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Introduction to Theory in Healthcare Informatics
Introduction to Theory in Healthcare Informatics
Write an essay addressing each of the following points/questions. Be sure to completely answer all the questions for each number item. There should be three sections, one for each item number below, as well the introduction (heading is the title of the essay) and conclusion paragraphs. Separate each section in your paper with a clear heading that allows your professor to know which bullet you are addressing in that section of your paper. Support your ideas with at least three (3) citations in your essay. Make sure to reference the citations using the APA writing style for the essay. The cover page and reference page do not count towards the minimum word amount. Review the rubric criteria for this assignment.
Write an essay addressing the following prompts:
- Electronic health records (EHRs) are easier to read than the paper charts of the past, but many complain that healthcare providers are focusing too much on the computer screen instead of the patient.
- Is this due to lack of skill or training, poor computer system design, or just the nature of computer charting?
- Is patient care suffering from the implementation of EHRs?
- Charting in an EHR consist of clicking boxes, do you feel this provides enough detail about the patient, condition, and events if there was a law suit?
- Hebda, Hunter and Czar (2019) identify three types of data that is currently being tracked by organizations (p. 46).
- Identify and explain another type of data, specific to your practice, that is being tracked by an organization.
- Why do you feel this data is important to track?
- Identify and discuss the organization that is tracking the data.
- Are there any ethical concerns with an outside organization tracking this data, explain and give examples?
- In this week's discussion post, you identified and explain the topic selected for the project.
- Provide a description of your selected topic based on input from the discussion forum. What is your project, why is it relevant to this class, and why is it important to you?
- Identify an informatics/healthcare theory from pages 29-30 of the textbook that aligns with the project and explain why.
Assignment Expectations:
Length: 500 words per essay prompt/each section (1500 total for this assignment)
Structure: Include a title page and reference page in APA style. These do not count towards the minimal word amount for this assignment. All APA Papers should include an introduction and conclusion.
References: Use the appropriate APA style in-text citations and references for all resources utilized to answer the questions. Include at least three (3) scholarly sources to support your claims.
Rubric: This assignment uses a rubric for scoring. Please review it as part of your assignment preparation and again prior to submission to ensure you have addressed its criteria at the highest level.
Format: Save your assignment as a Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx) or a PDF document (.pdf)
File name: Name your saved file according to your first initial, last name, and the module number (for example, "RHall Module 1.docx") Introduction to Theory in Healthcare Informatics.

subset: commoncrawl


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Heritage Day returns to West Side Tennis Club
The West Side Tennis Club (WSTC) continues to celebrate and honor its legacy. The club was founded in Manhattan in 1892 and moved to its current home in Forest Hills in 1913.
Last year's events were largely off-limits due to the pandemic, but on August 27 the fourth Heritage Day event took place. The first was held in 2017 to mark the club's 125th anniversary.
"Each Heritage Day allows us to relive tennis history with the wonderful tennis legends who join us," said club president Monika Jain. "As we move forward, we are delighted to welcome current tennis superstars to the club."
Banners honoring Stan Smith, who won the U.S. Open Singles championship in 1971 and U.S. Open Doubles championships in 1968 and 1974, and Bud Collins, a journalist, commentator, and tennis historian joined banners honoring Maureen Connolly, Jack Kramer, Arthur Ashe, Virginia Wade, Rod Laver, Rene Lacoste, and the first U.S. Open.
"Today the club is honoring two men who have not only made tennis history, but have created legendary status in the tennis world," said Jason Weir-Smith, WSTC's director of Racquet Sports, who served as emcee for the event.
Collins' widow, Anita Ruthling Klaussen, donated much of her late husband's tennis memorabilia to the club, which will be housed in the library, which was renamed "The Bud Collins Tennis Library."
"One of the incredible surprises is the people wearing some of Bud's clothes," said Klaussen, herself a well-respected photographer. "When they all came to gather the books, all 90 boxes, they brought a crew. At the end of the day I asked, 'Would you all like to look at Bud's walk-in closet?' I said to pick whatever you want.
"I believe Bud would be very, very pleased to know that his cherished tennis books are now housed here," she added. "He loved the West Side Tennis Club."
Collins was one of the first writers to make the jump to television.
"I just want you to know, I love hearing you talk," Klaussen recalls an electrician telling her late husband. "I don't care about tennis one bit, but I never miss your broadcast, since you're so interesting."
Collins also loved to play tennis and carried a racket on all of his travels. One of his favorite partners was opera star Luciano Pavarotti.
Ramsey Smith, head coach of the Duke University men's tennis team, was making his first visit to WSTC and handled the introduction of his father.
"First and foremost, he's my father, but he's also my mentor, coach, and role model," he said. "Someone I always looked up to and admired."
"Tennis has been a great sport," the elder Smith told the crowd. "All four of our kids played in college, it has always been an important part of our lives."
Smith is the namesake of the popular style of Adidas tennis shoes, and even wrote a book titled "Stan smith: Some People Think I'm a Shoe."
"People always ask about the shoe," he said. "Back in 1965, the shoe was created as the first leather tennis shoe ever made. Before that, we wore canvas shoes."
"Seeing him impressed me to see the personal side of the man," said attendee David Gale of Smith. "Fit, articulate, and appreciative of not only what he accomplished, but also appreciative of the fact that he didn't do it himself. It is always inspiring to see people who achieved success relatively early in their lives and be very happy and at peace with where they are now."
"Stan Smith, Anita Ruthling Klaussen, and Bud Collins inspire me through their impact on those around them," said Michael Perkins. "The ambiance of Heritage Day is characterized by the excitement created by the coming together of loving friends and family to honor their historical and cultural impact."


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Parts for I-H Trucks and Scout/Scout II
Listings for new/NOS and used parts for vintage I-H trucks, Scout and Scout II models. Can't find I-H parts? List a "wanted" request here!
These listings are for non-commercial use. Forum members sell, swap or request needed parts!
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And there's the female Director behind The Outnet.com: Stephanie Phair (pictured).
Each month, The Outnet receives over one million unique visitors, less than ten percent of which overlap with the existing Net-a-Porter customer base. The United States, where The Outnet has experienced year on year growth of over 90 percent, now constitutes its biggest market. And, 70 percent of the product on The Outnet does not come from Net-a-Porter, so The Outnet has its own buying teams and relationships with brand partners. All of this seems to be working wonders, leading to an estimated annual turnover of more than $50 million, something that took more than 5 years for Net-a-Porter to achieve.Visit The Outnet.com


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Whiskey Sharp: Unraveled (Paperback)
About this Book
The sharpest ache comes from wanting what you think you can't have…
Maybe Dolan has lived independent, free-spirited and unattached since leaving home at sixteen. Whiskey Sharp, Seattle's sexy vintage-styled barbershop and whiskey bar, gave her a job—and a reason to put down roots. Cutting hair by day, losing herself drumming in a punk rock band by night, she's got it good.
But a longtime crush that turns into a hot, edgy night with brooding and bearded Alexsei Petrov makes it a hell of a lot better.
Maybe's blunt attitude and carnal smile hooked Alexsei from the start. Protecting people is part of his nature and Maybe is meant to be his…even if she doesn't know it. Yet. He can't help himself from wanting to protect and care for her.
But Maybe's fiery independent spirit means pushing back when Alexsei goes too far. Still, he's not afraid to do a little pushing of his own to get what he wants—her in his life, and his bed, for good. Maybe's more intoxicating than all the liquor on his shelf…and he's not afraid to ride the blade's edge to bind her to him.


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Hard News: Friday Music: History, motherfuckers
316 Responses
First ←Older Page 1 2 3 4 5 … 13 Newer→ Last
And this 16 year old is still being sexualised in the selling of her music –
Well, let's just put a paper bag over her head and go back to concern trolling Miley Cyrus. I've seen the two videos alluded to once apiece – if that's what constitutes hyper-sexualization these days, I can't help but wonder if Mr Sweetman becomes tumescent in a stiff Wellington breeze.
Ugh, Thankyou! I get it: don't feed the troll, but this one wound me up too. That awful comment about her being 'sexualised' had me confused, then outraged. If you call that sexualised, then what on earth should she look like?! It just reeks of misogyny. Like you say, if he sees that as wank material, he really has issues.
To be honest, if I look at the pop charts and have to choose who I want my little sister to emulate and idolise, Lorde is my top pick. She's lyrically an unabashed teenager, minus the boy needy-ness. How can we not be a bit stoked that of all the teen girls we could have representing us on the world stage, it's one that does it so well?
If nothing else, the twat is a sorry demonstration that tall poppy syndrome is alive and well.
I guessed that 'bedroom' jibe was a reaction to some of the misinfo making the rounds:
Lorde is a barely out of her cradle (she's just 16), bedroom pop magician from Auckland, New Zealand; the kind that makes the rest of us feel really inadequate :) . She's got a good, strong voice, writes pretty decent lyrics (did I mention she's just 16!) and manages to infuse an appealing, youthful freshness to her music.
