmful. Research presented to a conference of the American Heart Association in March linked soda consumption to about 180,000 deaths a year from diabetes, heart disease and other conditions. So far, help isn’t coming from the federal level, sticking communities with the responsibility to develop, pilot and defend consumer protections, just as we did with cigarettes, seatbelts, and lead in paint. It may make Harned’s blood boil, but communities can and should create laws to protect themselves against the excesses of industries more concerned with profits than the health of their customers. While Harned wraps super-sized sodas in the flag and issues dire warnings about the “nanny state,” families are worried about something else: how to keep their children from becoming part of the first generation in history that may have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.
8d21a807afb10016c8cecf32b4bbcf9e
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwaters/2013/06/11/nyc-health-commissioner-limiting-soda-size-is-the-right-way-to-protect-the-health-of-new-yorkers/
NYC Health Commissioner: Limiting Soda Size Is The Right Way To Protect The Health Of New Yorkers
NYC Health Commissioner: Limiting Soda Size Is The Right Way To Protect The Health Of New Yorkers Dr. Thomas A. Farley This commentary was written by Thomas A. Farley, MD, MPH, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. In it, he explains why his department will argue today before a state appeals court that a limit on the size of sugary drinks sold in many New York City establishments is a reasonable and appropriate response to the epidemics of obesity and diabetes. There’s been a lot of discussion about the nation’s epidemic of obesity, but not enough about a second epidemic riding its wake: diabetes. Like obesity, Type 2 diabetes is preventable. Here in New York City we are trying to fight this epidemic, and we hope the court system will allow us to do so. Diabetes is twice as common in those who are obese. In 2011, nearly 650,000 adult New Yorkers reported having diabetes; that’s 200,000 more than 10 years ago. Most of us know someone with diabetes, and many can attest to its painful, debilitating effects. In 2011, there were 5,695 deaths in New York City in which diabetes was either the main cause or a contributing cause – twice the number of deaths as from HIV, overdose, and homicide combined. Diabetes is also one of the largest drivers of increasing health care costs. One of the key factors leading to the epidemic of diabetes sits right in front of us: giant servings of sugary drinks like soda, fruit-flavored drinks, and so-called energy drinks. These drinks can pack loads of sugar per serving and are often served in mega-portions. One 64-ounce regular soda can have more than 200 grams of added sugar, over eight times the total daily amount the American Heart Association recommends for women. Sugary drink consumption can bring on obesity and diabetes, and drinking just one sugary drink per day increases a person’s risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. The link between sugary drinks and obesity is clear. With every additional sugary beverage a child drinks daily, his or her odds of becoming obese increases by 60 percent. But even beyond their effect on weight gain, sugary drinks increase the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. New York City’s rule capping the size of sugary drinks can help slow this otherwise inexorable rise in diabetes. Many people consume more sugar than they need simply because that’s the default choice. It was not all that long ago that a sixteen-ounce bottle of soda was advertised as enough to serve a family of three. Portion sizes have exploded since then, and Americans’ consumption has surged in parallel. Today, the Appellate Division of the New York State Court will hear arguments in a case challenging the authority of the New York City Board of Health to put an upper limit on the size of sugary drinks served by restaurants. The rule would not prevent anyone from buying or drinking as much as he or she wants. Instead it merely caps the size of the container that restaurants use to serve sugary drinks. Because people so often choose the default size, there is every reason to think this rule will reduce consumption and help stem or slow the tide of obesity and, by extension, diabetes. The Board of Health has a long history of taking action to protect public health and safety. It has a mandate to act, based on considerations of health experts, whenever disease epidemics threaten the city’s residents. In the 1800s, the board tackled cholera, yellow fever and tuberculosis as it ravaged the health of the population. In the last 100 years, it took on toxic lead paint, window falls by toddlers, and harmful trans fats. Today’s public health crises of obesity and diabetes look different, but that’s because we have largely solved the crises of earlier eras.  When 650,000 people are suffering from a disease, the Board has an obligation to act. There are many other actions the Health Department and the City are taking to reverse the epidemics of obesity and diabetes. The sugary-drink portion cap alone will not solve this problem. But it’s a reasoned and reasonable response to the crisis, and it’s time to put it in place.
9839ae0eb7282529f2b7eaf7c2ae9881
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwaters/2014/11/17/soda-tax-votes-in-berkeley-and-san-francisco-energize-health-advocates-who-call-it-a-breakthrough-moment/
Soda Tax Votes In Berkeley And San Francisco Energize Health Advocates, Who Call It A 'Breakthrough Moment'
Soda Tax Votes In Berkeley And San Francisco Energize Health Advocates, Who Call It A 'Breakthrough Moment' The movement to tax soda and promote health got a big boost this month in Berkeley and San Francisco and advocates say it’s a preview of coming attractions. Jim Krieger, a longtime public health official who is starting a national food-policy organization that will work to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks, predicts that as many as five jurisdictions and perhaps a state or two will approve new soda taxes next year. In the November 4 election, Berkeley enacted the first soda tax in the country when 75 percent of voters approved a penny-an-ounce levy on sugary drinks. On the same day, 55 percent of San Franciscans voted for a two-cents-an-ounce tax that lost because it needed a two-thirds vote. And last week, the Navajo Indian tribal council voted 10-4 to impose a 2 percent tax on soda and junk food that will go into effect if approved by the tribe’s president. The strong showings constitute “a breakthrough moment and will inject a huge amount of enthusiasm and energy into the movement,” said Krieger, who is leaving his post as chief of chronic disease and injury prevention for the Seattle-King County public health department. In Vermont, the Alliance for a Healthier Vermont plans to reintroduce a two-cents-an-ounce tax that stalled in the legislature last year after first gaining approval in one committee. The tax would bring in about $35 million a year that would be used to support health promotion and increase access to healthy foods and beverages, said Anthony Iarrapino, the group’s campaign director. Alliance members feel emboldened by the California results and by their sense that a growing number of people understand the link between diabetes, obesity and the overconsumption of sugary drinks and food, Iarrapino