Fortunately Ella seems fully equipped to deal with this kind of crap:
No -- if it were up to my parents, I would be an academic and not have a music career. Don't get me wrong, they've been super supportive, but I think it's not every parent's dream, because it's difficult for me to go to school now… They love what I do, but they're just not "stage parents" by any means. My dad is a civil engineer, and my mom is a stay-at-home mom. The fact that my parents weren't really involved in music was kind of good, because it meant that I had something that was private and personal.
Yes, he really did just casually, crudely characterise a 16 year-old as wank-fodder. Her mother read that. Perhaps he should consider keeping his creepy projections to himself in future.
The funny thing is that while Lorde does have a significant share of older male fans, their appreciation for her isn't sexual - at least not in a Nicki Minaj's bottom kind of way.
In fact, these dudes are just acting like fanboys - exactly the same sort of fan reactions that teen girls notoriously have for Justin Bieber and One Direction - obsessing over their idol on Twitter and Facebook (and *ahem* blogs), It's a very modern kind of fan relationship, helped along with social media, where you feel like you have a cool connection with your idol without some record company PR being in the way. And it's so much fun.
But yeah, Lorde isn't being promoted as a sex symbol in traditional pop terms. In the "Tennis Court" video, she looks like a goth alien and delivers a fierce stare at the camera (cf. Miley suggestively licking a sledgehammer). And look at Lorde's wardrobe at the recent Vector gig - dressed like an eccentric elderly dame in a giant kimono. Hardly the wankfest of Sweetman's fantasy. He really needs to keep it in his pants.
"chris", in reply to
these dudes are just acting like fanboys
That does take a little getting used to, she's featured in a bunch of posts. But it is very cool to be reading passionate discussions about New Zealand music again – reminiscent of nzmusic.com.
O, and audioculture, definitely feels like it's crossed that W.I.P line now, chocka.
Sweetman's an idiot, I guess he's just run out of things to say in his drive to be a contrarian.
For me, at the moment there are so many words about being expended how great Lorde is, and will be, that seem out of place with my impression of how good the music, words & performance is.
However, given its all just personal preference what's the point in making a big disagreement about that? It reminds me of walking out of one of the best musical performances I hd seen in ages (Fleet Foxes) and having people complain about how it was a stink gig because they're not big showmen. Who wants to have someone bring an immediate downer to something you are buzzing about!
What's clearly becoming factual at least, is that the success part is real - whether its sustained or not is something we will all have to wait to see.
Sweetman needs to change his surname. Because he ain't that.
Craig Ranapia, in reply to
In the "Tennis Court" video, she looks like a goth alien and delivers a fierce stare at the camera (cf. Miley suggestively licking a sledgehammer).
So does that make Lorde appropriately and comfortably un-sexual, while it's OK to treat Miley Cyrus like a Whore of Babylon-bot? To my mind, that tends to say a lot more about the observers than the observed. For my money, Elvis Presley is ever bit as sexualized as Prince, even though the former never performed ditties like Head in nothing but a pair of bikini-briefs and a lascivious smirk.
Russell Brown, in reply to
In fact, these dudes are just acting like fanboys - exactly the same sort of fan reactions that teen girls notoriously have for Justin Bieber and One Direction - obsessing over their idol on Twitter and Facebook (and *ahem* blogs),
Well, yes, I have ended up writing rather a lot about this particular pop artist. But I'm fascinated by it all. I've been writing about popular music for more than three decades and you don't see this kind of thing very often. It's such a good story. And I like the tunes.
Che Tibby, in reply to
Sweetman's an idiot
does sweetman also do RNZ? pretty sure i heard him on summer noelle talking about NZL songs that were "shanties". if it's the same guy, he spoke about 'Not Given Lightly' being a classic.
but i'm pretty sure Not Given Lightly is a waltz.
also, Lorde's great. not my cuppa, but the two of them are writing some good songs. (i'm assuming the Lorde is still the wee girl and the friend who featured on RNZ a few years back?)
JacksonP, in reply to
I feel completely comfortable with the fanboi label. And it's not as if a few of us weren't similarly defensive about our enjoyment of LDR when she first arrived. We know what we like, and others hating on it for reasons that seem purely spiteful gets on our motherfuckin' goat!
Especially when it's a local act achieving unparalleled international acclaim. Don't like the music, them switch it off. But ragging the success just confirms the tall poppy stereotypes we are often accused of.
Grow up.
Craig Ranapia, in reply to
I feel completely comfortable with the fanboi label.
Sure – Lorde isn't my cup of tea (and that's OK) but when my hard copy of Janelle Monae's new album arrives? Oh, I'm going to fanboy so hard…
Is it peculiar that she twerk in the mirror?
And am I weird to dance alone late at night?
And is it true we're all insane?
And I just tell 'em No we ain't" and get downI heard this life is just a play with no rehearsal
I wonder will this be my final act tonight
And tell me what's the price of fame?
Am I a sinner with my skirt on the ground?Hey sister am I good enough for your heaven?
Say will your God accept me in my black and white?
Will he approve the way I'm made?
Or should I reprogram the programming and get down?Preach, Electric Lady!
Russell Brown, in reply to
(i'm assuming the Lorde is still the wee girl and the friend who featured on RNZ a few years back?)
No, just the girl, sans friend.
Win some…
A gamine enigma, I imagine…
Quod semper, natural homunculi exert avuncular avidity…
a continuum that stretches, with interest, from agreeable, engaging and on thru engrossing to beyond the pale…
I suspect Sweetman fancies hisself as a KiwiBukowski, perhaps his mean muse, 'Miss Ogenie', has moved in, rather than deserting him? -
Che Tibby, in reply to
more awesomer then.
the contrast to the girl of then is marked. then she was kind of belting out something a bit like wigmore. now she's definitely singing her own voice.
might send her an tweet asking her not to rap any more tho.
I'm all for free speech and that but really think there's a case for banning old men from commenting on young people's music. Let them have one thing we're not getting in on FFS...
I like Simon and find him highly entertaining, he's part good music reviewer and part car crash. There's definitely something passive aggressive in his writing, he'll write some quality stuff on music he likes but he really feels the need to drop the hammer on what he presumably feels are sacred cows. He's obviously a bit confused about music for young women as well, one moment he's complaining about Katy Perry making microphone blowjob gestures to 10yr olds in the audience and the next he's comparing Lorde to Farmers lingerie perv fodder.
But it's only music at the end of the day. Lorde gets Jools Holland and he gets the kingdom of his Dom Post music blog.
Bart Janssen, in reply to
(and *ahem* blogs)
I think she just called you a fanboy Russell - lol.
Russell Brown, in reply to
might send her an tweet asking her not to rap any more tho.
Good luck with that. She's not bad at it, imo. Certainly better than Lana Del Rey.
Che Tibby, in reply to
might have come across stronger at the gig. the video footage was... not flattering.
I've been almost entirely disconnected from the Lorde thing. I had no concept of who she was or what she sang. I'd gathered she was achieving a lot of success, but the details in the post here make that even more impressive.
I've watcher a few of her videos on YouTube now and two things are immediately clear - she has a lot of talent, and any claim that she (or her lyrics) are sexualised is absurd.
Sweetman's review is all kinds of creepy for that reason. But beyond those claims it really just seems to be pointlessly contrarian.
That a teenager from New Zealand has managed to create this success, with her own skills and without the manufacturing that seems so common in modern pop music, is clearly something special. Why not celebrate it, as we do any other NZ success internationally?
Russell Brown, in reply to
There's definitely something passive aggressive in his writing, he'll write some quality stuff on music he likes but he really feels the need to drop the hammer on what he presumably feels are sacred cows.
Which is fine, but you need to have some idea what you're talking about. I got the impression he honestly couldn't see what he'd done wrong.
What struck me about Sweetman's piece was the jealousy. It read like someone who is himself lacking the talent and makes up for that lack by attacking those who succeed. I wonder if he has similar opinions about Lisa Carrington and Beatrice Faumuina.
What I found disgusting about the piece was the bullying of a 16 year young performer by some old music reviewer. It was nasty hostile piece and deserved every criticism it's had and more.
And I don't mind being a fanboy either - I actually have learned to enjoy the pleasure of enjoying someone's success - even if it makes me look a bit silly :).
Peter Darlington, in reply to
What struck me about Sweetman's piece was the jealousy. It read like someone who is himself lacking the talent and makes up for that lack by attacking those who succeed. I wonder if he has similar opinions about Lisa Carrington and Beatrice Faumuina.
He's been accused of that heaps but it seems to be water off a duck's back. He seems to live the Oscar Wilde quote that it doesn't matter if they say good things or bad things about you, the real crime is if they say nothing.
Bart Janssen, in reply to
In the "Tennis Court" video, she looks like a goth alien and delivers a fierce stare at the camera
I find that video captivating. It really is impressive that she delivers that performance with just a head shot. It isn't perfect but as a sustained piece it is impressive. And sexual?? Well I guess rule 34 applies but I can't see it.
Peter Darlington, in reply to
Which is fine, but you need to have some idea what you're talking about. I got the impression he honestly couldn't see what he'd done wrong.
He never does. Would love to see Simon comment here on the timeline and detail you've just up about Lorde's career because it really doesn't fit with the lazy narrative on his blog. That's the problem, it's the musical equivalent of pissed old racist guy at the pub. Hot air, biased, no substance. Ironically, just what he's accusing Lorde's music of.
Post your response…
This topic is closed.


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Solar Power in Pakistani Homes, Schools and Factories
"I use the solar light for cooking at night. We save money because we had to buy candles and kerosene before. We also use it to charge our mobile phones." Marvi, Yousaf Babar Village in Sindh, Pakistan
About 250 schools and 12,000 homes in Pakistani villages have so far been lit by solar lights. The program is funded by the UK's Department for International Development (DfID) to help flood-affected people in rural Sindh and Punjab.
Plan International Pakistan and the Punjab education department have rebuilt 400 schools destroyed by floods, and implemented solar panels in 250 schools that did not have electricity. In addition to the solar panel installation, the DfID funded project also provided water and sanitation, school furniture, school paper, schoolbags and uniforms, sports equipment and health education for 54,000 primary school children.
The solar lights cost about $15 each and give sustainable, free light for up to 10 hours after each charge, and can last for up to five years. The cost is recouped within a couple of months, providing excellent value for money, according to DfID sources.
The solar technology is also used for recharging mobile phones, which provide vital communication lifelines in rural areas, enabling people to keep in touch with family and community. The mobile phones are helping reunite displaced families and communities, and helping people to try to get back to a normal life.
In addition to growing number solar energy users in Pakistani villages, the city dwellers are also increasingly turning to solar to cope with frequent power cuts, and gas shortages. There is growing demand for low cost Chinese solar products such as solar street lights, solar garden lights, solar generators, solar heaters, solar water heaters and solar water collectors for industry, according to a report in Pakistan's Express Tribune newspaper. Many consumers told ET they prefer solar over UPS (un-interruptible power supplies) and diesel or gas generators.
"Sales of solar energy panels have increased about 40 per cent compared to winter of last year. Sunshine in Pakistan remains for approximately 10 hours a day, which is enough to produce 1,000 watts per square meter. Producing electricity from the sun is very easy," the paper quotes Tariq Nurani, a solar products dealer, as saying.
The Express Tribune story also features Khawaja Cotton Industries CEO Muhammad Amjad Khawaja who said he invested Rs 5 million for solar water boilers which helped deal with increasing gas load shedding in the textile manufacturing sector.
The rapid cost declines and increasing availability of solar equipment are enabling energy-starved but resilient Pakistanis to cope with the twin shortages of gas and electricity.
Here's a World Economic Forum story on solar revolution in Pakistan:
Related Links:
Haq's Musings
Shakti Solar Model For Pakistan
Pakistan's New FIT Policy For Alternative Energy
Media & Telecom Revolution in Pakistan
Pakistan Building 1000 MW Wind Farms
Pakistan Launches Wind Farm Projects
Renewable Energy to Solve Pakistan's Electricity Crisis
Electrification Rates By Country
Wind Turbine Manufacturing in Pakistan
Pakistan Pursues Hydroelectric Power Projects
Solar Energy for Sunny Pakistan
Wind Power Tariffs in Pakistan
Pakistan's Twin Energy Shortages


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(CNN) — Rescuers in China have pulled out a total of 43 bodies following a landslide the size of a small town that rushed down a mountain earlier in the week, state media reported Saturday.
Some 118 people across Dujiangyan City — mostly tourists — were unaccounted for as of 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Chen Yangjie, vice mayor of the city said at a news conference, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.
The flooding that caused the landslide in the village of Sanxi, in Dujiangyan City, has destroyed 5,100 houses and damaged another 90,000, officials said. Rescuers continued digging through the debris in search of survivors and victims.
"So far no sign of life has been detected at the scene," Ma Kun, head of the firefighting division in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, said, according to Xinhua.
Flooding that triggered the landslide has affected 1.5 million people and inundated tens of thousands of acres of crops. The torrents have plagued the mountainous region since Monday, smashing bridges and knocking out power to thousands.
They have washed away property worth more than $40 million, provincial officials said.
Zhang Jiuchun is an interior designer living in Mianyang, the second-largest city in Sichuan. He told CNN in a phone interview that flooding, landslides and mudslides have paralyzed highway and rail services in many parts of the province.
Zhang said suburban areas have been hit the hardest.
"I think it's the worst since 1998," Zhang said of the disaster, referring to major flooding that swept across China more than a decade ago.
Xinhua previously reported that more than 400 stranded people were safely moved out of Dujiangyan.


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Your One Source for the Horse
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Kerry's Bushwick Wish List: Five Books that would inspire amazing songs
Recently I was asked what books I would most like to see inspire The Bushwick Book Club Seattle to write and perform some original songs. So in response I began to rather selfishly list all my favorite books I've read over the last ten years. The list was long (too long!), but after some careful thought I managed to refine it down to just five books that, in my opinion, would make for tantalizing Bushwick shows and some amazing original songs. Now, I am not sure if the creation of this list will actually lead to an event inspired by one of my picks (it probably won't, but my fingers are crossed), but It certainly can't hurt and I'm all about promoting my picks in the name of great entertainment. Here are my five book selections in no particular order.
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach (non-fiction)
At first, I was interested in a Bushwick show inspired by Roach's book about sex, Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, but as I read I became less and less inclined to hear songs inspired by dog testicle implants and people who ejaculate pigs for a living (fun stuff!). Just the thought of hearing the Bushwick artists sing songs even vaguely about sex-toy research and development left me a tad on the squeamish side. Instead, I'd rather hear songs about the use of human cadavers by doctors practicing face lifts. Although I do question as to exactly why I find this to be less upsetting. Anyhow, the book details what happens to cadavers when they are donated to science. It's sometimes gruesome and often funny. Roach excels at making light of a serious and perhaps morbid topic. In addition to the aforementioned plastic surgery practice, there are chapters on ammunition testing, medical school classes and bombing victims. I'm not doing a good job selling Roach's sense of humor, but she has a knack for sarcasm that successfully transfers to the page.
Ready Player One: A Novel by Ernest Cline (fiction)
When I heard this book lovingly referred to as Willy Wonka meets the Matrix, I knew I had to read it. The text is dripping with 1980s pop culture and nerd references that I adore. Much of the book reads as a love letter to favorite parts of my childhood including Pac-Man, Duran Duran and John Hughes movies. There are so many references to pull from and Bushwick performers would have a field day drawing inspiration from the text. The main character Wade Watts is a big nerd and spends most of his day plugged into a virtual world called the Oasis because the real world totally sucks and has been ruined by humanity. The creator of the Oasis left clues upon his death throughout the virtual world to lead someone to his vast fortune. Watts and other competitors both good and nefarious race to solve the puzzle and win the fortune. The book is an action adventure treasure hunt ripe with hundreds of nods to pop culture making a feast for the reader.
If on a Winter's Night a Travler by Italo Calvino (fiction)
I am so in love with this book that it is hard for me to describe it. It's beautiful. It is one of few books that I read very slowly and savored because I didn't want it to end. I mourned the ending as it approached. The book is avant-garde and not for everyone, but I can't help daydreaming about the song Tai Shan in particular could write inspired by this masterpiece. I think she would devour it and pen and sing a song that would make the room explode with awesomeness. I'll leave you with some lines from an Amazon review because it describes it much better than I could.
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler is a marvel of ingenuity, an experimental text that looks longingly back to the great age of narration–"when time no longer seemed stopped and did not yet seem to have exploded." Italo Calvino's novel is in one sense a comedy in which the two protagonists, the Reader and the Other Reader, ultimately end up married, having almost finished If on a Winter's Night a Traveler. In another, it is a tragedy, a reflection on the difficulties of writing and the solitary nature of reading. The Reader buys a fashionable new book, which opens with an exhortation: "Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade." Alas, after 30 or so pages, he discovers that his copy is corrupted, and consists of nothing but the first section, over and over. Returning to the bookshop, he discovers the volume, which he thought was by Calvino, is actually by the Polish writer Bazakbal. Given the choice between the two, he goes for the Pole, as does the Other Reader, Ludmilla. But this copy turns out to be by yet another writer, as does the next, and the next.
Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy by Bill Simmons (non-fiction)
Now I don't want to hear it. Yes, this is a book about sports. I know a lot of you musician and artsy-fartsy types out there don't like sports, but here is some advice – Go buy yourself a deck of cards and deal with it! This book is incredible. Before I started reading it, I barely watched basketball and I knew next to nothing about the game's history. My exposure to the NBA consisted solely of a vast appreciation for David Robinson's arms. The good news is that you don't actually need to know anything about basketball to enjoy the book because Simmons weaves such entertaining tales in between facts and statistics. I'd love to attend a March Madness themed show where each Bushwick performer would write a song inspired by one chapter in the book (much like Bushwick's event last February based around Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States). That way all you whiny artsy types (you know who you are) wouldn't have to read an entire book about professional basketball and I could enjoy odes to Larry Bird and the invention of the 24-second shot clock.
Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell (non-fiction)
I heard a rumor that Bushwick might be considering a cookbook for an upcoming show. Although less interested in songs devoted to split-pea soup or various uses for anchovies, I became excited about the possibility of songs inspired by one of my favorite TV chefs, Julia Child. Child led an amazing life, first working for the OSS before starting her culinary career later in life. Powell's book covers both Child's intriguing life and her delicious recipes as she attempts to learn more about the chef and cook every recipe from the now classic tome Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year. Originally started as a blog, Julie and Julia's chapters rotate between the trials and tribulations that Powell faces when attempting to cook Child's recipes including much angst surrounding the killing of a lobster and passages on Child's life. This pick would serve especially well as a counterpoint to the current Bushwick picks by Michael Pollan as this book would illustrate how food and cooking has changed since Mastering the Art of French Cooking was first published more than 50 years ago.
Well, there you have it. And Since they're asking, what books have you been yearning to see Bushwick perform original music inspired by? Let's see your choices!


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Influencer marketing is hands down one of the best marketing strategies you can use today. In fact, many experts will tell you that it's the single-best method of marketing.
Over the last few years, influencer marketing has become an immense and essential part of the marketing landscape. Anymore, it's difficult to find brands that aren't using it. It's a powerful marketing approach that allows you to reach your target audience in a uniquely authentic way.
Influencer marketing often sounds too good to be true, but the numbers don't lie – on average, for every $1 businesses spend on influencer marketing, they make $18.
You've probably heard a lot about influencer marketing from the countless articles and videos on the subject. But there's a lot of conflicting advice and misinformation out there.
So, we wanted to make one huge guide that would answer all of the questions you might have about influencer marketing.
Without further ado, here is our ultimate guide to getting started with influencer marketing.
Don't wait for someone else to do it. Hire yourself and start calling the shots.
What Is Influencer Marketing?
New to influencer marketing? Confused as to exactly what it entails? You're not alone.
While the term is tossed around a lot, it's not always clear what it means, so here's a closer look at what influencer marketing is and what it looks like.
Influencer Marketing Definition
Influencer marketing happens when a social media influencer works with a brand to promote its products. The influencer typically makes brand mentions and endorsements to help improve brand recognition. In return, the brand compensates them with cash or with free products or rewards. That's a simple influencer marketing definition, but it needs a lot of unpacking. First off…
What Is a Social Media Influencer?
A social media influencer is a person who has gained credibility in a certain niche. There are strains of influencer marketing including YouTube influencer marketing, Instagram influencer marketing, and other social media platforms. The term "influencer" is shorthand for social media influencer.
Social media influencers have devoted followings – people who value their opinions and tastes or who enjoy watching their lifestyle. As such, they affect what their followers buy and can directly influence their followers' purchasing decisions, hence the term influencer marketing.
Since influencer marketing is directly tied to social media, it's often referred to as social influencer marketing or social media influencer marketing.
What Does a Social Media Influencer Do?
A social media influencer causes their followers to make specific buying decisions based on their authority and reputation. Followers consider them to be a close friend than a paid endorser or advertiser, which simplifies the task of promoting a product or brand.
Social media influencers leverage their online presence on different platforms to partner with brands they endorse and create content that changes people's perceptions of those businesses.
The Rise of Influencer Marketing
Today, influencer marketing is a method of choice for top-tier brands around the world, but it wasn't always this way. For a while, it was considered to be nothing more than a passing fad.
However, over the last several years, it's absolutely exploded in popularity.
Influencer marketing first gained serious traction when social media began to replace traditional media outlets. People weren't just following celebrities anymore – they were following non-celebrity social media users who had enjoyable content.
Over time, some of these users gained sizable followings, and while they didn't have the same amount of reach that celebrities did, they had a considerable amount of influence.
Social influencer marketing became a sought-after occupation in its own right, giving rise to well-curated Instagram feeds and picture-perfect Instagram Stories.
Mostly younger-generation individuals with a penchant for internet fame were learning how to become a social media influencer, how to grow a following, and how to join the coveted list of brand influencers selling their service to businesses.
Today, these social media influencers often have as much influence and reach as many celebrities do (and sometimes even more). In many ways, influencers are the new celebrities. Influencers are highly trusted by their followers, and there are tons of influencer marketing statistics that back this up.
In one survey, 49 percent of customers said they relied on influencers for product recommendations.
In another, 74 percent of people said they relied on social media to make purchasing decisions.
And these people usually follow through with influencer recommendations; a survey by Fullscreen and Shareablee found that 42 percent of people who saw influencer advertising ended up trying a product or service recommended by those influencers.
As social media has become increasingly important to everyday life, influencers have grown in importance. A typical social media user consumes a large amount of influencer content; they might see several influencers' posts throughout the day. That's a big reason why influencer marketing has become many marketers' go-to method.
Another appealing benefit is traffic. If you leverage influencer marketing, you'll get engagement on your own Instagram page, which will allow you to monetize your Instagram page more easily. It's truly a win-win.
How Does Influencer Marketing Work?
Let's understand influencer marketing with the help of examples.
When it comes to this marketing strategy , Instagram is arguably the best platform to use as an example because right now, Instagram is used by virtually every influencer in the world. Instagram influencers are everywhere, and it's easy to see their influence in action.
Here are a couple examples of Instagram influencers:
That's Matt King, an Instagram influencer with more than 1.3 million followers. He'll often work with brands to create sponsored ad posts, which are marked with the hashtag #ad.
Here's another example of an Instagram influencer in a different niche:
This page is run by food influencer Jeanine Donofrio, better known to her followers as Love and Lemons. She regularly partners with brands to feature foods, recipes, or food-related services.
Types of Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing can be done in all kinds of ways. At its core, it's about getting an influencer to share your product or service with their audience, but there are many ways to go about making that happen.
Here are five common influencer marketing methods:
1. Sponsored content
This is one of the most common methods of influencer marketing that you'll see. Sponsored content is simply a social media post that contains an advertisement for a product or service.
Think of it as a celebrity endorsement for the digital age, a hybrid of old and new marketing techniques. The content is shared on the influencer's social media accounts, and there's usually a call-to-action that invites followers to purchase the product.
The two above posts (from Matt King and Jeanine Donofrio) are prime examples of sponsored content. Most often, influencers will post about how they've been using the product or service in question. This kind of personal anecdote works well because it provides credibility and creates trust between the influencer and their audience.
Another form of sponsored content that's becoming more popular is the Instagram shoutout. While this is often a one-off strategy, it can draw lots of attention to your brand, and shoutouts are a breeze to arrange with influencers.
2. Discounts/affiliate links
Everyone loves discounts, and influencer-specific discounts can be powerful. These discounts are tracked using affiliate or referral links.
If a brand doesn't offer a discount, they'll still use referral links to track and analyze the campaign. Discounts are almost always combined with sponsored content.
3. Contests and giveaways
Everyone loves to get free stuff. This is especially true for the audiences of influencers. Why? Because the influencer will only offer products that their followers are highly interested in.
Usually, influencer contests and giveaways draw lots of attention and can reach thousands of people.
4. Publishing influencer content on your channels
Most influencer marketing consists of influencers showcasing products on their channels, but this technique flips that approach on its head.
Instead, the influencer appears on your channels, which often drives tons of social media traffic your way. This can take the form of a single post or a "takeover," in which the influencer has access to a brand's social media channels, usually for a day.
5. Brand ambassadorship
If an influencer is a fantastic fit for your brand, you might consider making them a brand ambassador.
A brand ambassador is an influencer who works with your brand for an extended period of time. This has many advantages because it's a form of long-term influencer marketing, unlike the shorter-term strategies on this list.
There are many other influencer marketing methods, but these are five of the most common. Most brands will employ more than one of these tactics when working with an influencer.
Why Is Influencer Marketing Important?
Influencer marketing can do a lot for your brand. Since influencer marketing breaks many of the barriers that were previously impenetrable, it can help you accomplish some incredible goals.
Of course, when it comes down to it, the ultimate benefit of influencer marketing is to drive more sales. But that's not the only thing it can do for you.
Let's take a look at the benefits that influencer marketing can provide for your brand.
1. Increased sales
Again, this is the ultimate benefit of influencer marketing, but to understand exactly how effective it is, it's helpful to look at influencer marketing statistics.