told me. Combine that with emerging evidence that taxes can cut soda consumption and it creates “a perfect storm” that builds momentum for soda-tax proposals, he said. In Illinois, a proposal to levy a penny-an-ounce tax also went before the state legislature last year and stalled. It too will be reintroduced when the new legislative session begins in January, said Elissa Bassler, chief executive officer of the Illinois Public Health Institute and spokesperson for the Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity. The soda industry dug deep to try to block the California soda tax measures, spending a total of $10.4 million against them. After initially predicting Berkeley’s soda tax proposal would fail, Roger Salazar, spokesman for the soda industry-funded campaign against the tax, turned to ridicule, attacking city council members for engaging in “an exercise of vanity” and dismissing Berkeley as an “anomaly” where “they give free pot to poor people.” Berkeley’s stance, he suggested, meant nothing for the rest of the country. But there’s another way to look at Berkeley: as a trendsetter. It was one of the first cities in the country to put curb cuts in sidewalks to accommodate people in wheelchairs. And here’s what the Encyclopedia of Public Health has to say about Berkeley’s role in limiting public smoking: “In 1977, Berkeley, California, became the first community to pass local legislation that limited smoking in public places. By 1998, public smoking was restricted or banned in 820 localities in the United States.” Vermont also likes to see itself as a pioneer in public health and social change, as the first state to require labeling of food containing genetically modified organisms, the first to enact civil unions and then to pass a statute allowing same-sex marriage and one of the first to approve a statewide indoor air ordinance, Iarrapino told me. “We pride ourselves on political courage and being ahead of the times in recognizing that public health needs to move forward,” he said. “Now the Berkeley and San Francisco votes have generated a lot of conversation and buzz and excitement that we hope to tap into.” The Vermont and Illinois measures are backed by broad coalitions that include blue-chip organizations like the American Cancer Society and American Heart Association, the state medical and dental societies and groups ranging from the AARP to the Academy of Pediatrics. The American Heart Association is providing financial support and expert assistance to the effort in both states as part of its effort to prevent heart disease, said Mark Schoeberl, executive vice president for advocacy. The association also donated $23,000 to the Berkeley campaign. The Berkeley campaign was also aided by major donations from the philanthropy formed by former New York City Mayor—and billionaire—Michael Bloomberg in the last three weeks of the campaign. Bloomberg kicked in $285,000 in cash and spent another $362,000 directly to produce and buy airtime for campaign commercials, including during the World Series, won by the San Francisco Giants. Bloomberg also helped support the effort to pass a soda tax in Mexico, where a peso-per-liter tax on soda went into effect at the beginning of 2014. That has provided soda-tax campaigners with a major victory—and an evidence base. According to the Mexico National institute of Public Health, soda consumption declined 10 percent and sales of bottled waters jumped 13 percent in the first six months of 2014. In a country where the average person consumes 43 gallons of soda a year and where 90,000 people died from diabetes in 2012, up from 47,000 in 2000 this was welcome news indeed. The Illinois effort also has backing from the Chicago Hispanic Health Coalition and the Illinois African American Coalition for Prevention. One of sponsors of the Illinois proposal is Mattie Hunter, an African-American state senator from Chicago who lost several family members to health conditions linked to poor diets. Diverse support will be important. Two years ago, soda tax proposals in two small California cities, Richmond and El Monte, were voted down overwhelmingly after the soda industry spent more than $4 million to campaign against them and portrayed them as regressive, unfair taxes that would hit low-income people and communities of color hardest. But advocates reject that characterization. “What’s really unfair is for low-income communities to have such a high burden of hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and obesity,” said Bassler, of the Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity. The push for soda taxes will get another bump this week in New Orleans, where 13,000 members of the American Public Health Association will have a chance to attend at least three sessions discussing soda tax measures at the organization’s annual meeting. Whatever the outcome of coming votes on soda taxes, the growing public discussion about sugary drinks is accomplishing something else, said Jim Krieger. “It’s branding soda as an unhealthy product in the same category as other unhealthy products like cigarettes and alcohol,” Krieger said. “We’re raising awareness that sugary drinks are a threat to people’s health, unhealthy products that deserves to be taxed.”
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwaters/2015/11/20/be-goofy-smile-at-your-baby-protection-begins-with-connection-pediatrician-says/
Be Goofy, Smile At Your Baby: Protection Begins With Connection, Pediatrician Says
Be Goofy, Smile At Your Baby: Protection Begins With Connection, Pediatrician Says Part 3 of a series Andrew Garner wears silly ties and finds it easy to make a goofy face. These are valuable tools for charming the babies and children who come to his pediatric practice near Cleveland. It’s also a good way for him to show stressed-out parents how easy it can be to delight and connect with their child. Garner is an expert on early brain development and a clinical professor of pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He’s also part of a growing movement in pediatrics aimed at helping parents protect their children from Adverse Childhood Experiences and toxic stress, which can have lasting impact on children’s behavior, ability to learn, and their mental and physical health. As part of a project I’m doing with the Center for Youth Wellness in San Francisco, I spoke with Garner last month at Ped21, a one-day meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics focused on addressing the trauma and toxic stress many children experience. Here are some highlights from our conversation. How early does the connection between a young baby and his or her parents start to form and affect that baby’s development? Garner: A young baby, 6 weeks old, will start developing a social smile. If the parents are not depressed and they smile back and talk to that child whenever the child smiles, the child learns: "Man, I can get attention every time just by smiling." If the parents are in survival mood, if they’re depressed and not smiling back, that child learns the only attention is by screaming, so it’s going to scream all the time. Early on, we can help build healthy adaptations to stress, and that’s really what it’s about. Toxic stress is a physiologic response. We all experience stress, but at a young age, are we nurturing healthy ways to adapt? If we’re not actively building those skills, kids are going to find ways to deal with stress, but they might not be healthy ways. A baby