Remember that businesses earn about $18 for every $1 they spend on influencer marketing.
And for many brands, that number is far, far higher.
The exact figure will depend on how much influencer marketing you invest in and how successful each particular campaign is, but it's clear that the ROI is sky high. (More on that later.)
2. Social proof
No matter what type of business you are, you absolutely need to gain social proof.
As humans, we want to fit in, and that means we often go with the crowd. In other words, we have an innate need to be socially accepted.
By extension, when we see something that other people are interested in, we're automatically interested in it, too. That's the essence of social proof.
This is especially true when it comes to influencer marketing.
Influencers are able to magnify the effect of social proof. Just as you'd trust the opinion of a friend over that of a stranger, followers will trust influencers' opinions more than most other people.
This is arguably the most potent form of social proof, and it's been proven to work with nearly any product in any niche.
Perhaps surprisingly, influencers can have lots of social proof without having a huge audience. Smaller influencers, known as micro-influencers and nano-influencers, often have high levels of social proof even though they don't have millions of followers.
Put simply, whenever you use influencer marketing, you're gaining social proof for your brand.
3. Direct connection to your audience
In order to sell your products on Instagram, you need to get your message in front of your target audience, and that hasn't always been easy.
Influencer marketing practically solves this problem by allowing you to place your message right in front of your customers on a platform that they use every day.
Influencer marketing is also much better than regular social media advertising because the people who follow influencers in your niche are the same people you're trying to target.
Even better, since influencer marketing is super organic, it doesn't feel like marketing, which means people will be more receptive than usual to your brand.
What could be better than getting your products in front of your specific target audience with a glowing recommendation from an influencer? That's what influencer marketing has to offer you.
The Importance of Online Influencers
Influencers play a pivotal role in today's marketing ecosystem.
Influencer marketing is so effective because it's a combination of old and new marketing methods. What influencers have essentially done is taken the celebrity endorsement and updated it for the present day.
However, many influencers aren't super famous. They're everyday people with large online followings, and this is one of the biggest reasons why influencers are so important.
People love influencers because they're not celebrities who are out of reach. Influencers are relatable people with relatable lives.
As we saw before, many people feel that influencers understand them better than their friends do. That phenomenon is unique to influencer marketing.
And the cherry on top is that influencers get personal with their followers. Many influencers engage their followers in comments and even in their content.
This one-on-one interaction creates a positive, long-term rapport between influencers and their followers. As a result, followers trust influencers more over time.
The bottom line: Influencers fill an important space by bridging the gap between celebrities and everyday people. That's why so many brands are investing in influencer marketing more and more.
The Effectiveness of Influencer Marketing
At this point, you know how integral influencer marketing is, and you know that it has a lot of benefits.
Now it's time to dig deeper into the specifics and take a look at exactly how effective influencer marketing can be.
To understand the effectiveness of influencer marketing, we can compare it to other types of marketing.
Many people wonder about influencer marketing versus content marketing versus user-generated content. How does influencer marketing stack up to these other tried-and-true strategies?
You might be surprised to find out that influencer marketing can be more effective than other types of marketing.
But what does that mean for other types of marketing? Let's take a deep dive and find out.
Influencer Marketing vs. Content Marketing
Content marketing is still the top method of choice for many brands and for good reason. It's a proven method with a great track record.
First off, it's worth noting that both influencer marketing and content marketing can be insanely effective and should both be part of your marketing mix.
That's largely because these two types of marketing benefit your brand in very different areas.
Influencer marketing raises brand awareness and generates social proof while content marketing builds authority and adds value.
However, if you really want to get the most out of both of these two very different types of marketing, you need to balance them.
Some brands are reporting that influencer content is performing better than in-house content. In one survey from influencer marketing company Linqia, 51 percent of respondents said that their influencer content outperformed their own brand-created content.
Of course, that doesn't mean that marketers are eliminating content marketing from their strategies. It just means that they're spending more on influencer marketing. Statistics reveal that 93% of marketers use influencer marketing as part of their overall marketing strategy.
There's a lot of synergy between influencer marketing and content marketing, and this combination will only get stronger as influencer marketing becomes more widespread.
Marketers may not be slashing their content marketing budgets to focus on influencer marketing, but it's clear that companies' budgets for influencer marketing are steadily increasing.
Influencer Marketing vs. User-Generated Content
As we've seen, one of the big benefits of influencer marketing is that you can have an everyday person representing your brand. In this way, it's similar to user-generated content.
User-generated content (UGC) has seen increasing levels of use in recent years. On average, 90% of people find UCG helpful when making a purchase decision.
For a while, this trustworthiness was pretty unique to UGC. There weren't many other channels where customers and their peers were able to create and distribute content.
Influencer marketing changed all that by offering something potentially better than UGC.
Since influencers are so relatable and trustworthy, customers' attitudes toward influencer content are similar to their views of UGC.
The key difference is that while UGC can build trust, influencer-created content builds trust and spreads the word. Usually, user-generated content won't have large reach unless you share it on one or more of your channels.
Influencer content also has the potential to be trusted more than user-generated content. Remember that many people feel that influencers understand them better than their friends do. That trust means that people are more likely to take stock in an influencer's opinion over a random person's review or testimonial.
At the same time, UGC is absolutely free and still contributes to your credibility. If you don't have any user content at all, your prospective customers could be scared off.
Ultimately, customers are going to look for both influencer content and UGC when researching products and making purchasing decisions.
Influencer-created content won't completely replace UGC, so don't write it off. Just like the question of influencer marketing versus content marketing, the answer is balance.
Influencer Marketing vs. Social Media Marketing
It might seem strange to compare influencer marketing to social media marketing. After all, isn't influencer marketing just a form of social media marketing?
In a way, yes, but influencer marketing has grown so much that it can be considered an independent form of marketing.
While both types of marketing happen on social media, they have very different approaches and results.
With a branded social media marketing campaign, you control everything. All of the messages you send out are crafted in your brand's voice.
But with influencer marketing, the content is in the hands of the influencers you're working with. They'll bring their unique voices, approaches, and perspectives to the table, and while you'll lose some control, you'll gain attention and likely make some sales.
Influencers also have a lot to offer that you can't get with traditional social media marketing.
For one, you get your brand exposed to audiences who already trust what influencers have to say. Often, these will be completely new audiences who may have never even heard of your brand before.
Overall, social media marketing is still effective, but it can't replace influencer marketing. With influencer marketing, you can easily generate buzz, increase credibility, and hopefully gain new brand advocates and customers.
The Parallels With Word of Mouth Marketing
One of the biggest reasons why influencer marketing is so effective is because it's very similar in nature to word of mouth marketing.
And here's the thing – word of mouth is the most-effective marketing strategy of all time.
Gartner's 2018 small business survey confirmed this, identifying word of mouth as the most-effective channel.
Word of mouth marketing strategies have been a part of every successful campaign ever, whether it was planned or just happened spontaneously. These strategies can take many forms, ranging from publicity stunts to giveaways.
Some well-known word of mouth marketing examples include Sephora giving customers birthday freebies and Wendy's hilarious Twitter antics.
Influencer marketing shares many traits with word of mouth marketing. At the most basic level, a recommendation from an influencer is word of mouth (even though it's sponsored).
Of course, influencer recommendations also cause word of mouth. Once followers are exposed to a product, they'll usually talk about it amongst themselves. They may even buy the product and tell their network about it, creating another iteration of word of mouth.
Even better, the chances for this ripple effect to happen increase every time you partner with an influencer.
Influencer marketing has taken word of mouth marketing and increased its impact exponentially. As a result, organic word of mouth can happen at a much faster rate, drawing more people to your brand.
Influencer Marketing Examples
Since influencer marketing has become so popular, there's a wealth of positive case studies to draw from. Here's a handy list of influencer marketing examples for each major social media platform.
1. Sperry
Sperry is best known for its iconic boat shoes, but part of the reason it's so well known is due to Instagram influencer marketing.
Sperry was an early adopter of influencer marketing, and the brand grew quickly because of it. It would repost users' pictures to its account, a practice it still uses today.
Sperry also embraced the idea of featuring micro-influencers and nano-influencers (which we'll take a look at in the next section).
Take a look at this post from Sperry's Instagram:
This photo was taken by mid-tier influencer Cody Andrew, who currently has 370,000 followers.
Even though it didn't feature a big-name influencer, this post was able to garner over a thousand likes in just a couple of days.
Of course, this is just one example in Sperry's long history of influencer marketing, but posts exactly like these are what catapulted Sperry into online fame.
2. Daniel Wellington
When the topic of great Instagram marketing comes up, you'll almost always see Swedish watch company Daniel Wellington mentioned.
That's for good reason – the brand has exploded in the last few years thanks to its insanely effective Instagram marketing.
The company was also one of the first to adopt influencer marketing. It worked with a variety of influencers of all sizes to create brand awareness and build buzz for its watches.