may cry all the time. Older kids may become addicted to video games, or smoking and drinking. We wonder why they do these things, and we see them as maladaptive, but in the short term, they’re actually somewhat adaptive distractions that take away from that stress you’re feeling all the time. How do you look for toxic stress and adverse child experiences in the families you’re seeing, and when you find it, what do you do? Garner: I try and go upstream to prevent it from happening in the first place. I spend a lot of time talking about stress. When a child is nine months old, they literally read your face. If you ever approach a 9-month-old, the 9-month-old will look at their attachment figure as if to say: Is this person okay? It’s called social referencing. If the family knows the child is doing that, and says, yes that guy is okay, the stress goes away. Early on, we can proactively build parenting skills and help parents understand the meaning behind kids’ behaviors. As they get older, we tend to focus on the behavior—“stop doing this, stop doing that.” But a lot of times those behaviors are actually a response to an emotion: I’m angry, I’m frustrated, I’m scared, I’m jealous. If we can help families understand that, and teach healthy ways to deal with that emotion, we’re going to be in much better shape than just saying stop, stop, stop, stop. As much as you work for prevention, you are going to encounter kids who are exhibiting signs of toxic stress. Garner: Absolutely. How do you look for those, and what do you do about it? Garner: The first thing is we talk about the behavior and what the behavior may be telling us. Is it: "I’m stressed because Mom is depressed? Because there is domestic violence in my home? Because there is violence in my neighborhood and I have nowhere to play or exercise?” Don't stop at the behavior, try and dig deeper at what’s causing it. Are you using any kind of screening in your practice? Garner: We have an intake form that asks a lot about parental history. We screen for maternal depression, because in my population that’s probably the biggest precipitant in stress for kids. Moms are depressed. Once you identify the kid is struggling, we need to try and figure out what’s going on in that kid's environment, what’s precipitating that behavior. What’s your message to your colleagues in pediatrics? Garner: That an integral element of pediatrics has always been prevention. Now we know that many of our most intractable health diseases—cancer, diabetes, mental health conditions—actually begin in childhood. We can do a good job of trying to prevent those outcomes, if we do a better job of understanding what’s going on in the family, and helping those families that have difficulty. And what do you tell pediatricians who want to know exactly what they can do, what works? Garner: I think that’s part of the problem—we want to do one thing. We’re always looking for the magic bullet. I think the only way we’re going to get the upper hand on toxic stress is to have a layered public health approach. Clearly, we need to do a better job at identifying kids who are actually being abused, and be there for them. Clearly we need to try and identify families that are at risk of toxic stress, and intervene for them. But we also need to go upstream and prevent more kids from falling in. As a society, we must make sure kids have these basic needs met. Not only food and water, but that they feel safe, because kids don't learn when they’re scared. That they have a safe, stable relationship—at least one adult who cares about them. That they have opportunities to succeed and contribute. If we put those basic foundations in place we’re going to solve a lot of problems. A pediatrician alone is not going to fix toxic stress. Just like the schools are not going to fix toxic stress on their own, or social services. If we work together, we have a chance. If we identify families that are struggling, link them with social services, help get kids into high quality pre-school, those kids have a chance. A lot of people think of trauma and toxic stress as problems that happen only to children of poverty, to children of color. You have a different message. Garner: Growing up in poverty increases the risk for toxic stress because it’s just harder for parents to be good parents when they are dealing with poverty and in survival mode. But the message I want to share is that toxic stress is about biology. It is about our physiologic response to adversity. In that sense, it is universal. It is not just about those kids. What are some of the approaches you take to working with parents in your practice? Garner: Postpartum depression is something I see a lot. A family comes to me for a one-month or two-month visit, and we’ll do a screen and identify this mom is struggling with depression. Then we have a good discussion about what’s going on. Maybe there’s a family history of depression. Maybe mom was treated for depression before she got pregnant, and halfway through the pregnancy, Dad left. We have a frank discussion about how tough it is: “I understand it’s tough, you’ve got hormonal changes going on, you’re exhausted. But look: your baby is smiling at you. That’s fantastic. That tells us everything is working okay. If you’re smiling back at your baby, your baby knows it’s okay, and if you keep smiling, the stress gets much less.” Mom is reassured that she hasn’t screwed up, this baby needs me and I can calm this baby by just by smiling. You can show them how to do that in the office. You take a 2-month-old baby and show them a goofy face, like mine, and the baby will smile, and the parents are amazed. And you teach them how to do it. At a very early age, they learn, "I can make this baby smile." Now you have a relationship going. We can turn a lot of things around by building relationships. That probably requires a pediatrician to do more than a five-minute wellness check. Garner: It does. What it requires is building a rapport of respect and trust. Over time you develop that relationship to the point that they’re able to disclose where their troubles are. Then we’re able to get them the supports they need, so they’re in a better place to form that separate relationship with their children. It’s all about relationships. What is your message to parents about looking at their own histories as children? Garner:  That’s a touchy subject. The message is not: You had adversity, now you’re broken and your baby is doomed to failure. That is clearly not the message. The message is: Adversity is something we all experience. The question is whether we’ve learned to adapt in a healthy way, and that sometimes requires a little introspection. When you have these discussions, sometimes the parents will say "It’s funny you said that, the year after my dad abused me, I started gaining weight and haven't lost it since." And now there’s a little awareness that maybe some of the things I’m doing in my life that haven't been healthy were in response to some adversity I had. Ask "What did your parents do well?" and "What did your parents do that you never want to do to your child?" That encourages them to think a little bit and say, "Well, I love the fact that my dad was always at my soccer games" or "I never want to do this." Then maybe: "Why do you think your dad was like that?" A little reflection is probably the way to go. Say that there are reasons people act this way, but you don't have to. We can break the cycle right here and now.
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwaters/2017/06/21/soda-and-fast-food-lobbyists-push-state-preemption-laws-to-prevent-local-regulation/?sh=65154b45745d
Soda And Fast Food Lobbyists Push State Preemption Laws To Prevent Local Regulation
Soda And Fast Food Lobbyists Push State Preemption Laws To Prevent Local Regulation Anti-tax publicity adorns a soda delivery truck in Santa Fe, N.M. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee) When the city council of Santa Fe, New Mexico, placed a measure on the local ballot to tax sugary drinks earlier this year, the soda industry responded quickly, pouring $1.3 million into the anti-tax campaign. To cover their bases, industry lobbyists also pursued a back-up plan: they backed a bill in the state legislature to strip local governments of the power to levy such taxes. In the end, the state language was added to another bill that sailed through the New Mexico House before dying in a Senate committee, shortly before Santa Fe voters defeated the local soda tax. But as a growing number of cities consider and increasingly pass soda taxes and other measures designed to combat obesity and promote healthy eating, the food industry has turned to a strategy used extensively by the tobacco and gun lobbies. The strategy, known as preemption, uses state laws to take away the right of cities to enact various kinds of regulations, reserving that power to the state. The tobacco industry used preemption to block or weaken local ordinances that ban smoking in public spaces. The firearms industry used it to beat back local efforts to control gun sales. Now, lobbyists for numerous industries, including soda makers and fast-food chains, are pushing state laws that block municipal governments from adopting local controls. Aiding the effort is the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a group backed by corporations and conservative foundations, which brings together state lawmakers and industry lobbyists to draft and disseminate model legislation. At least nine states have passed nutrition-related preemption laws, according to Grassroots Change, a nonprofit group that monitors state preemption efforts. Others have adopted measures that keep cities from requiring employers to provide paid sick leave or nullifying laws that protect gay or transgender people from discrimination. The federal government can also preempt state and local law. In recent years, Congress has passed several bills with preemption provisions, including a revision of the key 40-year-old federal act regulating chemicals, a law requiring restaurants to display nutrition information, and another relating to disclosure of the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food products. These laws also limit states and cities from regulating the same products, though each does so in different ways. In 2011, the National Academy of Medicine urged in a report that federal and state legislators avoid wording preemptive laws “in a way that hinders public health action.” But a growing number of state legislatures are ignoring that plea. A 2011 Arizona law bars local governments from regulating restaurant giveaways of toys and prizes like those given to children eating McDonalds Happy Meals or at the Chuck E. Cheese pizza chain. A "Mario"-themed Happy Meal toy at a McDonald's restaurant on July 12, 2014 in Los Angeles,... [+] California. (Photo by Bob Riha, Jr./Nintendo of America via Getty Images) Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Utah ban regulations requiring restaurants to publicly display nutritional information. Mississippi and Ohio bar both these types of regulations and Wisconsin prohibits cities from restricting food or drink sales based on size, caloric content or nutritional value. In New Mexico, the soda tax preemption language was added at the last minute to a 300-page substitute bill addressing a variety of tax issues, said William Fulginiti, executive director of the New Mexico Municipal League, an association representing cities, which opposed the preemption as an infringement on the rights of local communities. “It was done quickly. I don’t think they were even aware of what was in the bill,” Fulginiti said of House members who passed the substitute tax measure. Fulginiti said the original bill had been supported by The Coca-Cola Co. and that a Coke lobbyist had visited him to push for the bill. Sarah Maestas Barnes, the New Mexico legislator who introduced the original preemption measure, received a $1,000 campaign contribution last year from Admiral Beverage Corp., which manufactures and distributes Pepsi and other drinks. Barnes didn’t return several phone calls and emails seeking comment. One of the most sweeping laws, passed last year in Kansas, includes a preemption for almost every industry. It prevents cities from banning restaurant toy giveaways, keeps them from requiring display of nutrition information and blocks them from restricting the “growing or raising of livestock or grain, vegetables, fruits or other crops.” The same Kansas bill also bars cities from setting their own minimum wage rules, requiring developers to pay prevailing wage in construction projects, or mandating that employers provide sick leave. And for good measure, it also bars residential rent control. Kevin Walker, a lobbyist for the American Heart Association, thought the bill was a bad idea and would intrude on efforts to promote healthier eating in a state that had the seventh highest obesity rate in the country. Other public health groups including the American Cancer Society, KC Healthy Kids and Oral Health of Kansas also opposed the bill. The Chamber of Commerce, Kansas Beverage Association and Kansas Corn Growers Association supported it, as did Americans for Prosperity, a conservative, free-market advocacy group. Deputy director Rodger Woods argued that, without the bill, the state’s 700 local and county governments could all pass different rules, leading to a “balkanized series of different food-sales requirements.” In fact, no city in Kansas had passed or even proposed a soda tax, nutrition-labeling regulation or ban on Happy Meals, according to Walker. “Nobody was talking about it,” he said. “Legislation to preempt these activities looked like a solution in search of a problem.” As proponents shopped the bill around, they cast it as “the anti-Bloomberg bill,” the enemy of nanny-state advocates like former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, said Walker. To rural Kansas Republicans, he said, Bloomberg was the perfect villain, “a big city mayor, Big Brother telling you what you can do and buy.” Bloomberg, of course, had famously gotten his city to ban smoking in restaurants, eliminate the use of trans fats, require restaurants to post calorie counts and limit the size of sodas, a policy later overturned in court. Walker suspected the bill might be the work of ALEC, a business-backed group with a roster of corporate members and some 2,000 state legislators. He knew it was being pushed by ALEC member Gene Suellentrop, a state lawmaker who owns a chain of pizza restaurants, as well as Senate President Susan Wagle and then-House Speaker Ray Merrick, both members of ALEC’s board of directors. Sure enough, ALEC’s website included model legislation dubbed the “Food and Nutrition Act,” with many provisions nearly identical to the Kansas legislation. The group, whose members include corporations and some 2,000 state legislators, holds annual retreats that bring together lawmakers and industry lobbyists. In a brochure, ALEC boasted that its model bills are introduced about 1,000 times in every