The brand has partnered with huge influencers like Kylie Jenner, who represented the brand in several posts that gained millions of likes.
Daniel Wellington also regularly works with smaller influencers in all kinds of niches. The brand uses the #DWPickoftheDay hashtag to find great pictures to repost, and often these pictures will come from users with a very small following.
This #DWPickoftheDay comes from a user with just 2,195 followers:
This approach of casting the brand's nets wide has worked like a charm. Daniel Wellington now has 4.9 million Instagram followers, and just four years after the $15,000 startup began its life, it was bringing in $220 million in revenue.
3. Zara
Zara has developed a reputation for its low-key marketing strategies. A lot of that reputation comes from the fact its advertising is subtle and clever instead of bold and in your face.
Working with influencers is a key part of Zara's marketing approach.
The company even created a second account called Living Zara that is solely for collaborations. Every week, the account is taken over by a different influencer.
Like Daniel Wellington, Zara has created a massive audience thanks to this Instagram marketing strategy. The main Zara account has more than 37 million followers, and the Living Zara account has nearly 100k.
And the company is seeing rapid and continuous growth thanks to its online presence. For the 2018 financial year, Zara reported earnings of €3.44 billion (about $3.8 billion).
4. Karolis Rimkus
You might not know Karolis, but he's a prolific entrepreneur and digital nomad who successfully used Instagram to build a business from the ground up.
Karolis used Instagram influencer marketing to kickstart a dropshipping side hustle that allowed him to break free from his 9-to-5 job.
It was his micro-influencer strategy that helped him kickstart his sales. "At first, I did a lot of influencer outreach. I would offer micro-influencers, people with like 8,000 followers, an item they could make a giveaway with, or just send them a few free items in exchange for mentions. It worked, and then I was growing and making sales," he says.
Then once his profile had grown to more than 15,000 followers, he flipped the traditional influencer marketing strategy on it's head. He started to offer his page as a place for micro-influencers to promote themselves. They'd buy a product from his store, snap a photo, and he'd post it on his account, helping to promote the influencer and his store at the same time.
After working with a series of influencers in his niche, he saw his sales increase and increase, and in just 10 months, Karolis had made $14,960.
5. Best Fiends
Best Fiends is a free mobile game that became popular after some viral influencer marketing campaigns.
The company reached out to Laura Clery, a Facebook influencer who had almost 3 million followers at the time, to promote the game. Laura is well known for her comedy videos, and she was a natural fit for Best Fiends.
Laura held a popular livestream in which she showed how to play the game, but she put her own twist on it. She did the livestream in character as Pamela Pupkin, one of her crazy alter egos.
The result was a huge success. The livestream received more than 468k views as well as thousands of likes and comments and hundreds of shares. It's a great example of just how effective Facebook influencer marketing can be.
6. Loeffler Randall
This Facebook influencer marketing campaign from footwear and accessory company Loeffler Randall caught our attention in the past, and it warrants a mention here as well.
The brand developed its LR Ambassadors program to work with influencers, and it's been a hit.
Facebook influencers used the hashtag #LRAmbassador to signify their connection to the Loeffler Randall brand.
This influencer marketing campaign worked so well because Loeffler Randall knew its audience well and chose the best influencers to work with.
And like many of the companies we've looked at, Loeffler Randall worked with all sizes of influencers.
7. SeatGeek
SeatGeek has made a name for itself in the last few years thanks to its use of smart influencer marketing.
The ticket platform partners with YouTube influencers who each have unique discount codes that are specific to their audiences.
For example, the brand recently worked with Cody Ko, a YouTube influencer who makes comedy and commentary videos. He currently has 4.08 million subscribers and counting, and he receives millions of views on each video.
This strategy keeps paying off for SeatGeek, which has earned many new customers thanks to its influencers.
8. Audible
Audible is another brand that has gained a lot of attention due to its YouTube influencer marketing strategy.
The company sought out some of YouTube's biggest influencers to create unique and engaging ads.
One memorable ad came from Jack Douglass, better known as Jacksfilms, in which he created funny acronyms for the word "Audible."
The partnerships were incredibly successful for Audible. Its brand name is now known to millions of YouTube users, and its audience continues to grow as it keeps expanding its influencer network.
How to Do Influencer Marketing for Your Business
So, now that you know all about influencer marketing and its benefits, one important question remains: How do you use influencer marketing successfully in your business?
Surprisingly, the process can be broken down into six simple steps.
1. Choosing the Right Social Media Platforms
Before you go on the hunt for the right social media influencers to rep your brand, you need to choose the right social media platforms for your brand.
It might be the case that not every social media platform will suit your brand. On the other hand, you might find that you can establish a good online presence on all of the major platforms.
But how do you decide?
It helps to understand each platform and the types of people that use them.
Here's a quick breakdown:
Instagram is best for sharing photo or video content that's bite-sized and meant to catch the eye. If you're selling a product (as opposed to a service), Instagram is almost definitely one platform you'll want to be on. Most Instagram users are ages 18-34.
YouTube is obviously best for video content, but whereas Instagram only allows up to a minute of video, YouTube allows for videos of any length, giving you more options. YouTube's demographics are surprisingly varied – while it's most popular with 18-24 year olds, YouTube has a 51 percent penetration rate among people 75 and older.
Facebook allows for a mix of text, photo, and video content. It's also loved by marketers for its popular Facebook Live option that allows you to livestream anytime and anywhere. Facebook's demographic skews a little older, between 25 and 34.
TikTok is the rising star among social media platforms. The app gives influencers the opportunity to express themselves in a very creative way. It's especially useful for brands looking to reach a younger audience. 62 percent of TikTok users are aged between 10 and 29.
There are many other social media platforms, but typically, these three are where you'll find most influencer marketing. In order to find the right influencers, you first have to find the right platforms, so don't overlook this step.
2. Creating Brand Guidelines
While influencers should always be given creative freedom to represent your brand, it's a good idea to create some general brand guidelines for your influencers to follow.
These guidelines will outline the kind of content that you want to be associated with your brand. You're basically making a style guide for your brand.
Mainly, you want to make sure that influencers are representing your brand's values and communicating in a way that's consistent with your brand voice.
Alienware's brand guidelines offer an excellent example. The brand has built its reputation on the high-end gaming computers it offers, and its guidelines are written to maintain that brand. The emphasis on performance-driven, innovative technology is clear.
The guidelines also go into extensive detail on the brand's design philosophy. While most brands don't need to spend 12 pages on design guidelines, this shows Alienware's commitment to consistent branding, and that's definitely something to consider when making your own guidelines.
When you're developing your guidelines, keep in mind that you also have to follow guidelines. The FTC has endorsement guidelines that every brand must follow to properly disclose advertisements and sponsored relationships.
3. How to Find Influencers
After you've settled on platforms and created brand guidelines, you can finally set out to find influencers. You may be wondering how to find influencers on Facebook, how to find influencers on Instagram, or just how to get influencers period!
However, one of the first considerations should be the level of influencer you want to work with.
The term "influencer" is a broad term that can be broken down into several categories. There are five main levels of influencer:
Mega-influencers are the big fish. They have more than a million followers and drive huge levels of engagement on everything they post.
Macro-influencers have slightly smaller audiences, typically 500k and up. Despite not having the same reach as mega-influencers, macro-influencers are usually in high demand.
Mid-tier influencers comprise a wide category – a mid-tier influencer can have anywhere from 50k to 500k followers.
Micro-influencers have audiences of 10k-50k people.
Finally, nano-influencers are at the bottom of the food chain with 1k-10k followers. Some nano-influencers may have only a few-hundred followers.
If your instinct is to reach out to the mega and macro-influencers, don't act so fast.
At first glance, it does seem like the bigger the influencer, the bigger the potential for success. But that's surprisingly not always the case.
While mega- and macro-influencers certainly have a large reach and lots of engagement, they don't always have the largest impact.
In fact, micro-influencer marketing campaigns drive 60 percent higher engagement rates than celebrity endorsement campaigns.
Since smaller influencers are able to develop a stronger connection with their audience, they can have much higher engagement rates than even mega-influencers.
On top of that, more brands are working with nano-influencers. Nanos play an important role – they're the most relatable of all of the influencers.
So, when these smaller influencers advocate products, their followers don't feel sold to, an emotion that often arises when big influencers create disingenuous advertisements.
Ideally, you should reach out to influencers at all of these levels. This is the kind of approach that made brands like Daniel Wellington so successful, and it's super easy to replicate.
Now, it's time to find specific influencers on each platform.
Many people wonder how to find Instagram influencers or how to find Facebook influencers in an effective way. Surprisingly, the process is pretty simple.
For the most part, all you need to do is simply search for influencers in your niche by looking at hashtags and searching with keywords.
This will give you some of the big names in your industry, which in turn will give you a good idea of who you might want to work with.
But if you want to take a deeper dive, you can use a few handy tools.