legislative cycle and pass 17 percent of the time. The Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo and Kraft Foods were all members of ALEC until 2011. (They quit under pressure in the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin killing as civil rights group targeted ALEC for its support of “stand-your-ground” laws like one in Florida.) The American Beverage Association, the trade association for the soda industry also has been an ALEC member, according to the Center for Media and Democracy, a corporate watchdog group that has done extensive research on ALEC. (The Center’s executive director, Lisa Graves, is a member of the board of directors of US Right to Know.) Among ALEC’s funders are foundations endowed by Charles and David Koch, Peter Coors and other right-wing industrialists. Michael Taylor, a lobbyist for Wyandotte County, which includes Kansas City, said he found the Kansas bill to be so overreaching that he “went on a rant” at a legislative hearing. In his testimony, he told the lawmakers that his county doesn’t require nutrition labeling and has no plan to do so. “So why are we dealing with this bill?” he asked. “It’s because it comes from the American Legislative Exchange Council, an organization that often seeks solutions to problems which don’t exist, at least in Kansas.” Taylor noted that the concept of local control “is a mainstay of the Kansas constitution” and a purported principle of ALEC. Yet, he said, “ALEC model policies are about monolithic, top-down, centralized, big brother laws which attempt to impose the views of its big money corporate members on every county, city and citizen in America. That’s hardly small government, limited government, or local control.” Despite the opposition from Taylor and public health groups, the Kansas bill passed overwhelmingly and became effective July 1, 2016. State preemption as a concerted strategy “was essentially invented by the tobacco industry in the mid 1980s,” says Mark Pertschuk, an attorney and public health advocate who directs Grassroots Change. In the 80s, he said, activists were winning passage of no-public-smoking ordinances in a growing number of cities, including in Florida. But in 1985, the tobacco industry was able to water down a proposed statewide “Clean Indoor Air Act” in Florida and insert preemption language that kept local governments from passing stricter measures. Local public health groups thought they had won a victory and invited Stanton Glantz, a famed tobacco researcher at the University of California San Francisco, to attend the signing ceremony for the new law. Glantz read the text of the new law on the airplane and realized his Florida allies had been fooled. “They got snookered,” he said. “They didn’t understand that a bad piece of legislation was worse than nothing.” After their success in Florida, the tobacco industry pursued a “50-state strategy,” Pertschuk said, trying to get similar preemption laws passed in statehouses around the country. By the end of the 1990s, more than 20 states had passed them, he said. This effort was outlined by Philip Morris executive Tina Walls, who called statewide preemption “the solution” at a 1994 internal strategy meeting. “By introducing preemptive statewide legislation we can shift the battle away from the community level back to the state legislature, where we are on stronger ground,” she said. The National Rifle Association began pushing for statewide preemption laws after a couple of North Carolina cities, Durham and Chapel Hill, passed local gun-control measures. In 1995, the state legislature passed a bill declaring “that the entire field of regulation of firearms is preempted from regulation by local governments.” Today, 45 states have laws that partly or completely keep cities from enacting gun controls, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. A dozen states still have laws preempting local control over smoking in public places, according to Grassroots Change. Preemption at the federal level is also a potent weapon against state and local regulation. Last year, Congress reformed the Toxic Substances Control Act for the first time since it was passed 40 years ago. While the new law gives the Environmental Protection Agency jurisdiction over thousands of chemicals originally exempted from its review, it also largely prevents state and local governments from passing their own new controls. In the area of nutrition, public health advocates have been pushing for years to require restaurant chains to provide calorie counts and other nutrition information on their menus. A few cities, including New York, Seattle and San Francisco, passed local regulations. Public health groups also sought national legislation. Their efforts finally succeeded when menu-labeling requirements were built into the Affordable Care Act, which passed and became law in March 2010. What followed next was delay and confusion. The Food and Drug Administration was tasked with gathering public input and developing rules implementing the law. That process took several years as industry groups sought to weaken the rules and delay implementation. Finally, the rules were set to go into effect on May 5, seven years after the law had passed. Instead, on May 4 — the day before the rules were to take effect — the FDA published a notice that it was delaying the rule and inviting a new round of public comments. The delay creates more confusion about what cities can and cannot do. New York has decided to go ahead and implement its own local regulations that closely match the federal law. Seattle, one of the first cities in the country to require chain restaurants to post information about the nutritional content of meals, is now in limbo. Hilary Karasz, a spokesperson for the King County Health Department, said the county, which includes Seattle, stopped enforcing the local rules several years ago after the national law was passed. Now, she says, “we are waiting to see how it all settles out.” On June 7, the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the National Consumers League, two Washington-based nonprofit groups, announced they were suing the FDA in federal court for again delaying enforcement of the seven-year-old restaurant menu labeling law. Dr. William Paul, the health director for metropolitan Nashville, has been trying to address this issue for years. In 2008, Nashville, like most cities, was contending with exploding rates of obesity and diabetes from people consuming too much fat, sugar and calories and getting too little exercise. He proposed a regulation that would make Nashville the first city in the south to require chain restaurants to display calorie counts on their menus so patrons would know what they were getting. “We wanted to make it easier for people to eat healthier,” Paul said. “Menu labeling was one strategy to let families make choices for themselves about what they were going to eat.” The board held public hearings, conducted polls that showed strong support for the measure, and passed the measure 4-1. But before it had even passed, legislation was introduced in the state legislature stripping local health boards of the authority to pass such a measure. Two months later, the measure passed and Nashville’s menu-labeling regulation was dead. The debate did at least provoke conversation and raise some awareness about the important of people thinking about what they eat and drink, says Paul. But it also taught him another lesson. “Industry has a lot of power and they’re willing to use it,” he said. “And they don’t always have the health and safety of consumers as their main driver.”
2166cad8ff3c74f82913b7ae421b4bb8
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2021/02/24/inside-the-legendary-edition-of-curse-of-strahd/
Inside The Legendary Edition Of Curse Of Strahd
Inside The Legendary Edition Of Curse Of Strahd For the well-heeled monster slayer, $400 of props, adventure and atmosphere are contained within. Beadle & Grimm's Beadle and Grimm’s have gotten a reputation for high-end companion boxes to official Dungeons & Dragons adventures. For the most part they’ve worked with Wizards of the Coast to produce boxes for new releases that appeal to wealthier players that want a more immersive experience. Recently, they decided to go back and produce a box for one of Fifth Edition’s most popular adventures: Curse of Strahd. This adventure features players whisked away to the brooding world of Barovia where they must defeat the infamous vampire Strahd Von Zarovich. We were able to secure a copy from the strange mists of Ravenloft and found some interesting things inside. MORE FROM FORBESA Look Inside Curse Of Strahd Revamped For Dungeons & DragonsBy Rob Wieland The Box Wizards of the Coast produced its own deluxe edition of Curse of Strahd, so Beadle & Grimm had to go the extra mile. It’s their most expensive box to date, but also their most expansive. In addition to the printed materials, the box comes with props important to the scenario and an entire second package full of maps. Highlights include: The complete Curse of Strahd adventure broken into smaller booklets. This allows Dungeon Masters the luxury of not hogging the whole book to run the game and pass out individual sections as needed. It also breaks out the section detailing Castle Ravenloft on its own. A portfolio of Mike Schley’s maps reprinted on individual papers that can be handed out for player use. Some of these also show up as battle maps later, but players always love to have a visual when they enter a scene. A tourist style map pamphlet of Castle Ravenloft’s interiors. While the original map included with Curse of Strahd was a lovely isometric throwback to the original Ravenloft module, this map offers another way to keep players and Dungeon Masters from getting lost inside. Art tent reprints from the book that can be draped over a Dungeon Master screen, along with notes as to when to use a particular bit of art to enhance the mood. Encounter cards with art on the player facing side and game information on the Dungeon Master side. These include all the monsters, allies and villains in the adventure. I was a little puzzled that Strahd didn’t have one in this stack but there was a surprise waiting for me at the bottom of the box... A giant size Strahd card featuring a the glaring lord of Ravenloft on one side and his massive statblock on the other. All of the art in this box has been stellar but this thing is definitely suitable for framing. Bonus encounters written for the box including one that uses the Tarokka deck as something of a random encounter generator. My favorite is the Invitation from Strahd encounter which offers a bit more guidance to the classic “tense dinner with the main bad guy” setup encouraged by Curse of Strahd to introduce Strahd to the players. The letters that are part of the adventure are done up like movie props. They are printed on textured paper, crumpled to show their age and the ones that are pages torn from books have rough edges. There’s even a poster for the Festival of the Blazing Sun the players can keep as a souvenier. The Props The paper elements of the box were excellent but the physical props are what really give Beadle & Grimm products their wow factor. They did not disappoint with these items. A collection of stationary complete with envelopes and wax seals. Perfect for urgent pleas of help or urgent missives from allies in need. A pair of deeds to some adventure locations rolled up and sealed with twine. A medallion of the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind. As one of the items needed to defeat Strahd, it’s central to the story. It has a nice weight to it and feels like it would get some gasps from players by dropping it on the table. A bag full of three Barovian coins. Strahd’s profile is on one side and they clink nicely together. Additional coins are available on the website if everyone wants one to take home. A jumbo deck of Tarokka cards. These are similar to the ones in the Revamped box with larger versions of the Gale Force 9 artwork. Finger puppets. No, I’m not kidding. Five finger puppets from the Blinky’s Toys. They include Strahd, a faceless bride, a werewolf, a jester and a zombie cleric. These pieces really ride the line between creepy and cute. MORE FOR YOUDestiny 2 Reset Update: Darkness Scorn, Proving Grounds Again, Final Iron BannerThe Best Build For The Best ‘Outriders’ Class, The DevastatorThe Case For Un-Sunsetting ‘Destiny 2’ Pinnacle Weapons (With Exceptions) The Maps There’s also a massive tube full of rolled up maps which detail Castle Ravenloft, Barovia and more. Four Mike Schley maps for use in battle; The Wizard of Wines, the Death House basement, the Coffin Maker basement and the Church. A brand new take on the Barovia map from popular D&D artist Deven Rue. They included the original map but this one feels much more like something from inside the world. A battlemap sized representation of Ravenloft. All of it. This is an impressive work that covers the whole location. No squiggly dry-erase lines here, though the size of the maps mean that a Dungeon Master might want to figure out a fog of war solution. MORE FROM FORBESThe Mist Beckons A Return To Ravenloft For Dungeons & DragonsBy Rob Wieland This box is something hardcore fans of Ravenloft should not miss. It’s the first box that’s being reprinted, likely thanks to the recent announcement of a new Ravenloft supplement, both of which are due in May. Curse of Strahd: Legendary Edition is available exclusively through the Beadle & Grimm’s website.
38ec5c0e3c623d8c94ec09f2cad0ee2e
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2021/03/01/an-exclusive-look-inside-the-vault-of-magic-from-kobold-press/
An Exclusive Look Inside The Vault Of Magic From Kobold Press
An Exclusive Look Inside The Vault Of Magic From Kobold Press Over 800 pages of magic items await players and Dungeon Masters in Vault of Magic Kobold Press Fantasy stories are chock full of magical items. Whether a classic magic sword like Excalibur, a central story element like The One Ring from Lord of the Rings or a practical magic gadget like Harry Potter’s Invisibility Cloak, these items are a great way to let characters that aren’t powerful spellcasters have a bit of gear that reflects their magical settings. Dungeons & Dragons offers these items too, like the classic +1 longsword or bag of holding. MORE FROM FORBESA Look Inside Tasha's Cauldron Of Everything (And More)By Rob Wieland In Fifth Edition, these items have been scattered throughout different books, with Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything including a decent sample that tie to the various settings created by Wizards of the Coast. Now, the blacksmiths at Kobold Press are assembling Vault of Magic as a giant resource for magic weapons, armor and more for D&D players and Dungeon Masters. Kobold Press is one of the most prolific third party publishers of award winning material for Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition. Jeff Lee, Phillip Larwood, Meagan Maricle and Marc Radle have worked on many of their other titles such as Tome of Beasts 2, Empire of the Ghouls, Deep Magic, Demon Cults & Secret Societies and more. MORE FROM FORBESAdd 700 Spells To Your Dungeons And Dragons Game With Deep MagicBy Rob Wieland MORE FOR YOUMLB The Show 21 Review: The Good, The Bad And The Bottom Line‘Destiny 2’ Wants You To Pick From 12 Exotics To Get New Ornaments, Time To Rig The VoteHere’s When Can Play The ‘Resident Evil Village’ Demo On PS4, PS5, Xbox And PC: Dates And Times The book collects over 800 items from Kobold Press designers as well as big names from the game design world. Names attatched to the project so far include Adam Bradford, Celest Conowitch, Deborah Ann Woll, Luke Gygax, Daniel Kwan, Meagan Kenrick, Todd Kenrick, Professor Dungeonmaster, Victoria Rogers, Lauren Urban, Shanna Germain, Nerdarchist Ted, Mike Shea, Vee Mus’e, Patrick Rothfuss and more to be announced soon. One interesting class of items are Fabled Items which actually grow with the character. Magic items in D&D tend to have one or two functions that serve a player well until the item is sold for a better version or ends up languishing in obscurity on a character sheet until it is needed in a very specific situation. Fabled items are built to unlock new abilities as the character discovers their history. What may look like a simple +1 dagger at first may have been the dagger a rogue used to slay a powerful necromancer, giving it better powers against the undead while also being a beacon to that evil wizards followers. Fabled Items looks to be a way to tie in some magic items to an ongoing narrative beyond being cool loot found in a dungeon. Kobold Press provided a sample item that druid players will find useful. It gives a small fire damage bonus to all spells and 1d4 of fire damage if the druid expends a charge. It seems suitable for construction out of the ashes from a fire elemental or perhaps consecrated by creating it from the first sapling grown out of a forest decimated by a wildfire. An exclusive magic item from Vault of Magic revealed for the first time! Kobold Press Vault of Magic is currently on Kickstarter with an October 2021 release as the target for the main book release. Backing now expands the contents of the book but adventurers will find plenty of useful items for their D&D games.