First, you can use BuzzSumo to find people who are sharing popular content. Conveniently, you can filter out any results that aren't influencers.
If you want to get stats on certain influencers, you can use HypeAuditor. This tool will give you a closer look at a follower's profile, and it can even show you if they have any fake followers or engagements.
When looking at influencers, remember to consider what kind of influencer they are. When you start, it may be more effective to work with micro-influencers, as they're more likely to say yes.
If you can find a micro-influencer to work with who's a great fit for your brand, it can lead to great things. Micro-influencer marketing and nano-influencer marketing are both super powerful, so don't pass them by.
4. Reaching Out to Influencers
This is another easy step. Often, influencers can be contacted through direct message.
But before you go messaging them, take a look at their bio section. They may have a specific email for marketing inquiries.
To maximize your productivity, you can make an outreach template, but be sure to add a little bit of personality before you hit send.
How to Work with Influencers: 4 Quick Ideas
Now that you have found some influencers that you want to partner with, it's time to set up your influencer marketing campaign.
Below are a few ideas for an influencer campaign that will be engaging and memorable:
1. Run a Giveaway
If your company is introducing a new product and offering a free sample as a giveaway, getting an influencer to promote the offer is a great way to increase the exposure of that product.
To get started, you can hire social media influencers to run a giveaway campaign on different platforms. Make sure to work with someone who's aware of FTC's rules.
2. Go Behind-The-Scenes
Ask your influencer to share behind-the-scenes footage of how things work in your business.
For example, if you're a fast-growing fashion brand that sells clothes online, get your influencer to broadcast your brainstorming or product design session for a day.
3. Get Featured in Roundups
Influencers may also be willing to do roundups featuring your product or service. Encourage them to feature your main offering behind complementary items (rather than competitors).
For instance, if you're in the business of selling paint, the influencer can create a roundup of home renovation items that includes one recommendation for paint, one for vinyl, one for wall art, and so on.
4. Host a Live Takeover
You can invite influencers to engage with your existing audience in real time through a live takeover.
Using Instagram Live or another similar feature, the influencer can take over your brand's account to create exclusivity and share his/own opinions with your audience. You can also allow people to ask questions or interact with influencers through comments.
The influencer could use the opportunity to hype a new product you're about to launch, promote an upcoming sale, or talk about your business in general.
Best Tools to Track Your Influencer MarketingTracking Your Campaign
There are many influencer marketing tools that will allow you to track each campaign and measure its effectiveness.The best ones are:
1. Sprout Social
Sprout Social is a widely used tool that helps you monitor your influencer marketing campaigns by tracking hashtags and allowing your team to collaborate without any hitches.
2. Hootsuite
Thisis another popular platform that lets you grab useful analytics and track what people are saying about your campaigns. You can also use other functions — such as social media scheduling — to improve your brand's reach.
If you want to use a tool that's built specifically for influencer marketing, Traackr is worth a look. This tool automates influencer discovery, vetting, and reporting, allowing you to focus more on building influencer relationships and creating great content.
3. Traackr
If you want to use a tool that's built specifically for influencer marketing, Traackr is worth a look. This tool automates influencer discovery, vetting, and reporting, allowing you to focus more on building influencer relationships and creating great content.
The Future of Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing might be the marketing method of choice right now, but what does the future hold for it?
While social media influencer marketing is extremely popular, it's still a very new method of marketing. It's grown over the last several years and is still growing. Brands are developing new ways of working with influencers, and influencer marketing as a whole is still being analyzed and refined.
To get a robust understanding of the future of influencer marketing, it helps to look at influencer marketing statistics that record how young people are interacting with and relating to influencers.
According to Think With Google, six in ten YouTube users would take advice on what to purchase from their favorite creators, and four in ten millennial YouTube users say that their favorite creator understands them more than their friends do.
And those statistics are just for YouTube. The statistics for Instagram are even more revealing.
Out of all the major social media platforms, Instagram has one of the youngest audiences. More than half of Instagram users are under 34 years old, with 31 percent falling in the 18-24 age range. Why does this matter? Because as Forbes revealed, millennials are the age group that is most likely to trust recommendations from people they know or opinions posted online.
With the right audience fit and effective formats, Instagram is hands down the most-powerful channel for influencer marketing.
By far, the most-effective formats for influencer marketing are Instagram posts and stories. The average engagement rate on Instagram is 2.21 percent.
It's easy to see why most brands are spending more on Instagram than on any other social media channel. Along with YouTube, Instagram is playing a pivotal role in the success of influencer marketing, and the two platforms will continue to see more influencer marketing in the future.
In addition, influencer marketing will likely flourish on new and upcoming social media channels.
TikTok is one such platform that's seeing lots of influencer marketing success. It's relatively new to the scene, but it's estimated to have more than 500 million users, which makes it bigger than Twitter and Pinterest.
While the specifics of the future of influencer marketing are unknown, one thing's for sure: Influencer marketing will only continue to grow. It's a brand-new form of marketing that shows no signs of stopping, and it's well worth your consideration.
Influencer Marketing – Massive Potential for Business Growth
It's obvious that influencer marketing is much more than a trend. It's a new way of marketing that is transforming how people interact with brands.
Influencer marketing is becoming more vital to the marketing landscape. Consequently, the potential for business growth is getting larger and larger.
The case studies and statistics we've looked at paint a very vivid picture: Influencer marketing is extremely effective, and it's here to stay.
So, give it a try, and see what it can do for your brand. If you take the right approach and follow this guide, don't be surprised if you start getting hundreds or even thousands of new customers and, of course, sales.


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2018.10.17 @ayogom 업데이트 예정입니다. 1차는 아래의 영어 내용을 한글로 변경할 예정이고, 이후에 부족한 부분에 대해서 지속적으로 업데이트 합니다.
About Steem.center
Steem.center was built by Someguy123 to be the "center of all things steem."
The Steemit post for this wiki is here.
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- Nightingale Wood, by Stella Gibbons (who wrote Cold Comfort Farm, one of my all-time favorite books and movies). I'm enjoying it, though it's not nearly as witty as CCF. Perfect for the Anglophile, though.
- a new (enormous) crochet project, the so-called "stripy dog blanket" from The Cool Girl's Guide to Crochet (terrible title, dumb cover, but cute patterns). Perhaps a better name would be "stripy human blanket"? ;-)
I'm using six shades of Lion Brand Nature's Choice Organic Cotton -- dusty sage, dusty blue, strawberry, blueberry, almond, walnut, and pistachio. Mmm... doesn't that sound delicious? I love when the strawberry, walnut, and almond colors coincide, as it looks just like Neapolitan ice cream. The yarn is soft and cushy, probably destined to pill, and it's going to be a very heavy blanket. I'm using a J hook, and it's just half double crochet, changing colors every row.
Peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! You couldn't squeeze too many more good things into those, could you? I found the recipe on someone's blog, but for the life of me I can't find it now. It's adapted from this recipe, with a few variations:
- skip the eggs and substitute 2 T. flax seeds + 6 T. water, stirred together
- add 1 C. chocolate chips at the end
I used all butter rather than 1/2 shortening, as shortening kind of skeeves me out.
A couple more cookie recipes calling out to me:
- white chocolate and pistachio sugar cookies
- hazelnut chocolate chip cookies


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Back in 2009, Katie Shelly was craving an eggplant Parmesan. Small problem: She'd never made it before. But she remembered that a college roommate used to make it, so she called her up and asked for the recipe.
The friend told her she needed to start with three bowls — one for breadcrumbs, one for egg and one for flour, salt and pepper. "In that moment, it was totally natural for me to just draw the three bowls instead of writing all that out in words," says Shelly, whose day job is as a visual designer.
As the friend continued the recipe, Shelly continued drawing it out with arrows and eggplant slices on a tray. When she pulled out the scrap of loose-leaf in the kitchen, she found it much easier to cook from that than a traditional recipe that relies on numerical steps.
And that's where the idea for Shelly's upcoming cookbook, Picture Cook, originated. The book is filled with 50 illustrated recipe "blueprints" for basic meals — from snacks like Krispy Kale to more hefty dishes like White Lasagna. Her recipes are bound to appeal to visual learners; Shelly hopes they're also less daunting than traditional recipes.
"If you pick up a book from Emeril Lagasse or Julia Child or Mario Batali or whoever, there's a little bit of intimidation there. ... But this book is just coming from little old me. You don't have to feel like you're going into a Top Chef competition with whatever you create."
In fact, she doesn't think she's "exceptionally culinarily inclined" — "I make food that is tasty and does the job," she says. But she learned to cook by experimenting with her friends and hopes learning by seeing will encourage others to improvise as well.
Already, lots of people seem to have responded to her novel approach to recipes: Traffic to her website exploded after the illustration blog Drawn featured her carrot soup recipe in 2010.
Other design blogs picked up the illustrations, Mark Bittman tweeted about her, and people were emailing to ask where they could buy her book. Picture Cook didn't exist yet, but all the positive feedback from the online community motivated her to start talking to publishers. Three years later, her book is close to hitting the shelves: It comes out in October but is available for pre-order now.
Shelly recognizes that while some people love the illustrated recipes, others find them confusing.
"It's just another way of slicing information," she says. "There will always people who prefer the original way of doing recipes, and if you're in that camp, then no need to buy this book. I'm not suggesting that the whole world switch over to this format. But I think for people who are into it, if it works for you, then that's awesome."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Botswana: The Insider's Guide (Non-Fiction)
by Ian Michler
Struik Publishers (2004)
Botswana boasts some of southern Africa's most glorious and unspoiled safari destinations, with a staggering array of wildlife and pristine habitats. The Insider's Guide takes you on a journey through a country that has one of the most vibrant economies in the region and is home to a thriving arts and cultural scene. It also gives you invaluable insight into the life and people, and practical details on the best overland trips you can take, the ideal camps and lodges for a safari, and wonderful insider tips on where to find the best arts, crafts, festivals and music on your travels.


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Before World War II, Warsaw was a center of Jewish life and culture in Poland. During the war, the Nazis established ghettos where they forced Jews to live under crowded and miserable conditions. At its height, the ghetto in Warsaw—the largest in Europe—held over 400,000 Jews engaged in a constant struggle for survival.
With a prewar Jewish population of over 350,000, Warsaw was home to Europe's largest Jewish community and a center of Jewish life and culture in Poland.
The city fell to German forces in late September 1939.
Beginning in October 1940, the Germans forced Warsaw's Jews, about 30 percent of the total population, into a ghetto that covered only 2.4 percent of the city.
To prevent movement to and from the rest of Warsaw, the ghetto was closely guarded and enclosed by a wall that was over 10 feet high.
Impoverished ghetto residents struggled for survival.
In 1941 and 1942, Jews from surrounding communities were deported to the ghetto. At its height, the population exceeded 400,000.
In July 1942, the Germans began mass deportations to the Treblinka killing center, about 50 miles northeast of Warsaw.
Ghetto residents were forced to an assembly point and crowded into railroad freight cars. When they arrived at Treblinka, most deportees were killed.
By September 1942, the ghetto population was reduced to about 55,000.
In January 1943, the Germans renewed deportations from the ghetto.
Members of Jewish underground resistance groups inside the ghetto took to the streets to resist the roundups. The Germans deported 6,500 Jews before halting the operation.
During the next few months, resistance groups and individuals constructed bunkers and worked to obtain arms.
When deportations were renewed in April 1943, the vastly outnumbered ghetto fighters fought back in an uprising that lasted nearly a month.
At the end, the Germans burned the ghetto to force people out of their hiding places.
By May 16, 1943, the Germans had crushed the uprising and left the ghetto area in ruins. Surviving ghetto residents were deported to concentration camps or killing centers.
We would like to thank Crown Family Philanthropies, Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation, the Claims Conference, EVZ, and BMF for supporting the ongoing work to create content and resources for the Holocaust Encyclopedia. View the list of donor acknowledgement.


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I made my first fortune with a lawnmower. It was a green Lawn Boy pusher without frills: no self-propulsion, no variable speeds, no easy-turn wheels. The lawn trimmings collected in a frayed cloth bag that bulged against your shins when it came time to empty it, and after several summers mowing a half dozen neighborhood lawns the smell of moist green trimmings spilling out of that bag was imprinted on my brain forever. I mowed until my shoes turned green, and then I mowed until my green shoes grew holes. Lawnmowing has an undeniable meditative quality: the noise of the machine isolates and focuses the mind. You are all turns and pushing; you are bringing order to the chaos. You are in the moment, a connoisseur of the way grass bent in different directions reflects the sunlight.
But I was in it for the money.
I charged $15 per lawn and worked harder than I probably ever have since. I was fourteen years old and making more money than the adults who handed over my hot fudge sundaes in the McDonalds drivethru, something I noted with equal measures of triumph and sadness. I began putting flyers in the mailboxes of a nearby subdivision and my mom would let me throw the mower in the trunk of her car and drive me over when a lawn was too far away to push the mower along the side of the road. When I intruded on the territory of Chris Kuipers, my old Calvinist friend vowed to work twice as hard for half as much. But soon enough we both lost our fortunes in the disastrous baseball card bubble of 1992.
* * * * *
A couple week ago we were staying at my mother in law's house for the annual Tulip Time festivities and I noticed her grass was getting long. My own father bought himself a nice riding lawn mower as soon as I moved off to college, so I've never felt compelled to mow my old lawn when I visit my parents. To someone who made his bones with a pushmower, riding lawnmowers are in the same category as snowmobiles or ATVs, or those pontoon boats you see fat guys piloting across inland lakes with coozied beers in their hands (they don't make cupholders for push mowers). As I pulled the lawnmower out of my mother-in-law's garage, I congratulated myself: What a good son-in-law you are, performing this unsolicited deed. But as soon as it roared to life I had to be honest: Whatever, asshole. You're a lousy son-in-law, you're just doing this because you miss pushing a lawnmower. Admit it: you're actually nostalgic for that horrible activity that everyone hates. Freak. It's true, for the last half of my life I've been bouncing between rentals and I've never had my own lawn to mow. For the last six years we've lived in this meticulously-landscaped co-op and I've never had to lift a finger with the grass. Every week a group of burly guys pile out of pickup trucks and mow my lawn for me. It's so emasculating I actually have to wear a longer skirt on those days to hide my gigantic vagina.
So I'm mowing my mother-in-law's yard the other day, having some serious fun. I might have even been whistling, joyfully. How disgusting is that? I thought about how character building all those years of mowing were, and I wondered how I would teach my own kids about hard work and self-reliance if we're still living in a home where other people do all our hard work for us. When I was done mowing I was actually disappointed my mother-in-law's lawn was so tiny. I considered lowering the wheels and running over the whole thing again, but we were late for the clogwearing street dancers. The garage where I deposited the mower smelled like wet grass trimmings and petrol. I wanted a cologne just like it.
* * * * *
Last week I stood in front of a push mower with no frills for sale at a nearby hardware store. I wanted to buy it, but didn't have anywhere to store it (we don't have a garage). Our neighbor---a Detroit firefighter who rides a motorcycle (who also lets other guys mow his lawn)---says you can't keep lawnmowers in our concrete basements without danger from the fumes. I wanted to clear a long-feral vacant lot in our neighborhood so we could turn it into another community garden, but nobody I knew owned a lawnmower. When did we all become such yuppies?
I sent a text to an old friend who lived nearby: Do you have a lawnmower? Can I borrow it? His reply: "I pay a guy to do it. I gave up chores in 2009." The grass was above my knees in places, so I bought this tool that didn't have a name but was basically an analog weedwhacker; a lame version of a scythe. A safety scythe?
After last summer's garden (part one here, part two here) was torn out so football fans could park there and drink a few Sundays each winter, I wrote, next "year when we get those boxes set up in a new lot with new seedlings soaking up the sun I'll be teaching [my kids] about stubbornness, and perseverance, and maybe even a little but about naivety." Add foolheadedness to that. Rather than just putting our old boxes in a new lot, over the last weekend we built a ton of new, higher-quality boxes and invited a bunch of our neighbors to join us this year. But before we could put down the boxes and load them with soil, something had to be done about the grass. My other friend (an architecture professor) and I were over there swatting at weeds with that thing on an eighty-degree day like a couple of extras in Days of Heaven. It turns out hard work isn't nearly as glamorous without Terence Malick's sunsets or Leo Kottke's guitar. I'd spent the previous 24 hours building twenty raised beds for the garden, and after a few minutes of reaping we were like, Fuck this Amish shit. So I borrowed a electric weed trimmer. He called his brother-in-law in the suburbs who loaned us his lawnmower for the day.
As I watched him accumulate those neat little rows behind the mower I was unable to hide my jealousy. He even admitted it was fun. He'd grown up in Miami, where he mowed all year round. Once he'd cleared enough grass that we could start setting down boxes, I enlisted his architectural expertise to do the layout. While it's true that I suck at anything involving precision, my real motivation was to yank that lawnmower starter out from under his nose and stand behind her while she purred between my legs. I pushed that old mower around for awhile, then he'd take over. There we were, a couple of guys with postgraduate degrees fighting over who got to use a lawnmower.
In the end, the lot got mowed and the boxes went down. A group of my wonderful neighbors came over to help haul 5 cubic yards of dirt into those boxes and together we turned that vacant lot into this:


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Welcome to the Teleflora Love Note Concierge
$100 Gift Certificate Giveaway
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Sponsor: Teleflora
Ends 2/10
Thank you to all the great bloggers that are helping promote this giveaway!!
This gift certificate expires on February 14, 2016!
Teleflora Love Note Concierge starts February 3rd!
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