4791297aeae9f96c143ee59b2323280c
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2021/03/04/find-a-unique-rpg-among-the-joys-of-zine-quest/
Find A Unique RPG Among The Joys Of Zine Quest
Find A Unique RPG Among The Joys Of Zine Quest Kickstarter's Zine Quest encourages small publishers to make something fast, cheap and unique. Kickstarter Production values for games like Dungeons & Dragons have come a long way in the last 40 years. Official D&D books are large, hardcover books with full color text and gorgeous painted artwork. Many are also offered in a regular edition and a deluxe edition available only at local game stores. It’s easy to forget that the game started out as a simple collection of staple bound books with minimal line art. Luckily, there’s a group of creators on Kickstarter that are keeping the fires of that original DIY aesthetic burning, many of whom are participating in the latest Zine Quest. Zines are small circulation fan created books that circulate through mailing lists, convention circuits and small book stores. They’ve been around since the 1930s and have been a way to develop fan connections, new voices and unique ideas. Zine Quest applies this line of thinking to role-playing games. The games coming out of previous Zine Quests remind me of eating at a food truck; it’s fast, cheap and full of interesting combinations of flavor. Many of the zines in the most recent collection are short unofficial supplements for 5e. Other support other indie RPGs, like the death metal fantasy of MORK BORG or the space survival horror of Mothership. Many more are small games meant to be played in a session or two. Most of these games are available for a small pledge between $5 and $10, so even if they disappoint, it’s easy to move on to the next one. Zine Quest games also push the envelope in how RPGs are made. Many have queer themes that appeal to an unrepresented segment of gamers. Others offer a pay rate for their creators that far outweighs what they might make writing for an established company. Other encourage an element of community building, with higher pledge amounts allowing for free copies to be claimed by folks unable to afford the zine. Here are some of my favorites from the current Zine Quest. They should also all be available after their Kickstarter run is complete should they fund. Bucket of Bolts allows players to build up the history of a space smuggler’s rustbucket ship by playing through different owners and events in the ship’s lifetime. It looks like an interesting game on its own, but it can also be used to organically build a ship history for a game that might need one, such as Star Wars or Scum and Villainy. Last Orders is a system neutral guide to the types of drinks one might order in a fantasy pub. There are 16 drinks included in the zine along with worldbuilding details and adventure hooks that connect back to each drink. It’s a neat way to spice up those tavern meetings beyond ordering Dwarven ale. Back Again From The Broken Land is inspired by the epilogues of the Lord of the Rings films. The players have defeated the Doomlord, but can they resolve all their burdens and keep their promises before returning home to their normal lives? Low Stakes is a GM-free comic supernatural game inspired by the roommate drama of What We Do In The Shadows. The same designer is also running a Kickstarter inspired by Quantum Leap called What Once Went Wrong. Ninja City used the brutal Dungeon Crawl Classics rules for a martial arts soaked battle through the neon soaked streets inspired by 80s ninja movies and beat-em-up arcade games like Double Dragon. Speaking of ninjas, Mutants In The Now offers a modern take on the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness RPG. I was intrigued by plenty of Mothership based books, including the Die Hard-inspired Dying Hard on Hardlight Station, the colony outbreak campaign The Burning of Carbex and the alien ruin crawl What We Give To Alien Gods. MORE FOR YOU‘Destiny 2’ Wants You To Pick From 12 Exotics To Get New Ornaments, Time To Rig The Vote‘Destiny 2’ Needed To Make This Artifact Change Six Seasons AgoHere’s The ‘Outriders’ Pyromancer Anomaly Build You’re Looking For There are lot of games beyond these highlights worthy of a search on Kickstarter. Whether you become a backer or check them out after they’ve been created, RPG zines expand your horizons as a player or as a Game Master.
1117999387466fb4cafffb1c6a510589
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2021/03/09/explore-the-mysteries-of-candlekeep-for-dungeons--dragons/?sh=e6bfe7458640
Explore The Mysteries Of Candlekeep For Dungeons & Dragons
Explore The Mysteries Of Candlekeep For Dungeons & Dragons Seventeen mysteries await in Candlekeep Mysteries Wizards of the Coast 2021 is proving to be a year where Dungeons & Dragons is exploring some different ideas. Fifth Edition will celebrate seven years in the wild this year. The first two books announced have shown a desire to break away from more dungeons. The first book announced, Candlekeep Mysteries, is a collection of new adventures written primarily by an all-new collection of authors. We received an advanced copy of the book and came away with these first impressions. The book opens with coverage of Candlekeep, a library fortress within the Forgotten Realms that can be used as a central hub location for an adventuring party. Each adventure is tied to a book within the library, which requires donating a unique or unusual tome as the entrance fee for using its services. Sometimes the adventure is the first clue leading to an exploration outside of the library, sometimes it is of the “oops we are trapped inside the magic book now” variety. Only two of the adventures are set within the walls of Candlekeep. There’s a short discussion of where a great library like Candlekeep might exist in places like Eberron, Greyhawk, and, most interestingly, Exandria where the games played by Critical Role are set. A few touch on other campaign guides such as Tomb of Annihilation or Curse of Strahd and could be added to campaigns running those adventure paths. Many of the other adventures happen elsewhere in the Forgotten Realms or in pocket dimensions created by the books. All of the adventures could be ported to other settings with a minimum of fuss. Mystery is applied broadly here. When the book was announced, there were fans who were concerned that the seventeen adventures included within were going to be narrow variations on a whodunit theme. Instead, Candlekeep Mysteries strengthens the pillar of play that has felt a little underdeveloped in official Fifth Edition materials. Combat is an expected part of every adventure and there are some great examples of social interaction like Curse of Strahd. Candlekeep Mysteries injects some well-needed exploration thanks to its scenarios. Many of the scenarios can be played in classic action style but it was good to see a few where violence is not the best solution. One of the most interesting things about the adventures within is how many of them offer a path to resolution that is not a big boss fight. There are still plenty of opportunities for combat, of course, but its refreshing to see adventures encouraging players to negotiate peace or discover which NPC is an imposter and which is the real target of their search. MORE FOR YOUMLB The Show 21: 15 Things You Should Know Before You Buy The GameThe Case For Un-Sunsetting ‘Destiny 2’ Pinnacle Weapons (With Exceptions)Joss Whedon’s ‘The Nevers’ On HBO Is Getting Skewered By Critics And Fans Alike The book also offers adventures that have a more whimsical bent. Favorites include a temple of beauty that comes off like a fantasy day spa, a “perfectly normal” town that was built to imprison a powerful yet corrupted bard, and an early adventure that allows players to see a classic spell creation from the inside. One thing I would have liked to see more of is direct Dungeon Master advice. Mysteries and exploration are different kind of adventures that require a different mindset than the usual dungeons. It’s nice to see Wizards of the Coast devoting a book to several new voices, but I also wanted to see guidance for more adventures like this to those who want to expand their writing toolbox. I applaud the decision to include specific credits within each adventure and provide author’s bio information at the end of the book. Speaking from experience, it’s a great feeling to see your name in a book about something you love and anything that increases that visibility is good. Candlekeep Mysteries is due out on Tuesday, March 16th, 2021. It is available in a regular cover available everywhere and a limited edition cover only available through local game stores.
edd2753371addb849058cc4103656903
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwolkenbrod/2020/04/26/in-between-nba-title-runs-dennis-rodmans-spurs-seasons-are-lost-in-the-shuffle/
Dennis Rodman’s Spurs Seasons, Sandwiched Between NBA Title Runs, Are Lost In The Shuffle
Dennis Rodman’s Spurs Seasons, Sandwiched Between NBA Title Runs, Are Lost In The Shuffle 1995: San Antonio Spurs' forward Dennis Rodman #10 runs on the court during a game. NOTE TO USER: ... [+] User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Focus on Sport via Getty Images) Focus on Sport via Getty Images Five championships, a rough on-court mentality and a memorable flamboyance describe Dennis Rodman’s NBA career. More subdued but coming into his own, he spent seven years with the Detroit Pistons, winning the 1989 and 1990 NBA Finals. The following two seasons, “The Worm” pulled down a league-high 18.7 and 18.3 rebounds, respectively. Rodman’s Pistons days are documented through any piece of Pistons title media, and now his Chicago Bulls days have returned to the forefront. He will be prominently featured in the next installment of “The Last Dance,” ESPN’s 10-part documentary on Michael Jordan. The tales of Rodman’s run on the three-peat Bulls are bound to raise eyebrows and highlight some of the NBA’s greatest teams ever. However, between those Detroit and Chicago days, Rodman spent two seasons—128 combined games—with the San Antonio Spurs. He was the frontcourt partner to David Robinson before Tim Duncan, and the Spurs compiled 62 and 59-win seasons in 1993-94 and 1994-95, respectively. In October 1993, San Antonio sent a Sean Elliott-headlined package to the Pistons that brought Rodman, Isaiah Morris, a 1994 second-round pick and a 1996 first-round pick back. Per Chris Baker of the Los Angeles Times, Rodman left a suicide note earlier that year and faced multiple suspensions for insubordination. Everything culminated when he asked to be traded after head coach Chuck Daly’s departure. So, the road to the Alamo City was complicated. Rodman joined a Spurs team that had success but never went over the top. A Robinson-helmed group of veterans comprised the team, and before Gregg Popovich’s arrival, they won at least 47 games in every season since 1989-90. This was the piece to change the game on the boards, given the disparity between “The Admiral” and the rest of the team in rebounds in 1992-93 (11.7 to 5.8, the next-highest rebounder). Rodman stepped in that first season with 17.3 rebounds per game, toppling Robinson and leading the league while making the Spurs an elite team in an area of need. MORE FOR YOUJake Paul Vs. Ben Askren Live Results, Odds, Purses, Prediction (Video)Jake Paul Vs. Ben Askren: Odds, Records, Prediction (Updated With Betting Results)The World’s Most Valuable Soccer Teams: Barcelona Edges Real Madrid To Land At No. 1 For First Time The same carried into what became Rodman’s second and final season with the Silver and Black, with 16.8 rebounds, but in just 49 games and 26 starts. He shared time with, among others, Terry Cummings, who was once the centerpiece of another deal to give Robinson a power forward partner. This situation was no different than Detroit, though. Rodman was suspended in November 1994 for a combination of missing a team bus and team meeting, and he threw a bag of ice at then-coach Bob Hill, per the Washington Post. It was the pinnacle of the antics that steadily developed in San Antonio, turning this eccentric basketball player into the personality he would be known for in Chicago. The talent was always prevalent, which led to Rodman making it through two years in San Antonio, and as the team’s second-highest paid player both times. He was valuable on the court, but the extra baggage ended his tenure with yet another team, moving to the Bulls via trade for Will Perdue. Three titles later, Rodman cemented his Hall of Fame legacy. While coming in the middle of his NBA career, Rodman had a notable, short run with the Spurs that could have been more. His teams approached the precipitous of the NBA Finals, teasing him winning a title with three different organizations, but the outcomes elsewhere made that point of his basketball life a footnote.